Clan Rise: Starting as a Grandfather

Chapter 175: Chapter 171: Harvesting Herbs

Inside the garrison officer’s office, Yang Zhenshan welcomed the newly appointed Vice Governor of the Military Equipment Department into the main hall.

This new Vice Governor of the Military Equipment Department, named Xu Jin, was a slightly thin, short, and shriveled old man.

“Lord Xu, please have a seat!” Yang Zhenshan invited Xu Jin to sit down.

Yang Zhenshan didn’t know much about the officials from the Inspection Department; he had never dealt with the Inspection Department before, nor had he ever met this Vice Governor Xu.

The two sat down, and Han Fei served tea.

“Does Lord Xu have matters to discuss?” Yang Zhenshan dispensed with small talk and went straight to the point.

Primarily because this Lord Xu didn’t seem easy to get along with, maintaining a stern face without a trace of a smile from start to finish.

“I would like to go outside the city to inspect the agricultural garrison!” Xu Jin held his tea, slowly and methodically taking a sip.

Yang Zhenshan knew this old man didn’t come just to chat.

After thinking it over, Yang Zhenshan said, “How about this, tomorrow I will have the agricultural garrison officer come over and accompany Lord Xu to have a look!”

“If any problems are found, they can also be addressed promptly by the agricultural garrison officer.”

Xu Jin looked up, frowning at Yang Zhenshan.

Actually, he wanted Yang Zhenshan to accompany him, but since Yang Zhenshan was reluctant, he didn’t insist.

Though he held supervisory and management authority over the garrison officer’s office, he understood that the main authority still lay with the garrison officer himself. If he overreached, Yang Zhenshan would inevitably feel dissatisfied.

Being new here, it was better not to stir up trouble.

However, he didn’t hold a good impression of Yang Zhenshan. Yang Zhenshan’s refusal to accompany him seemed somewhat arrogant.

In fact, it wasn’t just towards Yang Zhenshan; he generally had a poor view of most military officers. He had been serving as Vice Governor at the Inspection Department in Chongshan Town for over ten years. Throughout these years, most of the military officers he met were insatiably greedy.

“Well then, I will take my leave!” Xu Jin got up to say goodbye.

Yang Zhenshan stood up to see him out.

Little did he know what Xu Jin was thinking; the reason he didn’t accompany him was because he had just finished inspecting the Fire Road Pile and the signal tower. Now, to follow Xu Jin on another trip would be too exhausting.

After seeing off Xu Jin, Yang Zhenshan finally had some time to relax.

His marriage with Yu Qingyi had been settled; since Yang Zhenshan was remarrying and Yu Qingyi was no longer a young maiden, the matrimonial procedures were expedited, with the wedding date set for the fifth day of May, a month later.

Before the wedding, Yang Zhenshan was not to meet Yu Qingyi, which made him somewhat depressed.

Their feelings were at their most intense stage, yet they couldn’t meet, causing Yang Zhenshan countless internal complaints.

But when in Rome, do as the Romans do; for Yu Qingyi’s sake, he had to respect the local customs.

Now that he had some free time, Yang Zhenshan locked himself in his room alone and entered the Spiritual Spring Space.

Half a year had passed, and the Spiritual Spring Space had expanded significantly.

The dark soil now covered more than an acre, no longer looking cramped.

Previously, due to the small space, Yang Zhenshan always felt a bit suffocated inside, but now that the space had expanded to over an acre, he felt much more comfortable.

Yang Zhenshan squatted by the stone pool, scratching his head at the nearly full pool of Spiritual Spring Water.

Although there were many uses for Spiritual Spring Water now, it kept accumulating, almost overflowing the stone pool.

He was almost turning into a water truck, sprinkling Spiritual Spring Water wherever he went.

The existence of Spiritual Spring Water definitely couldn’t be revealed, so Yang Zhenshan was very careful whenever he used it.

Moreover, he couldn’t let others use the pure Spiritual Spring Water. Its effects were too obvious; the weaker the constitution, the stronger the effects felt after drinking it.

To avoid exposing the existence of Spiritual Spring Water, he always poured it out bowl by bowl.

It wasn’t that he was stingy, but that he had to be cautious.

The effects of Spiritual Spring Water were too tempting for martial artists. If others knew about the existence and effects of Spiritual Spring Water, Yang Zhenshan could become a target, much like Tang Monk’s flesh, coveted by countless people.

“It’s okay to use more Spiritual Spring Water at home, even if some is wasted, I can afford it now.”

“Once the horse farm is built, I’ll go there more often and give the horses more Spiritual Spring Water.”

“There’s also the garrison; spring plowing is almost over. When the soldiers from the garrison come for training, that can also help reduce some!”

Yang Zhenshan thought to himself, feeling that he shouldn’t worry about having too much Spiritual Spring Water for the time being.

Well, that’s a happy predicament.

Then, Yang Zhenshan picked up a hoe and started digging in the medicinal field.

Some of the herbs he had planted were ready to harvest, not many, all of them were the rare herbs he planted initially.

Of course, those herbs that required a longer time, like ginseng or Golden Blood Vine, were far from ready to be harvested.

Besides, Yang Zhenshan had recently planted many more.

As the land continued to expand, he had to plant more herbs to avoid wasting such good land.

Now he almost had OCD, feeling compelled to plant herbs whenever he saw vacant land.

It made him enter the space every few days to act as a herbal farmer, cultivating medicinal herbs.

Today was different; today he was here to harvest.

Digging up the herbs one by one, Yang Zhenshan felt delighted.

These were all silver!

Although the number of herbs harvested this time was not large, roughly only three to four hundred plants, the ones he grew were relatively expensive herbs on the market.

Each plant could sell for at least one Silver Tael; three to four hundred plants meant three to four hundred Silver Taels.

The key was that this was just the beginning.

Looking at the flourishing medicinal field, Yang Zhenshan felt as if countless Silver Taels were smashing towards him.

As time passed, the amount of harvested herbs would only increase.

But he also had to face a new problem.

That was the soil in the Spiritual Spring Space was expanding rapidly, and before long, he alone would not be able to farm it all.

He couldn’t possibly stay in the space forever as an herbalist!

“Herbs with shorter growing periods should not be planted excessively; otherwise, I can’t manage them. One acre of land is sufficient for this.”

“In the future, as the land expands further, we can plant Treasure Medicines like ginseng and Golden Blood Vine, which require longer years and less frequent care, making things easier for me.”

“If the expansion reaches dozens of acres, then we could also plant some trees, like fruit trees!”

“The Spiritual Spring Water is also increasing and could be used to construct several irrigation canals.”

Yang Zhenshan was digging up herbs while planning the Spiritual Spring Space in his mind.

This was not a fantasy; the pace of the Spiritual Spring Space’s expansion was accelerating. Perhaps in a few years, the space could expand by an acre a day, or even more.

After being busy for an hour, Yang Zhenshan finally dug out all the herbs, but he didn’t take them outside immediately; instead, he processed the herbs directly in the space.

Herbal processing involves methods such as roasting, blasting, frying, washing, soaking, rinsing, steaming, and boiling to process Chinese herbs. The purpose is to eliminate or reduce the toxicity of the drugs, enhance their efficacy, facilitate formulation and storage, and purify the drugs.

Only the processed herbs become medicinal materials and can be better utilized.

Each herb has different processing methods. Fortunately, Yang Zhenshan did not cultivate many types of herbs, and he had learned all about them after some time studying.

It took Yang Zhenshan another hour to finish processing all the herbs, but they still needed to be dried for a while.

There was no need to take them outside for drying; they could be dried right in the space.

Then, Yang Zhenshan planted new herbs in the cleared land, and by the time he left the space, it was almost dusk.

This had taken half a day. If there were more herbs to harvest in the future, it would take even more time.

Currently, it was manageable, but once Yu Qingyi moved in, Yang Zhenshan could hardly neglect his delightful wife and burrow in the space digging up soil.

Therefore, too many fast-growing herbs could not be planted in the Spiritual Spring Space.

After a simple wash, Yang Zhenshan finally stepped out of his room.

Spring had arrived, bringing revival to all things, and the vegetation in the courtyard burst with new vitality.

Yang Zhenshan left the main courtyard, strolling by the pond, gazing at the budding plants, his mood unusually serene.

The courtyard was beautifully constructed, every plant and tree meticulously arranged, intertwining pavilions and cobblestone paths, creating a delightful surprise at every step.

Looking at such beautiful scenery, Yang Zhenshan couldn’t help but feel grateful to Cao Han again.

The work of the predecessors provides shade for future generations.

Having such an exquisite residence, Yang Zhenshan owed much to Cao Han.

It was a pity Cao Han had died, otherwise Yang Zhenshan would definitely have visited to express his thanks.

“Grandpa!”

Just as Yang Zhenshan was wandering by the pond, Yang Chengye came running over.

Yang Chengye, now six years old, was much changed from last year. Last year, the kid was still like a mischievous brat, but now he had a few gestures that resembled a wealthy young master.

This change was due to the governess hired by Yang Mingcheng.

The governess, surnamed Li, was fifty-three years old. She had once been a palace maid in the imperial palace and became a governess in her hometown after returning. She had taught many children of official families over more than twenty years.

Yang Mingcheng had spent a long time finding such a person and spent a great deal of money to bring Governess Li to the Yang family.

Having gone to such lengths to hire her, Yang Zhenshan of course made full use of her.

Whether herding one sheep or two, it’s the same effort.

Yang Yunxue and other girls needed to learn manners and etiquette, so naturally, Yang Chengye needed to as well.

Of course, Yang Chengye was taught only manners and etiquette by Governess Li, and nothing else.

Governess Li, dedicated and diligent, focused her efforts right from the start on Yang Yunxue, Yang Chengye, and Yang Qingwan.

Because Yang Yunxue was the Yang family’s Second Young Miss, Yang Chengye was the eldest legitimate grandson of the Yang family, and Yang Qingwan was the eldest daughter of the main branch of the family.

She was particularly strict with the trio, demanding perfection in the manners and etiquette she taught them.

In comparison, she was more lenient toward Wang Yunqiao and Wang Mingzhe.

Wang Yunqiao and Wang Mingzhe were Yang Zhenshan’s apprentices, but they were more like adopted children of the Yang family,

although they had been raised in the Yang family, their status was not that of the Yang family’s descendants.

Yang Zhenshan, watching the well-mannered Yang Chengye, couldn’t help but stroke his beard.

In his previous life, he felt that children should have a joyful childhood, obviously something that Governess Li could not provide to Yang Chengye.

However, Yang Zhenshan couldn’t intervene in Governess Li’s teachings.

In this world, the higher one’s status, the greater the burden of rules and etiquette.

These things needed to be cultivated from a young age, and although Yang Zhenshan wished Yang Chengye could have a more relaxed upbringing, he did not want him to grow up without knowing proper etiquette.

“Ah, with gain comes loss, as long as the child doesn’t grow up crooked, it’s fine!”

Yang Zhenshan sighed lightly in his heart, but his face showed a kind smile.

“Did you behave well in school today?”

He was referring to the elementary school; although Yang Chengye was learning etiquette, his main focus was still on his elementary studies.

“Grandpa, I did well in class!” Yang Chengye, standing in front of Yang Zhenshan, declared proudly.

Yang Zhenshan smiled and nodded, taking the little fellow’s hand, “Come, walk with grandpa.”

It’s better to spend more time with children, even though this grandson came cheaply, but Yang Zhenshan had watched him grow up and had feelings for him.

The two figures, one tall and one small, slowly walked by the pond, their shadows elongated by the setting sun.

Yang Zhenshan continued to inquire about Yang Chengye’s studies as they walked.

Yang Chengye was very bright, able to memorize his lessons after a few reads, and quick to learn.