Clan Rise: Starting as a Grandfather

Chapter 95: Chapter 92 Mr. Zhang has great talent indeed_2

What else could Yang Zhenshan say to this? He could only happily accept the gifts.

”Indeed, not only is General Zhou a big helper, but he is also a God of Wealth!”

”Wow! He even gave a set of gold-painted Shanwen armor!”

Yang Zhenshan, holding a set of armor weighing over thirty pounds, was so happy that his beard curled upwards.

He was not without armor; being a military officer, the court naturally provided them with armor.

However, the court-issued armor was coarse, certainly not comparable to the gold-painted Shanwen armor gifted by Zhou Lan.

Armor was an essential life-saving item on the battlefield, a fine set of which could be considered a family heirloom.

Moreover, paired with the Gold-plated Flying Fish Spear Zhou Lan had given before, Yang Zhenshan’s equipment was not inferior to those of the noble lords.

As for the other items like fabrics, tea leaves, and stationery, Yang Zhenshan didn’t really care.

In fact, he did not have many demands when it came to clothing, food, housing, and transportation; as long as it was serviceable, there was no need to pursue overly luxurious items.

After receiving Zhou Lan’s thank-you gifts, the Yang family started preparing for the New Year.

On the morning of Danian, everyone in the Yang family’s government office courtyard was busy.

Yang Mingcheng, who had just returned from Anning County yesterday, was pasting couplets with Yang Minghao and Lin Zhan.

On the other side, Ms. Wang was bustling in the kitchen with Yang Yunxue and Wang Yunqiao, while the Li family, who was nine months pregnant and less than a month from her due date, couldn’t help with the work and stayed inside resting.

In front of the government office, Yang Mingwu and Yang Mingzhi were leading a group of people in slaughtering pigs and sheep.

Dozens of pigs and sheep hung on poles, and the smell of blood permeated Yinghe Castle, but everyone’s faces were adorned with happy smiles.

These animals were brought in from Linguan Castle, as all the pigs and sheep previously raised there had been taken by Yang Zhenshan in one sweep.

Moreover, Yang Zhenshan had bought dozens of pigs and sheep from outside.

His purpose was simple: to ensure that every military household under Yinghe Castle’s administration could eat meat during the New Year.

”Dad, all the slaughtering is done! Can we start distributing the meat?” Yang Mingzhi washed the blood off his hands and asked Yang Zhenshan, who was standing in front of the government office.

”Distribute it, three pounds of pork and one pound of lamb for each household!” Yang Zhenshan stroked his beard and said cheerfully.

”Thank you, Master Yang, for your generosity!”

”Master Yang is kind-hearted!”

The military households standing nearby, upon hearing this, started to express their gratitude.

Yang Zhenshan looked around at the crowd and nodded with a pleased smile.

In fact, these pigs and sheep didn’t cost much. Even though the price of meat in the cities had risen this year, a pound of pork cost only thirty copper coins.

To distribute this meat, it would cost slightly more than a hundred copper coins per household.

Now, with nearly a thousand military households under the administration of Yinghe Castle, it meant that Yang Zhenshan had spent more than a hundred taels of silver.

And this money was not from the government office; it came out of his own pocket.

For what purpose?

Naturally, to win people’s hearts!

The previous military households were easier to deal with. Through a series of reorganizations and management by Yang Zhenshan, they had already recognized him as their defense officer.

However, the newly arrived refugees were full of panic and unease upon their arrival.

By giving them meat now, Yang Zhenshan could not only stabilize their morale but also garner goodwill.

”Second son, cut ten pounds of pork and ten pounds of lamb to send to Mr. Liu!”

As people started to divide the meat, Yang Zhenshan instructed Yang Mingzhi.

”Okay!” Yang Mingzhi responded.

Although he had not been back from Jianning Guard for long, he was aware of the Liu family’s situation in Yinghe Castle.

Ever since the school opened, the teachers from the Liu family had gained quite a reputation within Yinghe Castle.

Although everyone knew they were exiled prisoners, knowledge was respected everywhere.

With the added esteem from Yang Zhenshan, people showed great respect to the Liu family.

Yang Mingzhi picked two good pieces of meat, cheerfully making his way to the Liu home.

At this time, the Liu family was also busy preparing for the New Year.

Perhaps it was because the Liu family had risen and fallen three times, they accepted the reality of their exile rather well, not appearing dejected but instead showing an air of acceptance as if it were just the way things are.

The Liu family had many members, but they managed to live quite decently.

After all, the Liu family could earn salaries from seven positions in the school, and with this income alone, they wouldn’t live too poorly.

”Mr. Liu, this is what my father asked me to deliver!”

Arriving at the Liu family’s doorstep, Yang Mingzhi happened to see Liu Zhe pasting up a spring couplet.

”This, Mr. Yang, we have enough meat to eat, please take it back!” Liu Zhe declined.

Yang Mingzhi didn’t care about his refusal, he simply carried the two large pieces of meat into the courtyard and placed them on the kitchen stove.

”Every household in the garrison has some, Mr. Liu, please don’t refuse!”

After speaking, Yang Mingzhi didn’t wait for Liu Zhe to respond and hastily left.

Feeling helpless, Liu Zhe could only shout: ”Please thank Master Yang for me!”

At that moment, Liu Yuanfu came out from the main house, followed by his old wife, Mrs. Zhang.

Liu Yuanfu glanced at the meat in the kitchen and listened to the noise outside, before tapping his tobacco pipe.

”This Yang Zhenshan really has deep schemes!”

”Dad, what are you talking about?” Liu Zhe looked unsatisfiedly at his father.

He had heard what Liu Yuanfu said, but he simply didn’t agree with it.

”Hmph, am I wrong?” Liu Yuanfu snorted coldly, ”Look what he’s doing? He’s won everyone’s hearts with just a few pounds of meat!”

Liu Yuanfu’s temper was indeed foul and stubborn, but having weathered the officialdom for forty years, how could he not see through Yang Zhenshan’s intentions?

Of course, Liu Zhe wasn’t a fool either, ”Isn’t that a good thing?”

In Liu Zhe’s view, the fact that Yang Zhenshan was winning people over was most appropriate.

Yang Zhenshan was the defense officer of Yinghe Castle, and within the military households there were soldiers under his command. Being a Military Officer, naturally, he needed to secure his soldiers’ loyalty, otherwise who would be willing to lay down their lives for their superior on the battlefield?

”There’s nothing wrong with that, but he’s also sent meat to our family!” Liu Yuanfu spoke with a stern look.

Liu Zhe was silent for a moment, then he lifted his head to look at the meat in the kitchen.

”We’ve already incurred this favor!”

”Dad, whether you want to acknowledge it or not, it’s too late!”

They received a lot of care from Yang Zhenshan in Yinghe Castle. Strictly speaking, this was no longer just a favor, it was a kindness.

”Exactly, you stubborn old man, why talk about such things, when Master Yang has been taking care of us, we should just accept it graciously.”

”If our family can rise again in the future, we’ll repay Master Yang’s kindness. And if we can only die in poverty, then let Zhèr and the others repay him!”

Mrs. Zhang was very dissatisfied with her stinky and stubborn old man, berating Liu Yuanfu thoroughly.

”You don’t even look at how thin your grandsons have become!”

”Not wanting to owe favors, how else are we supposed to feed this big family!”

”Master Yang is willing to look after us, which is an honor. Do you still think you’re at the Imperial Examination Hall?”

”You heartless old man, all you know is smoking, it won’t smoke you to death!”

Mrs. Zhang left no face for Liu Yuanfu, flailing at him with a barrage of scolding.

She was genuinely angry. If it wasn’t for Liu Yuanfu’s messing around, their big family wouldn’t have been exiled.

Exile was one thing, but Liu Yuanfu was actually unwilling to owe favors and ask others to look after his family.

If it was any other family that had been exiled, they might have felt the warmth and coldness of human relations, but the Liu family had already risen and fallen three times, experiencing this all too many times.

Even now, as the Liu family was exiled, there were still people willing to show them favor, betting that the Liu family would rise again.

But even though some were willing to offer favors, Liu Yuanfu was reluctant to owe them. He knew that the debt of gratitude was the hardest to repay.

Listening to his wife’s scolding, Liu Yuanfu crouched in front of the hall, falling into silence.

”Big sister, cook more meat at noon, to nourish the children!” Mrs. Zhang said.

The ones who suffered the most from the downfall from officialdom to the status of exiles weren’t the adults but the children.

Especially those little ones, they were born with silver spoons in their mouths, but now, they had to follow this wretched old man and eat coarse food.

As Mrs. Zhang thought about this, she couldn’t restrain herself from scolding Liu Yuanfu again.