Clan Rise: Starting as a Grandfather

Chapter 90: Chapter 88

”Uncle!”

After dealing with the matter of the exiled criminals, Yang Zhenshan finally had time to meet Lu Wenchun and Lu Wenhua.

In the study, the two brothers stood before Yang Zhenshan both excited and nervous.

Yang Zhenshan poured them two bowls of tea and said, ”Come, sit down and let’s talk!”

His demeanor was very kind.

Because Lu Wenchun and Lu Wenhua had always respected him as their uncle.

In the memories of his former self, the Lu family sent many festival gifts to the Yang family every year, a testament to the old father Lu Songhe’s love for his daughter.

However, whether it was the two older brothers-in-law or these nephews, they had never expressed dissatisfaction with his former self and his wife.

Especially Lu Wenchun, who personally delivered festival gifts to the Yang family.

Lu Wenchun was very close to both his aunt and uncle.

Yang Zhenshan did not inherit the emotions of his former self, but he inherited the memories and knew that these relatives and friends were sincerely good.

Thus, he was also willing to take extra care of the children of the Lu family.

After the brothers sat down, Yang Zhenshan then said, ”Wenchun, go find Ming Hao later and take over the account books from him. From now on, you will be responsible for the accounting.”

”Wenhua, go find Old Li and take over the needlework workshop and charcoal workshop from him.”

Since Yang Zhenshan lacked civil servants around him, Yang Mingwu and others were multitasking, but Yang Zhenshan had already planned to recruit more civil servants to alleviate the burden on Yang Mingwu and others.

”Get familiar with the situation first, don’t rush, be steady in your work!” Yang Zhenshan instructed.

”Yes, uncle, we will do our utmost!” Lu Wenchun said solemnly.

Yang Zhenshan smiled and said, ”I naturally trust you can do well, otherwise I wouldn’t have asked you to come!”

Hearing this, both Lu Wenchun and Lu Wenhua smiled.

Having arranged everything for the two brothers of the Lu family, Yang Zhenshan then called Yang Mingcheng and gave him two hundred taels of silver to speed up the construction of the horse ranch.

With money in hand, there’s no need to panic.

The two thousand taels of silver from Mr. Lu were indeed a timely help.

Without these two thousand taels, the horse ranch might only be shaped by next year.

Now, Yang Zhenshan could go ahead and make a big effort.

After being busy all morning, Yang Zhenshan finally had some time to spare.

”Does Mr. Liu have any dissatisfaction?”

In the study, Yang Zhenshan asked Ming Hao.

”Not at all! They’ve been very honest these past two days, staying inside the courtyard and hardly ever coming out,” Yang Minghao said.

The Liu family had more than thirty people, and Yang Zhenshan had allocated four small courtyards for them to live in.

The newly built houses in the garrison were small courtyards with three main rooms and four side rooms each; housing ten people in one courtyard seemed a bit crowded.

Yang Zhenshan thought for a moment and said, ”Let’s go, and meet this Imperial Censor!”

Upon arriving at the courtyard where Liu Yuanfu was staying, Yang Zhenshan gently knocked on the wooden lattice gate.

The courtyard had a gate, but it was not a sturdy wooden door; instead, it was made from branches as thick as fingers.

It wasn’t that Yang Zhenshan didn’t want to install proper wooden doors for everyone, but door production took time, and he had renovated too quickly to wait for a batch of wooden doors to be ready.

Standing at the gate, through the lattice, one could see everything inside the courtyard.

At that moment, Yang Zhenshan saw old man Liu Yuanfu sitting on the threshold of the main house, holding a copper smoking pipe, and smoking with enjoyment.

Yang Zhenshan was slightly surprised—where did this old man get the smoking pipe and tobacco?

He knew the state of the Liu family when they arrived; apart from some ragged clothes to cover their shame, they had nothing else.

The copper smoking pipe wasn’t cheap, costing at least two or three taels of silver.

Hearing the knocking, Liu Yuanfu looked up, then without saying a word, he continued smoking, drooping his eyelids.

”...”

Yang Zhenshan was speechless.

This old man was somewhat disrespectful!

In his territory, he didn’t show any respect, even though he saw him knocking, he didn’t invite him in.

Yang Zhenshan had no choice but to knock again.

Still ignored.

Knock again!

Still ignored!

Knock again!

Tap tap~

Yang Zhenshan knocked seven or eight times continuously.

Liu Yuanfu could no longer hold back, he looked up and glared at Yang Zhenshan.

”If you want to come in, then come in. Why keep knocking?”

Yang Zhenshan looked at him, ”The old gentleman didn’t let me in—I couldn’t just barge through!”

”This isn’t my mansion, how could I decide?” Liu Yuanfu looked disdainfully at Yang Zhenshan.

Yang Zhenshan was speechless again.

I knocked as a courtesy; you should at least answer!

”Subordinate, Ying River Castle Defense Officer Yang Zhenshan, pays respects to the old gentleman!”

Yang Zhenshan pushed the gate and walked into the courtyard, bowing with his fists.

At this moment, from the eastern wing room, a middle-aged man in his forties came out.

”The convict Liu Zhe greets Master Yang!”

Liu Zhe, wearing a hemp robe that was wrinkled beyond proper form, yet wearing it with an inherent dignity.

Carefree and spontaneous, neither servile nor overbearing.

”Turns out it’s Brother Liu, long-admired your great fame, haha~~” Yang Zhenshan, finding someone to engage with, stopped bothering with that stinky old man, Liu Yuanfu.

Long-admired your great fame!

Liu Zhe looked at Yang Zhenshan in surprise. He was Liu Yuanfu’s eldest son. Although he considered himself well-read, he didn’t have much renown outside.

If it were in the Capital City, it would be normal to hear of his name, but here in this harsh borderland, to say ’long-admired your great fame’ was flattering.

”Does Master Yang have any orders?” Liu Zhe asked, lowering his stance.

Yang Zhenshan glanced at the smoking old man and said, ”There’s something I’d like to ask for Brother Liu’s help with.”

”Don’t hesitate, whatever Master Yang orders!”

”I’ve built a school in the garrison and would like Brother Liu to take charge of it!” Yang Zhenshan stated.

Actually, he wanted to ask Liu Yuanfu, but the old man looked like a tough talker, so he had to settle for Liu Zhe next.

Although Liu Zhe was not an official, he had credentials, being a genuine licentiate.

”School? This~~” Liu Zhe looked towards Liu Yuanfu, who seemed asleep, his eyelids droopy, not uttering a word.

Yang Zhenshan smiled and said, ”The school is divided into two sections, one for the soldiers to learn literacy and arithmetic, and the other for the children within the garrison. Life isn’t easy for military households, and I wanted to provide them with a way out!”

”Even if they can’t pursue formal education, having the enlightenment to recognize words is good!”

”Of course, if there are promising talents, I would also like to support their continued education!”

Hearing this, Liu Zhe was tempted.

They were now criminals; theoretically, after arriving at Yinghe Castle, they should be under Yang Zhenshan’s control, unable to refuse whatever he commanded.

Compared to doing those tiring and heavy chores, being a teacher at the school was undoubtedly more comfortable and respectable.

”Can I do it?” Liu Zhe asked somewhat unconfidently.

They were exiled criminals; it didn’t seem appropriate for them to be teachers.

”With Brother Liu’s scholarly prowess, enlightening a group of children is an underutilization of your talent. As long as Brother Liu doesn’t mind, of course, it’s possible,” Yang Zhenshan smiled and said.

”Then I’m much obliged to Master Yang,” Liu Zhe hesitated slightly before agreeing.

As for Liu Yuanfu, that old man was like a chimney, from beginning to end, save for puffing smoke, he didn’t lift his eyelids once.

”Cough, cough~~” Yang Zhenshan cleared his throat, looking slightly embarrassed as he spoke, ”Schooling in the garrison is free, so the teacher’s tuition fee will be provided by the government office. However, it might not be very high!”

”Free!”

Liu Zhe wasn’t concerned about the amount of the tuition fee; instead, he was very surprised by Yang Zhenshan’s mention of free schooling.

”Yes, military households are impoverished. Asking them to pay for schooling, I suspect very few could afford it,” Yang Zhenshan said.

”How many students will there be in the school?” asked Liu Zhe.

”Not too many in the first batch, probably around forty or so, all between eight to ten years old,” Yang Zhenshan replied.

The school was newly established, and many things were yet to be perfected, hence it was initially just a trial startup.

Children aged eight to ten were ideal; neither too big nor too small, relatively easier to manage.

As for the soldiers’ school, Yang Zhenshan never thought of handing it over to others. He had higher expectations for the soldiers’ school, thus he would personally oversee it.

”Master Yang is truly generous!” Liu Zhe looked at Yang Zhenshan with admiration.

Providing free education to the children of military households, it was the first time Liu Zhe had heard of such a thing in his life.

It’s not that there have been no instances of free schooling, but those were benefits provided by large families for their clan members.

Yang Zhenshan, being the defense officer of Yinghe Castle, the military households within the garrison were his subordinates. Yang Zhenshan’s choice not to exploit them was already considered benevolent, yet he was thinking of providing opportunities for education, which was beyond common benevolence.

Yang Zhenshan just smiled and didn’t argue.

Reading and writing, in his view, were quite ordinary matters.

After all, he came from an era where almost no one was illiterate.

However, having come to this world, Yang Zhenshan would adapt to local customs.

There were some things he wouldn’t do too conspicuously.

His reason for establishing this school was not solely out of kindness; it also included planning for his future.

He wanted to cultivate a group of discerning, strong, disciplined, and capable soldiers, as a foundation for his establishment in this world.

Actually, when he was in Yang Family Village, he planned the same, hence he started by making people like Yang Mingwu literate and also supported the Yang family in establishing a clan school.

Now, his thoughts were clearer. He couldn’t ensure that every soldier would be literate, but he would require that every junior officer must be literate and possess some military acumen and knowledge.

Whether it was training or school, it was all about nurturing more talents.

Yang Mingwu and others were today’s results of his nurturing, and in the future, he hoped to have even more people like Yang Mingwu around him.

”Brother Liu’s tuition fee will be set at three taels of silver per month, does Brother Liu find this agreeable?” Yang Zhenshan said.

”This, actually I can do without the tuition fee!” Liu Zhe felt this role was meaningful, and being an exiled criminal, he shouldn’t take any tuition fee.

Yang Zhenshan smiled and said, ”Brother Liu also has a family to support; you still need money.”

”Besides this, the school will need some more teachers. I hope Brother Liu could allow your relatives or nephews to join the school as teachers!”

Rarely a good opportunity arises, and Yang Zhenshan naturally wanted to benefit more from it.

The Liu family wouldn’t claim to be entirely composed of scholars, but presumably, there were quite a few educated among them.

”No problem, how many people does Master Yang need? I can help Master Yang consider it,” Liu Zhe very readily agreed.

”Apart from Brother Liu, adding six more would be about right,” Yang Zhenshan said.

In his estimation, Yinghe Castle school would have students numbering around two hundred. Sanshan Castle, Xiangyuan Fortress, and Linguan Castle would also establish schools, but that had to wait until after the new year, as currently, he didn’t have the time or energy to manage so much.

Six teachers surely weren’t enough, but Yang Zhenshan didn’t plan to select all from the Liu family. After all, he wasn’t familiar with the Liu family, and he needed to be wary of them.

Certain things can’t all be tied to one rope; otherwise, this rope might become a constraint to oneself.

There might not be a problem in the short term, but over time, the school might not be under his control.

”Many thanks for Master Yang’s care!” Liu Zhe bowed in thanks.

”Hehe, I should be thanking Brother Liu for the help!” Yang Zhenshan quickly returned the gesture.

Afterward, Yang Zhenshan excused himself. Before leaving, he glanced once more at Liu Yuanfu, but alas, Liu Yuanfu didn’t engage with him, and he was too lazy to embarrass himself.