Clan Rise: Starting as a Grandfather

Chapter 98: Chapter 95: Jiang He and his wife arrive

”Uh, no need to mention her!”

Yang Zhenshan stopped Ms. Song from letting her daughter speak and then looked up at the four maidservants beside him.

These maidservants were from military households in Chongshan Town that could no longer make ends meet and sold themselves to a broker, all aged between twelve and fifteen.

Their names were all contemptuous ones like Big Maid, Second Maid, Third Maid, and so on.

Yang Zhenshan had no choice but to name them himself.

”Spring has its flowers, autumn its moon; summer has its breezes, winter its snow. If the heart is untroubled by petty concerns, all seasons are good times.”

”From now on, you four will be called Chunhua, Qiuyue, Xia Feng, and Dong Xue!”

This poem was one that Yang Zhenshan liked very much in his previous life, and today it just so happened to come in handy.

”Thank you, Master, for granting us our names!” The four young maidservants hurriedly bowed in thanks.

Yang Zhenshan nodded and began assigning jobs to everyone.

”Wu Hai is the steward, Ding Qiu is the guard; from now on, you two will follow me!”

”Yes!” The two men quickly responded and felt relieved in their hearts.

”Wu Da to follow the eldest, Wu Er to follow the second; Ding Cheng to follow the third!”

”Ms. Li and Chunhua to accompany the first lady, Ms. Song and Qiuyue to accompany the second lady, Xia Feng to accompany the young mistress, Dong Xue to accompany Yun Qiao!”

”Ding Lu to follow Lin Zhan!”

Yang Zhenshan had everything planned, each person put to their best use and none idle.

”Master, I don’t need it!” Lin Zhan stood up somewhat uncomfortably and said.

The Yang family had provided for him with food and clothing, education, and martial arts training, and he was already very grateful, not daring to even think about having a servant to wait on him.

”Master, I don’t need it either!” Wang Yun Qiao followed suit.

Yang Zhenshan shook his head slightly, ”They are still young and can’t do much; in the future, they can act as Attendant Students for you or help with miscellaneous tasks!”

”Moreover, all the Yang family’s servants must be literate and must also train in martial arts with their masters!”

”Whoever’s people, train them yourself!”

”Alright, this matter is settled. Whose people, lead them away yourselves!”

”You two, follow me!”

After speaking, Yang Zhenshan no longer paid attention to everyone and returned to the main hall with Wu Hai and Ding Qiu.

After asking about Ding Qiu’s background and learning that he practiced saber skills, he equipped him with a long saber.

As for Wu Hai, he was already so old that even if he began training now, he couldn’t become a Martial Artist, so Yang Zhenshan didn’t insist.

After giving a simple instruction, Yang Zhenshan let them go to familiarize themselves with the environment.

Having these servants made the house look a lot more lively and certainly lightened the load on Ms. Wang.

However, the expenses of the Yang family also increased significantly.

The Yang family was responsible for the food, clothing, shelter, and transportation of the servants, and Yang Zhenshan also had to pay them monthly.

Fortunately, the horse ranch was now sizable, and Yang Zhenshan was not short of Silver Coin.

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In the following days, Yang Zhenshan focused on training soldiers while also organizing his ”Training Soldiers in Reality.”

Time unknowingly moved on to the 28th day of the first month.

A lively noise filled the training field by the river outside Yinghe Castle.

The four-month training session was nearing its end. A total of 873 people completed the basic training, and some had yet to finish the actual combat and formation training.

However, this did not affect the martial arts competition, as only Martial Artists could participate in it.

It was pointless for non-Martial Artists to participate, even if they did.

In fact, the martial arts competition was very simple, with only twenty-three participants in total.

Yang Zhenshan had promised twenty official positions, and for the remaining three, he would not mistreat them and would arrange for them a General Flag position.

Among the over one thousand people, there were only these twenty or so Martial Artists, talents that Yang Zhenshan could ill afford to waste.

The martial arts competition lasted for two hours, and the spectating crowd was very excited, but in Yang Zhenshan’s eyes, it was like chicks pecking at rice.

With his current level of vision and cultivation, Martial Artists below the Acquired level were not worth mentioning.

When the martial arts competition ended, the victors from the cavalry and infantry were Song Dashan and Ren Sheng, respectively.

Song Dashan was originally a Scout, and although he had lain low for over a decade, he had recently been following Yang Zhenshan and had not been deprived of Spiritual Spring Water. Now, his cultivation had reached the peak of the Refining Power Level, not the slightest bit inferior to Yang Mingwu.

As for Ren Sheng, he was a young man in his early twenties with Bone Shifting Level cultivation. Although his strength was not outstanding, he was already considered a master within the four forts like Yinghe Castle and Sanshan Castle.

According to his previous promise, Yang Zhenshan granted Song Dashan and Ren Sheng the rank of Hundred Households, and he also appointed two more as Trial Hundred Households—Qian Yunhe and Sun Yuan.

The rest of the participants were all assigned the rank of General Flag.

Song Dashan would still follow Yang Zhenshan, and the hundred cavalry he led would serve as Yang Zhenshan’s personal guard.

Qian Yunhe was also a Scout by origin, around thirty years old, and with a mature and steady personality. Yang Zhenshan assigned him under Yang Mingwu’s command.

The remaining three hundred cavalry, another hundred cavalry were given to Yang Mingzhi, with Yang Qinwu serving as a Hundred Households under his command.

Yang Qinwu’s was very young; Yang Mingzhi could help him manage his troops.

Apart from this, Yang Zhenshan selected three men from the young members of the Yang family to serve as Hundred Households, while the others were all brought to his side.

Although these young members of the Yang family had been brought out from Yang Family Village at the same time, each person’s talent and capability were different, and the positions Yang Zhenshan arranged for them differed accordingly.

Like Yang Chengze, Yang Chengxu, and Yang Chengche, they had different temperaments but all possessed certain managerial abilities, so Yang Zhenshan let them serve as garrison commanders and considered them his most important support.

Others also had managerial abilities or were not articulate but had a good talent for martial arts, individuals who should not lead troops but could go far in the martial path.

Yang Zhenshan would not be biased and simply put the right person in the right job to utilize their individual strengths.

The martial arts competition was over, but training had not ended.

The three hundred cavalries were now formed, but their riding skills were not yet elite.

He still remembered Zhou Lan had promised him that if he could train three hundred elite cavalry, she would give him another three hundred war horses.

Naturally, Yang Zhenshan preferred cavalry over infantry.

So he was still urging the soldiers to train hard.

On the thirtieth day of the first month.

Jiang He, Yang Yunyan, and little Jiang Ning came to Yinghe Castle.

”Daughter kowtows to Dad!”

”Son-in-law pays respects to father-in-law!”

In the government’s backyard, the couple plopped down on their knees and kowtowed thrice to Yang Zhenshan the instant they saw him, even though he tried to stop them.

”Get up, get up, there’s no need for such formal kowtowing!”

Yang Zhenshan helped Jiang He up, while Yang Yunyan, holding her child, also stood up.

After sizing her up and seeing that her face was rosy and her body plump, Yang Zhenshan nodded in satisfaction.

He still cared deeply for this daughter-in-law. Although Yang Yunxue had always been by his side, he remembered that the first new piece of clothing he received in this world was made by Yang Yunyan.

That was the first time he felt filial piety from a daughter, well, although he didn’t want it at the time, it still warmed his heart.

”Here’s little Ning, let grandpa hold you!”

Yang Zhenshan took the child from Yang Yunyan’s arms.

The little one was over ten months old, fair and tender, looking exceptionally adorable.

”Come on, call me grandpa!”

Yang Zhenshan teased the baby.

Unfortunately, the little guy was not giving face; he suddenly started crying with a wail.

Leaving Yang Zhenshan in quite a fluster.

He wondered why he felt so unwelcoming to babies.

Yang Qingwan used to cry when held by him, as did Wang Mingzhe later, and now Jiang Ning was the same.

Hmm, and that grandson who was less than a month old also didn’t want to be held by him.

But it seemed to get better as they grew older.

Now, Yang Qingwan and Wang Mingzhe no longer avoid him and even liked clinging to him.

Yang Yunyan took the child back, and it took quite some time to soothe him.

”Dad, Ning is just shy,” said Yang Yunyan somewhat embarrassed.

”No worries, your little nephew is the same, crying the moment I hold him!” Yang Zhenshan still harbored some complaints.

He thought of himself as a very kind person, uh, a kind old man, and should be liked by children.

”Grandpa, I won’t cry, hold me, Grandpa!”

At this, Yang Chengmao ran over, stretching out his arms wanting to be held.

All the grievances on Yang Zhenshan’s face vanished as he gladly picked up the little one.

”Let’s all sit down and talk.”

The main room was large enough to seat more than a dozen people with no problem.

But Jiang He sat very stiffly, as if a taut string was holding him, motionless.

Although this was his father-in-law’s house, his father-in-law now was different from before.

He used to be scared of his father-in-law, thinking the old man had a temper, but now he was not only scared but also in awe.

The father-in-law had become an official lord, his demeanor was different than before, and under his command were many soldiers, and the house had many servants.

He wondered if his father-in-law was satisfied with him as a son-in-law; what if he wasn’t?

Thinking of the words his brothers had entrusted to him on his way here, Jiang He’s heart began to thump uncontrollably.

Yang Zhenshan noticed Jiang He’s nervousness but didn’t mind it; he first inquired about the situation of the Jiang family and chatted about domestic matters, then he moved on to the business at hand.

”Your brother has already prepared a set of houses next door for you two. You’ll be living next door for now!”

The government’s backyard was already full, and it wasn’t suitable for Jiang He and his wife to stay.

However, there were several empty houses within the garrison, so lodging was not a concern.

”If you need anything, talk to your brother, don’t be shy with him!”

”Dad, I understand,” Yang Yunyan obediently replied.

”Hmm, Jiang He!” Yang Zhenshan looked at Jiang He.

”Ah, Dad!” Jiang He snapped back to attention.

”From now on, you will help your brother manage the family’s properties, and you’ll receive ten Silver per month,” Yang Zhenshan said.

”There’ll be a monthly payment? Dad, there’s no need, I’m just helping out the family, it’s not about the money!” Jiang He immediately refused without thinking.

”Without a monthly payment, how will you support the family in the future? You might not want it, but do you want my daughter to suffer hardships?” Yang Zhenshan said, not in the best of moods.

The Yang family’s properties weren’t extensive – there were only over a hundred mu of farmland in Anning County and a horse farm.

However, Yang Zhenshan was not short of Silver; the horse farm had bought a batch of mares and foals, and those foals, after being raised for a year and a half, could be exchanged for a hefty sum of Silver.

Using the Spiritual Spring Water for raising horses would be enough to make the Yang family prosper, so Yang Zhenshan was not worried about Silver at the moment.

Given Jiang He a monthly payment was also to maintain his dignity, as after all, he was a son-in-law, not a son.

If it were his son, Yang Zhenshan wouldn’t need to say much – whatever he gave to his son would suffice.

”I understand that!” Jiang He replied.