Clan Rise: Starting as a Grandfather

Chapter 131: Chapter 127: Saving a Dowry for Daughter

Inside the private room, Yang Zhenshan stroked his beard and nodded slightly as he looked at the delicacies served up.

Although he hadn’t tasted them yet, the aroma was still very tempting.

”Grandpa!”

Yang Qingwan looked at Yang Zhenshan with her big eyes blinking, and her expression seemed to say I want to eat, I want to eat, I want to eat.

Beside her, Yang Chengye watched the braised fish in front of him intently, occasionally sniffing with his little nose.

As for Wang Mingzhe, the little guy was still sound asleep.

Yang Zhenshan didn’t speak, and the two little ones didn’t dare to start eating either—it was a rule.

”Go ahead and eat!” Yang Zhenshan smiled, picked up some fried bean sprouts with his chopsticks, and took a bite.

The taste wasn’t bad!

Fuyun Building indeed lived up to its reputation as the best restaurant in the city.

But it’s the cost that was a bit frightening.

A plate of bean sprouts actually cost four silver coins.

It’s not the bean sprouts we’re eating—it’s silver coins!

But then again, there’s a reason for the high price.

Bean sprouts are easy to grow, but it’s not easy to grow them in winter.

There are no greenhouses here, and only big households can afford to use warm houses, which rely entirely on burning wood and coal to maintain the temperature.

Not to mention the construction costs of a warm house, the cost of burning the wood and coal alone was not something ordinary people could afford.

If you think about it, selling a plate of bean sprouts for four silver coins is not incomprehensible.

”I wonder if I should grow some vegetables in the Spiritual Spring Space?”

Yang Zhenshan pondered to himself while eating.

However, he quickly dismissed the idea—he wasn’t a vegetable farmer, and he didn’t have the time and energy to tend to a vegetable garden.

And it would be hard to explain.

To indulge in such self-imposed trouble just to satisfy a craving didn’t seem worthwhile to Yang Zhenshan.

The two little ones were eating joyfully. Speaking of which, the Yang family’s meals were not bad, but they weren’t luxurious. The daily food was just ordinary, certainly not as good as at Fuyun Building.

Since the two little ones rarely got to eat out, Yang Zhenshan naturally wouldn’t be stingy.

”How is it? If there’s anything you like, we can order another serving!”

”Uh... Grandpa, no need, I’m full!” Yang Qingwan patted her round belly and burped contentedly.

Yang Zhenshan stroked his beard, looking somewhat embarrassed.

He seemed to have done something wrong.

Children shouldn’t overeat; eating too much could lead to indigestion, and looking at the little girl, she probably ate too much.

It was his fault. Although he already had three grandsons and one granddaughter, he seldom took care of the children.

In the past, it was up to the parents to take care of their own children. Later, when they had servants, nannies, and maids would help with the children, and he would only occasionally spend time with the kids, never really knowing how to take care of them.

It was his first time taking the children out.

This meal might have caused the two kids to suffer from overeating!

Yang Zhenshan hurriedly picked up the little girl and asked, ”Did you eat too much?”

”You little glutton!”

He gently rubbed the little girl’s belly.

”Grandpa, it was delicious!” Yang Qingwan said cutely.

Yang Zhenshan was helpless.

Her belly was indeed full, round and plump.

”Come on, Grandpa will take you out for a walk!”

They needed to digest the food first; otherwise, they’ll be uncomfortable when they get back.

”Wu Hai!”

”Master! Your servant is here!” Wu Hai walked in from outside.

”Keep an eye on Mingzhe here. When he wakes up, let him eat something!” Yang Zhenshan looked at Wang Mingzhe, lying across two chairs asleep, and felt a bit of a headache.

These kids are not easy to deal with.

One can’t get enough sleep, one has overeaten, and another one is trying to sneak out.

”Grandpa, hurry, let’s go over there!” Yang Chengye had already run outside the private room.

Yang Zhenshan quickly followed, carrying the little girl.

As Yang Chengye was running down the stairs, someone happened to come up from downstairs and bumped into Yang Chengye.

”Ouch!”

The boy didn’t watch where he was going, hit the person’s leg head-on, couldn’t steady himself, and plopped down onto the stairs.

”Little guy, you bumped into me!”

Yang Chengye quickly stood up and said, ”Sorry, it’s the child’s lack of manners that caused him to bump into the lady!”

Despite his young age, Yang Chengye was a child who understood etiquette.

The person he bumped into was a woman, who looked to be in her twenties, dressed in a green satin padded jacket, draped in a fiery red fox fur shawl, with a lady’s hair bun on her head adorned with a bejeweled silver hairpin, and was followed by two nannies and two maids.

The woman, seeing Yang Chengye’s apology, did not dwell on the incident, merely saying, ”It’s crowded here, be careful not to run about,” and then went upstairs.

And as she went upstairs, Yang Zhenshan was standing at the top of the stairs.

Yang Zhenshan stepped back to make way.

”I apologize for my grandson’s rudeness, and I beg the lady’s pardon!”

As a grandfather, he naturally needed to apologize when his grandson bumped into someone.

The woman looked at Yang Zhenshan, was momentarily surprised, then smiled and said, ”No need to be so courteous over a trivial matter—it’s nothing to worry about!”

Having said that, she turned and entered the private room on the left.

Yang Zhenshan didn’t pay much attention to this small incident and caught up with Yang Chengye, taking him into his arms.

”If you dare to run around again, you’ll have to copy the Three Character Classic ten times!”

Five-year-old Yang Chengye had already started his elementary education. Back in Yinghe Castle, he had begun learning in school with Lin Zhan, and after arriving in An Yuan State City, he continued to study and learn with Lin Zhan.

”Ah!” Yang Chengye was startled, ”Grandpa, I won’t run around anymore! I know I was wrong!”

Copying books was the punishment the boy feared the most.

Yang Zhenshan had never actually punished him that way, but Ms. Wang often did.

”Good to know you’ve realized your mistake!”

Yang Zhenshan wasn’t really going to punish him; he was just giving the boy a scare.

He was dragging a kid with one hand, heading towards the outside of the restaurant.

Just as they left the restaurant, the woman on the second floor looked toward his retreating figure.

”Who is this person?” the woman asked softly.

The old maidservant behind her shook her head slightly and said, ”He seems not to be from the state city; this old servant has never seen this person before.”

”Can you make out his cultivation?” the woman continued to ask.

”I can’t see it, but this person has a vigorous spirit and an extraordinary aura. Even faintly, he emanates a strong killing intent, perhaps he is a battle-hardened warrior!” said the old maidservant.

Without clashing, it is very difficult for martial artists to perceive the cultivation of a stranger.

However, there is a considerable difference between powerful martial artists and those of lower tiers; every move can reveal some clues.

And killing intent, though invisible and untouchable, truly exists.

Some martial artists with keen senses can still feel it.

Yang Zhenshan, as a Military Officer who has been to battlefields numerous times, having slain hundreds on his spear, naturally bears an indelible aura of killing intent.

The woman looked towards the entrance of the restaurant and turned back to enter the private room.

”Follow him and find out his identity!”

”Yes!” The old maidservant responded and then left the private room.

At this time, Yang Zhenshan was already strolling on the streets with the two little ones.

They first visited a bookstore, where Yang Zhenshan scoured for some military strategy books and martial arts texts.

Then they went to a jewelry shop, where despite her small size, the little girl already knew to appreciate beauty, so Yang Zhenshan bought her a few pearl hair accessories.

He also bought some for Yang Yunxue and Wang Yunqiao as a matter of course.

A child without a mother is like a blade of grass; although Yang Yunxue and Wang Yunqiao couldn’t be considered grass, they still lacked in some areas of care.

Naturally, Yang Zhenshan, as both a father and a master, couldn’t often take them to visit jewelry shops, and although Ms. Wang, being the elder sister-in-law, couldn’t be expected to take meticulous care of her younger sisters-in-law.

It was rare to come to a jewelry shop, so Yang Zhenshan definitely couldn’t forget about his daughter and disciple.

Looking at various types of jewelry, Yang Zhenshan suddenly thought of something.

That is to prepare a dowry for his daughter!

Here, the dowries of daughters from big households are accumulated from a young age.

Gold and silver jewelry, all sorts of gemstones, pearls, and jade must be slowly collected as they cannot be bought all at once.

For a normal official’s daughter, the dowry typically includes sixty-four loads, and if from a generational official family, perhaps one hundred and twenty-eight loads, in addition to land, shops, houses, etc.

Previously, the Yang family were farmers and naturally did not need to consider these things.

But now that the Yang family is considered among the official class, when Yang Yunxue gets married, considerations of a match in social status are necessary, and the dowry cannot be neglected.

The dowry represents a daughter’s face, her confidence within the marital family.

Yang Yunxue is almost thirteen this year, approaching the age for marriage talks. Even if she marries at sixteen, it is time to start preparing the dowry.

”Accumulating a dowry for my daughter!”

Yang Zhenshan found this quite amusing.

He looked at the jewelry on the counter, thought for a moment, and asked the Shopkeeper, ”Do you have gemstones here?”

”Yes, sir, what kind of gemstones would you like? We have rubies, sapphires, lapis lazuli, crystals, and more,” replied the Shopkeeper enthusiastically.

”Rubies then!” Yang Zhenshan said.

The Shopkeeper did not dawdle and directly brought out a plate of rubies from the back.

Among them, there were actually two rubies the size of a thumb.

”How much for these two?”

”Eighty silvers!” replied the Shopkeeper with a beaming smile, ”The gentleman may also custom-order jewelry at our shop.”

Yang Zhenshan looked at the rubies on the wooden plate, scratching his head in uncertainty.

He did not know much about the jewelry here; previously, Zhou Lan had sent over some headpieces for the Yang family, including hairpins, ornaments, pendants, and over a dozen types of jewelry, and he couldn’t even recall the names of those pieces.

However, his ignorance didn’t matter as there was a professional right before him.

Soon after, he placed a custom order for a set of ruby jewelry as recommended by the Shopkeeper.

A set of jewelry, all embedded with rubies, cost five hundred and eighty silvers!

Hearing this number, Yang Zhenshan couldn’t help but click his tongue in astonishment.

Indeed, no matter where you go, women’s money is the easiest to make.

A set of jewelry actually cost five hundred and eighty silvers, and the key here was that this wasn’t even the most expensive.

An Yuan State City was only a state city, the jewelry made by the shops here surely wasn’t the top-grade jewelry of Da Rong.

While Yang Zhenshan was out with the children, within a separate compound in Chongshan Pass, Wei Cen stood respectfully in front of Lv Hua.

Lv Hua, dressed in a luxurious moon-white robe, leaned on the soft couch, his expression calm while looking at the book in his hands.

Wei Cen stood before him and detailed every part of his encounter with Yang Zhenshan as well as every word Yang Zhenshan had said.

”My service was inadequate; I ask the commander for punishment!”

After finishing his report, he knelt down to accept his punishment.

”Indeed, your performance was inadequate, but the fault lies not with you but with my underestimation of this Master Yang!” Lv Hua said calmly while flipping through the pages of his book.

Wei Cen remained silent, kneeling on the ground.

”Is his cultivation higher than yours?” Lv Hua then inquired.

”I do not know, but I feel he is very dangerous!” replied Wei Cen.

”Heh-heh~~” Lv Hua chuckled lightly, closing the book in his hand that was conspicuously titled ’Military Training Record.’

”Miss Zhou has indeed found herself quite the talent!”

”Skilled in military training, versed in military strategy, daring to face enemies, and furthermore, possessing talents in governance, hmm, his strength isn’t weak either!”

”If this man didn’t have a clear background, I would have suspected him of having ulterior motives!”

Lv Hua spoke calmly, seemingly addressing Wei Cen, yet also as if he were speaking to himself.

”Since he wants to know, then tell him!”

Lv Hua sat up, looking at Wei Cen, ”Inadequate performance deserves punishment, so you shall assist him as your punishment. Whatever he wants to know, you may tell him, whatever he wishes to do, you may support him!”

”Do you understand?”

”I understand!” Wei Cen breathed a sigh of relief internally.

If one’s work was inadequate, punishment was to be expected, according to Lv Hua’s rules.

Claims that it was his own fault were just deceiving, and one might suffer greatly for really believing that.

Wei Cen was very familiar with the temper of his commander; he knew Lv Hua would definitely punish him, hence he had remained kneeling on the ground.

Fortunately, Lv Hua didn’t get angry, and this punishment was hardly a punishment, resembling more of an external assignment.

As for cooperating with Yang Zhenshan, the word ’all’ should not be taken literally. There is a prerequisite to ’all,’ and that is, it must not violate the principles of the Secret Martial Guards.