Clan Rise: Starting as a Grandfather

Chapter 526: Chapter 471 Yu Qingyi Feels She Can No Longer Manage This Family!_2

”Why?” Pang Tang was perplexed.

Zhou Lan’s lips slightly curled, ”Because the waters of the Capital City are deeper than you and I could imagine!”

Whether the waters of the Capital City would be turbulent does not depend on whether there will be upheaval at the court, but on whether the cornerstone deep beneath the waters can suppress the waves.

Most people think the court is the foundation of Da Rong, but Zhou Lan knows that the court is merely the façade of Da Rong.

Be it the court or Imperial City, no matter how tumultuous the surface waters are, as long as the cornerstone deep below remains steadfast, the Capital City will not descend into chaos.

Clearly, Zhou Lan knows far more than Pang Tang when it comes to understanding the depth of the court.

Inside the carriage behind them, Zhang Mingzhong was also looking towards the departing convoy, a faint smile on his lips, without a hint of worry.

Meanwhile, among the procession, Yang Zhenshan was idly chatting with Yu Qingyi in the carriage.

This time, those accompanying them to the Capital City numbered around five to six hundred people. Firstly, there were the members of the Yang family, with the Li and Liang families remaining in Chongshan Town; they only brought along the two young girls, Yang Wanrong and Yang Wan Ning, while everyone else followed Yang Zhenshan to the Capital.

Next were the Yang family’s servants and guards. Two hundred servants and one hundred guards would accompany them into the Capital, while the rest remained in Chongshan Town to serve Yang Mingzhi and Yang Minghao, and to manage the Yang family’s properties in Chongshan Town and Liaodong.

Lastly, there were the Personal Followers and the Personal Guard Camp that stayed by Yang Zhenshan’s side. Twenty Personal Followers and two hundred guards from the Personal Guard Camp all followed Yang Zhenshan to the Capital. However, starting today, they were no longer soldiers in the military but rather the house servants and protectors of the Yang family.

In fact, Yang Zhenshan had wanted the Personal Guard Camp to stay in Chongshan Town, he even planned to allocate them to Yang Mingzhi and Yang Minghao, but the soldiers of the Personal Guard Camp were unwilling; they only wished to follow Yang Zhenshan.

This left Yang Zhenshan both helpless and touched, and in the end, he had no choice but to let them accompany him to the Capital.

However, they entered the Capital separately. The first convoy had departed ten days earlier, bringing most of the Yang family’s assets ahead.

Another group would follow once Wu Hai had put the Yang family’s affairs in Chongshan Town in order, bringing the remaining people to the Capital.

Thus, the convoy that Yang Zhenshan was part of comprised only over a hundred people.

Inside the carriage.

Yang Zhenshan lounged on the soft couch, casually mentioning, ”I remember our family owns a big manor in Wanping County.”

”Mhm, there is one indeed, with over two thousand acres!” Yu Qingyi said.

”Only two thousand acres?” Yang Zhenshan wondered.

”Two thousand acres is already quite substantial. Land in Wanping County is much more expensive than here in Chongshan Town!” Yu Qingyi said, a little annoyed.

These were properties she had purchased, and yet Yang Zhenshan seemed to find them insufficient.

Wanping County was one of the two counties under the jurisdiction of Shuntian Prefecture, and many powerful families of the Capital owned properties there. It was not until after a long wait that Yu Qingyi managed to purchase several manors in Wanping County.

”The two hundred brothers from the Personal Guard Camp, as well as Wang Lei, Li Chang and the others, add up to two hundred and twenty people! Surely we must allocate at least fifty acres per person!”

”Right, and those ten disciples of yours also shouldn’t be shortchanged; when the time comes, give them fifty acres as well!”

Yang Zhenshan counted on his fingers.

The Yang Family Guards were mostly the Yang family’s servants, bound by servitude contracts to the Yang family, who could simply give them a monthly stipend.

But the brothers from the Personal Guard Camp were not the Yang family’s servants; at most, they could be considered hired guards, so a mere stipend clearly wouldn’t suffice.

Allocating fifty acres per person to settle their families was also meant to alleviate their concerns for the future.

”Then we would have to use up all three manors our family has in Wanping County!” Yu Qingyi calculated and spoke.

”Just a few manors, give them away! Once we settle down, have someone help them move their families over. Also, have the houses in the manor renovated,” Yang Zhenshan said nonchalantly.

Yu Qingyi nodded, ”What about their stipend? How much should we give?”

Yang Zhenshan was a bit conflicted, as this was indeed difficult to assess.

The soldiers of the Personal Guard Camp had considerable cultivation. In the military, they could at least hold the position of a thousand commander, or be a Commander or Deputy Magistrate in the garrison.

Since they were willing to give up their official positions to follow Yang Zhenshan, he naturally couldn’t let them down.

But how much silver would be appropriate?

”Shall we give them the same as what Wu Zhan and the others get?” Yang Zhenshan hesitated.

Yu Qingyi turned gloomy, ”That would be forty-eight thousand taels a year!”

The Yang family paid their servants quite well; the usual maids and old women each received three to four taels of silver a month, while guards received ten taels, which was seven to eight times more than what other major households paid their servants.

But considering their capabilities, the amount the Yang family paid was actually not a lot, as most of the servants in the Yang family were Martial Artists.

A monthly salary of a few taels for a Martial Artist, even one at the Body Refining Realm, was clearly unreasonable.

However, their servitude contracts were held by the Yang family, and they were trained by the Yang family. Moreover, the Yang family had always been very kind to them, so the Yang family servants did not have much dissatisfaction.

The Yang family’s servants might be given less monthly, but other people couldn’t be given too little.

For example, Wu Zhan and Wu Zheng each received a monthly stipend of two hundred taels.

The same went for the Personal Followers close to Yang Zhenshan.

Naturally, the brothers from the Personal Guard Camp couldn’t be given less.

Just the Personal Guard Camp alone would nearly need fifty thousand taels a year, and if you added the Yang family’s other expenses, it’s feared that the annual total expense couldn’t be kept under seventy to eighty thousand taels.

Currently, even though the Yang family had many assets, the actual income per year was only around twenty to thirty thousand taels.

Previously, the income and expenditure were barely in balance, but it was sure to become unsustainable in the future.

Yu Qingyi felt that she couldn’t manage this household!

In fact, this is a common situation among noble families. They may seem prosperous, but in reality, they all struggle over finances.

Why are there so many corrupt officials? Isn’t it because there are too many places to spend silver?

Maintaining a few Martial Arts Masters as guards could cost several thousands or tens of thousands of taels a year, and the expenses to nurture Martial Artists were similarly not small.

Thus, despite the seemingly infinite glory of those nobles in the Capital, they are in fact not as well off as the Yang family.

”No worries, I still have some silver here, I will give you some to subsidize household expenses! Also, after we get to the Capital City, find Luo Shang and settle the shares for the glass business. From then on, the Luo family’s glass business, our Yang family will take a thirty percent share.”

Yang Zhenshan had no reservations about taking the Luo family’s silver.

In fact, over the years, the Luo family had not stopped sending gifts to the Yang family. Many of the Yang family’s shops and manors were given by the Luo family.

”The Family Head of the Luo family won’t object?” Yu Qingyi inquired.

Yang Zhenshan smiled, ”Would he object? He’d be overjoyed!”

The fact that the Yang family was willing to take a share of the Luo family’s business meant that the Yang family was showing care for the Luo family. It signified that from then on, the Luo family’s glass business was also the Yang family’s business. It wouldn’t matter if the Luo family had to give up seventy or eighty percent; Luo Shang wouldn’t object, and would even gladly offer up the business dealings.

”That’s reassuring!” Yu Qingyi said, understandingly.