Chapter 2: Chapter 1 Children and Grandchildren Filling the Hall_2 Chapter 2: Chapter 1 Children and Grandchildren Filling the Hall_2 Thinking of home, he thought of his parents, who, although divorced and remarried with their own children, were still quite good to him, never shorting him on alimony and even pooling money to buy him an apartment when he graduated from college.
He lived alone comfortably, although sometimes he felt lonely, most of the time he felt quite free.
But now he…
Talking more would only bring tears!
Yang Zhenshan dared not think further, standing up to examine his own body.
He was about 1.8 meters tall, somewhat frail, with a long scar stretching from his left shoulder to his abdomen, a result of an injury on the battlefield.
That war was nearly fatal, and had he not been so lucky, he would never have been able to return home after his service.
Even though he saved his life, his body suffered considerable damage.
It was manageable when he was younger, but now that he is older, his body is becoming weaker, especially his shoulder which often aches subtly.
Yang Zhenshan frowned as he examined the scar on his body, then he put on a blue cloth shirt and trouser and canvas shoes, vigorously rubbing his face.
“I have to face it even if I don’t want to, I cannot let the original identity collapse, I am Yang Zhenshan, Yang Zhenshan is me!”
The original person did not engage in idle chatter, and neither did Yang Zhenshan. In this respect, the two were somewhat similar.
However, as a modern man, many of Yang Zhenshan’s habits were definitely different from the original.
He could only recall the habits of the original, trying his best to maintain the same persona as the original.
Stepping out of the room, the entire family was already seated at two wooden tables in the hall.
Seeing all these family members made Yang Zhenshan’s feet hesitate.
It was terrifying!
The original’s wife was truly prolific, having five children.
The eldest son, Yang Mingcheng, twenty years old, was burly, having practiced some Martial Arts with the original, though not a Martial Artist, he was quite strong.
He married early at fifteen to Ms. Wang from the neighboring Wang Family Village, and in five years had two children, a grandson just over three years old and a granddaughter just past a hundred days old.
The second son, Yang Mingzhi, eighteen years old, resembled his mother, slightly slimmer and taller than 1.7 meters, quite shorter compared to his elder brother, and was rather reserved, not liking to talk much, also married at fifteen to the Li family from Li Family Village, and had a son last year.
The third child was a daughter, Yang Yunyan, sixteen years old, who had just married over a year ago.
The fourth child, Yang Minghao, fourteen years old, was apprenticing at a blacksmith shop in the county town and was not at home.
The youngest daughter, Yang Yunxue, only ten years old, inheriting her mother’s looks, bright eyed and white-teethed, the treasure of the original’s wife who doted on her, pampered since childhood.
Yang Zhenshan felt a headache, in the past he alone was full and the whole family was not hungry, but now with the entire family besides the married daughter, a total of ten people, the mere thought made his scalp tingle.
Moreover, the household was not wealthy, owning only twenty acres of land, and the harvests had been poor in recent years, making it hard to ensure everyone was fed.
“Dad!”
“Dad!”
“Grandpa!”
As Yang Zhenshan walked out, the whole family called out.
…
Yang Zhenshan was speechless, simply nodding his head before walking to the water well outside the hall, washing his face.
Looking at his own reflection in the basin, Yang Zhenshan felt an urge to cry again.
This isn’t what thirty-eight looks like!
To say he was forty-eight would still feel unfair.
Dark complexion, rough skin, messy beard, white hair at the temples.
I used to be very handsome!
Yang Zhenshan pursed his lips, tied up his long hair, and started observing the courtyard of the house.
This home was the original’s previous home, rebuilt when the original got married, starting with only three tiled rooms, and as the children grew up, the original added several more rooms.
The main house had three rooms: a bedroom, a hall, and a kitchen, with four rooms on each side, the doors facing the southeast and southwest corners of the courtyard, which also had a barn housing a large yellow ox.
Speaking of this household, it wasn’t exactly poor in the past. The original occupant had fought battles, and within these ten and eight villages, he was regarded as a capable man, and his wife came from the Lu family, with a father-in-law who was a Scholar, bringing some dowry when marrying in.
However, as the number of children grew, the daily expenses of the household also surged, and life became poorer.
Still, the family didn’t lack money completely, Yang Zhenshan remembered that the couple had some emergency funds.
Thinking of the silver coins in the cashbox, Yang Zhenshan felt slightly relieved.
He found it cumbersome to support such a large family.
Having some money, he felt a bit more confident.
As for leaving this family, he only thought about it briefly before giving it up.
Although this household was poor, at the very least it gave him a place to settle down.
If he left this household, he wasn’t sure how he would survive in this world.
According to the memory of his predecessor, this world wasn’t a specific dynasty in ancient times but a completely unfamiliar one.
Feudal dynasty, feudal society, life alone would be more difficult.
Therefore, Yang Zhenshan thought it was better to stay in this household, at least he had a large family to rely on.
Well, a house full of children and grandchildren wasn’t entirely a bad thing.
After washing up, Yang Zhenshan returned to the main hall, sitting in his predecessor’s seat, looking at the food on the table.
Two wooden tables were joined together, men inside, women outside, the meal consisted of mixed grain porridge and corn cakes, with only two dishes, salted vegetables, and wild vegetable soup, not a trace of oil to be seen.
The meal was prepared by the eldest daughter-in-law, Ms. Wang, a plump woman who apparently snacked on the food often while cooking, or else she wouldn’t have been this plump.
The whole family waited eagerly, staring at Yang Zhenshan, who kept a stern face and mimicked his predecessor’s tone, saying, “Eat!”
He was the head of the household, without his word, no one else could start eating.
Feudal society had many rules.
But thinking it over, being a grandfather wasn’t so bad; the farm work was done by his sons, and the household chores were handled by his daughters-in-law, he as the head of the household held absolute authority.
The food was really hard to swallow, but Yang Zhenshan was genuinely hungry, no matter how unappetizing the food was, he had to eat it.
Moreover, they only ate twice a day, if he skipped breakfast, then he had to wait till dinner.
Yang Zhenshan braved through and drank a bowl of mixed grain porridge, pushing down the hunger in his stomach, after which he simply couldn’t eat anymore.
He could stomach the mixed grain porridge, but he really couldn’t swallow the corn cakes.
The corn cakes were very coarse, scratching his throat as he swallowed, even when washed down with wild vegetable soup, it was unpleasant.
He took a bite of the corn cake and then put it down.
“Grandpa, let me give you my porridge!” The eldest grandson Yang Chengye saw that Yang Zhenshan had only one bowl of porridge and pushed his own towards Yang Zhenshan.
Yang Zhenshan looked at the child before him with a complicated gaze.
The grandson, at just three years old, already knew to show filial respect, oh, I feel, I feel…
Go away, you’re not my grandson!
“Grandpa is not hungry, Chengye eat!” Yang Zhenshan reached out, rubbed his grandson’s head, and sighed softly.
He really didn’t want this grandson deep inside, but no matter his reluctance, he couldn’t blame a child.
“Finish eating and then go work the fields, I will rest for a while!”
Yang Zhenshan felt distressed, left those words behind, and walked back to his own room.
“What’s wrong with Dad?” The second son Yang Mingzhi asked quietly while watching Yang Zhenshan’s retreating back.
Although Yang Zhenshan deliberately maintained his predecessor’s habits, his children could still sense something different about him today.
“Maybe he’s thinking of Mom!”
The eldest son Yang Mingcheng recalled Yang Zhenshan’s appearance in the room and said.
Upon the mention of their mother, the whole family sank into a state of missing her.