Chapter 35: Chapter 34 Zhou Lan’s Thank You Gift Chapter 35: Chapter 34 Zhou Lan’s Thank You Gift Upon arriving at the west end of the village, Yang Zhenshan called over the heads of the household tenants who were busy with soil clod work.
“Old Man Fu, from now on, you will manage these four families. I will entrust you with the ox, which will be used for plowing on a rotational basis,”
Yang Zhenshan said to a hunchbacked old man.
“Rest assured, my lord, this old man will certainly take good care of the ox,” the old man’s face beamed with a gratifying smile as he spoke.
My lord!
A twitch flickered in the corner of Yang Zhenshan’s eye; he had also become a lord!
He felt somewhat uncomfortable with this address.
However, he also understood there were some things he must get used to.
Ascending from the peasant class to the exploiting class, he had no choice but to adapt.
Currently, he was only facing tenants, but in the future, he would encounter servants as the Yang family grew in strength – it was inevitable that servants would enter the Yang family.
“This is my eldest son; he will be responsible for the matters of the fields in the future. If you have any issues, you can seek him out!” Yang Zhenshan introduced Yang Mingcheng to the four tenant families.
Out of the three brothers, it was Yang Mingcheng who was the best at farming.
To tell the truth, having the current Yang Mingcheng in charge of farming was somewhat beneath his abilities, given that he was now a Martial Artist.
But Yang Zhenshan had his own considerations.
In this world, social hierarchy and proper order are emphasized, as is the distinction between legitimate and illegitimate children.
Although the Yang family had no such illegitimate offspring, the principle of seniority must be observed.
When Yang Zhenshan was present, he naturally led the Yang family, but in his absence, it would be Yang Mingcheng’s role to take on that responsibility.
Previously, Yang Zhenshan had Yang Mingzhi join the training and participate in combat, while Yang Mingcheng was assigned to take care of the women and children at home, reflecting this consideration.
In the future, if the Yang family were to operate similarly, with Yang Zhenshan traveling outside, he would likely bring along Yang Mingzhi and Yang Minghao, leaving Yang Mingcheng in charge of defending the home.
Now that Yang Mingcheng is tasked with the family’s fields, later on, he will be responsible for all of the family’s industries.
Beyond these matters, personality is another reason for Yang Zhenshan’s decision.
Yang Mingcheng, being honest and sincere, with a down-to-earth personality, is not suited for making a foray into the world. In contrast, Yang Mingzhi is more shrewd and clever, capable of serving as Yang Zhenshan’s right-hand man when away from home.
As for Yang Minghao, ha, that good-for-nothing always dreams of getting married; Yang Zhenshan even suspects his head is filled with nothing but water.
A foolish son, Yang Zhenshan couldn’t be bothered with him.
“The old man pays his respects to the young master!” Old Man Fu bowed to Yang Mingcheng.
Yang Mingcheng smiled somewhat sheepishly, “There’s no need for that!”
However, Old Man Fu kept to his ways, persistently addressing Yang Zhenshan as ‘my lord’ and Yang Mingcheng as ‘young master’.
Having been a tenant his whole life, he clearly understood the penchant for face-saving among the village gentry and landlords; even though Yang Zhenshan and Yang Mingcheng seemed very affable, he dared not show the slightest disrespect.
Because they would continue to depend on the Yang family for their livelihood.
Don’t think being a tenant is like being a worker who can simply quit or strike; the tenants’ greatest fear is their landlord encountering troubles, for then they’d need to find a new landlord.
Of course, they also dread being driven away by their landlord.
They are tenants, and being evicted means losing a year’s harvest, which for them, is a matter of life and death.
Yang Zhenshan didn’t care whether Yang Mingcheng could adapt to the change of status or not; he directly took them to the fields.
Even though the one hundred acres of land he purchased were from the Jiang family Village, they were, in fact, very close to Yang Family Village, just a seven or eight-minute walk away.
Based on the labor power of the four tenant families, Yang Zhenshan allocated the one hundred acres of land, plus the twenty acres they already had. Each family received between twenty to forty acres.
On the way back, before they even entered the village, Yang Zhenshan saw Yang Minghao running over excitedly.
“Dad, Dad~~” From a distance, Yang Zhenshan could already hear his call.
“What’s happened?”
Approaching, Yang Zhenshan inquired.
Grinning, Yang Minghao said, “Dad, the female General is here!”
“Female General!” Yang Zhenshan’s eyebrows arched.
Remembering Zhou Lan, he thought of that hook-laden ‘Brother Yang’.
Damn, that’s too discordant!
It was like a burly man with chest hair coquettishly calling you ‘honey’.
Alright.
It was a bit unfair to Zhou Lan to say that.
Actually, Zhou Lan was quite attractive, it’s simply that Yang Zhenshan’s impression of her was stuck on the image of her wielding a large saber and chopping down her enemies.
That wild appearance, that heroic bearing, truly should not have a gentle side.
“What is she here for?” Yang Zhenshan asked while walking.
“She said she’s here to thank Dad for saving her life!”
“Thank you!” Yang Zhenshan rubbed his inch-long beard, deep in thought.
He originally thought that after their last parting, he would no longer intersect with this female general, or at least not for a while. After all, Zhou Lan had left behind quite a few things, which could be considered a repayment for their assistance.
He hadn’t expected that, just as the issue of the northern barbarian entering the territory had ended, Zhou Lan would come looking for him so soon.
He was somewhat puzzled by Zhou Lan’s purpose for visiting.
Just to express gratitude?
“Let’s go see first!”
Yang Zhenshan quickened his pace towards his home.
By the time he reached the front door, he immediately saw nearly a hundred soldiers on horseback stopped in the alley in front of his home. There were also four horse-drawn carriages, loaded with items covered with tarpaulins, and it was unknown what was inside.
Zhou Lan stood in front of the group of soldiers, her face calm.
The Yang family stood inside the door, their faces filled with curiosity and awe as they watched Zhou Lan and the other soldiers of the border army.
The surrounding area was also crowded with villagers from Yang Family Village, who were quietly discussing among themselves.
“The humble peasant greets General Zhou!” Yang Zhenshan hurried forward with a bow.
Zhou Lan stepped aside and waved her hand with a smile, “Mr. Zhengshan need not be so formal. I am here to thank you for saving my life!”
Yang Zhenshan stood up and glanced at her, a faint smile on his face, “Please, General Zhou!”
Then he led Zhou Lan into the house, and at the same time said to Ms. Wang, who was both curious and apprehensive, “Elder daughter-in-law, bring some tea!”
“Our humble abode is simple; please forgive any inadequacies in hospitality, General Zhou!”
Zhou Lan naturally would not mind the simplicity of the Yang family; she is a border commander, often exposed to the elements, not one of those high-born ladies.
She looked around the Yang family home with great interest.
The Yang home was indeed simple, but it was very clean. Ms. Wang and the Li family were diligent people who kept the house very tidy.
The two entered the main hall, and Ms. Wang’s hands trembled slightly as she brought the tea.
Yang Zhenshan saw her trembling hands and was filled with exasperation.
Daughter-in-law, can’t you be a little more composed?
It’s just serving tea, right?
Is there really a need to be this nervous?
However, he also understood why Ms. Wang was nervous.
Ms. Wang was just a village woman; the highest official she had likely seen in her life was Yang Zhengxiang, the village chief.
Suddenly encountering a general today, not being nervous would be the strange thing.
Zhou Lan also noticed Ms. Wang’s nervousness, reached out to take the tea, and said with a gentle smile, “Thank you!”
This gentleness of hers was more fitting of her appearance, full of presence, straightforward, without a hint of weakness.
After the tea was served, Zhou Lan took out a list of gifts and handed it to Yang Zhenshan, “These are my gifts of thanks!”
Yang Zhenshan took the list and read it, his eyebrows slightly raised.
There were many items in Zhou Lan’s gifts, including fine silks and fabrics, gold and silver jewelry, furs, medicinal herbs, adding up to more than thirty varieties in total.
Among them were four war horses, a long spear, and a thousand taels of decorated silver.
Looking at this gift list, Yang Zhenshan felt as though he was hit by a mountain of gold.
Damn, that’s extravagant!
He estimated that the gift list would be worth at least five thousand taels of silver, maybe even more, as there were many items whose exact prices he didn’t even know.
Take that long spear, for instance; the list stated it was a gold-plated Flying Fish Spear.
The Da Rong Dynasty was a place where martial arts thrived, and the quality of weapons used by martial artists varied greatly.
In Yang Family Village, an iron spear was already an extremely precious object, and in the army, iron spears were one of the standard weapons for martial artists, like the iron spear that Yang Zhenshan previously used, which was specially made by an army craftsman for his original self, and was a decent weapon to him.
If that iron spear were sold, it could fetch at least twenty taels of silver.
But the value of the gold-plated Flying Fish Spear gifted by Zhou Lan was not just about the money.
The flying fish pattern typically took the form of a python, with fish fins, a turtle’s tail, and also a pair of horns.
Within the Da Rong Dynasty, the flying fish pattern was second only to the python pattern, and items bearing the flying fish pattern were generally bestowed by the royal family.
Anything associated with the royal family was definitely extremely precious.