Chapter 7: Clan Patriarch Yang Zhengshan
After returning home, Yang Zhengshan handed over all the tasks to Wang Shi, as he couldn’t do anything due to his original body’s wife passing away. The household chores were now managed by Wang Shi and Li Shi.
Yang Zhengshan couldn’t even cook or make clothes. If he tried to cook, he could barely manage, but making clothes was beyond his capabilities.
“Grandpa, baozi!” (Note: Baozi is a type of Chinese steamed bun)
Yang Zhengshan had just returned, and his second grandson, Yang Chengmao, already smelled the aroma and ran over with little short legs, while his second daughter-in-law, Li Shi, followed behind, protecting him from falling.
Yang Zhengshan looked down at his grandson hugging his leg, his eyes shining with warmth.
The little guy tilted his head, his eyes fixed on the baozi in Yang Zhengshan’s hand, looking adorable.
Before, Yang Zhengshan didn’t think he was fond of children, and even thought they were noisy and troublesome. But now, looking at the three kids in his household, he was becoming more and more helpless against their charms.
“Grandpa will give Mao-er some baozi!” Yang Zhengshan picked up the little guy and walked into the kitchen to get two bowls, placing them on the dining table.
He put a meat baozi in front of the little guy, who immediately smiled and laughed.
“Mom, baozi!” The little guy stammered, only able to say a few words.
“First, thank Grandpa!” Li Shi stepped forward to say.
“Thank you, Grandpa!” The little guy was very polite.
“Eat up!” Yang Zhengshan smiled, placing the bowl in front of Li Shi.
Li Shi carefully fed the little guy, while Yang Zhengshan didn’t favor any one child – if the second grandson ate, the eldest grandson had to eat too. Wang Shi was busy in the kitchen, so Yang Zhengshan picked up the eldest grandson and gave him a baozi as well.
“Thank you, Grandpa!”
Yang Chengye, who was already three years old, didn’t need anyone to feed him and hugged his baozi, taking big bites.
“Yunxue…” The two elder grandsons had their baozi, so naturally, the little girl wanted some too.
“Father!” Yang Yunxue smiled, her eyes curled up in a cute expression.
As for the others, they didn’t get the same treatment – there were baozi available, but they had to wait until mealtime.
With thirty taels of silver as a foundation, Yang Zhengshan felt more confident, even though they weren’t living a luxurious life, they could at least ensure they had enough to eat and wear.
In the afternoon, Yang Zhengshan, who had nothing to do, started chopping firewood in the courtyard.
Anning County’s winters were very cold and long, lasting around five months, so they needed to prepare more firewood.
As the head of the household, Yang Zhengshan had started planning for the future – how to get through the winter, what preparations to make, whether they had enough food stored, and whether they could eat meat. Yang Zhengshan had to think about all these things.
Not just him, but others were also busy – the eldest and second eldest had to take care of the crops in the fields, Wang Shi managed the household chores, and Li Shi took Yang Yunxue to the back mountain to dig wild vegetables and pick mushrooms.
Although the household had many people, they divided the labor very clearly.
“Zhengshan, Zhengshan!”
Just as Yang Zhengshan was chopping firewood, a white-haired old man walked in from outside.
“Clan Patriarch, why have you come?”
Yang Zhengshan put down his axe, looking at the old man in surprise.
Yang Zhengxiang, the clan patriarch of the Yang family in Jiang Family Village, was fifty-six years old and a martial artist.
“I heard your injuries have recovered, so I came to take a look!” Yang Zhengxiang brought a package of tea leaves, smiling kindly as he examined Yang Zhengshan.
Just now, Yang Zhengshan was chopping firewood, and Yang Zhengxiang saw that if he wasn’t fully recovered from his internal injuries, he wouldn’t be able to chop wood so effortlessly.
“Please, sit inside!” Yang Zhengshan welcomed Yang Zhengxiang into the main room.
Yang Zhengxiang and Yang Zhengshan were of the same generation, but their families’ relationships had become distant, and Yang Zhengxiang rarely came to visit Yang Zhengshan, especially since Yang Zhengshan had been injured. Even if Yang Zhengxiang had matters to discuss, he wouldn’t bother Yang Zhengshan.
Yang Zhengxiang placed the tea package on the table, and Yang Zhengshan poured him a cup of water.
“We don’t have any tea leaves at home, please make do with this for now.”
“Hehe, we’re family, no need to be so polite.” Yang Zhengxiang smiled.
It was true that they were family, but their relationships had been distant due to past events.
The original body had become a martial artist at fifteen and was exceptionally talented. Back in Yang Family Village, he was the center of attention, attracting many admirers and enviers.
Yang Zhengxiang was older than Yang Zhengshan, but he became a martial artist later than Yang Zhengshan.
Facing such a talented and arrogant clan brother, Yang Zhengxiang had also felt envious and resentful.
Later, when the original body was injured and returned to Yang Family Village, Yang Zhengxiang even felt a sense of schadenfreude.
However, after he became the clan patriarch, he didn’t have such feelings anymore and instead wanted to help the original body recover from his injuries.
As the clan patriarch, he had to take care of the Yang family’s development and safety.
Having one more martial artist would provide an additional guarantee for the Yang family.
Unfortunately, the original body’s temper was a bit stubborn, and he still remembered Yang Zhengxiang’s past schadenfreude, refusing to accept his good intentions.
Yang Zhengxiang also thought the original body didn’t understand good intentions, and their relationships became increasingly distant, even with some resentment.
With time, the two families, although living in the same village, had little interaction.
However, Yang Zhengshan saw things clearly – these years, although Yang Zhengxiang had kept his distance, the original body was able to live peacefully in Yang Family Village, thanks to Yang Zhengxiang’s care.
If Yang Zhengxiang really had grievances against the original body, he could have easily driven him out of Yang Family Village.
It was just that the original body harbored resentment, which Yang Zhengshan could see clearly.
Of course, the original body’s resentment wasn’t targeted at Yang Zhengxiang – he had become arrogant after achieving success at a young age, and his pride was wounded when he suffered a severe injury, making him feel great resentment.
With his mood oscillating wildly, this was why the original body always wore a stern face and didn’t like to talk.
“Is your injury fully recovered?” Yang Zhengxiang examined Yang Zhengshan’s face, asking.
“It’s recovered!” Yang Zhengshan nodded.
“What’s your current strength?” Yang Zhengxiang asked further.
Yang Zhengshan thought for a moment, saying, “It should be around 80%.”
He wasn’t the original body, and even if his body recovered to its peak, he was still inferior to the original body.
“That’s great, that’s great!” Yang Zhengxiang’s smile grew wider.
What made him happy wasn’t just Yang Zhengshan’s recovery but also that Yang Zhengshan no longer harbored resentment against him.
He was truly afraid that Yang Zhengshan would harbor resentment, and if that happened, it would be worse than not recovering at all.
“Thanks for taking care of me these years, Clan Patriarch!” Yang Zhengshan smiled faintly.
“Taking care of you?” Yang Zhengxiang was slightly surprised.
Yang Zhengshan said, “Previously, I had a knot in my heart, but now that my injuries are healed, the knot is untied, and I see things clearly.”
“Hehe!” Yang Zhengxiang laughed, stroking his long beard, saying, “You’re able to let go, that’s great!”
He was truly happy, and Yang Zhengshan’s words made him feel relieved, not having wasted his efforts in helping Yang Zhengshan avoid unnecessary troubles.
“Now that your injury is healed, you should pay more attention to clan matters in the future,” Yang Zhengxiang said.
“There’s something you want me to do, Clan Patriarch, just tell me!” Yang Zhengshan replied.
In fact, Yang Zhengxiang wouldn’t have come to find Yang Zhengshan if Yang Zhengshan hadn’t gone to find him in the next two days.
After understanding the situation in Anning County, Yang Zhengshan realized the importance of the clan.
Many people together meant greater power, and a clan organization was the most crucial force in rural areas. Having a clan made a huge difference, and even if they were poor, they could avoid many injustices. Of course, there might be problems within the clan, but that was another matter.
Overall, the Yang family was quite united, and that was due to Yang Zhengxiang’s efforts as the clan patriarch.
Yang Zhengshan, although new to this world, understood that he needed to join a group, and even if the Yang family was weak, it was still a good foundation.
With Yang Zhengxiang’s support, Yang Zhengshan easily integrated into the Yang family’s higher echelons.
As one of the only two martial artists in the Yang family, Yang Zhengshan’s rise to prominence wasn’t met with much opposition within the clan.
In the blink of an eye, ten-plus days passed, and under Yang Zhengxiang’s guidance, Yang Zhengshan became one of the Yang family’s clan elders.
To be precise, he was a clan elder.
Speaking of Yang Zhengshan’s generation in the Yang family, aside from a few old folks who couldn’t move around, his generation was the highest in seniority.
Most people in Yang Family Village would call him Uncle Zhengshan, Grandpa Zhengshan, or even Great-Grandpa Zhengshan.
This made Yang Zhengshan feel like he was over-promoted.
He felt that being a grandpa was already excessive, and now people were calling him Great-Grandpa – he felt like his back was bent from the weight of it all.
This feeling was really goddamn annoying.
Yang Zhengshan thought that being a grandpa was already too much, and now people were calling him Great-Grandpa – he felt like his back was bent from the weight of it all.
This feeling was really goddamn annoying.
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