Chapter 8: Chapter 7 Clan Leader Yang Zhengxiang Chapter 8: Chapter 7 Clan Leader Yang Zhengxiang Upon returning home, Yang Zhenshan handed off all the chores to Ms. Wang. With his wife having passed away, the household tasks were managed entirely by Ms. Wang and the Li family.
Both cooking and sewing needed their hands.
Yang Zhenshan could barely manage cooking, but he was utterly clueless about sewing.
“Grandpa, buns!”
Just as Yang Zhenshan returned, his second grandson, Yang Chengmao, caught the scent and toddled over.
Li, his daughter-in-law, followed closely behind, fearful he might fall.
Yang Zhenshan looked down at his grandson clinging to his leg, his eyes sparkling.
The little one looked up eagerly, eyes wide and fixed on the bun in his hands, so adorable!
In the past, Yang Zhenshan never thought he liked children much; he even found them noisy and bothersome. But now, looking at the three kids at home, his resistance was dwindling more and more.
“Grandpa will give Mao bun!” Yang Zhenshan picked up the little one and went to the kitchen to grab two bowls, placing them on the dining table in the hall.
A pork bun was set before the little guy, who immediately beamed with joy.
“Mom, bun!”
The little one’s speech was still unclear, only managing to pop out a word or two.
“Say thank you to grandpa first!” Li stepped forward and said.
“Thank, Grandpa!” The little one was very polite.
“Go ahead and eat!” Yang Zhenshan said, his lips curving, and placed the bowl in front of Li.
Li split the bun and carefully fed the little one.
Yang Zhenshan was not biased; after the second grandson ate, the eldest grandson couldn’t be left out either. With Ms. Wang busy in the kitchen, he lifted the eldest grandson and also gave him a bun.
“Thank you, Grandpa!”
Yang Chengye was already three years old and could eat on his own, holding the bun and nibbling at it.
“Yunxue~~”
With both grandsons having buns, naturally, the little daughter needed one too.
“Dad!” Yang Yunxue’s eyes curved sweetly, looking adorable.
As for the others, they didn’t get this special treatment; the buns were available, but they would have to wait until mealtime to eat.
With thirty taels of silver at his disposal, Yang Zhenshan felt reassured. Although they could not live lavishly, he could ensure the family wouldn’t worry about food and drink in the coming days.
Afternoon.
With nothing else to do, Yang Zhenshan began chopping firewood in the courtyard.
Winter in Anning County was cold and prolonged, likely lasting about five months, so it was essential to prepare plenty of firewood.
Already integrated into the family, Yang Zhenshan was beginning to plan for the winter—what to prepare, whether there was enough food in the house, and whether the family could have meat to eat.
He wasn’t the only busy one; the eldest and second sons took care of the farm crops, Ms. Wang managed household affairs, and the Li family went with Yunxue to the back mountains to dig wild vegetables, pick wood ear mushrooms, etc.
Although the household had many members, the division of labor was very clear.
“Zhengshan, Zhengshan!”
As Yang Zhenshan was chopping wood, an elderly man with white hair and beard walked through the gate.
“Clan Leader, what brings you here?”
Yang Zhenshan set down his axe, surprised to see the old man.
Yang Zhengxiang, the clan leader of the Yang family of Yang Family Village, 56 years old and a martial artist.
“I heard that your injuries have healed, so I came to check on you!” Yang Zhengxiang, carrying a bag of tea leaves, observed Yang Zhenshan warmly.
He had clearly seen how adeptly Yang Zhenshan was splitting wood just now; if not for his internal injuries healing, he wouldn’t be able to chop wood so proficiently.
“Come inside!” Yang Zhenshan ushered Yang Zhengxiang into the hall.
Although contemporaries, the two families had distanced themselves to the fifth degree of kinship, and Yang Zhengxiang seldom visited, especially since Yang Zhenshan had been injured, not wanting to bother him even if something came up.
Yang Zhengxiang placed the tea bag on the table, and Yang Zhenshan poured him a bowl of water.
“We don’t have any tea leaves at home, so please make do!”
“Hehe, we’re family; no need for such formalities,” Yang Zhengxiang chuckled.
Though he said they were family, their relationship had actually been quite distant in the past, which involved some old issues.
From the age of fifteen, Yang Zhenshan had become a martial artist, exceptionally talented, and had made quite a stir in Yang Family Village back in the day, attracting envy and jealousy.
Although Yang Zhengxiang was much older than Yang Zhenshan, he became a Martial Artist much later than him.
Facing such a gifted relative and brother, Yang Zhengxiang had once envied and even been jealous of him.
Later, when the original body was severely injured and returned to Yang Family Village, he had even felt schadenfreude.
However, after he became the Clan Leader, he no longer had the heart for schadenfreude; instead, he thought about whether he could help the original body heal his injuries.
As the Clan Leader, he naturally had to shoulder the development and safety of the Yang Family.
Having one more Martial Artist meant one more layer of protection for the Yang Family.
Unfortunately, the original body was a bit stubborn, still remembering Yang Zhengxiang’s past schadenfreude, and simply refused to accept Yang Zhengxiang’s goodwill.
Yang Zhengxiang also felt that the original body did not appreciate his intentions, and as such, the relationship between the two grew increasingly distant and even bore some grudges.
Over time, although both families lived in the same village, they barely interacted.
In fact, some things that the original body did not understand were very clear to Yang Zhenshan.
Although Yang Zhengxiang had grown distant from the original body over the years, the original body was able to live stably in Yang Family Village, largely thanks to Yang Zhengxiang’s care.
If Yang Zhengxiang truly bore any resentment towards the original body, he could have completely driven him out of Yang Family Village.
It’s just that the original body harbored grievances and never understood why.
Of course, the grievances of the original body were not directed at Yang Zhengxiang; being talented at a young age, he was inevitably a bit arrogant, yet he also suffered serious injuries, turning all his ambitions into naught, hence his grievances.
The highs and lows destabilized his mentality, which is also why the original body always wore a stern face and was reluctant to speak.
“Are your injuries fully healed?” Yang Zhengxiang asked, observing Yang Zhenshan’s complexion.
“Yes!” Yang Zhenshan nodded and said.
“How much of your strength has recovered?” Yang Zhengxiang continued.
Yang Zhenshan thought for a moment and said, “Probably about eighty percent!”
After all, he’s not the original body; even if his body recovered to its peak condition, he still couldn’t match the original.
“That’s good, that’s good!” Yang Zhengxiang’s smile grew even brighter.
What made him happy was not only Yang Zhenshan’s recovery but also that Yang Zhenshan no longer held any grievances towards him.
He truly feared that Yang Zhenshan would bear resentment against him; if there were hard feelings, it would be worse than not having his strength recovered.
“Thank you for your care over the years, Clan Leader!” Yang Zhenshan said with a light smile.
“Care!” Yang Zhengxiang was slightly stunned.
Yang Zhenshan said, “I was consumed by my frustrations before. Now that my injuries are healed and my frustrations relieved, I see things more clearly.”
“Haha~~” Yang Zhengxiang burst into laughter, stroking his long beard, “It’s good to see you’ve come around!”
He was genuinely pleased, and Yang Zhenshan’s words comforted him greatly, making him feel not in vain for shielding Yang Zhenshan from some unnecessary troubles over the years.
“Now that your injuries are healed, you should take on more responsibilities within the clan,” said Yang Zhengxiang.
“Whatever you command, Clan Leader!” Yang Zhenshan replied.
In fact, even if Yang Zhengxiang did not visit Yang Zhenshan, Yang Zhenshan would have sought him out within a couple of days.
After understanding the situation in Anning County, Yang Zhenshan realized the importance of the clan.
With more people comes greater strength; a clan organization is the most important collective force amongst villages. There’s a significant difference between having a clan’s protection and not.
For instance, no one dares to provoke anyone from Yang Family Village within the surrounding villages.
With the clan’s protection, even if one is poor outside, they can be spared a lot of oppression. Of course, there may be some issues within the clan, but that’s another story.
Overall, the inner unity of the Yang Family is strong, and that is the achievement of Clan Leader Yang Zhengxiang.
Although Yang Zhenshan had just arrived in this world, he understood that he needed to integrate into a group, even if the Yang Family was a weak entity, it still provided a good foundation.
With Yang Zhengxiang’s support, Yang Zhenshan easily integrated into the upper echelons of the Yang Family.
As one of only two Martial Artists in the Yang Family, there wasn’t much resistance to Yang Zhenshan’s rise.
In the blink of an eye, more than ten days passed, and under Yang Zhengxiang’s guidance, Yang Zhenshan became one of the elders of the Yang Family.
Yes, an elder.
Speaking of which, Yang Zhenshan’s seniority in the Yang Family was not low; apart from a few old folks who could hardly walk, his generation had the highest seniority.
Most people in Yang Family Village had to call him Uncle Zhengshan, Grandpa Zhengshan, and even some had to call him Great Grandpa.
This made Yang Zhenshan feel like he had jumped several generations.
This feeling was truly messed-up.
Yang Zhenshan felt it was already too much being called grandpa, and now people were calling him great grandpa; he felt like his back was bent.