Splendid peasant girl busy farming

Chapter 12102

The Yang family of Changping Village is a well-known name in Wanghai County.

Everyone knows that the Yang family is extraordinary. Not only did they produce Yang Da'an, the current governor of Changhuai Prefecture, but they are also the maternal family of the wife of the General Who Protects the Nation.

"Brother, we've heard of your Yang family's great reputation for years. Your Yang family is the pride of our area; your children are all very successful!"

"Haha, you flatter me, you flatter me." Old Yang was a very humble old man in front of others.

"Brother, it's a real treat to see you today! You're the ancestor of the Yang family, the old master!"

Old Yang waved his hand again: "Hey, what ancestors or grandpas? It's just that the King of Hell let me slip through his fingers, allowing this old man to still be alive!"

"You look like you're over 60, you're truly a blessed person, living a long and healthy life!"

"Haha, I'm just someone who can eat and sleep well, and I'm easygoing and don't like to worry!"

"Brother, your family is so rich and powerful, why do you still have your children and grandchildren come to Washi to work hard and earn money?"

The question asked by this stall owner was actually something that several other stall owners nearby were also curious about.

There's a saying, "When one person attains enlightenment, even his chickens and dogs rise in rank." Governors, generals protecting the nation... all have such illustrious titles. With just a snap of their fingers, their direct and indirect relatives could easily be given a job.
It's hard to understand why a member of the prestigious Yang family would stoop so low as to do business and make money in Washi.

Old Yang wasn't surprised by this question, because many villagers had asked him the same question many years ago when Yang Ruoqing and Luo Fengtang became successful.

Old Yang said at the time that if you want your grandson-in-law to help you, you have to meet the requirements for joining the army. If you are willing to let your son or brother risk their lives to make a name for themselves, then your grandson-in-law can definitely help you.

The problem is that you villagers who are getting married are reluctant to let go. Going to the battlefield means death, and not everyone has the chance to earn merit.

As for Qing'er, Qing'er did more than just support the relatives and friends of the Yang family.

Qing'er inspired many hardworking and down-to-earth young men in the surrounding villages, improving the lives of many families. She was highly respected in the area!

However, in Da'an, although he was the top scholar in the imperial examination and later became the governor of Changhuai Prefecture.

However, Da'an did not take care of his relatives and friends.

It could also be because the threshold for entering the government office is quite high. Bringing someone there to hold an empty title and receive a salary without working would violate the image of a clean and honest official in Da'an, and would also easily attract the jealousy of others.

If he were to take him to work as a gatekeeper or errand boy for the government office... well, his relatives and friends might complain about him, thinking he was insulting them.

Rather than doing that, it's better to be open about it and not offer any special treatment, because those who haven't been to school won't be able to seize the opportunity even if you offer them special treatment.

However, what made Old Yang secretly gratified was that during the last Spring Festival when Old Yang's family gathered together, Da'an, Lao Si, and Yongzhi all gave him their regards.

Let Tiedan and Hong'er focus on their studies. As long as they pass the imperial examinations, Da'an will recommend them to study under famous teachers and help them in their studies and careers!

So, faced with the stall owners' doubts, Old Yang laughed and said, "Mountains may crumble, rivers may flow away; only relying on yourself is the safest option."

"We, the descendants of the Yang family, have always relied on diligence, thrift, self-reliance, and independence to discipline ourselves. Every branch and every person is the same. We must wear hats that fit our heads. Everyone must earn their living through their own abilities and not be parasites."

"However, regarding the 'care' you all mentioned, haha, I won't spell it out, you all know what I mean."

“My son-in-law and my grandson do business in Washi. If anyone is foolish enough to cause trouble, I guarantee that the troublemaker won’t be able to stay in Qingshui Town. Even if the village head or the county magistrate comes, they won’t be able to protect them!”

Old Yang had always been humble and friendly, leading the stall owners to mistakenly believe he was an ordinary, unassuming country man. After all, Old Yang had always dressed simply for comfort and never wore gold or silver.

Only now did I realize that this old man was quite domineering at heart, both domineering and righteous.

"The old man was wise, and his family had a good tradition. No wonder he was able to raise such successful children and grandchildren!"

"I admire you!"

Old Yang raised his hands and laughed heartily. In his excitement, he took out the fine tobacco from his small pouch and shared it with the others.

The purse was ordinary, but the tobacco inside was top-quality, the kind that these stall owners would never have bought in their entire lives.

"This tobacco is really good!"

"Never smoked this before, but the taste is authentic!"

"Haha, it was given to me by my granddaughter. By the way, it's the granddaughter who married into the Luo family."

The granddaughter who married into the Luo family?
The crowd looked at each other in surprise. Wasn't that the wife of the Great General Protector of the Nation?
At that moment, everyone sighed again.

I've finally learned what understated luxury truly means.

Old Yang's emotional value was at its peak in Washi, while Tan's emotional value fluctuated wildly on the other side.

“This alley is really not far from Washi, just a few steps away. If the children are crying, you can get back in the time it takes to drink half a bowl of tea. It’s quite convenient.”

Standing at the entrance of the courtyard, Mrs. Tan looked around and could vaguely hear the noise coming from Washi.

“Mother, I knew this location was good. If we walk east from here, through an alley and two streets, we can reach the school. It will be convenient for our Sijin and Wujin to study in the future.”

Mrs. Tan nodded. "It's not bad. Let's go in and see what it's like inside."

Yang Huamei went up and knocked on the door. The gate looked quite old. It was originally a heavy wooden door with the upper half painted in vermilion. The lower half was made of sheet metal and rivets. The copper ring in the middle was rusted after years of wind, sun, rain and snow. One of the copper rings was even about to fall off and was hanging on the door, about to fall off.

When Yang Huamei knocked on the door, she tried to avoid the brass ring, but it kept shaking.

This made Tan, who was standing behind Yang Huamei, frown deeply.

I just praised one of its strengths, and now a weakness has appeared. This old house really can't withstand praise.

"Who is it?" came an old voice from the courtyard.

"Uncle Fang, it's me. I'm Old Xu's wife. I came over a couple of days ago to talk about buying the house."

"Oh~ Old Xu's family, wait a minute."

After the sounds inside subsided, there was the creaking sound of someone getting up from the rocking chair.

The creaking sound lasted for a while before the person finally got up and staggered towards the courtyard gate.

Outside the courtyard, Madam Tan and Yang Huamei exchanged glances.

Yang Huamei looked a little embarrassed and whispered to Tan Shi, "Mother, don't worry. Uncle Fang is getting old and his legs aren't very good, so he might be a little slow."

Tan pursed her lips, turned her face to the side, and muttered under her breath, "He's not just a little slow, he's like a crippled turtle." Yang Huamei could only smile awkwardly and stand at the door, patiently waiting for the person inside to open it.

Finally, the courtyard gate creaked open a crack, revealing an old face.

"Oh my god, it's a ghost!"

Ms. Tan was startled because she saw that the other party was a bald, hunchbacked old man with white hair and only one eye on his pine bark-like face!
Tan's screams also frightened Uncle Fang.

The other person gave Tan a somewhat displeased look and said irritably, "What's your name?"

Tan blurted out, "I'm terrified by your grotesque appearance."

Uncle Fang scoffed, "Brother, don't laugh at your second brother. Your old woman is quite good at keeping the house safe!"

Tan's eyes widened. "You hunchback, who are you calling a hunchback?"

Uncle Fang's face flushed red instantly. He had been hunchbacked his whole life, and no one had ever called him a hunchback to his face.

Who is this old woman? Her mouth is so foul! Has she lived to the fullest?
Uncle Fang was so angry that he was about to close the courtyard gate, but Yang Huamei quickly came out to smooth things over.

"Uncle Fang, please don't close the door. We've come to look after the house today. This is my mother; she means us no harm..."

As Yang Huamei spoke, she turned around and stamped her foot anxiously towards Tan Shi, "Mother, what are you doing? Why are you cursing people right away? Can't you speak properly!"

"I didn't mean it, I was just scared!" Madam Tan was a little annoyed that she shouldn't have spoken so bluntly earlier, and also felt a little wronged because Mei'er had criticized her in front of outsiders.

"Mother, if you don't want to ruin our plans, go and apologize to Uncle Fang!"

"That won't do!" Madam Tan turned her face away again.

Uncle Fang, who had been listening to the mother and daughter's conversation, angrily said, "I don't want her apology, I can't accept it! As for the Xu family, come back another day, let's just forget about it today!"

After saying that, Uncle Fang tried to close the door again.

"Uncle Fang, I apologize to you on behalf of my mother..."

"Alright, alright, I'll make it up, I'll make it up, okay!" Madam Tan pushed Yang Huamei aside with a dark face, then stepped forward to Uncle Fang. "I shouldn't have said that to you earlier, I'm sorry, elder brother, I apologize!"

Uncle Fang saw that Madam Tan had lowered her head, and Yang Huamei was there to smooth things over. More importantly, the Xu family had offered the highest price for his old house, and Uncle Fang didn't want the deal to fall through because of a few words with Madam Tan—it wouldn't be worth it!
Uncle Fang rolled his eyes and stepped back a little to make way for Madam Tan and Yang Huamei to enter and exit.

Yang Huamei breathed a sigh of relief and quickly ushered Tan Shi into the courtyard.

And whispered in Tan's ear, "Mother, whether you're satisfied or not, don't say anything for now. Tell me when we get back."

This is the experience Xu Yuanming taught Yang Huamei: when buying a second-hand house, if you see something you don't like while looking at the house, you can bring it up; but if you see something you like, you shouldn't say anything.

Pointing out what you don't like is a way to negotiate a lower price with the landlord.

If you mention that you like a particular property, the landlord might use that as an excuse to raise the price.

However, regardless of whether Yang Huamei liked Tan or not, she hoped that Tan would remain silent, because Tan might not be able to control the situation and could cause trouble.

Ms. Tan pursed her lips, her face stern, and remained silent.

Yang Huamei knew that Madam Tan was unhappy, but even so, Madam Tan still agreed to her request.

After Uncle Fang entered the courtyard, he left Yang Huamei with the words, "You two can look around as you please. This old man has difficulty walking, so I won't keep you company."

"Okay, okay, Uncle Fang, please sit down and rest. We'll just take a quick look and then come out. We won't touch anything in your house."

Uncle Fang nodded and hobbled toward the rocking chair.

Looking at Uncle Fang's unsteady steps, Madam Tan shook her head inwardly. He was so unable to take care of himself and had no one to look after him. It was only right that he sell the house and go to the county town to stay with his son and daughter-in-law.

Otherwise, no one would know if you died in the house.

"Mother, this is the front yard. Look, it's quite big, isn't it? The children can all play here." Yang Huamei began to show Tan Shi around the yard, introducing things to her in a low voice as they toured.

"This is the kitchen, and next door is the storeroom. The storeroom is empty; there's nothing there."

"This is the guest room."

"Mother, let's go take a look at the main room and the side rooms."

The main room and the side rooms have all the necessary furniture, but everything exudes a sense of age.

"Many of the tables and chairs are crippled, just like that old man Fang!" After looking around, Madam Tan curled her lip and muttered a sarcastic remark.

Yang Huamei quickly winked at Tan Shi, signaling her not to say such things.

The two men peered into the side rooms and could tell that some of them hadn't been lived in for a long time; there were no blankets on the beds, cobwebs covered the rooms, and dust settled on the tables.

"There's still someone living in this house, why don't they tidy it up? It's so dirty!" Mrs. Tan complained again.

“These rooms used to be where Uncle Fang’s sons lived. I guess his sons and daughters-in-law might not come back for the New Year, and an old man like me would probably be too lazy to clean them.”

"Let's go, Mother, let's take a look at the last room."

The last room was where Uncle Fang lived. It had an old-fashioned, large-framed flower bed, which was the style and pattern popular when people from the Tan family's generation got married.

If a young Mrs. Tan had seen such a flower bed, she would surely have been envious.

However, looking at the faded and gnawed flower bed today, Madam Tan frowned deeply.

The bed was piled with bedding and Old Fang's clothes, and everything was in a mess. The room reeked of urine, mixed with the damp smell of the room, which was strange and made people feel nauseous.

Tan's gaze swept over the simple dressing table in front of the bed, and she suddenly thought of something.

This dressing table is something women use. Now, only an old man is left in this house. So, where is the old woman?

"Where is the old lady of this house? Is she dead? Or was she taken away by her son and daughter-in-law?" Tan asked suddenly.

Yang Huamei said, "This... well, she must have passed away."

"Deceased? Died in this house?" Madam Tan's alarm bells rang immediately, and she asked again.

Yang Huamei stammered, saying that the middleman who introduced them to the house had said that the old lady had passed away, and that she had died on this big flowered bed in this very house.