Siheyuan: Domineering life

The university's location was finally decided to be in Xuzhou.

This was not only the result of discussions between Wang Xiaoxiao and a group of scholars, but also what Yang Jun hoped for.

Initially, he wanted to establish the university in Guizhou Province, thinking that in case of an emergency, these talents could be transferred to the doomsday shelter as soon as possible so that they could survive in the extreme environment. However, when he thought that the university was located deep in Guizhou Province, without good supporting resources, even the best conditions would not be able to retain talents. Moreover, the doomsday shelter was just a complete follow-up measure, and it was still uncertain whether it would be used. Therefore, he did not insist on building the university in Guizhou Province.

Once the university site was finalized, funding was secured immediately, and construction began in less than a month. It was anticipated that within three years, teaching buildings would be erected in this area.

Of course, Yang Jun was also making preparations for the university. He resolved all the procedures and other issues at once, removing all obstacles to the university's construction.

He has a special connection to Xuzhou, or more specifically, he has a deep love for Pizhou. It is where he grew up in his previous life, and he has never left this place since he was born and raised here. He was born, studied, and worked here. He is full of enthusiasm for this place and has devoted a lot of effort to it. In a sense, this place is his spiritual sustenance.

At the same time, he also gave strong support to this place, not only in terms of policy support, but also by investing a lot of money in its construction. After more than ten years of construction, this place has become a leading metropolis in northern Jiangsu or even northern China. Its economic development and cultural heritage have made great strides, and Pizhou has become the economic leader of the region.

Time flies, and it's already November.

As the weather cools down, people become more energetic.

Yang Jun was unusually energetic today; to put it bluntly, he was a little excited because the Yang family was about to welcome another new member.

He stood guard outside Li Jingqiu's courtyard, pacing back and forth with his hands behind his back. From time to time, Li Jingqiu's heart-wrenching screams could be heard from inside the house; she was in the midst of a difficult labor.

Cui Jie and a group of female doctors are delivering her baby.

Besides Yang Jun, Yi Qiushui and Huang Yani also came, quietly waiting for the arrival of the Yang family's eighteenth child.

"Husband, don't worry, Jingqiu will definitely give birth to this child smoothly." Yi Qiushui comforted him when she saw him pacing back and forth anxiously.

"Hey, how can we not be anxious?" Yang Jun frowned and said, "This is Jingqiu's first time giving birth. She doesn't have much experience, and this is going to cause her a lot of trouble."

Upon hearing this, Yi Qiushui pursed her lips and said, "I didn't see you this worried when I gave birth."

"That's a bit heartless of you to say that," Yang Jun said, sticking out his neck. "When you gave birth, I stayed outside the delivery room for a whole day and night without closing my eyes. After you gave birth, I was the one who took care of you during your postpartum period."

"Tell these women, when have they ever received such treatment?"

"How dare you say that?" Yi Qiushui glared at him. "You once said you would only love me for the rest of your life, but look at how many women are around you now?"

"You're being unreasonable. I... I'm not talking to you anymore."

Yang Jun simply stayed far away from her, standing quietly at the living room doorway, smoking a cigarette.

“You’re in the wrong.” Yi Qiushui rolled her eyes at him, but didn’t press the issue further.

The other women, upon hearing this, dared not respond, fearing that the flames of war would spread to them.

After all, if it weren't for them, Yi Qiushui could have had and enjoyed Yang Jun's love all to herself, and in their hearts, she felt like a mistress.

"Why hasn't she given birth yet?"

Hearing the heart-wrenching screams coming from inside, Meng Wenya was extremely anxious.

Seeing this, Yang Jun quickly said, "You're heavily pregnant too, you shouldn't have come here. Isn't this just adding to your anxiety for no reason?"

“Oh dear, I’m not that delicate. After all, I have experience giving birth,” Meng Wenya said.

“It’s been ten years since you last gave birth. Even if you had experience, you’ve forgotten everything,” Yang Jun said. “Listen to me, go back and take good care of yourself. You should be giving birth in a few days.”

"Oh, I'm fine, I have experience."

At this moment, Yang Qingxiang came over.

"Honey, don't worry about Wenya. She's a mother of two, so she has experience."

"It's good for her to listen here, so she'll be mentally prepared."

Upon hearing this, Yang Jun said with a stern face, "You're even speaking up for her now? Look at yourself, you're so pregnant, shouldn't you be resting and taking care of yourself?"

"I have no problem at all. I'm a mother of four, and I'm the most experienced in this family," Yang Qingxiang said nonchalantly.

"We can't be careless, after all, childbirth is like walking through the gates of hell; even if you don't die, you'll lose half your life," said Yang Jun.

"Honey, I'm really okay..."

Before the words were even finished, they heard a child's cries coming from inside.

"Quack!"

"Born, born."

Upon hearing that the baby had been born, everyone breathed a sigh of relief, especially Yang Jun, who felt as if he had finally shed a heavy burden.

A moment later, the door opened, and Cui Jie came out carrying the child.

"Congratulations, Mr. Yang, it's a daughter."

After saying that, she handed the child to Yang Jun.

Upon seeing this, Yang Jun panicked.

Despite having so many children, he has never even held a newborn baby. He's so afraid of hurting such a delicate child.

"I'll do it."

Upon seeing this, Yi Qiushui quickly and carefully took the child from her.

"Yang Chenggu, call her 'Auntie,' chirp chirp chirp."

Yi Qiushui was playing with the child.

They knew the child was a girl even before she was born, and they had already chosen a name for her: Yang Chenggu, chosen by her mother, Li Jingqiu.

Upon hearing the sound, the child frowned like an old man, looking impatient, and burst into tears.

"Quack!"

"Fine, fine, if you don't want to call me that, then don't. The little girl is still unhappy." Yi Qiushui said sullenly.

At this moment, Yang Jun turned to Cui Jie and asked, "Is the sir alright?"

"In response to Mr. Yang, both mother and daughter are safe and sound."

"Madam is currently cleaning herself up and will be able to go in shortly."

"Good, it's good that you're alright." Yang Jun was completely relieved to hear this.

"Give the order to find an auspicious day to open the ancestral hall, establish the family genealogy, and write the child's name into the genealogy," Yang Jun said excitedly.

He is even happier now than when he became a father for the first time. This kind of happiness is different from that of someone who has a lineage. With more and more children, it means that the Yang family is becoming more and more prosperous. The thought that the Yang family is about to become the most prestigious family makes him extremely excited.

"Oh, what's the rush?"

Yi Qiushui quickly stopped her, saying, "Qingxiang is about to give birth, and Wenya and Qingmeng are also about to give birth. Let's open the ancestral hall together after they give birth."

"Yes, yes, I'm so happy I'm confused." Yang Jun laughed, "After they've all had their children, we'll open the ancestral hall together and write their names into the family genealogy."

"Look at you, it's not like you're a first-time father, yet you're so happy," Huang Yani said with a smile.

"I'm happy."

Seeing Yang Jun's genuine joy, Huang Yani couldn't help but sigh.

"Hey!"

"Why are you sighing? The Yang family has a new member today, shouldn't you be happy?" Yang Jun asked. "I'm not unhappy, but..." Huang Yani sighed and said, "I'm just angry that I'm too old to continue the Yang family line."

"Oh, you've done a great job. You gave me a smart and beautiful daughter. I'm already very content."

Yang Jun said, "Besides, you're getting old and can't have children anymore."

Huang Yani and Yi Qiushui are about the same age, both approaching fifty. If they were to have a child at this point, they would be playing with their lives.

"Are you implying that I'm too old?" Huang Yani suddenly glared at him.

"You...you have such a weird focus. I'm talking about having children, what are you talking about age for?"

"You just think I'm too old."

Yang Jun: "..."

He didn't dare to respond.

A short while later, Cui Jie came out again and told everyone that they could go in.

So Yang Jun was the first to go in.

……

Five days later, Meng Wenya gave birth to his son.

Twelve days later, Yang Qingxiang gave birth to a daughter for him.

A month later, Nalan Qingmeng gave birth to a daughter for him.

From then on, Yang Jun became the father of twenty-one children: ten sons and eleven daughters. He was a man with both sons and daughters, and his good fortune allowed him to have so many children and grandchildren.

He will have more children in the future. After all, Li Jingqiu, Nalan Qingmeng, and Nini are still so young, it's not impossible for them to have ten more children.

Humans are the foundation of the world and the source of everything. As long as there are people, there is hope. Among so many children, there will always be one or two who succeed. Even if only one succeeds, it will lead the entire family to prosperity in the future. This is the benefit of having children.

There's a saying that's true: having more children is not a bad thing.

When Yang Jun was young, he didn't understand this principle and always felt that having many children was a burden. But later he realized that the benefits of having more children were predictable. Even the Guo family encouraged having children, which they called the demographic dividend.

On the 24th day of the twelfth lunar month, Yang Jun opened the ancestral hall, brought out the family genealogy, and wrote the names of his four newborn children into the genealogy.

From then on, these children became members of the Yang family.

After the ceremony, it's natural to treat relatives and friends to a meal.

The banquet was held in the ancestral hall. All the guests were Yang Jun's relatives and best friends. There were no outsiders; it was a family dinner.

"Brother, congratulations! Under your leadership, our Yang family is becoming more and more prosperous." Yang Anguo raised his glass in a toast.

"Same here, you also deserve credit for the prosperity and strength of the Yang family," Yang Jun said, raising his glass.

"Hey, I only have three kids, my contribution is nothing compared to yours."

"That's not how you say it. It's about quality, not quantity. As long as one of them is successful, that's enough."

"Thank you for your kind words. I hope the child will be successful."

The two brothers then drank a toast.

Immediately afterwards, Yang Anbang, Ma Juzi, Liu Zhi, Dai Yuhe, and others offered toasts and congratulated Yang Jun on the birth of his son.

Those who could attend the ceremony were all the closest people in the Yang family. There were no outsiders, so Yang Jun didn't need to care about the opinions of others. He let loose and celebrated with them, drinking to his heart's content.

"By the way, brother, there's something I need to discuss with you."

Yang Anbang suddenly said, "Anguo and I have discussed it and decided to move my parents' graves here as well. What do you think?"

After saying that, she stared at him.

Yang Anguo, standing to the side, also looked at him with hope.

“Sure, why not? I’d be more than happy if you could move your second uncle and aunt here.”

Yang Jun said, "It would be great if you moved your second uncle and aunt here so they could reunite with your grandparents, parents, and other family members."

"Brother, I'm really grateful that you agreed."

Yang Anbang raised his glass and said, "I won't say anything more; it's all in the wine."

"It's all in the wine." Yang Anguo also raised his glass.

"It's all in the wine."

The three brothers then drank it all in one gulp.

Yang Jun put down his wine glass, took a bite of food, and tried to suppress the smell of alcohol in his stomach.

"I naturally wholeheartedly support this, but..."

Yang Jun paused, glanced at Ma Juan and her son who were eating at the next table, and then said, "We still need to talk to Auntie Xiao about this. After all, she was married into the family by Uncle Mingzheng. It wouldn't be right not to discuss it with her."

Upon hearing this, Yang Anguo quickly replied, "Brother, we've already considered this matter. Before telling you about it, we had already discussed it with... Aunt Ma, and she is 100% in favor of moving our city here."

"She agreed to move the grave?" Yang Jun was stunned for a moment when he heard this.

"She agreed."

"You didn't threaten her, did you?"

“Brother, look at what you’re saying. How could we possibly do such a thing? It was really Aunt Ma who agreed. If she hadn’t given her permission, we wouldn’t have dared to move the grave,” Yang Anguo said with a bitter face.

"It's good that you didn't threaten her."

After a slight pause, he continued, "Since Second Aunt agrees, then let's move the grave."

"However, there are only a few days left until the Lunar New Year, so let's postpone it until spring."

“Yes, that’s what we’re thinking too. We’ll start construction in the spring.” Yang Anbang said, “We can take advantage of the Spring Festival to go back to our hometown and discuss the relocation of the graves with my uncle and the rest of the clan. We’ll start construction after the New Year.”

“You’re doing it the right thing. You can’t go around the clan elder’s side with something like this, or he’ll start to worry,” Yang Jun reminded him.

"Don't worry, brother, we're not kids anymore. We know how to behave."

At this moment, Liu Zhi spoke up.

"By the way, brother, speaking of adding children to the family genealogy, shouldn't you consider adding Yang Huai's daughter to the genealogy as well?"

The child Yang Huai had with his mistress is currently being raised at home by Yang Mei. Although she also has the surname Yang, she has not yet been included in the family genealogy.

After listening, Yang Jun pondered for a moment and said, "It can be included in the family genealogy."

"But... it would be best to register the child under Yuan Erni's name, since the child's biological mother's name is not legitimate."

“Yes, brother, Meizi and I thought so too. We’ll register Xiaoya under Erni’s name and announce to the outside world that she is Erni’s child.” Liu Zhi.

"That makes sense, but... we need Erni's consent first."

Yang Jun pondered for a moment, then said, "Don't worry about this matter. I'll talk to Erni myself later." (End of Chapter)