Building a long-lasting family lineage starting with genealogy

Chapter 67 An Encounter with an Old Friend (Seeking Further Reading)

The lobby is now empty.

Yang Shichang put his arm around her and whispered to comfort her, "Uncle Xu is a good friend of Father's. He admires and respects him very much, and so do I."

"You told me this before. His talent and wisdom in developing an ordinary family into a prominent family in a small county town over a decade are truly rare."

But after all, they are commoners, unlike us noble families who have practiced martial arts since childhood.

"Ordinary people tend to look old by their forties or fifties, and most don't live past sixty. Am I wrong to say that?"

Yang Shichang laughed and said, "You haven't seen it, so how can you make assumptions?"

"If you see him, you will know what kind of person Uncle Xu is."

Yang Shichang did not continue the topic. "Change your clothes later and come with me to accompany my sister and brother-in-law for a walk in the street."

"I'm not in the mood. I want to stay home with Feng'er and help him study and practice calligraphy."

"Then it's up to you," Yang Shichang said with a wry smile, shaking his head.

"Brother-in-law, Mingyuan, are either of you interested in going?"

At the entrance of the Yang residence, Yang Shichang looked at them, holding Xu Dewen in his arms, a faint smile playing on his lips.

"Then let's go and see how the cosmetics shops, wineries, and restaurants in the prefectural city differ from those in my county."

"Mingyuan, you really never forget your business no matter where you go. But that's fine, it'll be noon soon, we should find a place to eat and drink."

He turned to Xu Dezhao and smiled, saying, "Zhao'er, if there's anything you want to eat or want, just tell your uncle. Things that your father usually doesn't allow, your uncle will grant."

"Thank you, Uncle. Zhao'er doesn't want anything. If there is, Zhao'er will buy it herself."

After saying that, she took out her exquisite purse and showed him the few pieces of silver inside.

It adds up to about seven or eight ounces.

"Oh, quite a lot." Yang Shichang turned to look at Yang Ronghua. "This needlework, you did it, sister, right? I recognized it at a glance."

Yang Ronghua smiled faintly and nodded slightly.

Afterwards, they first went to a cosmetics shop, then to a wine shop, and finally to a restaurant for lunch.

Unexpectedly, they ran into an old acquaintance, Chang Haowen, whom they hadn't seen in a long time.

"Xu Mingyuan, um, and Xu Mingwei, what brings you two brothers to the county town?"

Chang Haowen's sudden remarks surprised both of them.

"Uncle Chang, do you know each other?"

"Uncle?" Xu Mingyuan looked surprised. Chang Haowen should not be much older than Yang Shichang.

Yang Shichang explained, "He is of the same generation as my father. The Chang family is in the county town, but they are much more powerful than my Yang family."

“Nephew Yang is joking. Your Yang family is at the height of its power. Your father has been appointed as the Prefectural Commandant, and you have married the eldest daughter of the Wen family. I am afraid that my Chang family can no longer compare.”

"By the way, what brings you two to the county town?" Chang Haowen changed the subject.

Yang Shichang said with a smile, "Mingwei is my brother-in-law, and these are his two sons. They came to the county town to visit us."

"I see. Please enjoy your meal. I'll take my leave now."

Chang Haowen didn't talk much and left the restaurant.

Yang Shichang was curious about how Xu Mingwei and his brother knew Chang Haowen, so he asked them briefly.

Xu Mingyuan said that he met him by chance in Qingjiang County and did not expect that he came from the Chang family of the county town.

"I've heard that the prefect of the county seat is surnamed Chang?"

Yang Shichang nodded and said, "The Chang family has been entrenched in the county town for a longer time than my Yang family. The two families have also been allied by marriage, but as the competition grew, all that remained were superficial gestures and exchanges of interests."

He looked at Xu Dezhao, who was gnawing on a chicken leg, and asked with a smile, "Is it good, Zhao'er?"

"good to eat."

How does it compare to yours?

"The taste is slightly inferior, but it's not much different. It's just that there aren't as many dishes as at home."

"Zhao'er, don't talk nonsense."

"Brother-in-law, children's words are always true."

Yang Shichang laughed and said, "After we finish eating, I'll take you to see other places."

----------

Chang Haowen visited Xu Mingyuan frequently for drinks and chats over the past two days, seemingly trying to win him over. Xu Mingyuan neither agreed nor refused, fearing retaliation from the Chang family, and thus merely delayed the issue.

Even if they were to have dealings, they would do so secretly and conduct transactions privately.

Two days later.

Xu Mingwei's family, along with Xu Mingyuan, went to the Yang family's ancestral home with Yang Zhao and his son Yang Shichang.

The Yang family ancestral home has always been inhabited by the head of the family and various elders. After the direct descendants of the family get married, few of them stay there; they all establish their own residences.

The ancestral home's meeting hall.

The head of the Yang family, along with a group of Yang family elders, were all present.

"Yang Zhao greets the family head and all the elders."

Yang Shichang, Xu Mingwei, Xu Mingyuan and others also bowed and paid their respects.

In the hall with its blue brick floor, the air seemed to be clenched into blocks by an invisible hand, and the beast heads carved on the eight vermilion pillars seemed to be staring at everyone.

The head of the Yang family is Yang Zhao's cousin, the eldest son of his uncle's lineage. He is now in his early fifties and has reached the early stage of the Grandmaster realm, but with his full head of black hair, he is at the peak of his life.

Among the dozen or so elders, the top six elders were all at the Grandmaster level, and the rest were all at the Perfected Innate level.

A sense of oppression washed over him, and Xu Mingwei thought to himself, "As expected of a great family in the county town, their foundation is so deep that it will probably take my Xu family twenty or thirty years to catch up."

"I'm afraid there are quite a few innate martial artists among the younger generation of the Yang family."

Then he thought of the Chang family, a powerful clan in the county that overpowered the Yang family; what kind of foundation must they have?

"No need for formalities, we're all family."

After a pause, the head of the Yang family looked at Xu Dewen, who was being held in Yang Ronghua's arms, and Xu Dezhao, who was standing beside Xu Mingwei, and smiled slightly. "These must be the brothers Dewen and Dezhao. As expected of the bloodline of my Yang family, although they are young, they already show extraordinary qualities."

Let's test their Yang family bloodline.

A servant standing in the corner carried a dark red lacquered wooden tray with a stone the size of a pigeon's egg on it.

"Let me do it."

An elder with gray hair stood up, took the testing stone, and walked up to Xu Mingwei and the others.

First, Xu Dezhao's was tested.

Although Yang Zhao had already told them the result, seeing it with their own eyes was still quite shocking.

The gray-haired elder's eyes reflected the bright red light emanating from the testing stone, filled with joy.

The other elders also showed surprise.

The elder stroked his beard, a stern smile on his face. “In the last two generations, no one in my Yang family has had such a pure bloodline. Shi Hui and the others are far inferior.”

"Let's look at the other child."

"Yes, Great Elder."

The gray-haired old man took Xu Dewen's small hand again, took out a drop of blood, and dripped it onto the testing stone. Its red color was even deeper than Xu Dezhao's.

Even the head of the Yang family was moved and stood up. The other elders surrounded him, staring at Xu Dewen as if he were a precious treasure.

Yang Zhao and his son Yang Shichang were deeply shocked.

They never expected that Xu Mingwei and Yang Ronghua's two children would both have such pure Yang family blood, and each one was stronger than the last.

Xu Mingwei saw this, but he felt somewhat unhappy.

Because of the way they looked at him, he felt as if they were looking at a piece of merchandise.

"Not bad!"

The head of the Yang family smiled and praised Yang Zhao, saying, "Brother Yang, you have two wonderful grandsons."

"Such potential must not be wasted. Both brothers can learn the martial arts passed down in my Yang family."

Upon hearing this, Xu Mingwei's displeasure dissipated considerably, and he immediately bowed and said, "Thank you for your kindness, Patriarch Yang."

The head of the Yang family nodded slightly, his eyes shimmering, and then said, "Since my nephew also agrees, how about letting the two of them stay in the county town for a while?"

　Do you guys think it's necessary to change the name? Do you have any good recommendations?

　　By the way, I'd like to ask for your votes and support!

(End of this chapter)