Grass and mustard reign supreme

Chapter 32 Pregnancy
Offering help in times of need is the most touching thing.

Of course, Yang Can's opposition to the Suo family actually earned him the favor of the lord, which was also an important reason why he was able to impress Leopard Head.

Leopard Head didn't understand why, but he knew that his lack of understanding was simply because his brain wasn't working properly.

It doesn't matter if his brain isn't working properly. He doesn't plan to use this rusty brain of his anymore. From now on, Master Yang will take care of his brain.

Leopard Head may be simple-minded, but he has his own wisdom for survival.

Yang Can visited Leopard Head, and after Sister-in-law Cheng, who was holding her daughter, returned to her room, he comforted her and told her to come to him if she had any trouble, before taking his leave.

Upon returning to his residence, Yang Can was greeted by Zhang Yunyi, the head of Feng'an Manor, who had been waiting for him.

Yang Can didn't take Zhang Yunyi too seriously.

In his mind, this was nothing more than a nouveau riche from the countryside.

Zhang Yunyi's demeanor perfectly matched Yang Can's impression of a nouveau riche from the countryside.

Cunning and scheming, able to humble himself, but that's about it; he doesn't seem to have much of a vision.

Zhang Yunyi gave Yang Can a gift: a small box containing four gold ingots.

This gift wasn't insignificant, but it wasn't particularly valuable either.

The impression he left on Yang Can was that this nouveau riche was quite wealthy and very generous.

Yang Can was the steward in charge of the six major estates and was directly under the management of Master Zhang, so he naturally assumed that the gift Master Zhang gave him was the most valuable.

Yang Can declined the gift a few times, but accepted it and saw Master Zhang off. Thus began a period of leisurely and carefree time.

Inside the inner quarters, Suo Chanzhi and Qingmei, the mistress and maid, were carrying out sweeping reforms and adjustments, striving to completely take control of the inner quarters.

On the outer side of the residence, the "Undead Prince Faction" has always been the majority of the managers, and their leader is the Grand Steward Li Youcai.

With Chief Steward Li around, Yang Can didn't even have the right to "follow Xiao's rules and Cao's rules," he could only follow along and "go with the flow."

As for the account books of the farm and ranch that Li Youcai handed over to Yang Can, Yang Can contacted Li Damu several more times.

Each time, Li Damu would make excuses, saying he was busy dealing with the account books needed by the young mistress.

Yang Can wasn't in a hurry. After his usual "urging" of Li Damu to update, he would wander around to show his presence, and then he would go back to his study to "read".

In just seven or eight days, Yang Can had sorted out the accounts of the six farms and three ranches over the past few years.

If we're comparing writing poetry, playing chess, or painting, Yang Can was indeed inferior to the scholars of his time.

However, once he becomes familiar with the basic rules, his ability to manage businesses and industries becomes even more exceptional.

Those accounts were running accounts, and running accounts are the easiest way to tamper with or cheat.

Time can be altered by backfilling or supplementing, and losses can be concealed by retroactively recording expired transactions.

By adding false items or deliberately omitting some items, one can mislead others, thereby fabricating expenditures, embezzling public funds, and misappropriating the difference.

However, even if Yang Can's accounting methods were not so impeccable, the ledgers were still full of loopholes and problems could be easily found.

Because Yu Huanhu handed over these accounts in a very rushed manner, there was no time to tamper with them.

Of course, it's quite possible that Yu Huanhu never intended to tamper with or cover up anything; he probably hoped the eldest branch of the family could find loopholes in the accounts.

Once the problem is identified, will you take action or not?
Regardless, what will you do about these deficits from previous years?
Guan, it's the spring planting season, and you've caused panic in the fields, resulting in a huge reduction in the autumn harvest. How will you explain this to the whole clan?

This is the unsolvable problem that Yu Huanhu has left for the eldest branch of the family.

However, Yang Can didn't seem to care about this.

He marked all the problems he found on the statistical table, locked the table in the cabinet, and then continued to urge Li, the accountant, to update the table as usual.

Early that morning, Yang Can took Wangcai to the small kitchen for breakfast again.

As the butler's personal attendant, Wangcai's food and treatment were much better than those of ordinary servants.

He could find meat in his meals every day, though not much.

Therefore, Wangcai is very enthusiastic about eating. Every morning when Yang Can gets up to wash up, he waits early under the corridor, like a dog waiting for its meal.

Upon entering the dining hall, Yang Can sensed that something was amiss. The stewards were not chatting and laughing as usual, and the dining hall was unusually quiet.

Li Youcai was also there today, and he only managed a forced smile when he saw Yang Can.

Yang Can was puzzled. He sat down next to Li Youcai and whispered, "Grand Steward, what happened?"

Li Youcai also lowered his voice and said, "Early this morning, the clan leader and Second Master Suo went to the inner courtyard."

Yang Can was slightly startled: "What happened in the inner quarters?"

Li Youcai shook his head: "The clan leader and Master Suo have brought three famous doctors from Longxi."

Yang Can suddenly realized: "Is this to take the young mistress's pulse?"

Li Youcai nodded and let out a long sigh: "I hope that the young mistress will live up to expectations."

Yang Can touched his nose. Everyone's concern about whether Suo Chanzhi was pregnant was putting a lot of pressure on Yang Can.

After all, he was the one who cleared the land and planted the seeds. To be honest, after learning about this, Yang Can also found it hard to eat.

The reason others were not in the mood to eat was because they were worried about the future of the eldest son's family, as the future of the eldest son's family directly affected their own future.

For Yang Can, this moment is even more important, as it determines whether he will walk on the edge of a knife to pursue a wealthy future.

After breakfast, all the stewards went to the area where the front and back houses met, where there were some buildings.

The architectural layout of wealthy and powerful families emphasizes a distinction between the interior and exterior.

Therefore, the part connecting the front and back houses is not just a high wall, but rather a series of buildings built along the wall, both inside and out.

This not only serves to separate the front and back, maintaining good privacy, but also has the effect of gathering and retaining auspicious energy in Feng Shui.

Therefore, in the area where the front and back houses of the Yu family's main house are connected, on one side inside, separated by a hanging flower gate, are the inner study and the women's kitchen.

On one side of the outer wall are the accounting office and the steward's office.

Li Youcai, Li the accountant, and other stewards from the former residence all arrived in this area today, coincidentally.

They each had their own excuses, and went to different rooms to pretend to do things, but their whole attention was focused on the inner quarters.

Later on, people stopped being so secretive and would gather in twos and threes, sitting and drinking tea absentmindedly, waiting for news from the inner quarters.

"Manager Niu, our Second Steward is really patient. Everyone is waiting for news here, but he doesn't even come to listen to the message."

When Accountant Li noticed that only Yang Can was absent, he couldn't help but say something to Steward Niu with a sigh.

Steward Niu shook his head and stroked his beard, saying, "Mr. Li, our Steward Yang is extremely disliked by the young mistress."

If the young mistress doesn't get pregnant, our main branch will have to be dissolved sooner or later, and he'll have to find another way out.

But if the young mistress gets pregnant, hey! Then the young mistress will have all the power in her hands.

In the end, they'll still kick him out, and he'll still have to find his own way. So, what do you think he's doing here?

Accountant Li chuckled, "That's true. Among all the members of our eldest branch, the one who cares least about whether the young mistress is pregnant is probably our Steward Yang."

Yang Can did not go to the back gate to wait for news. Firstly, everyone knew that he was not well-liked by the Suo family, so it was not appropriate for him to wait there.

On the other hand, it was also because he was more nervous than anyone else.

The anxiety of whether or not one can become a father, the anxiety of deciding the path one will take in the future...

Having lived two lives, this was the first time he had faced such a significant change and choice.

Finally, Yang Can couldn't hold back any longer and sent Wangcai away.

He instructed Wangcai to wait outside the inner courtyard, ready to receive any news.

He himself opened a book and sat in his study.

He tried to calm himself down, but even though the doors and windows were open, he still felt extremely hot.

……

Inside the orchid room in the back courtyard, an elderly doctor, over seventy years old with white hair and beard, was using the "three parts and nine points" method to steadily place two fingers on the white wrist entwined with branches.

The four maids from the inner quarters, Qingmei and Qiaoshe, along with the old doctor's assistant and his daughter-in-law who was over fifty years old, all stood to one side, watching intently.

Suo Chanzhi was very nervous, her heart was pounding so hard that her pulse became rapid.

She tried to calm her breathing, but the more she tried, the more rapid her breathing became.

The old doctor certainly noticed Suo Chanzhi's nervousness, but in his view, it was all quite normal.

Whether the eldest branch of the family can still exist, and what the future holds for the young mistress of the eldest branch, all depend on this matter. How could the young mistress not be nervous?

Therefore, the old doctor became exceptionally cautious. Although he was already confident with his medical skills, he still took the pulse several more times.

Finally, the old doctor withdrew his finger, smiled, and cupped his hands, saying, "Congratulations, young mistress, you are pregnant."

As soon as these words were spoken, all the maids and servants in the room showed joy.

The lord and Master Suo each invited people, a total of three highly renowned doctors in the Northwest region.

The doctor in front of us was the last of the three doctors to make a diagnosis, and also the most famous of them.

The first two doctors had confirmed that the young mistress was pregnant, and now that the old doctor had said so, a huge weight had been lifted from their hearts.

The old doctor rose, cupped his hands, and said, "Young Madam, I will go and meet with my two colleagues, and then we will go together to report to the clan leader. I will take my leave."

"Thank you for your help, sir."

Suo Chanzhi thanked her, but she was still feeling confused.

These days she has been hoping and hoping, day and night, that she can get pregnant.

Now that her wish has finally come true, she doesn't feel the sudden joy of relaxation; instead, she feels even more nervous.

With her palm gently placed on her lower abdomen, Suo Chanzhi seemed to sense that a small life was growing there...

(End of this chapter)