Chapter 110: Determining the Site and Returning to Bianjing

The Sheng family’s good show is about to begin.

Yang Wenyuan, who was far away in Huangzhou, had also completed the last leg of his journey.

The location of Yang's hometown is called Yangjia Town.

It was originally called Something Village, but after the Yang family became prosperous, the name of the village was changed to Yangjia Village.

Later, as the population grew, it became the most prosperous and bustling town in the surrounding area, and was also named Yangjia Town.

When he arrived at the place, Yang Wenyuan still adhered to the principle of keeping a low profile and entered Yangjia Town quietly.

Yang Wenyuan’s first stop was to go to the old ancestral hall of the Yang family under the guidance of the elders of the old family.

The old ancestral hall is located in the very center of Yangjia Town.

The residents around here are all members of the Yang clan, and are all relatives of Yang Wenyuan within the fifth degree of mourning.

Most of these people come from wealthy families.

When they were young, most of them went out to make a living, but when they got older, they chose to return to Yangjia Town and live in the town.

It is not only a place to return to one's roots, but also a place to protect the prosperity of the Yang family.

The exterior of the ancestral hall is made of blue bricks and gray tiles, and the walls are covered with traces of time.

After years of baptism, the ancestral hall in front of us looks mottled and weathered, simple and solemn.

The tiles at the edge of the eaves are broken, but they still firmly protect the ancient buildings here.

The stone lions in front of the door are also very old.

It stands to reason that after a clan becomes prosperous, they should repair the ancestral hall.

Not to mention that Yangjia Town has no shortage of Yang clan members who followed the Pingyang Marquis Mansion and became wealthy, so the ancestral hall should have been repaired long ago.

However, since the spirit tablets and ancestral portraits in the ancestral hall had long been moved to the Mansion of Marquis Pingyang in Bian Jing, and considering that this was the original ancestral hall, although there were constant incense offerings, there had been no major renovations, and it was kept in its original appearance for future generations to remember.

After offering incense to the local elders and informing the ancestral spirits who might be nostalgic and still remained in the ancestral hall about his marriage, Yang Wenyuan left the town on horseback and began to explore the surrounding area for a suitable place to set up his black powder workshop.

As mentioned before, the land around Yangjia Town all belongs to the Yang clan.

Yang Wenyuan was not sure how large the territory was expanded.

But certainly a lot.

Anyway, wherever they looked along the way, the fertile fields on both sides of the Xihe River were claimed by the Yang clan members who were accompanying them as their own.

To be able to acquire so much fertile land, it is obvious that there were many mergers and acquisitions involved.

In Yang Wenyuan's expectation, his black powder workshop must be located in a sparsely populated area, so that the experimenters can conduct explosives tests without restraint.

It would be best if there was a water source.

This will flush the gunpowder residue into the water without leaving any trace.

With this idea in mind, Yang Wenyuan walked and looked around, getting further and further away from the prosperous area.

After several days, Yang Wenyuan finally found an ideal place.

It was a valley surrounded by mountains on three sides and facing a river on one side.

The surrounding land is barren and it is close to mountains and forests, so it is sparsely populated.

This valley is said to be surrounded by mountains on three sides, but in fact it is not completely surrounded, but there is open space on all sides.

However, these empty spaces were either overgrown with weeds or rugged, and the heights varied greatly. Without the professional mountain-opening and rock-climbing tools of later generations, basically no one could get in.

One side faces the river.

This river is a tributary of a large river.

The river flows rapidly in this area and there are no fishermen.

It is very suitable for a black powder workshop to set up camp here.

However, this place is so desolate and not suitable for farming. It does not even meet the minimum standard for the Yang family to hoard land. Naturally, no one owns land here.

However, seeing that Yang Wenyuan was interested, the members of the Yang family who accompanied him immediately patted their chests and guaranteed that they would be able to take over this piece of land before next year.

After investigation, Yang Wenyuan found that there were still a few poor families living nearby, as well as some hunter villages that relied on the mountains for their livelihood. Yang Wenyuan did not want to displace these people, so he instructed them to properly resettle them.

Or give money.

Or let these people rent the Yang family's fertile land and charge a little less rent.

If none of them are willing, you can help them find a job in the Yang family shop.

Being sent by the clan elders to be with Yang Wenyuan, this person was naturally granted the right to act at his discretion, so he readily agreed.

He immediately promised to buy the land and houses of those people in the name of land reclamation and let them cultivate the fertile fields of the tribe.

Yang Wenyuan nodded.

"What's your name?"

This guy seems to be quite smart, and we can let him arrange the matters in advance.

After the black powder workshop was set up, it was handed over to my cousin Yang Wenyan.

When the man heard Yang Wenyuan asking about his name, he was immediately overjoyed, knowing that he had caught the Marquis's eye, and hurriedly said:

"Yang Sixi, Lord, my name is Yang Sixi."

When Yang Wenyuan heard this, he immediately understood that this person was five generations away from himself and was not even considered a side branch of the Yang family. No wonder he was so ecstatic.

But this name is really festive.

Four joys.

The four greatest joys in life: rain after a long drought, meeting an old friend in a foreign land, the wedding night, and getting your name on the list of successful candidates.

The place for the gunpowder workshop that I had been looking for so long was finally found, which was like a blessing in disguise.

The wedding night is just around the corner.

It is especially promising when one’s name is on the list of successful candidates.

All that’s missing is meeting an old friend in a foreign land.

However, if Yang Wenyuan really met an old friend in a foreign land, he would probably not be surprised but frightened.

Yang Wenyuan was delighted and patted Yang Sixi's shoulder vigorously:

"First, find out the situation nearby. I will immediately send a letter to Bianjing and ask them to send a steward here to help you. If you have any problems, just go to him and tell him all the money and connections. He will help you deal with it."

Although Yang Sixi was pushed forward by the clan elders, he should be credible.

But Yang Wenyuan couldn't rely entirely on others, so it was necessary to send a trusted steward from the Marquis' Mansion.

It is to assist Yang Sixi in carrying out his work.

At the same time, it also monitors Yang Sixi's various behaviors.

Only in this way can Yang Wenyuan feel at ease.

Yang Wenyuan stared at Yang Sixi and said solemnly:
"I only have one request, that we resettle the residents nearby as soon as possible, and not treat them harshly, and then we occupy this valley and clean it up."

After hearing what Yang Wenyuan said, Yang Sixi couldn't help nodding in agreement, realizing that Yang Wenyuan had taken a liking to him and was beginning to assign him tasks.

Although he wondered why the Marquis wanted this barren and remote valley, Yang Sixi understood that the more powerful a person was, the less he liked others to guess his thoughts. So he kept reminding himself not to be curious and to try his best to complete the task assigned by Yang Wenyuan. Then, his future rich and prosperous life would come naturally.

After explaining everything, Yang Wenyuan left five personal guards here to cooperate with Yang Sixi's actions.

I started my journey as planned.

First take the water route directly to Hongzhou.

After picking up Wang Ruofu, they returned to Beijing together.

As for Wang Ruofu’s two nephews.

When Yang Wenyuan arrived at Bailu Academy, he asked them to go back.

Obtaining things too easily will not bring gratitude from the beneficiaries, but will most likely result in endless demands.

When grace ends, the ugliness of human nature begins.

(End of this chapter)