Love letters are not allowed in the exorcism notebook!-Chapter 1244 - 34: The Yang Family Must Not Lose Its Culinary Skills (2)
"Um..."
"Professor Chen’s real name is Chen Yajing. I remembered this when I accompanied her to check into the hotel. Later, I looked into this person and found out that during the seventh year of the Longyin era in the Former Dynasty, the plague broke out in Xiangjiang. Professor Chen, along with several other scholars, came to Xiangjiang and developed a targeted vaccine, which finally brought the epidemic under control. Miscommunication among the public resulted in her being considered the Holy Mother Chen Jinggu, leading to the establishment of a shrine for her."
Yang Chen suddenly realized, "So you’re saying she’s just a doctor? Not some Immortal?"
Yang Songxian slammed his cane on the table, sending the plates flying, "Get out!"
Blood pressure is rising.
Yang Chen fled in embarrassment.
"Father, calm down, don’t compare yourself to him."
Yang Zhen quickly stood up and supported Yang Songxian, whose forehead veins were bulging.
Then turned to Yang Chan and said, "Old Ninth, you’ve had more contact with them, what do you know? Just tell us everything."
Yang Chan shook his head and said, "I had a relatively open conversation with that brother surnamed Yin. He is unwilling to speak much about his background, but in his words, he often refers to Professor Chen as the Heavenly Monarch Chen, while they call themselves disciples of Penglai."
"As for the purpose of this trip, it’s not related to the plague; local plagues recur yearly, and they were unaware before coming. According to Brother Yin, they are here to settle karma for their senior brother, in other words, a personal vendetta."
Yang Zhen frowned, clearly unable to connect this with today’s meal gathering.
Yang Chan glanced at Yang Songxian and continued, "Earlier, father wanted Professor Chen to intervene and resolve the plague issue again. But Professor Chen is clearly unwilling to wade into this muddy water and is not very interested in merit or field of virtue."
"Is she really going to sit back and do nothing with the wailing of the city?"
"Brother, what position does she have to deal with this matter?"
Yang Zhen was left speechless.
Yang Songxian tapped the table, "Continue."
Yang Chan said helplessly, "Actually, I don’t quite understand why we’re involved in this matter. The hotel at the mountaintop has always been in competition with us. Even if there wasn’t this incident, that troublemaker young fellow was bound to run into other problems sooner or later. Why bother cleaning up after him, father?"
Yang Songxian shook his head, "It’s not such a simple problem. Tomorrow, I’m returning to Guangdong Province. Old Ninth, do your best to meet all the guests’ demands. And, Old Fourth, stop focusing only on pretty girls; find your woman outside, don’t cause trouble for the family’s guests."
"Also, Old First, find a chance to donate some money to the hospital tomorrow; it’s not the time to gloat or add insult to injury. Don’t discuss Professor Chen’s matters with anyone. I have little friendship with Ah Zhen without any room for you to squander. If anyone can’t keep their mouth shut, I’ll send him to the ancestral temple to receive house rules!"
After his sons dispersed, Yang Songxian leaned on his cane and went to the rooftop to enjoy the sea breeze for a while, then had the old servant call Yang Chan back.
"Do you know why I’m calling you back?"
Yang Chan lowered his head, "I don’t know."
"Are you pretending to be naive, afraid your eldest brother and fourth brother are wary of you?"
"Father, you’re joking."
Yang Songxian glared at him, "These brothers of yours, I’ve raised them into uselessness, short-sighted and incapable of great tasks... there’s no way around it. The Yang Family committed too many sins back then, with enemies everywhere. If they’re not useless, they might not even survive."
Yang Chan silently nodded.
"Tell me your thoughts."
Encouraged by Yang Songxian, Yang Chan raised his head and quietly asked, "Father, Penglai... what kind of place is it?"
Yang Songxian looked deeply at him, shaking his head, "In the past, the Yang Family, although not saying we were nobility spanning four generations, had disciples all over the world, controlling all major and minor matters in the court. Today, the situation is different. The Northern faction is completely separated from us, treating us as enemies. The overseas faction has other thoughts, also not considering us."
"Regarding court affairs, we’re deaf and blind, knowing nothing. Don’t mention Penglai; even the Twelve Laws being pushed in the North are a fantasy for us now."
Yang Chan said, "I heard that father secretly sent people to gather Secret Manuals and Cultivation Techniques..."
Yang Songxian snorted coldly, "No matter how good the Secret Manuals or Cultivation Techniques, without a master to guide you, what use is it? Or can any child from your generation show signs of genius, self-taught without guidance?"
Yang Chan was momentarily speechless.
A genius is indeed rare and elusive, even a Noble Family cannot guarantee prodigious offspring.
Raising one or two is good enough.
"What do you think of the young people who came with Chen Yajing?" 𝕗𝚛𝚎𝚎𝐰𝗲𝗯𝗻𝚘𝚟𝚎𝗹.𝕔𝐨𝕞
"None are ordinary; they’re calm and composed with hidden inner light. Even Brother Yin, who is more lively and carefree, is quite shrewd. While polite on the surface, they didn’t really regard our Yang Family. The youngest of them speaks with a local Xiangjiang accent."
"He must be a newly recruited disciple here."
Yang Songxian sighed, "For someone to achieve great things, having ability is one problem; being able to integrate into that circle is another. There is only one way to enter that circle: prove your value to those inside. Tell me... what value does our family have now?"
Yang Chan paused in silence, then nodded, "There is."
"What is it?"
"Xiangjiang!"
Yang Chan said seriously, "The new government has been established for three years and still hasn’t regained control over Xiangjiang—not because they can’t deal with the British, but they’re afraid of rash moves scaring the wealthy merchants here. If Xiangjiang’s merchants side with the Four Seas Commerce Guild, the entire Southern region will be in turmoil. Instead of breaking this cyst prematurely leading to uncontrollable chaos, it’s better to let it sit like this, waiting for the President to consolidate and digest the Northern provinces, then lead the charge southward with momentum. By that time..."
"Xiangjiang won’t be worth much!"
Hearing these words, Yang Songxian’s face finally showed a satisfied smile.
Having experienced ups and downs early in life, he grasped a fundamental truth from it.
If money doesn’t circulate, it’s just like a stone.
When you’re always profiting, and others always losing, why wouldn’t they resent you deeply?
Only when others can benefit from you will they wish for your long life.
"The Yang Family now, apart from some foul money, really has nothing worthwhile to show. What Chen Yajing wants, we can’t give, but we can find someone who can negotiate with her."
"As for here... Xiao Xu is in the mountaintop hotel, and I haven’t called her back. With her character, she must have already started doing some things inside. Leak the news to her about Chen Yajing’s vaccine research back then, let her think of a way to get out."
Yang Chan hesitated and said in a lowered voice, "Father, I feel it’s not quite appropriate. With Xiao Xu’s character, it might lead to complications. It would be better for me to ask Brother Yin for help to get Xiao Xu out, making such narratives more reasonable."
Yang Songxian frowned, "That Yin boy is still single? With beautiful junior and senior sisters..."
"According to my observation, yes."
"Very good, you’ve thought thoroughly; I’ll leave this arrangement to you."
Yang Songxian felt deeply gratified, believing that Heaven doesn’t disappoint the striving. After years of hard work expanding branches and leaves, he finally reaped some mature fruits.
Yang Chan, Yang Xu.
Whether the Yang Family can rise in this generation depends on whether these siblings can perform the play well.
However, surprises always come so unexpectedly.
Early the next morning, when Yang Chan woke up, considering his remarks while washing, a servant rushed in frantically shouting.
"Lord Ninth, it’s bad! Pirates have landed!"
Yang Chan was completely stunned.
Pirates? Landed?
Where?
What kind of nonsense is this, having a nightmare?
This is Xiangjiang, no disturbances for many years.
He quickly put on his clothes and ran outside, asking the servant, "Do you know where the pirates came from? What flag did they raise, what course did they report?"
"I heard they’re Wokou Pirates."
Ah?
Yang Chan just reached the door, and upon hearing this, he missed a step, nearly twisting his ankle.
"Say it again, what are they?"
The servant also panicked, "I heard people outside say they look like Wokou Pirates..."
Why don’t you say they’re aliens from the Celestial Top?
