Grass and mustard reign supreme

Chapter 46 Secretly assassinating Chen Cang
The next morning, Yang Can brought Li Damu and Qingmei to Zhang Yunyi.

Upon hearing Yang Can explain his purpose, Zhang Yunyi readily agreed.

"Zhang is an upright and honest person, and we hope that a thorough investigation will prove his innocence."

Zhang Yunyi laughed heartily and immediately instructed his steward, Wan Tai, to summon the head accountant from the estate.

Yang Can then said, "Although Miss Sangzhi and Miss Xiaotan are both thoughtful and gentle, I do not need them here. Please ask the Master to send them back."

Upon hearing this, Li Damu immediately began to cough loudly.

Zhang Yunyi glanced at Qingmei, assuming that the young lady was jealous of Steward Yang.

Hehe, it's probably because Steward Yang is trying to seduce this little maidservant of the young mistress that he offended the Suo family too badly before, and now he wants to ease the tension with the Suo family indirectly.

In this way, it would be that Steward Yang needed Qingmei's help, so he would naturally try his best to please her.

Thinking of this, Zhang Yunyi smiled and stroked his beard, saying, "Since the steward doesn't need them, then I will simply call them back."

"Uh...cough cough cough..." Accountant Li coughed a few more times.

Master Zhang glanced at Li Damu and said, "Mr. Li is going to take stock of the accounts of my Feng'an Manor for the past three years, which must be a lot of work."

"How about I choose one from the mulberry branch and the sandalwood branch to serve you tea and water and take care of your daily needs?"

"Haha, Master Zhang is so considerate, then this old man will accept your hospitality without being impolite."

But there's no need to choose, Xiao Tan is perfect, hahaha, she's perfect.

Li Damu couldn't wait to make his choice and picked his favorite one.

Zhang Yunyi thought to himself, "That's exactly what I wanted to hear."

Although Sangzhi was just a concubine, in Master Zhang's eyes she was an item that could be traded.

But it has to be worth the price!

In Zhang Yunyi's eyes, Steward Yang was only worth the price of the mulberry branch.

As for Xiao Tan, she was just Sang Zhi's personal maid. He originally wanted to transfer Xiao Tan to serve Li Damu.

So Zhang Yunyi smiled and agreed.

A short while later, Wan Tai arrived with the farm's chief accountant.

Master Zhang gave his accountant some instructions and then had him take Accountant Li away.

Yang Can then said, "I am not good at accounting, and I have now handed over the important matter to Mr. Li."

But Yang couldn't just sit idly by, so he decided to take a tour of the village.

Otherwise, if the news reached the ears of the patriarch and his young mistress, Yang would be in a difficult position to explain himself.

Zhang Yunyi raised an eyebrow: "Would you like me to accompany you?"

Yang Can politely declined, saying, "It's spring planting season right now, so there's no need for the manor owner to accompany me."

However, Yang did indeed need several people familiar with the affairs of the estate to accompany him.

Yang Can knew that Zhang Yunyi would be worried if he didn't let someone accompany him.

His gaze swept over the group of managers behind Zhang Yunyi.

Zhang Yunyi smiled and said, "In my family, farming is of paramount importance, and in Feng'an Village, farming is the main focus."

"Alright then, let the head of the estate, Lai Gulu, and the field supervisor, Peng Jin, accompany Steward Yang on his inspection."

The head of the village, Lai Gulu, and the field supervisor, Peng Jin, one in charge of people and the other in charge of land, were a perfect match.

So Lai Gulu and Peng Jin accompanied Yang Can and Qingmei out of Feng'an Fort.

As soon as Yang Can left, a hint of doubt appeared in Zhang Yunyi's eyes.

He was prepared for the estate's accounts to be audited.

There was no time to actually prepare, because Master Yu handed over the accounts too quickly.

But in everything, the one who plays an absolute role is always human.

As for the human aspect, Yang Can had already offered incense to him long ago.

Li Youcai, the chief steward, has already spoken to him on his behalf.

Logically speaking, he had already dealt with Yang Can, and he was even more confident about dealing with Li Damu.

But what he feared was that the new broom sweeps clean, and that Yang Can might be too ambitious!
While pondering this, Master Zhang beckoned and summoned his steward, Wan Tai, to his side.

"Wan Tai, go and tell Lai Gulu and Peng Jin a few words, tell them... to take good care of Steward Yang."

Wan Tai understood immediately and nodded, saying, "Don't worry, sir, I'll go right away."

"and many more!"

Zhang Yunyi called him again, his gaze darkening, and his expression becoming somewhat conflicted.

After a long silence, Zhang Yunyi stroked his beard and slowly said, "Have our men prepare themselves in case things get out of control..."

Zhang Yunyi's hand swept down his beard and slid down to his chest, the movement sharp and swift, like a knife slashing down.

Even though Wan Tai had followed Zhang Yunyi since he was young and had done all sorts of dirty work, he was still taken aback.

"Master, Steward Yang is a man sent by the clan leader!"

If something happens to him on our estate...

Even without any evidence, we can't escape responsibility.

Zhang Yunyi sneered, "No matter how big the connection is, can it be bigger than our 'mountain goods smuggling' business?"

Wan Tai was taken aback, but Zhang Yunyi comforted him, saying, "As long as there is no evidence, even the clan leader cannot put us to death."

But if the warlord finds out about 'trading mountain goods,' you know the consequences."

Wan Tai gritted his teeth, a cold glint flashing in his eyes: "Master is right, I know what to do!"

……

Qingmei accompanied Yang Can to visit the village's artisan workshops and then to interview some villagers.

Then they went to the reservoir outside the village and finally came to a patch of fields in the west of the village.

Yang Can stood on the edge of the field, gazing at the farmers tilling the soil. The spring breeze caressed his face, and he felt refreshed and relaxed.

Suddenly a fragrant breeze wafted by, and turning my head, I saw Qingmei's pretty face, which could be both happy and angry, already close to me.

"Hey, are we just going to wander around like this all day?"

Yang Can chuckled: "What, you're already tired?" Qingmei turned her head and glanced at Peng Jin and Lai Gulu chatting under the tree.

She lowered her voice and said, "Didn't you say that someone else was the one who would break the deadlock?"
Then why are we working so hard? Their legs are aching from all that walking.

As she spoke, she stretched her legs.

Yang Can looked down and saw a deerskin boot peeking out from under her pomegranate skirt.

Even the shoes appear extremely small.

Seeing his fixed gaze, Qingmei shyly pulled her feet back under her skirt.

Qingmei said coquettishly, "I'm talking to you, didn't you hear me?"

Yang Can shrugged and said helplessly, "If we stay in Feng'an Fort, how can Master Zhang not become suspicious?"

Qingmei said coquettishly, "Oh, I know you have a lot of clever ideas, so why don't you think of a way?"

Yang Can suddenly grinned mischievously: "Well, there are ways, for example..."

Seeing Yang Can's lecherous gaze, Qingmei's pretty face suddenly turned as red as the elm-leaf plum blossoms in spring.

"Ugh, do you want to die?!"

Qingmei stretched out her foot and "forcefully" rubbed it against Yang Can's foot.

Perhaps it was because her feet were small, or perhaps it was because Qingmei's body was so light.

In short, stepping on it didn't hurt at all, but it made Yang Can's heart itch.

Previously, when the branches were intertwined, Yang Can was like Pigsy eating ginseng fruit, not even having time to taste it.

As for Pan Xiaowan, she was a female demon who wanted to eat Tang Sanzang's flesh, yet she was also afraid of being eaten, which gave her a unique charm.

Now, Yang Can has no intention of eating this little green plum.

Isn't this kind of ambiguous communication a wonderful feeling?

……

The fields in Longshang thaw much later than those in the Central Plains.

The sowing season here is generally about a month later than in the Central Plains region.

At this time of year, the seedlings in the Central Plains are already thriving, while here spring plowing and tilling have just begun.

On the vast and flat plains, a scene of busy farming activities unfolds.

The self-cultivating farmers, the serf households, and the tenant farmers of Feng'an Village are tilling the land.

The turned soil was soft and fluffy, resembling yellow waves.

Unlike the black soil of Liaodong region, which is so fertile you could squeeze oil out of a handful, this soil is much richer.
The soil in Longshang is generally yellow or brownish-yellow.

Although it's not black soil, this place is indeed known as the "Granary of Longyou," and can be considered to have fertile land.

The black soil in Liaodong is a naturally formed black calcareous soil.

It is formed by the slow decomposition of a large amount of organic matter in the soil, and is a "naturally" fertile soil.

The soil in the Hetao region is irrigated by the Longhe River.

The Longhe River is rich in various biological nutrients, which makes up for the inherent deficiencies of the local soil.

Leopard Head Cheng Dakuan's wife was working in the field at that moment.

Old Man Cheng, the father-in-law, held the plow, while Mrs. Cheng led the ox.

Her two sons and several cousins ​​of similar age were playing on the ridge.

The little girl, wrapped in swaddling clothes, lay fast asleep on the clean roots of a large tree that protruded from the ground.

Cheng Dakuan is the eldest son of the Cheng family and also the most successful child in the family.

He had six younger brothers and two younger sisters; this was the glorious achievement of Old Man Cheng's life.

Of Cheng Da-kuan's six younger brothers, two died in childhood.

So now he has four younger brothers and two younger sisters, and the whole family are self-sufficient farmers.

Compared to the tenant farmers, the Cheng family's life was certainly much better.

However, this "better" is only relative to those tenant farmers.

As the eldest brother, Cheng Dakuan also came from the best family, so he often helped his younger siblings.

Otherwise, given his position as a steward in the Yu family, if he were only taking care of his own small family, his life would be even more comfortable.

Next to Cheng Dakuan's land, in a row, are the lands of his younger brother and sister.

This entire tract of land belongs to the Cheng family.

None of the younger brothers have oxen for plowing, and if they all wait for their eldest brother's oxen to become available, they might miss the planting season.

Therefore, they can only use people to pull the plow now.

If there isn't a strong laborer in the family, this kind of exhausting work really can't be done.

Fortunately, Old Man Cheng's extraordinary talent was not only his ability to give birth, but also that his children were all taller and stronger than ordinary people.

The Cheng brothers were all burly and strong.

Therefore, although pulling the plow was hard work, the Cheng family could still manage it.

In the fields, Cheng Lao Er and his sixteen-year-old eldest son, with burlap pads on their shoulders, were plowing the land like old oxen, their backs bent and their legs kicking.

Sweat streamed down their faces, onto their chests and backs, or splattered directly into the ground from their foreheads and chins.

Cheng Erniang was holding the plow from behind, and the family of three was plowing the field.

If we plow more land now, we can finish plowing the rest of the land faster once the eldest son's oxen are free.

In that way, the other brothers' families can also "receive help" more quickly.

Suddenly, a pair of hemp shoes appeared in front of Cheng Lao Er.

Cheng Lao Er looked up and saw a face with half of his beard and hair like spears, visible under a bamboo hat.

Although he hadn't seen his face yet, Cheng Lao Er already recognized the person.

He exclaimed in surprise, "Big Brother?"

(End of this chapter)