Chapter 72

Yang Shouwen walked to the city gate and called out to Er Lang from a distance.

Yang Rui heard the call and hurried over.

"Er Lang, what are you doing here?"

"Big Brother, you don’t know. Today, hundreds of refugees from the Jingnan Army have arrived. The county office is short-handed, so Father asked me to come and help."

"Refugees have arrived?"

"It’s already the sixth day. They should be here by now."

Yang Shouwen looked outside the city and saw that the checkpoint was in chaos.

There were guards and militiamen at the checkpoint, checking the passersby. If they encountered people coming from the direction of the Jingnan Army, the checks were even stricter. Generally, the arrival of refugees not only puts pressure on food supplies but also increases the risk of enemy spies infiltrating the city. If not careful, it could lead to disaster.

"Hey, isn’t that Gai Erlang?"

Yang Shouwen saw Gai Jiayun among the militiamen.

Yang Rui snorted, "Don’t mention him. All 500 militiamen in the city have been mobilized, patrolling the streets and conducting inspections... Big Brother, sometimes I really regret it. I’m just making trouble for myself, not like you who is so relaxed."

Yang Shouwen laughed, "This is called 'fortune harbors misfortune, and misfortune harbors fortune.' The old man lost his horse, who knows if it’s not a blessing. I’m very smart, and now I know to regret it. What did you do back then? You were just a cowherd."

As the two brothers interacted, Yang Shouwen no longer held a grudge about the past.

Yang Rui, however, blushed.

"Big Brother, don’t mock me, don’t mock me, it’s embarrassing, it’s embarrassing."

Seeing his reaction, Yang Shouwen couldn’t help but laugh again.

"Er Lang, I’m exhausted like a dead dog, but you’re hiding here to avoid work."

At this moment, Gai Jiayun, who was at the checkpoint, ran over. He first bowed to Yang Shouwen and then started to complain.

Yang Rui couldn’t afford to lose face in front of Gai Jiayun.

He snorted, "I’m the county lieutenant’s attendant. I’m here on orders to assist and specifically to monitor if you’re slacking off."

"Hmph!" Gai Jiayun snorted, somewhat pouting.

"Er Lang, you came just in time, saving me a trip."

Yang Shouwen stopped their argument and said softly, "Help me send a message. Tell Huang Qi that he’s going on official business to Ji County tomorrow and ask your father to take care of him."

"Ah?"

Yang Shouwen ignored Gai Jiayun’s surprised expression.

He patted Yang Rui’s shoulder, "Work hard... Father doesn’t have anyone he trusts now. You need to take on more responsibilities to ease his burden. I still have to continue patrolling the streets, so you focus on the checks here."

After saying this, Yang Shouwen ignored the noise outside and turned to leave.

Gai Jiayun couldn’t help but complain to Yang Rui, "You people in the government are really ruthless."

He wasn’t stupid and knew what Yang Shouwen had discussed with Gai Laojun the day before. So he understood what Yang Shouwen meant by 'taking care of him.'

Yang Rui rolled his eyes and said softly, "As if your father is very kind. My father only mentioned one person, but your father reported seven."

"Hmph!" Gai Jiayun pouted and turned to leave.

Yang Rui also snorted and slowly walked to the city gate, patrolling with his sword.

++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

After playing for the afternoon, You Niang and Qing Nu were tired.

"Jasmine, are you full now?"

"It’s Yang Jiaoli... I’m only half full. If there’s more food, I can eat more."

Yang Jiaoli said with a simple smile.

He had eaten quite a bit today—over a dozen mooncakes, two meat pies, and a bunch of other snacks. With Yang Shouwen’s impressive appetite, it would take two meals to finish all that. But Yang Jiaoli was only half full, which made Yang Shouwen quite worried.

This guy eats too much!

He’s only thirteen... and he almost matches the food intake of everyone in the Yang household. It’s manageable now, but if his appetite continues to increase as he grows older, it will be a significant expense.

Unfortunately, the situation in Changping is chaotic, and it’s not the right time to start brewing alcohol.

Once the situation stabilizes, he must start the alcohol business as soon as possible, or he’ll be eaten into poverty by this guy.

In fact, if it weren’t for the horses they had taken from Gushu, it would be a struggle. Initially, they brought back nine horses, kept five, and sold four, which amounted to 3,000 guan. Without this money, relying solely on Yang Chenglie’s income and the income from the land, it wouldn’t take long to be drained by Yang Jiaoli.

So, the Sumeo Mohe people... are not bad.

Yang Shouwen brought everyone back home, and Yang Jiaoli had another lunch.

In the afternoon, the sun was bright.

Yang Shouwen started telling the story of "Journey to the West" to You Niang and Qing Nu. With recent events, the story had been told intermittently, but they had covered about half of it.

The audience started with You Niang and later included Qing Nu.

Now, it also included Song Shi and Yang Shi. Indeed, as one of the Four Great Classical Novels, it appeals to all ages. Anyone who hears it will like it.

As Tang Sanzang, Sun Wukong, Zhu Bajie, Sha Wujing, and Bai Long Ma appeared in the story, the four puppies also found their owners. Yang Rui announced his ownership of Sha Wujing, while Song Shi expressed her fondness for Bai Long Ma. When Yang Rui was away, Sha Wujing was taken care of by Yang Shi. As for Puti Laozu, the former ugly girl, she now lay on the porch like an enlightened monk, half-closed eyes watching the tides rise and fall, the clouds drift by, enviable indeed...

Puti was no longer the emaciated dog from Gushu.

The four puppies were also plump and very cute.

After Yang Shouwen finished the story of Chechi Kingdom, You Niang and Qing Nu played in the courtyard, sometimes pretending to have the Golden Cudgel, sometimes looking for treasures, very happily.

However, Song Shi was a bit unhappy because Song Sanlang’s family came to the mansion to cause trouble again.

Fortunately, Song An stopped them outside, preventing them from affecting everyone’s mood. After yesterday’s incident, Song An realized that the Yang household had truly changed. Yang Shouwen, after regaining consciousness, had quietly taken control of the situation. In comparison, Yang Rui... Song An felt that this young man indeed needed training.

"Xizi, Xizi!"

While Yang Shouwen was watching You Niang and Qing Nu play, Old Hu came running over.

He was carrying a cloth bag, which jingled as he ran.

"I made it, the thing you asked for, I made it!"

He opened the bag and took out a U-shaped iron piece.

"Old Hu, what is this?"

Qing Nu ran over and asked curiously.

Old Hu smiled, "To answer the young lady, this is something Xizi... oh, the young master, custom-made. I don’t know what it’s for."

"Big Brother, what is this for?"

Qing Nu, hearing Old Hu’s words, immediately turned her gaze to Yang Shouwen.

Yang Shouwen smiled and said to Yang Jiaoli, "Yang Jiaoli, go and bring the injured horse from the stable and guard outside. No one is to enter without my order."

"Yang Jiaoli understands."

Yang Jiaoli responded in a simple tone and went to the front yard to bring the horse.

Yang Jiaoli sat at the back gate, while Yang Shouwen gestured for Old Hu to hold the reins. He walked forward and lifted the horse’s hoof.

"Xizi, what are you doing?"

Yang Shi heard the commotion and came over curiously.

She saw Yang Shouwen using a short knife to trim the horse’s hoof, then he used the U-shaped iron, placed a nail, and fixed the iron on the hoof, hammering the nail in.

"Brother Xizi, the horse will be in pain."

Not just You Niang and Qing Nu, even Yang Shi felt that what Yang Shouwen was doing seemed cruel.

"Don’t worry, Aunt. The hoof has a thick layer of keratin, so the horse won’t feel it. I’m putting shoes on it. Once it wears these shoes, it won’t easily injure its hooves when walking on mountain paths."

As he spoke, Yang Shouwen had already nailed on one horseshoe.

The horse, apart from being a bit uncomfortable, seemed to have no other reaction and stood there quietly.

You Niang and the others immediately showed a curious look...