Chapter 7: Chapter 7 The Glowing Voles in the Yang Manor
This question was answered on the second page of the book "Log In for 100 Free Draws."
1. When it's not comfortable to use, just give it a hit.
2. If you pull hard, Immortal plants will come out.
3. They're all quite cheap.
"Fuck?"
In his astonishment, Yang Genshuo pondered for a moment and thought there was some reason to it...
"No, using this book as the family development guide is a bit outrageous, right?"
He had no idea how to express the tremendous dismay he felt inwardly.
Seeing that the old ancestor showed no signs of instruction, Yang Shi took it upon himself to deal with things.
"Why aren't those three farming properly?"
"These three slaves were lazy, halfway through their work they ran off to catch field mice, and I caught them! Look!"
Hu Zi pulled out an enormous field mouse from his coarse sack, as big as an adult Earth dog!
Fat and large, with glossy fur.
At first glance, it looked like a mink, but upon closer examination, its sneaky eyes and gritty appearance revealed it as an enlarged version of a field mouse.
"How can there be such large field mice?" Yang Shi was surprised; during his 12 years of drifting about as a beggar, he had passed through many cities and caught many field mice, but he had never seen one this large.
Passersby on the road were especially astonished to see such a large mouse and unconsciously kept their distance from Hu Zi.
Hu Zi scratched his head.
"The slaves said there are a few field mice as big as this one in our fields. They went to catch them to eradicate the pests... and to enjoy a tasty meal on the side."
"If that's the case, they can be forgiven... let me see how they should be punished."
Upon seeing the Demon's Book, the three slaves shivered violently, as if they had seen their nemesis, but after hearing 'they can be forgiven,' they were somewhat relieved.
They all knew that Master Yang was known as a great benevolent man in Qingshi County and probably would not trouble them like Hu Zi, who was as ferocious as a wild dog.
"Hmm, found it, when a slave uses other reasons to justify their lack of work, regardless of whether the reasons are correct, they shall receive double the lashes."
Three slaves: "!!!"
"Hehehe~" Hu Zi revealed a grisly smile. The Hu Zi before them had changed from the beggar who relied on alms half a year ago, his body had developed rapidly, he had grown much stronger, especially the leather whip at his waist, truly the image of a wicked servant.
Just as he was about to pick up the whip, a pleasant female voice came from the tea house.
"Wait a moment!"
In half a year's time, Jiang Xiaobai, who had blossomed into a slender young girl, walked out. She was fair and tender, like a celestial maid that had stepped out of a painting, attracting the gaze of the tea house customers upstairs, who couldn't help but look out the window after Jiang Xiaobai.
Standing mere 1.5 meters tall next to the 180 centimeter Yang Shi, she seemed petite and cute, just like a small potato.
She pointed at the three prostrate slaves on the ground and said, "Master Yang has a kind heart, can't bear to see this..."
The three slaves immediately felt a surge of hope, looking at Jiang Xiaobai with grateful faces.
"Drag them to a place where Master Yang can't see them, then beat them."
Three slaves: "!!!"
"Alright~ I'll drag them to our manor to beat them, just to show the other slaves that the Yang Family's food isn't for nothing! Lazy skins, they can't do a day's work without a beating!"
Hu Zi dragged the three wailing slaves away, one man pulling three without any effort.
Yang Genshuo looked down at the scene, the corner of his mouth twitching ever so slightly.
Yang Shi seemed to sense the old ancestor observing him; after dealing with the situation, he explained in the teahouse's back courtyard.
"Old ancestor, these slaves are barbarians from the tribes outside Qingshi County. They are poorly civilized, physically strong but lazy, shirking labor, often blocking travelers to extort money, and theft in villages is common. The people around Qingshi County suffer greatly because of them, so I took people to catch these folks one by one. Following your advice from 'Log In for 100 Free Draws' for management, it indeed had a miraculous effect!"
"Not only can they sow and harvest for our Yang Family's Manor, but they have also transformed their thinking and no longer bring trouble to the village, gaining food through labor."
"However, just like what's written in books, slaves are hard to change by nature, and they instantly reveal their true colors with kind words and gentle speech. That's why I have Hu Zi teach them a lesson every day with a good whipping, ensuring the smooth operation of the manor."
Yang Genshuo: "..."
You know, from a certain perspective, Yang Shi is still doing good deeds.
"Whatever, overall, Yang Shi has fulfilled my requirement, further strengthening the Yang Family's foundation. The method is a bit different from what I had imagined, but... the results are good nonetheless."
Glancing at the time, it was already 1 a.m., he had slept for a whole 12 hours, and half a year had passed in Yang Shi's world.
He scrolled through the history messages on the right side, reviewing the events of the past six months, mainly these two major events.
[Year 1, Day 2, Yang Shi took Hu Zi from the beggars into his employ, who was deeply grateful and asked Yang Shi for a surname, hence the name Yang Hu.]
[Year 1, Day 20, Yang Shi sold a box of Alpine Sugar and a box of chocolate to the Treasure Pavilion, acquiring a large sum of money.]
[Year 1, Day 21, Yang Shi bought a restaurant and a hundred mu of good farmland.]
[Year 1, Day 60, Yang Shi and Yang Hu recruited a Ranger, captured the troublesome slaves, and drove them to the Yang Manor, using the seed reserves in the safe house to farm a hundred mu of good farmland. The slaves seemed to be quite adept at Immortal plants, intuitively mastering it.]
[Yang Hu became the manager of Yang Family's Manor.]
[Year 1, Day 95, Yang's Tabletop Game Tea House opened, attracting a storyteller to narrate the 'Romance of the Three Kingdoms.' It drew in a large audience, and the signature Immortal Floating Milk Tea became a symbol for Qingshi's ladies of fashion, offered in limited supply, and a cup was hard to come by. 'Three Kingdoms Kill' became the scholar's favorite board game.]
[Jiang Xiaobai became literate and articulate, stepping up as the manager of the tea house, and sales soared.]
[Year 1, Day 182, You used "Manifestation"...]
"Used the seeds from my safe house, huh... Well, that's interesting."
As a bona fide person from Hua, his safe house absolutely must have reserves for farming—the seeds for grains, vegetables, and cash crops, in case he needed to start over after an apocalypse.
"Farming for development, Yang Shi has taken a royally good strategy."
In such a technologically backward world, hoarding land is very important—it's the foundation of a family's wealth. And Yang Genshuo wanted to see if the seeds he brought from Earth would bear fruit in this world.
A row of golden characters appeared in the air:
"Go take a look at the manor."
"Following the instructions of the honored ancestor."
On the way there, Yang Genshuo pondered a strange question.
"Why did Yang Shi do nothing but train in martial arts last year, just like a hermit in seclusion, while this year, after just one sentence about developing the family, he suddenly had an epiphany, started all kinds of fancy schemes, and did quite well at that?"
He thought it over all the way there, and when he saw the "Fun-seeker" talent of Yang Shi, it suddenly dawned on him.
"Oh... because my observation suppressed his performance, it was only after I 'went into seclusion' that he was able to unleash himself."
"Interesting."
Yang Family's Manor was located to the north of Qingshi County, at the foot of the small hill where the Yang Family's ancestral graves were.
A hundred mu of the manor still looked quite impressive, the size of ten football fields.
Under the summer sun, all things were growing, and slaves shuttled among them, exuding an indescribable harmony.
Most of the vegetables had already matured and could be harvested for sale.
Some of the vegetables were exotic varieties not native to the area, highly loved by the wealthy masters and ladies, commanding a price ten times that of regular vegetables yet still in short supply.
Yang Genshuo nodded in satisfaction.
"Brother Shi! Look! I caught three more giant moles, and I'll roast them for you later!"
Hu Zi dragged a long rope tied with three large moles, with one particularly massive in the middle, almost the size of a pig.
"Eh?"
As he admired the manor, Yang Genshuo noticed a strange sight.
The middle giant mole was radiating a faint glow.
Yet, Yang Shi and Hu Zi seemed unable to see it.