"Second Brother, talk about what you've found!" Yang Zhenshan turned again to ask Yang Mingzhi.
Yang Mingzhi was walking alongside the ox cart, speaking as he went: "Dad, I've been observing the Lu family this entire time!"
"The Lu family!" Yang Zhenshan's eyebrows shot up.
"Yes, the Lu family is the largest clan in Anning County. They own numerous businesses. From my observations, the grain store, the blacksmith shop, the restaurant, the tea house, the gold and silver shops on the east street of the town, and so on are all properties of the Lu family!"
"Moreover, the Lu family has a family school with over fifty students, most of whom are Lu clan descendants, and they all possess quite some talent in their studies!"
"I've also made a friend from the Lu family, Lu Cheng. He is a side branch member of the Lu family, eighteen years old, and studies in their family school."
"He mentioned that the Lu family has an elder who is an official in the Capital City, it seems he is a doctor in the Ministry of Revenue."
"..."
Yang Mingzhi said a lot about the Lu family, from how many of them held official posts to the outstanding pupils in their family school.
He spoke in fragments, but Yang Zhenshan was utterly engrossed.
These aspects were ones he had never encountered before. Although he knew that the Lu family was the largest in Anning County, his understanding of them was limited to just that.
As Yang Mingzhi relayed more and more, the look Yang Zhenshan gave him grew increasingly strange.
"Dad, why are you looking at me like that?" Yang Mingzhi noticed Yang Zhenshan's gaze and asked somewhat perplexed.
Yang Zhenshan shook his head and said: "Nothing, you're doing very well."
Such talent!
This kid is definitely talented.
In just a few days, he managed to find out so much about the Lu family.
He even made friends with someone from the Lu family.
I also knew people from the Lu family. Lu Zhou and I were as close as brothers, but my understanding of their family was almost nothing.
The disparity is apparent when you compare the two.
"Third Brother, now it's your turn!" Yang Zhenshan looked towards Yang Minghao, who was following behind the ox cart.
"Ah!" Yang Minghao seemed to have been daydreaming, his face full of confusion when suddenly called upon by Yang Zhenshan.
"What did you discover today?" Yang Zhenshan asked calmly.
"Eh, I discovered that the young lady from the cloth store in South City is very pretty!" Yang Minghao blurted out.
"..."
Yang Zhenshan felt a sudden urge to slap his silly son.
I asked you to observe and learn, and you're busy looking at the young girls?
Damn!
Yang Zhenshan wanted to curse.
"No, no, what I meant is, that young lady is really capable!" Yang Minghao finally noticed Yang Zhenshan's stern face and quickly corrected himself.
The corners of Yang Zhenshan's mouth twitched slightly.
Are you kidding me?
"How capable?"
Yang Zhenshan's stern face was terrifying, Yang Minghao shrank his neck and said in a low voice: "I feel like she's the real Shopkeeper of the cloth store."
Yang Zhenshan took a deep breath, silently telling himself not to get angry, not to get angry, who doesn't have a foolish son.
"Alright, don't say anymore!"
Yang Zhenshan couldn't be bothered to deal with this rascal any further, turning his attention to Lin Zhan instead.
"What about you?"
"Disciple has found the business of medicinal herbs and hides in Anning County is very good!" Lin Zhan's tender face was marked with a solemnity and seriousness beyond his years.
"Do you have any other thoughts?" Yang Zhenshan continued to ask.
"The disciple thinks that it's a good idea to let the villagers cultivate medicinal herbs!" Lin Zhan looked at Yang Zhenshan with anticipation.
Yang Zhenshan looked at him, his lips slightly curled into a smile.
To be honest, although Lin Zhan was young, his intelligence far exceeded that of the three Yang brothers, and with his Scholar dad, he surpassed them in both knowledge and insight.
However, his young age meant he viewed things one-sidedly.
"Growing medicinal herbs is indeed more profitable than grains, but you've overlooked several issues."
"First, ordinary farmers don't know how to cultivate medicinal herbs, and it may take years to promote the cultivation of medicinal herbs in Anning County."
"Second, the grain production in Anning County isn't abundant, which involves supply and demand relations. Compared to medicinal herbs, people need grains more. If the people were to cultivate medicinal herbs on a large scale, Anning County's grain supply would inevitably fall short, and the price of grain transported from other regions to Anning County would certainly rise."
"With this increase and rise, the profit from growing medicinal herbs actually wouldn't be much different from grains."
"Moreover, without grains, the people's ability to withstand disasters will be lower. Anning County frequently faces natural and man-made calamities, and if the people rely solely on buying grains for survival, the price might skyrocket."
"As for the third point, it involves a matter of concept; the people value grains, they won't easily change and are unwilling to take risks."
Yang Zhenshan shared all his thoughts with Lin Zhan, without holding anything back.
After two months of interaction, Lin Zhan had already earned his approval.
"When looking at anything, you must analyze it from multiple perspectives; don't just see the benefits, but also be good at spotting flaws."
"Only when you can fix all the flaws can you successfully complete a task."
Yang Zhenshan taught him patiently and encouragingly.
"Thank you, Master, for your teaching. I will keep it in mind!" Lin Zhan said.
Just as the two were talking, the sound of urgent horse hooves suddenly erupted from the road ahead.
"Make way!"
"Make way!"
A barrage of horse hooves accompanied by shouts swept towards them and startled Yang Mingcheng who was driving the cart. He quickly pulled on the reins, and the big yellow ox pulling the cart moved to avoid the oncoming traffic.
Boom boom boom~~
The sound of the horse hooves rolled like thunder, and in an instant, a group of Cavalry galloped past the ox cart.
Sitting in the ox cart, Yang Zhenshan's eyes slightly narrowed.
Cavalry!
And not just any, these weren't the border army's Cavalry!
Anning County was close to the northeast border, with military forces stationed within, and he often encountered troop movements. Yang Zhenshan had seen the soldiers from the border army countless times within the county.
However, this was his first encounter with a cavalry force like this one.
There were about three hundred of them, all clad in Iron Armor, wearing iron helmets, with long sabers at their waists, and an imposing momentum like a force of tigers and wolves.
Yang Zhenshan deduced that they were not from the border army because aside from the trusted aides with the officers, most of the cavalry wore leather armor.
Especially in winter, it was rare for the border army to wear Iron Armor.
The cold froze the ground, and wearing Iron Armor was almost like carrying ice blocks; therefore, the border army in the northeast mainly wore leather and cotton armor during winter.
The cavalry before him was wearing Iron Armor, clearly not local soldiers from Anning County, but from the south.
Just where they had come from was unknown.
Dust filled the air as the cavalry came quickly and left just as quickly, vanishing into the open fields and leaving behind a trail of dust.
"My goodness, where did these cavalry come from? That was terrifying!" Yang Mingcheng patted his chest, his heart still racing.
"They shouldn't be from Anning County, they were in Iron Armor!" Lin Zhan said softly.
"Odd, why sudden cavalry? Could there be a conflict in the north?" Yang Mingzhi pondered aloud.
As they marveled at the power of the cavalry, they speculated on the reasons for this cavalry's presence in Anning County.
Yang Zhenshan thought for a while and then said, "Let's get the ox cart out and move on!"
Thankfully, their family's big yellow ox was steady; although startled by the sudden cavalry, it didn't panic too much and had merely sought refuge at the edge of the field.
The group pushed the ox cart back to the road and continued heading home.