After a satisfying meal and drinks, Mr. and Mrs. Yang made an excuse to leave with the reluctant and bashful Yang Xiuying, leaving only Yang Ge and Yang Tiansheng behind to pick their teeth and shoot the breeze...
"How great would it be to have a vegetable garden here!"
Yang Ge gazed at the rippling Lian Lake, sighing with genuine admiration.
Yang Tiansheng had a perplexed look on his face, "Why turn a perfectly good lotus pond into a vegetable garden?"
Yang Ge, full of longing, pointed at the lotus pond, "The silt at the bottom of the lake is so fertile. Dig it up, spread it on the land, and whatever you plant, be it spring onions, ginger, garlic, or bok choy, will grow in batches. At home, if you want to make some noodles or stir-fry some vegetables or whatever, you won’t even need to step outside to get fresh ingredients. And if there’s too much to eat, no problem, you can raise some fish in the lake, throw what you can’t finish to them, and their poop will only make the silt at the bottom of the lake even richer. If you don’t mind the extra work, you could even raise some ducks. A lake this big could easily support a hundred or so ducks..."
He spoke with such enthusiasm that his spit flew in every direction.
Yang Tiansheng, on the other hand, could only picture an area littered with duck droppings, smelling so foul it’s unbearable, immediately shaking his head in disgust, "Can’t you be a bit more ambitious? It’s not like you’re short on a few melons or dates, why bother with onions, ginger, chickens, ducks, and fish? You’re ’Lord Zhongshen’ Yang Erlang!"
Yang Ge uttered a light "Tsk," "So what about ’Lord Zhongshen’? Does ’Lord Zhongshen’ not need to eat, not have to live a life?"
Yang Tiansheng, "Young master didn’t mean that, I’m saying do you really need to be so frugal? Didn’t Wang just send you three million silver taels a month ago? What are you saving all that money for, planning to spawn offspring?"
Yang Ge shook his head, "You wouldn’t understand, it’s not about the money!"
Yang Tiansheng, "How would I understand if you don’t tell me?"
Yang Ge wanted to tell him what ’my heart at ease is where I call home’ meant, but suddenly lost the desire to speak, dispiritedly picking up his teacup to drink.
A long time ago, he didn’t understand why his parents worked themselves to the bone their entire lives to finally settle down in the city, only to want to return to their old home when they were old.
Now, he finally understood.
But it was too late...
Yang Tiansheng noticed his brother’s lack of enthusiasm and changed the subject, "Speaking of which... what do you think of my little sister?"
Yang Ge gave him a sidelong glance and said indignantly, "You’ve run out of things to talk about, haven’t you? Have you forgotten I also carry the Yang surname?"
He had already figured out what scheme this fellow was hatching, it’s just that due to Mr. and Mrs. Yang and his sister being there, it wasn’t appropriate to speak out loud.
Yang Tiansheng, "What’s the big deal about that? My family’s from Fengyang and yours is from Bashu. Even if we go back a hundred generations, we wouldn’t be related, right?"
Yang Ge waved his hand decisively, "Enough, let’s stop this conversation right here! We are brothers with different fathers and mothers, your little sister is also my little sister. My sister is still young, don’t talk nonsense and tarnish her reputation!"
"How is this nonsense?"
Yang Tiansheng retorted, then eyed him suspiciously from head to toe, "You’re not telling me that all that martial arts training has rendered you impotent, right? It seems I’ve known you for many years and have indeed never seen you visit brothels..."
Yang Ge shouted angrily, "Bullshit, do you believe if I showed you, it’d be bigger than yours!"
Yang Tiansheng simply shook his head decisively, "Don’t believe it!"
Yang Ge was taken aback, then regained his composure, rolled up his sleeves, and stood up angrily, "I think you’re asking for a beating!"
"What are you gonna do?"
Yang Tiansheng tactically leaned back, positioning his hands in a defensive stance and shouted loudly, "Try anything funny and I’ll have your uncle and aunt sort you out, wahh!"
Yang Ge glanced at a family of three peeking around a distant corner, secretly watching this way, and finally understood where this guy’s erratic temperament came from.
"I’ll settle scores with you later!"
He sat back down, picked up his teacup pretending to drink, and after a moment added, "I know you want to strengthen our brotherhood with marriage ties, but I really don’t have that intention right now."
Yang Tiansheng, puzzled, "Men should marry and women should marry, what special ’intention’ do you need?"
Yang Ge retorted, "Speaking of which, what about you?"
Without a second thought, Yang Tiansheng responded, "I’m getting married next year!"
Yang Ge: "Huh?"
Yang Tiansheng, suddenly remembering, "Oh right, I haven’t had the chance to deliver the invitation to you yet, you didn’t know."
Yang Ge’s spirits lifted instantly, and he asked with great interest, straightening up in his seat, "Whose daughter is it?"
Yang Tiansheng answered with pride, "The only daughter of Left Envoy Xiang Kaishan from our Ming Sect, Xiang Jing. We grew up together like childhood sweethearts... The date’s set for the ninth day of the fourth lunar month next year. Make sure you come early to accompany me to the bridal procession!"
Yang Ge waved his hand grandly, "No problem, I’ll give you a big red envelope when the time comes!"
Yang Tiansheng ’tsked’, "Who cares about your loose change? Let’s get clear on one thing, you can’t stay single for the rest of your life, can you?"
Yang Ge remained silent.
He had pondered this issue himself, but he couldn’t come up with an answer either...
There was no doubt that Yang Tiansheng knew Yang Ge well. Seeing that he remained silent, he knew there was no hope for this matter. In frustration, he slapped his forehead and lamented, "My poor little sister!"
Yang Ge rolled his eyes lifelessly, "So should I go?"
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Yang Tiansheng couldn’t bother with him.
After idly chatting over tea for a while, Yang Tiansheng added, "Since you came out anyway, you might as well not go back just yet. Stay until after the New Year’s festivities; it’s really lively here."
Yang Ge slouched in his chair, shaking his head listlessly, "That won’t work, I’ve got a mess waiting for me to clean up."
Yang Tiansheng: "What kind of mess? Do you need my help? I do have some clout in the sect these days!"