Chapter 290 Jiang Yuan's Promotion

Chapter 290 Jiang Yuan's Promotion

As the saying goes, comparisons are odious, and goods are worthless. Compared to his wife, daughter, and sister-in-law, his two daughters-in-law were clearly the type who could only share wealth and prosperity but not hardship.

As a father-in-law, Yang Darong couldn't openly criticize his daughter-in-law, but that didn't stop him from reminding his wife and daughter to be more careful.

As for the money his sister-in-law had contributed, he had already told his son and brother before he left that once the security company recovered, they would immediately make up for the money his sister-in-law had given him.

Moreover, he was shrewd enough that even though he could no longer continue escorting goods, he did not divide his shares among his two sons, but instead remained the head of his own escort agency.

However, because of his injury, he could no longer serve as the head镖师 (chief镖师), so he temporarily transferred the position to his younger brother.

Xie Daoheng certainly hadn't mentioned these minor details to Xie Wanniang, but Xie Wanniang was aware that Yang Xiaowei had decisively severed ties with her husband's family not long after their marriage because of their heartlessness, and that she resolutely refused to go back to them even when they shamelessly tried to reconcile.

That's why she treated Yang Xiaowei with special consideration.

After spending some time with each other, Xie Wanniang overheard Yang Xiaowei's reluctance to remarry and immediately called her to her side.

“With me, you don’t have to get married if you don’t want to,” she said with a smile to the girl who looked nervous and embarrassed. “As long as you do your job well and remain loyal, I will not only reward you materially as appropriate, but I will also take care of your retirement after you can no longer work.”

Although she is older than Yang Xiaowei and may not live as long as her, she has money and connections. As long as she makes arrangements in advance, all the subordinates she promised to take care of in their old age will be able to live out their later years in peace.

"Of course, if you meet a good marriage partner and are willing to overcome the psychological shadow left by your previous failed marriage and start a new family with him, I will be happy to help you get married in style."

Her gentle words not only showed Yang Xiaowei respect, but also gave her the confidence to make any choice she wanted. This deeply moved Yang Xiaowei, and from then on, she devoted herself wholeheartedly to serving her. Of course, that's another story.

At this time, Xie Wanniang was actively preparing to give birth to her next child.

Jiang Yuan had already told her that the Tatars had taken advantage of the harvest season in Baoding Prefecture to plunder southwards. In addition to their normal defense, the Zhenbei Army had also deliberately released some half-true and half-false information to lure people in.

And those spies did not disappoint the high-ranking generals of the Zhenbei Army. After suffering heavy losses because of Xie Wanniang last time, they lost even more people this time in order to spy and pass on intelligence.

What pleased the soldiers of the Zhenbei Army the most was that several of the spies they lost this time were deeply hidden and had been active in Baoding Prefecture for more than ten years.

In this spy cleanup operation, which was secretly planned by a very small number of high-ranking officers of the Zhenbei Army and carried out by Jiang Yuan, who was a thorn in the side of the Tatars, those veteran spies who were originally quite cautious could not hold back and finally took corresponding actions.

They wanted to seize the opportunity to make a name for themselves, but little did they know that the important military intelligence, which was three parts true and seven parts false, was leaked precisely to lure these cunning spies into a trap.

Just as they were gloating over obtaining "important military intelligence," Jiang Yuan and his men, who had already laid a trap, launched their final operation to close in on the situation in various parts of Baoding Prefecture at the same time.

In this battle, they eliminated more than 80% of the Tatars' capable spies who had spent a great deal of time and effort to send to various parts of the northern border.

Jiang Yuan thus made a great contribution and was promoted from a fifth-rank garrison commander to a fourth-rank adjutant. Xie Wanniang was thus able to settle down and begin preparing for pregnancy without any psychological burden.

Unbeknownst to the two, Jiang Yuan's promotion sparked several heated arguments at his biological parents' home.

His biological father, Jiang Tong, the Earl of Anping, felt that his eldest son, whom he and his wife had tacitly abandoned, was becoming more and more outstanding every day. So, no matter how he looked at his other sons, he couldn't stand them.

At first, Madam Han was secretly pleased that he had finally stopped favoring his illegitimate son and stopped comparing his "excellence" with the unruly behavior of her legitimate second son.

But she soon discovered that although the Earl of Anping had also begun to find fault with his illegitimate sons, his criticism of her second legitimate son was even more severe than his criticism of his illegitimate sons.

Actually, the Earl of Anping's idea is quite easy to understand.

His illegitimate sons were not as talented or temperamental as Jiang Yuan. It could be said that their birth mothers were of humble origin, had limited vision, and were not very smart themselves, so it was really difficult for them to raise any truly successful children.

But his second son, Jiang Yuan, shares the same father and mother.

Two children who inherited the same bloodline, one is exceptionally talented and has a bright future, while the other is utterly hopeless, spending his days playing, indulging in pleasure, eating, drinking, gambling, and whoring.

The only difference between them is that Jiang Yuan was raised by Hao Yu, while his second son was raised by the couple.

What does this show? It shows that this couple is not even worthy of carrying Hao Yu's shoes when it comes to educating their child.

Originally, the Earl of Anping and his wife, Madam Han, were very unwilling to admit this. Even though they had considered acknowledging Jiang Yuan, they still tacitly ignored the unpleasant fact that Hao Yu was better at teaching children than they were.

As for his adoptive parents, the Earl of Anping and his wife Han, who also played a crucial role in Jiang Yuan's growth, they chose to ignore them as always.

In their minds, such an ordinary couple could never teach Jiang Yuan anything positive or encouraging.

Aside from providing Jiang Yuan with food and giving him a status as an adopted son that conforms to worldly understanding, allowing him to stay in Mingfu Village legitimately, Uncle Anping and his wife didn't think that couple could do anything else for Jiang Yuan.

This is what makes the two of them feel most aggrieved and indignant. The couple hadn't made any remarkable contributions to Jiang Yuan, but he was convinced that they were the important elders worthy of his respect and love.

Even their only daughter, that shrewish and vulgar country girl, Jiang Yuan always treated her like his own sister, always providing her with financial support and assistance.

On the contrary, his biological parents and his real younger siblings were not even strangers to him.