MLMD -Chapter 106 Setting Up the Factory (Part 1)

“Brother Yue Yang, you finally showed up! If you hadn’t come, I was about to just keep your money for myself!”

In a spacious, well-appointed office in the center of Mingzhu City, Zhao Santong looked at Yue Yang, who had just appeared before him, with a mixture of surprise and delight.

Although only three or four months had passed since their last meeting, Zhao Santong felt that Yue Yang had changed even more.

When Zhao Santong first saw Yue Yang over half a year ago, he had merely thought of him as an ordinary college student. Yue Yang’s shoulder-length hair seemed a bit unusual, but with so many people these days experimenting with “performance art,” long hair was hardly a big deal.

But gradually, after meeting Yue Yang more frequently, Zhao Santong sensed a familiar yet strange aura emanating from him. For a while, he couldn’t quite put his finger on what it was. Today, however, seeing Yue Yang again, it suddenly clicked: this aura carried a subtle taste reminiscent of the officials he often dealt with—the unmistakable “official flavor.”

“How is that possible? Even Yue Yang himself had people check—he was just an ordinary nobody before. How could he have the demeanor of an official?” Zhao Santong tried hard to dismiss the ridiculous thought.

What Zhao Santong didn’t know was that this young man in front of him, in another timeline, was a genuine government official, wielding authority at the middle-level rank. As the saying goes, ‘habits shape character.’ Yue Yang had already served as an official for several months, and having interacted with people like Zheng Fakui and Xu Dingchen, it was only natural that he now carried a faint official air.

“Brother Zhao, I really appreciate your help. You probably had a hard time tracking all of this down, right?” Yue Yang said, feeling a surge of gratitude as he looked at Zhao Santong’s pleased expression. From selling gold, to acquiring the steel mill, to buying the equipment, Zhao Santong had put in a lot of effort, and in Yue Yang’s eyes, he was someone worth befriending.

“Of course! These things aren’t exactly easy to find,” Zhao Santong said helplessly, motioning to the sofa beside him for Yue Yang to sit. Then he shook his head and continued, “You have no idea how hard it was to get these. Some things could only be seen in museums, and the prices were sky-high. Eventually, I had to have some of them custom-made. All in all, it took a huge amount of time and effort.”

Hearing this, Yue Yang knew Zhao Santong was just venting, but he replied candidly, “Brother Zhao, I know this has been a lot of trouble for you. How about this: I’ll increase your payment by an extra five percent as a token of appreciation for your hard work. How does that sound?”

“Uh…” Zhao Santong froze. Normally, complaining like this was just a business habit—after all, crying babies get fed, and a little grumbling never hurt. But he hadn’t expected that Yue Yang, simply in response to his habitual venting, would willingly add five percent to the deal.

Five percent didn’t sound like much, but considering the total deal amounted to over three hundred million, five percent meant more than ten million! Yue Yang had just casually given that to him—what generosity!

“Brother Yue Yang, I’m just joking—you don’t have to take it seriously,” Zhao Santong said, regaining his composure and looking at Yue Yang in amazement. “Do you know how much this batch is worth in total? And five percent of that?”

“Of course I do!” Yue Yang smiled faintly at Zhao Santong’s astonished expression. “Brother Zhao, I owe you a lot for all your help. I don’t have much to repay you with, so let this five percent be my token of gratitude.”

“Forget it,” Zhao Santong replied unexpectedly, refusing the extra five percent. “I can’t take this. We agreed on the price from the start, and that’s it. You’ve spent over three hundred million buying the equipment, and I’ve already made a good profit. Taking more would be improper.”

Yue Yang felt a surge of respect. Zhao Santong reaching this level of business success wasn’t by chance. Anyone can make money, but the rare quality is knowing how to resist temptation and not covet what isn’t yours.

“Here, take a look,” Zhao Santong said, tossing a list to Yue Yang. “Check it over and see if anything’s wrong.”

Yue Yang glanced at the list. It contained four steam-powered crushers, gypsum, two small steel furnaces, numerous molds and rubber parts, and a large supply of pig iron, lubricating oil, and so on—packed densely onto a single page.

“All good!”

Since Yue Yang feared he might not be able to return to the modern world later, he had listed an extensive array of items—over a hundred in total. After leaving Zhao Santong, he spent a full week using a small forklift to transport these thousands of tons of goods back to the Ming timeline, moving them like ants with meticulous care.

By then, most of the Yue family had already relocated to Yingzhou City, so Yue Yang declared his small courtyard and surrounding areas off-limits, posting guards to watch over the equipment and ensure there was enough space to store everything properly.

Once that was done, Yue Yang examined the jade pendant in his possession. The cracks were multiplying rapidly. Dense fissures told him it could only be used once or twice more before completely breaking.

Yue Yang felt uneasy. If the pendant broke, he would lose contact with the modern world entirely—a major blow to his future plans. Hesitant to risk wearing it, he placed the pendant in a small box and buried it in the Yue family courtyard, as a keepsake.

By early June, with all the equipment in place, Yue Yang began his next move.

Several dozen li from Wulizhai lay the village of Tiemao, adjacent to Tiemao Mountain. According to later historical records, Wulizhai had abundant limestone and clay resources, much of which was concentrated around Tiemao Mountain.

Limestone was extremely useful. It could be processed directly into building stone or calcined into quicklime for sanitation and pest control. Quicklime mixed with water formed slaked lime, which could be applied around tree roots to kill insects. Since there were no modern pesticides in the Ming, Yue Yang saw lime as a safe way to protect crops. Sprinkled before planting, the lime solution would soak the soil for a day or two, killing pests or overwintering eggs hiding underground.

Clay, with thousands of years of use in China, was the main raw material for ceramics, green bricks, and red bricks. But for Huang Laifu, it was primarily a raw material for cement production.

Cement was indispensable in later construction. Its modern development began in 1796 in England, with Parker’s brown cement from burnt marl, followed by Aspdin’s Portland cement in 1824, made from limestone and clay. By 1813, French engineer Vicat found a 3:1 lime-to-clay mixture performed best. Cement then became widely used worldwide.

Today, cement remains essential in construction, hydraulic projects, and national defense—demand is enormous everywhere.

Recognizing its importance, Yue Yang decided the first factory to establish would be a cement plant.

But cement was a novelty in the Ming. When Yue Yang announced his plans, many opposed or questioned him, including Yue Laifu and Hailou, the logistics leaders.

To them, Yue Yang’s plan seemed absurd. Why abandon the profitable salt trade to make cement, something they had never even heard of? Could it succeed?

Yue Yang, however, was resolute. He made it clear he would establish not only a cement plant but also a smelting plant, steel mill, gunpowder plant, and a series of other factories.

At first, everyone thought Yue Yang had lost his mind. Could so many factories even be run? And if barely running, would they drag him down? Yue Yang’s answer was firm: even if it meant selling everything he had, he would make it work.

As the boss, his decision was final. By early June, the cement plant in Tiemao Village was officially underway.

Chimneys over ten meters high rose into the sky, and the four crushers Yue Yang brought from the modern world began installation. Although neither Yue Yang nor the recruited farmers had ever installed such equipment, he had anticipated this. He had purchased manuals, warranty documents, and even installation videos. Whenever a problem arose, Yue Yang would consult the materials or watch the videos to find a solution.

Step by step, Yue Yang led hundreds of workers to stumble their way through building the cement plant over the course of a month.