MLMD -Chapter 335 Young Master Yun

Yue Yang slowly closed his eyes, a trace of anxiety surfacing within them. In another spacetime, his army was locked in a bloody struggle with Huang Taiji. Because his forces were almost entirely a firearms-based army, they consumed an enormous amount of ammunition every single day. On top of that came the constant expenses of feeding men and horses—food, medicine, and gunpowder were all being used up at an astonishing rate. Supplies from the northern route could no longer arrive in time. According to reports from the night scouts, at least five to six thousand cavalry were currently roaming within a two-hundred-li radius, their purpose being to cut off the Yingzhou Army’s supply lines. Under such circumstances, the Yingzhou Army’s supply route could be said to have been completely severed.

However, Yue Yang had anticipated this situation long ago. Before setting out on the campaign, he had already gone to the modern world and had his company place large advance orders for supplies. With the resource-rich modern society as his backing, things like cut supply lines had never really worried him. But now, Zhang Xiaoxiao had informed him that because the raw materials had not arrived in time, the production of gunpowder had come to a standstill. That was what truly made him anxious.

After thinking for a moment, Yue Yang asked, “Xiaoxiao, how much black powder has been produced so far?”

Zhang Xiaoxiao replied somewhat embarrassed, “Only about two thousand jin.”

“Two thousand jin?” Yue Yang fell silent in thought. Two thousand jin of gunpowder sounded like a lot, but when spread among twenty thousand musketeers, it amounted to barely one liang per person—enough for at most twenty-odd shots each. And that didn’t even take into account the artillery battalion, the biggest consumer of all.

“No, that’s still far too little.” Yue Yang shook his head. “Contact Liu Shengnan immediately. I’ll give him one more week. No matter what, he must produce ten tons of black powder on time. Do you understand?” As he spoke, an unmistakable aura of authority radiated from him, brooking no refusal.

After that, Yue Yang asked again, “Right—have all the food supplies I need been purchased?”

“Yes, everything has been bought. One hundred tons of rice, two tons of dehydrated vegetables, one thousand jin of salt, two tons of luncheon meat, and five tons of compressed biscuits. They’re all in the warehouse now, just waiting for you to pick them up.” Perhaps intimidated by Yue Yang’s presence, Zhang Xiaoxiao nodded repeatedly like a pecking chick.

“That’s good. I’ll arrange for vehicles to collect the goods as soon as possible.”

After discussing matters for a while longer, the two of them suddenly realized that without noticing, they had gradually moved closer and were now sitting side by side. A faint fragrance drifted unceasingly into Yue Yang’s nostrils.

Feeling awkward, Yue Yang quickly shifted to the side. Zhang Xiaoxiao’s face also flushed red as she hurriedly moved away.

Looking at Zhang Xiaoxiao beside him—her small face flushed, radiating youthful charm and cuteness—Yue Yang hurriedly gathered his thoughts and tried hard not to lose his composure. To be honest, it would be a lie to say he felt nothing toward such a girl. But Yue Yang knew all too well that he could never return to the life he once had. His career and family were in another spacetime, where his relatives, his wife, and his children awaited him. He could give this girl neither promises nor happiness.

“All right, let’s go. I’ll take you home.” To ease the awkwardness, Yue Yang offered to see her home. Zhang Xiaoxiao lowered her head and silently agreed.

After the two of them left the Miluo Lai Hotel, Yue Yang drove Zhang Xiaoxiao back to the apartment she rented with Liu Shengnan. He then drove straight to the headquarters of “Jubaoxuan” in the city center. After handing his car keys to the doorman at the entrance, he hurried inside under the greeting of Zhao Santong, who had rushed out from his office to welcome him.

What Yue Yang didn’t know was that as he got out of the car, a black Audi had been slowly following behind him. The Audi stopped in front of Jubaoxuan, and its window slowly rolled down, revealing the face of a young man around thirty years old—youthful yet resolute.

This young man turned his head toward the two people sitting in the back seat and said in a low voice, “So this is the so-called small boss of a small company you were talking about? A mere small boss, and Zhao Old Three personally comes out to greet him?”

The two people in the back then revealed themselves—it was none other than the young man surnamed Zhuang who had clashed with Yue Yang earlier, and the youth known as Young Master Luo.

“Young Master Yun… this… this might just be a coincidence,” the young man surnamed Zhuang said, his face filled with disbelief as he stammered. Yet even he clearly didn’t believe that excuse.

“A coincidence!” The man known as Young Master Yun sneered, a mocking smile appearing on his face. “Do you think Zhao Old Three is someone who sweeps streets or carries buckets of manure, greeting anyone and everyone with a smile? I’m telling you—even I might not have that much face.”

The young man surnamed Zhuang said unwillingly, “Then… then what should we do? Am I just supposed to take that beating for nothing?”

“You deserved it!” Young Master Yun scoffed. “Who told you to mess with someone else’s woman? In my opinion, he was already being lenient. If it were me, breaking your legs wouldn’t have settled it!”

Young Master Yun spoke with a commanding, overbearing air—not so much from temperament as from the position he usually occupied. The young man surnamed Zhuang and Young Master Luo were clearly his lackeys; after being scolded, they could only lower their heads obediently.

Seeing the two of them hanging their heads in silence, Young Master Yun sighed lightly before saying, “Enough. Come with me inside and sound out his background. But I’ll say this first—once inside, be smart about it. If anything happens, don’t expect me to cover for you.”

“Yes!”

With that, Young Master Yun pushed open the car door and stepped out. The two behind him followed closely.

Meanwhile, Yue Yang and Zhao Santong had already arrived at the latter’s spacious office.

Zhao Santong gestured for Yue Yang to sit down, then took out a small packet of tea leaves from a low cabinet. As he began brewing the tea, he laughed heartily. “Hahaha… Brother Yue, you haven’t come by my place for several months now. Since you’re here today, you must stay a few more days. Let this old brother of yours play the host properly.”

Yue Yang smiled. “Brother Zhao, you’re too polite. Don’t forget, I’m also from Mingzhu. That analogy doesn’t quite fit.”

Zhao Santong snorted dismissively. “Hah… you call yourself a Mingzhu native? How many days a year do you even spend in Mingzhu? Let me ask you—do you know where the most fun places in Mingzhu are?”

“I…”

Yue Yang was speechless. To be honest, he really didn’t know. Although his former self had indeed been born and raised in Mingzhu, as a bottom-tier nobody, how could he possibly know how the city’s upper crust spent their leisure time? And by the time he made his fortune, he was spending most of the year in the Ming Dynasty spacetime, with no time at all to enjoy the modern world. Naturally, he was completely in the dark about such things. Being pressed by Zhao Santong like this, he could only fall silent.

Helplessly, Yue Yang raised his hands. “Fine, you win. I’ll be staying here for a few days this time. Tonight, I’m sticking with you—I’ll eat and drink on your tab.”

“Hahaha… that’s more like it!” Zhao Santong laughed happily. “Just follow me later. I guarantee you’ll have so much fun you won’t want to go home.”

As they chatted and laughed, the two grew increasingly relaxed. Zhao Santong, who had been rolling around in the business world for many years, was a master of saying the right thing to the right person. Before long, he and Yue Yang were talking cheerfully. For Yue Yang, who in the Ming Dynasty commanded millions of civilians and tens of thousands of troops and was long accustomed to flattery, it was a rare pleasure in the modern world to have someone speak to him as an equal. Naturally, he felt especially at ease.

Just as they were enjoying their conversation, there came a knock at the door. Zhao Santong’s secretary entered and reported, “President Zhao, President Yun from Haitian Entertainment has arrived.”

A trace of surprise appeared on Zhao Santong’s face. “Yun Old Six? What’s he doing here?”

Though puzzled, Zhao Santong still signaled for the secretary to let them in.

Soon, the secretary led three men inside.

By now, Young Master Yun no longer carried the overbearing demeanor he’d had earlier. Instead, he appeared extremely cordial. Stepping forward, he clasped Zhao Santong’s hand and said with a smile, “Ah, President Zhao, hello. I happened to be passing by today, so I came up to see you. You won’t throw me out, will you?”

“Hehe… Young Master Yun, you’re too polite. I’m more than happy you came to see me—how could I throw you out?” Zhao Santong replied with a smile, then turned and said, “Brother Yue, let me introduce you. This is President Yun from Haitian Entertainment. The two beside him are—”

“We’ve met already,” Yue Yang interjected before Zhao Santong could finish. He stood up and smiled faintly. “This is my first time meeting President Yun, but I’ve already met and interacted with the two gentlemen beside him earlier today.”

The moment Yue Yang stood up, Yun Feng’s gaze fixed on him. Coming from an official family, Yun Feng immediately sensed something unusual about Yue Yang. Though Yue Yang wore only a faint smile, within it was a kind of authority, resolve, and dignity rarely seen in ordinary people—an aura even stronger than that of his own father, who was an official.

The two exchanged a glance and smiled at the same time. Yun Feng extended his right hand toward Yue Yang. “You must be President Yue of Guangyuan Trading. I’m Yun Feng from Haitian Entertainment. I came here today specifically to apologize to you. My two friends offended you earlier today. That in itself might have been forgivable, but after being taught a lesson by you, they still didn’t repent and even tried to incite me to help them regain face. They’ve thoroughly embarrassed me. So here I am, bringing them along to apologize to you in person.”

“Hmm…”
Before Yue Yang could respond, Zhao Santong’s expression changed. His previously smiling face darkened at once. “Well, well, Yun Old Two. I was wondering why you were in such high spirits to come here today. Turns out you came to smash my place! What—do you think my Zhao Santong’s face isn’t worth anything anymore, that just anyone can come here and show me attitude?”

As Zhao Santong grew angry, a fierce aura radiated from him, causing the young man surnamed Zhuang and Young Master Luo behind Yun Feng to feel their hearts jump.

Yun Feng hurriedly explained, “No… no… Brother Zhao, you’ve misunderstood. That’s not what I meant. Look, didn’t I bring these two idiots here to apologize to President Yue? I’m being sincere.”

“All right, let’s just let this matter end here,” Yue Yang finally spoke, waving his hand. “Today’s incident was really just a misunderstanding. The two friends behind Young Master Yun took a liking to my assistant and my company’s HR manager. That in itself isn’t wrong—after all, even the sages said that a gentleman’s fondness for beautiful women is only natural. But using underhanded tactics to force a girl—that’s crossing the line. Don’t you agree?”

“You two bastards!” Yun Feng’s face darkened immediately. He knew all too well what kind of people these two lackeys were. Liking women was one thing—any man who didn’t like women these days was practically extinct. But if you were going to mess around, you had to choose your target carefully. Going after someone else’s woman and getting caught red-handed—no wonder the man blew up.

Zhao Santong also understood the situation now. He knew Yue Yang’s company fairly well and was acquainted with those two women. In his eyes, they were clearly Yue Yang’s women. Yet someone had dared to set their sights on them while Yue Yang was away, and he, the local power, hadn’t even known about it. Just thinking about it made him feel ashamed. His expression darkened at once.

Yun Feng was sharp. Seeing Zhao Santong’s expression, he immediately realized things were going badly. Without hesitation, he turned around and slapped the two behind him twice, scolding them, “Are you dead or what? You caused trouble yourselves and still expect me to clean up after you? Hurry up and apologize to President Yue!”

“Yes!”

The two men were already terrified. As lackeys, they knew exactly how capable and temperamental their boss was. Seeing even their boss having to put on a humble face, they knew that if they didn’t behave now, they’d never survive in Mingzhu again.

Without caring about face anymore, they quickly lowered their heads and said to Yue Yang, “President Yue, we’re sorry. Today we failed to recognize Mount Tai and shouldn’t have harbored ill intentions toward your women. Please be magnanimous and forgive us.”

“Heh…” Yue Yang was momentarily speechless. He had originally wanted to explain that those two women weren’t his, but after thinking about it, he decided to let it be. With this “status” attached, Liu Shengnan and Zhang Xiaoxiao would at least have a layer of protection in Mingzhu in the future.

Seeing that Yue Yang didn’t speak, Yun Feng knew the matter was settled. He secretly let out a sigh of relief. Strictly speaking, he wasn’t truly afraid of Zhao Old Three, but in the jianghu, one more friend meant one more road, while one more enemy meant one more wall. He didn’t want to gain a powerful enemy for no good reason.

Turning to the two behind him, Yun Feng said, “All right, there’s nothing for you to do here anymore. Get lost.”

“Yes!”

The two fled as if granted amnesty.

After they left, Yun Feng laughed heartily and said apologetically, “President Yue, I’m truly sorry about today. Let me apologize once more. How about this—tonight I’ll treat you and Brother Zhao to a meal. I hope you won’t—”

“Hey… wait a moment…”

Zhao Santong interrupted him. “Yun Old Two, what do you mean by this? Brother Yue finally comes back to Mingzhu, and I was just about to spend some time with him. Then you come barging in. Are you trying to steal my business?”

“Hahaha…” Yun Feng laughed. “Brother Zhao, no need to be angry. I’ll treat everyone together, all right? I’ll even bring along a few girls from my company later, introduce them to you, let them keep you company and have some fun. What do you say, Brother Zhao?”

Zhao Santong snorted. “Forget it. Don’t bring out those public buses from your company to embarrass yourselves.”

“Brother Zhao, if you keep saying that, I’ll fall out with you!” Yun Feng protested. “Do you think I’d use junk to brush you off? Don’t worry—they’re all newly cultivated talents from my company. I guarantee you’ll be satisfied.”

“That’s more like it!” Zhao Santong smacked his lips and said to Yue Yang, “Brother Yue, don’t let Yun Old Two’s sloppy appearance fool you. He’s actually reliable when it comes to getting things done. If he says they’re new faces, they’re definitely new. Guaranteed satisfaction. Let’s follow him tonight and try something fresh.”

Hearing this, Yue Yang couldn’t help but laugh wryly. These two guys hadn’t even asked for his opinion—it was practically an arranged marriage. He waved his hand. “Brother Zhao, we can talk about dinner later. I came to see you today because I need your help with something.”

“Say the word! As long as it’s within my ability, I won’t refuse,” Zhao Santong said, gesturing for them to sit back down as he poured tea for both of them.

“It’s like this: my firecracker factory urgently needs a batch of sulfur equipment and nitric acid. I had already ordered them from Guangshen, but they ran into some problems recently and can’t deliver on time. My client is in a hurry and wants delivery within a week. Do you have any way to help me get a batch first?”

Zhao Santong asked calmly, “Sulfur equipment and nitric acid—how much do you need?”

Yue Yang replied lightly, “Twenty tons of sulfur equipment and five tons of nitric acid.”

“That’s quite a bit for a firecracker factory,” Zhao Santong smacked his lips. “I can help with this, but it’ll take quite a bit of effort. Oh—” He pointed at Yun Feng, who was sitting quietly and sipping tea. “You should ask Yun Old Two about this. His younger brother, Yun Old Three, is the general manager of Hongji Chemical Factory. Getting sulfur equipment and nitric acid would be a piece of cake for him.”

“Really?” Yue Yang looked at Yun Feng in surprise.

Yun Feng set down his teacup and smiled. “Brother Zhao thinks too highly of me. I can’t guarantee it’ll work, but I can help ask.”

With that, Yun Feng took out his phone and began dialing a number…