MLMD – Chapter 7 Persuasion

Yue Laifu and Shunbao, father and son, stood before the main hall, respectfully looking at Yue Yang seated inside.

Shunbao in particular gazed at Yue Yang with a trace of amazement and admiration in his eyes. He had grown up alongside Yue Yang and knew his temperament extremely well. In the past, Yue Yang had been very mild-mannered and kind to the servants. Such a person might be a good master, but not necessarily a good estate lord or leader.

Yet Shunbao was astonished to discover that ever since Yue Yang had taken a heavy blow to the head in Yingzhou City and fallen unconscious, the man who woke up afterward had changed drastically. Shunbao had personally witnessed the armed clash that took place that day. Although Yue Yang’s performance during the fight was not entirely satisfactory, when faced with the aggressive second young master of the Wang family, he showed not the slightest weakness. Not only did he dare to order the tenant farmers of Wuli Village to launch a proactive attack, he even shouted words like, “If someone gets beaten to death, it’s on me!” That was no ordinary courage. Shunbao asked himself honestly—he would never dare to say something so domineering.

Yue Laifu bowed respectfully to Yue Yang and said in a deferential tone, “Young Master, you summoned this humble one—what instructions do you have?”

Yue Yang looked at the father and son with interest, then smiled gently and pointed to the chairs beside him. “Uncle Yue, you’re here. Please, have a seat.”

Yue Laifu did not accept the offer. “Young Master, you are too kind. Etiquette cannot be discarded. How could a humble servant sit in front of the Young Master? I’ll stand and listen to your instructions.”

“You people…” Yue Yang shook his head helplessly. “Fine, do as you wish. It’s like this—I want to ask: since the past two years have seen severe drought, and much fertile land has been abandoned due to lack of water, why don’t we dig wells to draw water, or even build irrigation channels? Wouldn’t that alleviate the drought?”

“So that’s what Young Master wanted to ask,” Yue Laifu explained. “Digging wells to relieve drought is indeed an ancient method, but what Young Master may not know is that well-digging is both time-consuming and labor-intensive. In our Sanjin region, although there is groundwater, it lies very deep—often several hundred zhang below the surface before water can be reached. Even with good luck, it would still take around a hundred zhang to strike water. By calculation, digging a single well requires at least thirty strong laborers, three to four months of work, and several hundred taels of silver. More importantly, Wuli Village has tens of thousands of people and livestock, and tens of thousands of mu of farmland. If we relied entirely on well water for irrigation, we would need at least a hundred wells. Wuli Village is already a poor and cold place—where would we find such immense financial resources to accomplish something so difficult? That’s why whenever water is scarce, the Sanggan River becomes something the Wang, Li, and Lin families of Wuli Village all desperately want to seize.”

“I see,” Yue Yang nodded. Only then did he understand just how difficult digging wells was in this era. Not only did it require enormous time and effort, but even worse, without any effective exploration methods, bad luck could mean months of labor and vast manpower and material resources spent on digging a well that might not yield a single drop of water. Large-scale groundwater extraction was simply unimaginable in ancient times.

At that moment, another question came to Yue Yang’s mind. “Steward Yue, I have another question. What crops are mainly grown here in Wuli Village, and what kind of yields do they have?”

Hearing this, Yue Laifu looked at Yue Yang in great surprise. The old Yue Yang had buried himself in books—where would he find the leisure to understand such things? He probably didn’t even know how many types of grains there were. Still, Yue Laifu was pleased to see these changes in him.

After thinking for a moment, Yue Laifu replied, “Young Master, Yingzhou Prefecture mainly grows millet, wheat, and a small amount of rice. And since our land is nothing like the fish-and-rice regions of Jiangnan, yields are indeed not high—about three dan and two dou per mu.”

“Three dan and two dou per mu?”

Yue Yang thought it over. Having been here these past few days, he naturally knew that dan was the main unit of measurement in this era. In the Ming dynasty, one dan was a ‘small dan,’ roughly equivalent to ninety-seven jin. Calculated this way, each mu of land produced only about three hundred jin of grain.

Hearing this, Yue Yang couldn’t help but be startled. He blurted out, “Steward Yue, isn’t that yield far too low? Only three hundred jin of grain per mu?”

“Heh…” Yue Laifu couldn’t help but smile bitterly. This Young Master truly didn’t understand worldly affairs. Hadn’t grain yields always been like this since ancient times? Still, Yue Yang was his master, so he patiently explained. “Young Master, the yield I mentioned can only be achieved in years of favorable weather. If we encounter disasters like droughts or floods, the yield will be even lower—severe cases could result in total crop failure.”

“Hiss…”

Yue Yang sucked in a sharp breath and exclaimed, “It can really be that bad?”

“Of course,” Yue Laifu said firmly. “That’s why, although Yue Family Manor nominally owns over ten thousand mu of fertile land, there are also many tenant farmers relying on it for food. These past few years have been bad, so the Old Madam reduced the rent from sixty percent to fifty percent. Even so, many tenants still don’t have enough to eat.”

“So that’s how it is.”

Yue Yang frowned deeply. Calculated at two harvests per year, one mu of land produced six hundred jin annually. After paying half as rent, only three hundred jin remained. A family of four needed at least fifteen hundred jin of grain a year to survive. That meant they had to farm at least ten mu of land—and even then, only if the heavens granted favorable weather—to avoid going hungry. No wonder that during his recent strolls around Wuli Village, he had seen farmers, young and old alike, all with sallow faces and the look of malnutrition. Life for farmers in this era was truly bitter.

“What can be done to help them?” Yue Yang fell into deep thought…

Early the next morning, Yue Yang brought the Linglong sisters and Shunbao to the Old Madam’s courtyard to pay their respects. Seeing Yue Yang, now fully recovered and full of energy, coming to greet her, the Old Madam was very happy. Even his younger sister, Yue Ying, ran up to him, clinging to him and acting coquettishly. Yue Yang adored this obedient and lovely sister. He picked her up and spun her around several times on the spot, making Yue Ying giggle with laughter.

Seeing the siblings so happy, the Old Madam was greatly gratified, but she still said to Yue Ying, “All right, Ying’er. Your brother has only just recovered—don’t cling to him so much.”

Yue Yang quickly reassured her. “It’s fine, Grandma. I’ve already recovered, and my body isn’t that fragile. Otherwise, I wouldn’t have driven off that fellow Wang Chenglin yesterday!”

“That’s right, Old Madam. The Young Master was truly imposing yesterday—he led everyone and beat the Wang family’s group into a rout. Let’s see if they still dare to covet our Sanggan River now!” Shunbao, as a book attendant, naturally took the opportunity to flatter Yue Yang, embellishing yesterday’s events as he spoke.

Although she had already heard reports of the armed clash the day before, the Old Madam was still delighted to hear others praising her grandson. She said with satisfaction to Yue Yang, “Good grandson, remember this: the people of the Yue family will never take the initiative to bully others, but we also cannot allow others to ride roughshod over us. You must remember—the Sanggan River is the lifeline of Wuli Village. If anyone dares to touch it, we will resolutely fight back. Do you understand?”

As she spoke, a hint of ferocity appeared on the Old Madam’s usually kind face. It startled Yue Yang slightly. It seemed this old lady was no simple figure either—though she usually looked gentle and benevolent, once her bottom line was touched, she could be formidable.

Yue Yang thought for a moment, glanced around, hesitated, then said to the Old Madam, “Grandma, there’s something I’d like to tell you privately. Would that be… all right?”

The Old Madam smiled faintly. “Oh? It seems my good grandson has grown up—there’s something you want to discuss alone with Grandma. Very well, everyone go out. I want to have a few heartfelt words with my good grandson.”

At her words, Shunbao, the Linglong sisters, and several maids all withdrew from the room. Yue Ying pouted and refused to leave at first, but in the end Yu Ling wrapped an arm around her and forcibly carried her out, closing the door behind them.

Once all the servants had left, the Old Madam smiled and said, “All right, grandson. What is it you want to say to Grandma?”

Yue Yang looked around again, then lowered his voice and said, “Grandma, these past few days I’ve noticed that the past two years have been especially bad. Yue Family Manor is not like the Wang, Li, or Lin families, who all have other businesses to support them. We rely entirely on rent to support the thousand-odd mouths of the entire estate. If this continues, our Yue Family Manor will truly be swallowed up by those families.”

The Old Madam sighed. “How could Grandma not know this? But if Heaven does not show mercy, what can we do? Still, grandson, don’t worry. As long as this old body of mine remains in this world for even one more day, I will guard this family estate for you and never allow anyone to take it away.”

Hearing these words from the white-haired elder, Yue Yang couldn’t help but feel a sting in his heart. At that moment, a deep sense of familial warmth wrapped tightly around him—a feeling he couldn’t remember the last time he had experienced.

Yue Yang sniffed, then said to the Old Madam, “Grandma, it’s like this. I’d like to ask you for some gold, to buy a few things.”

“Oh? Gold?” Upon hearing this, the Old Madam’s clouded eyes narrowed slightly, a sharp glint flashing within. She looked at Yue Yang with a solemn expression and said, “Good grandson, you want gold—can you tell Grandma why?”

Yue Yang knew that whether he could persuade this seemingly aged yet actually shrewd Old Madam depended on his eloquence. He took a deep breath, then began to speak…