MLMD – Chapter 8 Yue Yang’s Thoughts

Yue Yang took a deep breath before speaking. “Grandmother, do you remember what happened a few days ago, when your grandson was beaten and injured by the Wang family’s second young master at the Baihua Pavilion in Yingzhou City?”

At these words, a fleeting flash of anger passed through the old lady’s eyes. She then let out a soft sigh. “Of course Grandmother remembers. That blow from the Wang family brat—I’ve kept it firmly in mind for you. Because of this, I even had people deliver a petition to the prefectural yamen, asking the prefect to seek justice for you. But the prefect kept hemming and hawing, making excuse after excuse, refusing to arrest anyone. He even claimed that the scene was chaotic at the time and there were no witnesses, so it was impossible to determine whether it was truly the Wang family’s second young master who did it. The moment I heard that, I knew it must have been that old fox Wang Shoucheng pulling strings with Prefect Zheng. Sigh… If you hadn’t woken up back then, Grandmother truly wouldn’t have known what to do. To think that my own grandson was beaten so badly, yet I couldn’t avenge him—Grandson, am I really that useless?”

Yue Yang’s eyes reddened as well. He reached out and firmly grasped the old lady’s hand, speaking softly, “Grandmother, please don’t be upset. This matter isn’t your fault—it’s your grandson who’s useless. I couldn’t even deal with a mere second young master of the Wang family, and instead made you worry so much for me. I’ve truly been unfilial!”

At this point, the old lady could no longer hold back and pulled Yue Yang into her arms, crying aloud. Seeing his grandmother in tears, Yue Yang felt waves of bitterness surge in his heart. He wrapped an arm around her shoulders and comforted her. “But Grandmother, please don’t worry either. I didn’t take that blow for nothing. While in Yingzhou City, your grandson also saved a Frankish merchant. From him, I learned something—and this matter is a great boon, not only for our Yue Family Manor, but even for Wuli Village.”

The old lady wiped away her tears and looked at Yue Yang. “Oh? What exactly is it?”

Looking at her solemnly, Yue Yang said, “Seeds—high-yield rice seeds, and high-yield millet seeds!”

Seeing the grave expression on Yue Yang’s face, the old lady instead smiled. She picked up a cup of tea from the nearby table, took a sip, and then asked, “Oh? My good grandson, just how high-yield are we talking about?”

“A kind of grain seed that can produce six to eight hundred jin per mu.” Yue Yang enunciated each word clearly.

“Pff—”

Before Yue Yang had even finished speaking, the old lady spat out the tea she hadn’t yet swallowed.

“Grandson, what did you say? How much? How much per mu did you say?” She stared at Yue Yang, disbelief written all over her face.

Meeting her gaze, Yue Yang repeated solemnly, “Your grandson said the yield can reach six to eight hundred jin per mu.”

The old lady’s body swayed, and Yue Yang quickly supported her to keep her from falling. She set the teacup down on the table, took a deep breath to steady herself, and then looked at Yue Yang. “Grandson, do you know what you’re saying? If this is true, it’s an earth-shattering matter!”

“Your grandson knows very well.” Yue Yang nodded. “I’ve already looked into it. In our Sanjin region, the average yield is usually around three hundred jin per mu. Down in Jiangnan it might be higher, but even then it’s only a little over four hundred—five hundred at most. If our Wuli Village can reach six hundred jin per mu, then our Yue Family Manor could leap to become the most powerful family in Yingzhou Prefecture. I believe even the prefect would have to look at us with newfound respect!”

The old lady shook her head, still unconvinced. “That may be so, but this is truly too exaggerated. Grandmother doesn’t feel at ease about it.”

Yue Yang understood that a yield of six to eight hundred jin per mu was far too shocking for people of this era, so he explained further. “That’s why your grandson wishes to ask you for some gold—to buy some seeds from that Frankish man and try them out. If the yield truly reaches six hundred jin per mu, would our Yue family still need to fear a mere Wang family?”

As he said this, Yue Yang could not help but smile bitterly to himself. If modern biology professors were to hear that the super hybrid rice seeds he’d brought back from the modern era only yielded a mere seven or eight hundred jin per mu, who knew if they’d be so angry they’d cough up blood en masse. But Yue Yang also knew that six to eight hundred jin was already the upper limit of what people of this era could accept. If he honestly revealed that rice yields had already reached eighteen hundred jin per mu at their peak, the old lady in front of him might very well faint on the spot.

Still, Yue Yang had underestimated just how seriously people of this era regarded grain. After the initial shock, the old lady quickly recovered her usual shrewdness. She tightly gripped Yue Yang’s hand and asked in a low, solemn voice, “Grandson, are the things you’re saying true? Who else knows about this?”

Yue Yang nodded seriously. “Grandmother, please rest assured. No matter how bold your grandson may be, I wouldn’t dare deceive you about such a matter. And for now, only your grandson knows.”

The old lady nodded. “That’s good. You must remember—what you told Grandmother today ends here. From now on, you must not tell anyone else. Do you understand?”

Yue Yang said with a mix of laughter and helplessness, “Grandmother, you’re being muddle-headed. Other matters might be kept secret, but we’ll still need people to farm the land. When the rice ripens, how could we possibly hide it from others?”

Hearing this, the old lady patted her own forehead and smiled bitterly. “Look at me—Grandmother’s gone senile. You’re right, this can’t be hidden. Sigh… I really am old… old…”

Seeing her vexed expression, Yue Yang asked again, “Grandmother, then about the gold…”

“Buy it—of course we’ll buy it!” The old lady was decisive. She immediately made her decision. “Grandson, although our Yue Family Manor isn’t as wealthy as the Wang, Lin, or Li families, we still have some savings. And you’re already twenty this year—you should be taking on the family’s burdens. How about this: starting today, if you need to use silver or funds, just speak directly with the accounts office and Steward Yue.”

“Thank you, Grandmother!” Yue Yang immediately beamed with joy. Her words meant that she was formally handing over the family’s financial authority to him. With her approval, he could now mobilize the family’s resources, and that meant he could finally begin putting his plans into action.

After leaving the old lady’s room, Yue Yang found Shunbao waiting for him at the doorway.

“Shunbao, do you know of any place in our manor that’s both remote and uninhabited?”

“Young Master, you’re looking for such a place?” Though puzzled, Shunbao had grown up in the Yue Family Manor, and in no time he thought of a suitable location. “Young Master, the summer retreat courtyard on the western side of the manor would be quite fitting. It used to be where the old master and madam went to escape the heat in summer. After they passed away, it’s been left empty. What do you think…?”

“Take me there!” Yue Yang cut him off decisively, immediately ordering Shunbao to lead the way.

Two quarters of an hour later, Shunbao brought Yue Yang to a small courtyard on the western side of the manor. It wasn’t very large—only three to four hundred square meters. There were two rooms in the middle, and the outside was enclosed by blue brick walls. Seeing this secluded and quiet courtyard, Yue Yang nodded in satisfaction.

“Very good. I’m quite satisfied with this courtyard. Shunbao, go tell your father: from now on, aside from me, no one is allowed to enter this place. If I see anyone appear here, don’t blame me for being ruthless. Do you understand?” As he spoke, Yue Yang’s tone grew stern and severe.

“Yes, Young Master! This servant understands!” Shunbao was startled by Yue Yang’s unprecedented severity and nodded vigorously, like a chick pecking at grain. At the same time, he felt a chill in his heart. The young master he had grown up playing with had become more and more unfathomable since waking from his coma. Whether this was a good thing or a bad thing—he truly couldn’t tell.

As the sky gradually darkened, night took over the land. Only faint starlight peeked out shyly. Inside the summer retreat courtyard, Yue Yang lit a candle, casting a dim, flickering glow over the area.

Yue Yang sat on a stone stool. In front of him was a wooden basin half-filled with clear water. Beneath the surface lay a jade pendant, resting quietly. On the stone table beside him was a small bundle wrapped in coarse cloth—inside were ten gold ingots, commonly known among the people as “big yellow fish,” which Yue Yang had just collected from the accounts office. At this moment, Yue Yang stared up at the sky, silently cursing.

“Damn it, what’s going on tonight? Even the moon’s hiding behind the clouds?”

Originally, Yue Yang had been quite pleased with his ability to freely travel between the modern era and the late Ming dynasty. But this method of time travel was becoming more and more infuriating to him—it was far too unstable, completely dependent on the whims of heaven. Just like tonight: after finishing dinner, he had started waiting, yet nearly three hours had passed and the moon still refused to show itself. If it didn’t come out soon, dawn would arrive.

Just as Yue Yang sat there, his eyelids drooping, a faint white glow suddenly appeared in the basin before him. The light grew brighter and more numerous, slowly weaving together to form a silvery-white portal of light.

The appearance of the portal startled Yue Yang awake. He looked up—and the moon, which was missing a small portion, finally emerged from behind the clouds.

“Damn it, you finally show yourself. Otherwise I’d have waited the whole night for nothing!”

Yue Yang’s spirits surged. He muttered a curse under his breath, grabbed the bundle from the table, and then ran straight toward the glowing portal before him…