YWTGU -Chapter 52 A Bountiful Harvest from Poop and Pee? This Isn’t Scientific!

That very night… at midnight.

At the Armory Bureau of the Ministry of Works in the capital.

The moon was dark, the wind high. The craftsmen who had been working in a blazing frenzy earlier had all finished and gone to rest one after another.

In the entire courtyard, only a few night-watch craftsmen remained, guarding the extinguished furnaces. After such intense labor, each of them was yawning nonstop.

At that moment, three dark figures silently slipped past the shadows in a corner of the wall.

Leading them was a lean, middle-aged man with a particularly gloomy face.

He was one of the Blackwater Terrace’s undercover liaisons in the capital, code-named “Harrier.”

Tonight’s mission was simple: set a fierce fire at the Ministry of Works and cause massive destruction.

“Move quickly,”

Harrier whispered as he directed his men.

“The God of Wealth personally issued the order. He said it’s the highest directive.”

“By tonight, the Armory Bureau must be burned to ashes.”

The two men behind him nodded repeatedly.

“Don’t worry, boss. Starting a fire is easy. We’ll make sure it burns clean!”

The three avoided patrols and scaled the wall into the rear courtyard of the Armory Bureau.

Inside were piles of materials.

Stacks of charcoal, bundles of iron stock, and several large wooden barrels filled with unknown substances.

“This is the spot.”

Harrier looked around with satisfaction.

“Light the furnace first, then dump all this stuff in.”

“Make it burn good and strong!”

One of the subordinates walked to the barrels and lifted a lid.

“Boss, what’s in here? It’s black and smells pretty pungent…”

Harrier leaned over for a look.

Inside was a black powder, fine as sand.

Nearby were several sacks of oddly shaped stones—some dark, some with a silvery sheen.

“Who cares what it is? As long as it burns!”

Harrier waved his hand.

“Dump it all into the furnace!”

“Burn it! Burn it hard!”

The two men obeyed.

They poured all the black powder and strange stones into the iron-smelting furnace.

Then they lit the kindling.

The flames immediately leapt up.

At first, it was just an ordinary fire.

But as the powder and stones were heated, the furnace temperature began to skyrocket.

The flame’s color shifted from orange-red to a blinding white.

Even the furnace walls began glowing with an intense light.

“W-Why is the fire so strong?”

One of the men started to panic.

“Boss, shouldn’t we retreat?”

Harrier also sensed something was wrong.

Even from a distance, the heat radiating from the furnace made his face feel scorched.

“Retreat! Now!”

Realizing the danger, he immediately gave the order.

But just as the three had climbed over the wall—

Boom!!!

The furnace exploded.

Sparks flew everywhere. Thick smoke billowed.

The entire rear courtyard of the Armory Bureau was lit up in an orange-red glow.

“It’s done!”

Harrier turned back from a distance, looking at the towering flames with satisfaction.

“The Ministry’s Armory Bureau is finished this time!”

“As expected of the God of Wealth—he knew those things would make the fire burn hotter!”

What he didn’t know was that the “black powder” was coal dust Zhang Tiezhu had obtained from a mine.

And the “strange stones” were special ores containing elements like manganese and chromium.

These were materials Zhang Tiezhu had prepared to experiment with a new iron-smelting method.

But the spies had mistaken them for “accelerants”…

…

The next morning.

At the Armory Bureau of the Ministry of Works.

Zhang Tiezhu stood before the ruined furnace, his face ashen.

The explosion the previous night had alarmed half the capital.

He had rushed over overnight, only to see this disastrous scene.

Half the furnace was gone.

The surrounding equipment had been affected, all knocked over and scattered.

Several craftsmen stood nearby with their heads lowered, at a loss for words.

“Who did this?”

Zhang Tiezhu’s voice was filled with fury—so much so that everyone could feel it.

“Lord Zhang, we don’t know…” one craftsman stammered.

“Old Wang, who was on night watch, said he saw a few shadows climb over the wall…”

“But before he could call for help, they were gone.”

“Shadows?”

Zhang Tiezhu frowned deeply.

Someone was deliberately sabotaging them?

Who dared to interfere with Lord Li’s arrangements?

Just as he was pondering what to do—

He suddenly noticed something glinting at the bottom of the furnace.

“Wait… what’s that?”

He walked over to the furnace wreckage, crouched down, and carefully used iron tongs to scrape aside the slag.

At the bottom lay a peculiar piece of metal.

Not large—about the size of a palm.

But its color…

“This…”

Zhang Tiezhu’s eyes widened instantly.

The metal emitted a strange blue sheen.

Not the color of iron.

Not the color of copper.

But a cold, sharp metallic luster he had never seen before.

He reached out and touched it.

It felt incredibly hard.

Harder than any iron he had ever encountered.

“Quick! Bring me a blade!”

he shouted.

A craftsman immediately handed him one of the standardized sabers forged the day before.

Without hesitation, Zhang Tiezhu raised the saber and brought it down hard on the blue metal.

Clang!

Sparks flew.

The blade… snapped.

Not the mysterious metal—but the edge of the saber had chipped badly!

“My heavens…”

The surrounding craftsmen were stunned.

That was their proud standardized product!

A blade that could easily cut through wooden railings!

And it couldn’t even scratch this scrap from the furnace bottom?

Zhang Tiezhu’s hands trembled.

Not from fear—

But from excitement.

He had forged iron his entire life.

Seen good iron, refined iron, hundred-times-tempered steel.

But never this…

He didn’t even know what to call it.

Then suddenly, a name formed in his mind.

“Divine Iron!”

He leapt to his feet, overwhelmed with excitement.

“This is divine iron!”

“The legendary divine weapons must have been forged from this!”

“Our ruined furnace actually smelted divine iron!”

Then he paused and shook his head.

“No… not me…”

“It was those people last night!”

“They threw things into the furnace!”

“Yes! The black powder and strange stones!”

“It was those materials plus high temperature that smelted this!”

His mind raced.

Though he didn’t understand modern chemistry, he was a born craftsman.

From years of experience, he sensed something.

“Black powder… that was coal dust…”

“Strange stones… the special ores I brought from the mine…”

“Could it be…”

He sucked in a sharp breath.

“Could it be that burning coal dust together with those ores can produce this divine iron?”

“Isn’t this… the legendary method of steelmaking?!”

He turned to a nearby craftsman.

“How much coal dust and ore do we have left?”

“Lord Zhang, several barrels!”

“They only used part of it last night!”

“Good!”

Zhang Tiezhu’s eyes lit up.

“Bring all the rest!”

“I’ll try again!”

“Let’s see if we can recreate last night’s miracle!”

…

Half an hour later.

A new furnace was hastily erected in the courtyard.

Smaller than the original, but sufficient for experimentation.

This time, Zhang Tiezhu personally took charge.

Following his theory, he mixed coal dust and the special ores in certain proportions.

Then poured them all into the furnace.

“Increase the fire!” he roared.

“Not enough heat! Use the bellows! Blow it like your lives depend on it!”

The craftsmen hurriedly operated the bellows.

With forced air, the flames intensified.

From orange-red to blinding white—

Just like the accidental result from last night.

“Good! The temperature should be enough!”

Zhang Tiezhu stared at the furnace, eyes unblinking.

“Keep burning! Another quarter hour!”

After fifteen minutes, he ordered the bellows stopped and let the furnace cool slowly.

Ignoring the residual heat, he personally began clearing away the slag.

At the bottom—

There it was again.

That blue-glowing metal.

“Hahahaha!”

Zhang Tiezhu threw his head back and roared with laughter.

“It worked! It worked!”

“The steelmaking method—I’ve mastered it!”

The surrounding craftsmen rushed over. When they saw the blue metal reproduced, they leapt in excitement.

“Lord Zhang is mighty!”

“The Ministry of Works is going to prosper now!”

“When the frontier army uses weapons forged from this divine iron…”

“Won’t those Northern Yan barbarians kneel and call us daddy?!”

Zhang Tiezhu suddenly stopped laughing.

As if reminded of something, he turned and knelt in one direction.

“Colleagues, this credit… is not mine.”

“It belongs to Lord Li!”

“If not for Lord Li supporting craftsmen like us to enter officialdom through the imperial examinations…”

“How would we ever have had the chance to invent such a steelmaking method?”

“All of this is Lord Li’s merit!”

“This divine iron is heaven’s blessing—a miracle proving Lord Li’s foresight and dedication to the nation!”

“This is destiny! Heaven’s will!”

The craftsmen froze, then knelt as well.

“Lord Li is wise!”

“May Lord Li be blessed!”

The courtyard echoed with thunderous shouts.

…

At the same time—

In the Zhuangyuan Residence.

Li An was sleeping in.

Last night, he had a wonderful dream.

He dreamed the Ministry of Works had burned to ashes.

The frontier army cut off from weapons.

The Northern Yan army sweeping south in unstoppable waves.

Great Qi’s national fortune plummeting.

His mission finally complete.

“Hehehe…”

He grinned foolishly even in his sleep.

“This time it’s stable…”

“Hongmei… Hongmei…”

He murmured.

“Go see how badly the Ministry burned…”

“Young Master, I’m here.”

Hongmei’s voice came softly from beside the bed.

“News from the Ministry has arrived.”

“Mm? Burned to the ground?”

Li An asked lazily, not fully awake.

“Our people’s operation went smoothly. The Ministry did catch fire.”

She paused.

“It even exploded.”

“Exploded?”

Li An shot upright, instantly awake.

“Good! Excellent!”

“The worse the explosion, the better!”

“The frontier army’s weapons are finished!”

“Great Qi must be panicking now!”

“Hehehe…”

But—

“Young Master…”

Hongmei hesitated.

“What? Even better news?”

Li An urged eagerly.

“Anyone dead? How many injured? How big were the losses?”

“No one died.”

She shook her head.

“It just… exploded something out.”

“Exploded something out? What does that mean?”

Li An blinked.

“Apparently… a kind of divine iron.”

“What?”

His smile froze.

“Zhang Tiezhu reported that after the furnace exploded, a strange metal remained at the bottom.”

“It’s extremely hard. Blades can’t cut it.”

“He suspects the high temperature plus the coal dust and ore produced a new kind of steel.”

“He calls it… heaven-descended divine iron.”

…

Li An’s face turned green.

“He also said it’s heaven blessing Lord Li.”

“That heaven turned villains’ schemes into a great blessing for Great Qi.”

“He also said—”

“Enough!”

Li An cut her off.

He held his forehead, feeling the world spin.

He sent people to burn it down—

And ended up helping them invent divine steel?

What kind of plot twist was this?!

He came to ruin a nation, not become a metallurgical expert!

“Young Master, are you alright?”

“I’m fine.”

He took a deep breath.

“It’s just one piece of divine iron.”

“Probably an accident.”

“Yes. Definitely an accident.”

“Metallurgy is a complex chemistry…”

“They can’t possibly replicate it.”

Just then—

Ding!

System notification.

【Emergency Update!】

【Detected accidental production of a new material at the Ministry of Works: prototype “high-carbon alloy steel.”】

【Hardness: 5x ordinary iron. Toughness: 3x ordinary iron.】

【If mass-produced for military use…】

【Estimated National Fortune Impact: +50,000 ~ +80,000】

…

Li An stared blankly at the numbers.

Fifty to eighty thousand?

That was about how much he had painstakingly reduced lately.

And now one accidental furnace explosion was going to restore it all?

“Young Master?”

Hongmei looked worried at his pale face.

“You’re really alright?”

“I’m not.”

His voice was weak.

“This is serious.”

“I think I might not live much longer.”

…

Hongmei didn’t know what to say.

The better the Ministry performed, the stronger Great Qi became—and the harder his mission.

No wonder he looked half-dead.

“Young Master… should I send people to set another fire?” she asked cautiously.

“Destroy that divine iron?”

“Forget it.”

Li An waved his hand.

“Since that fool Zhang Tiezhu has already figured out the trick to steelmaking, destroying one batch is useless.”

“He’ll smelt it again sooner or later.”

He sighed.

“Let’s accept our fate.”

“The Ministry of Works is beyond saving.”

“Fortunately…”

He forced himself to perk up.

“Fortunately, I didn’t place my pieces only there.”

“What about the Directorate of Agriculture?”

“How’s Old Li and his composting method doing?”

When he asked this, he actually didn’t have much hope.

Old Li was a stubborn old mule who had spent his whole life farming.

Even if you gave him an official post, what tricks could he possibly pull off?

At best, he’d plant sweet potatoes everywhere and end up with a sparse, pathetic yield…

Hmm. He should be able to make a mess of the Directorate of Agriculture.

After all, the great aristocratic clans were watching closely!

They’d probably already sent people to sabotage Old Li’s experimental field.

In that case…

“Young Master.”

Hongmei’s cold voice interrupted his fantasy.

“There’s news from the Directorate of Agriculture as well.”

“Oh? How is it? Did it fail?”

Li An’s eyes lit up.

“No.”

“It succeeded.”

“A bumper harvest.”

“……”

Li An’s smile froze again.

“What do you mean?”

“Old Li’s experimental field harvested the first batch of sweet potatoes yesterday,” Hongmei said.

“The yield per mu is estimated to be… five thousand jin.”

“…How much?”

“Five thousand jin.”

“…Say that again?”

“Young Master, five thousand jin.”

She repeated calmly.

“Ten times the yield of ordinary fields.”

“It’s said the entire Directorate was shaken.”

“Old Li cried like a child, saying it was Lord Li’s blessing and Heaven’s miracle…”

“Stop!”

Li An shot to his feet.

“I’m asking you…”

“What about the aristocrats?”

“Weren’t they supposed to sabotage it?”

“Didn’t they send people to pull up the seedlings?”

“They did,” Hongmei said.

“But they were stopped by Zhao Dadan’s men.”

“Zhao Dadan?”

Li An was stunned.

“Isn’t he at the Mutual Trade Office? What’s he doing at the Directorate?”

“Protecting Old Li’s experimental field.”

Hongmei replied seriously.

“Zhao Dadan said this is Lord Li’s property and no one is allowed to damage it.”

“He brought a group of brothers and guarded the field day and night.”

“A few servants from aristocratic families tried to climb over the wall. They were caught.”

“And then?”

“And then what?”

“They were pinned into a manure pile and beaten.”

“……”

Li An fell silent for a moment.

“Tell me in detail.”

“How exactly did Zhao Dadan handle them?”

Hongmei hesitated, then spoke truthfully.

“They were servants from the Zhang residence, ordered to uproot seedlings.”

“They climbed over the wall at midnight and were seized the moment they landed.”

“Zhao Dadan had them tied up.”

“And then?”

“Then what?”

“He interrogated them about who sent them.”

“They refused to say.”

“So Zhao Dadan had them pressed into the manure pile. Each time he asked a question, they were rubbed in once.”

“This went on seven or eight times before someone confessed.”

“After the confession, Zhao Dadan still wasn’t satisfied.”

“He made them roll three more laps in the manure pile before throwing them back at the Zhang residence gate.”

“And he declared…”

“Anyone who dares touch Lord Li’s grain bag will be planted in the fields as fertilizer!”

“……”

After hearing the full report, Li An looked even more helpless.

That idiot Zhao Dadan…

Still so creatively brutal.

Rubbed in manure seven or eight times? Rolled three laps?

Is that protecting my assets?

That’s building my legend!

Now who in the capital doesn’t know how miserable it is to offend Lord Li?

Thinking of Zhao Dadan’s thug-like grin gave him a headache.

The man came from the underworld, carried weapons, had killed before, and ran the biggest gambling house in the capital.

How could aristocratic servants possibly match him?

No wonder no one dared to cause trouble anymore…

“Young Master, are you alright?”

Hongmei looked at his increasingly pale face with concern.

“I’m fine.”

Li An took a deep breath and gave a bitter smile.

“I just feel like coughing up blood.”

“Nothing serious.”

He staggered back to his chair and sat down, his vision going dark.

The Ministry of Works… had exploded out divine steel.

The Directorate of Agriculture… had achieved a bumper harvest.

The two places he thought most likely to fail had produced miracles.

And all those achievements would be credited to him.

Because he had arranged the personnel.

He had promoted Zhang Tiezhu, Old Li, Jin Daya, Zhao Dadan…

These guys…

Were stumbling blocks on his path to ruining the nation!

Ding!

【Detected bumper harvest at the Directorate’s experimental field!】

【New composting method + overseas phosphate fertilizer increases yield by 1000%!】

【If fully promoted…】

【Estimated National Fortune impact: +100,000 ~ +150,000】

【Current trigger: Directorate reporting to the court…】

Li An’s vision went black.

One hundred to one hundred fifty thousand?

Plus the fifty to eighty thousand from the Ministry of Works?

In one single day, national fortune might rise two to three hundred thousand?

All the bad things he’d done in his life hadn’t lowered it that much!

“What sins have I committed… what sins!”

He held his forehead, on the verge of tears.

At the Directorate’s Experimental Field

Old Li stood in the field, waving his arms in excitement.

At his feet were small hills of sweet potatoes.

Each as large as a child’s head.

Red skin, white flesh, plump and firm.

“It worked… it worked…”

He wiped his tears.

“Lord Li’s method truly worked…”

Around him stood officials from the Directorate, nearby farmers, and curious townsfolk who came to witness the miracle.

Everyone was stunned.

“This… this really came from one mu of land?”

“Yes.”

Old Li nodded.

“I saw it planted with my own eyes.”

“We just followed Lord Li’s method.”

“Composted the manure, then sprinkled that stinky stone powder…”

“And it grew like this.”

“Stinky stone?”

“Yes, the stuff Lord Qian shipped back from overseas.”

Old Li pointed at several wooden buckets nearby.

“It smells awful, but it works wonders in the soil.”

“The crops grow taller than people!”

The crowd exchanged looks.

Stones from overseas that stink?

Wasn’t that the bird-dropping rock Qian Xiaohai brought back from southern islands?

Formed from years of accumulated seabird droppings?

Back then, everyone mocked him for importing bird dung.

Now…

Lord Li truly had divine foresight!

“Of course Lord Li knew it would increase yields!”

“He must have read it in some ancient text!”

“Such profound knowledge!”

Only Old Li remained thoughtful.

When Qian Xiaohai delivered those rocks, he had asked what they were for.

Qian replied, “Lord Li said it’s natural fertilizer. Scatter as much as you can.”

At the time he worried it would burn the seedlings.

Instead…

It was like watering them with celestial nectar!

Lord Li was truly miraculous!

That Afternoon — The Capital

Two rumors swept through the streets:

First: The Ministry of Works’ fire forged divine steel.

Second: The Directorate’s field yielded five thousand jin per mu.

Both linked to one man.

Lord Li — currently suspended and confined at home.

“He’s suspended, yet his people keep working!”

“Not just working — creating miracles!”

“Divine steel and divine grain!”

“Lord Li planned it all!”

“In public he reflects at home, in secret he strengthens Great Qi!”

Teahouses buzzed with admiration.

At the Guest Residence, Princess Murong Xue of Northern Yan sat with a teacup, listening to her report.

“The news is true, Your Highness.”

“New steel at the Ministry of Works.”

“Tenfold yield at the Directorate.”

“Both arranged earlier by Li An.”

Murong Xue’s face darkened.

“Li An…”

“What is he playing at?”

“Isn’t he ours?”

“Wasn’t he supposed to undermine Great Qi?”

“Why is he strengthening it instead?”

She paced.

“No… there must be something I don’t know.”

“He cannot truly be helping Great Qi.”

“There must be another scheme…”

She stopped, eyes gleaming.

“Prepare the carriage.”

“I will personally visit the Top Scholar’s Residence.”

“I want to see…”

“What that Top Scholar is really up to.”

At the Top Scholar’s Residence, Li An lay flat like salted fish, staring at the ceiling.

He had held that pose for nearly an hour.

From the moment he received the “good news,” he knew his second cycle was doomed.

The two places he expected to fail had produced miracles.

And all the credit would fall on him.

Because he arranged it.

Because he suggested it — though he didn’t remember suggesting anything.

The bird-dropping rock…

Qian Xiaohai dug it up himself and asked him what it was.

As someone who spent years scrolling short videos in his previous life, Li An immediately recognized guano fertilizer and launched into an enthusiastic science lecture.

After all, back on Earth, some island nations thrived just by selling guano!

Ding!

【System update…】

【Public opinion surging in the capital…】

【Civil favorability toward “Lord Li” greatly increased!】

【Court reassessing his merits!】

【Suspension may be lifted early!】

【National fortune rising rapidly!】

【Current value: 68,231 → rising fast】

Li An stared at the climbing number.

He had no words.

If he’d known, he wouldn’t have set the fire.

Without it, the Ministry might have developed slowly.

Instead, the fire catalyzed divine steel.

Is that scientific?

That’s not scientific at all!

He, a corporate slave who transmigrated to ruin a nation—

Ended up surrounded by geniuses.

The arsonist forged divine weapons.

The farmer produced miraculous harvests.

What was he supposed to do?

He was desperate too!

“Young Master.”

Hongmei called from outside.

“There’s a guest.”

“Who?”

“Tell them I’m ill.”

“It’s the Ninth Princess of Northern Yan.”

“……”

Li An sat up.

“What does she want?”

“She says she’s visiting to check on your health.”

“And brought many gifts.”

Li An held his head.

Murong Xue coming now…

Definitely not good.

He sighed.

“Let her wait.”

“I’ll see her.”

He was already calculating.

How to explain this?

Say it was intentional?

Say he’s innocent?

Forget it.

One step at a time.

Murong Xue wasn’t as love-struck as Liu Wanqing — but her imagination was equally powerful.

With a little misdirection, she might convince herself.

He was used to dancing on knife edges.

Let’s hope he survives this round.