Chapter 3

Yueyang quickly approached the house where he had lived for several decades. He skillfully walked to the bedside, reached under the pillow, and took out his phone. When he pressed the button, the screen lit up. Yueyang glanced at the screen and then let out a long sigh of relief.

"Fortunately, twelve days have passed, which means the time flow in this space is synchronized with the time in the late Ming Dynasty. That way, I don't have to worry about any time discrepancies when I return. However, if I stay away for too long, will it attract thieves or cause trouble?"

Thinking about this, Yueyang's brows furrowed. The house, located in the suburbs with no other residents nearby, might attract unnecessary trouble if left unoccupied for a long time. Moreover, the original Yueyang, the owner of the house, had been struck by lightning and was no longer alive. The current Yueyang, a young man of twenty, had no blood relation to the house from a modern scientific perspective. If the original Yueyang did not reappear within a certain period, the state would confiscate the house. This thought made Yueyang's head ache.

"Well, this problem isn't too urgent for at least half a year. If it comes to that, I'll just buy the house back."

After thinking for a while, Yueyang put the issue aside. He looked at his phone screen and saw it was already 4:35 AM. Yueyang was startled.

"Bad, I need to go back. Otherwise, if Linglong and her sisters wake up and don't see me, it will be a disaster."

Yueyang hurriedly ran out, then rushed to the yard, filled a basin with water, and took off the jade pendant from his neck, placing it in the water. The bright moonlight shone through the water, reflecting off the jade and creating a silver-white portal. Yueyang took a deep breath and stepped through the portal. As he crossed, the portal, along with Yueyang and the basin of water, disappeared into thin air...

The sky was just beginning to lighten when Yueyang, who had slept for less than an hour, was woken by an urgent knocking at the door.

"Bang bang bang... bang bang bang..."

Soon, Yu Ling's gentle voice sounded from the front. "Hey... coming... coming, who's outside? You're so rough, what if you wake up the young master?"

"Big Sister Yu Ling, is the young master awake?" An urgent voice came from the door. Yueyang recognized it as Shunbao, his book boy.

"It's Shunbao. The young master hasn't gotten up yet. Why are you knocking on the door so early in the morning?"

"Big Sister Yu Ling, it's bad. This morning, the Wang family came to fight us for water again, and they even injured several people from our Yue Family Village! Right now, Master Hu is leading the guards to confront the Wang family by the river!" After being scolded by Yu Ling, Shunbao's voice became softer, but it still made Yueyang's heart race.

"The Wang family is fighting us for water again!" This thought stirred Yueyang's emotions.

"What? The Wang family, those guys almost killed our young master in Yingzhou City last time, and now they're fighting us for water again? They're really bullying us too much!" Yu Long's voice also sounded.

Hearing the indignant voices of the Linglong sisters, Yueyang quickly recalled some events. His predecessor, the Yue family's young master, had been severely injured and unconscious for over ten days. If Yueyang hadn't taken over his body, the young master would have died. The culprit behind the young master's injuries was the Wang family, and the cause was the fight over water.

Outside the courtyard gate, Shunbao, dressed in a servant's outfit, was talking to the Linglong sisters. The door in the center of the courtyard creaked open, and Yueyang, disheveled, stood at the door, looking at them.

The Linglong sisters quickly approached. "Young master, why are you out? Your injuries haven't fully healed yet!"

Due to lack of sleep, Yueyang's eyes were dark, and his complexion was poor, which made the Linglong sisters even more worried.

Yueyang said with a serious face, "I just heard from Shunbao that the Wang family is fighting us for water again and has injured several of our people. Is that true?"

Yu Ling quickly comforted him, "Yes, young master, it's just a minor issue. You don't need to worry; Master Hu will handle it."

"Minor issue? If it were a minor issue, would Shunbao have come here so early in the morning?" Yueyang shook his head and looked at Shunbao. "Shunbao, tell me the truth, what's happening by the river?"

Looking at Yueyang's penetrating gaze, Shunbao involuntarily shivered. He thought, "I didn't expect the young master to change so much after being injured. In the past, the young master was gentle, or rather, weak. But now, the young master's eyes are like a sharp blade."

Seeing Yueyang's sharp gaze, Shunbao didn't dare to delay and recounted the entire situation. As he listened, Yueyang's brows gradually furrowed.

It turned out that although Yue Family Village was one of the largest landowners in Yingzhou Prefecture, the prefecture was large, and there were other landowners and gentry. However, the four largest and most representative families were the Yue, Wang, Li, and Lin families.

First, the Yue family owned the most land in Yingzhou City, with over ten thousand acres of fertile land, almost half of the land in Wulizhai.

The Wang family, on the other hand, was involved in the illegal salt trade, monopolizing almost all the markets in Yingzhou Prefecture. The Li family controlled nearly 70% of the fur market in Yingzhou Prefecture, while the Lin family dominated over 80% of the mining industry.

In theory, since these four families each led in different fields, they should have coexisted peacefully without interfering with each other. However, this was not the case. For the Chinese, especially those in the feudal era, the two most important things were lineage and land.

The passion for land among the Chinese, especially during the feudal period, was something that modern young people could hardly imagine. The Chinese had a deep, almost obsessive love for land, which was deeply ingrained in their bones from birth.

Therefore, although the Yue family was known as the largest landowner in Yingzhou Prefecture, the Wang, Li, and Lin families owned almost as much land. Even if they owned less, the difference was minimal.

In the past, the relationship between the Yue family and the other three families was relatively good. However, in recent years, the relationship between the Yue family and the other three families had become increasingly tense. The reason was water.

There were four rivers near Yingzhou Prefecture: the Sanggan River, the Hun River, the Huangshui River, and the Mugua River. Wulizhai was located upstream of the Sanggan River, effectively controlling it, while the other three rivers were controlled by the other three families. The Sanggan River was the main river, and the other three were its tributaries. In the past, when the Sanggan River had abundant water, there were no issues. However, due to the recent drought, problems arose.

The Sanggan River, being the main river, naturally had the most water. However, due to the drought, the water level had dropped, and the amount of water flowing into the other three rivers had decreased. With less water, the other three families could not irrigate their fields sufficiently, leading to poor harvests.

Seeing this, the three families, especially the Wang family, became anxious. The Wang family, which owned the second-largest amount of land, was the most affected by the drought. Since the beginning of spring, many of their fields had cracked due to lack of water, and rice could not be planted. The situation worsened in the summer, with many rice fields drying up and dying.

Seeing this, the Wang family turned their attention to the Sanggan River. The clan leader, Wang Shoucheng, personally approached the Yue family's matriarch, hoping that the Yue family would allow them to dig a channel upstream of the Sanggan River to divert more water to the Hun River. Although the Yue family's matriarch was kind-hearted, she was firm on this issue. How could she allow it? Due to the drought, the water level of the Sanggan River had already dropped significantly, and it was barely enough to irrigate Wulizhai's fields. If they allowed the Wang family to dig a channel to divert water to the Hun River, what would happen to the Yue family? If this precedent were set, the Li and Lin families would also demand the same, and the Yue family's fields would be left without water. The tenant farmers who depended on the Yue family would also suffer. This was absolutely unacceptable.

Seeing the Yue family's matriarch's firm refusal, the Wang family's patriarch, Wang Chenglin, returned and instructed his subordinates to cause trouble in Wulizhai and secretly dig channels to divert water. The people of Wulizhai naturally did not agree, leading to conflicts. The situation escalated, and the Yue family sent people to watch the Sanggan River 24/7 to prevent the Wang family from digging channels, almost leading to large-scale clashes.

The conflict also affected the younger generation. A few days ago, the Yue family's young master, who was studying in Yingzhou Prefecture, had a conflict with the Wang family's second young master, Wang Chenglin, at the Baihua Tower in Yingzhou City. The Yue family's young master was severely injured and almost died, which allowed Yueyang to take over his body.

Hearing this, Yueyang understood. It seemed that even the young masters of the landowning families had their own troubles.

"Shunbao, go with me to the Sanggan River immediately. Remember to bring more people!" Yueyang said, looking at the anxious Shunbao.

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