Chapter 28

In the blink of an eye, the New Year had passed, and Ye Yu instructed Qiulan to go to Lai'an Prefecture to move the former family's steward, Uncle Sun, to Qingliu County.

In Ye Yu's memory, Uncle Sun was an old man who had followed his father for a long time. When his legs were broken years ago, if it weren't for Uncle Sun's repeated pleas, he would have died on the street.

Therefore, this life-saving grace could not be left unrepaid. Moreover, the residence they now lived in had been expanded and needed a steward to manage daily affairs.

The servants were easy to arrange, but finding a trustworthy steward was not so easy.

Next was the matter of expanding the dye workshop. Ye Yu had already planned this in his mind two months ago. The current scale of the dye workshop was already a constraint, so expanding it was his top priority.

Although the Ye family in Lai'an Prefecture had no relation to him, Ye Yu, who always distinguished right from wrong, would eventually settle the score with his second uncle, Ye Mengxin, for breaking his legs!

Ye Yu examined the area around Qingliu County for a long time and finally decided to locate the new dye workshop at the southern part of the city, at a place called Hama Pond.

The reason it was called Hama Pond was that there was a small depression in the southern part of the city, which had been overgrown with weeds for years. Due to the frequent rainy season in the south, it had gradually become a water pond filled with rainwater.

The pond was about five acres in size. Although it did not produce fish or shrimp, it was a breeding ground for frogs. During the summer rainy season, the sound of frogs could be heard continuously.

Ye Yu thought that although the land was not very level, as long as it was properly filled, building a dye workshop would be no problem. Moreover, because the land was not very level, the price should be within his means.

Otherwise, such a large piece of land, if it were good, would be very expensive, and although he could afford it, it would be a tight squeeze.

So Ye Yu shared his thoughts with Su Quanzhong and wanted to hear his opinion. However, after hearing Ye Yu's decision, Su Quanzhong frowned and shook his head.

After asking for the reason, Ye Yu learned that there was another tricky issue.

The owner of the land was named Zhou Laoer, who ran a tavern in the city. Zhou Laoer had once planned to fill the pit and build a tavern, but after filling it with two cartloads of soil, Pan Chengfeng, the second son of the Pan family, suddenly sent someone over.

Pan Chengfeng, who was associated with water in the five elements, was most averse to earth in the east. Zhou Laoer could fill the pit, but not with soil. Although the land belonged to Zhou Laoer, he did not dare to provoke the Pan family, so he had to stop the work.

Ye Yu recalled that when he examined Hama Pond, he indeed saw a large residence on the west side of the pond.

At first, he did not pay much attention, but now, after hearing Su Quanzhong's explanation, he realized that it was Pan Chengfeng's residence. However, Ye Yu did not delve too deeply into whether Pan Chengfeng was really lacking in water or had chosen the location for a specific reason.

Because Ye Yu did not fully believe in the so-called feng shui, although he did not completely deny it.

Now, Hama Pond had become a thorny issue, a bone that was neither tasty to eat nor easy to discard. If he bought the land and filled the pond, he would provoke Pan Chengfeng for no reason.

Although Ye Yu was not afraid of the Pan family, there was no need to create unnecessary trouble. But if he did not fill the pond, he could not build the dye workshop on the land.

This was indeed a very tricky issue. Ye Yu, who had been enthusiastic, now returned to his usual calmness and needed to think of a perfect solution.

During this period, Su Quanzhong went on behalf of Ye Yu to negotiate with Pan Chengfeng, but the response was very frustrating.

It turned out that Pan Chengfeng agreed to let Ye Yu fill the pond, but to compensate for the feng shui damage, Ye Yu had to provide him with the dye formula.

Ye Yu immediately rejected the negotiation upon hearing this! He thought, "Do you really think you're the emperor of Qingliu County? I have the right to buy land and fill it, and you want to control me with a feng shui excuse?"

However, despite his anger, Ye Yu knew that his current position was weak. If the matter escalated, even if he was in the right, he might not be able to extricate himself.

There was no such thing as fairness in this world, especially in situations of power imbalance, where the law would tilt, losing its fairness. Ye Yu sighed, knowing that this matter needed careful consideration.

...

In recent days, Mei'er from Zui Chun Lou had visited Ye Yu's home multiple times. Her frequent visits made Ye Yu feel quite helpless.

Although frequenting brothels and interacting with courtesans was a popular trend, Ye Yu was not used to it. However, since he had promised to teach her music, he could not go back on his word.

After Ye Yu's strong request, Mei'er's visits to his home had become more orderly.

In the living room, Mei'er, wrapped in a cloak, sat on one side, gazing at Ye Yu with passionate eyes. Ye Yu, on the other hand, selected and gently put down several silk instruments brought by Mei'er.

He then looked at Mei'er and asked softly, "Miss Mei'er, which instrument are you skilled at?"

Mei'er stared at Ye Yu, smiling coyly, and said with a deep meaning, "I am skilled at playing the flute!"

"Playing... the flute..." At first, Ye Yu did not think much of it, but seeing Mei'er's suggestive look, he felt a bit awkward.

This made Ye Yu unconsciously look at his abdomen, wondering if he was overthinking it.

"How, sir, are you doubting my flute skills? Why don't I play for you once..." Mei'er said, getting up and moving towards Ye Yu.

"Stop!..." Ye Yu quickly stopped her, feeling that the conversation was getting out of hand.

Suppressing his agitation, he cleared his throat and said, "I believe you, Miss Mei'er. Since you can play the flute, it saves a lot of trouble. This piece is best played with a bamboo flute. I will play it a few times and then record the sheet music for you!"

Saying this, Ye Yu picked up the bamboo flute on the table and played the piece from Zui Chun Lou. The flute's sound was melodious and touching, making people lose themselves in it.

When the piece ended, Mei'er covered her face and smiled, "That day, sir, claimed not to know music, but now you play the bamboo flute so skillfully. You really deceived me!"

Ye Yu did not respond but handed her the sheet music he had already recorded, "Miss Mei'er, here is the sheet music. Practice it a few times, and you will understand it well!"

"Oh? How will I know when I understand it well?"

Mei'er got up, swaying gently to Ye Yu's side, and wrapped her arm around his left arm, smiling seductively, "Why don't you touch and see..."

Seeing Mei'er's flirtatious behavior, Ye Yu was speechless. He thought, "Although my soul is over twenty, this body is only seventeen, and indulging in such matters at this age is not good for health."

Moreover, even if he had such thoughts, he would not seek a courtesan! If it weren't for Mei'er's usefulness, he would have driven her away long ago.

"Miss Mei'er, it's getting late. You should go back!"

Ye Yu pushed her arms away and moved his wheelchair to the side.

Seeing that Ye Yu was still unmoved, Mei'er persisted, "Sir..."

"Master, Miss Su has arrived!" At this moment, Qiulan walked in quickly.

Qiulan's arrival made Ye Yu sigh in relief, and he said softly, "A guest has arrived, Miss Mei'er, please leave!"

"Since that's the case, I'll visit another day!"

Mei'er, seeing the situation, glanced at Qiulan with a sour look and left with a disappointed sway of her waist.

Ye Yu sighed and said to Qiulan, "Qiulan, quickly invite Miss Su to the hall!"

Although he said this, Qiulan stood still in the hall, and Ye Yu frowned, about to ask. Qiulan then chuckled, "Miss Su is busy at the shop, how could she have time to visit you..."

"Ah, so you were tricking me!" Realizing he had been fooled, Ye Yu said.

Qiulan then suddenly pouted, "I was just worried that you would be seduced by that fox spirit, so I played a little joke!"

"You little girl, you're getting more mischievous! But your joke did help me out of a tight spot!"

"Pah! That fox spirit is shameless!" Qiulan, thinking of Mei'er's recent behavior, spat in disgust.

Seeing Qiulan curse Mei'er, Ye Yu pretended to be displeased, "Qiulan, how can you speak ill of others behind their back?"

"Master, she's like that... and you're defending her... You must be bewitched by that fox spirit..." Qiulan, seeing her master defend others, stomped her feet in anger.

Ye Yu, seeing this, laughed, "When did I defend her? If she really is a fox spirit, it's not a big deal..."

"Master, Qiulan doesn't understand!"

"It's just a feeling. By the way, Miss Su has been so busy lately, it seems the clothing shop is doing well?" Ye Yu, not wanting to dwell on the issue, changed the topic to the clothing shop.

Speaking of the Su family's clothing shop, Qiulan became interested and said, "Master, there's something strange!"

"Oh, what is it?" Ye Yu poured himself a cup of tea, blew on it, and looked at Qiulan.

Qiulan then told Ye Yu what she had heard. It turned out that a strange incident had occurred in Qingliu County recently.

It was called a strange incident because many young men had been attacked at night by a bandit. This bandit did not rob them or take their lives but only knocked them unconscious and tore off one of their sleeves.

After hearing this from the people who had their clothes mended, Su Yueyun told Qiulan about the strange incident.

After hearing this strange incident, Ye Yu's first thought was whether the bandit had a preference for men. No matter how he thought about it, he could not understand the bandit's true intentions and decided to ignore it.

After all, catching the bandit was the responsibility of the authorities, and he had no reason to meddle.

However, this incident gave him an idea about solving the problem of the dye workshop's location.

Since clothing mending and making did not require personal involvement, why should he personally fill the large pit at Hama Pond...

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