To Rule in a Turbulent World Chapter 16 34 Feb 09, 2020

Book 2: Butterflies in Love with Flowers

INFO MAP

Chapter 16



Chapter 16

The two arrive at the East Market. The East Market is much more chaotic than the West Market, with stalls everywhere selling fish and other water foodstuffs, the grounds covered in a layer of damp and mud is everywhere. "Why did you bring me here?" You Miao asks.

"Didn't you say you wanted to look for tenants, hm? Hire permanent labour?" Qiao Jue replies.

You Miao stands by a fence and was first taken aback, but he soon comes around. The East Market is where one buys maids and boy attendants; all the impoverished families of the entire Yangzhou and Jiaozhou prefectures will all drag their sons and daughters here. Those who can't afford to raise their children wish to sign off a slave deed, and sell their sons and daughters off to an affluent family.

There are also many tenant households who couldn't live off of what they had anymore and brought their whole families here in Yangzhou to find work. There are both temp and perm farm labourers, their skins tough and tanned, squatting by the corners of the workhouse# as they ate noodles in chipped bowls.

You Miao and Qiao Jue's robes are bright and colourful, so the moment they entered the human-sale market, a group of people immediately rush to crowd them.

"Old Master, you hirin'?"

"Old Master, you need farm hands?"

"Old Master, please grant a bite to eat!"

Qiao Jue blocks off the people, scared they'd push You Miao, and admonishes, "Move aside!"

When You Miao sees all these people, joy overtakes him and he immediately pulls at Qiao Jue's sleeve, "Xiao-jiu, I want all of these people…"

Qiao Jue whispers back, "Don't talk nonsense. Let me know the ones you like and xiao-jiu will take care of it for you."

"But my estate really do lack people, there's no one planting the fields even if I do have the land…" You Miao says.

"Even if you can afford to hire permanent labour you can't just hire anybody. There are those who are lazy and screws off their days. Leave it to xiao-jiu. This business needs quality not quantity…"

And so You Miao follows after Qiao Jue. Qiao Jue then turns his head back and says, "While Li Zhifeng has taken heart in serving you, it's still no good not having a few hands around to order. Originally I wanted to send you a few people by my side, but unfortunately everyone in the tea estate has been bribed out by that woman, and I've only one who obeys…"

"This is also the reason why I didn't bring anyone from Sunshower Jade Estate…" You Miao replies.

"Let me buy a few clever ones for you." Qiao Jue says, "You can place them inside or outside the house. You want maids or boy attendants?"

The two stand before the human market, and rows and rows of people are lined up, each of them unkempt and disheveled, their eyes watching intently at You Miao and Qiao Jue. You Miao is thoroughly shaken at last. He's never encountered anything like this before, and now he's finally, truly, come in contact with it. This is human sale. Men, women, old and young, each of them with a price tag. Tall or short, young and strong; as long as he's got the money they can be bought.

This is different than human traders who sold people. The government arrests those human traders. But here, everyone here are willingly selling themselves, if only for a bite to eat. For a long while, You Miao couldn't describe what he's feeling.

Qiao Jue bumped his elbow at You Miao, "Hey, I'm asking you. Boys or girls?"

"I… I don't know." You Miao replies.

The more You Miao looked the more he feels his heart squeeze; he's got a good life, he really does. If he was born in one of these families, he'd probably have the fate of one waiting for mom and dad to sell him too.

"Let's get boys." You Miao says.

"Pick my family." A man of thirty some quickly says, "My wife is gone, I've just these two boys. Take all three of us; I'll take care of your garden, I can farm, and my boys are both yours to command."

You Miao is about to cave but Qiao Jue speaks up, "And just how old is your little son, what can he do?"

That man chuckles, "They're both obedient. He's eleven this year."

"And your oldest son?" You Miao asks.

"He's sixteen." The man replies.

Qiao Jue told that child to open his mouth, and sees his teeth aren't straight. The older boy is holding the hand of the little boy, both of their skins tanned dark, and they watched You Miao guardedly.

"Call 'Old Master' now." The man whispers at them.

But the two children didn't make a peep.

"We'll take them?" You Miao says.

"What's your surname? You've got your census registration papers? Are you carrying debt?" Qiao Jue questions that man.

That man smiles apologetically, "To answer Old Master, I'm surnamed Song, a citizen of Jiaozhou Prefecture. I am indeed carrying debt, I owe the landlord's household seven strings of maces…"

The man takes out the debt strip paper for them to see, and Qiao Jue turns to You Miao, "Not worth it. Let's go check over there."

Qiao Jue pulls at You Miao forcing him to go, but You Miao turns his head back around and asks, "Why did you come to Yangzhou?"

"Go." Qiao Jue urges in a low voice by You Miao's ear, "You're here to hire people, not here to be a saint."

That man named Song chases after You Miao to reply, "Young Master! Young Master! My wife died of illness, my dad passed on two mu's bit of fields but I couldn't pay the rent, so the landlord took that away too. I borrowed money because I couldn't pay for the doctor… and no money to bury the mother of my sons… Young Master please pity me, grant us a bite to eat…"

Qiao Jue smiles, "Don't believe everything they say, half true half false, just listen for the giggles."

You Miao nods, and stops talking altogether. The two walk through half the street, and each household is either selling themselves or looking for hire. Only now does You Miao learn that there's actually so many people without land and unable to feed their entire families. Qiao Jue explains more to You Miao, that these people have all lost land, which is why they've come out to find work to survive.

In this current era, it isn't like owning a few mu's of land will garner you food. Once something is grown, it needs to be sold after harvest, but the cost of rice and noodles are all controlled by the hands of the merchants. With only a few mu's of land, if the climate is smooth for the year, then the whole family gets fed. However, if there's a drought or a flood, the prospect of a harvest becomes dim, plus the added pressure of conscripted labour#, without any choice land will have to be pawned off in order to borrow money from the landlord. Interest builds up, there's no money to repay the loan, the land gets taken away, so one goes to become a permanent labour hand. But the income isn't enough to pay the interest, and so debt balloons, making it even harder to pay government taxes. The only choice left then is to uproot and leave home, search for a different place to make a living.

If one stays in their county of origin, if they're unable to repay their debt they've no choice but to use their children as collateral.

You Miao's heart is throbbing the more he listened, all that bit of joy at the beginning completely dispersed like the clouds. After the two walk through the market, they suddenly notice on the west end of the market stands a handsome man looking carefree and poised while eating something. It's Li Zhifeng.

Li Zhifeng is munching on a toasted sesame flatbread while his head is down looking at the two little kids kneeling in front of him,

"Li Zhifeng!" You Miao calls out.

When Li Zhifeng sees You Miao approaching, he takes out a tanghulu# to give to him, and You Miao rummages out the crispy fried fish he bought for him. Li Zhifeng takes the fish and digs right in.

Qiao Jue is still checking people out on the side, so You Miao asks, "Is the boat hired?"

Li Zhifeng nods, "Hired. It can go first thing tomorrow morning."

You Miao is munching on his tanghulu while Li Zhifeng ate his deep fried fish, the two of them staring at the children kneeling in front. The two children are twins, holding a wooden plaque that says "Selling Persons to Bury Father". Behind them is a dead body. The corpse is covered with a gunny cloth, and flies buzzed about.

"Why did you come here?" You Miao asks.

"I heard there are people looking for hire here." Li Zhifeng says, "So I thought to come and buy you a few boy attendants to place in the yard for commands."

You Miao winks at him, "You tired of tending to me?"

Li Zhifeng is only focusing on eating and replies, "I can't watch over you by myself, and you order me to go out to labour too, leaving no one by your side. Get two little attendants, let them run the errands, and then I can stay with you."

You Miao nods, reaching out for Li Zhifeng's hand, the two of them lace their fingers together and swing their hands for a bit. You Miao then speaks up, "Did you also hold up a sign like this for people to buy you in the past?"

"Heh." Li Zhifeng's lips curl, smiling without mirth.

You Miao can't help wanting to tease him, but Li Zhifeng says instead, "Give them a tael of silver, and let them bury their dad."

You Miao looks at those two boys. While they're scrawny, they're very spirited, so he goes to reach for his money. Li Zhifeng questions them, "How old are you two?"

"Fifteen." One of the boys answers.

"What's your names?" Li Zhifeng asks.

"I'm Mu Yan. He's Mu Feng." The other boy glances at his own brother, then looks up to Li Zhifeng. You Miao asks, "Which one is the gege, which one is the didi?"

The one who spoke first points to himself, "I'm the gege."

"Go bury your dad." You Miao gives them a tael of silver, and the older one of the twins immediately gets up to leave. Li Zhifeng instructs, "This one here is your Young Master. Once your business is done, come tomorrow early morning to Yanzhou's riverside pier to wait."

Mu Feng very respectfully gives You Miao three soundly kowtows. You Miao helps him up, then heads to the east end of the marketplace with Li Zhifeng.

"Let me carry you on my back." Li Zhifeng says, "The ground is dirty."

"Don't." You Miao is feeling a little embarrassed now, having a group of people calling him Old Master Old Master, then have his servant carry him on his back? It's not right. When Qiao Jue sees You Miao he waves him over, "How about this kid?"

That boy is standing there quietly, only a bit taller than Li Zhifeng. He's wearing a pair of ragged straw shoes, his limbs long and lanky, his eyes not dazed and blank like the average folks, very bright. "I'm not selling my person. My ge committed a crime so he's been drafted to the army. I'm just looking for work, so I can use money to smooth connections."

"What's your name?" You Miao asks.

"Why do you keep asking for people's names?" Qiao Jue teases, "Once you take the boys home are you not giving them a name yourself?"

"I'm called Cheng Guangwu." That boy answers.

You Miao checks him over for a moment. Meanwhile, Li Zhifeng used two fingers to squeeze Cheng Guangwu's wrist, twisting his arm up. The skinny bones are jagged, his fingers long and slender, his skin tanned.

"Good bone structure for practicing martial arts." Li Zhifeng comments absently.

Cheng Guangwu is about to throw away Li Zhifeng's hand, but Li Zhifeng only squeezes a bit harder, his fingers becoming like pincers, and immediately Cheng Guangwu scrunches up his face, giving a muffled grunt as the pain forces him to bow.

"Don't bully him." You Miao laughs, and with a hint of a smile, Li Zhifeng lets go of his hand.

Holding his wrist, Cheng Guangwu says, "Give me half a string of coins per month and I'll go with you."

Qiao Jue throws You Miao a look then turns to Cheng Guangwu, "Done. Go first thing in the morning tomorrow and wait at the Yangzhou pier."

When the men around hear this, they all come rushing over again, and Qiao Jue immediately shouts, "Don't push! Don't you dare crowd my Young Master!"

Li Zhifeng is shielding You Miao as a group of people crowded around them. Qiao Jue waves his sleeves, speaking in a light, nonchalant tone, "There's too many of you, so I can't figure you all in such a short time either. How about this. Tomorrow, you all come over to Riverwave Estate yourselves to check things out. After you get out of Yangzhou City, head north down the official road, then after two and a half kilometers, take the road on the left at the fork, cross the river and head northwest. Once you see Anlu Village just ask around. Thirty kilometers of travel, figure it out yourselves."

"Old Master, will there be land for us to farm once we're there?" Someone asks.

"Not necessarily." Qiao Jue replies, "We'll see if you're sick or if you're lazy. We'll talk after you get there."

The group of permanent labourers the disperse, each with thoughts on their minds. "You're not gonna pick a few maids?" Qiao Jue asks.

"This is fine for now." You Miao laughs, "I can't afford it if there're too many anyway."

That man named Song at the beginning comes pushing over, nodding and bowing, "Young Master."

"I am missing a gardener. Have him follow me." You Miao speaks up first.

Qiao Jue sees that You Miao likes this father and two sons so he nods, pulling out a bit of broken silver and weighing it before placing it into the hands of that man, "Go repay you debt, but don't run away after taking the money."

That Song smiles, "Where else can I run to? Thank you Young Master, thank you."

-

That day, Qiao Jue takes You Miao and Li Zhifeng back home. The Shaoyuan Tea Estate is located within Yangzhou's anemone bamboo longtang#, and not much has changed in the past three years. You Miao can hear Madam Bai scolding the maids and attendants from outside in the longtang.

"Have I raised you for nothing?!" Madam Bai's yelling voice is sharp, "Can't even hold water properly, what have you been eating!"

When Qiao Jue hears the sister-in-law scolding inside his face twists in irritation, but You Miao pulls at his hand, smiling while gesturing that it's fine, and the three enters the large courtyard of the Qiao Family. When they go in, they see Madam Bai has her hair down and spread, sitting in the yard washing her feet.

"Saozi#, where's er-ge?" Qiao Jue asks.

"Went out to drink." Madam Bai's face is grim, and her voice is full of annoyance, "Who did you bring back this time...Ah, Miao-zi!"

Madam Bai swapped faces completely and starts to laugh, and You Miao smiles, "Er-Jiuma#."

"When your dge came over before New Years he talked about you eh." Madam Bai smiles and gets up, "Come sit."

You Miao en's, but he has his hands tucked in his sleeves and remains standing where he is. His mom and this er-jiuma never got along, and with this wife leashing him, Qiao Zhang is always out screwing around all day, never wanting to come home, feeling troubled the moment he steps into this home. Most of the time, the Qiao Family has You Dechuan helping financially, so You Miao knows she must've changed her attitude towards You Han'ge, so he doesn't feel like cozying up with her and doesn't bother.

Qiao Jue goes into the inner house to wash his face, and asks, "Is er-ge not coming home for dinner?"

Madam Bai raises her voice, "How would I know, eh. Running out all day like he's lost his soul. Who knows where he's watching a play right now…"

You Miao circles around the yard twice and abruptly discovers that this yard has become smaller.

When he was young and Qiao Ke-er brought him home, he and Qiao Jue would chase each other and play around in the yard. Back then he felt the yard was very big and very spacious, but how has it become small now? Only a few steps and he'd reach the end, how boring.

The entire yard is also gloomy and oppressive. Qiao Jue is speaking inside the house, and You Miao hops around step by step, "Where's biao-jie?"

"Married, eh. She's at her own home." Madam casually grabs for a bamboo stick and starts whipping the maid kneeling on the ground, "Who's got the time to come back to the motherhouse every other day."

"Let's eat. The nephew's hungry too." Qiao Jue speaks up again.

Madam Bai gets up indifferently and goes off to order for dinner, and Qiao Jue says, "You Miao, eat in my room. Come, xiao-jiu will drink a bit with you."

By light time# the dinner is served but Qiao Zhang never came back. Qiao Jue keeps You Miao company and eats for a moment but then the manager of the Tea Estate comes to reconcile the books, and since doors gotta open for business the next day the man can't leave without the books, so Qiao Jue can only put down his chopsticks, urging You Miao to eat and drink well, before he leaves to reconcile the books himself with the manager.

Li Zhifeng and You Miao are sitting there, eating. On the table there's only two cold cuts: a plate of pig ears and hand-ripped rabbit; and three dishes: fried duck with ginger, steamed fish, and fried garlic sprouts with cured meat. The food indeed isn't anywhere close to what Shen Garden has.

You Miao chews on that rice. He's never gotten used to eating the rice from jiujiu's place; the rice is steamed too much, too hard, and with not enough water. "Not even any steamed eggs." You Miao comments offhandedly.

"I'll steam some for you when we get back." Li Zhifeng says.

"The rice is so hard, it's choking." You Miao complains.

Li Zhifeng grins. He himself ate three large bowls of rice, and when he goes to get more rice, he finds there's no more inside the rice bucket. You Miao only ate a small part of half a bowl but he shoves the rest into Li Zhifeng's bowl. As he watched him eat, Madam Bai's voice comes floating into his ears. She's fighting with Qiao Jue, and in front of the tea estate's manager too. It must be because Qiao Jue said something.

"There are no tea seedlings, and with your er-ge's current state, who will you go to for them…"

"Don't be like that, er-sao, this is for Miao-zi to plant…"

"Nephew nephew, you don't give a crap about your own family, running off to other people's houses all the time…"

"And is there anything left for me to do in my own home?"

Madam Bai's voice is shrill, so it keeps seeping through the cracks of the walls. You Miao explains, "That woman is always complaining that my mom took away too much for her dowry back then."

"Oh." Li Zhifeng is still eating, "Dowry."

"Who's the real head of this household? Do my words count for nothing now!"

An angry roar comes from Qiao Jue and Madam Bai finally quiets down, then there was the sound of doors being slammed before everything falls silent.

A moment later there's the sound of someone passing by. You Miao stretches his neck to peek, and sees a woman stopping in her step in the corridors outside the door, "Ah, Miao-zi?"

That woman is Qiao Zhang's little mistress. You Miao has always addressed her as Auntie Sha. After greeting her, You Miao still doesn't get up, and Auntie Sha looks Li Zhifeng over with her eyes before chuckling charmingly, "How did you find the time to come visit today? And who's this lovely lad?"

Li Zhifeng glances at her, and You Miao picks up his chopsticks to poke at his handsome face, "You're not allowed to look at her."

Auntie Sha leaves, and it was a good while before Qiao Jue comes back with a stinking face. When he sits down and notices there no more rice left, he shouts, "HONG MING!"

The boy attendant comes and takes the rice bucket away to add more rice, but a moment later he returns and says, "Si-ye#, there's no more rice."

Qiao Jue can't even muster a single word anymore. There's still a small bit of rice left in Li Zhifeng's bowl, so he was going to share, but Qiao Jue snaps furiously, "Eat your food!"

You Miao bursts out laughing, slapping his own thigh, and Qiao Jue sighs, shaking his head woefully.

"The whole thing with tea seedlings, just leave it for now." You Miao says, "I'll go talk to er-jiu another day."

Qiao Jue knows that You Miao's heard, so he doesn't lie about it either, "Screw her, putting her nose in something like this too. A bit of tea seedlings can do what to her? It's not like anyone's growing them. Don't worry about this, I'll make a trip personally to the tea estate tonight. I can't stay in this house any longer."

Qiao Jue stuffs a few bites down before he changes and leaves, so You Miao makes himself at home, taking over Qiao Jue's bed, telling Li Zhifeng to get on too. The two snuggle to sleep under the covers; Qiao Jue's beddings are nicely perfumed, and with Li Zhifeng holding him, You Miao hums in full comfort, "Xiao-jiu's bed is comfy."

Li Zhifeng mn's and kisses You Miao, the two falling fast asleep. By si-gen# Qiao Jue comes back, and when he sees the two have taken over his bed, he lays over the chair and takes a nap as is. In the morning when at first light, Qiao Jue wakes the two, "Time to get up."

You Miao is still bleary-eyed, and without even washing his face he boards the carriage semi-consciously. Who knows where Li Zhifeng's gone off to, so You Miao leans into Qiao Jue's arms and sleeps the entire way. By the time they've reached the pier, the people from the human market yesterday have already arrived. Qiao Jue goes off to give orders to the boat then pays for the dockers to haul the goods. Li Zhifeng comes driving a cart, and after six thousand catty of iron ingots are loaded onto the boat first, the boat has already taken on half the water.

"Eat." Li Zhifeng pulls over a small table, and passes a steamy hot bag of grease paper wrapped oil pasties to You Miao before he turns around and goes to buy a bowl of soy milk from a small shop by the river.

After having had breakfast, You Miao is more energetic, and Li Zhifeng starts to pass steamed buns to the new servants squatting by the riverside.

"What're you called?" Li Zhifeng questions.

"Cheng Guangwu." That skinny, tall boy takes the steamed bun and answers.

"I remember you two." You Miaos says to that set of twins, "Mu Yan, Mu Feng."

The twins don't speak, only taking the steamed buns Li Zhifeng handed over.

There are two other households with whole families who have been waiting for a long time, and one of the men speaks up, "Young Master, won't you give something to eat for the children?"

"Everyone gets one." Li Zhifeng hands everyone the white doughed steamed bun one by one. Those people were hired by Qiao Jue; one family is named Niu, the other named Qian. The Niu family consisted of a married couple with a daughter, while the Qian family is a widowed mother with two half-matured sons.

The skies are getting lighter. After Qiao Jue take a few bites out of his oil pasty he passes it to a child. You Miao speaks up, "Let's go. Xiao-jiu what are you waiting for?"

Qiao Jue's face is unreadable, and he hasn't spoken either, having obviously been thoroughly angered the night before. You Miao sidles over to shamelessly nuzzle against him acting all cute, and Qiao Jue starts to laugh, unable to stay upset, "Wait a bit longer."

When the fog over the river subsides, four carts have come, and the cart load are carrying full of three feet tall tea tree shoots, and the roots are all wrapped in gunny cloth bundles filled with soil. You Miao instantly cheers in surprise, and Qiao Jue says, "Xiao-jiu has brought over all the bit of assets I own eh. Miao-zi, take care of me in the future."

You Miao laughs, "In the future, as long as I have a bite to eat, you'll have a bite to eat. Come, let's go."

Five thousand tea seedlings are loaded onto the boat, then followed by all the people. The boat thus drives off soundly and mightily towards Riverwave Estate.

-

Plans for an entire year all begins in spring. When spring arrived, the whole of Riverwave Estate is practically in chaos; there is the shouts of craftsmen everywhere, there's the boat unloading by the shore, basswood strewn everywhere, some with the barks peeled and some already undergoing the peeling process, everything's a mess. The craftsmen also set up a large tent by the riverside, and after You Miao has gone over to greet Old Craftsman Huang, he got the men to pile the iron ingots by the shore before leading the people up to Shen Garden.

The last time Qiao Jue visited he didn't see a setup like this, and he comments, "You're gonna be bringing prosperity to millions of people here, Miao-zi."

You Miao smiles modestly and answers, "I don't know about bringing prosperity to millions, but I can bring prosperity to my own estate at least."

This is the coldest time of the year but the river water still wouldn't freeze over. The band of people enters Shen Garden and they keep peeping, looking around, obviously never having ever lived in such a wealthy courtyard. Qiao Jue laughs, "Heh, xiao-jiu can finally taste the life of a rich household now."

You Miao pretends to kick him and jokes, "You pulling my leg here."

Qiao Jue takes two boy attendants with him to go tidy things up, planning on settling down here. The dockers then carry the tea seedlings over to Shen Garden, piling them left and right, all over the back yard. You Miao tells Li Zhifeng to settle the wage, then he himself brings the new tenant families into the main hall, having them line in rows.

"Wait here for a moment." You Miao says.

These are all poor families, how have they ever stepped foot into such a wealthy place? Instantly they all start praising, in awe of Shen Garden's impressiveness. The women waited outside with the children while the men who are the heads of each house came in.You Miao glances around and sees of the two brothers Mu Feng and Mu Yan, only one entered. Considering it's one person per household, they are rather perceptive of the rules.

When You Miao was young he's seen how father has treated the tenants, so once he's inside the hall he retrieves the tea, personally brews a pot, then using coarse clay cups he passes the tea around once. "Once you've come to Shen Garden you're one of the family. If there's anything the matter in the future, everything is negotiable. Come around, let's pass the tea around."

To have the Young Master of the Estate offer tea to tenants and servants insinuates that You Miao has formally accepted them, and right then and there, with the family head named Zhuang leading the way, the four families Zhuang, Huang, Qian, Niu, all come forward to receive the tea, each of them proclaiming, "Of course we'll be loyal to Young Master."

"Mn." You Miao is very pleased, and pours a round of tea, "Those of you who have dragged your sons and daughters along can stay here in Shen Garden for the time being, no rush. Just find a room from the side wing. This year being the first year, let's worry about feeding the families first, and if there isn't enough to eat, just ask Li Zhifeng for aid."

The moment You Miao answers the issue of food, the crowd all lets out a breath of relief.

However, You Miao continues, "But all the food subsidized this year must be repaid next year, with one part interest."

The man named Zhuang replies, "Yes, of course, that's the logical thing. Of course we can't freeload off of Young Master."

"Tomorrow, you can go and section off land. It doesn't matter how much you section off provided it's within your own capabilities to work the land. One mu of land, fifty percent rent."

The moment the words are spoken, while the men may not be very willing but they have no choice but to nod. You Miao continues with a happy smile, "The lands of my estate can harvest three seasons of grain. If you don't believe me you can go try it yourselves. You all saw when you were coming here, right? That water wheel is for providing water come spring. If three harvests can't be achieved, I'm a fairly easy-going person, the rent can be lessened come year end."

Only then do the men breathe a sigh of relief, and You Miao dismisses them, "You four households will need to work the land, so go rest for now. Start ploughing the fields tomorrow, and when the seeds come I'll pass them to you."

The four households that have come by boat all bow and stand down to leave, and only then does You Miao remember that the man named Song from the human market yesterday hasn't come, figures he ran off with the money. While You Miao is pissed, there's nothing he can do, so he can only take it as robbery and let it go.

Within the hall there's only the darkly tanned, skinny youth Cheng Guangwu and the two twins who are so starved they're skin and bones, their faces yellow.

"Let me work the fields too." Cheng Guangwu says, "I'll rent ten mu of land. Will Young Master be charging me fifty percent too?"

You Miao watches him, amused, "You know how to farm?"

Cheng Guangwu is taken aback at first, but then answers immediately, "I don't, but I can learn."

"The land in the northeast corner of Shen Garden is a good piece of land, I'll let you farm it." You Miao says, "We'll split fifty-fifty; I'll provide the seeds, but you have to go with whatever I want to plant. After the seeds are planted you can manage it however you will. I'll provide you the meals, but when you're not busy you'll have to take care of my two horses, and you'll have to take care of all the nitty gritty business of the residence. If my xiao-jiu calls for you, then you'll have to do what he tells you to do too."

You Miao is providing boarding and meals for Cheng Guangwu, giving him that piece of land behind Shen Garden, and even splitting half for him to go sell, truly a great thing, and Cheng Guangwu keeps nodding repeatedly as he exits.

Now the only ones left are the twins Mu Yan and Mu Feng. You Miao contemplates for a moment. Place them in the rooms to serve? He doesn't have so many things for them to do. Have them go cook? Judging by the looks of them, they wouldn't even know where to start. Be gardeners to tend to the flowers and bushes? Seems a little to leisurely.

The two brothers are also over ten years of age, looking rather pitiful like two monkeys, their clothes tattered and dirty.

In the end, You Miao says, "Go find Li Zhifeng. Do whatever he tells you two to do."

"Yessir." Mu Yan bows, and takes his brother and leaves.

These two brothers aren't like the other tenants; the other tenants have come to lease land to work it, and at the end of the day they're still working for themselves. Even Cheng Guangwu said "I'm not selling my person, I'm only looking for work". However, these twins were selling their persons to bury their father; they had to sign a sale deed with You Miao, and they had pressed the fingerprints to notarize the sale at the market then, the contract papers all drawn up. It wouldn't be wrong of You Miao to have them do whatever he wills, but You Miao is an easy-going character, so naturally he wouldn't buy a slave just to beat them up for fun like Li Yan, ordering them around with mere gestures, acting all arrogant. Anyone who treats You Miao just a bit well, You Miao would return the favour ten-fold, and he himself believes that people like Li Zhifeng, as long as You Miao is good to him, he would naturally be loyal for life without any second thoughts.

Just as he is thinking about Li Zhifeng, Li Zhifeng comes in. You Miao asks, "Have they all been dismissed?"

"En." Li Zhifeng replies.

"I told those two boys to follow you." You Miao says.

"En. They told me." Li Zhifeng says.

"What did you end up having them do?" You Miao asks.

"Take a bath." Li Zhifeng says.

You Miao starts to laugh, pulling Li Zhifeng to sit down while he himself goes to change up a tea set, tossing the teacups the tenants used earlier into a copper basin to boil water to scorch them clean. "Well that's all the work then. Let's have some tea."

"In the afternoon I'll be going to Guozhuang and Anlu to forge iron." Li Zhifeng informs.

Only then does You Miao remember that they still have to forge chains and other machinery parts, forge ploughs, hoes, scythes, buy moso bamboo to build scaffolding, hire temporary labour hands to help Qiao Jue turn the soil to plant tea, send someone to go buy rapeseed seeds, find beekeepers, buy fry#... He's gonna burst out crying on the spot.

"Why does work never end, aye, I feel like a spinning top." You Miao laments.

Li Zhifeng grins, "A cup of tea first."

You Miao retrieves a teapot and takes down only two cups, "My mom passed this to me. Ruyao's cups."

"Mn." Li Zhifeng looks them over seriously.

You Miao eyes him and repeats, "Ruyao's!"

Li Zhifeng, "?"

You Miao is defeated. He should've known Li Zhifeng doesn't know these things, and can only explain truthfully, "It's fake. It can only be used to coax that cheap dge of mine who doesn't know anything. Though I do want a real set."

The porcelain of that set of teapot and cups are glowing, shimmering with the colours of incense ash, but the quality of the bodies is fine and smooth. Li Zhifeng asks, "Expensive?"

"En." You Miao had originally wanted to fool him, but he didn't realize Li Zhifeng doesn't recognize Ruyao wares either. He straightens his expression, "If this is authentic Ruyao, then this tea set can buy our entire estate."

Li Zhifeng nods slowly while You Miao brews a pot of Biluochun. That Biluochun's folk name is "Shockingly Fragrant". The moment that turquoise-coloured tea swirls into the cup, the fragrance of tea would immediately tackle the nose.

"There's only one pot but plenty of cups…" You Miao mumbles, "Just like an old master, marrying a bunch of wives…"

Li Zhifeng starts to laugh unable to hold back, and You Miao says in good humour, "My dad said it."

"Us Quanrong," Li Zhifeng says, "We're only good to one person in our entire lifetime, live fully and honestly to the end. Sons and daughters, in life and after death, none of that is a concern."

You Miao en's in response, "The Hans like to have three wives four mistresses, like my dad."

"And you?" Li Zhifeng's long slender fingers lift up the teacup, his middle and index fingers together steadying the bottom of the cup, looking proper and in form, that handsome and carefree air a real heart-stopper. You Miao suddenly realize, since who knows when, this man is no longer his slave.

You Miao gives a smile but doesn't answer. Li Zhifeng drinks the tea and answers for him, "Of course you'll want three wives and four mistresses too."

"Who knows." You Miao replies casually, "Depends on the person I guess."

Li Zhifeng finishes the second cup of tea, neither of them speaking, and the room is peacefully quiet. You Miao looks to the outside spacily, and suddenly the thought of not getting married sprouts in his mind.

He's always been rebellious, who knows if he's inherited his father's temperament, or maybe he's already resistant to the books when studying all these years, and all such teachings like "There are three things which are unfilial, and no posterity is the greatest of them"# are all nothing but dog farts to him. But at the end of the day, maybe the parents' influences are stronger; mom is a wickedly clever beauty, and dad is an unruly, talented scholar.

To marry, get a wife, have a bunch of children… How come You Miao feels that all these things are so far away from him? If he can choose, then he might as well never form a family, just stick with Li Zhifeng like this, live out his easy days.

The old man favours You Han'ge anyway, let him go have children and grandchildren fill his halls. The previous master of Shen Garden was alone, maybe moving here really isn't a good omen… You Miao's thoughts are going all over the place, and the more he thought the further his mind wanders, and it's Li Zhifeng who ends up breaking this silence.

"I'm off. Gonna go forge iron." Li Zhifeng says.

You Miao sighs and nods. As Li Zhifeng is crossing over the threshold, he sees that pair of twin brothers have already bathed, so he points at one and says, "You come with me." Then he points at the other one, "You follow Young Master, wait for his orders."

Li Zhifeng takes Mu Yan and goes out, while Mu Feng is still waiting by the doors properly. "Come in." You Miao says.

Mu Feng enters and You Miao says, "Tidy up the things, make sure not to break them."

With light and cautious hands Mu Feng puts away the tea set inside the hall, while You Miao rises to his feet, his hands behind his back as he stands watching the front corridors for a while. A moment later when Mu Feng has finished his task, he comes over and quietly stands behind him, waiting for orders.

You Miao turns his head back to look over him, and sees Mu Feng's face has been washed clean, his hair also much smoother, but his clothes are still dirty and tattered. When he stands, he's a head shorter than You Miao.

He'll need to find a seamstress to sew two sets of clothing for these people… As You Miao contemplates he walks towards the backyard. The entirety of Shen Garden is being tidied up; with the four tenant families settling in, there's immediately the air of people. The side wing is noisy and lively, there's even children shouting, the atmosphere harmonious and joyous. Of course there's no way You Miao would have them stay here forever; after the Autumn harvest this year he'll have them go build their own houses.

"Old Master."

"Greetings to Old Master!"

One of the tenants is just smoking tobacco, the few of them sitting by the well chatting. You Miao nods and says, "Just call me Young Master, I'm not old yet."

That widow named Qian comes over with a smile, "Young Master, we were just talking, I can't go work the fields, but how about I go cook for the Young Master?"

"Sure." Perfect, You Miao thought, "If you can come help then that's perfect. I'll pay you fifteen coins per day."

Widow Qian quickly declines, "No no, how can I take Young Master's money?"

She says as she glances at her two sons. These two, one is already eighteen while the younger one is only sixteen, You Miao can't remember their names, and Widow Qian is thirty something. You Miao is adamant in paying, so Widow Qian hastily declines again, "Young Master is already granting us a bite to eat, it's within my duty to come help."

You Miao nods, "Li Zhifeng can't get to everything by himself either, so we'll go with that for now. Everything is provided in the kitchen, so when he comes back, just go to him to get rice from the storage.

You Miao walks around the side wing once, and sees the Niu Family is just heating water for the children to bathe. The two half-matured kids are laughing as they rioted in the wooden basin, quite the funny sight, and after detouring about, You Miao leaves to go to the backyard.

There's an archway in Shen Garden's backyard, and after passing through the crescent moon entrance towards the garden is the place where Tang Wan used to live, called Bamboo Sea Listen. It's situated right across from You Miao's east wing, separated by a lake in between. Upon the dried lake are boardwalks of a bridge turning and winding here and there; once there's water, it would certainly become quite an exquisite little world.

Gazing out from You Miao's room's window would be that bamboo woods, and facing the bamboo woods is thus the small courtyard of Bamboo Sea Listen. Qiao Jue is having the attendants clean up the place just then, preparing to settle into that yard.

"Can't eat without meat, can't live without bamboo." You Miao has his hands tucked in his sleeves, grinning as he stands outside the yard, hearing the sound of guqin coming from within.

Qiao Jue's voice recites languidly, "No meat makes one skinny, no bamboo makes one common#. Miao-zi, you've really got a good place here."

The surroundings have already been renovated by DLiang and Xiao-Liang, the bamboo woods are shshing in the wind, and Qiao Jue has changed into a set of white long robes, the hems of the robes embroidered with patterns of clouds. He has a jade pendant in hand, and is fastening it onto the side of his belt. "All the bamboos out there are mottled bamboo, grown for over a century. Even the salt merchant house in Yanzhou City can't ask for a wooded garden like this. If one day you're needing money, dig out this mottled bamboo and take it out to sell, one for two taels of silver, and you won't lack for nothing."

You Miao jokes, "And here I was thinking of how to save money, so I was going to chop off all the bamboo to go build the scaffolding."

Qiao Jue doesn't know whether to laugh or cry, and smacks You Miao up the backside of his head, "Burning guqin like firewood, eating cranes; what a waste of beauty. Follow me, let's go take a look at the tea seedlings."

You Miao didn't take a closer look before, but now that Qiao Jue is free, he takes him to the backyard. Cheng Guangwu is just organizing all those three feet tall tea seedlings, and Qiao Jue helps him move them as he explains, "These are all top grade Dragon Well. You see, this branch, the patterns of the leaves, d'you get it?"

You Miao only knows green tea, so hearing him, he can only shake his head, and so Qiao Jue explains in detail how to grow tea trees, using what soil, what type of water, how to pick the leaves, and how to nurse them throughout all four seasons. You Miao memorizes each item of note, and to end, Qiao Jue says, "Now we gotta go hire temporary labour hands to work. All of these tea trees will need to be planted within the next three days. I don't think you have enough tenants here either, so we'll need to go out to recruit."

"So soon?" You Miao asks.

Qiao Jue lectures with a straight face, "People delay tea for one season, and tea will delay people for one year. This can't drag on. I've already checked out the soil on the northside, it's indeed good land, so now we just need to loosen the soil and prepare for planting."

"I'll go with you and recruit for some temp labour in Guozhuang." You Miao says, "I've only just greeted their Village Chief the other day."

Qiao Jue nods, and You Miao tells Cheng Guangwu to guard the house while he and Qiao Jue take the two boy attendants to Guozhuang. This time, there's no Li Zhifeng to carry him across the river, so the four went down by the small path by the riverside, then cross the river on a ferry to Jiangbei before hiring a carriage from the market to head to Guozhuang.

---