To Rule in a Turbulent World Chapter 18 40 Feb 09, 2020

Book 2: Butterflies in Love with Flowers

INFO MAP

Chapter 16

Chapter 17

Chapter 18



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 fresh seafood, the grounds covered in a layer of damp, and mud 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 is first taken aback, but 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 drag their sons and daughters here. The ones they cannot afford to raise, they sign off with slave deeds, selling their sons and daughters off to an affluent family.

There are also many tenant households who can't live off of what they have anymore, and bring their whole families here to 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 eat noodles in chipped bowls.

You Miao and Qiao Jue's robes are bright and colourful, so the moment they enter 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'll 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 does 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 slack away their days. Leave it to xiao-jiu. This business needs quality not quantity…"

And so You Miao follows Qiao Jue's lead. Qiao Jue 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 of my people, but unfortunately everyone in the tea estate has been bribed out by that woman, and I've only got 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. Do you want maids or boy attendants?"

The two stand before the human market, and rows and rows of people line up, each of them unkempt and disheveled, their eyes watching You Miao and Qiao Jue intently. 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 the sale of humans. Male, female, old, young, each of them comes 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 sell people. The government arrests those human traders. But here, everyone here is willingly selling themselves, if only for a bite to eat. For a long while, You Miao can't describe what he's feeling.

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

"I… I don't know," You Miao replies.

The more You Miao looks the more he feels his heart squeeze; he's got a good life, he really does. If he'd been born into one of these families, he'd probably also have the fate of someone waiting to be sold by their mom and dad.

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

"Pick my family," a man in his thirties 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 tells 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 watch You Miao guardedly.

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

But the two children don'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, my surname is Song, and I'm 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 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 worth 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 had 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 take them at their word, what they say is half truth half falsehood, listening is alright but don't take it too seriously."

You Miao nods, and stops talking altogether. The two walk through half the street, and each household is either selling themselves or looking to be hired. Only now does You Miao learn that there are actually so many people without land, 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, owning a few mu of land is not a guarantee of 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 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 and the prospect of a harvest becomes grows thin, plus with the added pressure of conscripted labour#, there's no choice but to pawn off land, and borrow money from the landlord. But interest builds up, and with no money to repay the loan, the land gets taken away, so one goes on to become a permanent labour hand. But the income from that 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 but are unable to repay their debt, they have no choice but to use their children as collateral.

You Miao's heart throbs more the more he listens, all that bit of joy at the beginning completely dispersing like the clouds. After the two walk through the market, they suddenly notice a handsome man standing at the west end of the market eating something, looking carefree and poised. It's Li Zhifeng.

Li Zhifeng is munching on a toasted sesame flatbread, head lowered as he watches 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'd bought for him. Li Zhifeng takes the fish and digs right in.

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

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

You Miao munches on his tanghulu while Li Zhifeng eats his deep fried fish, the two of them staring at the children kneeling in front. The children are twins, holding a wooden plaque that says "Selling Ourselves to Bury Father". Behind them is a dead body. The corpse is covered with a gunny cloth, flies abuzz around it.

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

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

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're 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?"

The boy in question is standing there quietly. He's only a bit taller than Li Zhifeng, and is wearing a pair of ragged straw shoes. His limbs are long and lanky, his eyes aren't dazed and blank like the average folk, 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," the boy answers.

You Miao gives him a once over. Meanwhile, Li Zhifeng uses two fingers to squeeze Cheng Guangwu's wrist, twisting his arm up. He's skinny and bony, 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 shields 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 then 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 are too many anyway."

The 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.

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 your debt, but don't run away after taking the money."

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 enter the large courtyard of the Qiao Family. When they go in, they see Madam Bai has her hair down and spread, and is 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 swaps faces completely, and starts smiling. You Miao smiles back. "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 keeps his hands tucked in his sleeves and remains standing where he is. His mom and this er-jiuma had never gotten 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 the house. Most of the time, the Qiao Family has You Dechuan helping them financially, so You Miao knows she must've changed her attitude towards You Han'ge, and he doesn't feel like cozying up with her, so he 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 had brought him home, he and Qiao Jue would chase each other and play around in the yard. Back then he'd felt that the yard was very big and very spacious, but how has it become small now? Only a few steps and he reaches the end, how boring.

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

"She's already married, so she's at her own home." Madam Bai casually grabs for a bamboo stick and starts whipping the maid kneeling on the ground. "Who's got the time to come back to their parental house 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 to be served, and Qiao Jue says, "You Miao, eat in my room. Come, xiao-jiu will drink a bit with you."

By light time# dinner is served but Qiao Zhang is still not yet back. Qiao Jue keeps You Miao company and eats for a moment, but then the manager of the Tea Estate comes to go through the accounting books. 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 balance the books himself with the manager.

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

You Miao chews on the rice. He's never gotten used to eating the rice from jiujiu's place; the rice is steamed too much and is too hard, with not enough water. "Not even any steamed egg," 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 has eaten 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 had only eaten a small part of half a bowl but he shoves the rest into Li Zhifeng's bowl. As he watches 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 had 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, and keep 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 is 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 steps 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."

After Auntie Sha leaves, it is a good while before Qiao Jue comes back with a sour expression on his 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's 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.

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

Qiao Jue knows that You Miao's heard it all, 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 in 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, at first light, Qiao Jue wakes the two. "Time to get up."

You Miao is still bleary-eyed, and without even washing his face boards the carriage in a daze. 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 reach 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 then arrives, driving a cart. After the 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 fritter sticks wrapped in grease paper 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," the skinny, tall boy takes the steamed bun and answers.

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

The twins don't speak, only taking the steamed buns Li Zhifeng hands 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 a white steamed bun one by one. Those people have been hired by Qiao Jue; one family is named Niu, the other named Qian. The Niu family consists 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 takes a few bites out of his fritter stick, 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 carts are loaded full with tea tree seedlings, three feet tall, with their roots 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, followed by all the people. The boat thus drives off soundly and mightily towards Riverwave Estate.

-

Plans for an entire year all begin in spring. When spring arrives, 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 bark 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 gets 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 hadn't seen 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 doesn'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 wages, then he himself brings the new tenant families into the main hall, having them line up in rows.

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

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

When You Miao was young he'd seen how his father had 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 sigh 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."

With the words already spoken, while the men might not be very willing, 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 waterwheel 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, and figures he's run 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 too 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 had been selling their persons to bury their father; they had to sign a sale deed with You Miao. They'd pressed their fingerprints to notarize the sale at the market then, and the contract papers are 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 person, 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 returns the favour ten-fold, and he himself believes that people like Li Zhifeng, as long as You Miao is good to him, will 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 scorch clean with boiled water later. "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. The folk name of Biluochun 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, living 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 and 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 with perfect form, his handsome and carefree air a real heart-stopper. You Miao suddenly realizes that he doesn't know when, but 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, the room peacefully quiet. You Miao looks to outside, 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 from 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 to fill his halls. The previous master of Shen Garden had been alone, maybe moving here really isn't a good omen… You Miao's thoughts go all over the place, and the more he thinks 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 the 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 are even children shouting, the atmosphere is harmonious and joyous. Of course there's no way You Miao will 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, while a few of them sit 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 thinks. "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 riot 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. Passing through the crescent moon entrance towards the garden leads to 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 will certainly become quite an exquisite little world.

Gazing out from You Miao's room's window will be the bamboo woods, and facing the bamboo woods is then 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, and the bamboo woods rustle, shshing in the wind. 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 bamboo out there is 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 hadn't taken 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 sowing."

"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 go 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.

---

Chapter 17

With Qiao Jue around, everything immediately becomes much easier. Qiao Jue and the Old Village Chief of Guo Village chat about everything under the sun, and it doesn't take long before they come to an agreement: to let temp labourers go over to loosen and water the soil this very same day. Coincidently, You Miao bumps into Li Zhifeng with Mu Yan in tow in Guozhuang, and they sit on the side looking through the blueprint drawings.

Money makes the world go round; the moment money comes out of Riverwave Estate, even Guozhuang gets busy right quick, the bustle even livelier than that at New Year's. The blacksmiths, having received their pay, have begun to forge iron according to Old Craftsman Huang's blueprints while You Miao observes from the side. "What do you want to eat for dinner?" Li Zhifeng asks.

"Qian-saozi said she'll be cooking for us," You Miao says. "So we don't have to hurry back."

"Mn," Li Zhifeng says. "Earlier when I came over I saw that there's inch-long little fish in the markets that look pretty good. I'll buy some and deep fry them for you when we get back."

When Qiao Jue is done recruiting for labour and negotiating the wage, You Miao reaches for his money to give to him but Qiao Jue stops him, saying, "Xiao-jiu still has this bit of money. I can't just freeload off of you; since I'm already using your land, it'll be poor form to use your money."

"Pfft, you and I don't have to be like that." You Miao laughs.

Qiao Jue however, straightens up. "I've got something to discuss with you, Miao-zi."

Qiao Jue drapes his arm over You Miao's shoulder as they head down the river, and You Miao knows he's finally going to discuss money. To be honest, even if Qiao Jue doesn't split any shares with him You Miao wouldn't mind. After all, with Qiao Jue helping in managing the estate, he's already a good manager that can't be found anywhere, so You Miao starts, "Growing tea will take at least two to three years. Xiao-jiu, we've been close since we were little, some things don't need to be said. When the tea starts coming out, you can just give me some to taste. I've never planned on growing tea trees when I first came to this estate anyway…"

"Not possible!" Qiao Jue is instantly outraged, "You're my nephew, how can I possibly do something like that? Though, xiao-jiu understands your good will, so I won't talk about the rent, but once the tea is out, we'll split fifty-fifty every year…"

"No no no, that won't do." You Miao's hands wave madly, like he's been bitten by a snake, and Qiao Jue pushes, "Then how much, would you say? Go by your dad's standards?"

Now You Miao definitely daren't. His dad takes seventy percent, he's practically a blood-sucking leech, but just as he is about to respond, Qiao Jue giggles, "I'll cover the growing, the picking, the roasting, and you cover the leads to the market in the Capital for me. How's that? Half and half each, equal partners. Using your land will be xiao-jiu taking that bit of advantage of you. I'm sure you've got plenty of gongzi bros in the Capital, so going in and out in the coming years, those relationships will definitely cost something. Or, how about after xiao-jiu's teas come out, you spend some money to buy them then resell?"

Thinking of it that way, You Miao feels that works out too and nods, "Xiao-jiu, to be honest, I actually don't have much money. Building this waterwheel alone is scraping me empty. In the next few years you'll have to believe in me, so let's make that deal."

"Of course I know that." Qiao Jue laughs, "Like you have any money. If you're lacking just come to xiao-jiu."

You Miao finally relaxes, and Qiao Jue adds, "Once your waterwheel is done, I need to connect a moso bamboo pipe to bring some water from Jiangnan for irrigation. You know the business of planting trees just needs rain and it'll be fine, it doesn't require too much water, so I won't take too much from you."

You Miao quickly consents, and Qiao Jue says, "Then I'm gonna head up to Liuzhou Prefecture to buy moso bamboo. You can head on back first."

Qiao Jue hires a carriage to go to Jiang Prefectural City. The northwest of Liuzhou Prefecture produces moso bamboo in great abundance, and the land bordering Jingzhou Prefecture is a large field of moso bamboo forest. But going back and forth requires at least two, three days, so You Miao replies, "Tomorrow I'll go look after the temp labour hands, have them work."

Qiao Jue says as he takes off, "No rush, Jinbao-er knows some of this stuff too, so with him supervising, you don't have to personally go to the mountainside."

Then, after he's done, Qiao Jue mounts the carriage and leaves. Everything is actually planned so orderly and organized; once he's done negotiations he leaves hands to supervise, it's like he's one man used as three, everything's formally starting to move forward. You Miao can't help but tsk in awe; one who is experienced in managing household duties truly is exceptional.

"Learn from him." You Miao tells Li Zhifeng teasingly.

"En." Li Zhifeng nods, then says, "Grocery time. Let's go."

Li Zhifeng looks as laidback as lone clouds and wild cranes, every time You Miao is stressed out by a pile of issues, he'd always respond with a few simple words like "En", "Got it", "Alright, I'll go now", or "Let's go". No matter what You Miao says, Li Zhifeng always answers like this, and it'd always cut off and solve all of You Miao's mess of trivial problems like a big pair of scissors.

Just as he's finding it funny, You Miao turns to the two brothers Mu Yan and Mu Feng, "You two watch and learn too. Do more, say less."

"En." Mu Feng replies.

"Understood, Young Master." Mu Yan says.

Their responses are practically made from the same mold as Li Zhifeng's, and You Miao can't help but laugh aloud, holding his belly. The two of them bring that pair of twin brothers to the marketplace by the lower riverside, and Li Zhifeng teaches, "Come buy meat and fish everyday, Young Master likes to eat fish, eggs are best bought on the day of."

Mu Feng and Mu Yan are listening by the side, and You Miao is leaning against Li Zhifeng, only watching with a smile, watching him teach the boy attendants how to buy groceries. Li Zhifeng continues, "Mix up the pattern every so often, vary the flavours frequently."

Mu Yan nods as he listens, and You Miao pipes up, hanging off of Li Zhifeng's shoulder, "If there's something you guys want to eat, you can buy it once in a while too. This guy likes to eat meat." He says as he pokes Li Zhifeng's head, "He needs to eat at least one catty of meat per day, best if it's pork belly."

"Yes, Young Master." Mu Yan replies.

"The rest is for you guys to eat and drink." Li Zhifeng says, "You two brothers and Cheng Guangwu get five coins of grocery stipend per day, and it's to be taken from my account."

"What about the other four families?" You Miao asks.

"They go by Jiu-Ye's# account."

You Miao knows this is Qiao Jue helping him carry the burden knowing he has no money, and nods. Li Zhifeng spends eighty coins to buy a fish, a catty of pork belly, and a fat duck back.

That evening, Madam Qian has already started getting busy by the stoves. Li Zhifeng watches for a bit from the outside then orders Mu Yan to go tidy the study and Mu Feng to butcher the duck in the yard. As smoke rises through the chimney, the delicious aroma of the meal fills the yard. Sparkling rice is placed onto the table, four dishes one soup: fat and oily braised pork using the best of pork belly, its fat and leanness perfectly marbled, and simmered using aged sweet rice wine in a thick clay crock.

A pot of fish head and tofu broth, splashed with a tinge of sesame oil, its aroma thick and fragrant.

A large bowl of fried duck with ginger; the duck head and neck are removed, and areas thick with meat are diced then fried with peanuts.

A plate of white and tender steamed fish, the fishbones all removed, cooked just right.

A bowl of steamed egg that Li Zhifeng made.

Li Zhifeng rolls up his sleeves, pouring You Miao a glass of heated wine, and stands by his side serving the dishes. With the housekeeper by his side and the boy attendants waiting on orders outside the door, You Miao thinks inwardly, there's finally light at the end of the tunnel!

There's finally some form of a young master appearance since he's come to Riverwave Estate. You Miao spends a moment sighing with mixed emotions, choking back silently, before he says expressionlessly, "Sit."

"I'll serve you." Li Zhifeng replies flatly.

"Sit." You Miao demands, "It's boring eating alone."

Only then does Li Zhifeng sit down. Three, two, one, and the two digs in, wolfing everything down. You Miao's chopsticks keep plucking at the fish, whish whish as fish is crazily piled into his bowl, while Li Zhifeng also keeps adding to it from the other dishes. Qian-sao's cooking veers on the saltier side, so much that You Miao got thirsty the more he eats, "How come the dishes used so much salt?"

"I've looked in on the kitchen and told her you prefer a lighter taste, but she said only rich folks can afford to eat salt, so she added more." Li Zhifeng replies.

You Miao doesn't know whether to laugh or cry. While the food is delicious, the flavour is heavy. Only after stuffing down two large bowls and cleaning out that bowl of steamed egg that Li Zhifeng made does You Miao drink his tea in satisfaction and burps. When he goes out, he sees Qian-sao is sitting on the threshold of the kitchen eating, and calls out to her, "Saozi, next time use less salt. But your cooking is good, even the food from my dad's house can't compare."

Qian-sao has hard of hearing and laughs, "What? As long as Young Master likes it."

The noisy and animated backyard is bright with fire light, Shen Garden is like a play stage booming and drumming, the sounds of laughter and shouts transmitting far into the front yard. You Miao is lying in bed but can't sleep, and he sits up a few times, curiously wondering what those people are babbling about, and even thought to go over to chat with someone.

However, by ergeng#, he hears Li Zhifeng calling out through the courtyard walls, "Young Master is going to sleep, quiet down."

Thus the entire Shen Garden enters slumber and gradually quiets down. You Miao finds this endlessly amusing, and a moment later, Li Zhifeng's voice comes again, "There's no need to guard the night, you can all go to bed."

The two boy attendants outside standing guard go to bed and Li Zhifeng comes in, lying down behind the screen. You Miao calls out, "Housekeeper, come keep me company in bed."

"En." Li Zhifeng gets up and comes to sit by the edge of the bed then starts to undress. You Miao kicks him, "Can't you take more initiative sometimes?"

Li Zhifeng flashes a smile then flicks his fingers. A forceful stream of air shoots out and the oil lamp is extinguished soundlessly. Then, silence descends the room. A moment later, the sound of You Miao's harsh panting and Li Zhifeng's heavy breathing rises.

"Man, I love you to death…" You Miao's voice whispers in the dark, "Slower, slower, ah!"

"Me too." Li Zhifeng's voice is exceedingly low and hoarse. You Miao is just about to say more but his lips are sealed by Li Zhifeng's kiss.

A long time after, You Miao lies on his side hugging Li Zhifeng and buries his head in his chest, falling asleep contently.

The next day, You Miao's waist and back are sore and in pain when he gets up, like his entire person is going to fall apart, and on top of that, he's caught by Old Craftsman Huang.

"And here I thought you've gotten more diligent!" Old Craftsman Huang glares as he scolded, "It's only been several days and you've gone back to your lazy ways?!"

By now You Miao gets scared whenever he hears Old Craftsman Huang's voice, and he quickly explains, "I overindulged in drink last night, I'm wrong I'm wrong, pray teacher doesn't get mad."

"AND WHERE DID THESE LITTLE BEGGARS COME FROM!?" Old Craftsman Huang's beard is bristling, his eyes bulging, picking his cane up beating at the brothers Mu Yan and Mu Feng. The two youths don't dare provoke him either, and quickly dodge away. You Miao has to reason and cajole before he manages to send Old Craftsman Huang to the main hall to wait, and only then does Li Zhifeng come holding his clothes, assisting him in getting dressed and washed up.

Old Craftsman Huang has come over this time to ask after how the iron forging is going, so You Miao calls Mu Yan over to report everything. Li Zhifeng waits until You Miao rises then goes off to town to shop for groceries according to You Miao's orders. You Miao spreads the meal out over the table and accompanies Old Craftsman Huang for lunch, pouring him wine too, until the old man is wine-flushed, wobbly and tipsy when he leaves at last.

After lunch, You Miao makes another round to the backyard. Most of the people have gone to section off land; he's also made the point to instruct them not to draw their fields too close so it'd be easier in the future to expand, and easier to farm. Meanwhile, Qiao Jue's boy attendant Jinbao-er has gone to Jiangbei to supervise the workers. All of a sudden, there's not a single soul within the manor.

That's good too, it's the perfect time to focus on some of his own things. These past number of days have been so busy his feet barely stopped, and now it's time to calm down and start studying as well.

Today is already the twelth, in another few days he'll have to make a trip back to the estate to have a meal with You Dechuan. He'll be going empty-handed. By the time comes he'll just bring Li Zhifeng along with two jugs of wine, everyone else can relax and stay behind.

You Miao kind of doesn't want You Dechuang to taste such good wine, but he's still got his principles, and if he does go empty-handed, Madam Wang will probably make jabs at him. Just thinking about it irritates him.

It's rare to have a day of nothing to do. You Miao enters the study, and starts to review and organize all that's gone on.

The land has been reclaimed but there's still not enough tenants. Something like this can't be rushed, he can only take his time recruiting. There are now seven households renting three hundred and fifty mu of land. There might be too much land there, and You Miao is afraid not all of it can be planted in a short period of time, so he can only try and think of ways to forge new tilling tools. Fortunately there's still iron left, and so the afternoon is spent scribbling and drawing according to the books, then sending Mu Yan out to get the iron forged based on the number of blueprints You Miao's come up with.

The construction of the waterwheel is almost done, the canal is also dug. Since a century ago there are already a number of small canals crisscrossing through Riverwave Estate, so as long as the main canal brings in the water, all the fields of the entire estate can begin sowing seeds. The business of purchasing rapeseed seeds needs to be done asap, that's gotta go up in the priorities. When the tilling tools are fabricated it will need to be taken care of at once.

Once the waterwheel construction is complete, a one hundred meter long moso bamboo pipe will need to be prepared to draw some water from Jiangnan to Jiangbei. It's fine to just tie the moso bamboo pipes one by one along the iron cable that connects the two cliffs of both shores. There's already clear springs on the hills of Jiangbei flowed from Guozhuang, crossing through Jiangbei before rushing downhill. The moso pipes are only going to be there in case of.

Best if they build another suspension bridge. You Miao always feels it incredibly annoying that every time he wants to get to Jiangbei he needs to go along the roads to the lower basin, walk 2.5 kilometers to reach the pier before taking the ferry. Then once he gets to the other shore he'd need to hike up the hills; going up and down, it kills the man. After Qiao Jue finished planting his tea plantation, he'll need to hire tea farmers to pick tea too, they need this suspension bridge. But once the suspension bridge connects the north and the south, and the number of people who use it increases, a road will need to be paved to connect to the official road of Anlu Village in the south.

The moment You Miao's time frees up, he starts thinking about adding interesting and weird little contraptions to his own estate. There's way too many fascinating things recorded in "Exploitations of the Works of Nature", such as hydro-powered grain grinders; he can build a small waterwheel by the canal, connect it to the gears inside the mill, then even the donkey pulling the grinder can be cut out from the equation. That way, if any of the tenants wants to grind anything, they can just haul their stuff over. There's also rice-pounding mortars, winnowing wooden devices…

Zhang Er has come, and he puts a saddlebag down on the ground before greeting You Miao outside the door.

"Good morning, Young Master."

You Miao replies lazily, "Come on in. Mu Feng! Mu Feng, go draw some well water in, get the tea from the third lattice of the shelf and brew some tea.

Mu Feng goes to retrieve the tea set, and Zhang Er smiles, "There's plenty of people in the residence now, it's lively."

You Miao yawns, "If you want, you can move in too."

Zhang Er gives a polite smile, "I do want to, but I'm scared Young Master will find me an eyesore."

"It's fine, just move yourself in." You Miao says, "When you're free you can chat with me and the boys. My xiao-jiu is here too, so if you run into any questions in your studies you can ask him to teach you, and help take care of that part of the backyard too while you're at it."

Mu Feng boils water in the study, and You Miao passes Zhang Er a cup of tea, zoning out while reading the books in his hands. He wants to make everything he sees; he wants to build a dyehouse, and also open a teahouse, there's also silkworm rooms for spinning silk… Oh yea, the thing with growing mulberries# hasn't even been settled yet, he's forgotten about it again.

There's too many things to do, so You Miao can only pull Zhang Er's ink and brush over to start recording on paper, but he only wants to scream. There's really way too many things to do!! AND EVERYTHING NEEDS MONEY!

Zhang Er is just reading his book, but notices You Miao's face change millions of expressions in seconds, sometimes appalled, sometimes a little furious, and thought You Miao lost his mind.

There's noise outside, but You Miao doesn't even need to look up to know it's Li Zhifeng, because the puppy doesn't bark only when it's Li Zhifeng coming home.

"Back?" You Miao asks.

"Back." Li Zhifeng is holding a few pieces of fabric, "These are the fabrics chosen for you. Let the tailor take your measurements and go make you clothes."

You Miao eyes him, "Leave it, I've no money. Just make two sets each for the boy attendants and it'll be fine."

"You still need clothes." Li Zhifeng says as he sweeps You Miao up, and You Miao exclaims and cries, swinging his legs up and down, shouting, "I'M GONNA DIE! THERE'S SO MUCH TO DO, I CAN'T DO IT ALLLLLLLLL!"

Li Zhifeng puts You Miao down in the guest hall in all seriousness, and that old tailor is watching the two of them, highly amused. As he measures You Miao's arms and legs, You Miao says expressionlessly, "Make a set for yourself too."

Li Zhifeng nods, "What do you need to do? I'll go get it done now."

You Miao passes the paper to Li Zhifeng, but Li Zhifeng only gives it a nonchalant glance, "Got it."

You Miao doesn't know whether to laugh or cry, it's like whenever a huge, godforsaken problem is put before Li Zhifeng's face, the only thing that'd come out of it is: "Got it."

-

The boy attendants at home have all changed to a new set of indigo robes, and Li Zhifeng even got them square hats to wear. All of a sudden they all appear more impressive. The next day, Qiao Jue returns with a large batch of moso bamboos with him, and he smiles, "I see there's still several mu of land behind the tea plantation, it's a shame to leave it wasted, so I bought some mulberry seedlings. Wanna try planting some mulberries?"

You Miao is going to burst with joy. Qiao Jue really is too capable, so helpful. The craftsmen built the pipes that same day, and Qiao Jue went off to check on his own tea plantation, and to hire some hands to plant mulberry trees while he's at it. The thirteenth is a fortuitous day, and Old Craftsman Huang comes over to have You Miao setup the feast. The waterwheel construction is finally going to begin.

You Miao goes into town and buys a whole pig, twenty catty of eggs, live and dried fish alike, and all the women of the estate come to help out, cooking up a large feast by the riverside. With Old Craftsman Huang in the lead, the craftsmen all light up incense and raise their cups; one bow for the heavens and earth, second bow for the founding grandmaster, and third bow to the river god.#

The craftsmen eat up their feast, set off firecrackers, then start to build the waterwheel. You Miao has never witnessed such a huge setup before, and all the citizens within the five kilometer radius have hauled their whole families over to look, pointing and talking, all of them saying the young master of Riverwave Estate is one who does great things.

The iron parts fabricated in both Guozhuang and Anlu are delivered one after the other, and the craftsmen load the waterwheel components to be hauled up. Just by watching on the side and You Miao thinks the height that needs to be climbed is horrifying. Old Craftsman Huang himself personally implants the bamboo tube of explosives on the cliff wall, lights the wick, and with a large BOOM! A large hole is blown out of the side of the cliff wall, the debris shooting far into the distance.

The moment the construction for the waterwheel begins You Miao feels like all the heavy burdens on his shoulders are dropped, half the work is practically done, and his mood is indescribably good that day. After watching for a while, he goes to check out the tea plantation in Jiangbei. All the tea seedlings have been planted, lined up in order in rows after rows.

Qiao Jue is just supervising the sowing of mulberry seedlings, and laughs when he sees You Miao, "Nephew, how about we call our tea Riverwave Dragon Well in the future?"

You Miao laughs, "Sure, and when the time comes I'll go sell it in the Capital. The rich people in the Capital loves to drink Dragon Well, I guarantee we'll sell one gold for every catty of Dragon Well!"

The two throw their heads back and laugh. The next morning, You Miao gets up early and is just about to go stroll about his own land, Li Zhifeng comes in with a set of new robes, and only then does You Miao remember that he is to go back to Sunshower Jade Estate on the fifteenth of the first month.

All the enthusiasm when he got out of bed completely dissipates when he remembers.

You Miao puts on the robes and checks himself out in the mirror for a moment. Li Zhifeng inquires, "Who else are you bringing?"

"Just you is fine." You Miao answers listlessly, "Get two jugs from the cellar and let's go."

It takes a day and a half for the carriage to go from Riverwave Estate to Sunshower Jade Estate, and with the construction at home on his mind, You Miao doesn't want to ride the horse carriage, so Li Zhifeng tethers the two jugs of wine onto the horseback while You Miao goes straight to Qiao Jue to give him a heads up, telling him he's making a trip back to Sunshower Jade Estate and will be back in two days.

The two are planning on riding the same horse, and just as they are leaving, Old Craftsman Huang comes knocking, "Boy! What about what you promised last time? I'm just needing people now, hey! I've come to get help from you!"

"Huh?" You Miao is lost.

Old Craftsman Huang drags You Miao to the riverside, and only then does You Miao remember that he promised to have Li Zhifeng help nail in the iron bearing tracks that stabilize the waterwheel axles. Li Zhifeng is strong; he alone can nail the work that takes five to six craftsmen together to do.

"Li Zhifeng is just about to accompany me home for a night. Let's talk again when we come back." You Miao says.

"How can you wait til you come back?" Old Craftsman Huang exclaims angrily, "Leaving this off for a day is a whole day of work gone! Sitting here letting the wind blow and the sun tan, even if you're willing to pay the wages I ain't willing to wait."

Then what do? You Miao is stumped. He looks at Old Craftsman Huang, then looks at Li Zhifeng. Li Zhifeng speaks up, "I'll do it."

"Then what about me?" You Miao asks.

The two stand by the riverside to come up with a plan, and Li Zhifeng says, "Find someone else to go with you? I just don't know if the journey…"

You Miao contemplates for a while, but what else can be done? He was planning on riding the horse over himself alone but Li Zhifeng is adamantly forbidding it, "Have Cheng Guangwu accompany you."

Li Zhifeng calls Cheng Guangwu over, and tells him to ride the horse and take You Miao to the pier, board the ferry heading to Jiang Prefectural City, then take the ground route to Sunshower Jade Estate. That way, they can reach their destination on foot within a day. At first You Miao is thinking he doesn't know Cheng Guangwu very well but will still have to take him on the horse, but turns out Cheng Guangwu knows how to ride too, going quite steady on the road. Once they crossed the river they enter Jiang Prefectural City, and go down the TeHorse Road#. They urged their horse to gallop the entire way, and actually manage to run a hundred and seventy-five kilometers in one day. By evening they've arrived at Sunshower Jade Estate.

The entire estate is hung full of lanterns, enveloping it in a sea of bright red light, looking joyous and festive, decorated and colourful, the very air of a festive holiday. The moment You Miao sees he feels his heart squeeze; this home used to be his too, but now there's not much more connection between them.

"Young Master?" Cheng Guangwu asks carefully.

You Miao mn's, "Let's go in."

Cheng Guangwu follows after You Miao while leading the horse and they enter the estate. The boy attendants guarding the entrance immediately announces, "The Young Master has returned!"

"Young Master is back!"

After the main entrance announcement they enter through the second entrance. You Miao is just standing there looking around when You Han'ge rushes out from the second entrance, smiling, "I was gonna say. We've been waiting for you all day."

You Miao doesn't hate You Han'ge the way he did at the beginning anymore, and replies, "I'm back. The pouch you gave me last time was gold?"

You Han'ge gives an embarrassed smile, "Was it enough? If not gege still has a bit more silver."

While the two brothers are talking, Madam Wang emerges from the door, and when she hears this exchange her face drops slightly. You Miao doesn't bother sparing her a glance however, and says, "The estate is almost done renovations. Come play when you're free."

You Han'ge smiles and nods, but Madam Wang however, only stands beyond the entrance and says flatly, "Back? Your dad's been waiting for a long time."

"Two jugs of wine to show my respects for him." You Miao orders the attendants to unload the wine, then turns to Cheng Guangwu, "Xiao-Wu, bring the horse to the stables."

Madam Wang goes off to see after the wine while You Miao and You Han'ge enter into the gardens. You Han'ge asks, "Li Zhifeng didn't come with you?"

"There's too much at the estate for him to attend to, so he didn't come with." You Miao answers, "Where's dad? I'll go say hello."

"Waiting for you to come to dinner." You Han'ge says, "Come have tea inside, I'll get the servants to start serving the meal."

The dishes are being placed in the hall, and You Dechuan comes out. On the surface, You Miao is only conversing with a lukewarm attitude, and You Dechuan asks, "How's it going at the estate?"

"Alright, I guess." You Miao replies.

"Your mom really loved that place back then." You Dechuan says.

"Mn. The place of a celebrity scholar's romantic engagement, Shen Garden."

"You'll have to take good care of that manor."

You Miao rolls his eyes, and You Dechuan continues, "When are you traveling to the Capital for the exams?"

"I haven't even gone to the Prefectural exams, we'll see." You Miao replies.

You Dechuan nods slowly, and after the father and two sons take their meal together, You Miao returns to the bedchamber to rest. It's still that same room, and who knows where Muqi-er has gone. Madam Wang was going to have the boy sent over, but You Miao sends everyone away, leaving only Cheng Guangwu to attend to him.

It's gloomy and humid inside the room; Cheng Guangwu bends down to start the fire, but he's still not as attentive as Li Zhifeng. You Miao sits, watching the fire in a daze, thinking Li Zhifeng is still better.

"Young Master, everything's proper." Cheng Guangwu says.

"Why don't you spread the sheets and sleep on the floor behind the screen." You Miao commands.

Cheng Guangwu nods, then steals a glimpse at You Miao. You Miao's quirks his brows, "What is it?"

Cheng Guangwu shakes his head, and You Miao pushes, "Just speak if you've got something to say."

You Miao is still not used to using this person after all; he's not perceptive like Li Zhifeng, and You Miao doesn't wait for him to tend to him either, undressing himself before shrinking into the blankets, but feels it's only cold and wet. Cheng Guangwu comes over to feel the blanket and You Miao pushes, "What's on your mind?"

"The people in the residence gossiping about Young Master… Can I punch them?" Cheng Guangwu asks.

The moment You Miao hears this he understands. It's most likely the servants in the manor talking behind his back, and said something in front of Cheng Guangwu. He quickly replies, "You can't beat them if you fight them now. Learn how to fight with Li Zhifeng when we get back."

Cheng Guangwu starts to laugh, and You Miao sends him to bed. However, lying on his own bed, he doesn't feel comfortable at all. When ergeng# strikes, the sound of footsteps comes from the outside, "Has didi gone to bed?" It's You Han'ge.

You Miao sits up, "Come on in."

"If you've gone to bed then never mind." You Han'ge says, "We can talk tomorrow."

You Han'ge leaves, but that night, You Miao tosses and turns, incredibly uncomfortable, wanting only to hurry back to Riverwave Estate. After living so freely at Riverwave Estate for so long, it's Sunshower Jade Estate that no longer feels like home. He's never noticed it before, but the rooms here are gloomy and narrow, really uncomfortable to live in.

Liuzhou Prefecture doesn't have the same nice sceneries as by the riverside either; the mountains here rise and dip, you never really get to see the sun, and everything's wet and sticky. By the riverside the skies are clear and blue, and the enclosure walls aren't so long and wide either. When you go out to sit in the yard, the immense blue skies all fall into your eyes… You Miao tosses and turns on the bed, and doesn't fall asleep until past midnight.

The next morning, the moment You Miao rises he can smell the sweet fragrance of wine. Cheng Guangwu pokes his head in from outside and says, "The kitchen shattered one of Young Master's wine jugs."

That wine is the Champion Red of a hundred years, so when just one is shattered, the entire estate is enveloped with the thick fragrance of wine, alarming quite a number of people. Just thinking about it You Miao can figure that the housekeeper probably didn't think anything of his wine, but now look at it. A couple dozens of silver, pang and it's gone. After he finishes brushing up and emerges, everyone in the house is talking about that jug of wine, and You Han'ge is still scolding the servant who shattered the jug.

"Never mind, never mind." You Miao says dismissively, "There's plenty at home, if you want a taste just come over and get some."

The first thing You Miao does in the morning is go greet father. The Deputy County Magistrate has come again, and he's just sitting in the main hall talking with You Dechuan. You Miao has met that official before, so he listened to their discussion for a moment on the side, the gist of it being the affairs of the Capital and the Northern Frontier.

The Northern Frontier is in more and more strife every year; that affair of the caravan robbery the year before has already blown up, and after You Deyou's merchant group returned to the Capital, a number of officials were furious. They made the six cities of Yanbian regroup and redistribute the defence troops, but the border stretches for hundreds of thousands of miles, when one hair is pulled, the entire body is affected, and both major armed forces needed to be rearranged.

"When the Third Prince returned he was also fiercely scolded." The Deputy County Magistrate says apathetically, "I hear His Majesty intends to…"

When You Miao hears it's about Zhao Chao, he can't help but pay more attention, and the Deputy County Magistrate continues, "...station him with the military in Goryeo# for a while."

You Dechuan shakes his head and sighs, "Getting drafted into the army as a prince really is too rough. And how's the war going between Goryeo and Quanrong?"

The Deputy County Magistrate chuckles, "San-Dianxia's mother clan doesn't have favours, and the imperial court isn't fair. Now that he's gone, who knows when he'd be able to come back. After the Taizi ascends the throne, he'd have even less place to speak. With the recall of defense forces at the Northern Border, who knows how many citizens will pour into the central plains either. There are several hundreds of thousands of refugees; this is a big problem."

You Dechuan eyes You Miao and demands, "You, go out and go talk to your dge."

You Miao wanted to listen some more, but You Dechuan won't let him, there's nothing he can do, so he can only rise and take his leave. When he gets out however, he doesn't go seek You Han'ge, but instead he sneaks and circles around to the back of the main hall, tipping his toes as he continues to listen in.

After You Miao left, You Dechaun's words become much more relaxed, and from father's conversation, You Miao deduced a number of things.

First: The north is fighting now—— Goryeo and Quanrong are at war.

Second: The relationship between the Great Qi of the Midlands and the five barbarian tribes by the border is becoming more contentious by the day. The year before, the caravan robbery You Miao experienced by the border wasn't the only case; there were five or six cases consecutively, and all of the imperial court is in heated arguments over this. Many officials have sent in a collectively signed petition to declare war on the barbarians.

Third: The barbarian tribes by the six cities of Yanbian are committing brutal atrocities, and defense has now retreated to the three checkpoints Zheng Liang, West Liang, and East Liang. However, You Miao has been to Zheng Liang Pass before, and knows there's no markets there, and it's not suitable for farming either. The number of big and small villages alongside the border have at least one hundred thousand citizens, and they're all migrating to the central plains right now. The sixteen prefectures of the central plains are going to be chaotic for a good while.

Fourth: Zhao Chao got yelled at, and the military officers under him were all disciplined together. This Third Prince who never cared to form factions with civil officials and loved joining ranks with military officers ever since he was young is quickly losing favours, and was even driven out to the border with Goryeo to go on expeditions with the army.

Once the Deputy County Magistrate has had his tea, he rises and leaves, and so You Miao strolls in the backyard quietly. He doesn't care for everyone else, but Zhao Chao has always treated him well. It's just, when friends are in trouble and You Miao can't do anything to help, he can't help but feel miserable.

Back then at the Capital, You Miao has already heard about the fight between the factions of the Third Prince and the Taizi. The Taizi faction has mostly civil officials, so naturally, the Third Prince can't be so stupid as to forcibly pull civil officials to his side. Thus, he could only turn to connecting with the military officers of the Great Qi. However, the ranks of the military officers are already much lower than that of civil officials, and during assemblies at court, none of them can help speak for him.

Sigh, there's always those bit of things that can't be done while living on this earth.

"Didi?" You Han'ge calls out.

You Miao snaps out of it and sees You Han'ge approaching.

"Dad is just looking for you, calling you to go have tea." You Han'ge says.

You Miao knows You Dechuan is probably planning something again, and goes to seat himself inside the tea room. You Dechuan is personally washing the cups and brewing the tea; a rare occasion today, just the two of them, not even You Han'ge is coming.

"The servants were careless and shattered a jug of your wine. It's good wine though." You Dechuan uses this to start the conversation, and You Miao replies disinterestedly, "There's more at the other estate, no big deal. If you want a taste, send someone over to grab it another day."

You Dechuan continues his questions, "I hear you're looking for tenants? When you leave tomorrow, have your ge take you to Jiang Prefectural City to look."

"Oh." After listening in on what the Deputy County Magistrate has said in the main hall, You Miao's mind isn't at present, and he asks, "Are things shaky at the Capital?"

"I was just gonna ask you about this." You Dechuan says, "Is San-Dianxia still writing you letters?"

You Miao knows that even though he's moved out, every movement at Riverwave Estate still doesn't escape You Dechuan's eyes, so there's no need to lie to him either, "Yea."

"You've gotta stand firm your foothold. You can't get involved with him anymore." You Dechuan says.

When You Miao hears this the angry flames inside immediately flares, and he frowns, "Why not?"

"Zhao Chao is opening cans of worms all over the Capital, you can't even dodge fast enough, why would you go volunteer yourself to get involved? In the future you're going to the Capital to write exams for titles, to become an official. If you join his faction, you'll only get elbowed out at the court assembly, how can you spread your wings then?"

"Heh, old man, now you remember this affair?" You Miao taunts, "Did I ever agree to write the imperial state exams?"

You Dechuan, "YOU…"

"Let me tell you the truth." You Miao says, "Zhao Chao is my friend, and he's helped me quite a bit. I won't return kindness with ingratitude."

You Dechuan scolds angrily, "You dumbass! Right now even the Deputy County Magistrate knows he wants to pull you to his side! How can you be so blind?! Here I am, telling your uncle to help take care# of things for you at the Capital, but you're there stabbing holes into the basket! Just what are you…"

"MONEY MONEY MONEY!" You Miao snipes back, not backing down a single step, and shouts, "ALL YOU KNOW IS MONEY?! In your eyes, humanity, justice, etiquette, wisdom, and respects all amount to money! That's not what they write in the Sages' books, you know! SACRIFICE FOR WHAT IS JUST! DO YOU KNOW WHAT THAT MEANS?!"

"When you must choose between Loyalty and Justice, what would you choose?!" You Dechuan is shaking with rage, but that doesn't affect his ability to argue, and he lectures, "HIS GE IS THE TAIZI! THE FUTURE EMPEROR! Alright if you don't follow the Taizi! BUT HOW CAN YOU JOIN ZHAO CHAO?!"

"It's not like Zhao Chao is gonna rebel! So what if I make a friend out of him!" You Miao counters.

The instant those words come out You Dechuan's face immediately drops, and he roars furiously, "THE ENTIRE YOU CLAN IS GOING TO END IN YOUR HANDS!"

Then You Dechuan reaches for his cane. The moment You Miao sees things going haywire he gets up to run off. It doesn't take more than a few exchanges before You Dechuan wants to beat this rebellious son to death, he causes him nothing but headaches.

Who knows how the You Clan would fare in the future, but You Dechuan feels he's the one who's gonna die from outrage first sooner or later, and he yells and swings, brutally hitting You Miao on the head. That strike made You Miao's head buzz and he tries to hide, but he can't find Li Zhifeng, so he can only run away first.

"DAD!" when You Han'ge hears the commotion he comes rushing out, holding You Dechuan back.

You Dechuan yells out, "YOU DARE SCREW OFF WITH ZHAO CHAO, THEN CLEAR YOURSELF# AND LEAVE THIS CLAN! I'LL TAKE IT AS NEVER HAVING HAD YOU AS A SON! SO YOU WON'T RUIN THIS OLD MAN IN THE FUTURE!"

You Miao is so angry he's gonna go insane, and he kicks aside a flower pot, turning around and leaving hatefully, shouting, "CHENG GUANGWU! GET THE HELL OVER HERE!"

Cheng Guangwu comes running over, and You Miao roars, "WE'RE LEAVING! THERE'S NO PLACE FOR ME HERE IN THIS HOUSE! GODDAMN OLD FART! JUST YOU WAIT! ONE DAY I'LL FLATTEN YOUR SHITTY ESTATE!"

Not a single word is uttered from the inside, and You Miao yanks Cheng Guangwu's sleeve, pushing him to the stables in the backyard, and urges him to bring the horse out. When the two hop onto the horse, they leave by way of the mountain paths.

"DIDI! DIDI!" You Han'ge comes chasing after them from the back doors, shouting anxiously from behind them. However, You Miao is on the verge of tears, not wanting to say another word, so he doesn't hear anything that's being shouted from behind at all, until You Han'ge figure is nothing but a small dot in the distance as Cheng Guangwu continues to urge the horse to gallop down the mountains.

"Slow down, slow down."

After running wildly on the horse for a stretch of the road, all the flames inside You Miao are bumped out of him. Thus, Cheng Guangwu slows down the pace, and the horse trots slowly down the TeHorse Road.

You Miao is like an eye-bulging crab, just waiting to find someone to pinch to death with his two pincers, but doesn't know who to vent at. If Li Zhifeng is by his side, he'd scream and throw a fit for sure, and rant for at least two hours.

But with Cheng Guangwu, he doesn't know what to say at all.

When they exit the estate and leaves the Tea Hills area, the rays of the early spring comes shining down, and You Miao feels better, not wanting to stay upset anymore. Cheng Guangwu has the horse whip in hand, and they sway as the horse walks. "Well your riding skills are pretty good." You Miao says.

"To answer Young Master, my brother taught me."

"Mn." You Miao is just trying to start a conversation without really anything to say, but Cheng Guangwu asks, "Young Master doesn't get along with that side?"

"No." You Miao replies with a huff, "Whatever, let's just go home. If we hurry we can still get home in time for the Yuan Xiao# feast."

Cheng Guangwu nods, then squeezes the horse's sides, urging the horse to gallop, leaving the verdant mountains of Liuzhou Prefecture, hurrying once more towards Jiangnan.

---

Chapter 18

The horse bumps the entire way back, and You Miao rides, his emotions mixed and inexplicable too. As evening falls that day, the two make it to the ferry, and it's right in the middle of the Lantern Festival with the locals of both shores going back and forth, and even more heading to Jiang Prefectural City to watch plays. You Miao stands at the head of the boat and hears music from bamboo woodwinds reverberating alongside the Yangtze shores, the lantern lights bright and illuminating, the voices of ladies soft and delicate, singing in a southern accent as the play drifts in the winds, and in that moment, he feels nothing but yearning for it.

He shouldn't have gone back to Sunshower Jade Estate these past couple of days. Had he known he would've stayed home. Dragging Qiao Jue and Li Zhifeng out tonight to go stroll around Jiang Prefectural City would've been way more fun than arguing with the old man.

Even if he goes back now, Riverwave Estate is more than likely in complete darkness at this time, the atmosphere dead. What a loss, what a loss…

After coming ashore from the ferry, Cheng Guangwu leads the horse up. The instant the two enter Riverwave Estate however, You Miao lets out a loud cheer.

All of Shen Garden is decorated with lights and colours, the big red lanterns hanging everywhere! The bright red glow illuminates the gardens, its light magnificent and scintillating. Before the establishment plaque is hung two large lanterns, each with the word "You" written on it.

"Young Master has returned!" Cheng Guangwu shouts.

You Miao races in, and sees there are two trotting horse lamps# hung by the spirit wall; the left is "Blooming Fortune", and the right is "Magnificent Country". Along the hundred-some steps of the path leading from the main entrance to the second entrance are all hung with Yuan Xiao lanterns made of cotton yarn, and there are even words written on them with ink and brush.

Some say "One night's east wind adorns a thousand trees with flowers, and blows down stars in showers.#", some say "Where will I be when I recover from insobriety tonight? Perhaps somewhere along a willowy bank, in a breeze under a waning moon.#", and some say "Suffering brings out tears in the vast sea that under the brightest moon seem like pearls, Fond memories are like the Bluefield jade warmed in the sun that could joy volatilise.#"...

You Miao stops underneath one the lanterns and watches it revolve. Two of his favourite verses are written on it:

"As I think of the flow of misty waters that undulate for thousands of miles, leaden is the evening clouds that occupy the vast southern skies!#"

"Back?" Li Zhifeng questions with a frown.

All of that bit of gloominess surrounding You Miao has long been tossed out of mind, and he laughs, "I'm back."

You Miao rushes over and pounces Li Zhifeng, nuzzling him as he laughs, "I missed you to death."

Qiao Jue and the Mu brothers are just hanging lanterns, and when he sees You Miao has returned, he chuckles, "Well now, didn't you go home to eat the good stuff at your old man's house?"

"Ay, don't even talk about it." You Miao says, "We fought again. Have you guys eaten?"

"We were about to." Li Zhifeng answers, "The food's ready just now."

You Miao goes in to wash his face, all of his smothering irritation dispersed, and comes back out after changing robes. A bright full moon hangs in the horizon, sitting leisurely in the infinite night sky. Li Zhifeng has set up a feast in the garden, and the backyard is noisy and animated, the very joyous atmosphere of a festival, and as You Miao listens he begins to feel cheered too. Home is best after all!

"Tang Hui came by today, eh." Qiao Jue mentions conversationally, sounding interested, "How did you acquaint him?"

Something stirs inside You Miao, and he asks, "He came by? What did he say?"

Li Zhifeng is warming the cups by the side, then pouring wine, "He brought a letter from Zhao Chao."

"Well look at you." Qiao Jue teases, "Don't forget your xiao-jiu when you rise to become a big shot official in the future."

You Miao immediately asks, "Where's the letter, let me see?"

"Why don't you read it after dinner." Li Zhifeng says.

As if You Miao can sit still. He starts to badger Li Zhifeng until he'd bring the letter out, and Li Zhifeng can only let him have his way, so he goes into the study and retrieves three letters, there's one from Li Yan too, and the third one is a note with Tang Hui's own writing.

You Miao looks at Tang Hui's note first, and it's full of words of gratitude. Tang Hui actually made a visit to the Capital during the start of new years, which comes to show that the restructuring of defence is quite dire, and Ping-Er also gave You Miao face, letting the grand brush of the Ministry of War sweep, approving Tang Hui of his new post.

Tang Hui will be transferred back to the Capital come the beginning of the spring season, and he's returned specifically for handling the transition, helping Zhao Chao deliver a letter while he's at it, as well as bringing a letter back from Li Yan. You Miao suddenly feels like he's shot himself in the foot; wouldn't it have been perfect if Tang Hui stayed in Yangzhou Prefecture? Now that he's gone, You Miao can't use that connection to get things done in Jiangnan.

But just as well. If he's really going to go to the Capital in the future, there's someone there who can take care of him.

"Oi, drink up." Qiao Jue says, "Nephew."

You Miao clinks his glass with Qiao Jue as he reads on the letters, then clinks his glass with Li Zhifeng too, smiling, "Keep it easy. Pray this year holds favourable weather, and all goes well living here."

The three dig in#, and You Miao looks at Li Yan's letter, but can't help but eye Li Zhifeng for his reaction, thinking, this is also a letter from your former master, eh. Li Zhifeng's face has a tinge of red, and when he spots You Miao's clever eyes he knows exactly what he's thinking, but he only smiles and doesn't respond, putting a chicken drumstick in You Miao's bowl.

Li Yan's letter is fairly brief, most of it being nothing but polite pleasantries, and the tone of it much more distant than the first letter with very little care for You Miao's wellbeing. You Miao's heart stops a beat, and knows Li Yan most likely has heard rumours too, and can vaguely guess that You Miao and Zhao Chao have gotten closer as of late.

However, the affections of the past still remain, so by courtesy of the calligraphy and painting You Miao has gifted him, Li Yan still helped him out this once. The only thing is that, if You Miao can't make clear of his position, then when he goes back to the Capital the gongzi chums won't be taking him along to play any longer.

While You Dechuan's words aren't the nicest, what he said is still not wrong——the fight between factions at the Capital has reached a heated stage, it's impossible not to get pulled in, so one can only consider options seriously before choosing a camp.

"What does it say?" Li Zhifeng speaks up to ask, seeing that You Miao's face has fallen ashen.

You Miao shakes his head then rips open Zhao Chao's letter, not knowing what to say for the moment.

Zhao Chao's letter is still a paper packed full of words. He first mentions Tang Hui, telling You Miao that Tang Hui is a man of talent, and now that Goryeo and Quanrong are at war, they're in need of skilled men. He's tried countless times to transfer Tang Hui back to the Capital and have Tang Hui lead an army on an expedition together, but he was never able to pass through the Ministry of War. You Miao's accidental deed has helped him big time.

You Miao starts to laugh; from those words he can almost feel that Zhao Chao has so much to say to him, pulling on his sleeve venting. You Miao himself is a man of the books, he knows that when it comes to pen-palling, for those who only does it out of duty it's a huge pain even when only three or four lines are needed. Zhao Chao has come from a background of martial arts, his writing isn't that graceful, which comes to show he doesn't usually enjoy scholarly routines, yet to respond with such a thick letter, it's obvious how much he values You Miao.

The letter also brings up the current situation at the Capital as well as the unrest by the border, and now he'd rather You Miao doesn't rush to come to the Capital, and doesn't associate with him too closely either, lest it makes life difficult for You Miao at home. Zhao Chao also says the political undercurrents of the imperial court are moving rapidly, a number of military officers have turned their support to the Taizi in order to protect themselves. Zhao Chao himself will soon be going on an expedition to Goryeo, You Miao doesn't have to worry, Goryeo will inevitably fall, he'll just be gone from the Capital for a few years.

Zhao Chao also reminds You Miao that now that the two of them are close, You Miao must absolutely keep that quiet to the outside, because You Miao's future doesn't end here. Hiding his abilities and biding his time now is so he can achieve greater things in the future. It's fine as long as the two of them both know their friendship in their hearts. After leaving the Capital, Zhao Chao will still send letters, but to prevent You Miao from facing difficulties at home, Zhao Chao advises him not to say anything to his father nor to anyone else, and just pretend not to know him. There's no need to reply to this letter.

You Miao folds the letter close, sighing inwardly with mixed emotions.

Qiao Jue and Li Zhifeng are both watching him, and You Miao starts eating, his heart heavy. Li Zhifeng speaks up, "Is the food no good?"

"It's good." You Miao gives a smile, and spots there's a bowl of steamed egg. Ever since coming to Riverwave Estate, Li Zhifeng would personally enter the kitchen and make him a bowl of steamed egg. In the beginning there wasn't much to eat so You Miao's in love with it. Now that the table's filled with fatty meats and delicious wine, Li Zhifeng still makes one for him everyday.

"Bring that egg over to me, I love eating that." You Miao says cheerfully.

Qiao Jue passes it over to him, and You Miao talks as he eats, telling the other two about the fight with his father at home, as well as what the letters from Zhao Chao and Li Yan said. Qiao Jue and Li Zhifeng only listen, and after, Li Zhifeng nods, not making any comments.

You Miao looks over to him, and Li Zhifeng says, "I don't get you Hans."

Both You Miao and Qiao Jue start to laugh, and Qiao Jue says, "Don't mind me saying something you won't like to hear, Miao-zi."

"Mn." You Miao responds.

"Your dad might not be anyone amazing, but when it comes to things like this, he's still extremely sharp. He's unscrupulously perceptive and shrewd."

You Miao nods, and Qiao Jue stops when the point is made. "Come, drink up, drink up."

After having had the Yuan Xiao feast, while he still minded these irritating affairs, because he's at home, his mood is much more at ease. When the meal ended he brings his tipsy self to the study to write a response to Zhao Chao's letter. He writes then rips, rips then writes, never quite coming up with the words that say what he wants to say, and in the end he can only leave it for the time being.

Either way Zhao Chao told him not to respond to the letters anymore until he's entered the battlefield.

That night, as You Miao hugged Li Zhifeng to sleep, he can't help but sigh contently, "Ay, home is still the most comfortable."

Li Zhifeng en's, "Earlier today Tang hui mentioned that there are civilians who have retreated from the border entering the central plains, migrating towards Jiangnan with their entire families."

You Miao is almost asleep then, but when he hears this he immediately jolts awake, "What?"

Li Zhifeng sniffs by the crescent of his ear like a loyal wolf, and stares deeply at him, then says after a moment, "Do you want it?"

You Miao hugs around his neck, and Li Zhifeng reaches out to start unbuttoning his underclothes. You Miao kisses the corner of his lips, "What did you say just now? Say it again?"

Li Zhifeng doesn't say anything however, but flips around, pushing You Miao down beneath him. That entire night, only the sound of harsh panting enters You Miao's ears, and he stops caring for anything else, holding tightly onto Li Zhifeng, the two of them entangling together, kissing and murmuring sweet nothings. The bright red lanterns outside in the night are still alight, illuminating You Miao's baby face deep in slumber.

Days later, one early morning, while You Miao is still asleep, he hears voices from the outside. It seems to be women squealing in excitement, and there's also children clapping.=

You Miao scratches his neck, uncomfortable, and flips around to continue sleeping. Unfortunately it really is too noisy outside, and he sits up grumpily, yelling, "PIPE DOWN!"

But the yelling is growing louder and louder, and You Miao shouts, full of fury, "SOMEBODY!"

But there's not a single soul outside, and even Li Zhifeng has disappeared to who knows where.

And so You Miao can only dress himself and get out of bed, running out with his hair still down, following where the voices are coming from. Just as he is about to scold people however, he stops in the backyard, stunned.

"There's water——"

"Hahaha——"

"Young Master!"

"Young Master has risen!"

"Good morning, Young Master!"

You Miao is rooted to where he is in the garden's corridor, staring at the pond in the back garden, his eyes almost popping out of their sockets, his tongue tied. A stream of fresh water is gurgling as it flows, raising the water level of the pond, covering the once dried bottom, and many of the fallen leaves are floating up.

"How is there water coming in… WAIT!" Something immediately clicks, and he turns around on the spot, dashing towards the backyard. All of the rockeries and ponds in the entire backyard are splashing with the sound of water, and when he passes by the sea of bamboo, he hears the clicking of bamboo tube, knocking upon the rocks. He spins around abruptly, shouting in delight.

"AAAHHHHHH——"

From the other end of the bamboo tube, biting cold water is flowing out from the water pipe he only just recently made with his own hands, and the water streams down into the bamboo tube, filling it full. The weight of it pushes it down, then as the water is emptied, the bamboo bounces back with a click, knocking onto the rock.

There's water now! Which means, the construction of the waterwheel upon the cliff is complete!!

You Miao runs to the end of the backyard, then hops onto the horse, running straight for the high plains. Along the way, all the tenant households have emerged; water is filling the canals.

"GODDAMN YOU ALL!" You Miao arrives on a dashing horse amidst the laughter of the craftsmen, and he yells, "WHY DIDN'T YOU CALL ME!"

Li Zhifeng has an iron tenon in hand, his bare shoulders and back covered in sweat, looking healthy, strong and handsome under the sun, his robes loosely tied around his waist. When he turns his head around he flashes a smile at You Miao, and You Miao freezes in place, his eyes lost in his smile.

"WE'RE TRYING TO LET IT RUN FOR A BIT!" Li Zhifeng shouts back, "YOU WERE STILL SLEEPING SO I DIDN'T CALL YOU!"

You Miao goes over, and the craftsmen down below cheer again, watching the blades of the waterwheel slowly rising, and it's just as he imagined. The river water is lifted high over the cliff wall that's a few hundred meters tall, then is turned over and dumped into the canal. You Miao is overjoyed, laughing boisterously, that rush of excitement too difficult to be described with words. The entire canal is filled with fresh water all of a sudden, and flows downwards along the hills.

"THIS IS GREAT!" You Miao jumps up and down and yells as he hugs Li Zhifeng, but Li Zhifeng only pats his head with a smile.

Several fish is also brought up by the water wheel blade, and they squirm as they are dropped into the canal before they swim away with the water flow.

"Stop!" Old Craftsman Huang shouts from below.

A few craftsmen work together to push the gears, and the waterwheel comes to a stop once more. It's obviously still being adjusted.

And so You Miao simply sits himself down by the riverside, not going anywhere, watching the craftsmen configure the contraption. Li Zhifeng really is outstanding; busying himself going up and down by Old Craftsman Huang's orders, moving gears that would take the strength of five to six craftsmen combined by himself. That day, they hustled all the way past noon, and You Miao's endless questions were even getting on Old Craftsman Huang's nerves. Finally, by evening, Old Craftsman Huang nods at last.

"Young Master, why don't you start it." A craftsman says.

"How… how do I start it?" You Miao is a little nervous. Over the cliff and all along the riverside are crowded with people; there are many from Guozhuang, and even more from Anlu, all of them watching You Miao's masterpiece.

Li Zhifeng places his hand over You Miao's and says, "You ready?"

You Miao nods, and Li Zhifeng pushes down, exerting a bit of force while holding You Miao's hands, the two of them pulling out the iron spike that kept the shaft in place.

The waterwheel emits a large noise and begins to turn, then soon after it spins faster and faster, lifting the river water to higher grounds. Instantly there is cheering everywhere, shocking and roaring to the heavens. In that moment, You Miao both wants to cry and laugh, trembling as he watches the purpling skies. In the end, he hugs Li Zhifeng's waist and buries his face in his chest.

The two watch together as that gigantic waterwheel spins languidly, as if it's rolling out a brand new future.

With the waterwheel fully constructed, You Miao very generously puts out a feast that very night, and anyone who comes can join in on the party. Firecrackers are set off, good wines are poured, the craftsmen are treated to full cordial hospitality. The ponds of Shen garden, beneath the platforms are all filled with water, returning this quiet and elegant manor to its former glory.

This estate, this manor, every blade of grass, if this was within the city of Yangzhou, the construction cost would be at least one hundred thousand silver.

The canals are filled with clear water, incessantly as it flows down the hills, pouring into that great lake behind Zhu Tang's house. Give it a few days to fill up and it will then flow out of the estate in that creek towards Anlu.

This truly is a grand construction that would bring prosperity to the land for centuries to come. From this day forward, all six thousand mu of good fields at Riverwave Estate will never be troubled by droughts and floods. The Village Chief of Guozhuang keeps praising You Miao for his foresight, that in just a short couple of months, he is able to manage a barren land no one cared for to this point.

You Miao pays the craftsmen their wages, and after counting with Qiao Jue, neither of them have much money left. Thankfully, from now on there's barely anything else that needs money.

-

Spring has come, and the rays of the sun spill into the hearts of people, warming the bodies. Qiao Jue personally takes people with him to go make purchases in Liuzhou Prefecture, leaving You Miao sitting at home, lying in Li Zhifeng's embrace enjoying the sun. All the flower beds of the entire Shen Garden have sprouted tenderly green flower buds, and the sound of murmuring water and the quiet knocking of bamboo tubes is carried over from the backyard.

"Let me just stay here for the rest of my life, I'm not going anywhere anymore." You Miao says contently.

Li Zhifeng reminds him flatly, "Land hasn't all been leased out yet. We have to wait for people to come."

"No fear." You Miao replies lazily, "Come, Housekeeper, let's tumble."

You Miao is barely worried that no one would lease his land now. Once the waterwheel is constructed, there's no more need to manually draw water to irrigate the land, so there's gonna be plenty of people coming to hug his legs to beg him. He can just stay at home all day with nothing to do but "tumble" with Li Zhifeng and money will come rolling in on its own, and so he gropes and rubs all over in Li Zhifeng's arms, trying to burrow all of himself into his heart. Li Zhifeng is just holding him, and while they nuzzled, You Miao lets out a grunt. Li Zhifeng suggests, "Let's go inside?"

You Miao stretches and is just about to move when Mu Yan comes in to report, "Young Master, people have come to greet the estate."

It's right in the splendour of spring, and You Miao inwardly grumbles how untimely before he gets up, ties his belt and moves himself to the main hall. The first one who's come is someone from Sunshower Jade Estate, "Elder Young Master has sent me to deliver something for Young Master."

It's been many days since he fought with father the last time, and at first You Miao didn't want to accept it and was going to have the man take back whatever it was he's delivering, but then when You Miao thinks about it, maybe there's money, so he might as well take the thing. Li Zhifeng doesn't wait for his command before going to grab a red envelope to grant the man.

There are still more people waiting for him outside. You Miao glances at the package he received and it's a tea set inside, something that You Han'ge gifted him, and there's a note too, but the characters are all crooked, basically imploring him to cool down, don't fume and hold a grudge against father, etc. Without another word, You Miao takes the package. "Who else is out there? Have them all come in."

"To answer Young Master." Cheng Guangwu speaks up from outside the main hall, "Too many people have come, there's not enough room inside. I'll let them come in one by one?"

You Miao, "???"

"Let me go take a look." Li Zhifeng says.

"Let's go together." You Miao replies.

You Miao rises to his feet and takes Li Zhifeng to head outside, and when he comes to the front entrance, the sight shocks him. Hundreds of people have lined up outside the manor, full pack of crowds standing out on the road to the entrance, entire families, some pulling carts, some with donkeys, and when they see Li Zhifeng and You Miao emerge, some immediately rush forward to surround them, all talking at the same time.

"QUIET, ALL OF YOU!" You Miao shouts.

"What's going on?" You Miao demands, "Let me ask you,"

He pulls a man forward, "You can tell me. Everyone else, don't make a peep."

"Young Master, we came fleein' for our lives, eh——" That burly man says, "People at Yangzhou all says ya got land here to farm. Please pity us and grant a bite to eat."

You Miao is stunned at last.

One person out of every family has come forward, and they're all talking. Shen Garden has become like a market, and You Miao exerted great effort before finally figuring out what they are all saying. Turns out, these people are all refugees who have fled the border, dispersing into the central plains with their entire families, and having gotten pointers, they've come to Jiangnan.

"Young Master You! Young Master You!" A Captain comes riding on horseback, chasing aside the crowding citizens, a document raised in hand, "Letter from my lord, will Young Master receive this personally!"

Li Zhifeng goes forward to take the document, and You Miao opens it to read. It's Zhao Chao's writing in this personal decree, and finally the full story comes to light. Turns out, one hundred thousand people have fled to the central plains, and outside the Capital is crowded with refugees who are unable to keep a living. When Zhao Chao departed for his expedition he saw this sight, and remembered that You Miao had mentioned in his letters that he was having trouble finding tenants. Thus, he swung his brush and signed a decree, passing it to one of his men, and had him take this group of refugees down south to Jiangnan.

Yangzhou Prefecture has been the country of fish and rice since historical times, so to find land to feed and survive shouldn't be difficult. Within the documents is also a letter from the Prefectural Governor of Yangzhou Prefecture. The moment the Yangzhou Prefectural Governor saw Zhao Chao's personal decree he knew this isn't a small issue, and so he sent out a military officer to lead the group to Riverwave Estate. Within the letter he tells You Miao to pick and choose; keep the people that he can use, those he doesn't want can still be dismissed back to Yangzhou to take on conscripted labour work.

You Miao stares and spaces out watching that massive crowd, not knowing what to say for the moment. Everyone has with them their families, old mothers sitting on carts, there are even babes in swaddling cloths.

This is only the first twelve households who are lined up first too. A hundred and fifteen households; in the next several days, the people coming to the estate will be endless.

"You can all stay." You Miao says, "Cheng Guangwu, Mu Yan and Mu Feng, the three of you go organize this. If you have questions ask Li Zhifeng. When the spring season starts we'll need to sow the fields immediately, I can feed everyone, no need to go back to Yangzhou."

Cheers erupt from the refugees.

The refugees are happy, but You Miao on the other hand is thrown outta luck. To suddenly have so many people pour into the estate, this is a huge expense. How nice of Zhao Chao to be the unfettered heavenly steed, sending him this many people without even a heads up. What's even more of a headache is he had no clue until everyone's at his front door!

There's quite a number of the old, the vulnerable, and disabled, but a part of them are young and strong too. There are even some who have lost family on the way, the dead bodies covered with a straw mat, hauled over on carts.

Shen Garden is completely swamped that day. You Miao immediately sends Qiao Jue's boy attendant off to deliver a letter to Anlu, then has Cheng Guangwu go negotiate with the Village Chief of Guozhuang, see if both villages are open to have people stay temporarily. After all, Riverwave Estate doesn't have that many rooms! Several women have also come into Shen Garden to cook up ten large buckets of rice, and for a time, the estate appears like a refugee relief centre.

Li Zhifeng too, has been out making purchases all day, and everyone, including You Miao himself, has been running around nonstop from morning to night, until at last every single one of the refugees are found a place to live.

The old, the young, the sick, and the disabled are all staying at Shen Garden, to be cared for by the families already living there. The young and the able bodied on the other hand, have settled in the straw huts built in both Guozhuang and Anlu respectively, and are to come to the estate everyday to receive farming gears to go labour. For the beginning of the spring season, You Miao will cover everyone's room and board, but once the first harvest is complete, everyone must go build their own abodes.

"For the first year, I will collect seventy percent for rent. After this year is over I'll lower it to sixty." You Miao is sitting at the head of the main hall, speaking to the heads of the twelve households. "This young master is supporting you lot, so everyone be sensible. I get the say in what gets planted. Our rice crops in the south isn't like the north, let's grow for two seasons first to see, and manage your own sustenance first, then we'll see about growing for three seasons, how's that?"

When You Miao said those words, he's actually a little nervous. After all, grain can't be compared to tea, fifty percent rent is already hefty. Taking seventy percent, if the crops he picks don't grow well and there comes a natural disaster, most average families won't be able to survive. But in the next three months he has to take on the burden of feeding over thousands of people; he's the one who constructed the waterwheel, the fields are his too, if these refugees don't want to take it then they can leave it.

At first You Miao thought those people would say something to object, yet unexpectedly, everyone uniformly nods. You Miao continues, "I've got the farming tools here. Tomorrow, you can all go section off your own fields. Don't be too greedy, and if there's disputes don't start throwing fists either, figure it out yourselves."

The able bodied men all give You Miao a kowtow, and based on the customs of Jiangnan landlords, You Miao shares tea with them. Once the cup of tea is drunk, these men can each go out to find work to do; plow and till, then after a few days the fields can be sown.

You Miao then quickly leaves home to head to the government office of Yangzhou to purchase cereal crops. It's right at the start of the spring season, and farmers are crowding outside the Bureau of Acquisition, but You Miao is the only landlord who has come personally to purchase crop seeds.

The Bureau of Acquisition didn't expect it'd be the young master of the You family coming personally and jumps in surprise. You Miao is covered in sweat, and orders Mu Yan to go weigh the crop seeds. He tucks his hands in his sleeves and says helplessly, "Stuffing all these people into my estate without a word, I'll have to pay a personal visit to Lord Governor to thank him one of these days, eh."

That civil official of the Bureau of Acquisition chuckles nervously, and You Miao pulls his hand over, stuffing an ingot of broken silver in his hand. The Acquisition officer understood, and personally takes Mu Yan to go pick the finest of the crops.

You Miao then goes to the market and purchases six oxen, swaying leisurely as the oxen pull his cart back to Jiangbei, chatting with Mu Yan happily like two small children. Once they cross the river, the oxcart slows, so they can only take a break on the side of the road. When they've returned to the estate after noon is past, Li Zhifeng has also returned, and he frowns, "How come you left without a word."

"I went to buy cereal crops." You Miao replies, "I've no money now, no money. Have you got all the tilling tools made?"

"They're all in the storage now." Li Zhifeng says.

You Miao pulls on an ox, shouting at it ceaselessly, then pets the ox's head and lets it drag himself along, thinking it super fun. Li Zhifeng is watching on the side, but a moment later, one of the oxen behind bumps into another ox, and the two start to brawl, so Li Zhifeng calls out, "Don't fight."

With one arm pushing on each side, just by his arm strength alone he's able to pull the locked oxen horns apart, and You Miao is left speechless.

Qiao Jue has also come back, and the moment he crosses the threshold he's shocked to the bone, exclaiming, "Miao-zi! What's going on at home? It's like a bazaar!"

You Miao doesn't know whether to laugh or cry; Shen Garden has only just finished renovation recently but now it's a complete mess again. The six oxen are squished in the front yard, the tilling tools piled in the backyard, there's barely anywhere left to walk.

A group of children are playing with water below the garden's corridor, and even though it's still the coldest time of the year, they still rolled up their pants to go catch fish. Just by watching You Miao can feel himself freeze, and he roars, "ALL OF YOU, KNOCK IT OFF! QUIET DOWN!"

But those children aren't afraid of him at all, and they laugh happily as they run off.

You Miao spent a huge effort to settle everyone, so when he returns to the main hall, his entire person has become a puddle. Li Zhifeng is still outside assigning work for Cheng Guangwu to do, and he'd probably be busy for the next long while.

The lamp light inside the hall is bright and magnificent; Qiao Jue has only just returned but he also helped around nonstop, and now he can finally take a breather, coming in to wash his face, count the books, work the abacus, "This time we've definitely finished everything in one go. Oof."

"Yea." You Miao replies limply, "It's just, there's so many people coming all of a sudden, there's no place to live at all."

"I found you a beekeeper." Qiao Jue says, "He'll move in come February. All the rapeseed seeds are in storage now, and I see you bought cereal crops. Let's get the people to start tilling the land in about ten days and sow the fields. The only thing I'm afraid of is the earth being too raw for the very first season, not fertilized enough, so it won't grow too much grain."

"As long as it can fill our stomachs that's enough." You Miao says, "I'm actually not asking for much. Li Zhifeng! LI ZHIFENG!"

Just as he was talking You Miao sees two kids outside picking flowers, and he's instantly outraged, grabbing a plank ready to go outside to beat them, and he yells, "I'LL BEAT YOU, YOU LITTLE UNRULY BEASTS!"

The kids squeal and run off. You Miao chases after them for a few steps, and sees those two kids running to hide behind Li Zhifeng, while Li Zhifeng only shakes his head helplessly with a grin before turning to a few older boys, "You start work tomorrow."

Three thirteen to fourteen year old boys line in a straight row, and they nod their heads repeatedly. Li Zhifeng then turns around and goes into the main hall with You Miao, and orders Cheng Guangwu to start serving dinner.

"I hired three people to come serve Jiu-ye." Li Zhifeng says, "With the brothers Mu Yan and Mu Feng, plus Cheng Guangwu, that's a total of six people."

"Heh, we're only three people, but we need six to serve us." You Miao says.

Qiao Jue chuckles, "Haven't you seen those large households that have people inside, outside, everywhere? They keep twenty to thirty maids and boy attendants just to serve one old master."

You Miao doesn't really care for much, but while he enjoys a lively atmosphere, home really is a little too noisy right now. Having been worked to the bone, by night he falls asleep the moment his head touches the pillow. Qiao Jue however, works all the way to almost sigeng#, the lamps within the sea of bamboo still alight.

In You Miao's dreams, there's only his waterwheel, the luscious mountains and the endless fertile fields.

The next day, more people have shown up just as You Miao wakes, and they're all still the refugees who have come to seek a living. You Miao is fatigued though, and says, "Just let them wait outside for now."

"Let me go dismiss them." Qiao Jue says after he finishes breakfast.

Qiao Jue is a capable hand, when he takes care of things it's swift and orderly, and it doesn't take more than half an hour before everyone is properly settled. While the Yangzhou Prefectural Government had meant You Miao can pick and choose who to keep, and if You Miao can't stand them he can send them away, still You Miao thought these refugees are all rather pitiful, so in the end he keeps everyone, including the old, the widowed, and the orphans. At the beginning, people got to section their own land, but having plots here and there isn't easy to manage, so You Miao personally draws the map and sections the fields. Each household can temporarily farm twenty to thirty mu of land. Several days pass by like this, and after adding everything up with Qiao Jue, three thousand mu of land in total have been leased out, which is half of the entire estate, and all begins spring ploughing.

There are farmers who would come borrow the oxen, some who come to borrow the tilling tools, and in a flash, everyone's dispersed. It's right in the splendour of spring, and Cheng Guangwu has taken a few boy attendants with him to sow the rapeseed seeds in the fifty mu of land behind Shen Garden. You Miao watches them for a while before turning around to hop on a horse, slowly going down the road.

The weather is fair on this spring day, and on both sides of the long road of the estate are all farmers tilling. The number of households that have come first have already started sowing crops, and gazing across the landscape, the entire Riverwave Estate is like its own little village.

The water canals extend in all directions, going here and there, like a cobweb that has enveloped the fields. The sun is shining brightly, and You Miao can't help but feel pleasant and cheered as he looks on.

---

Scroll down for a brief history lesson in prep for Ch.19+ :'D

Imperial State Exam - a civil service examination system for selecting candidates for state bureaucracy. Civil Service and Scholarship are the highest of prestige for a citizen regardless of background.

Exam Flowchart

*

Xiucai is a scholar identity, but not yet an official civil servant.

Juren has the qualification to become an official but may not necessarily succeed, but can enter civil service through "The Great Selection".

Gongshi is a Juren qualified to take the Palace Exams.

Jinshi is a civil servant to be appointed anywhere in the country

Zhuangyuan, Bang'yan, and Tanhua are the top three ranking civil officials to serve right by the Emperor's side, their positions personally appointed by the Emperor.

Juvenile Exam: takes place at local counties/regions; overseen by local officials Pass and becomes a Xiucai (akin to graduating highschool)

Prefecture Exam: takes place in the provincial/prefectural capital city; overseen by appointed officials of the Imperial Court. Pass and becomes a Juren (akin to graduating university)

Interview Exam: takes place in the Capital, overseen by the officials of the Ministry of Rites Pass and becomes a Gongshi

Palace Exam: takes place in the Capital, overseen by the Minister of Rites and the Emperor Pass and becomes a Jinshi; First place is Zhuangyuan, Second place is Bang'yan, Third place is Tanhua.

*This info is now available for reference in the MAP doc, link at the very top of this doc. 1am - 3am