Grass and mustard reign supreme

Chapter 87 Who Can You Confide In?
Before we knew it, it was the day before the Dragon Boat Festival, and Feng'an Village began to bustle with activity as the owners of several surrounding villages arrived one after another.

But when they heard that Yu Rui, the second young master of the Yu family, was also there, they were all caught in a dilemma.

Yu Rui is the son of the former master. If we don't go to pay our respects, then we won't need to see him again.

But if they went to pay their respects, wouldn't Yang Can, that smiling tiger who hides a knife in his mouth and eats people without spitting out the bones, become dissatisfied with them and make things difficult for them in the future?
Prior to this, they had never dealt with Yang Can.

Because after Yang Can took over Feng'an Village, he never went to inspect the fields and estates where they lived.

Their understanding of Yang Can's temperament and personality was based entirely on rumors circulating in the streets, which inevitably led to inaccuracies, and they had no real confidence in him.

After much deliberation, they finally decided to bite the bullet and go to pay their respects to Yu Rui.

After all, on the surface, the eldest son and the second son were still a harmonious family. As retainers of the Yu family, it was only natural for them to pay their respects to the young master of the Yu family. Even if Yang Can knew, he couldn't find anything wrong with it.

So they agreed to go together, probably thinking that "the law does not punish the masses," and that if Yang Can was really dissatisfied, he wouldn't do anything to any of them.

Of course, before paying their respects to Yu Rui, they first went to pay their respects to Third Master Leopard.

Third Master Leopard was an elder of the Yu family, and of noble status. They felt no qualms about paying their respects to him.

If the ambitious Third Master Leopard knew that he was seen as such a harmless person by these estate managers, it's hard to know whether he should be happy or sad.

Yu Rui sat upright in the pear wood chair in the study, his fingertips unconsciously stroking the exquisite carvings on the armrest, but his gaze fell on the large willow tree in the courtyard through the half-open window.

He had already clearly planned everything out before these village managers arrived:

On the surface, it was an audience with former retainers, but in reality, it was a subtle way to subtly hint at something:

Yang Can is one of our own, so you don't need to be afraid. Just follow his orders and cooperate well in the future.

But he deliberately didn't reveal this intention, and didn't divulge a single word beforehand.

After all, in his view, this was both an opportunity to send a signal and an excellent test.

He wanted to see if, after his father Yu Huanhu's previous "abandonment" of these industries, these estate managers still held reverence for the Second Branch and were still willing to obey as before.

When a slightly hesitant sound of footsteps came from outside the courtyard, accompanied by whispers of mutual shirking of responsibility, a barely perceptible glint flashed in Yu Rui's eyes.

He slowly withdrew his gaze, picked up the tea that had been warmed on the table, gently blew on the tea leaves floating on the surface, and took a leisurely sip.

When the voice outside the door asked, "Is Young Master Yu here?" he put down his teacup, wiped his lips with his fingertip, and said in a calm and even voice, "Come in."

The door was gently pushed open, and the three estate owners stood awkwardly in the doorway.

Seeing this, Yu Rui felt a sense of satisfaction.

Although they came as friends and family, lacking the sincerity of a private visit, it shows that they still have a place in each other's hearts and have not completely sided with the other side.

He paused as he put down his teacup, his thoughts drifting back to the past.

When Yu Huanhu first handed over these properties, he intended to use them as "discarded pawns" to attack his eldest uncle.

For this reason, the father did not give any instructions to these village managers, neither offering words of comfort nor mentioning any future arrangements.

It's understandable that these people harbor resentment and doubts now.

Anyone would feel resentful if treated this way.

As Yu Huanhu's eldest son, Yu Rui was carefully groomed as the successor of the second branch of the family from a young age.

From reading and writing to planning and strategizing, from dealing with people to managing subordinates, his father taught him everything he knew, all so that he could uphold the family business in the future.

Now it's just a matter of giving a few distrustful old ministers a warning, and then subtly letting slip some information during casual conversation.

Making them understand Yang Can's identity and to obey his arrangements in the future was a piece of cake for him; it was no difficult task at all.

He looked up at the three manor lords, a faint smile playing on his lips, and gestured with his hand: "Please sit down, there's no need to be so formal."

After the three of them carefully sat down on the low stools below, placed their hands on their knees, and even softened their breathing, Yu Rui slowly spoke.

He talked about the weather and the harvest at the farm, and casually mentioned that "everything at Feng'an Manor has been going smoothly recently, thanks to the good management of Master Yang." His words were full of implications about the relationship between Yang Can and the Second Clan.

In truth, he knew that this advice was nothing more than doing someone a favor.

After all, the fact that these three manor lords were willing to take the initiative and even arrive at Feng'an Manor a day early showed that they were prepared to bow down to Yang Can.

Even so, Yu Rui's seemingly unintentional hint was like a timely rain for the three manor lords.

Although they had previously resolved to submit to Yang Can, they were filled with fear and unease.

There has been no movement from Second Master Yu Huanhu's side for a long time, as if he has completely forgotten about them, his old friends.

They had long heard of Yang Can's methods. The ruthless swordsman Xiao Zhang had been trained by Yang Can to disregard even family ties and personally kill his uncle, son, and nephew. How could they not be wary of such a ruthless character?

Now that Yu Rui had revealed that Yang Can was actually a member of the Second Clan, the three manor lords' hearts, which had been hanging in suspense, instantly settled. They exchanged glances, and the unease and anxiety in their eyes gradually dissipated, replaced by a sense of relief.

With this connection between the two families, Yang Can would never make things difficult for them without reason, and they could finally sleep more peacefully from now on.

……

The next day, just as dawn was breaking and a thin layer of mist still hung over the streets of Feng'an Village, Yu Rui had already packed up and was ready to set off back to Dailai City.

Outside the courtyard, a dozen camels were already prepared, their backs laden with heavy boxes covered with thick black cloth, obscuring the contents.

Several alluring beauties from the Western Regions sat among the humps of several camels.

They wore brightly colored gauze dresses, revealing their slender waists and fair ankles. Their long hair was braided into delicate plaits, adorned with small silver bells that made a crisp sound with the slightest movement.

They either bowed their heads to adjust their skirts or looked up into the distance, their graceful figures creating a captivating picture in the morning mist.

Few people know that the gold and silver jewelry in these chests, as well as the beauties from the Western Regions, were originally gifts prepared by Yu Rui for Yang Can.

But when he set off, he had no idea that Yang Can would summon all the village managers on the Dragon Boat Festival in May.

Now that Feng'an Village is crowded with people and has even Third Uncle Leopard coming in person, if he leaves these gifts behind, it will inevitably attract criticism and may even expose his private dealings with Yang Can.

After much deliberation, he had no choice but to temporarily abandon the idea of ​​giving gifts. He needed to make everyone see that these were just goods he had transported from Liangzhou, which he was now taking back to Dailai City, and had nothing to do with Yang Can.

Yang Can stood outside the fortress gate, dressed in a moon-white long robe with a dark silk sash tied around his waist. He had a gentle smile on his face and sincerely tried to persuade Yang Can to stay.

"Today, all the estate owners and ranch owners will be coming. Why don't you stay another day, young master, and meet them? Let's have a few drinks together, so that everyone can share in your good fortune."

Yu Rui flipped over and mounted the saddle, holding the reins with one hand and gently patting the horse's back with the other, a perfectly timed smile on his face.

"I appreciate Deacon Yang's kindness. However, today is the day you have gathered your subordinates for a celebration. If I stay, it would be like me taking over the host's role and spoiling everyone's enjoyment."

Furthermore, I have been away in Liangzhou for over a month, and my father is still waiting for news from home. I am eager to return, and it is truly inconvenient for me to stay any longer.

Both of them knew perfectly well that this conversation was merely an act for the servants present.

To outsiders, he and Yang Can had a grudge against each other.

With a smile that was neither distant nor overly friendly, Yu Rui nodded slightly to Yang Can as a farewell, then gently spurred his horse and said in a deep voice, "Let's go."

The camel caravan slowly made its way out of the village, the camel bells ringing out with a clear "ding-dong" sound that was particularly distinct in the stillness of the early morning.

As the caravan moved, the sound of camel bells gradually drifted into the distance, eventually fading into the air.

Yang Can stood in the morning light, a humble and gentle smile still on his face, watching Yu Rui's group disappear at the end of the road.

Only when the camel bells could no longer be heard did he slowly withdraw his gaze and subconsciously raise his hand to clench his sleeve.

Inside the sleeve, there were two neatly folded sheets of paper.

One was a shop deed for a warehouse in Tianshui City, and the other was eight slave contracts.

The owner of the shop contract and the indenture was named Yang Can.

This warehouse is in an excellent location, right next to the city's busiest commercial street, with a large number of merchants coming and going, making it a great place to do business.

The camels, the crates on their backs, and the Western Region beauties that appeared to be "goods" were actually the property of this warehouse.

In other words, these things have now become Yang Can's private property.

Yang Can sighed to himself, thinking to himself, "Money is something that you can only have more of the more you have."

Just a few days ago, he was thinking that he couldn't live off the salary from Feng'an Village alone. He had to find a way to do some business to increase his income so that he wouldn't run out of money later.

Unexpectedly, Yu Rui "sent" such a large sum of start-up capital as soon as he had this idea.

They even provided him with a warehouse and manpower, just like someone offering a pillow when he was sleepy.

But upon further reflection, Yang Can's smile faded slightly.

He is currently both attached to the Yu family and has intricate connections with the Suo family. If the patriarch or the Suo family were to find out about this situation of being able to play both sides, the consequences would be unimaginable.

He wasn't even sure if he was more important than the Suo family in Suo Chanzhi and Xiao Qingmei's hearts.

After all, the Suo family was their root, while she was just an outsider who appeared halfway through.

Therefore, Xiao Qingmei must never know about this warehouse that appeared out of nowhere.

So, who should take care of it?

(End of this chapter)