Section 43 Harbor

Chang’an is a huge cesspool for Yun Ye. He feels the stench even after a day there, and he doesn’t want his family to be exposed to it. He takes his aunt and sister far away from this place of trouble. Only a few servants are left to guard the ancestral home in Chang’an. Everyone else has returned to their fiefdoms.

It is still more comfortable at home. Lying on a comfortable recliner, swinging a fan, with his shirt open, a silver flask of wine is iced in a black pottery basin on a low table, and a wine glass is placed at hand.

Locusts don’t like to eat tung trees, so Yun Ye has a cool shade. Yun Ye doesn’t want to move, not even his toes. move, and it hasn’t rained in Guanzhong since June. It’s been a scorching sun all day, and even the slightest movement makes you sweat. The silk underwear sticks to your body like a second skin, making you itch and uncomfortable.

Yun Ye never wore silk underwear. His underwear was all made of a fabric called white folded cloth. His grandmother said that it was more expensive than silk, and cotton was still in the Gaochang Kingdom. Now, don’t think that everyone can afford this imported fabric.

Lying around for too long is a bit boring. Besides, Grandma is busy in the backyard watching the aunts and uncles make perfume. It’s not right for me to just lie around. I get up, put on my shoes, and stretch before walking to the backyard.

Before she arrived, the rich fragrance of flowers drifted over, refreshing her spirit. She didn’t know what kind of flowers her grandmother and the others used, but the fragrance was so seductive.

Two maids were sitting under the moon gate, sewing the soles of shoes. It seemed that they were also making shoes with left and right sides. Since they knew that the people in the main house all wore shoes with left and right sides, the people on the farm also started making shoes that way.

Stopping the servants from bowing, he walked into the courtyard. Grandma was lying on a chair, her eyes closed, dozing.

Not wanting to disturb her, he tiptoed into the house to take a look. Yun Ye had not been here for a long time. He felt ashamed to think that he had just messed around and made a few bottles of inferior perfume and then let it go.

“Ye, why are you running around in the hot sun without sleeping? Didn’t I ask you to stay with me? Where did that girl go? You shouldn’t pamper her like this. If she continues to be like this when she marries, how will that be possible?” Grandma has always had the ability to hear everything around her. With her eyes closed, she knows who it is.

She moved a small stool next to her grandmother, picked up a fan and gave her a cool breeze. She had been away for a few days and spent time chatting with her.

“You don’t know what kind of personality Yilang has. You just tell her to fan me, and she can fan all day without changing places. If she gets bored, she’ll go play with Runniang. I’ll send her away. Don’t scold her. If you scold her, that silly girl will cry all day.”

The younger sisters in the family are all Yun Ye’s favorite objects. Xiaoya doesn’t need to be mentioned. She is the apple of his eye. Whoever bullies her, Yun Ye will kill his whole family. Yimeng is weak-willed. Whoever bullies her will not say anything. Grandma often hates iron that cannot be tempered, saying that she will suffer a great loss one day.

Yun Ye didn’t think much of his grandmother’s words. Being weak is a traditional Chinese woman’s trait. The Tang Dynasty was in a mess because there were too many strong women. As for being bullied and suffering a great loss, Yun Ye felt that as long as he was alive, such outrageous things would not happen.

“Today I saw Xiaodong digging a hole in the garden to bury food. I don’t know what the child is thinking. Does the family still need him to eat? Do you still need to hide it? Is the child sick?” Grandma’s words left Yun Ye speechless. This was a kind of obsessive-compulsive disorder. Since Xiao Dong came home, she had been very quiet. She was neither as delicate as Xiao Xi, nor as lively as Xiao Ya, nor as quiet as Xiao Nan, nor as precocious as Da Ya. She was always in a state of tension. When Yun Ye asked her second aunt, she also stammered and said that she couldn’t make it clear. There was something going on, and Yun Ye knew it very well, as did Grandma.

In this family, as long as they don’t ask, no one else dares to say anything. The servants are even more afraid of gossiping. They know that the head of the family is a person who is extremely protective of his family.

“Let Xiaonan stay with me for a while. As long as she gets to know the grandson, she won’t hide snacks anymore. The Yun family is in trouble, and everyone is having a hard time. Even if there are flaws, Grandma, you can pretend you don’t know, and the grandson will do the same.”

The old lady opened her eyes and looked at Yun Ye and said, “You are a person with a big temper. I’m afraid people will say that the Yun family has a bad family tradition.”

“My family has already had a prodigal son like me, so there is no longer any family tradition to speak of. You probably don’t know, but there are three scourges in Chang’an: Yun Ye, termites, and poodles. Your grandson is number one.”

“Who is this broken-down person here talking nonsense? Doesn’t the government care?” The old lady got up in a hurry. In her opinion, Xiaonan’s matter was a matter as small as a sesame seed, and it was not worth her worrying about it. Someone ruining her grandson’s reputation was something the old lady would never allow.

“If he wants to talk, let him talk. Your grandson is in a lot of trouble now, and he doesn’t care about this. Besides, it’s not necessarily a bad thing.” Holding the old lady down again, Yun Ye said, “Which nobleman doesn’t have backbiting? The Yun family jumped from a broken home to a marquis in just one year. It would be strange if there wasn’t jealousy.”

“Trouble in the palace? I heard that more than a hundred heads were chopped off in the West Market the other day. Our family won’t get involved.” The old lady was a little nervous.

“It’s fine. It’s none of our business. I just don’t like it. Anyway, my grandson won’t be going to Chang’an these days, so the lives of others have nothing to do with our family.”

“That’s best. Grandma doesn’t like the city either. It’s still more comfortable living in Yushan.”

After that, the grandfather and grandson smiled at each other in understanding.

The production of perfume has not increased, and Yun Ye has no intention of expanding production. Now this mysterious feminine product is quietly spreading in Chang’an. Mrs. Cheng has a small bottle, which she keeps locked up like a treasure. She only uses a little bit when attending a gathering of noblewomen, and this has already made the noblewomen rush to get it. Mrs. Cheng only said that it was an old acquaintance of her husband who brought it back from a distant place. She only has a small bottle, and she doesn’t know anything else.

Mrs. Niu also has one, but Mrs. Niu doesn’t like to show off. A few days ago, she finally arranged a marriage for Niu Jianhu, and it was the calf who fell in love with her. The girl is also a bold person, and her family is also a military family. She has seen many disabled people with missing limbs and legs, and she has long since stopped being surprised. Seeing the calf running like a bird, healthy as an ox, and with a handsome appearance, she agreed to the marriage.

His fiancée didn’t care about money, but was obsessed with all kinds of aromas. She was the type of person who would sniff a dogtail flower when she saw it. Mrs. Niu didn’t use perfume herself, so she gave the bottle that Yun Ye had sent to her future daughter-in-law.

The perfume was given the day before, and the next day, her future daughter-in-law came to the door with her maid. In the Tang Dynasty, who would go to her husband’s house without any shame? Although they were both from military families, they didn’t care much about etiquette, which was considered shocking.

Mrs. Niu didn’t care. She thought it was a good thing that her daughter-in-law was coming to visit. She didn’t know what the prospective mother-in-law and daughter-in-law were whispering about in the house. Anyway, after that, Niu Jianhu kept going to the Yun family.

Niu Xiaoyi has been to the Yun family three times in ten days. Every time he comes, he looks like he wants to say something but can’t. He doesn’t have the cheek of Cheng Chumo or the shamelessness of Li Chengqian. Every time he comes to the house to ask for something, he has to stammer for a long time before he can say it.

Without looking at his face, he just stole a bottle from the backyard. It was said to be made from a wild flower called orchid, with a delicate aroma. Yun Ye liked it very much, and when he saw Niu Xianhu being coy, he threw it to him. It was only a small bottle with a finger-thick neck, and Niu Xianhu felt that it was stingy and refused to take it.

“Do you know that this bottle smells like orchid? There are only six bottles in the whole house, and I stole this one when my grandmother wasn’t paying attention. Don’t you just happen to have it? I’ll keep it for myself. I saw a beautiful woman the other day, and I’ll give it to her. Maybe I can win her over.”

The small bottle disappeared in an instant, and Yun Ye frowned. People say that things gather in groups, and people are divided into groups. When the ox sees the tiger, it also starts to head in the direction of the slut.

Once he got the item, the brother was useless. Before leaving, he finished a pot of iced grape wine in one gulp, without even saying hello. He patted Yun Ye’s shoulder and said nothing, then led the horse away.

Xiaonan was held under his brother’s arm and was taken out of the house in a flurry.

The peasants worked methodically under the command of Qiantong, collecting locusts, drying locusts, and boiling locusts. The whole village was working for the Yun family. The huge granary was crowded with people, and there were also vendors selling food and tea, just like a market.

Villages within a radius of several dozen miles all sent locusts to the Yun family. In the year of the great famine, everyone had a gloomy face. They only bowed to the housekeeper and quickly left after receiving copper coins or grain from the Yun family.

After watching for a while, Yun Ye discovered that there were more requests for grain than for copper coins. He didn’t know if the family had enough grain. He raised his hand and shouted at the busy housekeeper, “Lao Qian, does the family have enough grain? I see that everyone wants grain, and not many want money. How much grain will be enough if this continues? Have you calculated it?”

Qian Tong wiped his sweat and said to Yun Ye, “There is no shortage of grain at the moment. The county magistrate said that the grain that the Yun family exchanged for the villagers would be allocated to them at a fair price from the official granary. You see, the officials’ servants are all there.” Qian Tong disdainfully pouted and continued, “You really think you’re something. You say you’re here to prevent accidents, but I think you’re here to spy on our family, afraid that we’ll sell grain. A bunch of petty, petty people, what do they think of my Yun family?”

These days, Lao Qian’s temper is rising, and he has a bit of a steward’s appearance. He deals with the government and various royal palaces and noble houses all day long. Even a stone should have opened up.

“Don’t talk nonsense. It’s a good thing that the government is getting involved. You gradually hand over the leading position to the government, listen to them on major matters, and our family will play a guiding role. We don’t want to be greedy for credit, and we can’t be greedy for credit. It will kill us. Do you know? Our family only wants a good reputation, not anything else.”

Lao Qian shivered. He knew that the previous day, more than 160 heads had been chopped off.

“Don’t worry, Your Excellency. I’ll go right away and replace our accountant with one from the government. We’ll only keep the people.”

As he watched the hurriedly departing housekeeper and the busy officials, Yun Ye knew that the large-scale disaster relief had finally begun.