Bright Moon Enters My Embrace - Chapter 25
25
Lin Yanran was just about to talk to Gu Yuwan about selling the pills when the front gate was pounded on loudly. Chen Xiaohua ran to open it. Before she could even secure the bolt, Lin Dahai squeezed his way in.
“Yanran, come out quick. I have something to tell you.”
Lin Yanran had no choice but to hurry outside and casually close the door to the main room behind her.
Lin Dahai was already grinning from ear to ear as he approached. Behind him followed Lin Dashan, Chi Bao, Lin Jianghe, and two other Beta. Seeing so many men arrive at once, Lin Yanran immediately urged them into the kitchen.
Chen Xiaohua was startled and quickly fetched stools for everyone to sit on.
Lin Cuicui was crouching inside the stove opening, head lowered. She timidly called out, “Father.”
Lin Dahai completely ignored her and asked, “Yanran, why did you drag us all in here? It stinks of soot.”
Lin Yanran replied, “My wife is still recovering. How proper is it for a house full of men to barge in when there are women inside?”
Lin Dahai said, “Fair enough. Some things women shouldn’t know about. Lin Cuicui, Chen Xiaohua—you two get out.”
Chen Xiaohua quickly went to pull Lin Cuicui along. Lin Cuicui kept her head down the entire time and left without a word.
Lin Yanran glared at Lin Dahai. “Uncle Lin, I don’t like hearing that. I’m a woman too.”
Lin Dahai hurriedly said, “You don’t count.”
Lin Yanran: “…”
She put on a stern face, she really couldn’t stand this cheap uncle of hers.
Lin Dahai, however, remained oblivious.
He tugged hard at his beard several times, his shrewd little eyes scanning her face over and over, growing brighter with each pass.
Lin Yanran couldn’t take it anymore. “Are you going to talk or not? If not, I’m leaving.”
Lin Dahai quickly said, “Yanran, I heard everything from Feng’er about yesterday. I always said you were a clever kid from childhood—turns out you’re the Wealth-Child Bodhisattva reincarnated in our Fenghuang Town!”
“Don’t worry, this matter is absolutely confidential. I’ve already ordered all the hunters: no one is allowed to breathe a word about you helping everyone make money!”
“Yanran, tell Uncle the truth—are you really the Wealth-Child Bodhisattva descended to the mortal world?”
Lin Yanran: “…”
Lin Dahai continued, “About that new business you mentioned yesterday—how’s it going? How much money can we make?”
Lin Yanran rolled her eyes and said irritably, “If you keep asking, you’ll jinx it. Not only will we earn nothing, we might even get arrested for harboring fugitives.”
Lin Dahai immediately slapped his own mouth. “Pah pah pah! Guanyin Bodhisattva, Buddha, and God of Wealth above—please bless Yanran’s business this time and let her strike it rich!”
Lin Yanran thought to herself: I’ve tricked a military genius comparable to Han Xin and Bai Qi into my camp—of course I’m going to strike it rich.
After finishing his prayer, Lin Dahai looked at her eagerly. Annoyed, Lin Yanran could only say, “Just wait patiently. When it’s time to get rich, we naturally will.”
The wrinkles on Lin Dahai’s face instantly smoothed out with joy. He waved grandly at Lin Dashan. “Bring it here.”
Lin Dashan handed over a heavy double-pocketed cloth bag. Lin Dahai plopped onto the ground, opened it, and revealed a pile of broken silver.
He said happily, “Yanran, this time it was all thanks to your strategy—we really struck it rich! Ninety-nine animals in total: twelve deer, ten roe deer, eighteen wild boars, six foxes, twenty wild hares, and the rest pheasants. Everything sold! We earned a total of five hundred sixty-three taels and eight mace.”
“Yanran, we’ve been hunting for over forty years and have never made this much money in one go. So Uncle made the call—you get the lion’s share.”
He scooped out a large pile from the silver. “This is your one hundred fifty taels.”
In truth, the old man had been nervous. If it weren’t for Lin Yanran, not only would their game have sold cheap, it might not have sold at all—few city folk want pelts with holes poked in them.
During this spring hunt, his son Lin Shan’s team and Guo Wang’s team were completely wiped out, they didn’t bring back a single animal. So he had planned to withhold part of the reward money and secretly give it to Lin Shan.
But no matter how he calculated, Lin Yanran deserved more than a hundred taels. It pained him terribly—he couldn’t sleep all night. In the end, after Lin Dashan talked some sense into him, he gritted his teeth and decided to give her a larger share.
Lin Yanran was actually a little surprised. For someone as money-obsessed as Lin Dahai to willingly hand over one hundred fifty taels was truly no small feat.
After all, as the village chief, he had final say on how the money was divided.
“Yanran, what do you think?”
Lin Yanran nodded. “Fine.”
Lin Dahai immediately relaxed and grinned even wider. “Yanran, these one hundred fifty taels are what Uncle fought for you against everyone else’s objections. You mustn’t tell anyone—Uncle took a huge risk for you.”
The old fox was selling favors. Lin Yanran smiled sweetly and nodded. “Thank you, Uncle Lin.”
Chi Bao and the others secretly felt Lin Yanran deserved more. Thanks to her, the game sold for four or five times the usual price.
One hundred fifty taels sounded like a lot, but that was what an entire small team would receive.
Lin Yanran alone had taken down two deer, one roe deer, and three wild boars—and could have taken more if they’d been able to carry them. Those alone were worth about a hundred taels. That meant her reward for merit was only fifty taels.
Chi Bao hesitated but didn’t dare speak up—Lin Dahai was the village chief.
Suddenly he remembered something and interjected, “Village chief, the young master ran around arranging everything for us. If not for those new clothes, we never would have been able to sell the game to Drunken Immortal Tavern at a high price. Shouldn’t we reimburse the young master for the clothes?”
Lin Feng had told his father about this when he got home and was severely scolded. Lin Dahai had hoped to gloss over it, but now that Chi Bao brought it up, he looked embarrassed. Lin Dashan knocked his pipe and said, “Big brother, we have to reimburse the clothes money. We can’t discourage the kids—if we want them to keep thinking of us when money-making opportunities arise, we mustn’t chill their hearts.”
Lin Dahai immediately set aside his stinginess and said magnanimously, “Who said I wasn’t going to reimburse? I just hadn’t finished talking yet! It’s been on my mind. Yanran—Feng’er said you spent five taels and two mace on clothes. Uncle decides to give you six taels—so the six of you get exactly one tael each.”
Chi Bao instantly saw through the little scheme: this way Lin Yanran would distribute one tael to each person, meaning Lin Feng would also get one tael—which was the same as Lin Dahai getting it.
Chi Bao sighed inwardly.
Of course Lin Yanran saw it too, but getting the stingy Lin Dahai to reimburse the clothes money at all was already unprecedented, so she said nothing and accepted with a smile. “Thank you, Uncle Lin.”
Lin Dahai was perfectly satisfied. He slung the cloth bag over his shoulder and said, “Put the silver away safely, and don’t spend it recklessly or gamble it away, understand?”
Lin Yanran: “Yes, yes, Uncle is right.” Taking the opportunity, she added, “I’ve turned over a new leaf now. I plan to settle down, farm, hunt, and take care of my wife. Uncle, could you arrange some fields for me to farm?”
“You want to farm?” Lin Dahai was shocked. Everyone else also looked at Lin Yanran in surprise. They were hunters generation after generation, very few specialized in farming.
Lin Yanran said, “Uncle, I have no choice. If you don’t tie me down with some land, I won’t be able to resist gambling again… Quitting gambling is so hard!”
Hearing this, Lin Dahai immediately said, “You must never touch gambling again! All right, Uncle will look around for you.”
Lin Dashan knocked the ashes from his pipe. “I remember west of Yanran’s house there are three mu of pretty good fertile land. The man of that household died, leaving only a widow and orphan who can’t farm it all. Why not give it to Yanran?”
Lin Dahai’s small eyes spun. Pretending to be troubled, he said, “There are very few farming households in Fenghuang Town to begin with. That family has been farmers for generations, and the land is registered in the county records. If the widow and orphan make a fuss at the yamen, it’ll be hard for us to explain. However… if Yanran is willing to pay some silver, Uncle can go talk to them and have them transfer those three mu to you. You’ll just need to pay the transfer fee, and the three mu of fertile land will be in your name.”
Lin Yanran immediately understood his intention. She reached into her pocket, felt around, and thought, No, no—this piece is at least one tael, too much!
Lin Dahai saw her fumbling and knew she understood. He thought to himself that this niece was quick on the uptake, and his little eyes kept staring at her hand.
Lin Yanran put on an expression of great pain, rejecting one piece after another. Conveniently, she had no copper coins on her. Finally she pulled out the smallest fragment, face twisted in agony.
Good heavens—two mace of silver!
With great reluctance she handed it over. “Then I’ll trouble Uncle to go negotiate for me. Consider this money filial respect from your niece.”
Lin Dahai had thought it too little—after all, she had just taken one hundred fifty taels from him!
But seeing her genuinely pained expression, he felt pleased. His face wrinkled into a wide smile as he accepted the silver and left happily with Lin Dashan.
Chi Bao watched Lin Dahai swindle another two mace from Lin Yanran and felt heartbroken, as if the silver taken had been his own.
It was just moving his lips—how could that be worth two hundred copper coins?! The young master was too easily fooled!
He quickly said, “Young Master, many families in town can’t farm all their land. Let me help you rent some—why buy it?” In his view, Lin Yanran was a high-level Alpha, she couldn’t possibly stay in Fenghuang Town forever. Spending money to buy land was not wise.
But Lin Yanran had her own plans. She simply said, “It’s fine. I like farming. Owning it outright is more reassuring.”
In her previous life she had been a national-level dual academician in agriculture and pharmacology—both fields achieving remarkable success. At a young age she had led the national academy to stand proud before the world.
If one had to choose, agriculture was her original profession, she had only studied pharmacology as a second discipline to support her agricultural research. Who would have thought the side path would accidentally become her greatest accomplishment.
Now, finally free from the burdens of her previous life’s work, she could calmly continue researching her life’s masterpiece—high-yield drought-resistant crops. For a research fanatic, what could be happier than devoting herself fully to the project she loved?
Therefore, she absolutely had to have the fields registered in her own name.
She separated fifty taels and handed them to Chi Bao. “Ten taels each for you all—go divide it.”
Chi Bao was stunned. “Young Master, that’s far too much! We only ran errands, the great achievement was all yours.”
Lin Jianghe and the other two Beta also looked incredulous—happy, yet afraid to accept.
“Young Master, it’s too much. We really can’t.”
Lin Yanran knew ten taels was indeed a huge amount for them—they might not earn that much in a whole year of diligent hunting. But she was thinking further ahead. Wang Jinghong’s matter, the upcoming sale of the pills—she would need people. These five seemed decent so far and could be used.
She didn’t mind giving them more money.
“Take what I give you. There will be plenty more places I’ll need you in the future. Only after you accept the money can I entrust you with important tasks.”
These words made all four beam so wide their mouths nearly split to their belts.
Lin Jianghe, particularly honest, couldn’t help saying as he accepted his ten taels, “The young master wants to make important use of us—I’m even happier than getting ten taels.”
Chi Bao was full of gratitude but said nothing. He had received ten taels, yet felt even more pained—if the young master was this generous, what would happen in the future? He secretly resolved to watch her money closely and prevent her from spending recklessly. After all, her silver also belonged in part to them, the Beta. If it all got cheated away, the team would fall apart!
Lin Yanran was about to leave when she turned back. “What are you two called?” She still hadn’t learned the names of the two betas.
The pair were actually twin brothers with completely ordinary looks—the kind that would disappear in a crowd.
Both grinned, showing white teeth.
“Young Master, I’m the eldest, I’m Chen Ping.”
“Young Master, I’m the second, I’m Chen An.”
Lin Yanran smiled at them. “Good names.” She looked at their faces again but still couldn’t remember what they looked like.
Suddenly she asked in surprise, “Where’s Lin Feng? Why didn’t he come?”
At these words, all four men’s faces changed.
Lin Yanran immediately asked Chi Bao sternly, “What happened?”
Chi Bao sighed, strode outside, and dragged a dejected Lin Feng—who had been hiding in a corner with his head down—toward the door. When they reached the threshold, Lin Feng suddenly grabbed the doorframe. “Let go, I’ll tell the young master myself.”
Chi Bao said irritably, “You’d better.”
Lin Yanran stepped over the threshold. “Lin Feng, look up.”
Lin Feng’s hands gripped the frame so tightly the veins stood out.
Suddenly he raised his head.
Lin Yanran was shocked.
The youth’s eyes were swollen almost shut, bruised black and blue, his brow bone and the corners of his eyes were wounded, dried blood crusted on his nose, his lip split, and his left cheek swollen hugely.
“What happened?”
Tears instantly poured from the boy’s swollen eyes. He said through gritted teeth, “Lin Shan stole my new clothes. We fought, and Father punished me—he won’t even give me the wages I earned.”
Lin Yanran opened her mouth. Lin Feng looked at her expectantly, his slit-like eyes red.
She sighed and asked solemnly, “Lin Feng, what do I call your father?”
“Uncle.”
“And how old are you this year?”
Lin Feng mumbled, “Nineteen.”
Lin Yanran was eighteen—younger than him, his younger cousin. Yet here he was, crying to his little sister because his clothes had been stolen.
Lin Feng immediately lowered his head in shame, fists clenched tight.
Lin Yanran said, “Your father is my elder. This is your family affair. As the saying goes, even an upright official finds it hard to settle family disputes—how could I, a junior, interfere? Do you understand?”
“Young Master, I understand.”
“You’re already of age. You must learn to handle conflicts between brothers yourself.”
“Yes.”
Lin Yanran stepped forward and patted his shoulder.
“However—”
The boy who had been full of disappointment suddenly jerked his head up.
“You won’t always be weaker than him. The grievances you suffer today will become the strength that makes you powerful. You will grow stronger and stronger—no one will ever bully you again, and no one will be able to take what belongs to you.”
“One day, you will be able to take back your new clothes openly and honorably.”
“Believe in yourself, you absolutely can!”
Lin Yanran spoke slowly, every word landed clearly in Lin Feng’s ears, and in the ears of the other four betas.
She did not say meaningless things like “It’s just a set of clothes, don’t worry about it.” To this rural boy, those new clothes might be the most precious gift of his entire life.
When she turned around, she saw the other four betas looking at her with shining expectation. She said to them, “The same goes for all of you.”
The four betas’ eyes instantly grew moist.
“Young Master!”
Lin Yanran walked back into the yard—she still had much to do.
Lin Feng finally raised his head again. The other four gathered around him, trying to console him.
“It’s just clothes—let it go, Lin Feng.”
“Yeah, Lin Shan is an Alpha. You can’t beat him.”
Lin Feng glared at them with his swollen eyes.
“You don’t believe I can take them back, but the young master believes in me.”
He limped away.
Chi Bao watched him leave with a headache and instructed Lin Jianghe, “Go keep an eye on him—don’t let him do anything stupid.”
Then he remembered the even bigger headache—Wang Jinghong. Last night the boy had sulked at his house, picking faults with everything and infuriating him. Before leaving this morning, Chi Bao had locked him in the woodshed. Now he wanted to ask Lin Yanran what the plan was.
Lin Yanran was talking business with Gu Yuwan.
She explained in detail to Gu Yuwan the same separation of ownership, management rights, and distribution rights that she had explained to Youqin Mingyue. She had thought Gu Yuwan might find these new concepts difficult, but after only a brief explanation, the girl’s eyes lit up.
“My benefactor, to think of such marvelous ideas—truly I admire you beyond words!”
Lin Yanran laughed. “So you approve of this method?”
The girl’s eyes sparkled as she looked at her with open adoration and nodded without hesitation. “Of course! Benefactor’s method can harness all the great merchants of the land for your own use while avoiding the troubles of shops, inventory backlog, and cash-flow issues. Profits will naturally soar.”
Lin Yanran was secretly amazed and praised, “Miss Gu, you are incredibly intelligent—one hint and you understand completely. But don’t you think this method exploits major merchants too harshly?”
Gu Yuwan smiled sweetly. “Benefactor, I am only a small merchant—I don’t yet qualify as a great merchant.”
Lin Yanran casually said, “Then I wish you to become a famed merchant of boundless wealth in the future.”
If anyone else said such words, Gu Yuwan would take them as empty flattery, but when Lin Yanran said them, they felt like an imperial edict—she resolved on the spot to make it happen.
“I gratefully accept the benefactor’s auspicious words. I will not let you down!”
Inside the room, Youqin Mingyue put down her book, lost in memory.
In the future, Gu Yuwan would be far more than a great merchant—she would become a top-tier tycoon whose wealth rivaled nations. A single commercial decree from her could paralyze half the country’s trade and government.
Gu Yuwan now said seriously, “Benefactor, other great merchants will certainly find this method harsh, but Yuwan will not. I only wish benefactor earns as much as possible. Moreover, to serve benefactor is my greatest desire.”
“At present, the biggest challenges for benefactor’s method are promotion and production of the pills. Promotion must be earth-shaking to quickly establish fame in the market, and production must keep pace with sales. Of course, the pre-order system benefactor mentioned can beautifully solve the latter issue.”
Youqin Mingyue, listening inside, nodded in satisfaction. Gu Yuwan was indeed clever—she not only grasped the concept instantly but could extrapolate further. No wonder she could become the wealthiest person under heaven.
Lin Yanran said, “This pill was developed for my wife, it belongs to her. In the future, no matter which great merchant wishes to operate or sell it, my wife must personally approve. I hope Miss Gu can understand this point.”
Gu Yuwan immediately replied, “Benefactor, rest assured. Seeing how deeply you and sister-in-law love each other, I will definitely make your pills famous throughout the world.”
“Famous throughout the world”—Lin Yanran didn’t take it seriously and only smiled. “Then I’ll trouble you to handle it. If you need anything, just tell me.”
Gu Yuwan handed her a letter. “Please have someone deliver this to Fengwu City and give it to my wet nurse, Madam Xu.”
Lin Yanran accepted it and asked, “Does this letter need to be kept secret?”
Gu Yuwan praised inwardly and said, “Benefactor need not worry. I wrote it in code—only my wet nurse can read it. But the messenger must hand it directly to her. My wet nurse has a severed left palm and a small black mole at the corner of her left eye.”
Lin Yanran memorized it. Seeing Gu Yuwan looking expectant again, she asked, “Benefactor, this pill carries deep love and profound meaning—please give it a name.”
A name? Lin Yanran’s first thought was Youqin Mingyue. This pill had been made to save her life, since the pill now belonged to Youqin Mingyue, letting her name it would surely please her more.
Decision made, she told Gu Yuwan to wait a moment, walked to the bedroom door, lifted the curtain, and asked with a smile, “Mingyue, our pill is about to be launched. You’re very knowledgeable, so why don’t you give it a name.”
Gu Yuwan also peeked through the curtain and said smilingly to Youqin Mingyue, “Sister-in-law, the pill belonging to you and benefactor will surely shine brilliantly. The name is of utmost importance!”
Youqin Mingyue was stunned.
A name… In her previous life there had been no such pill. Now that she had obtained Youqin Fei’s opportunity, everything was different.
She instantly realized how significant this pill was.
“Rebirth.”
“Let us call the pill ‘Rebirth’.”
Rebirth Pill? Gu Yuwan repeated it once, slightly hesitant.
The name sounded far too plain—nothing like the grand, pompous names of famous medicines on the market, such as Return-Spring Pill, Hundred-Disease Vanquisher, Yama-Fearer, or Immortal Joy.
But Lin Yanran immediately said, “Good! From now on it shall be called the Rebirth Pill. May everyone who takes a Rebirth Pill be freed from pain, break through darkness, and obtain a new life!”
When Gu Yuwan heard this explanation, she recalled how she truly felt reborn after taking the pill that night. Her eyes brightened. “Benefactor put it perfectly.”
With the name settled, Lin Yanran was about to lower the curtain and leave when she noticed Youqin Mingyue staring at her in a daze.
Her heart stirred. She walked in and asked softly, “Mingyue, is something the matter?”
Youqin Mingyue came back to herself and gently turned her face away.
“It’s nothing.”
Lin Yanran gave an “oh” and started to leave. Youqin Mingyue couldn’t help glancing at her retreating back.
The words Lin Yanran had just spoken seemed to strike right into her heart, suddenly giving her the feeling of being understood.
It was a very strange sensation—as if Lin Yanran had come holding a lantern and found her curled up in a dark corner.
How could it be her?
The person who understood her could be anyone—but how could it possibly be Lin Yanran?
Youqin Mingyue tightly furrowed her brows, bewildered by this sudden feeling.
Lin Yanran walked toward the outer hall. She needed to find a cart. Gu Yuwan hesitated, then followed with small steps. “Benefactor, there is something—I’m not sure if I should say it.”
Lin Yanran stopped immediately. “Speak.”
Gu Yuwan glanced outside and lowered her voice. “Early this morning I saw Cuicui’s face covered in bruises. I don’t know what happened and didn’t dare ask.”
Lin Yanran’s heart sank. “I understand.”
She strode outside. Lin Cuicui and Chen Xiaohua were splitting firewood in front of the newly built woodshed, both with their backs to her.
She walked over quickly, pulled Lin Cuicui around to face her. The girl was caught off guard and tried to cover her face, but it was too late.
Lin Yanran saw everything clearly.
Lin Cuicui’s face was covered in injuries—cheeks swollen high, one eye socket blackened from a punch, a bloody scab on her lip.
“Lin Shan did this?” she asked.
Lin Cuicui kept her head lowered and said in a tiny voice, “Sister Yanran, I’m fine.”
Lin Yanran looked at Chen Xiaohua. “Xiaohua, you tell me.”
Lin Cuicui secretly tugged at Chen Xiaohua, but under Lin Yanran’s piercing gaze, Chen Xiaohua didn’t dare hide anything.
“Sister Yanran, yesterday you gave us malt sugar. Cuicui and I each took half home. Lin Shan saw it and tried to take all of Cuicui’s. When she wouldn’t give it to him, he beat her. Uncle didn’t help her at all—he said a useless Beta like her should be grateful to have food at home, and that she dared fight her Alpha brother over food, so she deserved the beating.”
Lin Cuicui, afraid of causing trouble for Lin Yanran, waved her hands frantically. “Sister Yanran, I’m really fine. Big brother has beaten me plenty of times before. I can take it. And I can still work—look, I can lift the axe and split firewood for you.”
Lin Yanran’s face darkened completely.
Both girls lowered their heads uneasily, as if they were the ones who had done wrong.
She forced down her anger and said gently, “Your sister-in-law has ointment. Go ask her for some to put on your wounds. There’s lots of work at my house—you two must come help me every day, understood?”
The two girls instantly turned from sorrow to joy and looked up at her in happy surprise. “Understood, Sister Yanran! Thank you!”
Lin Yanran turned and walked out the gate.
Everything that happened in the yard had been clearly audible inside the house.
Youqin Mingyue put down her book, supported herself on the table to stand, and went to fetch the box of ointment. As soon as she stepped out of the room, she met Gu Yuwan. Gu Yuwan quickly said, “Sister-in-law, you rest—I’ll take it to them.”
Youqin Mingyue gladly handed it over. “Thank you, little sister.”
Gu Yuwan smiled at her, took the ointment to find Lin Cuicui, and soon the three girls of similar age were chatting together.
Youqin Mingyue glanced once, returned to her room, and her death guard had silently appeared.
“Your Highness, this is what we found.”
The shadow guard presented a dossier, then vanished again.
Youqin Mingyue opened it.
The report was extremely detailed: Lin Yanran had left for Shimen County at the chen hour yesterday and returned to Fenghuang Town only at the you hour. Every single thing she did and every word she said during that time was recorded.
Youqin Mingyue read it all and fell into thought.
Everything that happened at Drunken Immortal Tavern was naturally included.
So Liu Zhenzhen had another identity—she was apparently some noble family’s young lady, here in Fenghuang Town for unknown reasons.
But it was Lin Yanran who truly shocked her.
Those words at Drunken Immortal Tavern were absolutely not something the former good-for-nothing drunkard Lin Yanran could have said.
“At noon, hoeing beneath the scorching sun,
Sweat drips onto the soil beneath the crops.
Who knows that every grain in the bowl comes from bitter toil?”
She unconsciously recited the poem softly. The lines were simple yet profoundly meaningful, in any era they would become widely known and recited. Yet in her previous life she had never heard them.
This poem was also absolutely not something the old Lin Yanran could have composed.
Lin Yanran—who exactly are you now?
And what is your purpose?
Youqin Mingyue tightly furrowed her delicate brows, bewildered by the sudden feeling that had come to her.