Four-tenths rent!
As soon as these words were spoken, the Chief remained calm, but the villagers who had stayed nearby couldn’t help but be tempted to speak up. They felt a strong urge to voice their thoughts, but were stopped by those beside them. A commotion erupted, and eventually, everyone turned their bright eyes to look at Manbao and the Chief.
The Chief hesitated and asked, "Four-tenths? Lord Zhou, you must understand that if we encounter another drought next year like this year, four-tenths might not even yield a basket of grain per acre."
Manbao smiled faintly, "If it’s like this year’s drought again next year, I won’t even take four-tenths. Consider it as sharing the burden on behalf of the Emperor."
She said to the Chief, "I am an official and understand the principles of the nation and its people. The livelihood of the common people is tough; how can I still force you?"
Her words made the Chief sowhat emotional, and his eyes couldn’t help but redden. "Can Lord Zhou really make decisions on this matter? Do you need to discuss it with your family?"
"Rest assured, I will speak with my family," Manbao smiled and said, "My parents are reasonable people; they will understand."
The Chief talked with Old Zhou for an entire afternoon but did not believe he was reasonable. On the contrary, he felt Old Zhou was not much different from so of the elderly in charge of the village.
No, there was a difference; he had a capable daughter who managed to be an official of two fifth and sixth ranks.
However, he glanced at Zhou Man and then at Bai Shan standing beside her.
Although they didn’t speak much throughout the afternoon, the Chief had a faint feeling that the words of these two were quite valid. Therefore, Zhou Man should indeed be able to make decisions.
Looking again at Zhou Man’s age, the Chief thought to himself: Young girls tend to be more soft-hearted. No wonder she made such a decision after walking around the village.
The Chief, at heart, liked to associate with kind-hearted people regardless of what he thought. Especially when he was the beneficiary of such kindness, he liked it even more.
So, the Chief imdiately smiled and said, "If it’s four-tenths, the villagers might be more willing to cultivate extra land since the official fields are close to ho and conveniently accessible."
Seeing more people crowding around, Manbao suggested, "Why don’t we bring so chairs and sit down for a talk?"
Only then did the Chief realize and hurriedly invited the few into the house, calling loudly for his sons to kill chickens.
Bai Shan declined, saying, "We’ll head ho after we finish talking; it’s not safe to walk in the dark."
Manbao nodded, pointed to the empty space, and suggested, "Let’s talk here and let everyone listen."
The Chief pondered for a mont and agreed, sending soone to bring out four chairs from the house. He sat down with the three to have a discussion.
Manbao rely exchanged a glance with Bai Shan and said, "I will not only take a four-tenths rent, but I will also provide half of the rice seeds and all the wheat seeds. I will even try to buy a few more cattle, which you can all use for plowing."
The Chief’s eyes brightened with each word and imdiately said, "Oh, Lord Zhou really has the heart of a Bodhisattva. We are truly blessed to encounter soone like you. Everyone should quickly thank Lord Zhou."
The villagers grew increasingly excited as they listened and were about to kneel and bow.
Manbao quickly stood up to stop them, and when she couldn’t, she said to the Chief, "Chief, let’s not rush to thank . I also have so requirents for doing this."
The Chief laughed heartily and said, "Whatever requests you have, please do tell us. We will do whatever we can."
Manbao said, "You must follow our thods on how to plant this land."
With these words, everyone instantly quieted down, their eyes widened, and a farr couldn’t help but loudly ask, "My lord, do we have to listen to you regarding when to plant and when to weed?"
Manbao smiled, "More or less."
Many began to hesitate, "That’s, that’s ridiculous. If your directions aren’t good, and we have to follow them, what do we do when we can’t grow a single grain?"
"Exactly, you’re the officials, not lacking in food or drink, but it’s different for us. If we don’t have a harvest for one year, we’ll starve."
Manbao nodded, "I understand, so I will strive to prevent such situations from occurring. Barring natural disasters, such man-made calamities won’t happen under my supervision."
She continued, "You’ve all seen my parents and my brother and sister-in-law earlier. You should see that our family are farrs. We’ve watched our family farm since we were young, and we’re not unfamiliar with farming ourselves. So rest assured, while anyone can potentially harm the fields, we won’t."
These words made everyone increasingly hesitant, wanting to trust her yet feeling a bit scared.
Those who rent and farm land know that while landlords or officials occasionally interfere, most decisions are ultimately up to them. They understand agricultural timings, and the official fields are poorly cultivated not only due to droughts but also because they are unwilling or unable to farm properly.
But now that the landlord only charges four-tenths rent, if the crop is good...
But if her guidance ruins the crop, it would be disastrous.
Bai Shan spoke, "We won’t hide anything from you; we’ve run our own farms since childhood and are familiar with farming. It is now mid-autumn, and the best ti to plant wheat is before October. Otherwise, if the wheat doesn’t sprout before the first snow, the seeds might freeze. This is why we’re willing to set the rent at four-tenths."
Bai Shan continued, "I understand that official fields have many requirents; you must not only cut official grass but also sotis provide extra cloth and cotton to the Ministry of Revenue. Tis are undoubtedly tough, but that’s not the case with us. On our estate in our hotown, we never demand that farm workers provide their self-grown mulberries and hemp, especially since you’re tenant farrs."
A person loudly asked, "Are you saying you won’t take our cloth and cotton?"
Bai Shan smiled, "We won’t take the mulberries and hemp grown by the ravine."
These words caused everyone to breathe a sigh of relief, turning their gazes towards the Chief.
The Chief realized they were even more tempted. He, too, was tempted. He hesitated and then hesitated again, thinking of sothing, and asked, "Just now, you ntioned you’d provide the wheat seeds?"
"Exactly, isn’t there a new wheat seed on the market? I saw the wheat you’ve harvested, and it seems you haven’t switched to the new wheat seed."
The Chief forced a smile, "That costs money to buy; who has the money for that?"
Manbao was puzzled, "But the new wheat seed isn’t very expensive now; it’s about the sa price as ordinary wheat seeds, just a few coins more per dou."
"We don’t even buy ordinary wheat seeds," the Chief replied, "We use wheat seeds saved from our own crops."
So, it doesn’t cost money.
Manbao: ... Truly frugal.
But she could understand, as the state collects fixed rent, if not a single coin or grain seed is provided, all left for tenant farrs to buy, the cost is quite substantial.
It’s fine during harvest, but during droughts like this year, there really isn’t anywhere to cry.
Manbao said, "I will find a way for the new wheat seed. When you decide to rent my land, I will distribute it to you. You can think about it tonight, and tomorrow, I will co for an answer."
Manbao directly stood up, "It’s getting late, so we’ll head back first."
Before leaving, she addressed the Chief and the villagers, "Tomorrow is the Mid-Autumn Festival. After the Festival, there will be about a month left for wheat planting. You can consider it, but ti waits for no one; hopefully, you’ll make a decision soon."
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