Xia Hua took the land deed from her without refusing and put it in the warehouse. "Let's go, we'll go to your estate first and ask the tenants, then we'll go to my estate."

An Shuyi nodded, and the two jumped onto the carriage and headed to the manor. This time, they didn't drive the carriage up the mountain, but stayed at the foot of the mountain. The tenants lived outside the manor. Standing at the foot of the mountain, there was not only a vast expanse of land, but also land all over the hillside. Moreover, there was a lot of land going up the road.

They drove the carriage down the mountain and entered the tenants' quarters. When the tenants saw them, they all came over.

From the crowd, the man asked, "Ladies, what brings you here?"

An Shuyi looked at the man and asked, "Who is in charge of this estate?"

The man who had spoken first continued, "Reporting to Madam, the steward went out yesterday and hasn't returned. He might have gone out to play. Is there something you need?"

"Does the manager have a wife and children?"

The man shook his head. "No, the manager is a lone individual and doesn't live here much."

After listening to him, An Shuyi was certain that the manor belonged to the broker and the manager was one of his men. She took out the land deed and said, "We have bought this manor, and now I am the owner of this manor."

"I don't care how you rented it with the previous landlord, but from now on, you'll have to follow my rules. What percentage of the previous rent did you pay?"

After hearing her words, the others looked terrified, some even crying, saying that there was no way out.

"Madam, we were initially at 30%, but then it was reduced to 20%." The man who spoke first knelt down with a thud. "Madam, we can't reduce it any further. If we do, we won't survive; we'll just have to wait to die."

An Shuyi and Xia Hua stepped aside. Xia Hua said, "What's your rush? We didn't say anything about reducing it. Get up quickly." Honestly, a grown man like that, kneeling down without warning, almost costing him his life.

An Shuyi added, "Get up first. I don't care how you rented it before. After this harvest, you'll get 30% and I'll get 70%. I'll prepare the seeds for whatever we plant in the future. When it's harvested, I'll get 60% and you 40%. But if you want to sell, you have to sell to me first, and I'll give you a good price."

Although they get four and she gets six, she has to sell to her first so she won't lose money. Besides, 30% is too little. She even suspects that these people are lucky to have survived.

"Is what you say true, madam?" another man asked.

If what this lady said is true, then even if the crops she ordered to be planted are not good, the yield would not be less than 20%. The lady also said that she would be given priority in the sales and given a good price. Although they did not know whether what she said was true or false, they had no reason not to believe it now.

After all, the previous employer only gave them 20%, which wasn't enough to feed them, and they still had to work themselves to the bone in the fields every day.

An Shuyi nodded, "Of course it's true. Of course, you don't have to believe me, but I'm too lazy to explain. Just take good care of the crops and I'll come back in a while. If you need anything, come find me in Peach Blossom Village."

"By the way, what's your name?" she asked, looking at the man who had spoken first.

“Madam, my name is Chen Dali,” the man replied.

“Alright, from now on you will be in charge of this manor. If there’s anything, I’ll come directly to you. My surname is An, and hers is Xia. If there’s anything, Taoyuan Village will come to us.”

As An Shuyi spoke, she and Xia Hua drove away in their carriage.

After they left, a man next to them said, "Dali, you're quite something. You just said a few words and Madam An made you the manager. I should have said something too."

He was just envious; after all, it only took answering a few words to become a manager—what a wonderful thing!

Another man said, "Old Ma also speaks, but he's not in charge, so your words are useless. But is what Madam An said true? We can get 30% of the grain after it's harvested, and later it will become 40%."

Chen Dali looked incredulous, never expecting to become the manager. "Is it true? After all, Madam An has no reason to lie to us. Besides, the crops will be ready for harvest in a few months. We'll know whether Madam An is telling the truth or not then."

"Let's keep working hard. As long as the crops are good, our harvest will be plentiful."

“Yes, as long as we work hard and the crops are good, we’ll get a bigger share. Dali is in charge now, so we have to listen to him,” Old Ma joked.

It wasn't that he didn't want to be in charge, but he didn't have Da Li's courage. So when Da Li became in charge, he only felt envious, not jealous. On the contrary, he was happier than anyone else when Da Li became in charge.

Chen Dali lightly punched his shoulder and joked, "Now that I'm in charge, you have to listen to me. Hurry up and get to work, don't be lazy."

Everyone burst into laughter, dispelling the previous gloom.

An Shuyi and Xia Hua, unaware of all this after leaving, rode their horses towards Xia Hua's estate. Upon arrival, they discovered that the estate was indeed better than the previous one.

The tenants also lived outside the estate, but there was a road leading to the estate's main house, surrounded by well-planted crops. However, the two did not go in to check immediately, but instead talked to the tenants.

After asking around, she learned that the manager here was Zhao Yahui, but he rarely came here. He had a house and family in Jinnan City, but he always brought some people with him. An Shuyi guessed that he was probably taking those who came to buy the estate to inspect it, and then killing them and robbing them of their money.

However, she was somewhat surprised that Zhao Ya Hui had family members. She had thought they were all alone, but she didn't expect them to have family members. She figured that the others probably did too, but it didn't make much difference whether they did or not, since their families wouldn't know that she had killed them.

Take out the land deed for Xia Hua, then tell them what An Shuyi had said before, and then find a new manager.

The steward this time was named Yang Erniu. He was a rather shrewd person. Knowing that they wanted to visit the house, he had his wife take a few people to clean it up. Afterward, he led An Shuyi and the other woman to inspect the land, explaining things as they walked. Only after it was cleaned up did he lead them back to the house.

"Ladies, please rest for a while. I'll have my wife bring you the food later."

Xia Hua refused, "There's no need for your wife to do it anymore. We'll just stay here for a while, not long. You can go about your business yourself. If you need anything, just come find me in Taoyuan Village."

Yang Erniu nodded, "Alright, then the two ladies can rest. I'll go and get back to work." He then left, calling the cleaning staff to leave as well.

After they left, An Shuyi and Xia Hua began to inspect the manor. It was a two-courtyard manor. Upon entering, there was a corridor, followed by a large courtyard. The corridor led to other courtyards on both sides, with side rooms on the left and right, a back courtyard, and then servants' quarters. The hot spring was located in the back courtyard.