The three of them, master and servants, standing at the village entrance, still attracted attention.

"Sir, shall we go over there?"

Wei Dong didn't quite understand why the master was hesitating.

"Let's go back and take a look."

Jiang Shuyun suddenly realized that she had been being a bit pretentious.

This was ancient times, a feudal dynasty, where the strong preyed on the weak; one's own compassion was utterly worthless.

"Scholars, are you from the academy over there?"

The old lady sitting in the middle spoke first, and the others were also curious, but there was still a hint of timidity on their faces.

"Old man, I'm from the academy up ahead. What are you doing here?"

"Playing mahjong? You've never seen that before, have you?"

"Never seen one before, what's it used for?"

Jiang Shuyun had never seen these plants before; he didn't recognize them.

"You can make hemp rope and sell it for copper coins."

The old lady was a talkative person; she kept talking while her hands never stopped working.

"Did you grow these plants yourself?"

"No, it grows on the mountain. Who doesn't use their land to grow crops and these things?"

The old lady was quick and efficient; in no time at all, she had already twisted a rope more than a meter long.

Jiang Shuyun saw the finished product and knew that this was how common hemp rope was made.

"Grandpa, you're so efficient at your work! How many grandchildren do you have?"

"Five grandsons and four granddaughters."

The old lady visibly cheered up when the children were mentioned.

"The family is thriving!"

"I guess so, they all survived."

The old lady smiled; she had very few teeth left, and her mouth was somewhat sunken.

"Grandpa, have your grandchildren started school?"

"We didn't study. We were just grateful to have enough to eat, how could we dare to hope for education? That was something only wealthy families and officials could do."

The old lady looked up at the children running wildly under the tree, then lowered her head again and continued playing mahjong.

"Old man, your village looks very big. Don't you have a single person who goes to school?"

"Oh, of course there is. The village chief's child is in school, and it costs money."

I've been reading this for many years, and I still don't know when it will end.

The village is large, but most families don't own their own land; they rent land from others to farm. They don't have the spare money to send their children to school.

The old lady had finally met a young person who was willing to talk to her, and she was quite willing to talk.

"Don't you own any land? I see plenty of land around here."

Jiang Shuyun didn't quite understand; besides her own estate, there were quite a few fields in this area.

“Those lands all belong to owners. We all came here a hundred years ago as refugees, and we didn’t have our own land back then.”

For so many years, generations of people have lived like this.

Those villages to the east, they own land.

The envy in the old lady's eyes was heartbreaking.

Jiang Shuyun remembered that he had read the county annals and that this area used to be a riotous civilian settlement.

When refugees from other places arrived, they were blocked outside the city gates. Since the authorities couldn't bear to watch them starve to death, they sent troops to gather them in a place a dozen miles outside the city and put them under centralized control.

Later, as the disaster subsided, some people returned to their hometowns, while others stayed behind.

It seems that these are the descendants of those who stayed behind.

Unexpectedly, after a hundred years, they still do not own any land.

"Which fields are you renting?"

"Most of them are from the previous estate; the new owner of the estate is quite nice."

We rented their land, and the landlord even gave us cloth. Moreover, there were no taxes on the land on the estate, and the 30% of the grain went directly into our hands.

The old lady's mood improved when she talked about this.

My previous employer, although I didn't have to pay taxes, always managed to withhold a portion of the agreed-upon 30% commission for various reasons.

"Moreover, the daughters-in-law and older children in the family also do odd jobs on the village, earning quite a few copper coins a day."

I was paid daily, and I was happy to have a few coins coming in every day.

"If we save for two years, we can build a new house."

Jiang Shuyun didn't continue the topic of reading. Just like the old lady said, if you can't even afford to eat, how can you have spare money to read?

Moreover, the ancient imperial examination system meant that studying was a never-ending process.

Those with good talent may be able to pass the examinations for Xiucai, Juren, and Jinshi within a few years, thus changing their social status.

However, such cases are extremely rare.

Just like the original owner, he started his education at the age of four or five, passed the county-level examination in his teens, and finally passed the provincial-level examination after three attempts.

From the age of four or five to the age of twenty-something, such a long process is something that most families cannot afford to support.

"Master, it's time to go back for lunch."

Li Li gently reminded them that they still had classes in the afternoon.

Jiang Shuyun came to her senses, bid farewell to the old man, and the three of them, master and servant, returned to the manor.

Aunt Xu had already prepared lunch: two dishes, a soup, and white rice.

Lunch was very enjoyable; Aunt Xu's portion control was excellent, and there wasn't much left over.

"Sir, do you feel sorry for those villagers?"

"They are pitiful, but compared to those who are homeless, they are lucky."

Jiang Shuyun glanced at Wei Dong, this quiet boy whose eyes showed little emotion.

"Because of Madam, their lives have improved a lot. At least, they won't have their harvest cut back. I heard my father mention that the previous owner of the estate wouldn't give them 30% of the grain."

Butler Li would occasionally talk to the children about trivial things, reminding them to cherish what they have.

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