Chapter 1636 Consideration (January Monthly Ticket Plus 4)
Forty percent of the rent!
After these words were spoken, the head of the village remained calm, but the villagers who had been staying nearby could not help but become excited. They had an urge to speak, but were stopped by the people next to them. Everyone made a lot of noise for a while, and then stared at Manbao and the head of the village with their bright eyes.
The village head hesitated and asked, "Forty percent? Lord Zhou, you have to know that if we encounter a drought like this one next year, with a 40% yield, we might not even produce a basket of millet per acre."
Manbao smiled faintly and said, "If the drought continues like this next year, I won't take even 40% of it. I'll just consider it as a way to help your majesty."
She said to the head of the village: "I am an official, and I know the principles of family, country and the world. The people are living in hardship, how can I force you?"
When she said this, the village head became a little excited, and his eyes couldn't help but redden. "Well, then, can Lord Zhou make the decision on this matter? Do you want to talk to my family again?"
"Don't worry, I will tell my family," Manbao said with a smile, "My parents are also reasonable people, they will understand."
The village chief talked with Old Zhou for an entire afternoon, but he didn't think he was a reasonable person. On the contrary, he felt that he was not much different from some of the old men in charge of the village.
No, there are some. They have a capable daughter who can actually become an official of the fifth and sixth ranks.
However, he glanced at Zhou Man and then at Bai Shan who was standing beside him.
Although they didn't say much that afternoon, the village head still vaguely felt that the words of these two people were quite effective, so Zhou Man should be able to make the decision.
Looking at Zhou Man's age again, the village head thought to himself: Young girls are always soft-hearted. No wonder she made such a decision after walking around the village.
No matter what he thinks in his heart, the village head still likes to interact with kind people deep down, especially when the object of their kindness is him, he likes it even more.
Therefore, the village head immediately said with a smile: "If it is 40%, then the villagers may be willing to cultivate an extra piece of land. After all, the official land is close to home and it is more convenient to go in and out."
Seeing more and more people gathered around, Manbao said, "Why don't we move some chairs over and sit down to talk?"
The village head finally reacted and quickly invited several people into the house to sit down, and then called out to his sons to kill the chickens.
Bai Shan declined and said, "Let's go home after we finish talking. It's not easy to walk in the dark."
Manbao nodded and pointed to the open space, saying, "Let's talk here and let them hear it."
The head of the village thought for a moment and agreed. He asked someone to go back to the house and bring out four chairs. He sat down with the three people and talked.
Manbao only looked at Baishan and said, "Not only will I only take 40% of the rent, I will also provide half of the rice seeds and all of the wheat seeds. I will also find a way to buy a few more cows and distribute them to everyone for farming."
The headman's eyes lit up as he listened, and he immediately said, "Oh, Lord Zhou is truly a kind-hearted person. We are so lucky to have met him. Why don't you all thank Lord Zhou?"
The villagers became more and more excited as they listened, and they knelt down and were about to kowtow.
Manbao quickly stood up to stop him, but when he saw he couldn't, he said to the headman, "Headman, don't thank me yet. I did this for a reason."
The village head laughed and said, "If you have any requests, please feel free to ask. We will do whatever we can."
Manbao said, "You have to listen to us on how to farm this land."
As soon as these words were spoken, everyone fell silent, their eyes widening. One farmer couldn't help but ask loudly, "Sir, do we have to listen to you about when to plant and when to weed?"
Manbao smiled and said, "That's about right."
Many people backed off, saying, "This is foolish! What if your advice is not good and we have to obey you? What if we can't even grow a single grain of food?"
"That's right. You're a high-ranking official, you don't lack food or drink, but we don't. If there's no harvest in a year, we'll starve to death."
Manbao nodded and said, "I know, so I will try my best to prevent such a situation from happening. Unless it is a natural disaster, there will be no such man-made disaster under my official duties."
She said, "Everyone has just met my parents and my brother and his wife. You should be able to tell that my family is a farmer. We grew up watching our family farming. We have worked in the fields before, so don't worry. Anyone could ruin the land, but we wouldn't."
After hearing this, everyone became more hesitant. They wanted to believe her, but were also a little scared.
They rented land for farming, and although the employer or the government would occasionally give them instructions, in fact, what they did depended mostly on their own wishes. They also knew the farming season, and the reason why they couldn't farm the land they rented was partly because of drought, and partly because they didn't want to farm. With limited manpower, they really couldn't farm well.
But now the landlord only wants 40% of the rent. If the crops are well cultivated...
But if she gave the wrong command and the crops were damaged, it would be fatal.
Bai Shan said, "We won't hide it from you. We've run our own farm since we were little, so we're no strangers to farming. Now it's Mid-Autumn Festival, and it's best to plant the wheat before October. Otherwise, the wheat won't sprout before the first snow, and the seeds will likely freeze to death. That's why we're willing to set the rent at 40%."
He said, "I know there are many requirements for official land. Not only do you have to cut grass, but sometimes you even have to provide extra cloth and cotton to the Ministry of Revenue. Life must be difficult, but it's not like that here. The farms we run back home don't ask farmhands for mulberry and hemp they grow themselves, let alone you, a tenant farmer."
Someone asked loudly, "So you won't share our cotton with us?"
Bai Shan smiled and said, "We won't divide the mulberry and hemp planted beside the gully."
As soon as these words were spoken, everyone breathed a sigh of relief and looked at the head of the village.
The village head knew they were even more tempted. In fact, he was also tempted. He hesitated again and again, then thought of something and asked, "Did the master just say that you would provide the wheat seeds?"
"Yes, there is a new kind of wheat on the market. I looked at the wheat you harvested, and it seems that none of you have replaced it with the new kind."
The village head smiled bitterly and said, "That costs money, and who has that kind of money?"
Manbao was puzzled. "But new wheat seeds are not expensive now. They are almost the same price as ordinary wheat seeds. The difference is just a few coins per bushel."
"We don't buy ordinary wheat seeds," the village head said. "The wheat seeds we use are all from our own family."
So no need to spend money.
Manbao: ...It really saves money.
However, she could also understand that the court collected a fixed rent. If the court did not pay a penny or a grain of seed and asked the tenant farmers to buy everything themselves, the cost would be quite high.
It's okay when there's a good harvest, but if we encounter a drought like this year, we would have no place to cry.
Manbao said, "I'll figure out how to get the new wheat seeds. When you decide to rent my land, I'll give it to you. You can think about it tonight, and I'll come over tomorrow for your answer."
Manbao stood up immediately and said, "It's getting late, let's go back first."
Before leaving, she and the village head also said to the villagers: "Tomorrow is Mid-Autumn Festival. After Mid-Autumn Festival, there is still about a month of wheat planting time. You can consider it, but time waits for no one. I hope you can make a decision as soon as possible."
See you tomorrow
(End of this chapter)
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com
