After his grandfather succeeded, he generously distributed titles and ranks, and those who had made military contributions were all promoted.
Now, more than a decade has passed, and even if one doesn't do well, one can't escape being a fifth or sixth-rank official.
Why did his wife and children end up in a remote village?
Could there be some hidden secret...?
A cold glint flashed in Jin Wenting's eyes—
The cold glint in his eyes was abruptly shattered in the next instant.
Tong Su placed her hand on the top of his head and quickly ruffled it!
The wolf cubs were young, with soft, fluffy fur.
She used a little too much force, rubbing his ears in, and the fur on his head lurched forward with force, making the little wolf cub's whole face scrunch up!
"Aww—"
Seeing the little wolf cub turn around and bite her wrist in a fit of embarrassment and anger, Xia's mother was startled as soon as she laughed. Fortunately, Tong Su dodged quickly and missed. His teeth twisted hard, and a cracking sound was heard in the air.
"So fierce?" The girl raised an eyebrow and rubbed his ears even harder.
"Awooooo!"
Xia's mother said, "It's still small now and doesn't eat much, but when it grows up, how can we afford to feed it meat every day?"
Despite the complaints, their love and care for the wolf cubs is undeniable.
Jin Wenting had overheard them talking before, mentioning that her deceased father had left behind several acres of land.
How could a mother and daughter be starving?
However, he did not expect that when this topic was brought up, Tong Su's stroking of his back slowed down, clearly indicating that she was not in a good mood.
Xia's mother looked worried: "Your father left six acres of land in the village. He used to hire people to farm it, and the rent was the lowest among the surrounding landlords—only 30%. But after his accident, those tenants took advantage of the fact that we had no one left and made a fuss about reducing the rent from 30% to 15%, otherwise they would refuse to farm the land!"
This is taking advantage of someone's misfortune!
With current planting techniques, one mu (unit of land area) can yield about one shi (unit of dry measure) of wheat. One shi is ten dou (unit of dry measure), and each shi can be sold for about twenty taels of silver.
The tenants paid three dou as rent, but the landlord also had to pay one dou as tax. His family's income per mu was only two dou. The total income from six mu was one shi and two dou, which could only be sold for twenty-four liang!
After winter wheat, some millet and beans will be planted, but those are for food. After deducting costs, all things considered, the annual income from six acres of land is only about ten taels of silver.
This is still under the fortunate circumstances of a good harvest year, without any natural disasters or man-made calamities.
Nowadays, tenants mostly pay 40% or 50% of the rent. Only Xia's father is kind and remembers that he was once a peasant, so he rented the land to the villagers at a low price.
But he never expected that after he sympathized with the villagers, they would show no sympathy for his wife and children after his death.
Xia's mother said worriedly, "When your brother was here, he was angry and tore up the employment contract with them in a fit of rage... Now, those six acres of land, at least we planted winter wheat before, but who will we find to plant it next spring?"
Having read the plot, Tong Su naturally knew that the tenants came up with this idea because they were encouraged by Uncle Xia and Uncle Xia.
She only paid 15% of the rent per mu, but the land tax was still paid by the landlord. Her family could only keep half a bushel of wheat from one mu of land, so how could they have enough to eat!
Those people felt that it was unfair to bully an orphan and a widow, since they were all from the city. They couldn't bring themselves to argue with them, so they reluctantly agreed.
only.
The original owner and Xia's mother were reluctant to argue with them because they were concerned about saving face, but Tong Su didn't care!
She bluntly said, "Paying only 15% is absolutely not enough. Those tenants are just bullying their masters. They've taken advantage of the fact that the two of us can't work in the fields, and they're taking advantage of our misfortune! Since they're unjust, we don't need to be kind to them either! If they don't want to farm, then so be it. We only charge three-tenths of the rent. There are plenty of people willing to farm our land. Are we worried about not finding tenants?"
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com
