The old man's face was full of sorrow, and the wrinkles on his face were like ravines all over his face full of suffering.
"Let this young master know that we are all tenants around this Black Mountain. We would like to ask if you are the owner of the land around here."
Black Mountain was not called Black Mountain before. It was only later when people discovered that there was a large amount of coal here, and the coal was very black, that everyone called it Black Mountain.
So that's what was happening. An Jingzhi roughly understood what they were worried about.
After the land changes hands, some people will replace a group of tenants, or change the tenancy. Either way, it will be fatal to the tenants who rely on the land for their livelihood.
That's why they braved the fear in their hearts and came to disturb these noble people who they thought should not be provoked or approached.
An Jingzhi said with a genial expression, "Old man, I am the new owner of the surrounding land. All the fields around the foot of Black Mountain are in my name."
The old man in front of him was about to ask something when An Jingzhi continued, "I know what you want to ask. Don't worry, the land is still rented to the same people as before. As for the rent."
The old man who had originally breathed a sigh of relief suddenly became nervous, staring at the amiable young man in front of him without blinking.
"As for the rent, I used to not care how much it was, but here, it's all 46."
When the old man heard this, his eyes widened and his mouth opened wide, he couldn't believe what he heard was true.
After a while, his eyes were red, and he ignored An Jingzhi's support and knelt down tremblingly, kowtowing and expressing his gratitude, "Thank you, sir, thank you for your mercy on us. I am here to thank you for your kind heart on behalf of all 56 people in our village..."
An Jingzhi couldn't support the other person, so he made him kowtow several times. He had no choice but to let go and let the Dongchang guards next to him pull him up.
The other party has been working in the fields all year round, and his strength is no match for An Jingzhi, a weak teenager. But these well-trained Dongchang guards are different. They directly pulled the old man up.
The land rent in this world is mostly 37% or 28%. For the more unscrupulous ones, it is even 19%. The exploitation is extremely serious.
The land at the foot of the mountain was originally not very fertile, and An Jingzhi didn't care about these few melons and seeds, so why not just do a good deed and increase his own merits.
The reason why it's not 50-50 or 40-60 for him and 60-60 for the other is because he is afraid of going too far and causing dissatisfaction in some people. Now the world is not ruled by their family alone. Although his father is the Ninth Thousand Years Old and has great power, he dare not offend the rights of all the landlords.
Not to mention his father, even the emperor in the palace didn't dare to do this.
In other words, the fertility of the surrounding land is not very good, and he is only giving concessions in this village. Even if other people may have some opinions, they will not be too serious.
"Alright, alright, old man, you are older than me, kneel down before me. You are shortening my lifespan."
The old man was terrified and said, "No, no, that's not what I meant." He looked scared, as if he was afraid that the other party would take back what he had said.
"Well, I mean 40% and 60% as I said. I'm free now, so would you mind taking me to meet the tenant?"
He had seen the land when he came to inspect it before, but he had never seen the tenants before. When these tenants saw this large group of people in elegant clothes, their first reaction was to hide.
He would not go back on his word once he had agreed to let these tenants continue renting the land, but he also did not want any of these tenants to be dishonest. Although he did not value this little bit of food, it did not mean that others could bully him.
Facts proved that An Jingzhi was overthinking it. These tenants were all ragged, with patches all over their clothes. It could be said that their entire clothes were made up of patches. They looked at him with timid eyes.
Who would believe that they were ordinary people from the villages around the emperor's feet? They were no different from refugees.
There are quite a few fields around here, and every household can rent 20 to 30 acres. Logically, they shouldn't live so poorly, but the problem lies in Heishan.
Although each household rented a considerable amount of land, the output from those lands was still not as good as that of ordinary lands.
No matter what era, the people are always the ones who suffer the most.
After getting An Jingzhi's permission, the old man stepped forward and told the villagers what he had talked about with An Jingzhi. Then there was a huge cheer of joy from the crowd.
Hearing everyone's voices of relief, An Jingzhi unconsciously curled up the corners of his mouth.
Censor Liu, who was of high moral character and incorruptibility, paid his tenants a rent ratio of 28.
Even though the land was so barren and the output was so scarce, he still set the ratio at 28.
No wonder everyone was so happy after An Jingzhi changed it to 46, and even forgot about the majestic and murderous Dongchang guards on both sides.
After meeting these tenants one by one, An Jingzhi felt relieved. He knew that these people would never cheat or be cunning.
They work so hard, but can only live on the edge of food and clothing.
But they did not complain at all. Instead, they calculated how much work they had to do every day to buy more clothes and more food and daily necessities for their family.
Xiaobai was silent along the way. An Jingzhi did not take the carriage, but walked with him beside him.
As for the carriage, the muddy road is too bumpy and sitting in it is pure torture. Riding a horse will hurt your thighs and it is better to walk back.
An Jingzhi didn't ride in a carriage or on a horse, so the group had no choice but to follow him on foot.
"What's wrong? I see you haven't said a word all the way." Except for being a little uncomfortable at the beginning, Xiaobai later returned to his clever, cunning and chattering habits.
Usually when he goes out, his mouth is always chattering, either eating or talking.
"I used to think that when I begged for food and worked hard, I would be able to rent land from the landlord and never have to be a beggar again."
"After seeing the people of Heishan Village today, I realized that even if they rented the land, it was no different from being a beggar."
An Jingzhi was speechless because Xiaobai was right. These people dug for food in the soil, sweating all over, working from morning to night, but they could hardly even get enough food and clothing.
"Brother Jing," Xiaobai stopped and looked up at him, "Thank you."
An Jingzhi was stunned. It was rare for the other party to thank him so sincerely.
He usually keeps it in mind and expresses his thoughts through actions.
"Thank you for what?"
"Brother Jing, everyone says that Jiu Qian Sui has killed countless people and is a bad guy. I thought so too at first. I was very scared, but I didn't want to leave you, Brother Jing, so I stayed with you. During this time, I read a lot of books with the scholars arranged by the master, learned a lot of words, and understood some principles."
The guards from the East Factory nearby frowned and glanced at Xiaobai.
If they didn't know that An Jingzhi had a good relationship with the other party, they might have just drawn their swords and hacked him to death.
Dare to slander the factory owner.
"Who is good and who is bad is not determined by whoever speaks louder. Whoever is right is not good. Master An is a good man."
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