The village head looked at Lin Wan in disbelief and asked in surprise, "You also know arithmetic?"
Lin Wan nodded. "My father taught me before, but I wasn't very good at it."
The village head stroked his beard, thought for a while, and said, "We didn't plant many beans in our village this year. If we take twelve mu of land as an example, in previous years, if the harvest was good, each mu would produce 200 kilograms. In normal years, we can produce 160 kilograms, but in bad years, we can only produce about 100 kilograms. Can you calculate how many beans our village can harvest in this autumn harvest?"
Lin Wanwan was stunned for a moment. Oh, was this old man testing her or criticizing her? She smiled and pretended to be thinking.
"Well... if it's a good year, these twelve acres of land can produce more than 2,400 kilograms. In a normal year, it can produce at least 1,900 kilograms. In a bad year, it can produce 700 kilograms less."
The village head finally smiled and nodded with satisfaction.
The crowd also started chattering, discussing whether Lin Wanwan's calculation was correct.
"This girl seems to be doing nothing all day, but I didn't expect she's quite good at math!"
"Well, who knows if it's right? It's probably just a guess!"
"What are you guessing? Didn't you see that the head of the village nodded? Look, he even smiled. I knew it was right after I saw it."
"If you ask me, I'm giving Wan Yatou some advice. If half of the people in the village go to Wan Yatou to ask for food, where will she get so much from?"
"That's right. If you ask me, each family only gives them two spoonfuls of grain every year. Some families don't even get a spoonful. Who needs these two mouthfuls of food? Some people are just so rotten-hearted. Why do they keep staring at a child all day long?"
"That's right. I think this girl will be a promising girl in the future. I'm afraid these people won't be able to get along well with her in the future."
At this time, the fierce Lin Hehua behind Lin Wanwan asked loudly: "Wan girl, food is not something you can get just by talking. Your land has been rented out, where do you get food from? If you have no food at the end of the year, what will you use to pay back? Are you still trying to fool us?"
Lin Wanwan tilted her head and glanced at her, then turned back to the head of the village and said, "Head of the village, I don't plan to continue renting the land next year. Can I take it back and plant it myself?"
Wang Dongmei, who was standing behind him, got angry and yelled at Lin Wanwan, "Why do you say you want to go back? My family needs to plant two more acres of corn next spring!"
Lin Wanwan looked at her with amusement, "Tsk, I can rent my land if I want, and I don't have to rent it if I don't want. Besides, the rent for this land is paid annually. There is no contract and the rent for next year has not been paid yet. Why can't I take it back?"
"Well, why didn't you tell me earlier? You only told me after I had already saved the seeds!"
"Oh, it's not even autumn yet. I feel embarrassed for you when you say this. If you had known this, why would you have insulted me all day long? Although I, Lin Wan, lost my parents to teach me, I can still tell the difference between good and bad."
Seeing this, Grandma Chen also sighed, "Wan girl, it is true that Erfen and the others were wrong today, but you have to take the land back. How can you farm it by yourself?"
Lin Wanwan knew that Grandma Chen was doing this for her own good, so she walked over to her side, supported her and said, "Don't worry, Aunt Chen. As long as I work harder and learn more from everyone else, I'll be able to grow good crops."
"Oh, you kid..."
Grandma Chen raised her hand and touched her head.
The village head clenched his fist, put it to his mouth and coughed twice, and the crowd gradually quieted down.
"Since you are good at math, you should study more in the future and don't waste time. As for your family's land, you have four acres of paddy fields and ten acres of second-class land. The rent for paddy fields is one tael of silver per acre, and the rent for second-class land is six hundred coins, which is a total of ten taels of silver per year.
Your parents passed away suddenly, so I discussed with the elders in the village and decided to give you two taels of silver every year for your daily expenses, and give two taels of silver to the village as village fees. The rest will be kept with me as your dowry in the future and for your marriage to Lin Bai. You agreed to this at the time."
Seeing Lin Wanwan nodded, he turned around and continued to the villagers, "The two taels are used to repair the houses of the elderly and the widowed, dig wells, repair the ridges of the fields, and repair the village school. The village notices are written at the end of each year, but I didn't expect you guys didn't even read them! Every time there is something going on in the village, you are not willing to collect a dozen or twenty cents, and you still have the nerve to criticize others!
Originally, as the head of the village, I didn't want to meddle in trivial matters, and I hope that Wan girl can grow up earlier. But I didn't know that you were blaming a child for a few mouthfuls of food. Two taels of silver per year means eighteen cents per household in the village on average. If I asked you to pay an extra eighteen cents, would you be willing to do so?
Today I also make a promise, if any of you want food, come and register with me, but in the future when there are good things in the village, you must be the last one in line! Wan girl, since you want to farm and live on your own, I will return the land to you. If you are too busy in the future, you can hire someone to work for you. If you need money, you can come to me for it. You must not cut corners when farming. If you are lazy, you will see it when the harvest comes."
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