The Lucky Farmgirl-Chapter 1943 - 1918: Collecting Rent

Since many things were discussed beforehand, this time when Manbao came, it represented her return to the clan; secondly, to meet the people from the Xia family; and thirdly, to sign contracts and make arrangements.

Even though the first two were accomplished while she was there, under the witness of Mr. Zhuang and the invited Chief, Old Zhou and Patriarch Xia jointly signed a contract ensuring that Manbao’s second child after marriage would carry the Xia surname...

After signing this, Manbao said to Patriarch Xia, "Patriarch, I want to take a look at the two pieces of land at Nanba and East Ridge."

Those were the two pieces of land she could reclaim.

A clan elder asked nervously, "Didn’t the madam say that the Nanba land would be used to establish a clan school for the family?"

Manbao smiled and nodded, "Yes, has the family already decided to set up a clan school?"

Patriarch Xia’s face didn’t look too good, but the other clan elders kept nodding and smiling, "Yes, the family discussed it and thinks the children should indeed study more. We’ve decided to establish a clan school."

Manbao nodded approvingly, "This is indeed a long-term plan. I’m just going to see what the land my grandfather left me looks like; the donation will still be made."

Once the clan elders heard that, they didn’t stop her and asked the young men to lead the way. Of course, a few clan elders with good legs followed along to join the fun.

Nanba wasn’t particularly far away; for convenience, Manbao and her group went on horseback, impatient with walking slowly. They asked for directions and rode ahead.

The wheat in the fields was already ready for harvest, and much of it had already been harvested. The wheat in the fields had turned yellow, and even the rice was in the ear; in two more months, it could be harvested too.

Manbao kept nodding as she watched.

By the time the Xia family members arrived with Old Zhou and his two sons, Zhou Dalang, Manbao and her group were already standing in the field, plucking wheat and squatting by the field, munching on it.

The Xia family: ... Somehow, they looked a lot like them.

Manbao stood up, dusted off her hands, and said, "It’s been a long time since I ate roasted wheat. Shall we pick some and roast it to eat later?"

Although she spoke to Bai Shan and Bai Erlang, her eyes were on the Xia clan elders.

The clan elder laughed and said, "Help yourselves, help yourselves. In the countryside, there’s nothing else, but wheat we have plenty of."

Manbao asked, "Where does the Nanba land stretch from and to?"

She took out the land deed from her chest and smiled, "I don’t quite recognize the places recorded here."

The Xia clan members directed her, showing her from where to where the land was hers. There was a small piece separating them, but it narrowly connected to another piece of dry land that was also hers.

On tiptoe, Manbao looked and discovered that a large portion of the wheat hadn’t been harvested, though there wasn’t much wheat. Instead, there was quite a bit of rice planted, and the dry land had a lot of beans too.

No wonder Patriarch Xia wasn’t particularly happy when she said she would donate this land for the clan school; there’s a lot of dry land and little paddy field. It might just barely cover the teacher’s pay, with other expenses needing to be supplemented elsewhere.

Manbao pointed at the dry land and asked, "Why is there more dry land than recorded on the land deed, and the paddy field less?"

The clan elder explained, "A few years ago, there was a drought here, and even wheat couldn’t grow in the fields. A lot of people turned the fields into dry land to plant beans. These past two years, the rainfall hasn’t been much, especially last year; it got even drier, so..."

Manbao understood and recalled that indeed, there was a drought last year.

She sighed and said, "Originally, I was thinking to collect this year’s rent and supplement some household expenses, but now it seems that’s not possible."

The clan elders: ...

They hadn’t thought her reason for visiting the land was to collect rent.

Manbao sighed repeatedly and told them, "I heard about last year’s drought in the capital. Although our allowance wasn’t reduced, the income from the duty fields decreased a lot."

Pretending as if she had income from duty fields when in fact none existed last year, Manbao sighed, "The family plans to build a clan school, and given last year’s drought, forget it. Let the rent submitted by the patriarch this time be used for the clan school. The surplus can help the village’s orphans and widows, who might have a hard time this year."

The young people following the clan elders raised their heads and looked at this cousin, and the clan elders were also somewhat moved. Their resentment toward Zhou Man faded significantly, but someone still questioned, with a sarcastic tone, "Cousin really lacks this little rent?"

Inwardly, Manbao was thrilled, thinking, finally, it’s here!

So, she sighed heavily again, shook her head, and said to them, "How could this be just a little rent? This rent alone could feed several people in my family for a whole year."

She sighed, "Don’t be fooled by me being an official; I hold the most honest positions of a compiler and an imperial physician, only receiving a small salary. But life in the capital is not easy, and I have a large family to support. We won’t even mention the costs of food, clothing, housing, and transportation—monthly social obligations alone aren’t cheap."

"When superiors invite you to a meal, you can’t refuse; when you go, you can’t go empty-handed. If a colleague invites you, you have to return the favor. In the capital, even the cheapest restaurants are more expensive than those in Shangzhou, let alone inviting someone to a shabby place?"

Everyone shook their heads, and when they looked at her again, their gaze was somewhat different.

Seizing the opportunity, Manbao said, "I heard that Officer Xu’s rent for the East Ridge land has been unpaid for over ten years?"

The clan elders were awkward and hesitated to reply.

Manbao sighed again, "I know, he’s still an officer, and though he doesn’t oversee our area anymore, there are still personal ties. Making things too tense wouldn’t be good. In the future, the family might be impacted. It won’t be anything drastic, but if he blocks one of our documents today or doesn’t survey our land tomorrow, we’d be at a loss."

The young people showed some indignation on their faces, but the clan elders kept nodding and, seeing their expressions, couldn’t help but hold Manbao’s hand with emotion, "Good child, you indeed are understanding. No wonder you’ve seen the world as an official, outshining your cousins."

Then, turning around, they scolded the young ones, "What are you getting angry about? Learn from your sister! Remember, you must be flexible to achieve big things..."

Beside them, Bai Shan looked down, thinking indeed they yield to soft tactics but resist hard ones. If it were him, he’d directly remove the Chief; it’s not impossible after all—Xia is the largest clan in Red Ridge Village. With enough people, what’s impossible to do?

Bai Erlang was astonished, looking at the clan elders then at their grip on Manbao’s hand, thinking how fast the winds have changed?

After expressing her concern, Manbao went to take a look at the East Ridge land. This land was worse than the Nanba land, especially since there was also a drought last year. At this moment, most of the land was planted with beans, and only seven or eight acres with wheat, with no rice at all.

Manbao looked disappointed and almost blurted out that she might as well donate it too, but at the last moment, being glared at by Old Zhou, she refrained and said, "In past years, it was enough, but this year, can they turn in this little rent?"