Reborn as a Landlord

Second update, asking for Pink Tickets.

****......*****

There were many people buying sweet potato sprouts. Lian Manman’s family didn’t even dare to plant their own first; instead, they prioritized those who had preordered. Practically every household in Zhao Family Village had ordered, a total of 1,230 sweet potato sprouts. Then came additional preorders—another 3,000 sprouts. Once all these preordered sweet potato sprouts were distributed, only then did Lian Manman’s family keep enough sprouts for their own planting, as well as for households like Zhang Qingshan family and Wu Jiaxing family.

Afterward, there were still 2,000 sweet potato sprouts left, which were then available for sale to those coming to buy.

Within just three days, these 2,000 sweet potato sprouts were completely sold out.

"Manman, how much did we sell the sweet potato sprouts for in total?" Lady Zhang asked as she watched Lian Manman counting money and keeping records.

Altogether, 6,230 sweet potato sprouts were sold, with each sprout priced at Five Wen Money.

"Thirty-one Strings of Coins, plus an extra one hundred fifty Wen Money," Lian Manman replied. 𝐟𝕣𝗲𝕖𝕨𝗲𝐛𝗻𝗼𝐯𝗲𝚕.𝗰𝚘𝐦

"This spring wasn’t a wasted effort," Lian Shouxin said with a smile.

To cultivate so many sweet potato sprouts, even though there were long-term workers stoking the fires and tending to them, as the head of the family, Lian Shouxin didn’t act like a mere overseer. He often got up in the middle of the night to check on things, joining the workers to stoke the fires and water the sprouts.

"Just look at this spring—it’s worn my father thin. Mother, tomorrow we’ll go to the market and buy two pounds of ribs to stew for him as nourishment," Lian Manman said with a laugh.

"If not for me rationing myself this winter, those sweet potatoes would’ve been all eaten up by me," Xiao Qi said, having just walked in after feeding two puppies. Hearing the conversation, he remarked in good humor.

Everyone laughed.

"If we do buy something good to eat, how could you be left out?" Lady Zhang countered.

"I’m not thin," Lian Shouxin said. Hearing his little daughter talk about buying ribs to nourish him, his heart felt incredibly warm. He smiled, adding, "I don’t need nourishing; green onions dipped in soybean paste—anything tastes good to me. If we’re buying something, we should get it for your brother. Wu Lang works hard studying, reading into the early morning hours. This requires careful attention. I just do manual labor. Wu Lang works harder than me, so we can’t skimp on his food."

After spring plowing, the busy season doesn’t end. For example, when peanuts sprout, tenant farmers must go to the fields and manually remove the clods of soil pressing down on the young peanut seedlings, ensuring their healthy growth. For other crops, even if they aren’t as delicate as peanuts, the fields generally need periodic weeding. During the seedling stage, the soil needs loosening, and crops like corn, sorghum, and millet require thinning. For all crops, if they sprout unevenly, farmers must replant before the Grain in Ear season.

If a drought occurs, farmers need to irrigate. If there’s pest infestations, they have to manually remove pests or use traditional methods to deal with them. Long-term workers were in the fields daily, and during peak farming seasons, additional short-term workers were hired to keep up with the labor required.

So it’s said that spring plowing is just the start of a year’s toil for tenant farmers.

As April arrived, the spring was bright and sunny, and tenant farmers had already switched to wearing lighter clothing.

Early one morning, Lian Manman’s family woke up and did a thorough cleaning. Everyone changed into clean clothes. A few days ago, when Old Huang was dining at Lian’s, he told Lian Shouxin that someone from the Shen Family would be coming today to inspect the progress of the construction on the mountain.

The mountain construction had been ongoing for more than a year. The main structure was already complete, and some buildings had been gradually finished. All that remained were the intricate detailing and landscaping. Naturally, someone from the Shen Family would be coming to check on things at this stage.

Lian Shouxin asked Old Huang who from the Shen Family would be coming. Old Huang wasn’t certain but mentioned that Shen Liu had recently returned from the military camp. Since he was deeply concerned about the mountain’s construction, it was very likely Shen Liu would come personally for the inspection.

If Shen Liu were coming, it was no small matter for the workers on the mountain—and the same held true for Lian Manman’s family.

Their family’s current comfortable life was inseparable from the help of Shen Liu, this noble benefactor. Both Lian Shouxin and Lady Zhang were people who understood gratitude.

"...Sixth Master is a busy man. We wouldn’t dare invite him to our home, but we can wait by the roadside. When his carriage passes, we’ll kneel and pay our respects—that’s the least we can do to show our sincerity," Lady Zhang said.

Though she said this, early in the morning, Lian Manman’s family still prepared some excellent refreshments.

By mid-morning, Shen Family’s horse team appeared in a grand procession at the entrance of Qingyang Town. Seeing the guards dressed in military uniforms, Old Huang and the others standing outside Lian’s immediately cried out.

"It’s Sixth Master, Sixth Master has arrived!"

When the Shen Family lords travel with such pomp and circumstance, with cavalry escorts, it could only be Shen Liu, the Commander of Liaodong Prefecture.