Transmigration: The Evil Mother-In-Law Is Actually Innocent!

Chapter 385: Chapter 385 The Person is Gone_1

Zhulan bought two estates that were adjacent to each other, and the journey between them took half an hour. She could take care of the estate’s business within a day.

Zhulan didn’t want the former owners of the estate to inform the tenant farmers that the estate had been sold. By the time Zhulan arrived, the adults of the estate were all working in the fields.

Zhulan brought plenty of candies and pastries. She avoided the women and found children playing. Five children, about five or six years old, were playing under a tree.

Zhulan motioned for Zhou the eldest and Zhou the second not to follow; too many men would scare the children. Zhulan only took Liu Ya, who was holding the candies, and approached them.

The children were very reserved. At five or six years old, they understood everything and had an impression of Zhulan.

The children jostled each other as one, the tallest boy, timidly stepped forward, ”Is there something you need?”

Zhulan smiled, ”I really like this estate, so I wanted to buy it.”

Panic appeared on the faces of the five children, and they all thought of running back home to tell their families. Zhulan comforted them, ”Don’t rush, even if I’ve bought the estate, I will still rent it out. However, you need to answer a few questions for me.”

The five children looked at each other. The elder boy clenched his fists as if to bolster his courage and said, ”Go ahead.”

Zhulan found a rock to sit on and had Liu Ya distribute the candy and pastries to the children. She gestured for the kids to sit down and only began questioning once they had settled, ”The estate has a tenant representative. Has your estate’s head tenant been good to you?”

The children hesitated, with the younger ones holding back their words.

Zhulan smiled, ”It’s okay to speak up.”

The older boy pursed his lips in silence for a moment before saying, ”If he’s not good, would you replace him?”

”Of course.”

The boy made up his mind and said, ”The Li family is no good. Every time they help the landlord collect rent, they take more grain than required and keep the extra for themselves. Moreover, we have to curry favor with them every day. If we don’t, they’ll speak ill of us to the steward. The landlord rarely comes, it’s the steward who’s in charge, and after receiving benefits from the Li family, my parents dare not say anything and can only endure it.”

”My father says, even if we told the landlord, it would be useless. There are many tenants, and they could simply stop farming, as the landlord isn’t short of tenants for the fields.”

Zhulan looked at the little boy. Children of five or six in ancient times indeed matured early, but this child’s thoughts were very clear. Observing the adults, it seemed his parents’ upbringing was also quite good. ”Who else is in your family?”

The boy became wary, ”Why do you ask that?”

Zhulan just smiled; there was no need to ask further. Several women were running over from the distance, likely the mothers of these children.

Zhulan stood up, and the five children hid behind the women. Zhulan assessed the boy’s mother, who, despite her old clothes, was very clean. Among the five children, the boy was also the cleanest.

Zhulan said, ”I’ve bought this estate. Go home and call all the heads of the households here. Oh, and the fields will still be rented out to you, so there’s no need to be nervous or afraid.”

The women breathed a sigh of relief. It was good news as long as the land continued to be available for rent.

Zhulan went back to the courtyard of the estate. She had only had a brief look last time; this time, she examined it more closely. After making a round, she returned to the front courtyard, where all the tenants had gathered.

The two hundred-acre estate had a total of twenty tenant households, each renting varying amounts of land, with the most at twenty acres and the least at five.

The heads of the twenty tenant households were of various ages; the eldest were in their fifties or sixties, and the youngest were in their thirties.

Most of those in their thirties had split from their family households and were renting their own fields to make a living.

Since arriving in ancient times, Zhulan had gained a lot of understanding about tenant farmers. Some had been tenants for generations, others had turned to renting land out of poverty after separating from their families, and there were also those who had become tenants as refugees.

Zhulan looked at the man at the front; he was the head tenant. While she was strolling around the estate, she had sent Zhou the second with Steward Ding to ask the nearby farmers, not fully believing the children’s words. Now they had confirmed the situation.

Zhulan gestured for Zhou the second to step forward. He would be handling this matter, and from now on he would also be dealing with the tenants.

Zhou the second suppressed his excitement and mimicked his father’s manner, ”This estate has changed hands. The fields will still be rented out to you, but the person in charge will be changed. From now on, the Wang family will be responsible for collecting the rent. The previously responsible Li family can still rent the fields. As for why the Li family has been replaced, I won’t elaborate.”

Zhulan watched Zhou the second, she had given him responsibility but hadn’t told him how to deal with the Li family. Zhou the second was indeed the wiliest in the family. With the entire estate disgruntled with the Li family, the Li family’s days wouldn’t be easy even if they continued renting land. Without their intimidating status, the resentment they accumulated would be returned to them.

In essence, Zhou the second was pressuring the Li family to leave on their own, earning himself a reputation for being virtuous in the process.

When Li the tenant arrived and learned that the new owner had made inquiries about him, he knew he was out of a job. And since he was prepared for the estate’s sale, he stepped forward, ”I’ve saved up some silver and plan to buy my own land to farm in the future, so I won’t be renting any longer.”

Zhou the second smiled, ”Good.”

Zhou the second paused and then continued, ”Then let’s talk about the new rent arrangement: a sixty-forty split.”

Li the tenant was stunned, while the other tenants cheered with joy.

Zhulan watched as Zhou the second rewrote the leases, and having managed everything for the estate and personally visited each household, was quite satisfied with Zhou the second’s capabilities.

She had no concerns about the other estate in the afternoon, as the head tenant there hadn’t been replaced.

With both the estate and the shop arrangements in place, Zhulan had Zhou the eldest purchase a lot of green vegetables—mainly chili peppers, pumpkins, and winter melon, which could last longer—along with some fruits like longan and tangerines.

In Jingzhou, there’s seafood, but it’s all dried. Zhulan also bought a lot of that.

Preparing to set off with four additional horse carriages, they were mostly loaded with food.

Zhulan only had four hundred taels of silver left in her hand.

The journey back to the city was against the wind and slower than usual, with frequent stops. Zhulan grew anxious, yearning to return home and wondering how Zhou Shuren was doing back there.

Throughout the journey, she was able to send letters home but could not receive any from Zhou Shuren. That’s the consequence of her traveling so much!

At noon, the ship docked again, and Zhou the second, unable to stay put, disembarked after confirming they would stop for four hours.

Zhulan stayed on board, observing the bustling port from the deck, busy with the incoming New Year’s crowd.

Suddenly, Zhulan narrowed her eyes and leaned forward, startling Zhou the eldest.

Zhou the eldest hurriedly held her back, ”Mother, what’s wrong?”

Zhulan was just trying to get a clear view of someone, but Zhou the eldest was blocking her view. Pushing him aside, the person in question had already disappeared.