FID – Chapter 966

Chapter 966 – A Miser’s Temperament, a Heart Soft to a Fault

After learning that Liu Zhiqiu planned to go inspect the estate, both Grandpa and Grandma Liu agreed with the idea.

“Once the New Year is over, it’ll be time to prepare for spring planting. The tenant farmers all need to sign contracts with the landowner. If the estate can’t lease out the fields to them in time, they’ll have no grain for the whole year and starve to death,” Grandpa Liu said.

This was not an exaggeration.

Tenant farmers lived at the lowest level of society. They had no land of their own or if they did, it was very little; far from enough to support a family. To survive, they could only sign tenancy contracts with landlords, becoming half-slaves under them. Their situation was even worse than that of ordinary poor commoners.

All year long, they struggled to survive under the landlord’s layers of exploitation. What kept their families alive was just the little grain they got from the leased fields.

If they had no land to lease and no other source of income, they really would starve to death.

“Since you’re going, go quickly. Lease out the fields before the spring sowing begins and don’t delay,” the grandma urged, personally helping them pack a few simple travel items.

Zhiqiu had already explained everything to the family in detail about buying the estates. Among them were uncultivated lands that needed to be cleared before spring planting, as well as ready-made farms acquired from others. The tenant farmers living near the estates relied on continuing to lease those lands in order to survive.

There was no time to lose.

“Grandpa, Grandma, Dad, Mom… I might not be able to come back for ten days or half a month this time,” Liu Zhiqiu said, following behind Grandma Liu who was helping pack his luggage, his expression solemn. “Don’t miss me too much, or I won’t be able to bear leaving.”

Liu Erlin kicked the brat squarely on the backside. “Why don’t you just set up a stage and start performing opera? You can act anytime!”

“He’s just full of himself,” Du Juan spat. “You think the family can’t function without you? Hurry up and go. The sooner you leave, the sooner my ears get some peace.”

Liu Zhiqiu clutched his butt unwillingly. “Can’t you indulge me a little? I’m being all reluctant here. Was I picked up off the street or something?”

“Didn’t we tell you already? We found you in the ditch by the gate.”

“……”

On the other side, Liu Yusheng finished packing and handed Badou and Hongdou to her parents. “Fortunately these two are eating solid food now, otherwise I wouldn’t be able to leave. Dad, Mom, I’ll have to trouble you to take care of them for a while.”

Liu Zhiqiu dragged Feng Qingbai off to inspect the estates, and Feng Qingbai in turn hauled her along as company. With the bitter winter weather, it wasn’t convenient to bring the two little beans. The couple practically didn’t even need to discuss it. They immediately agreed to leave the babies at home.

To leave the two beans at home made the elders even happier than having the couple stay home themselves.

At this point, they were already on the verge of ‘losing favor.’

“What trouble? They’re my grandchildren,” Liu Dalin said, grinning so broadly his eyes were nearly gone, holding Hongdou with extreme care, reluctant to put her down. “You and Axiu enjoy yourselves for a while. It’s fine even if you come back late. With us looking after the kids, when you return, I guarantee they’ll be two rounds plumper.”

Chen Xiulan scolded him, “You just can’t wait for our girl and Axiu to come back late so you can hog Badou and Hongdou.” This man—after getting grandchildren, even his daughter could be shoved aside.

Hearing her parents bicker like the old married couple they were, Liu Yusheng couldn’t help but smile.

Before leaving, she held her two little beans’ tiny hands. “Dad and Mom need to go out for a trip. We probably won’t be back for more than half a month. You two must behave at home with your grandparents. Don’t throw tantrums and tire them out, alright?”

The two little beans listened to their mother without much reaction—one gave a small yawn and turned over to sleep.

Liu Yusheng: “…” Was this the aftereffect of leaving them in the Yangxin Hall for too long? They weren’t close to their parents anymore?

“No matter how clever Badou and Hongdou are, they’re still only eight-month-old babies. Are you really talking to them like they’re adults?” Chen Xiulan laughed. “Enough, you don’t need to worry about home. Zhiqiu already has the carriage out front—go on.”

Outside the courtyard, a horse neighed. Liu Zhixia and Liu Zhiqiu and their spouses were all waiting.

Among the three young couples, only Fu Yuzheng wasn’t going. She was staying behind to help the elders take care of the children.

“Grandpa, Grandma, Dad, Mom, we’ll hurry back as soon as we can.” After giving Liu Yusheng enough time to say goodbye to the elders, Feng Qingbai personally came to fetch her.

Before boarding the carriage, he instructed Wei Hong and Wei Lan, who had automatically switched into shadow-guard mode the moment he returned, to keep the household safe.

Watching the carriage roll away, leaving tracks in the snow, the elders of the Liu family felt no sadness this time.

They didn’t even wait for the carriage to get far before happily carrying Hongdou and Badou back into the main courtyard.

Liu Yusheng, who was still peeking her head out to look back: “…”

She was certain: she had truly fallen out of favor.

Her absolute position as the family’s beloved had been perfectly stolen by the three little beans.

The first estate they visited was located at the border between Yunzhou and Yuzhou, which had been acquired from a merchant family.

The former owner needed money to invest elsewhere, and Liu Zhiqiu happened to catch the opportunity and took over the estate.

Because it sat right on the border, there was no need to take a boat. Half a day by carriage was enough to reach it.

“I renamed the estate after buying it. It’s now called Liu Family Farm.” When the carriage stopped at the entrance, the plaque reading Liu Family Farm hung prominently. Liu Zhiqiu looked proud. “I personally wrote the calligraphy. Bold strokes, vigorous energy, no worse than a calligraphy master.”

Inside the carriage, aside from Liu Muqiu, everyone responded to Liu Zhiqiu with undisguised disdain.

“No wonder it looked so unpleasant to the eyes. I thought it was doodled by an eight- or nine-year-old child,” Liu Zhixia said after getting out of the carriage, surveying the surroundings. The whole estate covered a vast area, but at the moment, all that could be seen was a blanket of white.

Everything was buried under snow.

“I knew you’d be the first to mock me. You’ve loved attacking me since we were children,” Liu Zhiqiu grumbled, helping Liu Muqiu down from the carriage. “There’s nothing to see now with all the snow. Let’s go inside first. When I bought the place, I bought a few of the servants along with it. There’ll be someone inside to receive us.”

“Estates transferred from large wealthy families usually have household-born servants. How did they end up selling the servants to you as well?” Feng Qingbai, who got off the carriage last with Liu Yusheng, raised a brow. He was much more familiar with estate matters than the others.

Liu Zhiqiu cleared his throat. “The ones I bought were older,  not very efficient at work anymore.”

Liu Yusheng immediately understood. “So they weren’t of much use anymore, and the original master didn’t want them. So Second Brother, you took them in along with the estate?”

“…They were very cheap, costing barely a few taels of silver. Even if they’re not very quick at working anymore, they can still handle some cleaning and simple chores around the estate. It’s not a loss.”

Seeing how uncomfortable and defensive Liu Zhiqiu looked, the others covered their mouths and quietly laughed.

To put it plainly, he just had a soft heart. He couldn’t bear to see those elderly servants abandoned by their former master with nowhere to go, so he bought them and let them spend their later years on the estate. At least giving them a stable place to stay.

A miser’s temperament, yet a heart soft to a fault.