FID – Chapter 968

Chapter 968 – Just Living Well Is a Luxury

The middle-aged man named Liu Gen came forward, received the instructions, and immediately withdrew to notify the tenant farmers in the village.

The tenant farmers arrived quickly.

When the estate was sold back then, they had been the most anxious.

With a new owner, the rules for leasing the fields would surely change.

They hadn’t dared to think optimistically. After all, throughout Nanling it was the same everywhere: the fate of tenant farmers was basically identical.

As long as there was land to lease, no matter how harsh the conditions, they could only endure it; otherwise, they would go hungry.

This time, quite a few came. While pushing and squeezing, dozens of them quickly filled the hall. Yet compared to the people seated at the front, in both demeanor and presence, the contrast was stark.

Those living at the very bottom exuded humility in every fiber. Their fate was entirely in the hands of others.

“Are you all the tenant farmers who leased land from this estate in previous years?” Liu Zhiqiu scanned the crowd and spoke. “Don’t be so nervous. I’ve taken over the estate, but the fields will continue to be leased to you. I just called you here to go over a few simple rules.”

His words made the tenant farmers even more nervous. One pair of eyes after another fixed on Liu Zhiqiu, anxiously wondering what harsh rules the new master would impose.

“You farm the land to have something to eat, and I understand that. I myself work the fields, and I know exactly how hard it is to toil on the land.” Liu Zhiqiu looked slowly into their eyes. Seeing their fear and unease, he kept a calm and open expression. “So here, when you lease land from me, I only take thirty percent of your yield as rent. The remaining seventy percent is yours. As long as the fields produce normally, the surplus after paying grain taxes should be enough to feed your families.”

The hall instantly fell into a deep, heavy silence.

Liu Yusheng sat there, watching the tenant farmers’ stunned expressions and the disbelief reflected in their dull, numbed eyes. She couldn’t help but feel a twinge of emotion.

She, Feng Qingbai, and her elder brother had said they wouldn’t help, but how could they really stay out of it? Could they really leave Liu Zhiqiu to handle all of this alone? That was why, after joking around, they had stayed in the hall, quietly observing.

The lives of the tenant farmers reflected the reality of the lowest stratum in all of Nanling. Seeing it with their own eyes might help Feng Qingbai and her elder brother craft more well-rounded policies in the future when governing.

Only if Nanling truly enjoyed peace and prosperity, and its people could live secure and contented lives, would they feel assured and at ease upon retiring.

Behind the tenant farmers, Liu Gen, who hadn’t left, was equally shocked. He could hardly believe his own ears.

The reason he hadn’t left after calling everyone over was that he wanted to hear what the new master had to say, but he had never expected to hear something like this.

The hall remained deathly silent. Liu Gen quietly slipped to the back of the crowd and hurried back to the estate’s rear courtyard where the servants lived.

In the small courtyard were Liu Zhi, Liu Ye, Liu Ya, and the others, even Uncle Liu, who was supposed to be stationed at the gatehouse.

Seeing the man’s dazed, disheartened expression, they immediately grew concerned. “What did he say over there? Did the new master set some rules?”

Liu Gen slowly lifted his head to look at them. After a long moment, he shook his head. “The new master hasn’t set any rules. He said he’ll only take thirty percent of the tenants’ rent.”

The small courtyard fell into the same dead, heavy silence as the hall.

After a long while, Uncle Liu was the first to speak. “If that’s true, then the new master might really be a good man.”

“Father, this is only the very beginning. No one knows what will happen in the future. Even if things look good now, who can really say whether he’s truly good?” Liu Zhi held Liu Ya in her arms, her eyes reddening. “We should still be careful. While the master is at the estate, any instructions from him should be handled by me and Liu Gen. Ye and Ya should avoid going to the front courtyard as much as possible.”

After the estate was bought, their entire family had been purchased along with it. At the time, they didn’t know the reason, but simply escaping the old master was, in any case, a blessing for them.

After the new master bought the estate, he left immediately, only instructing them to take care of it. Having had no direct contact, they knew nothing about him besides his surname, Liu. 

They didn’t know his character, nor his family background.

Fortunately, he left quickly, which gave them a huge sense of relief. With the master gone, the estate was just their family. They didn’t have to be constantly cautious, didn’t have to fear punishment for minor mistakes, and didn’t have to live in terror of abuse.

Now that their master had come to handle the tenants’ leases, as long as the two youngest daughters stayed out of his sight, nothing like the old incidents should happen again.

Liu Gen nodded, agreeing with his wife. “The main task is to lease out the fields. Once that’s done, they should leave. They won’t stay here too long.”

After pausing for a moment, he continued, “It’s just that after this, the estate probably won’t remain peaceful. Regarding collecting only thirty percent rent, once word spreads, other wealthy households certainly won’t sit idly by. Troubles will come one after another. If this new master dares to do this, either he has a strong background and isn’t afraid of trouble from others, or he’s just a soft, ornamental pillow.”

A foolhardy worry.

What challenges the master might face were none of their concern. They only feared that if something happened at the estate, it would eventually affect them.

Looking at his youngest daughter, who hadn’t spoken a word since that incident, the man’s eyes filled with sorrow.

For people like them, who were of such lowly status, even just living properly was a luxury.

A young man, who had been silent at the back, pressed his lips together and raised his eyes. “Grandfather, Father, Mother, I’ll go to the front and see what’s happening.”

“…Go, but remember not to speak recklessly,” Uncle Liu warned.

“I know.”

In the hall, after the initial dead silence, small movements and murmurs gradually began.

“Is what L-Landlord Liu said really true?” A tremulous voice asked from among the crowd, an older tenant farmer.

“Of course it’s true,” Liu Zhiqiu said. He took the paper and brush he had prepared earlier. Liu Muqiu helped spread the paper flat, and he picked up the pen to begin drafting the contracts. “I’ll write the contracts now. You can have someone who can read go over them. If everything looks fine, you can sign. If you have questions, ask them on the spot. I won’t be staying at the estate for long.”

While he wrote, all the tenant farmers’ eyes were fixed on the documents. Their anxiety was even greater than when they first arrived.

Their hearts pounded violently, as if in a dream—everything felt unreal.

When Liu Zhiqiu finished, he put down the pen, picked up the contracts, and blew the ink dry. “Done. Who will read it aloud?”

Silence fell over the crowd once more. The tenant farmers exchanged nervous glances, anxious, embarrassed, and eager all at once.

None of them could read.