"Miss, the room is ready."
Hua Zhi nodded and walked towards the backyard.
Liu Jiang was still in a daze. Wu Da pushed him from behind and urged him in a low voice, "Why don't you catch up?"
Liu Jiang sighed, turned around to say thank you, and trotted after him.
No matter how bold Chen Jin was, he would not dare to make trouble in the backyard. Baochun cleaned up the main room first and let the young lady take care of it. Then she took people to clean up the other rooms.
Nian Qiu made tea for the young lady and stood quietly behind her.
Hua Zhi was indeed thirsty. She blew on the boiling water and drank it in small sips. Her posture was indescribably beautiful. Liu Jiang accidentally saw her and blushed and lowered his head. The tall and strong man looked a little at a loss.
"How many tenants in the village do you know?"
"Most of the younger ones know each other, and when it's harvest time, we're afraid that God will change his mood, so everyone will help each other." The news that the Hua family was confiscated and exiled had already spread to the village. Liu Jiang was a little worried that the eldest girl was asking these questions in order to take back all the land or change the tenancy method. Although everyone was exploited by Chen Jin at ordinary times, he didn't dare to go too far, and they, the tenants, could still make ends meet.
If he lost his land, he was young and strong and could find a job, but not everyone was like him, with only one sister and a family to support, who would not be able to survive without his land.
“Are there disputes among the tenants on weekdays?”
Liu Jiang hesitated for a moment, but still told the truth, "There are busy farming seasons. Young lady, you can see clearly that everyone relies on the fields for their livelihood. Whenever there is a water shortage, everyone gets anxious. People can drink less, but the fields cannot be without water. Once anxious, it is inevitable that..."
"That's all?"
"Of course there are minor quarrels, but I can guarantee that they are really minor conflicts. Some are reconciled in a short time, and some can be resolved as long as others give them a way out. They are not considered disputes."
Hua Zhi asked these questions not because she really wanted to know what was going on in the manor. It would be enough for the manager to know about these things. However, Liu Jiang's answers allowed her to understand a little bit about his character from the side, and it seemed to satisfy her for now.
"Tell everyone on behalf of the Hua family that there will be no changes to the farm, and everything will still follow the previous rules." After a pause, Hua Zhi continued, "The previous rules refer to the Hua family's rules, not Chen Jin's. I remember that the Hua family set a 30% rent before."
Liu Jiang's eyes widened, "30%? Many years ago, Chen Jin collected 40% of the rent, saying it was the master's order. Could it be... Chen Jin, you are so good!"
Liu Jiang gnashed his teeth in hatred. In good years, they could live on 40% of the rent, after all, the Hua family's land did not need to pay other taxes. But in bad years, if they paid 40% of the rent, they would not be able to have a full meal in a year. But if the Hua family collected the third-level rent from beginning to end...
Liu Jiang stopped thinking about it, for he was afraid that he would not be able to control himself and beat Chen Jin to death!
The year his mother fell ill was a year of great disaster. After trying every possible way to collect enough money to pay the rent, the family was still barely able to make ends meet. He lied about his age and went to the city to find a job. As a result, he received the news of his mother's death before he even got paid. At that time, he resented the Hua family for being unkind and not waiving the rent for their tenants like some kind-hearted families did in the year of the disaster.
A hint of coldness flashed across Hua Zhi's eyes. "In any disaster year, the Hua family will definitely waive rent. It seems like you don't know that either."
Liu Jiang clenched his fists, breathed heavily and rapidly, his eyes were red, and he turned around and rushed out.
Hua Zhi's unhurried voice came from behind: "Take the man outside and call the tenants over. The Hua family will not be blamed for what he did."
Liu Jiang paused, turned around and kowtowed three times.
"Wu Da, go and watch over it, don't let anyone die." Hua Zhi smiled coldly, "Death is the end of everything, how can it make people feel happy?"
Wu Da felt a chill on his back and his attitude became more respectful than before.
Nian Qiu refilled the young lady's tea and asked in a gentle voice, "Young lady, do you want to report to the police?"
"I won't report it to the authorities." Hua Zhi shook her head. "During these troubled times, we can't get involved with the government anymore."
Moreover, the Hua family also needs to make an example of someone to scare the monkeys. People cannot think that a house full of women are easy to bully. All the rules should be established, and they should be even more reasonable than when the men of the Hua family were all there.
Reporting to the authorities is a way of seeking support for ordinary people, but it is a sign of weakness for the Hua family. The Hua family was once a high-ranking official family, but they have fallen to the point where they need to report to the authorities. This does not bring any benefits except satisfying the twisted psychology of a group of people. It is far better to solve the problem in their own little piece of land in the way that is most beneficial to the Hua family.
"Can… "
"I won't take his life. Living is much harder than dying."
Nian Qiu said nothing more. She did not feel sorry for Chen Jin and even felt disgusted with him. But she did not want the young lady to be stained with blood because of such a person.
After a while, a noisy sound was faintly heard from the front. Hua Zhi was flipping through the account book that Nian Qiu had just made, as if she didn't hear anything. The other maids were also busy with their own work and were not affected at all.
Half an hour had passed when Liu Jiang came back. He was soaked in rain and prostrated himself on the ground again.
Hua Zhi motioned Wu Da to help the man up, and without asking any more questions, she just said, "It's getting late today, go back, come early tomorrow, I have something for you to do."
"yes."
"Your sister is frightened, and it's not convenient for you as a man to take care of her. Let her stay with me tonight. I'll have someone keep an eye on her."
"Thank you, young lady." As if he had already made up his mind, Liu Jiang left without saying anything more.
Wu Da told the story in detail. It was obvious that the girl wanted to use Liu Jiang, and most of her words were directed at him.
Hua Zhi nodded slightly, "It's enough if those unfounded grudges don't fall on the Hua family. Did Liu Jiang take Chen Jinsan and his son out?"
"yes."
Hua Zhi already knew what the Chen family had done over the years, so she naturally had no sympathy for them. She knocked on the table and announced her decision for the family, "Give them three acres of land and ask them to pay 40% rent a year, regardless of good or bad years."
A family of eight people only had three acres of land and had to pay 40% rent. Hua Zhi clearly wanted to give the man a taste of his own medicine, but everyone in the room just felt happy. That was how an ungrateful person should be treated.
Moreover, all the people living in this village are the ones who have been bullied by them before. Everyone knows how to kick a drowned man. It is easy to imagine how difficult life would be for them to live in such an environment every day.
After dinner, Hua Zhi said to Fu Dong who was cleaning up the dishes, "You don't have to come over to serve me tonight. Go and talk to Liu Juan and pay more attention to her tonight."
"yes."
Nian Qiu handed over the mouthwash and said softly, "I think Liu Juan is pretty good. Miss, are you willing to take her in to serve you?"
"It's enough to have you by my side. I don't plan to add any more people. If you like someone, bring him with you and teach him. There will be more and more things to do in the future, and you must learn to delegate tasks."
In other words, even if the young lady doesn't accept them, the four of them can. Nian Qiu nodded to show that he understood, since they would still be the young lady's people in the end anyway.