Chapter 214

Their tenant farmers only pay forty percent; only the most unscrupulous demand sixty!

“Auntie, with such a large potato yield, even if you take forty percent, it’s still more than enough to eat,” Bai Ziqian said, astonished.

Shuiqing remained unmoved. “Precisely because the yield is large, even if they get only forty percent, it’s still enough to eat, even more than enough.”

Bai Ziqian looked puzzled. How did she say exactly what he was thinking? She even voiced what he hadn’t said yet!

He looked up, puzzled. “Auntie, you couldn’t possibly eat all that yourself. What do you need so many potatoes for?”

Unlike the villagers who treat potatoes as their staple food, Aunt Shuiqing’s family only eats them as a side dish with meals like rice, buns, and dumplings. Only breakfast consists of coarse grains like millet porridge or cornmeal pancakes.

Even if there were twenty-three more people, twenty-three people would need only ten acres of land for a year’s worth of food if it were all potatoes.

As Aunt Shuiqing said, the villagers would have enough potato seeds by next year. They wouldn’t need to exchange cornmeal for potatoes again, so why so many potatoes?

Sell them for silver? Not likely.

The animals Aunt Shuiqing raises—rabbits, chickens, pigs—are worth more than grains, yet she doesn’t sell them. Why would she try to sell something like potatoes, which are unfamiliar and difficult to sell at a high price?

“Of course, there’s a use for them. Besides, who would complain about having too much food?” Shuiqing glanced at Bai Ziqian, feeling that Bai Manshan and Li Huyu had educated him well.

At least Bai Ziqian wasn’t just in it for the money.

As for herself, she didn’t think she was a bad person. After all, without her or her support, the villagers wouldn’t have potatoes.

She had initially considered selling them at a high price, but the high yield meant that even people who had emptied their savings might buy them.

She had genuinely wanted to help the villagers avoid hunger. Now that everyone was fed and clothed, wasn’t it fair for her to look out for herself?

She needed a large quantity of potatoes to pave the way for the future—chaotic times demanded that she secure her family’s future.

Potatoes were their stepping stone.

After a moment of confusion, Bai Ziqian realized Aunt Shuiqing made a good point.

Yeah, who would complain about having too much food?

Then, he remembered that Aunt Shuiqing didn’t take advantage of the chaos, nor did she hoard goods. She consulted with the villagers of Shanshui and had their consent. It seemed Aunt Shuiqing was a straight shooter!

“Alright! I’ll go with Auntie. By the way, why did you pick me?” Was it because he was the most astute among the children?

As they walked toward Shanshui Village, Shuiqing casually replied, “Because you’re from the Bai family. ‘No profit, no business’—taking sixty percent fits the mold for you. Um, I mean, it fits the common perception of merchants!”

Bai Ziqian bit back a retort, feeling furious at taking back what he had just thought: “Aunt Shuiqing is a straight shooter!”

She wasn’t straight at all, but sly, and now she was making the Bai family the scapegoat.

“After all, I have to keep living in the village, and reputation matters,” Shuiqing continued calmly.

Bai Ziqian: … Waaah, so my reputation isn’t worth anything?

“I’ve already prepared an excuse for you: Your family bought potato seeds but couldn’t transport them all back. Our land couldn’t be used for planting, so we had to give away the potato seeds for free. This way, the potatoes won’t go to waste, and their land won’t lie fallow.

In return, they only need to hand over sixty percent of the harvest.”

Listening to her explanation, Bai Ziqian realized the pattern sounded familiar.

Even when she’s getting you to work, it sounds like she’s doing you a favor. Isn’t this just like what his father often said?

“Hmph, cunning merchant! ‘No profit, no business!’”

“Then don’t be a businessman. Oh, and by the way, don’t use the money earned by dishonest businessmen either.”

“…My dad is not a dishonest businessman!”

“Who just said ‘no business without dishonesty’? Is your dad a businessman? Feeling guilty?”

The boy held his breath, his face reddening, and remained silent.

Shuiqing: “…Kid, still young, huh? If it were her, she could lie with a straight face without even a breath.”

The two walked to Aunt Zhang’s house, which was the closest.

Aunt Zhang’s new house was on a flat piece of land just below a high slope, with three spacious earthen houses as the main structure.

The kitchens, woodshed, and livestock pens on both sides all had tiled roofs.

Once the poorest family in the village, they had leaped into the top ten.

As soon as Zhang Xiaocao saw Shuiqing, she loudly shouted into the kitchen, “Sister-in-law Shuiqing is here!” and hurried over.

Now, everyone in Shanshui Village added “Shuiqing” before calling her, to distinguish her from others.

Aunt Zhang and the others in the kitchen quickly came out with their bowls upon hearing that Shuiqing had arrived.

Aunt Zhang greeted, “Shuiqing, have you eaten?”

“Sister-in-law, we have a great breakfast now at home. Do you want some?” asked Wood Ox earnestly.

The Copper Ox and Iron Ox, being older, wanted to ask but felt embarrassed.

Shuiqing gracefully declined, “No need, we ate before coming. We have some matters to discuss now, you all eat first, and we’ll talk after you finish.”

Aunt Zhang became nervous upon hearing there was something to discuss, “Oh, what’s the matter? Just tell me straight. If it’s urgent, I’ll put my bowl in the kitchen and eat later.”

She turned to go back into the kitchen.

Shuiqing quickly stopped her, “It’s nothing major, we can talk while eating.”

Upon hearing it wasn’t urgent, Aunt Zhang turned back.

Zhang Xiaocao had already gone inside and brought out two chairs with backs, enthusiastically saying, “Sister-in-law, you sit here. Young Master Bai, you sit too.”

Bai Ziqian felt a bit uneasy being called out like that, but he knew others were even more uncomfortable.

The two sat on the chairs, facing Aunt Zhang and the others who casually sat down on the stone steps under the eaves with their bowls.

Shuiqing looked at Bai Ziqian, who took several deep breaths and explained all the reasons Shuiqing had given him on the way.

The more he spoke, the redder his fair cheeks became.

Aunt Zhang and the others sitting on the stone steps under the eaves forgot to eat, their mouths half open.

Bai Ziqian was uneasy and looked towards Shuiqing beside him.

Shuiqing took over, “Whether you want to or not is fine, it’s entirely voluntary. If you don’t want to, we can go to the next house.”

Aunt Zhang snapped out of her shock, slapped her thigh in excitement and said, “What a coincidence!

Shuiqing, you truly are our benefactor! Just when we were about to fall asleep, you brought us a pillow.”

Shuiqing was bewildered.

In the past, exchanging rice, buying charcoal, or giving them potato seeds—those could barely be considered acts of kindness. But today, how could this be considered kindness?

Bai Ziqian was also at a loss.

“My younger uncle Zhang Tuzi, wasn’t he here before, demanding grain from me to feed his whole family? Later, he got caught trying to steal and hasn’t dared to come again.

The other day, he said he knew that the villagers were using sorghum flour to exchange for potatoes with me. My family has more sorghum flour, and this time, he didn’t dare to ask for it, but to trade.”