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Chapter 47 – Tenant Farmers

After buying the medicinal plasters, Tiechui returned to the Lu household and went to the rear wing of the house, entering his brother-in-law’s place.

Originally, he just wanted to leave the medicine at the door and leave, but it so happened that his brother-in-law was at home.

His nephew was being noisy inside the house. When he saw Tiechui’s daughter, he happily ran over to chat with her.

Tiechui then went to speak with his brother-in-law and handed over the medicine:
“You’d better see a real doctor. Never heard of using plaster to treat hemorrhoids.”

His brother-in-law replied,
“I did see a doctor before. Went through several treatments, but none really worked. He just told me to eat a bland diet. I’ve been drinking porridge every day, and I’m still not better.

A few days ago, Granny Liu, the gatekeeper, had a sore back. She happened to buy two patches and said it cured her. So I thought, desperate times call for desperate measures. After using it, I really did feel a lot better.”

Tiechui scoffed,
“If this miracle medicine can cure everything, why not offer it to the Emperor? Why is it being sold to us here for just ten wen a patch?”

His brother-in-law said,
“Word is it’s a recipe from some True Master of the Heaven’s Principle Sect. They’re doing it to help poor folks like us. I don’t know if it really cures everything, but at least it helps minor ailments. Otherwise, how would Granny Liu’s back get better?”

“Heaven’s Principle Sect? Never even heard of it. Besides, sometimes it’s just coincidence. I heard her back pain comes and goes anyway—maybe it just happened to go away then?”

“Come on, wish me well. Hemorrhoids won’t kill me, but they’re miserable. I feel drained just going to work.”

Tiechui said,
“Well, maybe get it cut off by someone and be done with it.”

But before his brother-in-law could respond, the sound of his daughter crying came from outside.

Tiechui’s wife wasn’t in good health and couldn’t have more children, so their daughter was their precious gem. He couldn’t bear to hear her cry.

The two men stopped chatting immediately and rushed out.

They saw the little girl pouting with teary eyes, holding a skewer of sugar-coated hawthorn with most of it bitten off, crying out to her father,
“My King Boo-Ba sugar hawthorn!”

Seeing it was just the hawthorn candy, Tiechui breathed a sigh of relief.

Next to her was the brother-in-law’s son, holding two sticks of hawthorn candy, his mouth full of sugary crumbs.

Sugar was expensive these days, and kids loved it—this couldn’t really be blamed on the boy.

The brother-in-law saw his son’s greedy face and hurried over to smack him on the rear:
“Were you born a starving ghost?”

Seeing he’d delivered the medicine, Tiechui figured it was time to leave. He picked up his daughter, comforted her, and said to his brother-in-law,
“Well, we’ll head back now.”

The brother-in-law pulled out half a string of coins and stuffed it into his hand.

Tiechui refused once, but eventually accepted it.

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Two days later, it was time to leave for the exam. Tiechui prepared the carriage and horses, visited the old lady of the house, and then accompanied a few strong men to escort the two young masters to the countryside for their exams.

After the two boys departed, Wen Ruyu stayed at home and chatted with Concubine Qian and Zhao Shu. Madam Wang, who had a child with a concubine, also came by for a chat.

Lately, Madam Wang didn’t care much for playing cards and often brought the children to visit Wen Ruyu.

Ever since Yang, the Song family concubine, gave birth to a daughter, her mood had soured. She even refused to nurse the baby at first.

It was Madam Wang who arranged for a wet nurse and brought the baby close to raise her herself.

Perhaps the child sparked some maternal instinct after all, as Madam Wang didn’t seem to dislike the girl born to Yang.

Though she didn’t care for her as much as her own daughter, she still showed some affection.

Maybe it was because a girl wouldn’t take much of the dowry and didn’t pose a threat to Madam Wang’s son.

Zhao Shu sat beside Wen Ruyu and said,
“Qing is getting older. Since Songnian is busy studying, he doesn’t have time to teach him. I’m thinking of hiring a tutor.”

Lu Qing was only three, but he could already carry on full conversations. He had even begun reciting “Heaven and Earth are mysterious, the universe vast and ancient.”

Wen Ruyu had originally thought of hiring a tutor when he turned four, thinking three was still too young.

But since her daughter-in-law brought it up, and the child was hers, Wen Ruyu didn’t want to interfere in the parenting.

She simply nodded:
“Do as you see fit.”

Zhao Shu smiled upon receiving her approval and replied with a soft “yes.”

Madam Wang handed her child to a nanny and said,
“You’re hiring a tutor for Qing already? We just hired one for our kids this year.”

Zhao Shu smiled:
“Songnian thinks now is the right time.”

Concubine Qian watched the women’s banter and couldn’t help feeling anxious. Wen Ruyu’s grandson was getting a tutor, yet her own son still didn’t have a marriage arranged.

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Just then, a servant reported that Steward Lu Cheng had arrived.

Wen Ruyu asked him in.

Lu Cheng, a loyal servant of the household, was well-known to the women and didn’t need to be avoided.

He entered without glancing around and got straight to the point.

“This month we’ll be collecting grain. I came to ask the Old Madam who should be sent to handle it.”

The Lu family’s fields were rented out. Thanks to their scholar status, they were exempt from land tax.

At harvest time, the household would send someone to collect the grain—either to sell or store for themselves.

The best quality grain was kept for the household; the rest was sold. If there was leftover rice from before, they’d sell the old grain for a bit of money.

This year, the Lu family’s income had been decent, so all the old grain was donated as charity.

“Send Bainian,” said Wen Ruyu. She’d already planned to hand some household matters over to Lu Bainian.

A family can’t be made up entirely of scholars. If the head of the house doesn’t understand land and money, it’s easy for servants to cheat them.

“Have him prepare. He can head out to the countryside tomorrow,” she instructed. Even if the grain wasn’t ready yet, a few days’ wait wouldn’t matter.

Her new shop wasn’t open yet, and the old shop’s manager could still handle things.

Lu Cheng received her orders and left to notify Lu Bainen.

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Lu Bainian didn’t hear about his assignment until he returned that afternoon.

Since Lu Songnian and Lu Ke were heading to the countryside for exams, as their brother, he naturally had to see them off.

At noon, they had a farewell meal with friends, then rode on horseback to escort them.

The trip to and from the exam site would take at least half a month, possibly twenty to thirty days total.

It was a long trip, so close friends would always come to send the examinees off.

After returning, and learning that his mother had given him a task, Lu Bainen didn’t refuse. That night, he instructed the maids to pack, and the next day he informed his mother before heading out.

This time, he took Le’er with him, as well as two household retainers.

One, to guard against potential dangers on the road; two, because these retainers had experience transporting grain and could teach him as they went.

The Lu family’s manor wasn’t far from Lu Family Village. Their fields stretched out a hundred acres, vast as far as the eye could see.

Lu Bainian had trained in the fields before. Walking among them again, his attachment to the land grew stronger.

Once at the manor, the steward came to greet him and asked how much grain to collect this season.

“The Old Madam said there’s been little rain this year and food prices are rising everywhere. It’s been tough on everyone. This time, we’ll only take 30%.”

Normally, tenants would get 30%, and the Lu family would take 50%.

Only taking 30% this time was exceptionally generous.

After the steward relayed the message, many tenant farmers were extremely grateful.

In theory, the government tax was just 10%, but landlords often charged more.

The Lu family could avoid tax because they had scholars, but other landlords still had to pay taxes, so they took more from tenants to make up the difference.

Tenants, having no land of their own, couldn’t really complain, even when rent was high.

If a landlord only took 50% of the harvest, that was already seen as generous.

To many tenants, it was the landlord who gave them land to live on, saving them from starvation.

Most tenant farmers had never been educated and were easily manipulated. A bit of indoctrination and they’d show deep gratitude toward their landlords.

But in truth, tenant farmers had it worse than indentured servants.

Men had difficulty finding wives; their daughters were usually sold off or made into maids.

Those who couldn’t marry up or be sold off might marry within the tenant class—if they were lucky.

Men had only their physical labor to sell in exchange for a family.

Without strength, they were destined to be discarded by society.

Regardless of gender, the poor had no control over their fate and lived in misery.

Now, with the Lu family lowering rent, these tenants saw a rare glimmer of hope—they could maybe save money.

With enough savings, perhaps in ten or twenty years, they could buy their own land. With land came a wife, children, and a chance to escape a life of servitude.

Of course, that was assuming nothing went wrong in their lives.

In times like this, when people expected harsher exploitation, the Lu family’s generosity felt like divine mercy.

Even though Wen Ruyu was far away in the county town, the tenants still knelt on the ground in sincere thanks for her grace.

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