Chapter 101: Exposed
Mama Tong smiled slightly and said to her, "...This is the Eldest Miss of the Gu family."
The peasant woman was startled and visibly nervous. She carried a bamboo basket on her arm containing fresh Indian corn.
She hurried forward to kowtow to Gu Jinzhao, whispering, "I'm just a peasant woman from Lingbi Village. My husband rents land from the landlord..." She hesitated before continuing in a hushed voice, "Manager Zhao collects seventy percent rent, not fifty. Please have mercy on us, landlord..." Tears began falling as she spoke, "With all the rain this year, the corn harvest was poor. We can barely afford the seventy percent, let alone any more. I have four daughters, all skin and bones from hunger. I had to sell one as a Child Bride. I beg you, landlord, don't increase the rent further..."
Mama Tong's expression darkened upon hearing this. She whispered to Jinchao, "Manager Zhao has gone too far. Fifty percent was already excessive, but seventy? He's practically starving these people!"
The peasant woman continued, "We originally came from Liushuigou Village because we heard the Gu family treated tenants well. But these past years we've saved nothing—only lost money... Many came to Lingbi for the Gu family's reputation, and now everyone regrets it. If the rent increases again, we truly won't survive."
Mama Tong asked, "What about neighboring villages? Are those the Luo family's lands?"
The woman nodded. "We can't leave even if we want to. The surrounding lands all belong to the Luo family—also seventy percent rent..."
After questioning her further, Mama Tong gave the woman a handful of coins. The peasant woman thanked her profusely, insisting Mama Tong take the Indian corn from her basket.
Jinchao listened with growing fury. Face grim, she turned back and boarded the carriage, ordering the driver to return to the Villa. During the journey, Mama Tong explained, "The Luo family used to be Imperial Merchants. Though they lost that status, they remain wealthy—and notoriously harsh. Madam always disliked their methods and instructed all managers never to exceed fifty percent rent. Manager Zhao's seventy percent means he's pocketing twenty for himself."
This was the Luo family Xu Jingyi later married into.
Jinchao felt relieved she'd made this visit. The evasive behavior she'd witnessed suggested Manager Zhao had threatened the tenants against speaking to her. That a mere brother of her mother's wet nurse could wield such power was outrageous. Worse, he exploited her mother's good name to attract tenants, then mistreated them so cruelly.
Back at the Villa, the midday heat intensified. Manager Zhao sent over plum syrup, which Jinchao accepted without comment. After lunch, when he left on business, she summoned two Villa matrons for questioning. Their hesitant, evasive answers confirmed her suspicions.
Understanding their predicament, Jinchao dismissed them. Alone, she gazed at the ginkgo tree outside the window, deep in thought.
Her mother had always been indecisive, but Jinchao had no intention of keeping Manager Zhao. Anyone who oppressed others so ruthlessly could never be competent.
As she pondered this, Caifu entered. "...There's a farmer outside asking to speak with the Gu family's manager."
After a moment's consideration, Jinchao said, "Invite him in. Mama Tong will speak with him." Propriety prevented her from meeting the man directly.She sat watching from behind the main hall. The man wore a ramie shirt with a belt tied around his waist. His straw sandals were dirty, so he refused to enter the main hall, forcing Mama Tong to go out and speak with him. The man smiled awkwardly and pulled out a handful of copper coins to return to Mama Tong. "...This lowly one is Qin Er. My foolish wife doesn't understand propriety—how could she take the master's money? It's only right for the master to ask us questions. I've already scolded her!"
Mama Tong smiled faintly. "It wasn't for nothing. We bought a basket of Indian corn from her."
The man grew even more embarrassed and waved his hand. "...What's a few ears of corn worth? Two coins would have been more than enough! Besides, if the master wants any, just take them—there's no need for payment at all!"
Jinchao observed from inside and found the man remarkably honest and sincere. Despite his family's poverty, he remained so genuine. After some thought, she beckoned Caifu over and instructed her to relay a message to Mama Tong.
Upon hearing the instructions, Mama Tong asked the man, "Keep the money—I do have more questions for you. Manager Zhao planted fruit trees on the hillside. When we went out today, we saw the flat fields weren't flooded, so how did all the trees on the slope rot at the roots? What's going on?"
The man hesitated for a long time, glanced around to ensure no one from Manager Zhao's side was nearby, then whispered quickly, "Let me tell you secretly, master—those saplings were healthy, but they were dug up long ago! I heard Manager Zhao transported them overnight to the Luo family's villa next door and sold them!"
After speaking, he seemed extremely uneasy and hastily took his leave, shouldering a pair of baskets nearby. Mama Tong had someone bring him a thick bag of meat-filled flatbreads. Qin Er refused repeatedly but eventually accepted them with a flushed face.
When Mama Tong returned and reported to Jinchao, the latter smiled and said, "There must be many like this under Mother's management, thinking they can fool me because I'm ignorant..." When she came to the villa, Manager Zhao had been determined to profit, showing not an ounce of fear, treating her as nothing more than a naive eldest miss.
After some thought, she told Mama Tong, "Call in the guards Grandmother sent. We must make an example of someone."
Mama Tong went off smiling to summon them.
Meanwhile, Cheng Shi had spent an hour scouting the area and quickly grasped the situation. Having followed Ji Yao for so long, he knew exactly how to investigate and what to look for—far more efficiently than Gu Jinzhao's group. When he returned to report to Ji Yao, the latter was reading Dong Qichang's Rongtai Anthology and didn't even lift his eyelids at Cheng Shi's arrival.
Cheng Shi briefed him on the situation at the Lingbi Villa. "...This servant thought Manager Zhao's behavior was suspicious—turns out he's been colluding with the Luo family! The Luo family's manager promised him that once he transferred the goods from Lingbi Villa, they'd recommend him for a position paying double what the Gu family gives him. Manager Zhao was very tempted and practically gave away over ten acres of saplings to the Luo family for free."
Ji Yao merely said, "...Understood."Cheng Shi was so anxious he was scratching his head and ears. After hearing so much about this Manager Zhao, he couldn’t help but marvel at how such an ungrateful wretch could exist in this world! The Gu family had treated him so well, yet he still tarnished their reputation and now was eager to work for the Luo family! The Eldest Miss of the Gu family clearly knew nothing about farming—how could she possibly be aware of these matters? It was all just letting that scoundrel Manager Zhao gain the upper hand!
The thought of it made him uncomfortable, and to make matters worse, the Second Young Master showed no intention of helping at all!
Cheng Shi paced around the room for a while, feeling suffocated with frustration. Now that Gu Jinzhao had come to the Villa, Tai Furen, out of concern, had even sent guards and maids to accompany her. A few days ago, when he had followed Ji Yao to the Villa, it had just been the two of them. The estate manager, knowing they were clueless, had taken advantage of them, and they had suffered many hidden losses. In the end, the Second Young Master had finally subdued that group, but he had lost weight from the ordeal.
…Why didn’t he show the same concern for the young mistress?!
Ji Yao, seeing his agitation, smiled and said, “I understand, but helping or not helping are both problematic. If you want to help, go tell the young mistress yourself—don’t bother me with it.” Since both choices were wrong, he would do what suited his own interests.
With that, Ji Yao lowered his head and continued reading. Cheng Shi pondered for a long time. Overstepping his bounds like this was indeed inappropriate, but if he didn’t help, not only would Manager Zhao gloat, but Tai Furen would likely not let the Second Young Master off the hook when they returned… Finally, gritting his teeth, he headed toward Gu Jinzhao’s quarters.
……
Manager Zhao had just returned from the Luo family’s Villa, where he had discussed the matter of the persimmon grove to the west. He wanted to sell the trees to the Luo family for ten coins each—despite the grove being laden with ripe persimmons, it was practically giving them away for free. Thinking of this, Manager Zhao snorted lightly. Judging by the Eldest Miss Gu’s demeanor, he probably wouldn’t get much silver out of her. Throwing his lot in with the Luo family was the better choice—after all, the Luo family had once been Imperial Merchants.
He had long held grievances against the Gu family. His sister had been Madam Ji’s wet nurse, toiling for her for nearly half her life before retiring to her hometown. Yet Madam Ji had repaid kindness with enmity, not only assigning him to manage the worst Villa in Xianghe but also cutting his wages in half. If not for the extra he skimmed from the estate… he’d be too ashamed to show his face outside! Treating the Gu family like this was just their deserved retribution.
But before he could even take a sip of water after returning, the Eldest Miss’s personal maid came to summon him.
…Probably more questions. Manager Zhao straightened his collar and followed her.
Gu Jinzhao was brewing tea. After the first rinse, she poured hot water over the purple clay teapot, and the second infusion was clear tea. She prepared a cup for Manager Zhao.
Manager Zhao didn’t even dare sit, let alone drink tea brewed by Jinzhao herself. Trembling with fear, he said, “Eldest Miss, you humble this servant too much! This is far too generous!”
Jinzhao smiled. “You’ve worked hard for the Gu family all these years. A simple cup of tea is nothing.”
Only then did Manager Zhao accept the teacup.
Jinzhao spoke leisurely, “I took a stroll earlier. With all the rain this year, the Indian Corn harvest likely won’t be as good as before. In bad years, we only collected two hundred bushels—that’s truly poor. This year, let’s take seventy percent of the rent. The extra grain can be exchanged for saplings—let’s plant jujube trees.”Manager Zhao was inwardly startled. This Eldest Miss looked delicate, fair, and gentle. Who would have thought she could be so ruthless? But if she took seventy percent of the rent, how could he skim his share? If he added another twenty percent to make it ninety percent total, the tenants of Lingbi would surely flee.
Cheng Shi had just come from Ji Yao's place and happened to overhear this exchange. With no proper handholds in the farmhouse, he stood outside the window listening. Hearing this, he clicked his tongue in amazement... They said Manager Zhao was heartless, but their cousin was no better!
Seeing Manager Zhao remain silent, Jinchao looked up and changed tack with a smile: "I was just thinking this when I happened to see a peasant woman, so I mentioned adding twenty percent to the rent. Guess what she said to me, Manager Zhao?"
PS:
Today is the author's birthday—wish me a happy birthday == Poor me still has to go to class on my birthday, but I'll come back after class to give you all a second update. If you have votes, please cast one, thank you~~
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