Chapter 538: Chapter 277 Sudden Difficulty_2
"Dad, have all the fields been tenant-farmed?" Lian Shouxin asked.
"They have," Old Master Lian nodded and passed the contract to Lian Shouxin.
Lian Shouxin, who could only recognize a few characters, glanced over the contract before handing it over to Lian Manman. Wu Lang and Xiao Qi crowded over and looked at the contract with Manman.
"Grandpa, you’ve farmed thirty acres?" Manman asked as she read.
Seeing that Manman understood the contract, Lian Shouren turned his head and looked at her for a while before looking away.
"Yes, I have tenant-farmed thirty acres from Scholar Wang," Old Master Lian said, "right to the north, not far from our own lands, and all of it is fertile."
As Old Master Lian spoke, he packed a pipe of dry tobacco, lit it, and began puffing away.
"I was a bit late in talking to people. If it had been someone else, they wouldn’t have gotten the land. It was Scholar Wang who knew we wanted to farm some land; he specifically spread the word. That’s why we were able to get these thirty acres... He didn’t even ask me for a deposit, said he trusted us."
In this era, before transferring land to a tenant farmer, landlords would collect a deposit to guard against the possibility of the tenant fleeing come autumn harvest or neglecting the land to the point of ruin, thus causing loss to the landlord. The deposit wasn’t small – typically more than ten percent of the land rent. Given the Lian Family’s current circumstances, it would have been quite difficult to produce a deposit. Old Master Lian breathed a sigh of relief that the Wang Family didn’t ask for one and was grateful to them for it.
"Dad, how much land rent are we supposed to pay for these fields?" Lian Shouxin asked.
"...One hundred seventy catties per acre of land," Manman said, reading the contract. "It’s written here, for thirty acres of upper-middle grade land, the rent is one hundred seventy catties per acre."
"That’s right," nodded Old Master Lian. "I’ve seen the land myself; it’s even better than ours. If we tend to it well this year, we should get about three hundred catties of grain per acre by autumn. After paying the land rent and taxes, we’ll still have about a hundred catties of profit. Scholar Wang’s Family is one of the few benevolent ones; the rent they charge is the lowest in this county."
In this time period, land was a valuable asset, and land rent was high. The split could be seven parts to the landlord and three to the tenant farmer – hence, ’seven laborers for three.’ It could be higher, with a split of ’eight laborers for two,’ meaning the tenant farmer would only retain two parts of the harvest.
The Wang Family rented upper-middle grade fertile land to Old Master Lian, charging rent equivalent to fifty-six percent of the yield, assuming three hundred catties per acre. Anywhere else, such rent would be considered very low.
Even so, tenant farmers were still required to give up more than half of their harvest, being able to keep less than half for themselves.
Life as a tenant farmer was hard, and land was precious. Being a landlord was seen as a promising future. Seeing such a lease, Manman felt that her goal of becoming a little landlord was absolutely correct and wise.
"I’ve heard that the Wang Family has a family rule to charge two parts less in rent than other families," Lian Shouren chimed in at this point.
"That’s doing good for the community, being charitable. There’s a reason why they thrive and prosper," Old Master sighed. "Back when our family collected rent, we also followed the Wang’s standard. Back then, many were eager to rent land from us..."
At this, Old Master Lian’s voice trailed off, and he did not continue.
"Dad, when I..."
Lian Shouren had barely begun to speak when Old Master Lian cut him off with a wave of his hand.
"...I think Jizu’s studies are progressing well; he should be able to cultivate within a couple of years," Lian Shouren said.
Old Master Lian, puffing on his pipe, said nothing. Even if Lian Jizu’s studies were adequate, he would have first to pass the exams for Scholar, and even with a scholarship, the government granary only provided enough grain for one person’s sustenance. From Scholar to Graduate takes years of hard study, not to mention the expenses. When Old Master Lian thought about the money spent on Shouren over the years, his heart flipped.
In Old Master Lian’s heart, the notion of supporting Lian Jizu’s education was not unfathomable. Even if the whole family tightened their belts, it might prove too difficult. Moreover, in this large family, would everyone be willing to support Jizu? Times had changed!
"Where is Jizu anyway?" Seeing Old Master Lian’s somber expression, Lian Shouxin tried to change the subject. "Aren’t all the private schools on holiday now? I heard..."
Lian Shouxin stopped himself mid-sentence as he realized he might have said something inappropriate, abruptly halting his speech.
During the busy seasons of spring planting and autumn harvesting, regardless of whether it was students or teachers from private schools, local families needed all the hands they could get. The private school in Qingyang Town followed a tradition of taking a few days off during these times to allow both teachers and students to go home and help with planting or harvesting.
