Chapter 401: Land Rent
Translator: Henyee Translations Editor: Henyee Translations
The patriarch found himself silenced by Qian Youfu’s resolute stance.
Indeed, after Su Bin’s parents had passed away, the Qian Clan had extended no assistance to his family. Instead, they had allowed their clansmen to mistreat Su Bin’s family. Now, with Su Bin achieving the status of High Scholar, they sought to capitalize on his success.
While the clan was willing to reward Su Bin and offer him land, he had already made it abundantly clear that he was not interested. His refusal remained unswayed, even if someone else brought it up.
Qian Youfu, in turn, was not inclined to exploit their past relationship to broker a deal.
“If you believe, patriarch, that I am ill-suited to be the village chief, I will step down,” Qian Youfu reiterated.
The patriarch fixed a stern gaze on Qian Youfu. “Are you attempting to retreat in order to advance?”
As the patriarch, he had the authority to appoint or dismiss anyone as the village chief.
Qian Youfu maintained a composed demeanor. “If that’s how you see it, then there’s nothing more I can say.”
“I assumed the role of village chief with the intention of contributing to the welfare of everyone,” he continued. “And now, I have taken action that will benefit everyone.”
He elaborated, “I’ve been entrusted with the task of overseeing the land purchased by Su Bin’s family. Anyone who rents his farmland will enjoy three rent-free years.”
He addressed potential opposition, stating, “If you can persuade your people not to rent these fields for Su Bin’s family, that’s fine. I can lease them to people from other villages.”
“However,” Qian Youfu added, “I believe that no one would willingly forgo these benefits.
Word swiftly spread throughout the neighboring villages that Su Bin had acquired the South Mountain wasteland and offered three years of rent-free leasing. The residents of Qian Village eagerly sought out Qian Youfu for confirmation.
Once the news was verified, the villagers rejoiced at the prospect of three years of rent-free farming. It was indeed a favorable turn of events.
It was essential to recognize that landless tenants faced significant hardships. In ancient times, rice production was limited, yet rents were exorbitant, with nearly half of the harvest being surrendered as payment.
During years of bountiful harvests, this arrangement might have sufficed, with the remaining grains barely sustaining the family for a year. However, in times of poor harvests, the entire family would have to endure stringent belt-tightening. In cases of droughts and floods, the situation became even direr, with tenants often required to pay rent even when natural disasters had ruined their crops. If unable to pay, they would accumulate debt or resort to selling their children to settle their arrears.
Given the opportunity of rent-free fields, tenants were understandably eager to engage in farming.
This development left the patriarch and the few landowners in the clan visibly displeased. The 80 mu of wasteland on South Mountain was in high demand among the villagers, which meant that the more fertile fields on their side would likely be cultivated less frequently.
The patriarch, in particular, owned a substantial amount of land. His family lived comfortably by solely relying on rent income. If the villagers ceased to rent his family’s land, he would be compelled to lease it to outsiders or individuals from neighboring villages. This would entail challenges in rent collection, as it would not be as straightforward as dealing with fellow villagers.
Concerns arose over tenants from other areas seizing the grain and absconding without fulfilling their grain-rent obligations.
The patriarch wished to dissuade the clansmen from renting the new land but hesitated to offend Su Bin. He also recommended that other landlords reduce their rents, fearing that nobody would rent their fields otherwise.
However, those families remained steadfast in their refusal, suggesting that if the villagers who traditionally rented their land failed to do so in the upcoming year, they should not expect to lease it in the future.
If the landlords were inclined to diminish the rented land’s size, some villagers felt it would be better not to rent at all, opting instead to lease it to individuals from neighboring villages.
Word of this development quickly spread among the villagers, leading to animated discussions.
“They are being incredibly unreasonable!”
“Indeed! If they won’t rent it to us, we won’t bother renting from them anymore!”
“Now that there’s no rent, we won’t be left starving.”
“We can utilize this opportunity to venture into the mountains and gather medicinal herbs.. If fortune favors us, it might prove more lucrative than leasing land!”
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