Thriving with Life

On their way back to the county seat, they rode very slowly, merely trotting along on horseback.

Only after they had gone a long way did Miao He remember. With an "Ah!" she cried, "Junior Martial Uncle, we forgot to make Master Tian swear as well. Wouldn't the people farming his land have to keep paying seventy percent rent?"

Pan Yun chuckled. "If he demands seventy percent rent, then the villagers simply won't lease his land."

Yu Qian explained gently, "As long as the Wan family charges fifty percent rent, Master Tian, who lives in the same village, can only charge the same. Two butchers sell meat: one sells it for five coins a jin, the other for seven. Which one would you buy from?"

Miao He rolled her eyes and retorted, "What if the butcher charging five coins doesn't have enough meat to sell? What if everyone else can't buy any?"

Yu Qian smiled. "The common people have their own ways. They can buy less, so more people can get some; or take turns buying, you today and me tomorrow; or simply not eat that meat at all."

Pan Yun said, "Master Tian is an ambitious man. He won't let his land lie fallow. Fortunately, he has less land than Master Wan. Otherwise, we really would have had to make him add an oath."

Yu Qian gave a light cough. "One must not force others, and besides, the Master did not speak of strange powers and disorderly spirits..."

Pan Yun pretended not to hear.

Miao He immediately emptied her mind as well, gazing blankly up at the sky.

By the time they returned to the county yamen, the sun had already set in the west.

Imperial Guards, soldiers, and yamen runners returned one after another. Pan Yun pretended not