The noble's visit had been useless. Not a bit of work in the manor had been reduced.
Manor Head Li and his sons sent out another batch of chicks and ducklings, and even slaughtered a pig. Yet the manor folk only got some offal to eat, while both sides of pork were hauled away.
The dung pit, which had been fermenting for ages, was also dug out halfway by a group of outsiders. Meng Yuan, Tie Niu, and the other strong young men were driven over to help dig manure.
These matters were neither too great nor too small, but they were not enough to bring down Manor Head Li.
Seven days later, no one knew what madness had seized Manor Head Li. He actually gathered people and headed outside the manor to turn over the fields and spread fertilizer.
The field was around ten mu, and it was already cultivated land, yet no winter wheat had been planted. Manor Head Li said it was land the Princess Consort had newly acquired, so it had to be plowed now and replanted with spring wheat once spring arrived.
Meng Yuan was stunned. Winter was the time to rest and recuperate; even diligent farmers did not work the fields.
Yet Manor Head Li did not treat the manor households as people at all. Afraid the oxen would grow thin and fetch a poor price, he would not allow them to use plow oxen.
Including Meng Yuan and Tie Niu, there were eight people working in all, every one of them with relatives and family to support.
"If one tills as a hired hand, when will wealth and honor ever come?" Meng Yuan still preferred cutting eggs over turning soil.
"Brother Meng, when you become rich and honored, don't forget Tie Niu," Tie Niu said, sniffling back his snot.
Meng Yuan smiled and agreed.
That evening, after work was done and they returned to their quarters, Old Man Jiang kept sighing.
"Manor Head Li has no conscience. Who uses skilled craftsmen like this?" Old Man Jiang's face was filled with guilt. "Jiang Tang and I have held you back. Otherwise, you're a strong young man—where couldn't you go? You wouldn't have to suffer such exploitation here."
"It's fine. I'm young, so doing a little more work is nothing," Meng Yuan reassured him. Then he lowered his voice. "Old Man Jiang, when you go outside the manor to work these next few days, ask around about the origins of that plot of land."
Meng Yuan had also asked passing villagers while working, but they did not know who owned the land. They had only heard that it belonged to a wealthy household in town.
Manor Head Li said the land had just been bought by the Princess Consort, but with the New Year approaching, who would sell land for no reason? Either they truly could not survive any longer, or they had been forced into it.
And judging by the Princess Consort's previous actions—setting up three meals a day, personally handing out reward silver, allowing nearby villagers into the mountains—she clearly pitied the poor and cherished the weak, and understood the ways of the world. She was not merely putting on a show of benevolence.
Therefore, Meng Yuan felt that the land probably did not belong to the Princess Consort. Rather, Manor Head Li and his sons had used the Prince's Manor's name to seize it by force.
That evening, Meng Yuan was teaching Jiang Tang to read in her room when someone knocked on the door.
The visitors were Zhao Datou and his son. Both wore delighted expressions.
"You're already sleeping with your little wife?" Zhao Datou was greatly surprised when he saw Meng Yuan emerge from Jiang Tang's room.
"How old is she? I was teaching her to read." Meng Yuan explained, then asked, "Uncle Datou, what brings you here so late?"
"Good news." Zhao Datou and his son pulled Meng Yuan into the room and sat down with Old Man Jiang.
Jiang Tang tried to stay and listen, but Meng Yuan glared her out.
"Uncle Datou, what good news?" Meng Yuan asked curiously, while Old Man Jiang listened closely as well.
"Someone from the Prince's Manor came this morning, and I happened to run into him. He said there was a civilian uprising in a town north of Songhe Prefecture a few days ago, and many wealthy households were robbed. Our Princess Consort has become wary, so she plans to select some people to go to the Prince's Manor, learn a move or two, and help guard the manors."
Zhao Datou lowered his voice. "They say young people from every manor and shop can go. If they learn well, they may even remain at the Prince's Manor as guards in the future."
"Everyone can go?" Old Man Jiang asked.
"Whether they were born servants or not, as long as they have family members, they can go." Zhao Datou grabbed Meng Yuan's hand. "I've followed Manor Head Li for five years. I saw through him long ago—there's no hope at all in this manor. We can only make something of ourselves by getting out. My son Tie Niu is terribly slow-witted, but you, Little Meng, are clever, and Tie Niu listens to you. I was thinking that you two could go together, so you can look after him."
Meng Yuan was tempted.
He was now trapped in this livestock manor. Manor Head Li and his sons covered the sky with one hand, making all sorts of things impossible and leaving him unable to maneuver.
If he could go to the Prince's Manor to learn martial arts, whether or not he succeeded was beside the point. At the very least, the food would be much better, nourishing the essence fire within his body more effectively. Perhaps there would be other wondrous uses then.
Besides, in this day and age, everything was false. Only a blade was real. Learning more ways to preserve his life brought nothing but benefits.
This was a superb opportunity. He had to seize it tightly!
"You two discuss it with your family." After speaking, Zhao Datou pulled Tie Niu to his feet. "I've made up my mind. I'll go talk to the manor head right now."
Once Zhao Datou and his son left, Old Man Jiang sighed again.
"I can tell, Little Meng, that you have a quick mind and know how to handle things. All your present suffering comes from Jiang Tang and me holding you back. If you went somewhere else, you would probably have already made a name for yourself. It would be far better than being a gelder." Seeing Meng Yuan deep in thought, Old Man Jiang took out silver from his clothes. "Let's spend some silver and ask Manor Head Li to help. The manor won't suffer from losing one person like you, and he can gain silver for nothing. He won't refuse to help."
"Someone like Manor Head Li is stingy and greedy, with a bottomless pit for a heart. Most likely, he'll take the silver and do nothing." Meng Yuan did not think it was proper, but if they went directly to Miss Xun Mei, she might think they were making a needless fuss and instead develop a bad impression of them.
"Right now, Manor Head Li is our only option. We have to give it a try." Old Man Jiang earnestly persuaded him, then began calculating their money.
They had received nine qian from the deed of sale, and Xun Mei had awarded them three taels of silver last time, making a total of three taels and nine qian.
Old Man Jiang took out two taels and forcibly dragged Meng Yuan outside. Jiang Tang wanted to follow, but Old Man Jiang scolded her back.
By then, night had fallen completely. Someone in the manor was leading a dog around and beating a gong on night patrol.
Manor Head Li lived behind the manor's Great Hall in a separate courtyard, where lights were still on.
When they knocked and entered, they saw Manor Head Li eating with his eldest son Li Dabiao and second son Li Xiaohu.
"Greetings, Manor Head." Old Man Jiang spoke with a somewhat constrained, ingratiating smile. "I heard the Prince's Manor plans to recruit some children to learn martial arts. My granddaughter's husband is fairly capable, so I wanted to ask whether he could go learn something. Then he could come back and guard our manor as well."
"Old Jiang, it's not that I won't give you face."
Manor Head Li put down his chopsticks. "There are already too few people in the manor. If I let someone go, I'm afraid the work won't get finished."
"Manor Head, your hard work looking after the manor is something we've all seen." Old Man Jiang took out money from his sleeve. "Please give this matter some extra thought."
"Fine! It hasn't been easy for you either! I'll submit Little Gelder's name. Go back and work properly, then wait for my news!" Manor Head Li accepted the silver, his face beaming. But his expression suddenly changed. He picked up his chopsticks and struck his second son Li Xiaohu's hand, roaring, "You look at the salted fish once and eat a mouthful of rice. Why are you reaching in with your chopsticks?"
Li Xiaohu said angrily, "My brother looks twice before eating one mouthful. Why don't you control him?"
"Eat your own food! If it salts him to death, serves him right!" Manor Head Li cursed.
Meng Yuan and Old Man Jiang looked at each other. Manor Head Li had embezzled so much that he could eat meat and eggs every day without issue, yet he was not only stingy toward the manor folk—he was equally stingy toward his own family.
Five more days passed. Meng Yuan worked outside the manor every day, laboring to turn soil and spread fertilizer. More than half of the ten-odd mu of land had been finished, but Manor Head Li still gave no word.
That day, after returning from outside the manor, Old Man Jiang mysteriously pulled Meng Yuan aside when they reached their quarters.
"I met a traveling physician outside today. I found out about that land." Old Man Jiang kept his voice low, extremely cautious.
It turned out that the ten-odd mu belonged to a wealthy Yan Family in Clearwater Town. After autumn began, the Yan family's man had died of illness, leaving behind only his widow and young daughter. The land had been abandoned.
The deceased man's elder brother wanted to consume the orphaned household, and he also coveted the chance to buy the manor's manure fertilizer cheaply, so he colluded with Manor Head Li. Manor Head Li naturally agreed. Under the Prince's Manor's name, he found a familiar corrupt official, bought the land at a low price, and even found a buyer for the manure fertilizer.
"That widow and young daughter have nowhere to turn now. The people in town all say the Prince's Manor forcibly bought their land, saying our Princess Consort is falsely benevolent and falsely righteous." Old Man Jiang sighed.
Meng Yuan saw the matter clearly. Even if the Princess Consort were falsely benevolent, she would never leave something like annexing fertile farmland to the manor head of a livestock manor. This had to be Manor Head Li acting on his own authority and borrowing the Prince's Manor's power.
Still, Manor Head Li was truly cunning. No one from the manor had handled this matter. If he had not coveted the few scraps of money Old Man Jiang earned working outside, it would have been difficult to discover. If several more months passed, no one in Clearwater Town would likely mention it again.
Meng Yuan was pondering how to use this matter against Manor Head Li when Jiang Tang came running over to say that Zhao Datou and Tie Niu had arrived.
Zhao Datou's eyes were red, and Tie Niu looked aggrieved as well.
Meng Yuan first sent Jiang Tang outside, then asked Zhao Datou what had happened.
"Manor Head Li has no conscience. He took the money but did nothing." Zhao Datou was furious. "His second son Li Xiaohu has already gone to the Prince's Manor! So have the children of several manor patrolmen! When I went to demand an explanation, he said the Prince's Manor was no longer taking people!"
"This..." Old Man Jiang's eyes widened. "Did he return the money?"
"Return it? He knows we're easy to bully. He said he spent silver helping us, and that I still owe him one tael!" Zhao Datou's eyes were red with rage.
Old Man Jiang coughed repeatedly in anger and sighed. "They say one supplements what one eats. People like us, who can endure hardship, can never become people above others. We need to eat people to do that."
Hearing this, Zhao Datou sighed and clenched his fists, then finally left helplessly with Tie Niu.
Only then did Jiang Tang come back inside. Seeing that Meng Yuan and her grandfather were both silent, she obediently kept quiet too.
After a long while, Old Man Jiang finally said, "Little Meng, the manor head is the greatest authority in the manor. Even if we know some of his dirty deeds, we can't fight him. I think we should endure this. Being a gelder won't make us rich, but it can at least keep us fed and clothed."
Meng Yuan slowly shook his head.
Once there was a first time, there would be a second. If, after being controlled and humiliated once, he meekly submitted, did not dare resist, and swallowed his anger, what difference was there between him and a castrated pig or sheep?
Meng Yuan had done plenty of work in the manor and had never loafed or cut corners. But since Manor Head Li wanted to seal off his path to advancement, Meng Yuan could only overturn this rotten manor!
Meng Yuan decided that he would geld Manor Head Li.
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