Coming with Hope

To be honest, given Song Ankang's current caution, if not for the greatest trump card of his own strength, he probably would not have rashly made such a decision.

Even if Chaoyun Manor truly lost a three-digit number of tenant farmers by then, at most he would be removed from his position as lord of Chaoyun Manor. With strength as his backing, he would rise again sooner or later.

But for Song Ankang, who had come from modern society, accepting such a thing was not easy. After all, he would be indirectly responsible for so many deaths—how could he bear it?

On Earth, even the deaths of a few Descendants of Yan and Huang were matters of immense gravity, let alone hundreds.

As one of the Descendants of Yan and Huang, Song Ankang had seen all too often how highly the nation's upper echelons valued human life. He had been deeply moved by it, and gradually formed the belief that human lives outweighed all else.

Such a belief was not easy to change, nor was it a bad thing. At the very least, it would make Song Ankang cherish those beneath him.

As his strength rose and his status grew, Song Ankang would inevitably climb into the upper ranks in the future, holding the lives and deaths of many in his hands. If he did not value human life, he would become a butcher sooner or later.

The Human Race of the Profound Desolate Great World already struggled to survive, facing the threat of annihilation at any moment. How could they continue slaughtering one another from within?

The carriage wheels rumbled as it slowly entered the manor, carrying the hopes of the entire estate.

"He's back! The manor lord is back! Everyone, hurry and welcome him!"

"Let us hope he brings good news. Then we might be able to get through this year's hardship."

"Stop what you're doing for now. Let's go welcome the manor lord."

Amid the bustling clamor, tenant farmers soon lined both sides of the Qinggang Stone road leading to the processing workshop. They all waited for Song Ankang, hoping for a good answer.

Wang Yuliang stood at the front of the crowd, followed closely by the stewards in charge of every aspect of Chaoyun Manor, all looking expectantly at the carriage.

Song Ankang stepped out of the carriage and swept his gaze over the surrounding stewards and tenant farmers. A smile appeared on his face. "Everything went smoothly. From now on, Chaoyun Manor will have another stable source of income. If nothing unexpected happens, we should be able to get through this year's hardship without trouble."

The moment his words fell, the vast manor was silent for a moment before deafening cheers surged skyward.

"The manor lord is truly brilliant! Thank you, Manor Lord!"

"Thank you, Manor Lord! Our estate is saved."

"After losing so many precious medicinal herbs, we thought we could not escape disaster this year. Who would have expected the manor lord to find us a way to save our lives so quickly?"

"Who said before that the manor lord lacked ability? I say Manor Lord is the most capable of all the manor lords we've had."

Wang Yuliang took the lead, followed by the many stewards, then all the tenant farmers. Together, they bowed down before Song Ankang, thanking him for everything he had done for Chaoyun Manor.

Everyone understood that even if this year's weather was terrible and the harvest poor, with the leftover grain and medicinal herbs from last year as a foundation, Song Ankang, the new manor lord, would still live well enough and certainly would not go hungry.

If Song Ankang had been a little more ruthless and taken a larger share of the harvest, he could still have lived a good life this year.

But Song Ankang had not done so. Even knowing that failure might cost him his position as manor lord, he had still decided to use several hundred portions of medicinal herbs on this attempt, hoping to carve out a path to survival for Chaoyun Manor's tenant farmers.

What was more, despite being the lord of Chaoyun Manor, he had personally gone to Tongxin Town to negotiate business, willing to let his reputation be sullied. And throughout all this, most people in Chaoyun Manor had still doubted Song Ankang.

Yet even under such circumstances, Song Ankang had braved the wind and risked danger, successfully closing this deal and opening a new source of income for Chaoyun Manor—a road that could save their lives.

Thinking of all Song Ankang had done for Chaoyun Manor, many people wore ashamed expressions. None dared question him in the slightest again, while Wang Yuliang and the other estate leaders were completely convinced by him.

Welcomed by all of Chaoyun Manor's tenant farmers, Song Ankang returned to the processing workshop. Looking at the bright, expectant eyes of the young women inside, he smiled and waved his hand. "Distribute the money!"

Stars began to glitter in those lovely eyes, and some had already turned into hearts. They felt that Song Ankang's charm had broken through the heavens at this moment, and wished they could immediately offer themselves to him.

But when Qiushi began distributing the money to them, the young women all declined together.

"Manor Lord, we ruined so many medicinal herbs during this time. We cannot accept these profits."

"That's right, that's right. Once our skills improve and we stop ruining so many medicinal herbs, Manor Lord can give us some profits then."

"These profits are too much. We cannot accept them."

Seeing that no one was willing to accept the profits, Song Ankang smiled. "I understand how you feel, but we agreed on this beforehand, so you must accept it. You cannot make me go back on my word, can you?"

"Besides, although you ruined quite a few medicinal herbs, your success rate has already far exceeded my expectations. So we did not lose money this time—we actually earned some. It is enough to pay your share of the profits. Hurry and take it."

Before the young women could object, Song Ankang forcibly handed the calculated shares of profit to them one by one. The ten young women all had tears in their eyes, a feeling rising in them that a scholar would die for one who understood him.

Just as Song Ankang had said, the diligence and intelligence of these young women had exceeded his expectations. Moreover, processing these basic medicinal herbs was not particularly difficult, and Song Ankang was quite capable at teaching.

Therefore, even at the very beginning, Song Ankang had not lost money. Instead, he had earned a little.

The key was that once the success rate rose, Song Ankang would definitely earn even more. Of the full profits, one-tenth would go to these processors, another tenth would be set aside to operate the estate, and the remaining eight-tenths would belong to Song Ankang personally.

With such astonishing returns, what did Song Ankang have to be dissatisfied about? Even in modern society, it was already considered quite good for a boss to keep more than half the profits after deducting costs and everything else.

"I'm giving you all a day off today. Come back tomorrow and work hard for me. Whether Chaoyun Manor can get through this year's hardship depends entirely on you."

After distributing the profits, Song Ankang let the deeply moved young women go back to rest and share the joy of their gains with their families.

Of course, the most important thing was to let everyone in Chaoyun Manor truly feel the benefits of this source of income. That way, more people would join in afterward and help Song Ankang earn even more profits.

Ten young women were still far too few. Chaoyun Manor had over a thousand tenant farmers. As long as even a small half joined in, Song Ankang's income could soar by dozens of times.

With sufficient wealth then, would he still need to worry about being unable to buy cultivation resources?

A scholar would die for one who understood him. For all you dear readers, this little newbie has not slept in for a long time. I get up at five every morning to write. Please give me some bookmarks and recommendations.