Collecting rent

Baiyang County, Zhang Family Gully.

Under the scorching sun, Li Yishan was drenched in sweat as he carried load after load of firewood from his courtyard to the Wang family's home. He never tired of it, an excited smile on his face.

There had been too little rain this year, and the crops had yielded poorly. To supplement the household income, he went up the mountain every day to cut firewood and carried it to the market to sell. Whatever went unsold, he carried back and piled in the courtyard.

Fortunately, the Wang family had bought all the firewood today.

Although he had discounted the price, it had still taken a worry off Li Yishan's mind.

After carrying away all the firewood in the courtyard, Li Yishan walked over to the water vat. His hand had just closed around the dipper floating on the surface when he noticed that, besides his own reflection, there was a young man's in the vat.

"Young master, you're here."

Li Yishan hurriedly turned around to greet him.

"If I didn't come, was I supposed to wait for you to pay the rent of your own accord?"

The young master's expression was unfriendly.

Holding a ledger, he opened it for Li Yishan to see and said, "You rented seven mu of land from my family on a fixed-rent basis: ten shi of rice a year. Will you pay in money or rice?"

"Young master, you know the harvest was poor this year. Could you reduce the rent by twenty percent? Look, my family can't even keep the pot boiling."

Li Yishan pleaded poverty.

"The seven mu my family rented you are prime paddy fields. At an annual rent of one and a half shi per mu, we've already knocked off half a shi of rice for you. If you can't afford the rent, I'll have to take the land back. I'm sure people will line up and fight to pay a higher price for it."

The young master snorted coldly.

"Please don't, young master. I never said I wouldn't pay. Money's just tight lately. Could you give me another month or two?"

Li Yishan begged.

"If I remember correctly, your son is about my age. How about this? If you really need money, sell your son to the Zhang Clan as a servant. Not only will that cover this year's rent, but our clan can give you some silver on top of it."

Zhang Lingfeng patted Li Yishan's shoulder.

"Well... young master, please wait a moment."

Li Yishan flushed red, but thinking of the Zhang Clan's power in Zhang Family Gully, he could only go inside and fetch the silver he had hidden away.

In the Great Qing Dynasty, in a year of abundant harvests, one shi of rice sold for three hundred copper coins. Ten shi cost three thousand copper coins, equivalent to three taels of silver.

The Zhang Clan owned a total of seven hundred and twenty-eight mu of farmland.

Prime paddy fields accounted for fifty percent.

Average fields and barren dry fields each accounted for twenty to thirty percent.

They hired long-term farmhands to tend half the paddy fields themselves, while renting out the other half along with the average fields and barren dry fields.

The rental arrangements included fixed rent, sharecropping, seasonal rent, and rent paid through labor.

Whenever rent came due, Zhang Lingfeng would bring men around to collect it.

After dealing with these tenant farmers for several years in a row, Zhang Lingfeng had long since learned their tricks. Give an inch, and they would take a mile. Collecting the rent in full required a few methods.

Intimidation and threats were routine. When necessary, he had to use his fists and feet and draw some blood to keep these fellows in line.

After leaving Li Yishan's home.

Zhang Lingfeng took several sturdy long-term farmhands from his household to a fishpond surrounded by the Zhang Clan's fields.

"Young master, I prepared this bighead carp for you. It's plump and tender. I went to quite some trouble to catch it."

Liu Er spotted Zhang Lingfeng approaching with his men from afar. He hurried out of the raft house and offered the prepared bighead carp to Zhang Lingfeng with both hands.

A farmhand behind him took the carp.

Without a word, Zhang Lingfeng deftly opened the ledger and said to Liu Er, "There hasn't been enough rain this year. All the water in your pond was diverted from my family's fields. According to our agreement, my family gets thirty percent of this year's yield from the pond. Will you pay in fish or money?"

"Young master, you know there hasn't been enough rain this year. Without enough grass for feed, the fry simply can't grow..."

Liu Er hurriedly explained.

Before he could finish, Zhang Lingfeng said, "Every irrigation channel around here was dug by laborers hired by our Zhang Clan. You can refuse to pay. I just wonder whether you'll still be able to raise fish in your pond with that little bit of rainwater once there's no stream water to fill it."

"Young master, please wait a moment."

Liu Er had no choice. He knew that ever since this fellow's temperament had changed drastically three years ago, none of his words had been idle threats.

By the time Zhang Lingfeng left, he had not only collected the water fee in full, but every farmhand was also carrying several fish. Following the information in the ledger, he went from household to household collecting rent.

Now he finally knew what life as a landlord's son was like.

As a transmigrator, he was fortunate. At least he had not started out as a hunter or fisherman. Not only had he successfully transmigrated into a landlord's family, but both his parents were alive, and his brothers and sisters loved one another.

But he was unfortunate, too.

Because, just like the children of hunters and fishermen, he had discovered that this was not the ancient society of his previous life. Beyond the harsh laws and rigid hierarchy, there were demons, monsters, and ghosts wreaking havoc.

As a landlord's son, Zhang Lingfeng had no need to worry about food, clothing, shelter, or transport, but his safety was not guaranteed.

Because just a few days earlier.

A landlord's family as wealthy as the Zhang Clan had been slaughtered overnight, their savings plundered clean.

The authorities had hastily closed the case, blaming evil beings, and confiscated the family's farmland.

The Zhang Clan's residential compound covered more than twenty mu and had four successive courtyards.

When Zhang Lingfeng returned with the sturdy farmhands, he found his older sister, Zhang Pingping, waiting at the entrance to welcome him.

"Did you collect all the money?"

Zhang Pingping asked.

"Yes, it went fairly smoothly."

Zhang Lingfeng nodded.

"Good. Come see Grandfather with me. After what happened to the Ma family, he seems to have changed his mind. He's decided to choose someone to train in martial arts."

Zhang Pingping said.

"That's wonderful."

Zhang Lingfeng immediately perked up.

Ever since discovering that demons wreaked havoc in this world and martial strength reigned supreme, he had tried persuading his grandfather to pay for him to learn martial arts. Only by mastering martial skills could he protect the family's property.

But martial arts training cost a great deal of silver.

Even a landlord's family like theirs might not be able to afford it. Besides, martial arts training might not yield any returns, so Old Master Zhang had never agreed.

But this time, the Ma family's inexplicable extermination and the imperial court's confiscation of their property had finally made Old Master Zhang realize something was wrong.

When Zhang Lingfeng and Zhang Pingping reached the main room in the inner courtyard, they found that almost all the Zhang Clan members had already arrived.

The Zhang Clan was flourishing.

Old Master Zhang had three sons, six grandsons, two daughters, and a number of maternal grandsons and granddaughters.

Those gathered in the main room were all core members of the Zhang Clan.

Zhang Lingfeng and Zhang Pingping took seats behind their father, Zhang Da, and Lady Chu of the Zhang Family. Before long, Zhang Er's and Zhang San's children had all arrived as well and sat behind their parents.

Old Master Zhang spoke then. "I'm sure you've heard what happened to the Ma family. In times like these, without strength, however much farmland you own will only draw covetous eyes.

"No matter what, our Zhang Clan must produce someone accomplished in either civil or martial pursuits.

"We've already chosen someone to study for the imperial examinations. What we lack now is martial skill. But martial arts training is extremely expensive. To avoid dragging the whole family down, I can only choose one of you children to train at a martial arts school. Who do you think is most suitable?"

Old Master Zhang looked at his three sons.

"Father, martial arts training should begin early. Fugui is your youngest grandson. I think he's the best choice."

Zhang Erxi said.

"But I've heard that bone structure and constitution matter most in martial arts. Fukang is strong and sturdy. He's the best choice."

Zhang Sanfu declared, thumping his chest.

Zhang Da frowned. His two younger brothers' children had the advantage over his younger son, Zhang Lingfeng, in both age and physique.

But training at a martial arts school had always been his son's dream. Now that an opportunity had finally appeared, he had to fight for his son's chance!

So he said, "Father, I think martial arts depend not just on age and constitution, but even more on comprehension and the ability to endure hardship. How about this? First, hire a martial arts instructor to train Lingfeng and the others for a few days. See who performs best, then decide whom to send to the martial arts school."

"Good. My eldest son's idea is the best. We'll do as he says."

Old Master Zhang said with a gratified expression.

Zhang Lingfeng silently breathed a sigh of relief and looked at his sister, Zhang Pingping. No matter what, he could not let this one place at the martial arts school fall to someone else.