Farm Girl's Manor
Chapter 1042: Greed Is Not Enough (3)

Chapter 1042: Chapter 1042: Greed Is Not Enough (3)

Don’t underestimate that ten percent of the harvest; even without Spirit Spring Water, the villagers of Chen Family Village still produced an astounding 1,100 jin per mu of high-yield rice. That ten percent is 110 jin, which amounts to a third of the yield from previous years—and much more than the ten percent they used to skim off for themselves.

With that ten percent, families cultivating two hundred mu of rice paddies each gained an additional four hundred jin of rice. This four hundred jin of rice, if traded for cheaper coarse grains, could roughly turn into eight hundred jin, enough to feed a family of five for a quarter of the year.

Zhao Dafu had quietly enjoyed the benefits for ten years, accumulating more grain from his small share from each family than what a single main tenant could get. The tenants simply didn’t believe he had the courage to forgo those benefits and refused to hand over the remaining ten percent, no matter what.

Because of this, some people even threatened Zhao Dafu in private, but he, no longer having any concerns, was not afraid and even subtly informed the new master of Tianzhuang about their actions.

Without any leverage over Zhao Dafu, the tenants, worried they would not be able to rent land next year if they caused any trouble, reluctantly made up the remaining ten percent of the rent. They bitterly carried home the grains that belonged to them, along with the coarse grain they had obtained from Zhao Dafu.

Later, when these people came to ask Zhao Dafu about the preparations for the autumn tillage, he told them there were other arrangements and asked them not to worry, hinting in a diplomatic way that the rented lands were going to be reclaimed.

Originally, these one thousand mu of land were rented out annually, but as the people of Chen Family Village had been cultivating it for many years, it was presumed that the land would always be theirs to farm. They had never bothered to confirm with Zhao Dafu in previous years. It was only because the estate had changed owners that they felt compelled to inquire but, to their dismay, they received such a response.

Because of that ten percent of the yield, the tenants bore much resentment towards the new master of the estate, Mo Yan. Now that she intended to reclaim the land, they became outright defiant and dragged Zhao Dafu into their demands for an explanation. They argued that since they had been cultivating the land for so long, it couldn’t just be taken back without proper justification.

Zhao Dafu argued with them for days but couldn’t clarify the situation. Those tenants even brazenly took action, which was quite outrageous.

"Those people received a share of the yield that was more than their entire harvest in previous years. They could have had a bountiful year, yet they were unsatisfied and greedy for that extra ten percent. They really think of themselves as entitled to whatever they get on the cheap! Now they are unwilling to hand over the land and even use innocent people to test my limits—that’s downright despicable!" Mo Yan was extremely annoyed and couldn’t help but mutter a curse under her breath.

"Isn’t that normal? Once some people start getting more, it’s hard to stop them. Those people, having been greedy for so many years, now consider that ten percent of the yield as their own. If you ask them to spit it out, they’d hardly be willing," Xue Tuanzi said, attempting to soothe her. It had seen plenty of such situations, not only in the mundane world but also in the Cultivation World.

"I used to feel bad for them, without any land of their own, thinking if I reclaimed the land, they would have a harder life. I even hesitated whether I should take it back. Now I see that sympathy should be reserved for the deserving! Since they’re so ungrateful and have delivered their faults right to my doorstep, I’ll take this opportunity to reclaim the land for myself," Mo Yan said, truly angered by the tenants’ actions. She wasn’t about to foolishly scatter her sympathy on the ground for them to trample upon.

With that decision made, Xuetuan raised its snail eyes in agreement: "Respect given by others should be returned tenfold. Since those people don’t deserve sympathy, you do what you think is right!"

Mo Yan nodded, went back to change her clothes, and saw that her two sisters had already fallen asleep. She covered them up properly and, with Xuetuan, who insisted on accompanying her, headed for the front

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