Chapter 263

263 Paying Rent

Da Bao was the first one to run out. He immediately understood when he saw the wheelbarrow behind the man.

“You’re here to pay rent, right? Which family? What’s your name?”

He was holding an account book in his hand, his face full of unconcealable excitement and eagerness to try.

“I’m Old Li from the east of the village. I’ve built three acres of land on the main family’s side, and I’ve harvested a total of nine stone’s worth of corn this year. According to the contract I signed with the owner, I have to pay six stone’s worth of rent, so I have to pay 5.4 stone’s worth of corn. These are four stones, the rest will be handed over tomorrow.”

!!

Old Li answered seriously.

The Qin family’s eldest branch had rented the eight acres of land to three families. After Mo Ruyue moved out, they all came to see the new owners. At that time, Mo Ruyue felt that it would be troublesome to sign the contract again. In addition, the time of the original contract was not up yet, so she continued to use the old contract.

Old Li’s family was an outsider. They did not have their own land at the foot of the Qin Village. Therefore, they could only rely on farming for others to live. Even if the condition given by the Qin family was as harsh as a six-cent rent, he could only grit his teeth and endure it.

Other than the village head’s family, the Qin family had the most land. Other families didn’t even have enough for their own farming, let alone splitting the land for others to share their harvest.

Da Bao’s account book was made by himself later on. He had written down the situations of the three tenants in it. As soon as he heard Old Li’s answer, he quickly turned to the page that recorded his family’s situation.

“Alright, then I’ll have to trouble Uncle to carry the grain in and weigh it.”

When Da Bao was making this account book, he originally wanted to ask about the yield per acre in the past years. However, when he thought of the relationship between his family and the Qin family, he gave up this idea.

In the past, when the tenants came to pay the rent, they would hand it over to Qin Shi. Whether it was the original owner Mo Ruyue or Madam Wang, they did not have the right to manage the household. They had no idea how much rent their family could collect every year.

Therefore, if they wanted to ask about the situation of the rent collection, they would have to deal with the Qin family. They were hoping that the main branch would take the initiative to find them so that they could be manipulated. Of course, Da Bao would not give them this opportunity.

Without the previous data as a reference, Da Bao had another way, which was to compare the grain production of other families in the village.

Because Qin Ming joined the army, he had a salary, and the land he bought was relatively fertile. The best reference was the village head’s land.

He had already asked around and found out that the village head’s family’s acre of land was about three to four stone, so the data that Old Li reported should be correct. There was no need to hide anything.

After making the judgment, Da Bao marked a symbol behind Old Li’s name. It was a symbol that only he could understand, a symbol that represented trust.

Old Li weighed the corn he sent. It was exactly the number he had said.

The scale of the Qin family’s eldest branch had not been adjusted, so the amount of grain that Old Li had sent was not mixed with any water. Da Bao nodded and added another stroke behind Old Li’s name.

Old Li did not say much. After weighing the grain, he picked up a bag of corn and said to Da Bao, “I’ll help you put the food away. Where should I put it?”

“Come with m. It’s in the granary. It was just built not long ago.”

Da Bao was also a chatterbox. He kept talking to Old Li as they walked.

Old Li still didn’t say anything. After sending the grain to the granary once, he sent the remaining five bags of grain over.

Just as they were moving the grain, someone came in from outside.

He was also a tenant of the Qin family’s main branch. Both families had the surname Qin, so they were relatives of the Qin family. According to seniority, Da Bao had to call one fifth uncle and the other third uncle.

These two people also had two to three acres of land, but after paying taxes on the grain they had taken, there was not much left. The family was a little tight on food, so they also integrated the land of the Qin family’s main branch. Although they could only leave four portions of grain, it was more or less a relief.

Initially, when they were facing the Qin clan, they could not gain any advantage at all. They even had to pray that the Qin clan would not find all sorts of reasons to deduct more grain.

Now that it was the Qin family’s eldest branch who had to pay the rent, they heard that Mo Ruyue had given the management power to Da Bao and rarely took care of things, so they couldn’t help but have an idea.

“Da Bao, why are you home alone? Where’s your mother?”

As soon as the man who Da Bao called third uncle entered the door, he saw Old Li carrying the grain to the side of the courtyard. Da Bao was holding a book in his hand and there was a scale in the courtyard. He knew that Old Li had come to pay the rent first.

He didn’t expect Da Bao to be the one collecting rent, but he still asked to be on the safe side.

“Third Uncle, you’re here to pay rent, right? Just tell me, I can make the decision.”

Da Bao didn’t answer his question, but went straight to the point.

“Oh, hehe, that works too. My family has built three acres of land, and we got 2.2 stones for each acre, so the total is 6.6 stones. The rent should be 3.9 stones, so I brought it all over for you today.”

Third uncle Qin said with a smile.

Da Bao was originally preparing to take notes in his book. When he heard this, he could not help but frown.

They were both their own lands, and they were also connected together, so why was there such a big difference in the grain?

He turned to look at third uncle Qin and smiled, “Third uncle, I heard that the village head’s family can harvest more than three catties of corn per acre of land. Our two families’ lands are not far apart, so how can there be such a big difference in the grain harvest?”

The third uncle Qin was stunned. He originally thought that Da Bao was just a little kid who hadn’t even grown his hair yet and was very easy to fool. He didn’t expect that he would actually hit the nail on the head.

“Aiya, you don’t understand this kind of land. This year’s weather is abnormal, so the fertility of the fields can’t keep up. Besides, even the same field has more fertilizer than the other, so it’s normal for there to be a difference in the yield of the crops.”

Da Bao’s eyes darkened after he explained, but he still said with a smile, “If that’s the case, then Third Uncle, please bring the grain over to be weighed.”

Third uncle Qin originally wanted to turn around and go out to get the food, but he happened to see Old Li coming out after delivering the food. He rolled his eyes and said, “Old Li, I’m here to deliver the food myself. Can you help me move it? ”

“Alright,” he said.

Old Li responded briefly and followed third uncle Qin out.

Seeing this, Da Bao furrowed his brows even more.

Not long after, Old Li came back with two bags of food, and third uncle Qin came back with a small bag of food in his hand.

“Da Bao, this year’s harvest is not good. I want to discuss with you. Can you pay half of the rent first? You also know that Third Uncle’s family has a lot of people, and even after paying rent every year, the family is still tight.”

“This year, Third Uncle’s family has a grandson and another mouth. If it wasn’t for your family’s kindness, I wouldn’t have opened my mouth.”

Although he sounded like he was negotiating, he seemed to have Da Bao under his control. He moved half of the grain into the yard.

“Let’s not talk about this first. Third Uncle, you should weigh the grain first.”

As Da Bao spoke, he motioned for him to put the grain on the scale.