stjorthotic Chapter 58 Xie Family Steward
Chapter 58 Xie Family Steward
The Returning to Origin Technique has reached its perfect state.
[Unlock Hidden Move: Return to Origin Technique - Rejuvenation]
You can gain an extra wisp of true energy each day you cultivate.
This technique has reached its maximum potential.
After dealing with the Green Wolf Gang, Chen Ye had some free time and once again used up his lifespan to push the Returning Origin Technique to its limit, unexpectedly gaining the ability of [Rebirth].
This brought him additional benefits in his daily practice.
Unfortunately, these peaceful days did not last long.
By the end of July, the major families in the capital began to demand payment of taxes and grain.
The Cui family was no exception.
Furthermore, Cui Xijun, having previously lost nearly a thousand taels of silver, placed particular importance on the collection of this sum of money and grain.
Everyone gradually became extremely busy.
Fortunately, this wasn't the first time Cui Xijun had done something like this, and she was quite familiar with the process.
That same day, he cleared up the accounts of the several farms he was assigned to and then issued the tasks.
So Cheng Defu, along with Chen Ye and Hong Ling, began a life of riding horses all day long.
For the first few days, I visited farms in the suburbs. I knew the roads well, and the tenants were honest, so the harvest went smoothly.
Chen Ye rode his horse behind Cheng Defu and Hong Ling, watching Cheng Defu open the booklet and check the accounts of each household at each place, using both soft and hard tactics, urging those who needed to be urged and slowing down those who needed to be slowed down.
They were very familiar with the same set of sales pitches.
The third day of the eighth lunar month.
The three headed to Shaojiawei in Beiganli.
Of the thirty estates owned by the Cui family in the capital region, this one was the most remote and historically the most difficult to manage.
The entire estate had just reached a hundred households, and it was right next to the Xie family's territory.
The tenants there often rented land from the Cui family and also cultivated land from the Xie family.
Both households have to arrive at the same time to collect rent; whoever is a step late will miss out on collecting it all.
As Chen Ye and his group arrived at the village entrance, they ran into the Xie family's entourage who had come to collect the debt.
The head steward, surnamed Li, was about the same age and build as Cheng Defu. He wore a worn silk robe and had a short sword hanging at his waist, which jingled as he walked.
The man recognized Cheng Defu and was quite annoyed to see the Cui family arrive.
His expression darkened at first, but then he put on a smile again: "So it's Brother Cheng from the Cheng family. It's been a long time."
Cheng Defu also stepped forward, cupped his hands in greeting, and exchanged a few pleasantries: "Brother Li from the Xie family, it's been a long time."
Li Anye smiled and said, "I wonder which household Brother Cheng will visit first today?"
Cheng Defu sighed, "Which other family could it be? It must be Han Erniu's family, who owes the most rent. If we don't urge them to pay, it'll become a complete mess."
"What a coincidence, I've also come here for him. Let's travel together."
Chen Ye followed slowly behind, asking Cheng Defu in a low voice, "Which Xie family does this person belong to?"
"How many Xie families are left in the capital?"
Chen Ye fell silent, his gaze quietly falling on Li Anye's retreating figure.
Looking at his walking posture, Chen Ye couldn't help but think of Zhang Tieyi.
Those who work for the Xie family all have this smell about them.
They're a bunch of dogs who deserve a beating.
The group walked to a mud-walled, thatched-roof house in the village.
Li Anye gave him a wink.
The Xie family's servants immediately stepped forward and kicked open the half-closed door, rushing inside like wolves.
Han Erniu's family consists of four people, including two children.
Upon seeing the Xie family burst in, the woman inside the house was so frightened that she fell to the ground.
The main house was already small, and after the Xie family all rushed in, there wasn't even a place to stand.
With their deliberate or unintentional obstruction, Chen Defu and the others had no choice but to retreat outside the door.
Chen Ye stood at the door and peered inside.
There was only one table and three chairs in the room. The walls were made of yellow mud bricks, and in many places the yellow soil had peeled off, revealing the pitted and uneven surface inside.
They were truly destitute.
Chen Ye withdrew his gaze and turned to look at the courtyard.
There was a persimmon tree in the Han family's yard, which was already laden with heavy persimmons.
The lower parts have already been picked, only some of the higher parts remain unpicked, their bright red leaves swaying in the wind.
Beside the persimmon tree, there was a pile of withered grass and several bundles of dry firewood.
Two small, thin children were hiding beside a haystack; the older one was about eight or nine years old, and the younger one was only four or five.
The smaller one had sunken cheeks, chapped lips, and bare, dark feet, making it impossible to tell if it was male or female.
Four eyes peered fearfully at the group of uninvited guests in the courtyard.
Inside the main hall, Li Anye picked up a chair and sat down, then shouted at the slumped woman, "Han family, the rent you owed last year can't be delayed again this year; it must be paid in full today!"
The village woman knelt on the ground and cried, "Sir, my family really has no money left. My husband is sick and has been taking medicine... All the money we earn in the fields has gone to the pharmacy, and we don't even have anything to eat!"
"I don't care about your family's affairs!" Li Anye retorted sharply. "You can't stop paying rent just because your husband is sick! You say you have no money, but aren't your two boys outside your door money too? Aren't you money yourself?"
"Ah...no, no! Our family has a clean reputation for generations. How could we do something that would lower our status and dishonor our family name?"
Li Anye glared at him disdainfully and said, "Tell your man to come out and answer!"
With red eyes, the woman hesitated for a long time before getting up and going into the house to help a sallow-faced, emaciated man out.
This man looked to be at least fifty or sixty years old due to long-term heavy labor and illness.
Han Erniu knelt down tremblingly, pleading, "Sir... please grant me another year... Once I recover, I will make up for all the debts..."
Li Anye interrupted sharply, "Stop talking nonsense. You must make up for it today no matter what. If you don't, I'll take your wife and children and sell them off. There will be no other way."
"Please, sir! Give me some more time! Please give me some more time!"
The woman then knelt down and begged in a pitiful voice.
"Get out of here!"
Li Anye grew impatient and kicked the woman away.
When the woman realized she couldn't get through this ordeal, she finally burst into tears.
The two children outside heard the crying from inside the house and shrank back in fright. The younger one's eyes turned red and he started sobbing.
Chen Ye stood outside the door, making no move to stop him.
He also knew that some things shouldn't be started.
Otherwise, if others follow suit, the Xie family in Shaojiawei will collect all the rent, but the Cui family won't, and it will be seen as them being incompetent.
At that moment, Chen Ye suddenly felt someone lightly tap his back twice.
He turned around and saw it was that little girl, Hongling.
Hongling was there on behalf of Cui Xijun to oversee the rent collection this time.
Perhaps because she was young and it was the first time she had seen such a tragic scene, her heart softened.
She nestled close behind Chen Ye and whispered, "This family looks so pitiful, could you help them?"
Chen Ye stood with his hands clasped and said calmly, "This is not my responsibility. If you pity them, you can go and give alms yourself."
Hongling bit her lip, then turned to Steward Cheng and asked, "How much... exactly does their family owe us and the Xie family?"
"The Han family rented seven mu from the Cui family and eight mu from the Xie family. Including old and new rents, they had to pay a total of nine shi of grain per year, and eighteen shi in two years, which is about nineteen taels of silver."
"Ah, nineteen taels?!" Hongling exclaimed softly, her cheeks flushing red.
She worked in the household, and her monthly allowance was no more than two taels of silver.
This amount of money is equivalent to her annual allowance; even if she wanted to help, she would have to empty her savings.
Just as Hongling was stunned, Li Anye's shouting voice came from inside the room again.