CHAPTER 1641: CHAPTER 1616: A LONG VACATION

Not to mention anything else, even Old Zhou’s heart isn’t that hard.

Mr. Zhuang nodded and said, "The Ministry of Revenue agreed to let you manage the official land so quickly for another reason, which is this year’s drought in Yongzhou. Ordinary people might have some grain stored, and even if they don’t, they can tighten their belts to get through the year. But it’s difficult for the tenant farmers."

So it’s even harder to manage the tenant farmers. If the Ministry of Revenue could manage fewer lands, it would mean fewer troubles. If it wasn’t for their responsibilities, they would have been happy to hand everything over to individuals.

Sure enough, the application Mr. Zhuang submitted quickly got a response. The Ministry of Revenue directly processed the paperwork for them. Coincidentally, the official land was actually divided in June.

It’s just that the crops in the fields still belong to the previous official, so they don’t belong to them yet.

But now, most of the crops have been harvested, so the Ministry of Revenue directly gave them the address and documents, allowing them to go to the chief at the given address to inspect the official land.

Because of Zhou Man’s connection with the young master of the Shangshu family, the Ministry of Revenue officials added a word of advice, "If you plan to hire tenant farmers, you’d better decide before the Double Ninth Festival. Otherwise, after the festival, it will be difficult to find tenant farmers."

For the Ministry of Revenue, the hardest part of managing official land is not the lack of land but the lack of manpower.

Mr. Zhuang noted this and then went back to inform his three disciples.

Mr. Zhuang said, "Just right, Bai Shan, Bai Cheng, in the future, you will both start from being local administrators. This time, you can start by managing the tenant farmers. However, before that, you must first find tenant farmers willing to rent and farm your land."

Bai Shan and Bai Erlang thought there wouldn’t be any problem. In Luojiang County, as long as there is land, are they afraid no one will farm it?

Old Zhou thought this way too. He had just heard about it from Mr. Zhuang and immediately told Zhou Dalang to pack up, "When Manbao returns from vacation for the Mid-Autumn Festival, we will go to Yongzhou immediately. I heard Old Master Bai say that Yongzhou is very different from our Luojiang County. There, the land is vast, and there are rarely mountains. The official lands given to the officials are fertile."

Zhou Dalang heard this and went to pack, but then felt something was wrong and came back to ask his father, "Dad, if we all go to Yongzhou to farm, what about the land at home?"

Old Zhou fell silent, reaching for the tobacco pouch at his back. Ms. Qian saw him and patted his hand, telling Zhou Dalang, "Second and Third are at home, what are you afraid of? Third is good at farming; he won’t let the land waste away."

"But with just Second Brother and Third Brother, isn’t it too few people? We have so much land at home, and the herbs in the mountains..."

"Second is here. If he’s too busy, he will hire people," Ms. Qian wasn’t very worried and said, "I’m more concerned about you. From what Mr. Zhuang says, it seems it’s hard to find people to farm in Yongzhou."

Old Zhou said, "If there’s land, can you lack people to farm? Didn’t you hear Old Master Bai say that Yongzhou is the auxiliary capital? Do you know what an auxiliary capital is?"

Ms. Qian really didn’t know.

Old Zhou didn’t know either, but he liked to brag, "It’s a huge city. In such a big city, can there be a lack of people? Where there are people, there will be farmers. Don’t worry."

Seeing his pride, Ms. Qian became more worried. She thought for a moment and said, "I’ll go with you once Manbao is out of the palace."

"What are you going for?" Old Zhou muttered, "Your health isn’t good; you shouldn’t be traveling back and forth."

"I’ve already recovered. I even walked for twelve days from the village to the capital, so why fear the half-day trip to Yongzhou?"

When it came to family matters, Old Zhou really couldn’t out-talk Ms. Qian. So if Ms. Qian decided to go, Old Zhou couldn’t stop her.

As a result, Ms. Qian not only decided to go herself but also invited Old Madam Liu, "I heard they have a long holiday for Mid-Autumn in the palace. Old Madam, why don’t you also come to Yongzhou with us for some fun? We are country folks with little experience and would like to ask for your guidance."

Their family had only ever hired temporary workers, never long-term ones, and certainly not tenant farmers.

In the village, there was only one landlord, Old Master Bai. Just in Qili Village, there were no tenant farmers. At most, some people worked temporarily for Old Master Bai, so they didn’t know the market well.

For unknown matters, even Ms. Qian would feel timid and scared, so it’s better to have someone knowledgeable for guidance.

Old Madam Liu didn’t take long to agree. She laughed and said, "Coincidentally, our family has a manor on the outskirts of Yongzhou. The weather is still hot, so why not stay in the manor? Many fruits are ripe now, and we can enjoy eating them."

Ms. Qian had no objections, so everyone agreed on this.

Manbao and the others got a holiday on the evening of August 13. This time, they only had three days of school after entering the palace. Manbao cheerfully ran from the main gate to the west courtyard to find her eldest sister-in-law, shouting, "We’re on vacation! We get five days off this time!"

Junior Ms. Qian came out of the house in surprise and asked happily, "Really?"

Manbao nodded vigorously, "On Mid-Autumn night, His Majesty wants to celebrate with the people, so the palace will start preparing tomorrow evening. They will also move from Daming Palace to here, so we have a holiday."

She continued, "On the sixteenth, the foreign envoys will be received, which will be lively for two more days. So we have five days off, and we’ll return to the palace after the eighteenth."

Junior Ms. Qian calculated and asked, "But isn’t Bai Da’s marriage on the twentieth? Are you going back to the palace on the nineteenth?"

Manbao grinned and said, "We planned in advance. Before leaving the palace, we requested leave from Libationer Kong and Director Xiao at the Xiao Yuan. We won’t return to the palace until the twenty-first."

That’s why she was so happy; she had a whole seven-day holiday.

Bai Shan and Bai Erlang were also very excited, and they rushed back to tell their families this great news. Bai Erlang, carefree as he was, even invited his elder brother to join them in Yongzhou for some fun, planning to return on the nineteenth to prepare for the wedding.

Bai Dalang immediately gave him a light smack on the head, saying, "I don’t expect you to help, but at least don’t cause any trouble. I’m about to get married, and you’re still thinking of playing around. Who will take care of the family’s business?"

Bai Erlang rubbed his head and said, "Father has already bought you a house, and the furniture inside has been replaced. What do you need to do?"

Bai Dalang started counting on his fingers but suddenly wondered why he needed to explain all this to him?

So he said, "You’ll understand when you get married. If marriage were as simple as you think, why would father postpone the date to the twentieth?"

Bai Erlang turned and ran outside, saying, "If you don’t go, then fine, I’ll go with Manbao and Bai Shan. But don’t worry; I’ll bring back some delicious fruits for you."

Mr. Zhuang was also going, and Manbao invited Lijun and Liru. She explained to her father, "Dad, in the future, all these big accounts in the field will need Lijun to help you manage. So let’s let Lijun take a look. Liru has been exhausted from studying medicine lately, so she should go out for a walk."

Old Zhou then said, "Let your Fourth Sister-in-law and Fifth Sister-in-law go too. The crops in the fields should be harvested by now. I’ll check how many weeds are in the field. If there are many, we should weed them out to prepare for the winter."

Those who wanted to go and play, such as Ms. Fang and others: ...