Capítulo 1643: Chapter 1618: Showing Off

The five people carefully moved about in the tree, continuously tossing green dates down. Zhou Liru, Zhou Ligu, and Bai Shuping were picking them up with two baskets, while Daji and two guards bent down to help. Soon, the baskets couldn’t hold any more.

Just then, a servant came running to call them, “Young masters and mistresses, it’s time to go back for lunch.”

Only then did Manbao and the others climb down from the tree with disappointed faces. They plopped down on the grass to put on their shoes, “We only picked some dates. Let’s come back to look at the pears after lunch.”

Bai Shan agreed wholeheartedly, “Sure.”

The group took the red dates back to the estate, soaking some in well water. After washing them, they placed them in a basket, planning to eat them as dessert after lunch.

Unfortunately, those who planned to go out playing after lunch couldn’t make it because they felt sleepy right after eating. After all, they had been riding horses for half a day and were somewhat tired, having gotten up early in the morning.

Seeing them yawning while looking outside, Old Madam Liu suggested, “The sun is quite strong now. Why don’t you take a nap first, and we can talk after you wake up.”

The group felt that there was still plenty of time, and this idea wasn’t bad, so they went to sleep while yawning.

But when they woke up, Old Zhou didn’t allow them to go out to play. He said, “I’ve already inquired; the location of the official land isn’t far from here. It’s about three quarters of an hour’s carriage ride, so let’s go take a look now.”

Manbao was still thinking about the pears in the orchard and said, “Dad, this matter isn’t urgent. We still have four days of vacation.”

“How is it not urgent,” Old Zhou was almost burning with impatience, he said, “Didn’t you notice that there are already people planting wheat for winter in the estate?”

“The capital is too far north, and Yongzhou is even further north. We can only plant one season of wheat. If we can’t get the wheat to sprout green before the snow, we’ll have to wait another year to plant wheat. That’s a huge loss.”

Manbao said, “We can plant beans.”

“Such good land to plant beans would be an even bigger waste,” Old Zhou said, “Hurry up, stop being lazy. How can you be lazier than your father.”

Zhou Dalang laughed, “Dad, she’s not being lazy; she just wants to have fun.”

Junior Ms. Qian said to Manbao, “You said you wanted to see the lanterns in Yongzhou. If you don’t go today, how will you watch the lanterns tomorrow?”

Manbao suddenly got excited and immediately said to her father, “Dad, let’s go now. It’s only three quarters of an hour, very quick. If we ride horses, we could get there in two quarters of an hour.”

Bai Shan also smartly brought out their horses, asked Old Zhou for directions, and rode off.

Old Zhou opened his mouth wide, turned to Zhou Dalang, and asked, “There’s no one to guide them. What if they go the wrong way?”

Ms. Qian, who had already packed up, said, “There are people on the road. They know the place names and will ask someone if needed. With a mouth and nose, are they afraid of not finding the way?”

Old Zhou thought about it and agreed.

Old Madam Liu instructed the bailiff to go with them. He knows the way and is familiar with the area.

From the capital to Yongzhou, there are only a few low hills. Much of the land has been developed into large farms.

The bailiff sat on the carriage shaft chatting with Old Zhou, saying, “Around here, the villagers’ fields are just a small portion. More are official lands and lands owned by lords. So, people in the villages in this area are mostly tenant farmers, with only a few acres of their own land. The rest is rented from others, or they have no land at all and rely entirely on rented land.”

Old Zhou asked, “How many years has it been in the Great Jin, and they’ve already lost all their land?”

The bailiff chuckled bitterly, glanced at Old Zhou’s hands, then looked behind the carriage, and lowered his voice, “I see you’re a fellow farmer like me. I won’t hide it. It’s not that they lost their land themselves. Well, some did, but more had their land bought back by the court to become official lands.”

“I don’t know why, but the court has hired so many officials. There’s a shortage of official lands year after year. What do they do then?”

Old Zhou asked, “What do they do?”

“They take it from folks like us,” he said. “The authorities just take a little money and take our cultivated land as official land, then give us some wasteland in return. But look at that wasteland, so overgrown. You might not open two acres in a year, and even then, you’d have to plant beans first. People are starving; who wants to cultivate such land? It’s better to be a tenant farmer.”

Old Zhou was dumbfounded. So, their family’s Manbao’s official land came like this?

The bailiff didn’t know Old Zhou’s identity, so he just smiled and asked, “Old man, are you heading that way because your master bought land?”

Old Zhou came back to his senses, shook his head, and said, “No, it’s because my daughter was allocated official land.”

“Your daughter?” The bailiff was puzzled, “Your daughter is a concubine in the palace? No, I haven’t heard of any concubine having official land here.”

Only then did Old Zhou proudly straighten his chest and say, “Not a concubine, an official. My daughter is an imperial physician, also serves some editorial position, I think, editing books. Fifth rank. She holds two official posts, so she was allocated a thousand acres of official land. We’re going to see that land this time.”

The bailiff was so surprised his mouth dropped open and took a long time to close. “So, she’s an official. Wow, you’re blessed because of your daughter.”

Old Zhou grinned broadly, finally finding someone he could talk to. He nodded to the bailiff and said, “That’s right. Among my sons, none can compare to my little daughter. She’s been filial since she was young. When she drank egg-water as a child, she thought about secretly leaving some for me.”

The bailiff then carefully recalled Zhou Man and after a while said, “Such a young age, and she’s already an official? Can’t be right, I remember the Old Madam saying she’s our future young lady.”

“Yes, we’ve arranged a marriage between our two families. My little daughter is betrothed to your young master. They currently work in the palace together. My daughter holds an official position, and your young master is quite capable too; he’s studying with the crown prince.” Old Zhou added another point to brag about and lowered his voice, “Do you know the crown prince? He’s the future emperor.”

And his son-in-law now studies with the future emperor, which, giving it context, makes his son-in-law and the emperor classmates. Just thinking about it made Old Zhou feel like he couldn’t breathe.

The bailiff also felt like he couldn’t catch his breath.

The manor in the capital—or rather in Yongzhou—was bought by Old Madam Liu as a stopping point and to provide fresh vegetables, fruits, and grains to the family in the capital, so she did not specifically select managers and workers.

To integrate into the capital and Yongzhou and have fewer troubles, the bailiff and tenants were selected locally, though, she also dispatched some family servants to the estate to manage or work, and those were considered her close confidants.

Since they were not sold into service but merely in a hiring relationship, both the bailiff and tenants knew little about the master’s affairs. The young master accompanying the crown prince to study…

The bailiff was bewildered for quite a while before realizing, so his master was also that powerful and influential? He never knew that.