Chapter 104: We Are Volunteers

"I? I can't do it." Old Li hastily waved his hands, how could he manage? He's farmed all his life; now letting him manage the manor, he wouldn't know how to do it.

Jiang Yun Chu saw his appearance, smiling and shaking her head, "Just knowing how to farm is enough."

"Our allocation to the tenants is fifty percent; each year's harvested grain, the land each tenant is responsible for, is directly split—half given to the tenants, half handed over to the Wang Fu."

"You will receive wages from the Wang Fu."

"However, the tenants have already dealt with many people, and even the original tenants need to be checked for any disloyal individuals."

She started from yesterday, carefully considering this manor; actually, the manor's location is not bad, close to the deep mountains, and there are various fruit trees on the mountain.

Later, a lot of land was developed by the previous steward, and now it all requires special arrangements.

"On the tenants' side, we'll put out the word; a batch of people should come, to be carefully screened."

"Su Xin will stay here afterward, until the manor stabilizes, before she leaves."

"Yesterday, she had already discussed it with Su Xin; moreover, for the subsequent matters, with Su Xin watching over, she could feel more at ease."

"Who knows, among the people here, how many are human and how many are ghosts?"

"Alright, the old man will follow Miss Su Xin's arrangements." Old Li bent his body.

Su Xin and Jiang Yun Chu exchanged a glance; afraid we still need to arrange someone else here.

After five days, Jiang Yun Chu finally got onto the carriage, but not to return—rather, to go to another manor.

"Princess Consort, you must be careful, watch your wound; for fighting matters, let the guards handle it, don't always intervene yourself." Su Xin was extremely worried; previously, beside the Princess Consort, there had also been her.

Now, beside the Princess Consort, there is no one left.

Bai Zhi's side captured the steward's family, directly taking them back to report.

Now she is staying at this manor again; the Princess Consort can only go alone, and it's been five days with no news from that manor.

How could she not worry?

Jiang Yun Chu smiled and said, "Don't worry."

Su Xin's current appearance seems to be constantly admonishing a child about to set out...

When did she make people feel so uneasy?

"Princess Consort."

Just then, Old Li walked out, then knelt on the ground, tears streaming, he thought he would never be able to avenge his daughter in this lifetime.

Now the great vengeance has been avenged.

The Princess Consort's great kindness and virtue, the old man keeps them in his heart.

Besides Old Li, many tenants also knelt down; after so many years of exploitation, they had become numb, but yesterday's announcement of the new regulation—originally the Wang Fu gave them fifty percent of the grain—meant they would no longer have to go hungry.

Tenants who previously had other thoughts now also made up their minds to work diligently.

The old man whom Jiang Yun Chu asked for water, seeing a somewhat familiar back, knelt on the ground and shouted softly, "Heaven bless us!"

"Heaven bless us!"

No one knew her, but he recognized her.

It turned out that the boy who asked for water was actually the Princess Consort.

Heaven saw their suffering and let the Princess Consort come to save them.

Jiang Yun Chu looked at the crowd kneeling on the ground, her heart unable to calm for a long time.

Clearly the Wang Fu had employed the wrong person, yet they regarded her as the one who saved them from water and fire.

What a ridiculous world this is!

The two manors are only three shichen apart; Jiang Yun Chu jumped down from the carriage, and immediately a group of people gathered around.

"Are you also from the Regent Prince's Manor?"

One person warily observed Jiang Yun Chu's party; each person's eyes held scrutiny.

Jiang Yun Chu nodded and said, "I am the Regent's Consort."

"Princess Consort..."

That group hesitated, looking at a group of people repeatedly confirming.

When Jiang Yun Chu thought it would be another fierce battle, those people thumped down, all kneeling on the ground.

She was stunned; what is the situation now?

Who can tell her?

"'Get up and speak.' Shadow shouted."

"Princess Consort, we voluntarily want thirty percent of the grain; please, don't seize the steward."

"Exactly, Princess Consort, the steward is a good person; we only want thirty percent of the grain."

"This..."

"Actually, it's quite a strange thing."

"Are you sure, just kneeling here to speak?" Jiang Yun Chu's cold voice came from behind her veil; she glanced around the manor—the manor is not big, and the fields are all tidy, not even a weed in sight.

"Are these people landowners or tenant farmers?"

"Regardless of what they are, this request is rather strange."

"Get up and answer." Seeing the hesitant people on the ground, she said it again.

These people looked left and right, finally stood up, but dared not lift their heads to look at the Princess Consort.

"Are you landowners or tenants?"

These people had just been working in the fields; seeing her carriage enter the manor, they then blocked the way here.

That shows it wasn't the steward's order, but they organized themselves spontaneously.

"We are all tenants."

"We have already been farming in this manor for over ten years."

Jiang Yun Chu nodded, the tenants, unexpectedly, were somewhat surprised.

She simply got off the carriage, walked ahead of the group, chatting off and on.

"What kind of person is your landlord?" As soon as Jiang Yun Chu finished speaking, the people behind began to speak, one after another.

"Our landlord is very good; most of us are homeless people whom he took in one by one."

"My child fell ill, we had no money for medical treatment; the landlord sold his own grain to pay for my child's treatment, otherwise my child wouldn't have survived."

"Same for me; three years ago I ran out of grain and was about to starve, but the landlord gave me a meal that kept me alive."

Watching everyone speak one after another, Jiang Yun Chu blinked, digesting these stories.

"Then... the difference between thirty percent grain and fifty percent grain is still significant; is it out of gratitude?"

"In these times when people can't even fill their stomachs, to persist for a day or a month out of gratitude—could they persist for a year or three years?"

Looking at their clothing and their sallow, thin appearance, it's likely they also eat poorly and dress poorly.

Yet they have no complaints; this landlord is rather an interesting person.

"……"

For a moment, there was complete silence.

Jiang Yun Chu turned around, glanced at everyone's expressions, as if there were some story behind them.

She, on the other hand, was somewhat eager to see what would happen.

Entering the manor, groups of people came from all directions, making faces at those behind Jiang Yun Chu for a while, yet no one spoke.

The number of people following behind kept increasing.

As if they were afraid she would bully people?

Interesting, very interesting.

"Why aren't you working and just running back here?" a dark-skinned sturdy man, watching the crowd, lagging behind people with a swaying gait, asked gruffly.