eurekapd Chapter 97 Wen Yuxia is shocked
Chapter 97 Wen Yuxia is shocked
After moving into their new home, Wen Yunhong put down his book bag and ran to find Wen Yuxia: "Sister, the professor said that the academic exchange conference, which is held every five years, will be held in Nanzhou Prefecture this time. Students who want to participate can sign up."
The cost of living in the prefectural city is higher than in the county town, and with the academic exchange conference taking advantage of this, the restaurants and inns in the prefectural city will definitely raise their prices further.
The cost of food and lodging alone deterred many students from poor families. Those who signed up for this academic exchange were mostly from families with relatively comfortable financial situations.
Wen Yunhong didn't say he wanted to go, but his face showed a longing look. Wen Yuxia chuckled and said, "Want to go?"
"Yes, my eldest cousin and third cousin also want to go," the three brothers studied together at the academy and were very close, so Wen Yunhong naturally wanted to help them get the opportunity to go to Nanzhou Prefecture to broaden their horizons.
Wen Yuxia is planning to visit Mengzhong County soon to inspect the fields and hills bestowed upon her by the Emperor. Wen Yunhong going with her teacher to broaden his horizons is exactly what she wants.
She said generously, "Go if you want," and then summoned the butler, Li Chuan, instructing him to find a suitable boy to be Wen Yunhong's page.
After Wen Yunhai and Wen Yunqing complete their studies, they will leave Wen Yuxia's home. It's unsuitable for the servants in the household to serve them as pageboys, so Wen Yuxia plans to simply buy two people and give them to them.
"Steward Li, go to the brokerage and buy two boys of suitable age to serve as pageboys for the two young masters. Give them the indentures to keep themselves."
Li Chuan bowed slightly and said, "Yes, Princess, this old servant will take care of it right away."
The next day, Wen Yuxia made arrangements for the whereabouts of the household steward, accountant, and manager.
Zhu Wu and his wife, along with Ping Lin, who was not yet married, went to a horse farm. Zhu Wu became the manager, his wife Zi Mei the cook, and Ping Lin the accountant.
Yang Biao and his wife, along with Tu Chengzhi and his wife, were assigned to the racetrack. Yang Biao became the racetrack's general manager, his wife Lan Yan was the kitchen manager, Tu Chengzhi was the accountant, and his wife Mei Xiang was the guest room manager.
Butlers Li Yafeng and Ma Qiang, along with their wives, went with Wen Yuxia to Mengzhong County to take over the farmland and hills.
Wen Yuxia owns two pastry shops, which have always been managed by pastry chefs Ping Yong and Lü Cuihua. The two women enjoy making pastries and have long since given up on being shopkeepers.
With Zhang Hong and Yu Sheng as ready-made managers, Ping Yong and Lü Cuihua were freed up. Wen Yuxia instructed Bei Yi to take the two managers directly to the "Delicious Food Shop" pastry shop to hand over the duties to Ping and Lü.
The household's butler was Li Chuan, and the accountant was Xue Yi, who could move the abacus beads quickly and accurately.
Finally, there was one accountant left, Tang Ankang. Since there was no suitable position for him at the moment, Wen Yuxia made him the second housekeeper in the household.
"Steward Li, you'll be in charge of arranging the remaining staff. Send any that aren't needed at home to the estate and horse farm..." Having finally settled the arrangements for the management personnel, Wen Yuxia took a sip of tea and said, her voice slightly weary.
"Yes, Your Highness, this old servant will take care of it right away," Steward Li said with a hint of a smile, his face beaming as he left.
How could he not be happy? He was in charge of everything, including the horse farm, the racetrack, the three farms, and the fields and hills in Mengzhong County. He was the head steward of the Wen family.
Five days later, the three Wen brothers, along with their respective pageboys and Nan Yi, set off for Nanzhou Prefecture in a mule cart with their teacher. Wen Yuxia, concerned for their safety, also sent Nan Er, Nan San, and Nan Si to accompany them.
After seeing Wen Yunhong off, Wen Yuxia led Bei Yi and the others to Mengzhong County.
"Princess, this is the land bestowed upon you by the Emperor," Magistrate Zhang of Mengzhong County personally led the way, bringing Wen Yuxia to the edge of the land granted by the Emperor.
In the seemingly endless fields, many people were working. Magistrate Zhang, his face slightly flushed, said, "These fields have always been rented by villagers from the surrounding area. This season's wheat has just been planted..."
When he received the notice that the land had been reclaimed, he had no intention of continuing to rent out the two thousand acres. As a result, the tenants did not make a fuss but instead sat in protest outside the county government office for several days.
Forced by circumstances, and since Wen Yuxia hadn't sent anyone to take over, he sublet the land again. Now that the rightful owner had arrived, he finally didn't have to worry about it anymore.
Magistrate Zhang had a fat head and big ears. At first glance, Wen Yuxia thought he was a corrupt official. After listening to Magistrate Zhang's introduction of the land, Wen Yuxia couldn't help but shake her head and mutter to herself, "You can't judge a book by its cover!"
The county government only collects 50% of the land's yield each year, with the other 50% going to the tenants. Magistrate Zhang's rent is even 10% cheaper than hers. What a good official!
Praised as a good official by Wen Yuxia, Magistrate Zhang felt somewhat ashamed. He said sheepishly, "Mengzhong County has little land and a large population. Many villagers rely on rent for a living. To ensure the villagers have enough to eat..."
He issued a strict order to the wealthy households in the city: the land rent could not exceed 60%. In order to set an example for the wealthy households in the city, he would only collect 50% rent for all land belonging to the government..."
Without Wen Yuxia's consent, Magistrate Zhang leased the Wen family's two thousand mu of land to the villagers at a low price of 50% of the land rent. He nervously expressed his apologies to Wen Yuxia.
Wen Yuxia said with a faint smile, "Reducing the rent by 10% will allow the villagers to have enough to eat and wear, which is a good thing. Magistrate Zhang, you don't need to feel guilty. On the contrary, I should thank you for doing good and practical things for the people of Mengzhong County."
Magistrate Zhang's eyes lit up with surprise: "Princess, do you mean to agree to split the profits 50/50 with the villagers?"
Wen Yuxia nodded affirmatively, then pointed to Li Yafeng and said, "Magistrate Zhang, this is my steward, Li Yafeng. Please have someone inform the tenants to have him change the signature on the contract, while keeping the content unchanged."
Previously, the tenants signed rental contracts with the county government. Now, the county government's signature must be changed to that of Princess Muhua's residence. Also, the housing for Li Yafeng and others here must be handed over to these tenants for repair.
Magistrate Zhang smiled and called out loudly to the tenants working in the fields, "Princess Mu Hua, the owner of this land, has arrived! Everyone, put down what you're doing and come to pay your respects to the princess!"
The clerk beside him muttered under his breath, "Magistrate, your voice is so soft, how many people can hear you? This kind of announcement should be left to the professionals."
“Yes, yes, yes, Officer Du, you call him,” Magistrate Zhang said with a smile.
Officer Du took a deep breath and shouted, "The landowner has arrived! Everyone, come and pay your respects!"
All the tenants knew that the landowner was the newly appointed Princess Muhua, bestowed by the Emperor. Officer Du used his inner strength to project his voice throughout the fields, and all the tenants who heard it knelt down on the spot, shouting, "Greetings, Princess!"
The tenants who hadn't heard Constable Du's shouts followed suit, kneeling and bowing as they saw the other tenants around them.
Wen Yuxia was somewhat startled. Having lived in the Great Xia Dynasty for many years, this was the first time she had ever witnessed so many people kneeling before her. Her nose tingled, and tears streamed down her face uncontrollably.
"Get up, get up quickly," the choked voice, amplified by internal energy, carried far and wide. The owner of the voice secretly resolved to contribute to the prosperity of the Great Xia Dynasty.