Collecting Rent from the Fields
A large-scale group interview-style matchmaking session ultimately ended with no one being selected, but the aftermath was considerable.
No matter how airtight or irrefutable her reasoning was, or how novel and unconventional the entire approach seemed, it still drew plenty of criticism. In taverns and teahouses, discussions about it never stopped.
Many people looked down on her, condemning her rebellious behavior and saying she was unsuitable as a match. Some even claimed that if she kept being so indecisive and picky, she would eventually only be left waiting for an official matchmaker to arrange a union for her, and that she would ultimately suffer the consequences of her own actions.
Of course, there were also many who spoke up for her. Once both sides clashed, arguments were inevitable.
That said, the questions she raised during the interviews did provide considerable inspiration for others.
In particular, matchmakers in the city and families with marriageable children began using her approach as a reference. Gradually, these criteria even started becoming part of the local matchmaking standard.
While this made successful matchmaking slightly more difficult, it also significantly increased the proportion of marriages that turned out to be harmonious and happy.
So saying her actions were meaningless or pointless would be unfair.
However, it had to be said that, at least for now, the impact on her reputation was greater than anything she had done in the past few months.
Shen Feibai was ultimately just a landowner, not a feudal ruler. He could not silence everyone, nor suppress all negative talk about his daughter.
Seeing himself exhausted every day dealing with outside gossip while the person at the center of it all continued living as she pleased, reading novels, shopping, and spending freely as if unaffected, he finally snapped and “exiled” her to their rural estate to get her out of sight and out of mind.
As soon as she got off the carriage, Shen Taohua stretched out her arms toward the endless stretch of farmland ahead and took a deep breath.
“This is the smell of freedom!”
Ping’an, who had also just stepped down, looked at the faint but unmistakable scent of half-dried cow dung along the road, then at his young lady’s excited expression, and wisely chose silence.
The three of them, including Liu Mao who was responsible for driving the carriage, first headed to the Shen family’s estate in Datian Village.
The estate covered 150 mu of farmland. The Shen family employed a group of long-term laborers to cultivate it, and the harvested grain directly supplied nearby towns and the county.
In the prefectural city, the Shen family also had shops, and their grain supply there was likewise supplemented by output from farmland they had purchased around the prefecture.
Apart from the estate itself, Datian Village, Xiaotian Village, and two nearby villages also contained significant Shen family land.
This time, when Shen Taohua came over, her so-called “exile” from her father was of course just a joke. The real reason was that the autumn harvest season had arrived. With too much land and her parents overwhelmed, she had come to help, collecting rent while also offering condolences to the tenant farmers who had worked hard all year.
The estate steward had already been informed in advance, and as soon as she arrived, he proactively reported the progress of the harvest.
In addition, harvests in nearby villages would be mostly completed in the next couple of days, and tenants would begin arriving one after another to pay their rent. What Shen Taohua needed to do was check the incoming grain, store it properly, and record it in the ledger.
Shen Taohua said, “Remember to arrange enough pork with the nearby villages, as well as chicken, duck, and fish. If there isn’t enough locally, go to the town or the city to make up the difference.”
The steward smiled and nodded. “Miss, rest assured. This is all routine work we’ve done for years now. Nothing will go wrong.”
After speaking, he couldn’t help but sigh inwardly at the generosity of the household.
Every autumn harvest season, the Shen family would prepare a lavish banquet for the tenant farmers who had worked hard all year. At minimum, it would be ten full tables, something even ordinary families getting married might not spend so freely on.
Although it was a customary practice for landlords to reward their tenants, not every landlord followed it, and even fewer were as sincere as the Shen family. Most of the dishes were solid meat dishes, and there was more than enough staple food for everyone to eat their fill.
For the tenants farming Shen land, the post-harvest feast was the most anticipated event of the entire year.
She then asked about whether there were enough farming tools on the estate, how many needed repairs, and how the arrangement for borrowing draft cattle was going.
The steward answered each question carefully. Only after confirming there were no issues did she let him return to his work, while she prepared to walk through the fields herself.
Although the steward had never made any mistakes in recent years, as a young “boss” she couldn’t rely solely on his word; she still needed to hear from the people directly and inspect things on site.
That inspection kept her busy until evening.
Fortunately, the results were good, no major problems were found.
There was nothing particularly worth wandering around the estate for, so after dinner she went to bed early.
The next morning, the first batch of tenants arrived, those whose crops were harvested and dried quickly. The annual rent collection officially began.
Some of them had already heard she was here the day before. When they saw her today, the tenants greeted her warmly or shyly. Quite a few even brought extra vegetables or eggs from home along with their rent grain and tried to press them into her arms.
She originally didn’t want to accept them, but the farmers were too insistent. In the end, she could only tell the steward to include all of it in the upcoming banquet preparations in a few days, taking from the people and using it for the people.
Weighing grain, recording accounts, and similar tasks were handled by the steward and hired workers. Her main role was supervision; more often, she chatted with the tenants about everyday life.
“Uncle, how was your harvest this year? How is your family doing? Are the elderly and children in good health?”
“Auntie, your daughter-in-law had a baby this year? Congratulations. Are the mother and child doing well?”
“Grandmother, how many working hands does your family have? Can you keep up with the farm work?”
Most people answered that things were manageable and going well. Some spoke animatedly about their good year, while only a very small number mentioned illness in the family or an accident that temporarily prevented the main laborer from working.
In such cases, she would have the steward make a note and either reduce part of their rent or recommend a pharmacy the Shen family was familiar with, so that mentioning their name would get them a steep discount on medicine.
She also wasn’t worried that anyone would lie just to take advantage of her goodwill.
Other landlords typically collected at least 40% of the harvest, sometimes as much as 50–60%, whereas the Shen family only took 30%. Because of this, their land was never short of tenants.
People fought to rent their fields. If anyone tried to be greedy and exploit their kindness, they wouldn’t even need the Shen family to act, other tenants would first tear them apart verbally and then report them so they could seize the land for themselves.
As they answered her questions, the tenants also couldn’t help but praise the young lady of the household for her kindness.
However, because of how approachable and easygoing she was, some of the enthusiastic aunts and elderly women, after their initial reserve wore off, quickly became talkative. Not only did they voluntarily share things about their own families, they even turned around to start asking about her.
For example: Was she married? Was she engaged?
Did she have someone she liked? What kind of person did she like? Did she want them to introduce someone for her?
One aunt even said she had a particularly capable nephew…
“!!”
Her smile gradually disappeared.
Even coming to collect rent couldn’t avoid this kind of topic!
Seeing the aunts’ increasingly fervent gazes, she quickly said, “Auntie, has anything interesting happened in the village recently?”
These aunties and elderly women, aside from being enthusiastic matchmakers, also loved gossip. The moment she asked, their attention was successfully diverted, and they immediately opened up a new line of conversation, launching into all the lively happenings in the village.
Things like: a girl from one household and a boy from another had taken a liking to each other, but their families disapproved and the two households were on the verge of becoming sworn enemies;
a man from one family glanced a couple of times at a young widow, and when his wife found out, she went home and caused a huge scene, scratching his face until it was covered in marks so he was too embarrassed to go out;
and an old woman bullying her daughter-in-law, only for the daughter-in-law to turn out to have a fierce temper as well, resulting in chaos throughout the entire household…
While she cooperated with enthusiastic exclamations like “Wow!” and “That’s intense!”, she also quietly wiped a bit of sweat from her brow.
At the same time, even as she relaxed and listened with great interest, Ping’an, who was standing nearby listening as well, noticed something: among the tenants lining up, there was a man who kept glancing at their young lady whenever he could, his gaze clearly filled with undisguised admiration.
Ping’an: “!”
Something’s going on!
However, Shen Taohua herself did not notice anyone secretly looking at her. There were simply too many people coming to pay rent, and she couldn’t possibly pay attention to all of them.
On the other hand, after noticing this, Ping’an specifically pulled Liu Mao aside and kept an eye on the situation for the next two days. They discovered that although the man had already paid his rent on the first day, he still came every day afterward, either helping others carry grain in the village or finding excuses to talk to people in the queue. Throughout it all, his gaze would drift toward Shen Taohua from time to time.
His intentions were written all over his face.
The two of them were certain: this man liked their young lady!
Because of this, Ping’an specifically had Liu Mao investigate him. They quickly learned that he was also a villager from Daitian Village, named Zhao Danian. He was twenty years old, and he had an older brother two years his senior. Because their family was poor, neither of the brothers had married yet.
Perhaps Zhao Danian himself knew his family situation was too poor, so although he came every day to secretly look at Shen Taohua, he always showed a hint of inferiority and never dared to approach her or express his feelings.
Ping’an and Liu Mao quietly discussed it behind Shen Taohua’s back.
“Should we tell the young lady about this?”
“This one’s conditions are too poor. He’s not a match for the young lady. There’s no need.”
They had just dealt with Song Fugui, another man who wanted to live off a woman, and now Zhao Danian was the same type, someone who would need financial support? Forget it.
Liu Mao thought for a moment and said, “Then we won’t tell the young lady for now. My father is coming tomorrow anyway. We can have him ask the master what he thinks.”
Ping’an felt that was reasonable, so the next day, when Steward Liu came to deliver a batch of new farming tools, they told him about Zhao Danian.
After hearing it, Steward Liu first went to take a look at Zhao Danian. The man wasn’t particularly striking, but his features were decent, he was tall, and his body was strong from years of farm work.
Putting aside background and family status for the moment, his appearance was at least passable.
After learning that he was still unmarried, Steward Liu thought for a moment and said, “I’ll go back and mention this to the master. For now, don’t bring it up to the young lady.”
Ping’an and Liu Mao naturally agreed.
When he returned, Steward Liu brought it up to his own master, who was also busy collecting rent. Upon hearing it, Shen Feibai immediately slapped his thigh in delight.
“So even going out to avoid the fuss and collect rent, she still runs into a young man who likes Taohua and isn’t married yet? That’s what you call fate!”