TIPS – Chapter 14

“What are they making a fuss about?” Song Jingwei asked. Nothing had even started yet—what was there to fight over?

The villagers explained, “It’s about the land. Those two are infamous troublemakers in the village—lazy, greedy, and living off their wives’ labor. Their fields are entirely worked by their daughters-in-law. It’s all because of Old Xu blabbering everywhere that you’re reclaiming the land. Now they’ve lost it and are stirring up trouble…”

“Also, the village chief’s mother’s maiden name is Sun. She’s related to Scarface Sun.” That was why no one dared to challenge Scarface Sun, despite his bullying ways.

So, a pair of rural thugs.

Song Jingwei nodded. “I see. I’ll handle it. It’s getting late—everyone should go home. I’ll settle this matter within the next couple of days and give you all an official answer.”

Hearing this, the men felt reassured. Young Master Song wasn’t arrogant, nor did he look down on farmers—his way of speaking made them feel respected. With that, they went home to wait for his decision.

As Shen Dongming closed the courtyard gate, he asked worriedly, “What should we do about the village chief?”

Song Jingwei smirked. “He’s the one who needs something from me, not the other way around. Why should I go to him?”

Shen Dongming and his son exchanged glances, then nodded in agreement. They had learned something new—confidence and power made all the difference.

Maybe Song Jingwei sounded a bit proud, but to the Shen father and son, he was admirable.

They had spent their whole lives on the weaker side—whether among relatives or within the village, they had never spoken with such confidence before.

Feeling at ease, the three men walked back inside.

Dinner Time

As they entered the house, they saw Yang Shi wiping her hands as she came out of the kitchen. She spoke warmly, “Wash up quickly—dinner is ready.”

Tonight’s meal included fresh seasonal vegetables and steamed grass carp.

Knowing that his daughter-in-law wasn’t used to rough peasant food, Yang Shi had been racking her brain to improve their meals. The fish was bought from a village fisherman—not expensive, but still something the Shen family rarely splurged on.

Out of habit, Shen Dongming and Yang Shi avoided touching the fish, instead encouraging their son and daughter-in-law to eat more.

“This fish is fresh—the fisherman just caught it,” Shen Dongming said. “You two should eat more.”

Fish was nutritious and delicious, after all.

Yang Shi didn’t feel comfortable serving food directly to Song Jingwei, so she placed a large piece of fish into her son’s bowl and said, “Hurry and serve some to your wife.”

Shen Junxi looked embarrassed. He picked up the piece of fish and placed it back into his mother’s bowl, then took another piece and put it into Shen Dongming’s bowl, gesturing, “You eat too.”

The Shen couple looked at their son with a mix of frustration and helplessness. They knew he was too filial and too honest—just like Yang Shi, he was shy and didn’t know how to please others.

As Song Jingwei continued eating, he suddenly noticed a piece of fish belly in his bowl. He paused, then turned his head and said, “I can serve myself. You focus on your own meal.”

He had a mild case of OCD and wasn’t used to eating food that others had served him or serving food to others.

Without hesitation, he picked up the fish belly and placed it back into Shen Junxi’s bowl.

Seeing this, the Shen family quietly lowered their heads and ate their meal, sitting as properly as a group of elementary school students.

This made Song Jingwei feel like a villain—the kind that bullied kids on the street. As he continued eating, he said, “From now on, household expenses will follow my plan. Does anyone have any objections?”

The Shen family instinctively tightened their grip on their chopsticks, about to say something, when Song Jingwei continued, “The finances will be managed by me. Every day, I will allocate a fixed amount of silver.”

Shen Junxi reached out and tugged at Song Jingwei’s sleeve.

Without even looking at him, Song Jingwei said, “I know you feel uncomfortable spending my money, but we can’t keep dragging this issue on forever. Unless, of course, we stop living together.”

Hearing this, Shen Junxi didn’t dare pull on him again, and the Shen couple no longer hesitated. They quickly nodded and said, “We have no objections. Daughter-in-law, you make the decisions. We’ll listen to you.”

Song Jingwei nodded. “That’s good. Don’t worry about a little money.” After a slight pause, he added, “There will be more and more in the future.”

The Shen family couldn’t explain it, but whatever Song Jingwei said just sounded right. They instinctively believed him.

After dinner, before the table was even cleared, two people arrived outside the courtyard.

Shen Dongming went to open the door and heard them say, “Eldest Shen’s wife, the village chief wants you to come to his house. There’s something important to discuss.”

At the Village Chief’s House

About a cup of tea’s time later, the four members of the Shen family arrived at the home of village chief Li Zhangguang.

Inside the house, aside from the village chief’s family, two other men were present—Scarface Sun and his nephew Sun Zheng.

Scarface Sun was a man in his late thirties, with a greasy, cunning appearance, and sharp, beady eyes. He smiled slyly as he looked at Song Jingwei and the Shen family.

His nephew, Sun Zheng, was around twenty years old, tall and muscular with a fierce-looking face. He relied on his sheer size to bully people around the village.

“What important matter does the village chief need to discuss with me?” Song Jingwei asked bluntly as he stepped through the door.

Li Zhangguang smiled. “Young Master Song, you’re here. Please, have a seat.”

Song Jingwei replied, “No need. It’s getting late—let’s get straight to the point so we don’t waste everyone’s time.”

Such a direct and dismissive tone shocked everyone in the room. But after thinking about his wealth and status, they quickly accepted it—after all, a rich young master didn’t need to be polite.

Li Zhangguang’s expression darkened slightly. “Young Master Song, I heard that you’re reclaiming the 150 acres of land at the foot of Xiaoliang Mountain. Is that true?”

Song Jingwei clasped his hands behind his back, a hint of impatience in his expression. “The land is mine. Whatever I decide is my personal business. But if you insist on interfering—yes, I am reclaiming it.”

Li Zhangguang said, “The tenant farmers in our village signed a five-year lease with your family.” He had personally handled the agreement with the Song family’s steward three years ago.

Song Jingwei raised an eyebrow. “Oh? Where is the lease agreement?”

Li Zhangguang pulled out a prepared contract and said, “Here it is. Take a look.”

Song Jingwei took it. It was a yellowed piece of paper with clear handwriting. After reading it, he said, “According to this, if the contract is broken, the landlord must compensate each tenant one-fourth of their annual income—around six taels of silver per household. If this contract is valid, I don’t mind paying. I can afford it.”

Li Zhangguang grinned and said, “Young Master Song, your family is rich—you can certainly afford it. But… don’t you think six taels is too little? The tenants’ annual earnings are much higher than that.”

Song Jingwei replied, “Higher? Sure, every household’s income varies. Some may not even need a full six taels. I will calculate compensation based on the actual income per acre, not just throw money around.”

At this, Li Zhangguang introduced the two men beside him. “Young Master Song, this is Scarface Sun, and this is Sun Zheng. They are both tenant farmers. Since everyone is here, let’s discuss their compensation.”

Scarface Sun immediately spoke up. “That’s right! Young Master Song, my family rents eight acres of land. How much silver will you compensate me?”

His nephew, Sun Zheng, followed, “My family also rents eight acres. How much will you pay me?”

Song Jingwei ignored their question and instead asked, “How much is your annual income?”

Scarface Sun quickly responded, “My family earns sixty taels a year. You need to compensate me fifteen taels.”

Sun Zheng immediately echoed, “Yes! My family also earns sixty taels. You need to compensate us fifteen taels as well!”

Song Jingwei smiled and said, “Your families have such high annual incomes? Now I really don’t feel right reclaiming the land.”

Sun Laizi and Sun Zheng were stunned. “What do you mean by that?”

Song Jingwei explained, “It means I won’t take back your land for now. You can continue farming it. However… since your income is so high, I will consider increasing the rent in two years.” He then turned to Li Zhangguang and asked, “How much is the current annual rent?”

Li Zhangguang was caught off guard and replied, “It’s… three taels of silver.”

That high? It seemed that landlords in ancient times really were raking in money. Song Jingwei said, “Then in two years, I’ll raise it to five taels.”

For an average family, an entire year’s income was only twenty taels, and here Song Jingwei was, demanding five taels at once. It wasn’t just Sun Laizi and Sun Zheng—even the Shen family felt that Song Jingwei was too exploitative.

How could that work…?

But of course, they kept their mouths shut. There was no way they’d undermine their daughter-in-law’s authority. In fact, at this moment, they didn’t see him as an oppressive landlord—instead, his tough stance against Sun Laizi and Sun Zheng felt incredibly satisfying.

Sun Laizi muttered, “If you raise the rent that high, who would still rent your land?”

Song Jingwei smiled. “If no one rents my land, even better—I can take it back for my own use.”

And that was exactly his plan.

Right now, he was reclaiming the land, and these two were walking right into his trap. Sun Laizi and Sun Zheng were at a loss, so they turned to Li Zhangguang, hoping he would come up with a plan.

Li Zhangguang, seeing this, said, “Young Master Song, you must be joking. Raising the rent like that is unreasonable. We can still negotiate the land reclamation. Just tell me—how much compensation are you willing to pay Sun Laizi and Sun Zheng?”

Song Jingwei sneered. “That depends on whether they’re willing to be honest. They just claimed to make sixty taels a year—clearly trying to scam me.”

Li Zhangguang forced an awkward smile. Truthfully, he had also been trying to scam Song Jingwei. He originally thought this rich young master knew nothing about business, but unexpectedly, his sharp tongue allowed no room for negotiation.

As expected of a merchant’s descendant—no businessman was truly honest.

Li Zhangguang sighed and said, “Young Master Song, we’re all fellow villagers. They came to me for help, so I’m just trying to mediate.” He had given up on trying to cheat Song Jingwei and was now only focused on securing a reasonable payout. “Sixty taels is definitely too much. It’s not realistic. Based on a good harvest, their eight acres of land would generate about twenty taels of income per year. One-fourth of that is five taels. How about that?”

Song Jingwei found this figure acceptable. He turned to the Shen family and asked in a low voice, “What do you think?”

Since he wasn’t a farmer, he wasn’t sure about the actual profit margins.

Shen Dongming nodded. “That sounds about right.” However, hearing that his daughter-in-law was going to pay out so much silver, his heart ached. He advised, “Daughter-in-law, why not wait two more years before reclaiming the land? That way, you won’t take a loss.”

At least they could collect rent for two more years.

Song Jingwei shook his head. “I have my own plans.” Then he turned to Sun Laizi and Sun Zheng and said, “I’ll pay you five taels each, but you must return the land to me after this harvest.”

Sun Laizi, however, shook his head and flatly refused. “No way! We won’t accept just five taels!”

He had come specifically to get money out of Song Jingwei—how could five taels be enough? At the very least, he wanted double that.

As for the threat of higher rent in two years, he wasn’t worried. Two years was a long time away, wasn’t it?