After being jilted, the entire neighboring village was filled with deep regret.

Chapter 203 The Plight of the Sharecroppers

Su Tai agreed, "Then how many should we buy?"

Shen Yi said, "One mu of wasteland costs five hundred wen, and one hundred mu costs fifty taels. I'm thinking of getting two hundred mu, which will bring in one hundred taels. Then I can build a few courtyards on the estate for the tenants to live in. What do you think?"

According to his plan, it wouldn't even cost three hundred taels.

Su Tai has a deep-seated attachment to the land, and she immediately nodded vigorously, "Your idea is great, I have no objection."

After the couple made their decision, Shen Yi immediately went to Dahe Town.

Buying land isn't a big deal, but the 200 acres of wasteland caused quite a stir. Manager Li of Jixiang Inn and Uncle Qi of the dye shop both heard about it.

When Shen Yi went to deliver goods, everyone couldn't help but ask him questions.

Shen Yi also asked them about some reliable and skilled workers in town.

He actually asked dozens of questions.

These people are either middle children in their families, with older brothers and younger brothers, unloved by their parents, and the least intelligent and least likable. When they reach marriageable age, they can't find wives, and their families don't care much about them. They can only rely on themselves.

Either there are too many mouths to feed and too many people to work in the family, plus a lack of land, making life so difficult that they are on the verge of collapse.

Several others lost their parents at a young age and grew up relying on the kindness of others, with no land or resources to rely on.

Most of these people are honest people.

Shen Yi asked Manager Li and Uncle Qi to help him select sixty people and signed tenant contracts with them.

They have to clear the land and repair houses before the winter snows; there's a lot to do.

Shen Yi had to find other people to help build the house, and those people worked hard to clear the land.

Amidst the hustle and bustle, the first snow of the winter fell.

Two hundred acres of wasteland on the outskirts of Dahe Town were promptly cleared, and houses were built. They were all uniformly constructed stone houses, with a total of sixty small courtyards on three sides of the fields. Each courtyard had a main hall, two bedrooms, a kitchen, and a woodshed, a typical example of small but complete houses.

Those sixty people were already in a bad situation, and they moved into this house as soon as it became available.

Of course, some of the tenant farmers' relatives had ulterior motives because they saw that the tenant farmers lived well. Fortunately, Shen Yi had written in the contract that the courtyard was only for the tenant farmers and their wives and children. Only those whose parents had no brothers to support them could move in.

Outsiders are not allowed to enter the village; even the tenant farmers' relatives and siblings are not permitted to enter.

With these restrictions in place, many people's hopes were dashed, and they cursed Shen Yi behind his back quite a bit.

The tenant farmers were increasingly grateful to Shen Yi. They could finally get rid of their leech-like relatives. Although they could not sever ties with them, at least they could live a peaceful life without being looked down upon.

Fang Wei came to Shenyi Manor as a tenant farmer because he was ostracized by his brothers.

The Fang family had four sons. The eldest son was the most valued, the fourth son was the most favored, and the second son was sweet-talking and good at flattering people, so the couple would also take extra care of him. Only he, the third son, was the least favored by the couple, and his other brothers also ostracized him.

Because of the cramped living conditions at home, he could only sleep in the woodshed and in the kitchen during the winter, where he would keep warm by the stove. He worked harder than an ox and ate less than a chicken, yet he still couldn't earn enough to pay off his debts. Now that he's seventeen, his parents have no intention of arranging a marriage for him. Instead, they've used the money they've saved to build a house, saying it's for his younger brother to get married.

Fang Wei's heart sank to the ground. Just then, he heard that Shen Yi was looking for tenant farmers, so he left the Fang family home without a word, taking nothing with him. The Fang family elders, seeing that he was disobedient, even threatened to disown him as their son.

Fang Wei had truly given up hope, so he went back to the town official and asked to separate his household.

Shen Yi allocated him a small courtyard, ensuring his household registration was settled, so there was no need to worry at all.

The Fang family elders were furious and threatened that if he dared to separate the households, they would disown him as their son and give him nothing.

Fang Wei insisted on separate households, and in the end he got his wish, but he also completely broke ties with the Fang family.

No one knows where his second brother Fang found out about the situation on the estate, but he brought his whole family over. When they saw that he was living alone in such a nice house, they started making a scene, saying that he was unfilial and demanding that he hand over all the silver he had.

Fang was penniless to begin with and not afraid of their antics at all. He even had the village chief and township head invited over.

Then, people from the village testified for Fang Wei, proving that he really had nothing. Only then did Fang's family have no choice but to accept it, and they then said they wanted to stay in Fang Wei's courtyard.

When Fang Wei produced the contract, his entire family was reprimanded by the town official and dared not cause any more trouble.

He was filled with resentment and bitterness, because the other party had said many heartless things.

Fang sought testimony from town officials, township heads, village chiefs, and other tenant farmers, arguing that his parents had shown favoritism and that he had been forced to leave the family penniless after the division of property, and asked them to uphold justice.

The Fang couple never expected that their honest and simple third son would harden his heart and become so ruthless, and then start playing the victim again.

Fang Wei remained unmoved.

Because what he said was true, the town official ultimately only allowed him to give the Fang family elders five hundred coins and two sets of clothes a year, and not to worry about anything else.

The entire Fang family was dissatisfied with this outcome, but they couldn't bear to divide the property among themselves, so they had no choice but to accept it reluctantly.

With Fang Wei's strong measures and the attitude of the town, township, and village officials, the other tenant farmers' families finally calmed down.

After learning about Fang Wei's situation, Shen Yi specially asked Uncle Qi to help inquire about him. After confirming that Fang Wei was a good person, Shen Yi appointed him as the manager of the estate.

The other party was overjoyed by the decision and was so excited that he could hardly speak. "Boss, I...I...will work hard and won't let you down."

Shen Yi smiled with satisfaction, his expression becoming more serious. "I told you before that you would farm my land and I would collect rent from two layers of rent. The remaining grain would be yours after taxes. Since you are managing the estate for me, I will naturally have to pay you an additional wage. It will be five hundred coins per month for the first year. After that, it will depend on your performance. If you do well, your monthly wage will increase. If you cannot handle this responsibility, I will have to find someone else."

Fang Wei's heart skipped a beat, and he quickly assured him, "Don't worry, boss, I will definitely not let you down."

With this job, he could save at least five taels of silver a year, which would not only provide for his parents but also allow him to find a wife in two years.

The more he thought about it, the more excited he became, and he couldn't wait to get to work right now.

After Zhuangzi finished arranging things, it was November. Su Tai had harvested another batch of sugarcane in October and rushed to make a batch of brown sugar. Just as December began, Liu Ming, the steward of the prefect's house, arrived.

Upon seeing the brown sugar, they immediately took it away without saying a word. They also bought dozens of baskets of greenhouse vegetables, fresh live fish, cakes, and bread from Shen Yi, filling twenty or thirty horse-drawn carts to the brim, and returned home fully loaded.

That year, the number of merchants selling fireworks and firecrackers in Zhaohua County suddenly increased, and even street vendors had goods in their hands.

Xu made a special inquiry and learned that a large fireworks and firecrackers workshop had opened in the county town, and that government officials were overseeing it, so the products were very safe and of good quality at low prices.