Contentment with modest wealth

Chapter 36 The Landlord Before Our Eyes
Lu Jia glanced into the room and saw that half the room was filled with people. Chen Quan was probably outside because there wasn't enough room for him to squeeze in.

"So how do you usually do it?" she asked.

“It’s not usually like this,” Chen Quan looked up. “But recently, Yufeng Company poached the He family’s business deal. The He family is a big landowner, and they have many landlord relatives. Once they left, they all left. Although the Zhang family couldn’t keep them, they never came back.”

Chen Quan awkwardly spread his hands.

The problem, it turns out, still stemmed from losing the He family's business.

The shop was shrouded in gloom that day, making it impossible for Lu Jia, who had wanted to take some time to think about the Zhang family's matter, to concentrate.

When she returned home in the evening, she happened to see Li Chang there, arguing angrily with Xie Yi. She greeted them first, then looked at Li Chang's attire and asked, "You're still working at the docks?"

Li Chang nodded: "Yes, my grandmother is sick, so we sold the rice we had stockpiled earlier, and now we're almost out of food."

"Why didn't you say so earlier?" Lu Jia subconsciously reached for her purse, but she had never even hung one in her life because she was so poor. She turned around, went inside, and took out two silver coins: "Take these back to Grandma Li for her medical treatment."

Qin Zhou had just won the more than one thousand taels of silver that she was entitled to, and she hadn't yet deposited it with the bank.

Li Chang declined and left immediately.

The siblings each grabbed one of his hands, making it impossible for him to leave.

Lu Jia stuffed the silver into his hand: "It's not like it's free. I have something to ask you. Do you have any news about that wealthy landlord surnamed He in Shitan Town on the outskirts of the city?"

Xie Yi's apprentice's shop was also a grain store, and a large one at that, with many people coming and going, and lots of news. Li Chang was at the dock, and had access to all sorts of rumors.

Sure enough, as soon as she finished speaking, the two exchanged a glance: "Isn't this the He family that the He family poached from Hongtai last time?"

Lu Jia nodded.

Li Chang then said, "The He family hasn't been doing too well lately. In a few months, the new grain will be available, and they and their relatives are now urgently looking for buyers for the thousands of bushels of grain they've stockpiled at home."

"But the grain stores of each household had already signed orders long ago. Although the cargo ships shuttled back and forth, their capacity was always limited. They usually made contracts with each other during the autumn harvest last year."

"They originally had a contract with Hongtai, a long-term cooperative relationship, but the contract wasn't strictly enforced. So the Zhang family took advantage of the loophole and managed to steal it halfway through the journey."

"But they didn't sign a contract with the Zhang family, and now they're certainly unwilling to suffer this loss, so they can only resell it to someone else."

"But if we suddenly have to sell it all, and there are several thousand bushels of grain, small grain shops can't handle it all, and large grain shops will definitely try to lower the price. If the price is too low, the He family won't agree to it either."

Lu Jia understood.

Because of her greed for the extra benefits from the He family, Madam He betrayed her promise and ended up falling into a huge pit. Of course, she would no longer cooperate with the Zhang family, but she was also too ashamed to cooperate with Liu Xiyu.

Their family possessed several thousand bushels of grain, which was worth several thousand taels of silver—no small sum for a local landowner.

The He family originally had the upper hand, but now the grain merchants at the dock have strangled their tongues and are driving down prices. In a few months, when the new grain arrives, this batch of grain will become stale, and not only will sales be a problem, but the price will also plummet.

Lu Jia thought for a moment: "So, who has the He family contacted so far? How is the progress?"

Xie Yi and Li Chang recited the names of several grain shops from memory.

Then Li Changdao said, "This morning I saw Madam He and her steward entertaining people from the grain store at a teahouse. It seems they haven't reached an agreement yet." After saying that, he stuffed the silver back into his hand, saying, "I really can't accept this. Even if you're asking me for information, there's no reason for me to give you money."

Lu Jia said, "Then I'd like to ask you to do something for me. Do you know about the Zhang family next door?"

Li Chang became excited: "I know! I was just talking about this with Yi Ge'er. After that commotion last night, I heard that Zhang Laosan was jumping around early this morning, going to their counter to check the accounts. I'm afraid this matter will be settled in three to five days."

"Alright, keep an eye on the Zhang family for me these next two days, especially Zhang Laosan and Zhang Laoer. You know how bullying the Zhang family is. Consider this money as my wages, you have to help me."

……

When Li Daoshi's father was young, he did business with Old Master Zhang, but neither of them succeeded.

The Li family had been Taoist priests for generations. Old Master Li was an only son, and since the person in the palace was also a Taoist, the Li family had him become a Taoist priest again. Later, when they wanted to start a business, they had no capital left.

The Li family has taken good care of the Xie family for many years, so it is only right for the Xie family to give back.

When Qiu Niang returned home that night, Lu Jia asked, "Do you still know where those old shopkeepers who used to work for my maternal grandfather are now?"

Qiu Niang was sewing shoe soles, and she pulled out the needle and rubbed it on her scalp: "Aren't they still working as managers in other grain shops at the docks?"

Lu Jia then said, "Then you should go and talk to Aunt Li and Uncle Li, and let Li Chang go and learn to manage the shop from the manager. We'll pay for the apprenticeship. Don't let them know, just say that out of consideration for our past relationship, they won't charge you."

Upon hearing this, Qiu Niang immediately agreed: "That's a good idea! I went to see your Grandma Li today. Rice is so expensive these days that they can't afford to eat proper meals and can only drink rice porridge because they have to pay for the doctor and medicine. I took some rice with me and bought some meat."

"I don't dare take too much, for fear of not being able to explain it. I'll send some more in a couple of days."

“We’ll need people in our shop then. If Brother Chang is willing, let him come. That would kill two birds with one stone.”

The mother and daughter hit it off immediately and agreed on the deal.

Lu Jia sat under the lamp for half the night, pondering the Zhang family's situation, then thinking about the Hongtai Ship, and finally turning her attention back to the current state of affairs.

On one hand, the He family was worried about finding someone to take over their thousands of bushels of grain; on the other hand, rice prices were so high that the Li family couldn't afford to eat even though they had to pay for their elderly parents' medical treatment.

This is the world where the Yan family, father and son, held absolute power.

The next morning, Lu Jia casually bought two catties of water chestnuts by the roadside and went to Hongtai Restaurant.

The grain hadn't been fully harvested yet, and the atmosphere in the shop was still quite oppressive. Liu Xiyu had arrived early, and after reviewing several accounts, he was sitting in the hall in the backyard drinking tea.

Lu Jia washed all the water chestnuts, peeled them one by one, brought them inside, called out "Boss," and then sat down next to her.

Liu Xiyu sighed, "I can't eat this. You can take it and eat it."

Lu Jia said, "Why does the chief reject the great landowner right in front of him and instead sigh and complain here?"

Liu Xiyu asked, "Where did this big landlord come from?"

Lu Jia chuckled and changed the subject again: "The boss mentioned last time that you and my maternal grandfather had a close relationship. I wonder how that came about?"

(End of this chapter)