All Hail Cousin Brother

113 Deceit

Old Madam Zhang shouted, “Someone’s being beaten up. Someone…”

This shout stunned them. Before they could react, five or six guards rushed over from nowhere and knocked them to the ground.

The guards were wearing stylish clothes and had a large saber at their waists. They looked majestic, and the few of them were immediately shocked.

Zhou Yongchang knelt on the ground with a thud. “Eldest Miss, Zhou Yongtian and the others are all farmers. They don’t know the rules of the residence, and they didn’t cause trouble on purpose. Eldest Miss, please let them off.”

No matter how stupid he was, he understood that on the first day that Eldest Miss was in charge of the household, she had wanted to use Mother Yang as a tool to deal with him. However, he had been in charge of Little Zhou’s residence for many years, so he couldn’t be easily manipulated.

Hence, Eldest Miss bypassed him and directly targeted the people he had brought.

They were all farmers, so how could they have seen much of the world? If they tried to scare them, wouldn’t they be scared silly?

Yu Youyao ignored Zhou Yongchang and looked at Zhou Yongtian and the others. “The four of you are causing trouble in the residence. Are you unhappy with the Yu Residence?”

These words were serious. Zhou Yongtian trembled in fear and hurriedly said, “No, no, we didn’t cause any trouble, nor are we dissatisfied. We just, just…”

Yu Youyao held her teacup. “But what?”

Zhou Yongtian opened his mouth and couldn’t help but glance at Zhou Yongchang. Then, he lowered his head and didn’t dare to say anything else.

Yu Youyao waited for a while, but when he didn’t say anything, she said, “The Yu Residence has always been generous and benevolent to their tenants. In the past few years, the weather has been good. All the families in the capital have increased their rent by 50 copper coins one after another. The Old Madam in our residence is kind and respectful, so she only increased it by 20 copper coins. I heard that the weather is cold this year and the crops in the manor aren’t growing well. I even discussed with Steward Zhou that the rent for this season will be reduced by 50 copper coins per mu.”

Zhou Yongtian and the others suddenly widened their eyes, and even their breathing became rapid. Each mu of land cost 50 copper coins, but each family had rented 10 mu of land, which meant 500 copper coins…

When Xia Tao heard this, she hurriedly said, “Eldest Miss, you can’t do that. You’ve always been soft-hearted and kind-hearted, just like Old Madam. Don’t be deceived by the people of Zhouzhuang. I’ve asked around. The weather is a little cold this year, but our residence has been buying vegetables from outside every day. They’re big and juicy, and they’re also from the farmsteads in the suburbs of the capital. They’re all the same. Why aren’t the vegetables on Little Zhouzhuang’s farm growing well? It’s just that they’re too useless and don’t know how to manage the farm, so they’re trying to fool you.”

Upon hearing this, Zhou Yongtian and the others looked even more uneasy and panicked.

As farmers who relied on farming to survive, it would be a huge mistake if the crops were not handled well.

Therefore, when they had heard from the old servant of the Tinglan Residence that Eldest Miss had wanted to find fault with Steward Zhou because her crops had not grown well, they thought that what Steward Zhou had done in the village had been discovered by the residence. That was why they had panicked and wanted to look for Steward Zhou. That was why they had gotten into a fight with the old servant, and in the end, it had ended up in a mess.

Yu Youyao frowned when she heard this and waved her hand. “You caused trouble in the residence today, ignoring the dignity and face of the main family. You also don’t have any respect or gratitude for the main family. In the future, the four of you shouldn’t rent the farmland of the residence. Since the farmers of the Zhouzhuang can’t manage the crops well and caused the main family to suffer losses, it’s fine if you want to fool the main family and reduce the rent. According to the rules of the other families in the capital, you’ll have to pay an additional 30 copper coins per acre. If you don’t want to farm anymore, you can inform Steward Zhou. The Yu Residence won’t force you either. Let me make it clear first. If you still don’t plant good crops and cause the residence to suffer losses, you don’t have to farm anymore.”

Zhou Yongchang collapsed to the ground.

Eldest Miss’s move to take drastic measures had simply caught him off guard. If Eldest Miss wanted to punish him just because he hadn’t handled the vegetables well, even the entire Zhouzhuang would be in an uproar.

However, Eldest Miss had shown both kindness and power. She had tried to reduce the rent for the farmers by a season, but the farmers did not know how to be grateful and were disrespectful to the main family. If this were to be mentioned outside, it would be because they were ungrateful. They would not be able to raise their heads in the future, and other families in the capital would not rent land to them in the future.

The others in Little Zhouzhuang would also resent him and Zhou Yongtian for angering the main family and causing them to suffer losses.

He had quite a bit of prestige in Little Zhouzhuang, but all of this was based on the fact that he could benefit the farmers of Little Zhouzhuang so that they could have fields and food to eat.

Once their interests were involved, their previous respect would turn to dissatisfaction.

Even without the Yu Residence taking action, he probably wouldn’t be able to keep his position as a steward.

In order to appease the Yu Residence’s anger, they would even push him out to take the blame without hesitation. Then, they would choose a more suitable manager who would satisfy the main family.

Zhou Yongtian and the others were even more shocked. The farmland was the lifeblood of the villagers. If the Yu Residence did not allow them to rent farmland, how were they supposed to live?

One of them knelt on the ground with a thud. “Eldest Miss, I’m Zhou Yongniu. I’ve been farming for generations, and I’m good at farming. We don’t have to worry about the crops, nor do we want to fool you…”

Xia Tao said angrily, “You’re still quibbling. Why is it that other families’ crops are growing well, but ours are not? You’re still trying to fool Young Miss…”

These words made Zhou Yongniu feel ashamed. “Although the weather is a little cold this year, the younger ones have long built straw sheds and prepared a lot of thatch. They’ve also prepared some expensive vegetables and fruits and a heater. As long as we put in the effort, we can grow the vegetables well.”

Yu Youyao lowered her head and drank her tea. Her slender eyebrows were slightly furrowed, revealing an unfathomable coldness.

However, Zhou Yongniu continued, “It was Manager Zhou who asked us to raze the straw shed. He said that if the harvest at the farmstead was good, the Yu Residence might increase rent more. In the past two years, the farmsteads in the suburbs of the capital had been rented one after another, so we listened to him. We didn’t want to fool the main family. It was just that there were many people in the family, so we wanted the women and children to have more food. For a moment, we were confused, but there were still some vegetables that grew well, and they were sent into the residence every time…”

When Yu Youyao heard this, she was shocked and furious. She looked at Zhou Yongchang. “Y-you actually dare to fool the main family like this?”

Lying to the higher-ups and being greedy for the master’s money was considered betraying the master. Although he was not a servant of the Yu Residence, he was still a servant who had signed a contract with the master. If the master were to be calculative, he would be sued, punished, and sent to jail.

Zhou Yongchang’s face turned ashen. “Eldest Miss, I had no choice. Yes, yes…”

His eyes widened as he looked around. He was even more shocked when he saw the impressive guards, a few burly old maids, and some maidservants standing in the courtyard.