Chapter 502 - Chapter 502: Chapter 494: Meeting the Scorpion Demon (1/2)

Chapter 502: Chapter 494: Meeting the Scorpion Demon

“`

Therefore, a family’s finances should never be lightly entrusted to a woman’s management.

Unless that woman is very steady and frugal, with considerable wisdom; otherwise, if they act on impulse and support their natal family, they become that legendary “brother-supporting demon”.

Or they might be deceived by someone, fall into a trap, and for the family, it truly becomes a disaster.

After Li Shuixiang paid the ransom and redeemed her husband, she initially kept it a secret from Xu Zhenchang and didn’t mention the high-interest loan she had taken to save him.

It was not until after the New Year, when the creditor came to collect the first month’s interest, that Xu Zhenchang learned of his wife’s foolish act.

But by then, it was already too late for regrets.

Even if he had known about the high-interest loan the moment he was redeemed, it would likely have been too late.

Because creditors make their living from high-interest loans, once you’ve signed, they certainly wouldn’t agree to an early repayment by Xu Zhenchang.

Otherwise, how would they earn any interest?

The high-interest loan Li Shuixiang took out was for eleven taels of silver, which to the wealthy was just a trifle, not even enough to buy a pretty maidservant or concubine.

But for the average farmer, it was a huge sum.

After borrowing for only one month, the creditor demanded two taels and eight maces of silver as interest.

And this was just the interest.

High-interest loans really shouldn’t be touched – whoever does, perishes.

When Xu Zhenchang found out, he was petrified.

When he approached Qin Niu’s house with a face ashen from crying, his legs were trembling.

As he entered the courtyard, he directly knelt down with a “thud” in front of Qin Niu, begging for his help.

Xu Zhenchang was more clear-headed than Li Shuixiang, at least he was the village head.

He sold the three acres of good farmland in his home for eighteen taels of silver to Qin Niu.

Then he pleaded with Qin Niu to intervene, which ultimately convinced the creditor to agree to an early repayment. In the end, he repaid the principal of eleven taels of silver, the interest of two taels and eight maces, and a penalty of one tael.

That was because, out of respect for Qin Niu, the creditor agreed to let Xu Zhenchang repay the loan early.

After clearing the high-interest loan, Xu Zhenchang felt disillusioned and deeply affected.

At that moment, Qin Niu extended an olive branch, wanting to hire Xu Zhenchang as a steward in the Qin Residence, to be specifically in charge of over seven thousand acres of good farmland. The salary was also quite tempting, a fixed wage of ten taels of silver per year.

Furthermore, if the harvest was good, there would be additional bonuses.

Xu Zhenchang calculated that working as a steward for the Qin Residence was much better than renting and farming land from the Yan Family.

Renting land from the Yan Family to plant crops meant toiling away for a year, only to earn a sum after avoiding insects, floods, and droughts. After removing various expenses, being left with ten taels was considered good.

If it was a year of disasters, breaking even would already be a stroke of luck.

Now, being a steward for the Qin Residence, he could earn enough in one year to buy an acre of good farmland. Considering the current price of farmland, where one acre was only six or seven taels, working for two years would allow him to buy three acres of good farmland.

And this without any of the risks.

Moreover, managing so many farmers was every man’s dream. Besides, having become a steward in the Qin Residence would greatly elevate his social status.

Despite his seemingly good relationship with the Yan Family.

That was only because he was actively being a sycophant to the Yan Family. In their eyes, his status was not much higher than a house slave, even far below a steward like Yan Qi.

If Xu Zhenchang became Qin Niu’s steward, even the young master of the Yan Family would need to address him respectfully as Steward Xu in the future.

Having realized this, Xu Zhenchang happily accepted Qin Niu’s offer and went to the Qin Residence the next day to become a farming steward.

And it must be said, Xu Zhenchang proved to be extremely loyal, and he had quite the knack for managing farmers.

After all, he was originally a farmer himself.

Not to mention his agricultural skills.

If Xu Zhenchang’s farming skills were poor, he wouldn’t have been able to accumulate wealth or achieve prosperity.

All those talks about hard work leading to riches are but deceptive gibberish.

In Shuangfeng village, there were many hardworking farmers, and aside from Xu Zhenchang, who had earned some money and made a name for himself, the others remained in poverty, with just enough to get by.

With Xu Zhenchang as the steward, the Qin Family didn’t have to worry about farming anymore.