Chapter 309 - Chapter 309: Chapter 302: The Domination of an Established Family_1 (1/2)

Chapter 309: Chapter 302: The Domination of an Established Family_1

The public fields were usually rented out by government administrators.

Managing the public fields was a lucrative job, with ample opportunity for manipulation. Especially in disaster years, out of a thousand acres of public land, only more than ten might suffer from floods. Yet, the managing officials might report that a hundred acres of good land were affected.

The government would send people to check.

At that time, a little bribe could make the inspectors help to falsely report the disaster.

If the inspectors couldn’t be bribed, there were other methods.

One only had to collude with the local field protectors and spokesmen. By leading the inspectors through the genuinely affected fields a couple of times, they could easily be deceived.

This year, there was no need to lie about the disaster at all, as the locust plague devastated indiscriminately, attacking all the crops within the fields.

The public fields of the government were exempt from rent.

If you had connections, renting the public fields was more economical than leasing the private fields from landlords.

The rent for public fields was usually lower than the market price.

In disaster years, landlords might halve the rent and tenants would be so grateful they’d kowtow in thanks.

If one leased public fields and they were hit by floods, droughts, or insect disasters, the government would check and accordingly reduce the rent based on the disaster. This reduction would be very generous.

In fact, ordinary peasants seldom had the chance to rent public fields.

They were mostly rented by people with various connections.

People with certain backgrounds or power.

Take the great landlord Yan Ruohai as an example. The Yan Family owned more than a thousand acres of land themselves, which they would lease out. Then, through connections, they would rent public fields.

After renting the public fields, they would likely try to lease them out again.

By doing this, they could earn at least a twenty percent profit margin.

In disaster years, there was practically no rent for the leased public fields. However, the Yan Family would still demand rent from their tenants, only reducing it slightly at most.

This way, many people could live lavishly without lifting a finger.

Qin Niu was somewhat aware of these tricks.

Previously, he was a minor character who could never touch the public fields.

Now, coming to take over a hundred acres of public fields and seeing that crops were planted, he didn’t act rashly.

Whether it was local heavyweights or the officials managing the public fields, all had a certain background and power, so he would avoid offending them as much as possible.

This had always been his way of navigating life.

“The government has awarded you these public fields, Young Master Qin?”

The older farmer asked.

The younger farmers were filled with envy.

“Indeed,”

Qin Niu nodded in confirmation.

“Alright, we’ll ask around in the village for you,”

The old farmer said with a cupped hand gesture before walking away, hoe on his shoulder.

Before long, a middle-aged man dressed in green brocade arrived in a horse-drawn carriage.

The carriage was quite luxurious with at least a copper-roofed canopy. It was wide enough to comfortably seat three to four people. The horse pulling the carriage, astonishingly, was a Sweaty Precious Horse.

It was simply extravagant to use such a fine horse for pulling a carriage.

After the carriage came to a stop, the coachman deftly jumped down from the shaft, positioned a stepping stool, and respectfully assisted the middle-aged man in alighting.

He addressed the man as Fourth Master He.

This indicated the arrival of a high-level member of the He Family.

“I am Fourth of the Pang Family, also known as Fourth Master, currently overseeing the He Family’s agricultural land and planting. I have indeed heard of the Insect Master of Shuangfeng Village, Qin Niu. No doubt, you must be Master Qin himself?”

Upon descending from the carriage, Fourth Pang looked Qin Niu up and down before greeting him with a bow,

He seemed polite, but his demeanor was filled with arrogance.

The offspring of these major families were proud to the core.

Being born with a golden spoon in their mouths and treated with privilege, they habitually looked down on others.

The phrase ‘nose in the air’ aptly described these people.

“I dare not claim to be a master, I am the Insect Master Qin Niu,”

Qin Niu replied cautiously.