NOVPUB
Chapter 1099: Chapter 1105: Who Has a Problem?
"Don’t misunderstand; we only received the usual twenty percent of the harvest, and I suspect the In-Charge is lining his own pockets," Tan Zhenghong explained.
He knew how tough it was for the farmers and would definitely not agree to a fifty percent rent.
The Tenant Farmer then said, "If you don’t mind, you can come to my house, and I’ll explain everything slowly."
If this man spoke the truth, then the Owner was also a victim.
"Then we’ll take you up on your kind offer," they said.
It was a good opportunity for him to ask a few more households about their situation to avoid wrongfully accusing the innocent.
"What’s there to trouble about? If you can help us survive, I would welcome you to my house every day," the Tenant Farmer said with a naive smile.
He was a simple and hardworking man, but no matter how much he toiled daily, he could barely feed his family of five. He was almost suffocating from the frustration, but now he finally saw hope. Who could understand his feelings?
After walking through a vast expanse of lush green fields, they saw a row of thatched cottages, the dwellings of the Tenant Farmers.
Upon reaching his front door, the man called out, "Wife, come quick, we have a Noble Person at home!"
Soon, a woman heavy with child came out from inside.
Seeing her, Tan Zhenghong knew why; the family had an additional mouth to feed, which inevitably made their burdens heavier. That’s why they were preparing to relocate.
"Head of the house, who is this?" the woman asked warily as she looked at Tan Zhenghong and his family.
Could it be another debt collector?
"They are the Owners of the estate. They suspect In-Charge has embezzled funds and have come to investigate," the man said.
Before the man finished speaking, the woman countered, "How is that possible? The In-Charge is a good person. Last year when our rent was short after scraping everything together, In-Charge didn’t say a word and just covered it for us."
She assumed the Owner had caught wind of In-Charge discreetly reducing the rent and had come to demand an account.
This family looked decent enough, but their hearts were too dark!
"Indeed, In-Charge always helps out families in need whenever he sees one," the man agreed.
Because of this, In-Charge was very popular in the estate, and usually, everyone only complained about the Owner.
Seeing the hostility on the woman’s face, Qiao Duo’er spoke calmly, "I’ve brought the account books. If you don’t believe me, I can show them to you."
If it weren’t for the harvest being incredibly low, she wouldn’t have even thought to come and clarify matters.
The woman scrutinized Qiao Duo’er carefully and noticed that she was very open and did not show any sign of lying.
Green Group earnestly said, "Auntie, my mother doesn’t lie."
The child was unhappy someone was maligning his mother.
"Right, my mother says that children who lie are not good children," Tangyuan also solemnly added for once.
Moved by the children’s innocent appeal, the woman turned aside and said, "Come in then, I’ll get you some water to drink."
"No need to trouble yourself; we just want to clear things up as soon as possible," Qiao Duo’er waved her hand as she was anxious to vindicate herself.
The woman was still holding resentment in her heart, and her offer to fetch water was nothing more than polite conversation.
"Did you just say your name is Zhao Sigeng?"
The man hastily nodded, "Yes, that’s right, I’m the fourth in the family, so I took that name."
Qiao Duo’er searched through the account books quickly, and soon found the name Zhao Sigeng.
"The accounts show that you rented fifteen mu of land, harvesting two thousand and five hundred jin of rice with extras, and two thousand and three hundred jin of wheat with extras. Is there a mistake?" Qiao Duo’er looked at the man.
Zhao Sigeng immediately said, "That’s impossible. I’ve been farming for many years and only once, when there was a flood, was the harvest worse than this."
"Head of the house, I recall that you only rented twelve mu of land," the woman said, frowning. According to this, In-Charge really might have been up to something.
