“We are a family, that’s not a big deal. What do you say, Jinxuan?” Zhou said.
Ye Jiayao laughed delicately as she looked at Zhou and Liu Li. Well, that didn’t take long!
There was no way in hell that she’s going to cook for Liu Li every day.
“I’m honored that Third Sister-in-law liked my cooking, but I manage Heavenly Residence’s business every day, so I’m not sure about my free time. Why don’t I teach the chef that Third Sister-in-law brought over?” Ye Jiayao offered carefully.
You was ignorant about Zhou and Liu Li’s plan so she simply said, “That sounds good.”
Liu Li was disappointed. Jinxuan really was a sly woman. She tried again, “Second Sister-in-law, why do you still have to personally manage Heavenly Residence? Isn’t that tiring? Why don’t you hire someone to take over? You’re a lady now, doesn’t that seem… beneath you? Don’t tell me you still cook for the restaurant as well?”
“Third Sister-in-law, running a business is complex. There are so many nuances to it that is hard to entrust other people with,” Ye Jiayao answered. She didn’t bother explaining because she knew that Liu Li’s interest and concern weren’t genuine anyway.
“Jinxuan is right. It’s even hard to entrust your business to family members, let alone outsiders! It’s better to depend on yourself,” Xia Peishan added, giving Zhou a side glance.
Qiao, unaware of the underlying current in the conversation, jumped in, “True, true. I hired a manager to keep watch in the shop but I quickly realized that it’s better if I handle it myself. When the boss or the owner is not around, the workers tend to just slack off.”
Liu Li smiled. “All of you are so knowledgeable in business. I seem to be the only daft one.”
Zhou immediately tried to console her, “You are royalty – a princess. There is no need for you to stoop to such level.”
Xia Peishan couldn’t stand it anymore. Zhou was really getting on her nerves with her shameless ass-kissing. She snapped, “Third Sister-in-law, can you mind your manners and close your mouth while you chew? It’s quite disgusting to see your half-chewed food.”
“If you find it disgusting, why don’t you just leave? Nobody is stopping you!” Zhou retorted.
Xia Peishan stood up, bristling with fury. She glared at her and said, “You have no right to tell me to leave. This isn’t your house. Why don’t you leave? Your house is just right next door! You’re just hanging around here for a free meal because you’re too cheap to fork out the money to feed your family! Your shamelessness knows no bounds! A daughter-in-law like you brings rotten luck to the Xia family!”
“How dare you talk to me like that?” Zhou was bursting with rage. How she wished she could just slap Peishan and be done with it.
“All of you, shut up!” You said loudly, her voice firm. “Can’t we have one proper meal without any fights? From now on, no one is to talk during meals.”
Ye Jiayao heaved a sigh of relief. Finally, peace during mealtimes.
Compared to the hostile atmosphere on the women’s side, the men’s side was more joyous as they talked and laughed among each other.
After dinner, You purposely complained of a headache and told her daughters-in-law not to bother her. She went back to her room and secretly invited Xia Peishan over.
Ye Jiayao told Xia Chunyu about what happened during dinner. He was quiet for a moment before finally saying, “I think it’s time to find a way to get Third Uncle’s family to move out soon.”
Since Chunyu seemed to have that matter covered, Ye Jiayao shifted her focus in the preparation of managing her husband’s farmlands.
She sent a message over to Little Jing to look out for a manager who’s experienced, competent, and reliable. Little Jing doesn’t know much himself, so he asked his mother for help. Upon knowing about Ye Jiayao’s plight, Princess Yu De immediately sent Manager Bai for her.
He’s over forty years old and his family has been working for the Helian family since his forefathers’ time. From what Princess Yu De has said, he’s extremely loyal and reliable.
However, Ye Jiayao still wanted to test Manager Bai herself.
“This is the farmland’s three years’ worth of accounting records. Take a look at it and let me know what’s the problem. I’m not knowledgeable about farmland matters,” Ye Jiayao told him.
Manager Bai flipped over the book for a few minutes before saying, “Second Young Mistress, I think this account book is fake.”
“It’s what?”
“The tenant farmers rely on farms for survival. It is impossible that they do not have experience or skills. There is no reason for others’ farms to reap a bumper harvest while yours end in deficit. I think there is something else going on here. Either someone is pocketing the profits or someone else has taken over the farm.”
Ye Jiayao was pleased. After much research and long hours of reviewing the account books, she concluded that it’s either fake or it’s been falsified. When she sent someone over to investigate secretly, she found out that Manager Lu has passed the farmlands to his nephew who in turn rented it out to tenant farmers.
Chunyu hasn’t touched these lands after he bought them, choosing to focus on his other business instead, that’s why he hasn’t realized how much of a mess it has gotten.
“I’m going to take a trip down to the farmlands this afternoon. I want you to come with me, Manager Bai.”
After having lunch at Heavenly Residence, she, Jiang Yue, Song Qi, and Manager Bai headed out to the farm outside of the East City.
This would be the first time that she’s going to see just how bad the situation is. She told Manager Bai to take notes of the problems that he’ll see and they’ll discuss the plan of attack when they get back.
As they get closer, Manager Bai commented, “Second Young Mistress, the Heir-Son lord bought a good plot of land. The soil looks fertile and it is along the river banks so irrigation is not a problem.”
The horse carriage was traveling on a road by the river bank so Ye Jiayao lifted the curtain to take a look outside.
He was right. She also knew that the key to farming is good irrigation. Her grandmother has told her many stories about the fight that villagers would get into the countryside just because of water.
Manager Lu, at the moment, was lying in the courtyard, tanning.
A servant hurriedly reported, “Manager Lu, Second Young Mistress is here.”
Manager Lu did not even bat a lid as he asked lazily, “Which Second Young Mistress?”
“Master’s wife!”
Manager Lu sat up in surprise. Why was the Master’s wife here?
“Quick, prepare to welcome her! Go get Huang Yuan and ask him to be ready, the Second Young Mistress might question us later.”
Manager Lu rushed out of the courtyard quickly to welcome the Second Young Mistress.
“Second Young Mistress! Why didn’t you let us know you were coming? We could’ve prepared more for your arrival,” Manager Lu said with a flattering smile.
Ye Jiayao smiled slightly. “I was just looking for other plots of land that I can buy. Song Qi mentioned that our farmlands are nearby so we stopped by to take a look around.”
Manager Lu heaved a secret sigh of relief. She wasn’t here for him.
“Do you have your eyes on any specific land, Second Young Mistress?” Manager Lu inquired. This would be another great opportunity for him to make a lot of money.
“The ones that I wanted already have owners. It doesn’t matter, I’ll look somewhere else on another day,” Ye Jiayao replied, noting the sudden spark in Manager Lu’s eyes.
“Second Young Mistress, I know a few places not far away from here with good plots of lands. It belongs to a rich man who wants to resell it. I can talk to him for you, if you’d like,” Manager Lu offered, not willing to give up easily.”
“That’s great. I will take a look at them another day.”
After entering the house, a young girl came over with a pot of tea.
Manager Lu introduced her as his daughter, Qiu Niang.
“Qiu Niang greets Second Young Mistress,” Qiu Niang said respectfully as she bowed.
Ye Jiayao nodded at her before turning back to Manager Lu. “How is the harvest like on our farmlands?”
Manager Lu sighed deeply. “The harvests these past few years haven’t been very good!”
Ye Jiayao feigned surprise. “Really? Why did I hear from Madame that the farmlands in this residence are doing pretty good?”
“The tenant farmers are not doing well,” he responded. “When I took over the farmlands, it was already time to plow the fields and the experienced farmers were already hired by others. The only ones left were inexperienced. The work between experienced and new farmers are vastly different. I was also in a rush to hire people then so I had no choice but to sign a three-year contract with them.”
“If you already know that these farmers were inexperienced, why did you sign a three-year contract?”
“Second Young Mistress, if I haven’t done it, the farmers would have refused to work. I had no choice since we needed to start plowing the fields. I asked the Heir-son Lord and he consented. I was only acting according to his wishes.”
Ye Jiayao wanted so badly to roll her eyes at his pathetic excuses. “So what do you plan on doing once their contract is up next year?”
“I have spent a lot of effort fixing the drainage system to guarantee that the farms would not dry up during droughts and to also make sure that there wouldn’t be any flooding. I also hired an experienced old farmer to teach me more about the ways of warming. I believe that next year, the harvest would increase by leaps and bounds,” Manager Lu answered.
Ye Jiayao gave him a grateful smile and said, “Can you get some of the farmers over here? The profits on the farmlands depend on them so I want to see if they have any difficulties…”
