Reborn as a Landlord-Chapter 732 - 375: Exposing_1

Tenant farmers’ homes were already scarce on entertainment, and most people liked to gather for a bit of excitement. With the autumn harvest still some time away, most were idle, and it didn’t take long for the commotion caused by Lian Manman and the others to draw a crowd at the Lian Family’s front gate.

After the two strings of firecrackers had been set off, Lian Manman glanced around and felt that enough people had arrived, so she stopped knocking the small iron pot and signaled to Lian Yeye with her eyes.

Lian Yeye then kneeled to the crowd with a thump. Before she could even speak, tears were streaming down her face. This was not some performance; it was the result of long-suppressed grievances and sorrow.

"Hey, with the pot banging and firecrackers going off, I thought it was some good news! What’s this? What’s happened?"

"Isn’t that Yeye? Why is she kneeling down? What’s going on?"

"What happened to Yeye’s head? Why is it wrapped up?"

"Why even ask? Aren’t your eyes on your face for a reason? Can’t you see the blood seeping out?"

"Yeye, if you have something to say, just speak up. It breaks my heart to see you like this."

"Uncles, aunts, and elder relatives, Yeye does have something to say. However, it’s not bad news," Lian Manman interjected. 𝒇𝒓𝒆𝒆𝙬𝒆𝒃𝓷𝒐𝓿𝙚𝙡.𝒄𝓸𝒎

With blood still seeping from her forehead and kneeling there crying, nobody believed Lian Manman’s words.

"...My grandpa and grandma, along with my second uncle under the lead of my eldest uncle, are all going to become officials and live the good life. They’ve split our household apart. We’ve just divided our home," Lian Yeye choked out. "The witnesses who were here for the division just left, and my grandma along with my eldest and second uncles immediately demanded four hundred taels of silver from us."

There was a bit of exaggeration in Lian Yeye’s words. For example, the idea that the division was something that the three of them had begged for on their knees, or that Lady Zhou was the one demanding the money while Lian Shouren had run off and Lian Shouyi, although present, hadn’t spoken a word.

But why were Lian Yeye and her family forced to divide the household if not out of coercion? The demand for money from Lady Zhou was certainly not her idea alone. Lian Yeye’s statement was in no way an unfounded accusation against anyone.

That’s the right way to put it!

With Lian Yeye’s family separating at this critical juncture, the village was already buzzing with gossip. When Lian Yeye mentioned four hundred taels of silver, some people gasped aloud.

For tenant farmers who scrape by from the soil, silver coin is not easily earned. Not to mention four hundred taels, even seeing forty taels of solid silver is rare for many. To earn four hundred, some families might not manage it in their entire lifetime.

Lian Shouren was off to become an official to make a fortune and enjoy great happiness, and before leaving, he decided to strip his brothers, who relied on farming, clean.

The Lian family’s affairs, even if they themselves kept tight-lipped, were to some extent known by the villagers. Since Lian Shouren was formerly a Scholar and had married well, now that he was becoming an official, everyone was hesitant to speak of it openly. Though they didn’t say much, in their hearts, everyone had their own measure.

"Oh dear, Yeye must have been scared silly by the four hundred taels," said Lian Manman, standing beside her, "My grandma isn’t demanding this money without reason. It’s the income from the fields we’ve leased this year, plus the harvest from the eighteen acres jointly cultivated for three years by my grandpa, my grandma, and my eldest and second uncles, as well as the garden in the backyard, also cultivated for three years. Oh, and there’s also the chickens in the house and the pigs in the sty. All together, that’s worth a total of four hundred taels."

"I’m young and not so good at calculations. My grandma said that this price is cheap, that it’s a bargain for us," added Lian Manman.

"Even if we sold everything, we couldn’t come up with four hundred taels of silver. That time with Sister Manman, it was life itself at stake. Where could we find such good fortune now? We can’t cultivate so many gardens and fields. Then my grandma scolded my father and my fourth uncle for being unfilial. She even knelt before my father and fourth uncle, calling them ’masters,’" Lian Yeye cried. "With that, my father and fourth uncle almost lost face to carry on living. I’m begging you, uncles, aunts, and elders, please help us."

As she spoke, Lian Yeye moved to kowtow again.

"Yeye, are you out of your mind? You’ve already knocked your head enough; if you keep doing it, you’ll split your head in two," Lian Manman hurriedly went over, held Lian Yeye back from kowtowing, then turned to call out to Lady Zhao, "Third Uncle’s wife, come help me persuade Yeye. No matter how hard it gets, we have to find a way to survive, right? Otherwise, if people hear that my eldest uncle is about to take office and someone dies from kowtowing at home, wouldn’t they think my uncle had driven them to it?"