Reborn as a Landlord-Chapter 815 - 416: Collecting Rent

First update, asking for support.

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"Fourth Uncle," Lian Jizu said as soon as he entered the room, addressing Lian Shouxin, "we can’t collect the rent, what should we do? The Old Woo Family is so shameless, it’s infuriating."

Lian Manman and the others exchanged glances. Trouble, as expected, had arrived.

Lian Shouxin then beckoned Lian Jizu to sit down and talk.

Before Lian Jizu could sit, Lady Chiang arrived, accompanied by Lian Shouli and Lady Zhao.

"Tell me, what happened?" Lian Shouxin asked.

Lian Jizu promptly began to explain everything.

"I went to collect the rent from the Old Woo Family, but the Woo Family Brothers weren’t at home. They only left a blind old lady there, who couldn’t see anything and wouldn’t listen to anything either. At first, I didn’t take it seriously, and left a message with their neighbors, telling them to come find me once they were back home."

"I waited at home for a whole day, and those two still didn’t show up."

It was Lady Chiang who persuaded me to go back and look for them again," she interjected at this point, "Old Master, the elders sent us back because they are waiting for this rent to buy provisions, collecting it sooner will help arrange the transportation to Taicang."

"They rent our land and rely on our family for their livelihood; they should take the initiative. Even if I don’t go looking for them, once they know I’m back, they should be rushing to see me," Lian Jizu raised his hand, speaking with the air of a young master from a prominent household.

Lian Manman couldn’t help but think that Lian Jizu’s landlord attitude might work on ordinary tenants but clearly not on the Woo Family Brothers.

Could it be that Lian Jizu had no clue about what kind of people the Woo Family Brothers were? Even if he didn’t know, he should have inquired when he came. Even if Old Master Lian didn’t tell him, there were still Lady Zhou, Lian Shouren, Lady Gu, Lian Shouyi, and Lady He; these people should be clear about the character and behavior of the Woo Family. 𝐟𝚛𝕖𝚎𝕨𝗲𝐛𝚗𝐨𝐯𝐞𝕝.𝐜𝗼𝗺

Even if Lian Jizu was confused, Lady Chiang was certainly not.

Thinking this, Lian Manman couldn’t help but glance at Lady Chiang. By reminding Lian Jizu not to wait at home but to seek out the Woo Family Brothers, could it be that Lady Chiang already knew the Woo Family Brothers’ situation and anticipated they would dodge paying the rent?

"I thought about it, Taicang really needs this rent urgently, so I went to look for them again," Lian Jizu continued, "I went several times, but no one was there, just the old lady at home. It was then I felt something was off. Weren’t they avoiding me? After returning, I coincidentally met my Third Uncle and told him about this."

At this point, Lian Jizu let out a long sigh.

"I then found out what kind of people the Woo Family really is. Why on earth did my grandfather rent our land to them!"

He had no idea about the Woo Family until his return when explained by Lian Shouli. Obviously, they hadn’t prepared anything. To collect rent from the Woo Family, he definitely needed the help of Lian Shouli and Lian Shouxin.

Lian Manman pressed her forehead. Lack of responsibility, lack of commitment, this was a sickness, in need of a cure.

"Then what happened next?" Lady Zhang asked.

"Last night, my Third Uncle and I went to their house to confront them," Lian Jizu said.

Lian Manman nodded, not bad, at least he thought of this idea, and he, as the young master, was willing to go out and confront people at night.

"...It was my father’s idea," Lian Yeye whispered to Lian Manman, "Jizu brother didn’t want to go originally, he wanted my father to go by himself. I didn’t allow it, it was good enough that my father accompanied him. He wanted to sleep soundly while letting my father do the work for him, as if he was some Old Master or elderly granny who couldn’t even move."

"So did you manage to confront them?" Lian Shouxin asked, this time directing the question to Lian Shouli.

"Yes, we did," Lian Shouli answered honestly, "Let Jizu speak, I’m not good with words."

"...I just talked about the rent," Lian Jizu had no choice but to continue, "and those brothers started crying poor, saying that the harvest was bad this year on our land. They also complained about suffering famine just to help with our autumn harvest. They claimed how our family has officials and those who receive rewards, One Hundred Taels of Gold and whatnot, and that we wouldn’t care about a few grains. If we insist on taking the rent from them, it’d be like driving them to death...They led their whole family to kneel before me, kowtow, and even had that old lady cling to me, begging to kowtow."

It seemed like Lian Jizu was recalling the scene; that old lady falling into his arms, her body smelling foul, and he had a look of disgust, with sweat slightly visible on his forehead.