Chapter 110: Pheasants Can't Become Phoenixes
Early in the morning, after breakfast, the group followed Shen Zhi's carriage to the farm.
In the car, Eunuch Cao introduced the people in the manor to Shen Zhi. When the emperor seized the manor from the King of Huainan, he also took away the indentures of 130 people in it. The head of the manor was named Tian Baoshan, his wife was Cui, and they had a daughter, Tian Zhenzhu, who was fifteen years old this year. It was said that she was a little arrogant and wanted to get into the bed of the last master, the rich businessman, but she didn't succeed. The rich businessman only fined her monthly salary because of her loyalty for many years, otherwise she would be sold as a light punishment.
The five brothers who are the head of the village all live in this village. They can be said to be the local tyrants here. Others dare not speak out against them.
However, what Shen Zhi is least afraid of is troublemakers.
Shenjia Village was only a dozen miles away from the farm, and it would only take more than an hour to drive there slowly by horse carriage. Eunuch Cao sent guards to explain in advance that the new owner would be there today.
When Shen Zhi and his companions arrived, the village head's family and his other four brothers and their families were waiting at the door. Eunuch Cao looked worried, as he had told them to gather the people in the village yesterday.
When Tian Baoshan and his family saw a large group of people coming, they were immediately unhappy. They were afraid that they were trying to plant people here to slowly undermine his power. However, they did not show it on their faces and still greeted them enthusiastically.
"This must be the new boss. I welcome you." Tian Baoshan ran up to Shen Zhi, bowed and said.
Shen Zhi nodded and told Tian Baoshan not to be polite. "Head of the village, we sent someone here yesterday to tell everyone in the village to come here. You should be ready. Go and gather them all here."
Tian Baoshan stood there motionless, looking embarrassed, and said, "Master, you don't know, we have been busy planting radishes and cabbages, and the weather has warmed up in the past few days, and weeds have grown. If we don't clean up the crops, they will not grow well. I ordered them to weed, and if we don't weed quickly, the 100 acres of land will be ruined."
Shen Zhi asked, "Have we planted radishes and cabbages on all of our 100 acres of land?"
The village head replied, "There are also some peppers, tomatoes and the like, but radishes and cabbages are the biggest."
"Take me for a walk around the fields," Shen Zhi said.
The village head said with some embarrassment: "Master, it rained the past two days and the fields are very muddy. I'm afraid your shoes and clothes will get dirty."
Shen Zhi waved her hand and said, "It's okay. I was born a peasant girl, so I don't mind this."
"Tsk, a pheasant can't become a phoenix." Tian Zhenzhu in the crowd grumbled mockingly, but the people present must have heard it. The village head didn't react either, as if he didn't hear it.
Eunuch Cao glanced coldly at Tian Zhenzhu and winked at Meng Ting who was beside him. Meng Ting understood what he meant and stepped forward to slap her. Not satisfied with just one slap, she slapped her again with her backhand.
"Who do you think you are? You are a slave who doesn't know the difference between high and low. If you were in a mansion with strict family discipline, you would have been sold long ago. It's not too much to beat you to death." Meng Ting taught her a lesson. She was a martial artist with incredible strength. After two slaps, blood flowed from the corner of Tian Zhenzhu's mouth.
Tian Zhenzhu was stunned. How dare she hit her? Her father used to be the local tyrant here, and everyone had to give him face. Even when the eldest son came and was caught climbing into bed, he didn't dare to do anything to her.
Tian Zhenzhu covered her face, turned to look at Tian Zhuangtou, and screamed, "Dad, that bitch beat my daughter, tell someone to throw her into the Dacao River."
The farm owner frowned slightly and gently scolded: "Zhenzhu, don't make trouble. How can you just throw someone into the Dacao River?"
Seeing that her father didn't obey her like before, Tian Zhenzhu immediately interrupted her father and said, "No, I'm going to throw her in. Didn't you last time..."
"Pearl," Tian Baoshan scolded harshly. He had spoiled his daughter so much that she dared to tell anyone anything.
Tian Baoshan looked unfriendly, and turned his head to Meng Ting and said, "My dear girl, you are young and a little naughty. If you say something wrong, just point it out. Why did you hit someone? You will come to our village in the future, right? We will see each other sooner or later. If we get into a fight, it will not end well."
Meng Ting looked up at the farm owner. She didn't understand why the farm owner was so tactless and still acted so arrogantly even when he was about to die. She didn't bother to answer him.
The farm owner saw Meng Ting ignoring him, and his anger rose. "Boss, your servant is too unruly. Please keep her in the farm, and I will let my old woman teach her some rules. I am not bragging, my old woman is very well-behaved, and is well-known in the surrounding area. Many nearby villagers will send their daughters to my old woman to teach them the rules before they get married. They would rather spend a lot of money to come here to learn, which shows that my old woman is worth it."
After listening for so long, Shen Zhi could no longer help but interrupt the farm owner.
"Oh, really? Since the head of the farm has such good education, how could they have such an unruly daughter, and such an unruly you?" Shen Zhi asked with a smile.
The head of the farm felt a pang in his heart. The boss was angry. She was just a little peasant girl. He didn't believe that he couldn't scare her.
The head of the farm forced a smile and said, "Master, you are joking."
Shen Zhi snorted coldly: "I'm not kidding you. I'm the master and you're the slave. No matter what my identity is, whether I'm an official, a businessman, or a peasant girl, I'm the master. If you talk about the master behind her back, I'll slap you in the face. What's more, she disrespected the master to his face."
Shen Zhi paused and continued, "Second, I sent someone to tell you to gather everyone here, but you ignored me and deliberately asked them to go to the fields. Third, I sent someone to tell you before the New Year that potatoes should be planted on these lands, but you took it upon yourself to plant cabbage and radishes. You planted cabbage and radishes on a hundred acres of land. You may have deceived your former master. But you planted so much to feed the pigs. You used the best land to plant the least valuable crops. You are really good. You deceived your boss, and then secretly planted valuable crops. The harvest went into your pocket. You are really good."
The head of the farm began to worry at this moment. How did the new owner know all this? But at worst, she could kick me out. I have already bought real estate with the money I made over the years. There is also a lot of silver hidden in the secret room. When the family goes out, they can live like masters. However, he didn't know that his family's indentures were already in the hands of the new owner. He always thought that they were in the hands of the King of Huainan. The King of Huainan was suddenly confiscated, and those indentures were probably not noticed by anyone. It is said that the King of Huainan's mansion caught fire later, and maybe those indentures had already disappeared in the sea of fire.