Translator: Lonelytree
Once the three-day period was up, every family with land in the back mountain sent at least one representative to the committee center. The whole family went for some.
This was very novel. They wanted to see what a contract was. When the villagers arrived at the committee center, it was all they could talk about. It was very lively.
At nine am, the village chief, Xiao Taiyang, and Xiao Lingyu’s family of three arrived on time.
Xiao Taiyang picked up the microphone and said, “Everyone, please be quiet!”
The villagers quieted down. They looked at the document bag Xiao Lingyu was holding curiously. Many villagers were illiterate. However, the village chief and some youngsters knew how to read. As educated as Xiao Lingyu was, they were not afraid of being scammed. Furthermore, they had faith in Xiao Zhengyang’s personality. His family was honest and upright people.
The village chief continued, “Everyone knows why we are here today. Xiao Lingyu wants to rent the sandy land at the back mountain. The land is low-grade dry land. For their normal rental price, they will go for 300 RMB per Mu. However, Xiao Lingyu is a fair child. Since we’re all from the same village, she will rent it for 400 RMB per Mu. Therefore, don’t even think about complaining that the offered price is too low. If anyone reneges on the agreement, I will be the first to punish you!”
As soon as he said that, someone replied loudly, “Village chief, don’t worry. We won’t do that.”
“That’s right, village chief. Lingyu has given us a higher price than average. Only the unreasonable will continue to cause trouble.”
“I agree! Village chief, since we’ve agreed to rent the land to Lingyu, we won’t make problems for her.”
“Yes.”
Everyone said.
However, someone asked.
“Actually, Lingyu, we want to know if we can still go to your house to borrow the Little Cattle King in the future?” In other words, they wanted the Little Cattle King’s manure. Of course, the implication was, since we had rented you our land, you had to borrow us the Little Cattle King, right?
“Yes, Lingyu.” The land was sandy. It limited the types of crops that could be grown. Even so, the harvest was average. For most, it was better to rent the land to Xiao Lingyu.
However, there were rumors recently that those who refused to rent the land to Xiao Lingyu couldn’t borrow the Little Cattle King anymore. This raised another worry in the villagers’ hearts. Xiao Lingyu allowed them to walk the Little Cattle King for free because she needed to rent their land. Once she had their land, she wouldn’t let them walk the Little Cattle King anymore.
Xiao Lingyu answered, “I won’t be lending anyone Little Light anymore.”
Once she said that the venue burst into a commotion.
“What?”
“If that’s the case, then… we’re not renting our land.” Some villagers were furious. “Lingyu, you lent us the Little Cattle King to get us to rent you our land. The moment we agreed, you won’t lend us the Little Cattle King anymore? Xiao Lingyu, how calculative can you be?”
“Zhang Qiuxiang, what are you talking about?” Zhou Yan was disappointed in these people. “Lingyu has no responsibility to lend you the Little Cattle King. Furthermore, there are so many cattle-raising families around Taoyuan Village. Why don’t you go and borrow a cow from them? Every family will charge you for it. Lingyu’s calf is not public property.”
Zhang Qiuxiang snorted coldly and said, “But none of them has the Little Cattle King, so why should I borrow from them?”
“Isn’t the Little Cattle King a cattle too? Didn’t Lingyu use her money to purchase him?” Liu Chunhua retorted. “If there’s someone who is calculative, it’s you. Once you hear that Lingyu won’t be lending the Little Cattle King, you don’t want to rent the land anymore. If that is not a threat, what is?”
Zhang Qiuxiang’s face turned red. She said loudly, “The land is mine. It’s my freedom not to rent it! How can that be considered a threat?”
“Lingyu, you’re really not going to borrow us the Little Cattle King anymore? In that case, we probably won’t rent you our land either.”
“But we’ve already agreed to rent the land. It’s not good to go back on our words like this.”
“I’m willing to rent my land. The land is going to be left unused anyway. Might as well rent it to Lingyu and earn some money.”
“That’s right. Yu ‘Er is already very generous to give us 400 RMB per Mu. I heard that people from the Liu Family Village only offered 280 RMB per Mu to contract low-grade dry land!”
“That’s right. No matter what, I plan to rent the land to Lingyu.”
Instantly, the people separated into three groups.
The first was the one unwilling to rent their land. The second was willing. The third was neutral.
The committee center was noisy. People argued, and it was going to escalate to a fight.
Xiao Lingyu picked up the microphone and immediately stopped them, “Everyone, listen to me! I haven’t finished yet!”
The crowd quieted down immediately, but many still looked angry.
“Lingyu, go ahead. Everyone is listening!”
Xiao Lingyu said, “I said that I wouldn’t borrow Little Light, but you can still go to my family’s pen to gather the manure. Isn’t that more convenient?”
Xiao Lingyu noticed that not many villagers cared about Little Light. Little Light was only a tool for them. If Little Light didn’t pee or poop, the villagers would resort to desperate measures like overfeeding him grasses, beating him, or even using laxatives. Therefore, Xiao Lingyu decided she’d look after Little Light herself.
After Xiao Lingyu said that, people were stunned.
Zhou Yan laughed. “I knew that Lingyu is a kind girl. Now, let’s see what those thick-skinned people will say.”
“That’s right. They think their land is made of gold. Lingyu has to rent it.”
“Haha, Yu ‘Er, some people think so highly of themselves that they might not even be willing to go to your place to pick up the manure.”
“That’s right. They’d want you to shovel the manure and personally deliver it to them, or else they won’t rent you their land!”
Some were embarrassed by the insinuation. However, they didn’t dare to say anything. If they said the wrong thing, Lingyu might ban them from even going to collect the manure.
So they could only laugh awkwardly, “We were only joking!”
Xiao Zhengyang grabbed the microphone. “I believe everyone is familiar with my personality. My Yu ‘Er lent the calf to the villagers out of kindness, but I don’t want anyone to take her kindness for granted. In the future, if I hear anyone call my Yu ‘Er scheming on account of Little Light, there will be consequences!”
As a father, he would do everything to protect his daughter..