Chapter 36

Chapter Thirty-Six: Chief Steward

On the fifteenth day of the twelfth lunar month, the festive atmosphere was growing thicker. The large carts traveling between the mansion and the capital were becoming more frequent. They had to sell the last two batches of vegetables before the New Year and buy all the items needed for the festival, while also escorting the family members who were coming to the mansion for the New Year.

"Your Highness, the chief stewards are all here, waiting for the meeting. Let's go over!" In the side hall of the main hall, Huang Jingchen said to Zhao Cheng.

"Uncle Huang, do you think our plan is feasible?" Over the past two days, Zhao Cheng had discussed his ideas with Huang Jingchen every day, revealing his thoughts and seeking his support.

"Your Highness, this old servant has already said it. You are the head of the household, and we are all your subordinates. Whatever you decide to do, just command us. Even if something goes wrong, it's just a loss of money, which won't hurt our foundation. Your Highness, please go ahead with your plans, and I will support you wholeheartedly!"

"Good, Uncle Huang, let's go!" Zhao Cheng stood up and walked to the adjacent large study. Seeing that Huang Jingchen's expression remained unchanged, as calm as usual, Zhao Cheng understood that he still had some reservations, but at least he was beginning to accept him.

In the study, the three chief stewards of the outer courtyard stood up to greet them as they entered. Zhao Cheng sat in the main seat, with Huang Jingchen sitting to his right. Jianxi stood behind him. After the tea was served, Fengxi closed the door and stood guard outside. The remaining people in the room were the heads of various departments in the mansion, making this a high-level meeting.

"Chief Steward, please report on the mansion's income and expenses for this year!" Huang Jingchen said.

"Yes, this year the mansion's total income was 230,000 strings of cash. Among them, Your Highness's salary was 4,800 strings, the fief's tribute was 150 strings, the additional allowance was 4,000 strings, the imperial reward was 180,000 strings, the tenant rent was 8,000 dan of rice and 5,000 dan of wheat. The cost of repairing the mansion was 3,245 strings, and Your Highness's expenses were 2,600 strings, leaving a surplus of 192,000 strings!" Chief Steward Zheng Fu detailed the various expenditures of the mansion.

"Hmm, Second Steward, please report on the situation of the estates!" Huang Jingchen nodded and said.

"Yes, Your Highness, Chief Steward, at the beginning of the year, the mansion had two estates, 200 qing of land, 513 tenant households, and 837 people. Among them, there were 110 qing of first-class land, 60 qing of second-class land, and 15 qing of third-class land, all planted with wheat. There were 12 qing of mulberry fields, all mature. There were 104 oxen and over 50 horses. By the end of the year, we purchased 200 qing of land and two estates from the nearby Chen Village, including a large residence," Second Steward Zheng Lu reported.

"Third Steward, it's your turn. Please report on the situation of the mansion!" Huang Jingchen said to Third Steward Zheng Shou, who stood up and reported on the personnel allocation, staffing, and changes in the outer courtyard of the mansion. The inner courtyard's personnel were managed by the palace, which he had no control over.

After the three stewards finished their reports, they presented their account books and rosters. Jianxi took them and handed them to Huang Jingchen, but he didn't accept them, saying, "Hand the account books to His Highness. From now on, all major decisions and expenses in the mansion must be approved by His Highness. For minor matters, you can report to me, and I will inform His Highness. Do you understand?"

The people in the hall looked at each other, then stood up and bowed, saying, "We understand, sir!" They understood that Huang Jingchen's words clearly meant that the affairs of the mansion would now be directly overseen by His Highness.

"Third Steward, there are suddenly many more servants in the mansion. Did you buy them?" Zhao Cheng picked up his teacup and sipped some tea, asking.

"Second Master, we didn't buy them. They are from the estates we acquired, all debtors," Third Steward Zheng Shou glanced at Chief Steward Zheng Fu and said.

"Ahem, Second Master, it's like this," Zheng Fu took over the explanation. It turned out that Chen Tang had spent years acquiring so much land, but he never imagined it would end up benefiting Zhao Cheng. He was unwilling to accept this. On the surface, he 'sold' the land to Zhao Cheng, but secretly, he had thoroughly exploited the debtors. During the handover, he persuaded them to 'buy' the children of the tenants who couldn't pay their debts as indentured servants. At the time, the chief steward thought they were just old servants for the mansion, assuming the garden needed to be managed, so he didn't think much of it and bought them. It wasn't until later that he realized Chen Tang had used a 'golden cicada shedding its shell' strategy to transfer the debt to them. By the time he understood what had happened, it was too late, and he could only suffer in silence.

"Those are all children. Keeping them in the mansion isn't very useful. Let their families redeem them with the principal," Zhao Cheng, who didn't want to be a 'Huang Shiren' right from the start, thought about giving them a discount and letting their families take them back. Although he would take a loss, it would be a good deed to help families reunite.

"Hehe, Second Master, we thought of this, but only a few were redeemed. There are still over 60 left, and they say they don't have the money," the chief steward said with a bitter smile. After discovering the problem, they had also considered this solution, but no one was 'grateful.'

"These parents are really heartless, watching their children suffer and not even sparing a few coins!" Third Steward said resentfully. The sudden increase in idle mouths to feed in the mansion was a headache for him.

"It's not that simple. Who doesn't love their own children? But if they go back, they'll just add another mouth to feed at home. Here in the mansion, they can at least get a meal," Zhao Cheng sighed.

"Alright, since that's the case, let's keep them for now. Teach them the rules, investigate their backgrounds, and then make arrangements. What do you think, Your Highness?" Huang Jingchen said. Zhao Cheng thought for a moment and nodded in agreement.

"Yes, as the chief steward commands!" Third Steward replied.

"Although we bought the estates, Chen Tang has exploited the tenants so much that they all want to leave and find new landlords. If that happens, no one will farm our land next year. Do you have any ideas?" Zhao Cheng asked.

"Currently, all the landlords are tightly controlling their tenants. It's not easy to find new ones unless there's a famine," Second Steward said.

"Second Master, how about we go south in the spring to find some tenants? There are more people and less land there, so we might find some," the chief steward suggested.

"Do you know why the tenants want to leave?" Zhao Cheng asked.

"Not sure, maybe they think the rent is too high. But that's the same everywhere, a 40-60 or 50-50 split," Second Steward said.

"The problem is still with the rent. We use a sharecropping system. The more grain they harvest, the more they keep. But with years of famine and poor water management, the first-class land barely produces enough grain to cover the seeds and rent, leaving nothing for the family to eat until the end of the year. As for the third-class land, they can only plant one season of wheat, and the harvest isn't enough to cover the rent. No wonder they want to leave. Even if you find new tenants, they probably won't stay," Zhao Cheng said.

"How do you know this so well, Second Master?" Second Steward Zheng Lu immediately understood that the prince was right. If they worked hard all year and couldn't even fill their bellies, he would run away too.

"Have you been following me around the estates for the past two days just to enjoy the scenery?" Zhao Cheng said. "You manage the estates. I ask you, we've only had two snowfalls this winter. If there's no rain in the spring, what do you plan to do?"

"Second Master, I haven't thought about it. But we have two rivers nearby, so we shouldn't be afraid of drought, right?" Zheng Lu was sweating and stammered.

"Hmph, what will you use to bring the water over? Carry it by hand? It might work for the land near the river, but what about the land farther away?" Zhao Cheng asked one after another.

"Then we can only wait for the rain. I don't have any other ideas," Second Steward said sheepishly.

"His Highness has entrusted you with the management of the mansion. Is this how you handle things? Has the mansion ever underpaid you? Has His Highness ever beaten or scolded you? When you can't go home for the New Year, His Highness sends people to bring your families here to reunite and gives you extra pay and new clothes. Is this how you repay His Highness? Do you feel guilty towards the old Duke?" Huang Jingchen slammed his hand on the desk and stood up, speaking sternly.

"We have failed the old Duke's trust and His Highness's expectations!" The three stewards stood up, bowed, and said with shame. They were embarrassed that they hadn't handled any of the matters His Highness had mentioned.

"Good, now use your brains more and don't just focus on the immediate issues," Huang Jingchen waved his hand for them to sit down.

Zhao Cheng looked at Huang Jingchen with gratitude, understanding that he was genuinely supporting him and giving the stewards a lesson. Huang Jingchen smiled and nodded, thinking that despite his young age, the prince had asked several questions that had eliminated the stewards'侥幸心理 (侥幸心理 means侥幸 mentality, which can be translated as 'lucky mentality' or '侥幸 thoughts'). He was no fool!

"These issues haven't been handled well, partly due to your limited authority. Today, we need to discuss solutions. Otherwise, we won't have an easy time next year," Zhao Cheng said calmly when he saw that the stewards were more obedient.

"Yes, as Second Master commands!"

"Come closer," Zhao Cheng instructed Jianxi to lay out the map on the table and asked the three stewards to move closer.

"Look, the White Water River runs through our estates. If we use it well, it can irrigate our farmland and solve the drought problem."

"Second Master, but the river is only two feet deep and ten zhang wide. The water volume is too small to irrigate tens of thousands of mu of land," Second Steward shook his head.

"That's why we need to build a dam to store water. I asked the elders in the village, and they said a dam was built here many years ago. I inspected the site, and the old foundation is still there. If the dam is built, it can form a 200-mu water surface, which should be enough. We can also use the water to raise fish and ducks, increasing our income."

"Second Master, if we build the dam, we need a lot of labor. Where can we find so many people?" Third Steward Zheng Shou asked.

"I've thought about this. The two estates have over a thousand people, and many are idle. If we offer a reasonable price, I think they will work. We can also pay them a month's wages in advance, which will help them and solve our problem." This idea was a variation of the modern work-for-relief program, benefiting both sides.

"Hmm, Second Master, this is a good idea. If we build the dam and dredge the canals, the third-class land can become first-class land that is drought and flood resistant. They won't want to leave, and we can attract more people," the chief steward stroked his beard and approved.

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