Chapter 15

In the windless noon, it was summer again. The streets of Xibay were empty, not a single pedestrian in sight, and even the dogs lay under the shade of trees, their tongues lolling out.

Even if they stayed inside, the stifling heat was unbearable.

Zhang the Butcher called for his new third concubine from last year to bring him a pot of chilled waxberry soup. Two young maids, each bought for five taels of silver this year, waved their palm-leaf fans on either side, dully fanning him.

Zhang the Butcher opened his shirt, revealing his protruding belly and his chest covered in black hair.

"Didn't you eat? Fan harder."

His dislocated arm had been reset, but the anger in his heart still simmered. One hundred taels of silver, just thinking about it made him unable to sleep at night, and he lost his appetite. One hundred taels of silver was no small amount; it could buy fifty large pigs, two hundred dan of rice. He could buy twenty young maids, or even take another beautiful concubine.

But now, it had been snatched away by that Liu family's fool.

Not only had he been robbed of one hundred taels of silver, but he had also been beaten up. Every time he thought about the day when he was so scared that he wet his pants, he felt both ashamed and furious.

At this moment, the sound of footsteps came from outside. "Who is it?"

"Master, it's me," the steward replied from outside. "Old Wu is back."

Zhang the Butcher immediately perked up. "Old Wu is back from Suokou River. Quickly, bring him in."

Old Wu, the servant, came in, looking travel-worn. Zhang the Butcher hurriedly asked, "How did it go?"

"Good news, Master," Old Wu wiped the sweat from his forehead and fanned himself with his sleeve. "That Liu Erle indeed went to the Liu family to celebrate a birthday. He even brought a famous painting, which is said to be very valuable. However, he seems to have a grudge with the seventh son of Liu Jinwu, and they had a quarrel at the Liu family's gate. Then, Old Master Liu saw Liu Erle and quickly sent him out. According to the information I gathered from the Liu family, this Liu Erle came to the Liu family to claim kinship, claiming to be a relative of the Liu family, but they refused to acknowledge him."

Zhang the Butcher's face turned red. "You mean Liu Erle is not a relative of the Liu family?"

"The Liu family says they have no such relative."

"Ha ha ha!" Zhang the Butcher laughed uncontrollably, the pent-up anger in his chest finally dissipating. "Great, this Liu Erle dared to deceive me. This time, we'll settle all old and new accounts."

Zhang the Butcher immediately waved his hand and ordered the steward to call all the servants and the butchers' apprentices. "We're going to the Liu family to settle accounts with Liu Erle."

On this stifling noon, Zhang the Butcher led more than twenty people, full of murderous intent, toward the Liu family's mansion.

Liu Laodie was teaching his grandson, Liu Hong, to read in the front hall. Baor was just tidying up the table and washing the dishes at the stove.

The two Liu family's young ladies were embroidering in their upstairs boudoir, and cicadas were chirping incessantly in the old tree outside.

At this moment, the Liu family's half-open gate was suddenly slammed open.

"Liu, come out here!" Zhang the Butcher and his group burst in, shouting loudly.

The white cat resting by the courtyard was startled and fled with a meow.

Liu Xiu put down his book and went to meet them.

"Master Zhang, what brings you here?"

"What brings me here? You still ask me what brings me here? Where is Liu Erle? Let him come out."

"Junge is out, not at home. If you have any business, you can talk to me."

Zhang the Butcher snorted. "Fine, I won't beat around the bush. A few days ago, Liu Erle came to my house, beat up my servants, and stole one hundred taels of silver. Now, what do you have to say about this?"

"Is there some misunderstanding here?" Liu Laodie's face turned grim, the thing he had been worried about finally happened. He had advised his son that Zhang the Butcher's money was not easy to take, but his son had been so confident at the time that he didn't insist. Now it seemed that Zhang the Butcher was indeed difficult to deal with.

But why did he wait two days before making a move?

"Misunderstanding? Misunderstanding your mother's understanding, old scholar. Today, I'll tell you, considering we are long-time neighbors, I won't report this to the authorities. I'll give you a chance to settle this privately. Otherwise, you know my son-in-law is the county magistrate's assistant. If we go to court, you'll lose everything."

"I'm willing to settle this privately. I'll send the one hundred taels of silver and the medicine fees to your door later." One hundred taels of silver was a large sum, but Liu Laodie had no choice but to choose to settle the matter peacefully. Otherwise, if they went to court, they would not be a match for the Zhang family.

"Very well, since you're willing to settle this privately, I'll be lenient. By sunset today, send five hundred taels of silver to my house, and this matter will be settled. Otherwise, we'll see you in court."

"Five hundred taels?" Liu Laodie was surprised.

"Five hundred taels is still considering we are long-time neighbors. Otherwise, if we report this to the authorities, Liu Erle will be sentenced to death for robbery and assault. Do you want the money or the person? You choose."

Since Zhang the Butcher knew that Liu Erle's claim of being a brother to Liu Jinwu's son was a lie, he felt very confident.

He always looked for ways to take a bit of meat, and now that the Liu family had offended him, he would not let them off easily. If he didn't ruin the Liu family, he wouldn't be Zhang the Butcher, and he wouldn't be able to stand in Xibay Town.

"You can't scare me with the Liu family from Suokou River anymore. I already know that Liu Erle went to the Liu family to claim kinship, but they don't recognize your family. If you're smart, you'll gather the five hundred taels of silver and hand it over. Otherwise, we'll see you in court."

Hearing this, Liu Laodie was truly shocked. Liu Jun's attempt to claim kinship with the Liu family had failed?

If that was the case, they couldn't hold off the Zhang family anymore.

"Five hundred taels is too much. How about this: we'll definitely return the one hundred taels of silver, and we'll pay ten taels for the medicine fees. The pig can be considered as an apology. What do you think?"

"Ha! You think you're being clever. Ten taels of silver? Are you trying to feed beggars? My eldest son is a scholar, my second son is a student, and my son-in-law is the county magistrate's assistant. Your son came to my house, beat people, and stole money. You should cherish this private settlement opportunity."

"But five hundred taels is too much. We can't afford it."

"If you can't afford it, that's easy. You have more than a hundred acres of good farmland. How about this: you give me fifty acres as compensation, which will be equivalent to five hundred taels of silver, and this matter will be settled."

Liu Laodie hurriedly said, "That's the best farmland, worth at least twenty taels of silver per acre, not ten taels. Fifty acres are worth a thousand taels of silver."

"Hey, are you trying to haggle with me? If you're not willing, fine, we'll see you in court." Zhang the Butcher was unafraid.

Liu Laodie shook his head. The Liu family's hundred acres of land had been passed down from their ancestors, and forty acres were part of his eldest son's wife's dowry, not considered family property. Moreover, fifty acres of land worth a thousand taels of silver could not be sold at half price.

Furthermore, in Macheng, it was very difficult to buy land even if you had money. The Liu family's good farmland was even more valuable and hard to come by.

"Or, how about a living sale?" Zhang the Butcher's son chimed in.

"A living sale is fine. You can sell all your hundred acres of land to me, and it will be considered as compensation for the silver." Zhang the Butcher took advantage of the situation.

In the Jiangnan region, due to the high population density and limited land, land was very precious, and people were generally unwilling to sell their land unless absolutely necessary. Later, two types of land sales emerged: absolute sale and living sale.

An absolute sale meant selling the land's ownership to the buyer for a certain price, with no further rights to the land.

A living sale, on the other hand, retained the land's ownership but sold the right to use the land. In a living sale, the right to collect rent was sold, and the land could still produce grain to offset the rent.

For good farmland like the Liu family's, an absolute sale could fetch twenty taels of silver per acre. A living sale, however, could only fetch about four taels of silver per acre, but the rent could be collected annually, usually four dan of rice per acre, regardless of the harvest.

However, after a living sale, the right to cultivate the land would belong to the buyer.

Zhang the Butcher had planned this carefully. The Liu family had about a hundred and thirty acres of land, so he had proposed a private settlement of five hundred taels of silver, then suggested an absolute sale of fifty acres. When the Liu family refused, he then proposed a living sale of the hundred and thirty acres.

At four taels of silver per acre for a living sale, he could acquire the living rights to the Liu family's entire hundred and thirty acres of land as compensation.

For modern people, no house means no marriage. For ancient people, land was the most important asset, representing the livelihood of the family. Even for a wealthy person like Zhang the Butcher, who monopolized the slaughter business in Xibay, the desire for land was insatiable.

If an absolute sale was not possible, a living sale would suffice.

The perpetual tenancy rights to a hundred and thirty acres of land were also very valuable. He could first acquire the tenancy rights and then, when the opportunity arose, acquire the ownership through an absolute sale.

This clever method of absolute and living sales was first invented by the Huizhou people in Huainan and had spread to Jiangnan.

Zhang the Butcher's calculations were very precise. With such a big handle on the Liu family, they would have no choice but to comply with his demands.

Liu Laodie felt a lump in his chest, almost fainting from anger.

But he knew he had no choice. If he refused, Zhang the Butcher would use even more despicable means, and a court case would be a bottomless pit.

Biting his teeth, Liu Laodie said, "The Liu family has a hundred and thirty acres of good farmland, but forty acres are part of my eldest son's wife's dowry and are not considered family property. How about this: I'll sell the living rights to the ninety acres of Liu family land to you as compensation. Then, every autumn, you'll give me four shi of rice per acre, and this matter will be settled. What do you think?"

Zhang the Butcher carefully examined Liu Laodie, seeing that he was at his limit. He didn't want to push too hard, fearing a backlash. Acquiring the living rights to ninety acres of land was already a good deal. At four taels of silver per acre, it was equivalent to three hundred and sixty taels of silver. He had only been cheated out of one hundred taels, and now he had more than tripled his money. Moreover, in Macheng Xibay, it was impossible to buy land even if you had money.

As for the injuries, they were negligible.

"Fine, considering we are long-time neighbors, I'll give you this face. Lao San, go invite the headman, the village chief, and the county clerk to witness the signing of the contract!" Zhang the Butcher, unable to contain his excitement, shouted to his son.