Chapter 37

As the days gradually calmed down, Lin Yiming continued his appraisals and cultivation in the village, while also dedicating more time to teaching the village children.

There was only a month left before the sect’s assessment. He hoped more children could pass the exam and enter the sect.

At the open space behind the village, where Lin Yiming taught the children martial arts, he suddenly heard a commotion from the village.

"Such a commotion, has something happened again?"

Lin Yiming stopped, instructed the children to continue practicing, and walked out towards the source of the commotion. Whenever there was a commotion in the village, something must have happened. As the only martial artist in the village, he had to go and check.

Just as he reached the village entrance, Lin Yiming was surprised to see that almost all the villagers who were not out had gathered at the village gate, standing on tiptoe and looking into the distance, as if waiting for someone.

"Sister, what’s going on?"

Lin Yiming had just managed to ask one question when a sound of footsteps came from the distance.

A large group appeared in his line of sight.

A snow-white horse slowly approached, flanked by two rows of sturdy men dressed as servants. The horse-drawn carriage slowly came to a stop at the village entrance.

A man, dressed in fine silk and with a very handsome appearance, leaped down from the horse. His clean and sharp movements revealed a youthful sharpness.

"That’s Liu Yuliang, the son of Lord Liu."

Among the villagers, someone who recognized the newcomer exclaimed in surprise.

Hearing this, Lin Yiming's eyes instantly narrowed. The village rented land from Lord Liu, but why was Liu Yuliang here? It wasn't even time for rent collection. Even if it were, according to past practice, the village would go to Lord Liu to pay the rent, and Lord Liu would only send a trusted aide to oversee it. Why was his son here?

Could it be because of his sister's marriage?

And this Liu Yuliang, was he still the decadent, aimless playboy he was rumored to be? Lin Yiming had heard Liu Yuliang's name many times before.

It was said that Liu Yuliang was once the most brilliant genius in the entire town, even hailed as the most talented person in Maple Bridge Town in a hundred years.

But later, for some unknown reason, Liu Yuliang fell from grace. Even the spiritual energy he had cultivated disappeared, and it seemed that overnight, Liu Yuliang went from a widely admired genius to a useless waste of a man, not even a common martial artist.

He tried to cultivate, but it was no use. Gradually, he began to fall into decadence and became one of the most notorious playboys in the town.

During this period, he had married twice, but both women who married him were eventually tortured to death by him. The number of women he had mistreated was countless.

But the Liu Yuliang before him did not look like a playboy at all. Although his face wore a disdainful, superior smile, a closer look revealed a strong sense of confidence and a sharp, martial aura in his eyes.

A sharpness unique to martial artists.

As soon as Liu Yuliang appeared, Lin Ning immediately led a group of villagers to greet him.

"Master Liu, good day."

As if they had rehearsed, the villagers greeted Liu Yuliang in unison, their voices loud and整齐.

A deep look of disdain appeared on Liu Yuliang's handsome face. He pointed at Lin Ning and then at the crowd of villagers, saying with disgust, "Why are you all crowding around? Get out of my way, Lin Ning, you stay."

Pointing at Lin Ning, Liu Yuliang spoke as if to a servant, his voice filled with a sense of superiority.

Lin Ning's fair and delicate face, which was naturally as white as snow, frowned. She and the villagers had come to greet him, but he mocked them. Liu Yuliang was too disrespectful and arrogant.

Liu Yuliang glanced at the dust on the ground, and the disdain on his handsome face deepened. "This is a rural place, and the dirt is so filthy, it's polluting my legs. I don't want to stay in this破地方 any longer. I'm here to tell you one thing: I won't rent the land to you anymore."

"What!"

"Liu Yuliang, how can you do this!"

Before Lin Ning could speak, the villagers, upon hearing Liu Yuliang's words, immediately cried out in alarm.

Liu Yuliang looked at the shouting farmers, and the disdain in his eyes was evident. His eyes narrowed, and he shouted at the farmers, "Get lost, you bunch of country bumpkins. Do you have any right to speak here? Get lost, I'm annoyed just looking at you!"

The faces of the old farmers turned red. Liu Yuliang was too disrespectful, but they dared not react, as the village still relied on him.

A look of disgust flashed across Lin Ning's face, but she quickly regained her composure. Looking at Liu Yuliang, she said slowly, "Liu Yuliang, why are you suddenly terminating the lease? Is it because of this year's harvest? Don't worry, although our village has had a poor harvest this year, we have already bought grain. We will give you more grain this year than in previous years."

Lin Ning thought for a long time. The reason Liu Yuliang came to terminate the lease must be because Lord Liu heard that their village had a poor harvest this year and was worried it would affect his income, so he sent his son to terminate the lease.

"More? How much more can you give?" Liu Yuliang's deep eyes swept over the crowd with disdain. "What's a little grain to you? I've already made a deal with another village. I'll rent my land to them, and we'll split the harvest 70-30, with me taking 70%. Why should I give you 60%?"

"70%?"

The villagers of Nanlin Village were stunned, and then they began to speak up.

"70%, that's too little. It's barely enough to feed us. If there's a bad year, we might not even survive."

"Which village would agree to give Liu Yuliang only 30% of the grain? Liu Yuliang, don't be fooled. We've been cooperating for so many years."

"Enough, you bunch of country bumpkins, shut up! You lowly farmers, do you have the right to speak to me?"

Liu Yuliang looked at the villagers with disdain, then turned his gaze away, as if looking at them any longer would pollute his eyes. He said coldly, "I'm here to inform you, not to negotiate. I'm telling you, I won't rent the land to you anymore. And you bunch of country bumpkins, I don't want to talk to you. If you speak out of turn again, I'll beat you to death!"

Lin Yiming stood in the crowd, and upon hearing this, he understood. Liu Yuliang was well-prepared. No matter how much the village argued, it would be useless.

Although 70% was a small share, the village still needed to rent the land. If they didn't rent from Liu Yuliang, they would have to rent from the imperial government. As commoners, renting from the government would mean a 20-80 split, which would barely be enough to feed them. It would be better to rent from Liu Yuliang.

After some thought, Lin Yiming stepped out of the crowd, smiling, and said to Liu Yuliang, "Liu Yuliang, if that's the case, we'll rent it too. How about a 70-30 split? We've been cooperating for a long time, and we know each other well. You should continue to work with us."

Liu Yuliang turned his head and glanced at Lin Yiming. Seeing his smile, he felt a sudden annoyance.

He was from the city and had a natural disdain for these country people. He looked down on these rural bumpkins.

But this young man's gaze was one of equality, not fear, which made him very uncomfortable.

Liu Yuliang pointed a finger almost at Lin Yiming's face and shouted arrogantly, "Who are you, you little brat? Do you have the right to speak here? You bunch of country bumpkins, it's a great honor for you that I'm here to inform you. You dare to haggle with me? You don't deserve it!"

"Wait, Master Liu, let's talk this out." Seeing Liu Yuliang's anger, Lin Ning's beautiful face turned pale, and she quickly stepped forward to hold Lin Yiming back. She bowed deeply to Liu Yuliang and said, "Liu Yuliang, my brother is young and doesn't know better. We've been cooperating for so many years. Why are you suddenly terminating the lease? What are your conditions? Please tell us, we can negotiate."

"Negotiate? Do you have the right? What do you have, you bunch of farmers?" Liu Yuliang's face wore a superior smile, and he looked down at Lin Ning and her brother from his height. His eyes boldly examined Lin Ning.

"This woman is quite good-looking. You're the best in your village." Liu Yuliang suddenly said, his voice still filled with a sense of superiority, as if he were a king addressing the lowest of slaves.

"Lin Ning, you're lucky. You have a marriage contract with me. It's your good fortune to marry me. Forget the 60-40 split for your village. Even a 50-50 split is fine. It's just a bit of land, which is nothing to us Liu family."

After saying this, seeing that Lin Ning did not respond, Liu Yuliang's face darkened, and he shouted, "How can I, a city gentleman, marry a country girl? It's a great honor for your family. Why don't you kneel and thank me?

To be honest, if the fortune-teller hadn't told me that my birth date and time are most compatible with Lin Ning's, and that I would become a martial scholar within three years after marrying her, I wouldn't marry such a country girl.

Let me tell you, if you want the people in your village to survive, marry me obediently. I don't need that land. Without the land, what can you country bumpkins do? You can't do anything but farm. Without the land, you'll starve to death.

Don't think about renting other land. I'm telling you now, if you don't marry me, you won't be able to rent any land from now on. Even if you rent from the government, I can make sure your land will be left fallow."