Su Xiaoqi and Shen Yun had discussed this beforehand, and she said, "Considering the villagers' difficult circumstances, they can use the seedlings we provide, but they must return them after harvest."
Zhao Baoren pondered for a moment, then slapped his thigh, "Good, they should return them." It made sense, after all. Their seeds were bought with money. And they had spent effort to grow them into seedlings, why should they be given away for free?
When Zhao Baoren returned, the villagers were still waiting in his yard. Hearing that the Shen family was willing to give them seedlings, everyone became happy. Upon hearing about the repayment, their heads drooped again.
"Damn it, I knew that fellow surnamed Shen wasn't a good person, a true ingrate!" Zhao Baoyi kicked the ground and cursed first.
"Exactly, exactly. He looks down on us because he's a scholar..." Zhao Guanggun quickly chimed in.
Zhao Dashan wasn't pleased. He retorted to the two, "People shouldn't be like this. Do you think you don't spend money buying grain seeds outside?"
"That's right. You don't even look at how well my nephew's seedlings are growing. If I told you to buy them yourselves, you couldn't even raise them properly." At this crucial moment, Old Zhao family's Zhao Erhu also supported Shen Yun.
Zhao Baoren didn't have such a good temper. He glared at everyone, "Damn it, I'm making this clear today. Those willing to repay can go to the Shen family for seedlings. Those who aren't can buy them themselves from the street. Anyone who dares to cause trouble behind my back will have their taxes doubled this year."
As soon as these words were spoken, all sounds in the courtyard vanished. The taxes levied by the imperial court were a knife hanging over their heads, ready to chop off their skulls at any moment. Seeing that everyone had no objections, or dared not have any more, Zhao Baoren waved his hand, and Shen Yun, with Su Xiaoqi, entered.
Shen Yun took out paper and brush, asking anyone who needed them to report now. Tomorrow, they would all go to the fields to pull seedlings. Everyone surged forward, reporting according to the size of their land.
Su Xiaoqi heard someone mention the size of their paddy fields and a pond. She blinked and asked that person, "Do you raise fish in your pond?"
"Ah, I don't have any fish fry, nor anyone to look after them..." Zhao Huizi said, his head looking simple and honest.
"Can you contract it to us?" Su Xiaoqi tentatively asked.
"How do you want to contract it?" Zhao Huizi asked, not understanding.
"Your pond is one mu in size. I'll contract it for a year, and give your family one hundred fish, how about that?"
"O-one hundred fish, you, are you serious?" Zhao Huizi's voice trembled slightly. Such a good thing, could it be a windfall from heaven?
Su Xiaoqi smiled, patted Shen Yun. He had already written out the contract for the pond and waved it at Huizi, "Black and white text, with a handprint."
"But, but I can't read," Zhao Huizi was too excited to say anything else.
Su Xiaoqi naturally pushed Zhao Baoren forward to be the guarantor. This guarantor wouldn't be for free; Su Xiaoqi promised to give him thirty fish once they were raised. Thus, the three families successfully reached a contract agreement.
At this moment, a sharp voice sounded, "I have a pond of two mu, do you want to contract it?" Su Xiaoqi looked up and saw Zhao Baoyi. The one who had snatched her grain and caused her to frantically summon wild boars to save her life. A wave of nausea rose in her heart, and as she was about to roll her eyes and refuse, the smooth-talking Shen Yun had already agreed, "No problem."
"I don't ask for much, just give me three hundred and sixty-five fish." This way, his family would have fish to eat every day. Zhao Baoyi couldn't help but swallow saliva as he thought about it.
Su Xiaoqi, however, was accustomed to his habit and said coldly, "One mu is one hundred fish, two mu is two hundred fish. If you don't agree, then forget it." In any case, her contracting fish ponds was merely to find a suitable outlet for the fish produced in her space. Otherwise, if she had no place to raise fish but could continuously supply Fuyue Inn, wouldn't that be exposing herself?
"Hey, you're a bit difficult to deal with..." Zhao Baoyi was used to being overbearing in the village. As soon as things didn't go his way, he would start clenching his fists. Su Xiaoqi wasn't afraid of him and stood up, ready to confront him. Shen Yun, however, stopped her and looked directly at Zhao Baoren. As Zhao Baoyi's elder brother and the village head, it was up to him to handle this matter.
Zhao Baoren glared at his younger brother, telling him to write the contract now if he wanted it, or to get out of the way quickly and not block the people lining up behind him.
"Big brother, I..." Zhao Baoyi was arrogant in front of others, but in front of his own elder brother, he was like a quail, not daring to utter a word. After dealing with this disruptive troublemaker, the rest of the matters were much easier to handle.
Out of the fifty-odd households, most registered. Some also wanted to contract their ponds to the Shen family, but Su Xiaoqi refused them. She couldn't use so many, nor did she have the time to manage them. However, to avoid disappointing others, she directly promised to provide them with fish fry. Once they were raised, they only needed to bring back ten fish from each family. This was purely doing charity. After all, with Su Xiaoqi's space, she wasn't lacking a few fish. But she couldn't let them develop the habit of taking for free, so she symbolically collected some interest.
Everyone dispersed, leaving behind a stack of black-and-white contract documents. Su Xiaoqi carefully waited for the ink on the paper to dry. As she looked up, she saw someone timidly shuffling in.
"Zhao Ye." Su Xiaoqi recognized him at a glance. The person who had saved Zhao Xiaozhu back then. He wore clothes patched all over. It was still spring, but on his feet, he wore self-woven straw sandals, revealing all ten of his toes. His hands trembled, unsure if it was from cold or illness. He gestured towards Su Xiaoqi, who couldn't understand and pulled Shen Yun over.
Shen Yun translated, "He says he wants to find some work. He can help us guard the fish ponds, and when the fish grow up, people will steal them."
Su Xiaoqi was surprised by Zhao Ye's idea. She had to admit that although he was mute, he was very intelligent. She had contracted two ponds, and might symbolically release some fish fry into them. But in reality, she hadn't thought about how many fish could be raised there. So she wasn't worried about them being stolen. However, with Zhao Ye saying this, Su Xiaoqi's interest was piqued. Perhaps she could try raising fish in the ponds. Moreover, she secretly planned that regardless of how many fish were raised, after deducting the rent for Zhao Huizi and Zhao Baoyi, the rest would all go to Zhao Ye. He was a good person, worthy of her kindness! She agreed. She arranged to give him twenty catties of grain each month, and he could eat as many fish from the ponds as he wanted.
Upon hearing this, Zhao Ye became happy, making "ho ho" sounds and his face full of excitement. Two days ago, he had fallen on the dock steps and broken his right hand, making him unable to do heavy work, so he was dismissed from the dock. Unable to work, he thought he was going to starve to death. Fortunately, he met her, who looked like a fairy. Was she truly a fairy? Zhao Ye looked at Shen Yun with envy. Only someone as learned as him was worthy of such a fairy.