Fierce Consort

Chapter 77.2

Shen Yi Yao felt that there was no need to quibble with impoverished commoners. Perhaps they really had some difficulties at home and thus didn't pay up? They each had truly given a reason, like sick children, people marrying in and so on. She thus ordered rent to be waived.

The second year the weather was also favorable but the amount of households who didn't pay rent increased.

The head of the farmstead reported it up and Qiao Rong implemented some measures. There were only a few solutions to such a situation. One was to forcibly collect the rent, and if they really couldn't pay it they would have to owe it the following year. Otherwise, depending on the situation, they would take the farmland back.

Some of the more timid households immediately paid up. There were still a few others who acted shamelessly and didn't pay. When they saw the rent collectors, they sat in front of their doors and cried.

The madam was currently at the manor and Qiao Rong knew she was kindhearted. Therefore, he didn't dare use any forceful methods. When the matter was reported, Shen Yi Yao waived the rent once more.

This was the third year, and it was also Yan Yan's first year managing the household.

Actually Yan Yan had already known about this matter the previous year. She hadn't approved of her mom's actions at that time.

But she understood what her mom was thinking. First of all, they truly weren't lacking this little bit. It was like if one had a mountain of gold, there was no need to care about a few missing coppers. She treated it as charity. Many women in major households had such a mindset.

In theory, this also wasn't excessive. But Yan Yan knew that indulging this would result in chaos down the line. The number would multiply and there would be more and more in the future.

These tenant farmers might not be bad people. They might have never done anything bad in their lives. Perhaps their families were poor, and seeing that the mistress was kindhearted, they got the idea to take a little advantage. They thought they could muddle through it by acting shamelessly.

It was fine if it was only a couple of households, but what about ten or a hundred? How could the manor operate in the future? Many people would follow the crowd. If they saw others doing so, they would naturally do the same.

Yan Yan wasn't planning on tolerating this and ordered Qiao Rong to deal with things according to the rules.

Human nature was sometimes a strange thing. For example, if a swindler one day decided to do some good, people would praise him for changing his ways. If someone who had been kind their entire lives suddenly did something bad, they would receive a torrent of abuse, as though all their previous kindness was just a cover for their malicious nature.

This had to do with expectations. If something occurred outside of expectations, it would be viewed with a different perspective. On the other hand, if high expectations suddenly ended up being unmet, then the disappointment would be especially heavy.

Yan Yan didn't understand this reasoning, and she wasn't planning on understanding it. She just knew since growing up that some people cannot be indulged. Indulging them would only exacerbate the situation.

The heads of the farmstead was unsuccessful in collecting rent. Those tenant farmers were all crying their heads off, as though they were peasants being oppressed by landlords. If the rent collector became a little sterner, they would make a fuss and ask to see the madam. They said the madam was a benevolent person and would definitely not force them this way. It was definitely these heads who were abusing their authority and trying to line their pockets.