Rebirth: Making a Fortune in Ancient Times

For the next few days, Li didn't need to work in the fields anymore; Liu told her to rest in bed. Zhang Chengwen wanted to go to the fields to help, but his family sternly refused, telling him to stay home and study in preparation for next year's provincial examination.

However, he would always help Xia Yu and Qiu Yu at home, such as washing vegetables or starting the fire. At first, Qing He would make a fuss about it, but she gradually got used to it. He did all this behind Liu Shi's back. Qing He wanted to tell her two nieces, but her fourth brother stopped her. Seeing that her fourth brother was willing to do these things, she was happy to be idle and didn't bother to tell Liu Shi. So, Zhang Chengwen's work was miraculously kept secret.

After more than half a month of hard work by the whole family, all the wheat has finally been harvested and stored. These past few days, they have been in the fields with the village chiefs to investigate this year's wheat harvest. The officials who will collect the summer taxes will be arriving in a few days.

Xia Yu had always known that grain yields were low at this time of year, but she never imagined they would be this low. Her family's 58 mu (approximately 3.8 hectares) of land yielded a total of just over 15,000 jin (approximately 7,500 kg) of wheat, averaging 250-260 jin per mu. Thinking about the modern yield of over 1,000 jin per mu, Xia Yu finally understood why people at this time, despite cultivating so much land, still couldn't get enough to eat. And even this much, judging from the smiles on the adults' faces these past few days, was already a very good harvest.

Before the tax officials arrived, the old house had to collect the rent they had already paid out. All the land they had rented out was top-quality farmland, and Xia Yu's grandfather collected rent at 250 jin per mu, based on the wheat harvest report given by the village head. The initial rent was set at 50%, so each mu would have 125 jin of grain as rent. After the news spread, the villagers who had rented their land were very conscientious, each carrying a bundle of wheat to the old house to pay their rent.

The three Zhang brothers were responsible for weighing and checking the dryness of the wheat. If any wheat was not dry enough, it had to be sent back to be dried again before being delivered.

Old Master Zhang was kind and righteous. Here, the rent was often split 40/60, with the tenant getting 40% and the landlord 60%. Some landlords were even more stingy, splitting the rent 30/70 between the tenant and the landlord. So, Old Master Zhang's land was never short of buyers, and those who managed to acquire it were grateful for the Zhang family's generosity and didn't try to cheat or shortchange them. Xia Yu, watching from the side, couldn't help but sigh softly, "The villagers are still so simple and honest!"

Hearing her daughter's lament, Madam Liu recalled the family of Er Maozi who had rented their land a few years ago. Every time it was time to pay rent, they would come to the old house crying and making a scene, trying to avoid paying some of it. When the Zhang family wanted to take the land back, Er Maozi, upon hearing that they wouldn't be allowed to rent the land anymore, became even more of a rogue, deliberately acting this way because he knew the old man valued his reputation and wouldn't do anything to him.

The old man was extremely annoyed, but he couldn't do anything to him in front of the other villagers, since his son was going to study for a government career, and his reputation was very important. Later, the three Zhang brothers went to their house one night, gagged the couple, and gave Er Maozi a severe beating, almost breaking his legs, before he finally realized his mistake and obediently returned the land to the Zhang family. However, that year, they still managed to avoid paying 10% of the land rent. From then on, when the Zhang family offered land, they only considered the character of the person. If someone wasn't honest, no matter how eloquently you spoke, the Zhang family wouldn't sell the land.

In just one day, all the rent from the seventy mu of land that the old family had sold off was collected, totaling 8,750 jin of wheat. Adding the 15,000 jin of wheat that the old family had collected themselves, over 20,000 jin were stored in the old family's granary. They were waiting for the summer tax officials to arrive, pay the tax, and then the old family and Xia Yu's family would divide the remaining grain according to the amount of land they owned.

These past few days, Old Master Zhang, along with his three sons and grandson Changsheng, have been taking turns guarding the outside of the granary day and night, just in case something goes wrong.

Finally, after much anticipation from Xia Yu's family, the tax official arrived at Zhangjia Village, where Xia Yu and his family lived. This year's summer tax was the same as usual: 20% of the harvest per mu (unit of land area). The old house and Xia Yu's family owned a total of 128 mu of land, with the government taking 50 jin (unit of weight) per mu, totaling 6,400 jin. Xia Yu stood by, watching the sacks of wheat being carried out of the granary, feeling a pang of heartache. He hoped his fourth uncle would pass the imperial examination soon, so that the land could be registered in his name and they wouldn't have to pay so much tax.

After paying the taxes, Grandpa Zhang gave Xia Yu's family 5,880 jin of wheat, calculated at 260 jin per mu.

It took Zhang Youtie more than a dozen trips with his oxcart to haul all the wheat away.

After doing all that, everyone was exhausted, but everyone was happy; the rest was their own. That evening, after dinner, Grandpa Zhang chatted with his sons in the yard.

"Father, how much grain do you plan to keep this year?" Zhang Youtie asked his father, who was smoking his pipe.

"This year's harvest is better than last year's. Last year we kept 2,000 jin, and this year we'll keep 3,000 jin. We'll sell the rest, and the autumn harvest will come in a few months. If we keep a little more corn, that should be enough for this year's consumption."

"Father, why don't we leave some more?" These words were spoken by Zhang Chengwen, who was sitting on the bench next to him.

"Fourth brother, don't worry about these things. Three thousand catties is enough to eat. Focus on your studies and prepare for next year's autumn imperial examination. When are you planning to leave for White Deer Academy?"

"They're leaving in the next couple of days. There's another student from our school who's going too, so the two of us will go together."

"Alright, alright, I'll have your mother prepare the money for you. How much tuition does that academy charge?" Old Master Zhang asked.

"Father, I did well on my exam this time, so my tuition fee has been waived. I only need to prepare money for my meals."

"Okay, I'll have your mother prepare some money for you. You're going far from home this time, so bring plenty."

"Father, there's no need for Mother to prepare any money for me. I got first place in the exam this time, and the county education commissioner rewarded me with fifty taels of silver. I've been back for so many days and the family has been so busy that I haven't had a chance to tell you about it. I'll take ten taels with me to the academy this time, and the rest will be given to Mother to save for my travel expenses for next year's autumn examination. As for the money my brothers have given me over the years, I'll have to repay them slowly in the future." He smiled apologetically at his brothers as he spoke.

"Hey, we're all brothers, what's there to repay? Your success makes us proud too," Zhang Youjin said.

“Yes, yes, don’t be so polite with your brothers. It’s important for you to focus on your studies,” Zhang Youyin quickly chimed in, picking up where his brother left off.

"Fourth brother, I made some money this year from selling watermelons. Don't keep thinking about paying us back. Focus on your studies, and our family will be better off. You saw Changyun when he came back the day before yesterday. We're counting on you, his fourth uncle, to give him some guidance."

"Oh, good, good. I'm happy to see you brothers so harmonious. As long as you brothers are all well and work together, we're sure our Zhang family can rise in status." Old Master Zhang was very happy to see his children so harmonious.

However, upon hearing that his fourth son had earned so much money, he decided to use two thousand catties of wheat this year to exchange for mixed flour, and save the rest. In the past, he would sell all the wheat each year to earn money to support his fourth son's education. Now that his fourth son was becoming successful and no longer needed so much money from the family, he wanted to keep the grain in hand. As the saying goes, "Keep some grain in hand, and you won't panic in a crisis."