The sun hung high overhead, its rays casting a surprising warmth upon them.
On the endless ridges of the fields, dozens of people could be vaguely seen working. In the distance, several extremely small houses were scattered about, looking somewhat like makeshift thatched huts.
Although Song Jinzhao's group consisted of only five people and they were still far away, their carriage was conspicuous. Coupled with the fact that people rarely visited this place year-round, the men and women working in the fields couldn't help but stop their labor and look up.
The path along the field ridge was too narrow, only allowing one person to pass at a time.
Song Jinzhao had the carriage parked by the roadside, tying the horse to a willow stump.
Anhao had already been lifted down from the tiger's back by Song Jinzhao, and Song Shixue walked in the middle, holding the leash.
As the distance closed, the people in the fields finally got a clear look at the group before them.
Of the group of four walking, three were women. Two were clearly quite young, and they had a child with them.
Seeing the white tiger stretching its neck to look around, the men quickly shielded the women and children behind them, staring at Song Jinzhao's group with vigilant faces.
At this moment, however, Song Jinzhao's brows were tightly furrowed.
From a distance, she couldn't see clearly, but up close, she realized that nearly half of the dozens of people were disabled, and all of them were men. They were missing arms or legs; some were blind in one eye with scars on their faces, and even the hands gripping the hoes were missing several fingers.
Were these the tenant farmers of the estate?
Song Shixue stared at a man missing both arms, lying on the ground and using his feet to dig the earth. All the color drained from her face, her skin turning an ashen white, her eyes filled with disbelief.
What was wrong with these people? Even during her family's hardest times, she had never seen such a scene. Subconsciously, she whispered, Sister.
Held in her arms, Song Anhao tightly hugged Song Jinzhao's neck. Her innocent gaze met that of the child hiding behind the woman, one filled with curiosity, the other with fear.
Sweeping her gaze over the crowd, Song Jinzhao astutely noticed that the eyes of these men were not like those of ordinary people. Instead, they resembled trained soldiers, their vigilance mixed with defensiveness, and a trace of murderous intent hidden deep in their eyes.
The two sides stood in a stalemate for a moment, neither taking the initiative to speak, until an able-bodied man from the other side stepped forward and asked Song Jinzhao's group, Who are you people, and what are you doing here?
If one ignored his right hand, which was missing three fingers, he could indeed be considered able-bodied among this group.
Qingshuang was about to ask if they were the estate's tenant farmers, but Song Jinzhao beat her to it.
I heard there is surplus land sitting idle on this estate. I want to find your manager and ask if it's for rent.
The man froze. The people standing behind him nervously clamped their mouths shut, their lowered brows tinged with worry.
After a moment of silence, the man pointed toward the east and said, Walk ahead for half an hour, and you will see five tile-roofed houses clustered together. The estate manager lives there.
The fields haven't been sown yet, so you can ride your horses over.
Song Jinzhao nodded in thanks. Thank you, brother.
She didn't ride the horse, but instead led her people on foot, continuing along the field ridges.
Seeing them walk far away, a woman with a child got red-rimmed eyes.
She looked worriedly at the man who had just spoken. Husband, if the manager rents the land to others, does that mean he won't rent it to us anymore?
Other estates demanded sixty percent of the annual grain harvest, whereas theirs was only thirty percent. If they lost this, they would never be able to rent such cheap land again.
The man turned and comforted the crowd. Don't worry. The manager is kind-hearted and won't just arbitrarily stop renting to us.
It's probably because some fields on the estate are empty and the manager doesn't want them to go to waste. Since we don't have the energy to farm them, he wants to rent them out.
The worry in everyone's eyes did not fade because of this. Would the land really not be taken away? They had no certainty in their hearts.
After walking a distance, Song Jinzhao successively saw quite a few more people.
Like the dozens of people from earlier, the men were not quite sound in body, the women were emaciated, and the children were sallow and thin, looking only slightly better in complexion than the adults.
Walking behind, Qingshuang and Lanxi remained silent. Even Song Anhao, who usually talked the most, quieted down, obediently resting her hands on Song Jinzhao's neck and looking straight ahead.
If these people were truly the tenant farmers of the estate, then the yields recorded in the ledger might not be fake. But why would the manager rent all the land to families with disabled members? And where did he find all these people? There were simply too many of them.
Filled with doubts, Song Jinzhao found the place the man had mentioned.
To be honest, the houses were a bit dilapidated. It was obvious they had been built decades ago and patched up many times; even the colors of the walls and roof tiles were mismatched.
After entering the courtyard, they didn't see a single person. Only the chimney on the roof was emitting smoke.
Walking to the kitchen door, they found only a woman inside cooking.
Seeing strangers suddenly appear in her home, the woman was stunned for a moment.
She sized up the attire of Song Jinzhao and Song Shixue, guessing they were masters of some household. Seeing that they were young girls and seemed harmless, she put down her spatula, walked out, and asked, Is there something I can help you two young ladies with?
It wasn't until she reached the door that she saw Xuetuan standing behind the four of them, and she immediately let out a terrified scream.
She quickly turned around, dodged into the kitchen, and slammed the door shut with a bang, her figure moving so fast it was almost a blur.
Xuetuan, whose chin was currently locked in Song Anhao's grip, stared at the kitchen door with a bewildered expression. It seemed something had just scurried inside.
Song Jinzhao was rendered speechless. Had she known the estate would be like this, she wouldn't have brought Xuetuan along.
Song Shixue stepped forward and knocked on the door. Auntie, Xuetuan is my pet. He doesn't bite.
The woman leaning against the door trembled in fear. Raising a tiger as a pet? This young girl was far too bold.
Auntie, he really doesn't bite.
Under Song Shixue's continuous reassurances, the woman slowly opened a crack in the door.
Seeing that it was peaceful outside and the tiger was still being held by the child, standing in place without moving a single step, she gradually opened the door.
Who are you looking for?
Song Jinzhao: I'm looking for the estate manager. The tenant farmers we met said he lives here.
The woman nodded. They are working in the fields and haven't returned yet. What do you need?
Yuniang, a rough male voice sounded from behind.
Turning around, they saw over a dozen men carrying hoes and shovels standing at the entrance. Their thick homespun clothes almost all had one or two patches, with straw ropes tied around their waists. They had sturdy builds, and their weather-beaten faces were rough and tinged with deep red, clearly not people who lived a life of luxury.
The fifty-year-old man standing at the very front had his pupils shrink when he got a clear look at Song Jinzhao and the others, nearly dropping the hoe in his hands.
The woman quickly hurried over, pointed at Song Jinzhao's group, and said, Husband, these guests said they are looking for you.
The old man gritted his back teeth, his heart filled with immense bitterness.
He took a deep breath to brace himself, put down the hoe, walked up to Song Jinzhao, and knelt down. This lowly one, Chen Fu, manager of Daohua Estate, pays his respects to County Princess Linghui.
The air suddenly froze. The woman cast her gaze toward Song Jinzhao and hurriedly knelt down as well.
Although the others were completely bewildered, they also followed suit, kneeling and kowtowing.
Song Jinzhao stared at him. You know me?
The old man raised his head and smiled bitterly. "Other than you, County Princess, this humble one cannot think of anyone else."
The simple main hall had no decorations at all. The old mahogany table had lost its original luster, looking as though it had been used for many years.
Three dishes and a soup were laid out on the table. They were all vegetarian dishes, with only a little egg drop floating in the soup. The woman called Yuniang was currently leading people in the kitchen to prepare more food.
Chen Fu knelt on the floor below the steps. "The manager of Shiquan Estate is still in the fields and hasn't returned yet. This humble one has already sent someone to call him, so he should be here shortly."
