Zhou Family Mansion

At this moment, the courtyard was packed with people. Some had not even set down their hoes before rushing over, a restless, surging crowd.

"Don't push, don't push! Everyone, stand still!" Zhou Hong shouted, but he could not hold back the tide of tenant farmers. It was only after two household guards stepped forward and struck a few of the men with long staffs that the situation finally stabilized.

Someone pleaded with a mournful face, "Master, why this sudden land consolidation? Does the land already rented to us still count?"

"That's right! The spring sowing is almost upon us. We cannot afford any delays!"

Zhou Hong barked sternly, "Stop arguing! All this clamoring is truly tiresome. The land is right there; it is not as if I would prevent you from farming it."

"It is just that my family needs to measure and settle our land holdings now. Once that is done, we will naturally rent it out to you again."

Following that, he cupped his hands toward the official standing to the side. "Honored Official, the land deeds for my family's fields are all here. I must trouble you for your efforts today."

"Heh, what trouble is there to speak of?" The official grinned, completely lacking the fierce, detestable demeanor he threw about in other villages.

He was a minor clerk in the Revenue Office, so he naturally knew of the Zhou family's relationship with Master of Records Lin. Even though Master of Records Lin had been nearly stripped of power by Assistant Magistrate Cao, he was still not someone a mere minor clerk could step on. Besides, the Zhou family had an Immortal Master in their household-there was simply no reason to offend them.

"Check everything against the deeds. See that there are no mistakes."

The accompanying scribes each took a portion of the land deeds and followed the villagers to the fields. The villagers, terrified that the Zhou family might refuse to rent them the land, were filled with anxious dread, making them extremely eager and cooperative.

By the time the sun hung high in the sky, the scribes had gathered together once more. The villagers stood in the distance, watching with anxious concern.

"There are a total of two hundred and thirty-four mu of land. Among them, thirty-one mu are upper-grade fields, seventy-two mu are middle-grade fields, and one hundred and thirty-one mu are lower-grade fields."

As the scribe called out the numbers, exclamations rippled through the distant crowd.

"Good heavens, it has only been a few years. How did the Zhou family come to own so much land?"

"Their family is truly wealthy. We could not earn this much in several lifetimes."

"They bought over seventy mu from the Qian family a while back, plus the fields sold to them by desperate households over the years. Of course they have this much."

Among the crowd, some felt envious and bitter, while others merely sighed in awe.

"If the Master has this much land and still rents it to us for four-tenths of the yield, then this old man will rent two more mu to save up some extra," an old man muttered to himself.

Hearing the scribe's announcement, Zhou Hong felt a sudden wave of gratification and relief. In the future, his younger brother would not have to toil so bitterly.

Upper-grade fields could produce six shi of grain per mu, middle-grade fields four and a half shi, and lower-grade fields mostly hovered around three shi.

If his family rented the land to these villagers and took four-tenths as rent, that would be three hundred and fifty shi of grain each year. After deducting what the family consumed, they could still sell three hundred shi. At two hundred wen per shi, that amounted to over sixty taels of silver.

Once the family's mountain goods and herbal medicine trade was properly established, they could earn another few dozen taels a year. There would be no more need for his brother to painstakingly gather Mountain Clear Qi.

Zhou Hong felt both joy and self-reproach. If Zhou Ping had not been gathering Mountain Clear Qi all these years, how could the Zhou family have brought in over a hundred taels annually? How could they have had the spare silver to aggressively buy up land?

Farming was stable, but the returns were pitifully low. Only by scraping together small profits over vast quantities could they earn anything at all. If they had relied solely on the slow crawl of agriculture, no matter how hard the Zhou family worked, they could never have caught up to those established clans.

After all, those clans each owned two or three hundred mu of land; their advantage was simply too overwhelming.

The only way forward had been to use their own strengths to bypass the others' foundations. Every year, by hiding in the wilderness to gather Mountain Clear Qi and exchanging it with Li Mu for large sums of pure silver, they were able to outbid those clans for land.

In previous years, every destitute household in the village had praised the Zhou family as kind and generous benefactors for buying land at above-market prices. But behind closed doors, they all mocked the Zhou family for having more money than sense, whispering that they were destined to squander everything.

Now, the landholdings of the prominent families were roughly equal. Those other clans had many mouths to feed and heavy expenses, while his own family had few people and light expenses. Even if they relied solely on farming and mountain goods, they could now earn slightly more than those clans. He never wanted his younger brother to suffer such exhaustion again.

Zhou Hong pressed a few pieces of broken silver into the official's hand. "Honored Official, you have worked hard."

The minor clerk was startled for a moment. He discreetly weighed the silver in his palm, estimating it to be a solid three or four taels, and instantly beamed. "Master Zhou is far too polite. Since the land has been verified, we will not disturb you any longer."

One tael of silver was enough to cover an ordinary household's expenses for a month or two. Three or four taels were enough for these minor clerks to live lavishly for a night or two. To receive such a windfall for a mere routine errand naturally left them all smiles.

Zhou Hong paid no mind to the clerk suddenly elevating his title. Instead, he smiled and said, "There are hot meals prepared inside. It would not be too late for the Honored Official to eat before leaving."

"Easy to say, easy to say. Master Zhou is truly too kind."

With that, the group stepped into the Zhou family mansion.

As for the villagers, under the direction of the Zhou family's household guards, they eagerly signed their leases and dispersed with beaming faces.

Meanwhile, Zhou Ping was leading a group of men to the mountain entrance near Baixi Village.

Zhou Ping stood atop a large boulder. Behind him loomed the dense, treacherous mountains. The crowd standing before him was a mixed assortment: the Zhou family's own household guards, Zhou Ping's father-in-law Old Man Chen, a few fawning men from the Qian clan, and several unfamiliar faces-the maternal relatives of his sister-in-law Lin Cuilian, the uncles of Zhou Changhe.

After carefully surveying the men, Zhou Ping spoke slowly. "I am sure you all know why I have called you here today."

"I, Zhou Erlang (Zhou Ping's childhood name), will speak plainly. I have already scouted the situation in these mountains. All I need from you is labor. Just follow my instructions, and all the mountain goods we uncover will be split fifty-fifty."

"Master, what if we return empty-handed?" a few of the Qian men muttered softly.

Zhou Ping shot them a single glance. The man who spoke instantly trembled in fear, involuntarily lowering his eyes.

These Qian men had long developed foul habits within their clan-they were gluttonous, indolent, and lazy to the bone.

If it were not for the fact that the Qian family had run a highly successful mountain trade, giving these men rich experience and seasoned hands in processing various herbs, Zhou Ping truly would not have brought them along.

Once his own people had absorbed their experience and techniques, he would kick these Qian men to the curb first.

As for the other three factions: the first consisted of Zhou Ping's own household guards. They were servants he had raised for five years, one of whom he had personally named Zhou Hu.

The likelihood of Zhou Hu betraying the Zhou family was extremely low. Leaving aside the fact that the family held his indenture contract, he had been raised in the household since he was thirteen or fourteen. Now nearing twenty, his loyalty was firmly rooted in the Zhou family.

At worst, he might grow arrogant and overbearing in the future from being favored. But as long as Zhou Ping was still alive, he could suppress him. Further down the line, there would be Changhe and Minghu. How could a mere servant ever overturn the heavens?

The second was Old Man Chen. Since marrying off his daughter, his days had improved significantly. His originally hunched back had straightened a bit. He had even taken an aging widow as a wife, and word had it that she was with child, though who knew if she could safely bring it to term.

If the Chen family secured an heir, they could serve as a pillar of support for Minghu's maternal side in the future. If the bloodline ended there, it would not impact the Zhou family in the slightest.

As for the final faction, it was Zhou Changhe's maternal clan-the Lin family from the Lin Family Village ten li away.

Over the past five years, no matter how desperately short-handed the Zhou family became, nor how severely their growth was stifled, they had never called upon the Lin family. This was entirely because the Lin family was simply too populous. Across three generations, they boasted over a dozen able-bodied men. Back then, the Zhou family's third generation consisted solely of Changhe.

Zhou Ping had been genuinely terrified that if some accident befell him while his family's influence was weak, the Lin clan would end up usurping their hard-earned foundation.

"The mountains are treacherous. Even though I have scoured the paths, you must remain cautious. Keep your weapons close and do not allow any mishaps."

Zhou Ping delivered a few more careful instructions before pulling out the map he had drawn.

This map was not as meticulous as his original draft. Some territories had been omitted entirely; it merely marked the locations where medicinal herbs could be cultivated.

"The areas marked here are places I found suitable for nurturing herbs. You only need to harvest them at the proper times. Once you pick them, scatter some seeds, and a new batch will sprout next year."

The Qian men instantly crowded around, drawing sharp breaths.

Their Qian clan had dominated the local herb trade for years. They had barely managed to thoroughly chart the eight surrounding mountains, and only after paying the price of several human lives did they secure their monopoly.

And yet, while Zhou Erlang (Zhou Ping's childhood name)'s map lacked the minute details of theirs, it was no less accurate. More importantly, it marked several deep territories that the Qian family had never dared to explore. How could they not be astonished?

But on second thought, it made sense. The mortal perils hidden within the mountains were nothing in the face of an Immortal Master.

For the steepest, most perilous crags, the Qian family was unwilling to bleed men and coin, so they naturally left them untouched. Zhou Ping, however, could venture deep and uncover their secrets. Even if he stumbled upon a low-tier demonic beast, he could still escape. If a mortal encountered such a beast in the woods, their best option was to look around for a spot with good feng shui and sit down to wait for death.

"I already sowed the seeds near the turn of the year. Simply pluck them when the time comes, and be sure not to damage the roots."

"Heh, we know the drill." Lin Daniu, the leader of the Lin men and Changhe's eldest uncle, wore a wide grin, but his mind was rapidly churning.

The Lin family had long known of the Zhou family's sudden prosperity, and they were green with envy. They had offered to help manage the Zhou estate several times, only to be rebuffed by Zhou Hong at every turn.

Even if Zhou Erlang (Zhou Ping's childhood name) was an Immortal Master, it was not as if he had three heads and six arms. Now, lacking the necessary hands, was he not finally relying on them?

Lin Daniu had already made quiet inquiries. Zhou Erlang (Zhou Ping's childhood name)'s wife had no maternal kin, and the Huang woman's bloodline was broken. The Zhou family's third generation consisted of a mere four children, three of whom were his own nephews. Once Zhou Ping finally died, the Zhou family would be left with nothing but a few helpless kittens. They would naturally have to lean on the Lin family, and when that day came, the Zhou foundation would be easy to knead and mold.

Harboring their own hidden schemes, the crowd marched into the great mountains. Zhou Ping watched them from afar for a few moments longer before turning and making his way back home.

With the four factions watching each other like hawks, no petty betrayals would fester too soon. He only hoped that Zhou Hu could hold his own through these next few years. Once Changhe and the others could stand tall on their own, the Zhou family would guarantee the servant a lifetime of wealth, health, and peace.