Chapter 2558 - 2532: Moved

The royal estate’s hiring practices are quite different from Zhou Man and their hiring practices, primarily because they don’t need to be too selective.

Because no one dares to bully the royal estate.

It belongs to the Emperor’s family, and few civilians have the courage to con them.

Therefore, when hiring long-term and short-term workers, they don’t have to be overly cautious, except when it comes to tenant farmers who are more constrained; once a contract is signed, they must be used for at least a year.

According to Jin Law, once a tenancy contract is signed, to protect the tenant farmer’s interests, the landlord may not terminate the contract before winter.

This prevents unscrupulous landlords from evicting tenant farmers after they’ve cultivated the land under an unjustified pretext, which could be life-threatening.

So even when finding tenant farmers, the royal estate needs to be more careful.

Bai Erlang, upon receiving the ideas from the two of them, would take Princess Mingda out every day. First, he had the steward gather all the existing tenants and told them that the seeds for this year would still be provided, but the rent would be reduced from sixty percent to forty percent, meaning they would keep sixty percent of the land’s yield at the end of the year.

The tenant farmers were overjoyed, almost incredulous.

The steward had mixed feelings but kept a joyful appearance, loudly proclaiming, "Her Highness the Princess has just married, and this is her blessing to you all. From now on, you must serve the princess well and be loyal to her. If anyone dares to harm the royal estate or the princess, I’ll be the first to not spare you!"

After the admonition, he bowed to Princess Mingda and smiled, "Your Highness, is there anything else you would like to add?"

"Nothing more. Let them go now. The spring is beautiful, and the land needs to be leveled," Mingda said, looking at Bai Erlang, who nodded slightly. She continued to the steward, "Have them clear the weeds first and level the land properly. Work hard this year, and next year, I’ll still only take forty percent of the rent."

The steward hesitated, having a lot to say, like how this method would not make the estate profitable, and the master might even incur losses.

But when he glanced at the Prince Consort, he held back. These days, he realized that while the princess might not understand farming, the Prince Consort seemed quite knowledgeable.

Some things might convince the princess but not necessarily persuade the Prince Consort.

So, the steward swallowed his words and agreed quietly.

Princess Mingda was delighted, her first handling of external matters going so smoothly, "And there’s one more thing,"

Mingda said, "For our section of the road, we won’t use conscripted labor; we’ll pay for the road repairs ourselves."

The steward’s mouth gaped open, "How much will that cost?"

Like master, like servant, clearly, this one, too, was thrifty like the Emperor.

But Mingda was not short of money; she waved her hand generously, "You don’t have to worry about this. Just send someone to inform County Magistrate Xun not to issue any conscription orders for our royal estate."

As for the road workers, she had another plan.

"Since you’re going to see County Magistrate Xun, also inform him that for this year’s spring plowing and autumn harvest, the royal estate won’t need any conscripted workers. We’re hiring extra hands ourselves."

The steward was puzzled, nervously asking, "Is the princess dissatisfied with the coarse work of conscripted laborers, thinking they harm the land?"

He spoke while sneaking a look at Bai Erlang.

Mingda shook her head slightly, "No, it’s not that. With the busy season upon us, everyone is occupied. How can I waste manpower? Let them attend to their household affairs; we’ll hire our own people."

Bai Erlang then took over the conversation, "The princess and I figured it out. We’ll hire some extra short-term workers, about one hundred twenty people, be they men or women."

Both men and women can sow seeds and plant rice.

The steward finally had something to say, hastily adding, "Prince Consort, men are better suited than women for farming, after all, it’s labor-intensive, and you need strength to plow."

"That’s why we plan to buy thirty oxen. With the oxen, we only need people to guide the plow," Bai Erlang said. "Watch carefully as they work, note those who are diligent and meticulous, and after the busy spring season, ask if they’d be willing to become long-term workers. If they are, keep thirty to fifty of them, ideally families. Record their names, so we can directly recruit them as tenant farmers next year."

"Right, with so many people coming, choose two spots to build two rows of shelters, keeping them some distance apart. One row for men, and one for women."

The steward was taken aback, "Prince Consort, where are we going to get so many oxen?"

"We’ll buy them. Rest assured, we’ll have thirty, not one less, all over two years old,"

They can be put to use immediately, with one ox equal to two strong laborers.

The steward: ...

He silently noted these tasks, bowed, and withdrew.

Mingda was very excited, unable to resist taking Bai Erlang’s hand in public and asked, "Should we also manage the other royal estate in Yongzhou?"

That estate is larger and the land even better.

Bai Erlang was ambitious, but both his teachers and Bai Shanzhou Man had advised him not to take too big a step initially. He wasn’t sure yet whether these methods would work for the royal estate.

So he said to Mingda, "Let’s talk about it next year; that royal estate will continue as before for now."

Mingda could only nod ruefully.

The road repair project was handed over to Zhou Wulang by Mingda and Bai Erlang. They provided the money for him to undertake the project, hire workers, and handle the workers’ food, clothing, shelter, sanitation, and various tools while they were only responsible for the funding.

The reason they chose to spend money rather than pinch pennies by using Liyang County’s conscripted labor was because Princess Mingda wanted to change the perception of the royal estate. At least, under her direct management, the royal estate would not requisition conscripted labor from the County Governmental Office.

County Magistrate Xun received two good news in a row and was filled with complex emotions, but mostly, he was pleased.

The reason he had not taken the initiative was that he wanted to observe Princess Mingda’s attitude. If she asked for help, everything would continue as usual. If she didn’t, then the matter could quietly be forgotten.

Truthfully, having a royal estate under one’s jurisdiction isn’t something to be particularly happy about.

Because royal estates don’t pay taxes, they occupy the land, and even their servants don’t generate tax revenue, reducing tax income while still using up their labor resources.

Yongzhou City, with two royal estates, faced a heavier labor burden than other prefectural cities, although the high population helped mitigate this somewhat.

He thought Princess Mingda’s decision not to request people for road repairs was already a great favor, but unexpectedly, she declared that she wouldn’t need conscripted labor for spring plowing or autumn harvest either.

County Magistrate Xun was so relieved and happy that his eyes turned red with gratitude, and he couldn’t help but grasp his steward’s hand, exclaiming, "No wonder the officials in the court are so fond of Princess Mingda. She truly is a generous and benevolent person!"

Then gritting his teeth, he added, "In contrast, that scoundrel in Wannian County is unworthy of his noble name, and he’s from the Guo Clan, too. Shameless! He wanted ten thousand coins from me for such a short stretch of road."

Steward: "So, sir, are you going to give it or not?"

County Magistrate Xun closed his eyes in sorrow and, with no choice, lowered his head, "Give it!"