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The people kneeling at the bottom turned their heads and glared at the man who had threatened Lu Jiao, “Niu Er, why are you spouting nonsense? Are you trying to harm us?”

“Who do you think you are? How dare you threaten the landlord? This land belongs to the landlord, and if she doesn’t want to lease it to us, we have no choice.”

Several households scolded Niu Er.

Niu Er opened his mouth to retort, but Lu Jiao spoke up, “Uncle Xiao, you handle this.”

In the future, Old Man Xiao would be in charge of managing the fields, and Lu Jiao wanted to see how he would handle this situation.

Upon hearing Lu Jiao’s words, Uncle Xiao stepped forward and coldly stared at the burly man who had threatened Lu Jiao earlier.

“So you’re Niu Er? You said that if the madam refuses to lease the land to you, then she’d be forcing you to die. Then go ahead and die, I want to see if you dare.”

Uncle Xiao said in a resolute tone.

Niu Er’s face changed, and his family members behind him also looked nervous.

But he quickly started to cry loudly, “Look at this woman! She doesn’t want to lease the land to us. She wants to force us to die! We have no way to survive!”

As Niu Er’s words fell, many families were shocked, and the adults and children were all in a panic. Two households joined Niu Er in crying and making a fuss.

“How can that be? Why won’t she lease the land to us for cultivation? We were doing well cultivating this land before. But as soon as the ownership changes, they won’t lease it to us. Isn’t there any justice left?”

“She is deliberately forcing us to die. If she dares not to lease the land to us, we’ll die!”

Uncle Xiao coldly sneered and said, “If you want to die, go ahead. No need to cry and make a fuss here. I want to see if you dare to kill yourselves. I sure want to see whether or not the county magistrate would punish us for your deaths. We bought the land, and our willingness to lease it to you is an act of kindness, not a reason for you to coerce us.”

After Uncle Xiao finished speaking, Lu Jiao ordered with a stern face, “Uncle Xiao, Ruan Zhu, kick these three families out of the fields. Feng Zhi, calculate the value of the land they cultivated and pay them accordingly. Make them leave immediately.”

“Yes, Madam.”

At this point, everyone present was shocked. Niu Er stood up to make a scene.

However, Uncle Xiao walked over, reached out, and easily lifted Niu Er as if he were lifting a small chicken.

Ruan Zhu also dragged two men out by herself. Even though she was a young girl, she managed to ensure the men were fully restrained.

Seeing their actions, everyone on the scene finally understood the situation.

The landlord was indeed skilled, and they seemed to be quite capable.

No one dared to speak now; at most, they begged a few times.

Lu Jiao ordered Uncle Xiao and Ruan Zhu to drive all three families out of the fields.

Zhao Lingfeng’s men also went to help, and soon Niu Er and the other two families were driven out.

Lu Jiao looked at the tenant farmers on the scene and gestured for them to stand up.

“I won’t lie to you all. It’s not that I won’t lease the land to you, it’s just that I purchased this land to specifically grow medicinal herbs, not rice.”

As soon as Lu Jiao said this, the tenant farmers realized they had no land to cultivate, and their faces turned pale. The elderly and children started to cry.

Lu Jiao cleared her throat and continued, “Even if you lease the land for rice, it would barely be enough for subsistence, and you wouldn’t make much money from it.

An elderly tenant farmer quickly spoke up, “Even if it’s only for subsistence, it still supports a large family. When we go out to work, it’s hard for us as we get older. Moreover, employers often deliberately withhold our money, so in the end, we barely have anything left. What are we supposed to do?”

After the old man finished speaking, tears streamed down his face. Lu Jiao felt a bit sympathetic, and she spoke in a gentle tone.

“Don’t be sad or scared. I have another cooperative method that you might consider.”

“Although my land is for growing medicinal herbs, it needs people to take care of it. So, I can hire you as my long-term worker for five years. I’ll pay you every month. This way, each household can earn money, and I believe the earnings won’t be inferior to cultivating the land. After covering your expenses, you might have some money left, and in five years, you may even be able to buy several acres of land for yourselves. Isn’t that better than leasing someone else’s land?”

After Lu Jiao’s words, some people with quick reactions were tempted and asked eagerly, “Lady Lu, how much will you pay us as long-term workers each month?”

Lu Jiao glanced at the speaker and said, “Strong laborers will receive one tael silver per month, and women and elderly will receive six hundred tokens of silver.”

One tael of silver per month for strong laborers was 12 taels in a year, plus six hundred tokens for women and the elderly. After calculating, each household would have more than ten taels of silver left after covering expenses for a year. In five years, that would be fifty taels, which could be used to buy seven or eight acres of land near the town.

At this point, many people on the scene were tempted. However, someone worriedly asked, “Lady Lu, what if you stop paying us later or find excuses to dismiss us?”

Lu Jiao smiled and replied, “All of these terms will be clearly stated in the contract. The landlord cannot dismiss long-term workers without legitimate reasons, nor can the landlord withhold your wages for any unjustifiable reasons. So, don’t worry.”

As Lu Jiao finished speaking, Zhao Lingfeng spoke up, “Do you know who she is? She is the wife of Master Xie, who helped Magistrate Hu take down two corrupt officials. It’s impossible for her to withhold your wages.”

Recently, the hottest topic in Qinghe County was how Magistrate Hu had taken down two corrupt officials. Many mentioned Scholar Xie, saying that he had helped Magistrate Hu to deal with Yang and Peng.

So even the common people in the countryside had heard about it. When they heard Zhao Lingfeng’s words, they became happy and called out.

“So Lady Lu is the wife of Scholar Xie. Then we can rest assured.”

Someone whispered, “I heard that Scholar Xie came from a poor background.”

This meant that they wondered how Scholar Xie, who came from a poor background, could afford to buy land.

Zhao Lingfeng immediately looked at the person who spoke and explained, “Although Scholar Xie came from a poor background, his wife is capable and can make money. Don’t underestimate Lady Lu. She is a very capable person and can earn money.”

The crowd instinctively looked at Lu Jiao. They thought about the two people who had appeared around her earlier and her cold demeanor. She indeed seemed like a formidable person.

With such a capable wife, would Scholar Xie dare to be unfaithful? Even if he became an official, would he dare to take a concubine?

Many people started to sympathize with Scholar Xie.

Lu Jiao gave Zhao Lingfeng an exasperated look. Why did he need to bring up Xie Yunjin now?

Zhao Lingfeng smiled wryly. He had intended to flatter, but it seemed he flattered in the wrong direction. It appeared that he was not good at flattery..