Chapter 99: Indirect Promotion

At last, the work had begun.

Liu Yitiao stood at the edge of the field, watching more than a hundred tenant families bustle about in the paddies and fields. A warm sense of satisfaction filled him. Draft oxen, farmland, tenant farmers—his life as a small landowner truly began at this moment.

Though the soil of the wasteland was hard-packed, and the roots of weeds gripped it fiercely, it could not withstand the sharp blade of the Liu Family plow. As the tenant farmers worked, they found the labor easier, quicker, and less troublesome than even plowing good fields had been before.

Then there were the oxen. The Liu household had provided twenty draft oxen for the tenants, ten of which had rings through their noses. That morning, when Liu Yitiao let the tenants choose their animals, not a single person wanted the ones with injured noses; all of them scrambled for the ten newly purchased beasts.

But now, seeing how relaxed those tenants were who led their oxen by the nose, while the others strained to control theirs, the latter grew more and more red-eyed with envy and began to regret their choice.

Old Liu had come along earlier as well, unable to settle his mind, wanting to see the commotion for himself. Now that he saw most of the tenants under Liu Yitiao were just honest, ordinary farmers and nothing like the savage, brutish men others had described, he finally set his worries aside.

Watching everyone work with such heat and vigor, Old Liu’s hands itched too. He had taken a fancy to the new-style plow Liu Yitiao had brought back, and could not help wanting to try it. After greeting his son, he hurried over to Li Deshen and his son to lend a hand.

But with Li Deshen’s temperament, how could he let Old Liu, a gentleman of the house, do such labor? Li Deshen held the plow steady and advanced across the field, saying, “Master Liu, please do not make this old fellow suffer. How could work like this be done by your own hands? You and our landlord are both noble people; leave this to us tenants. You should go rest at the field’s edge. Though there is much land here, with these oxen and this plow helping us, I believe we can finish all this wasteland in no more than five days.”

One hundred and fifty-eight people, twenty draft oxen, and five days to plow more than five hundred acres. If this had been said before, Li Deshen would never have believed it, even if he were beaten to death. But now, he did believe it.

He had never experienced farming so swiftly. It felt almost like walking—easy, quick, effortless. At this pace, even thirty acres a day would be no problem.

“Brother Li, those words are too grave,” Old Liu said. “I, Old Liu, am only a peasant who has farmed all his life. How am I noble? Just let me try it. This plow was brought home yesterday from Lower Ear Village, and I still haven’t had a chance to use it. I’ve been itching to see it for myself.”

He looked at Li Deshen pleadingly, nearly wanting to snatch the plow right out of his hands.

Seeing this, Liu Yitiao could not help but smile. His father really was the kind of man who could not sit still.

A familiar voice came from behind Liu Yitiao.

“Nephew Yitiao!”

He turned lightly and saw that it was Wang Zhenggang, the village head of Gutian Village.

“Village Head Wang! Yitiao pays his respects.” Liu Yitiao quickly bowed, a faint smile curling at the corners of his mouth. At last, someone had come after all—and not just anyone, but the village head himself.

Straightening up, Liu Yitiao put on a dazed expression and asked, “What brings Village Head Wang out to this field today? Have you some instructions for me?”

“Oh,” Wang Zhenggang replied with a laugh. “Nothing of great importance. I only heard just now that my worthy nephew was breaking ground today to reclaim this land, so I thought I should come have a look. You are now one of the foremost large households in Gutian Village. Such a grand undertaking naturally deserves my personal congratulations as village head.”

“You are too kind, Village Head. I am truly humbled,” Liu Yitiao said with a lowered head. Yet in his heart, he ignored all that polite talk completely. Here to congratulate him? Not a soul would believe that.

Wang Zhenggang nodded, then let his gaze drift toward the field. Seeing the tenants’ plowing speed, and the strange plows they were using, his eyes lit up. He pointed at the implements and asked, “Nephew Yitiao, your plows look most unusual. I do not believe I have ever seen them before. What sort of plow is this?”

“Heh,” Liu Yitiao said, pleased that the other man had taken the bait. “To answer Village Head Wang, these are new Liu Family plows made by Old Yuan Fang from Lower Ear Village. I only brought them back from there yesterday. The frame is light, and it turns and plows very quickly. The results are rather good.”

Rather good? They were simply astonishingly fast.

Wang Zhenggang was the village head, but he was also a farmer, and he could see the merits of the Liu Family plow at a glance. The tenants’ plowing speed was at least twice that of ordinary plows. What was more, the furrows they turned seemed even better than those made by a straight-beam plow.

“Yuan Fang? That famous carpenter from Lower Ear Village?” Wang Zhenggang nodded. He knew the man. His woodworking skill was decent; he had once had him make several household pieces. He had not expected that the fellow could also fashion such a fine plow. Truly, he was something of a talent.

“What, does Village Head Wang take an interest in this plow as well?” Liu Yitiao said softly, steering him along. “I heard two days ago that Yuan Fang and the others recently opened a Liu Family Plow Workshop, devoted to making these plows. But their daily output is limited—less than five a day. If Village Head Wang intends to buy one, you had best move quickly. Not many people know about them yet, so if you wait until everyone has heard, they will be difficult to get.”

“Oh?” Wang Zhenggang glanced at him and said, “I had not heard of that, though it would indeed be proper to buy a few of such excellent plows. Thank you for the reminder, my worthy nephew. Still, before that, I should like to try one myself. Might you make it convenient for me?”

“Of course,” Liu Yitiao said with a smile. True gold fears no furnace. The quality of their plows was there for all to see—what was there to fear? He gestured toward Wang Zhenggang. “Village Head Wang, please come with me.”

Liu Yitiao led Wang Zhenggang to Li Deshen’s side and instructed him, “Old Li, pause for a moment and lend me the plow and ox for a bit.”

“Village Head Wang!” Old Liu had also noticed Wang Zhenggang by then and hurried over to greet him. Wang Zhenggang returned the courtesy.

“Village Head Wang, please,” Liu Yitiao said, handing over the plow. “I will lead the ox for you.”

Wang Zhenggang took the plow and thanked him. “Then I trouble you, Nephew Yitiao.”

The ox moved, the plow sank, and the soil that had been buried for years was gradually turned up bit by bit. Just as he had expected, this plow worked beautifully.

Wang Zhenggang walked about a hundred paces with it before stopping. He could not stop praising the Liu Family plow. “Excellent! Excellent plow! If every household in Gutian Village had one of these, what need would we have to fear in opening up wasteland? Nephew Yitiao, how much silver does one of these plows cost?”

At last, they had come to the point. Liu Yitiao held out one hand and said with a smile, “Not much at all—only five hundred coins.”

“Five hundred coins?” Wang Zhenggang frowned. It did seem a little steep, but when he thought of the plowing speed of the Liu Family plow, and the time it could save, the price was still acceptable.

Having weighed it, Wang Zhenggang handed the plow back to Li Deshen. After taking his leave of Liu Yitiao and Old Liu, he went home.

The news that the Liu household had an excellent plow was not something only he had heard. If he wanted one, he had best buy it early. Seeing the villagers already gathering in twos and threes toward Liu Yitiao’s field, Wang Zhenggang could not help but quicken his pace.