Chapter 217 The person who is grateful has changed
Pan Yun had no idea that as soon as she left, Mr. Huang went back on his word halfway.

She didn't know, but Mr. Huang's housekeeper knew, the servants in the mansion knew, and the servants' families knew. Gradually, many people knew.

Not all of the servants in Mr. Huang's mansion were indentured servants. He was very stingy, especially to his servants and tenants.

So there are three kinds of servants in his house: the first are servants passed down from the previous generation, commonly known as house-born children;
The second type is servants bought from outside, either in bonded or live bonds. Regardless of which type, most of them are children from poor families in nearby villages, most of whom are bought when they are around ten years old.
The third were hired long-term workers, or helpers directly selected from the tenant farmers.

For example, Zhang Sanlang, who feeds horses in the stable, is a farmhand. He used to be a tenant farmer of Mr. Huang, but because he could not pay the rent, his only remaining two acres of land were sold to Mr. Huang to pay off his debts. Since he had no land of his own, he could only work as a farmhand for Mr. Huang and earn just enough money to survive.

He was no longer a tenant farmer, but most of his brothers, cousins, and fellow villagers were tenant farmers of Mr. Huang.

Pan Yun's appearance was grand, and Zhang Sanlang also followed to join in the fun. He didn't know the details, but he was able to find out that the immortal master who came asked Mr. Huang to do more good deeds.

Mr. Huang has promised that the land rent will be reduced to 60% this year and in the future.

This news spread throughout the mansion, and the servants were all prepared. After all, all the young and middle-aged men in the mansion would follow Master Huang to the village to collect rent.

Li Sizhu, who was feeding the cows in the cowshed, was a tenant farmer. He was not even a temporary worker and worked for Mr. Huang for free.

He didn't want to do it, but his wife was sick, so he didn't get to plant rice and weed in time for the farming season this year, and the harvest was not as good as that of other families. In addition, he sold a lot of grain to pay for his wife's medical treatment, so the rent for the land to Mr. Huang was not enough. So he could only ask Mr. Huang to be lenient for one year and pay the rent next year.

Of course, with interest.

But the housekeeper of the Huang Mansion said that interest is interest, and Mr. Huang agreed to let him pay on credit for a year out of kindness. Since Mr. Huang is kind, you have to be kind too. Anyway, you have nothing to do after winter, so just come to the Huang Mansion to feed the cows and clean the cowshed.

In fact, Li Sizhu wanted to say that he had a lot of things to do. He had to take care of his wife and two young children, loosen the fields, weed and prevent insects, and always pay attention to the winter wheat he had planted, applying fertilizer and laying straw to protect it from the cold...

Although it is the slack season during farming, farmers actually have no free time in winter.

But he couldn't refuse. Mr. Huang had said that if he didn't come, he would force him to pay the rent immediately, otherwise his whole family would have no way to make a living.

So, even though he felt aggrieved about working for Master Huang for free, he still had to put on a smile and thank Master Huang with gratitude, and then go to serve Master Huang's cows.

As a tenant farmer raising cattle, he could not enter the main courtyard of the Huang Mansion. His activity area was confined to the cowshed, stable and servants' area.

But the lower world was well-informed, and he knew that an immortal master named "Pan Sanzhu" came to check the feng shui for Mr. Huang and asked him to do good deeds and reduce the rent for the tenant farmers.

When Li Sizhu learned that Mr. Huang decided to reduce the land rent by 10% this year and next year and only collect 60%, he could no longer hide the truth and reported the matter back to the village.

There are a total of 68 households in their village, 42 of which rent land from Mr. Huang.

Therefore, rent reduction is a big event in the village.

The village became lively, and everyone was talking about it, all of them were grateful to Mr. Huang. Li Sizhu said several times: "We should thank Master Pan. If it weren't for Master Pan, how could Mr. Huang reduce the rent?"

Unfortunately, everyone was immersed in the joy of Mr. Huang's rent reduction, and no one listened until Li Sizhu returned to the village.

"Seventy percent? Why seventy percent again? Didn't you say that Mr. Huang would only charge us sixty percent?"

Li Sizhu, "That's what everyone in the mansion said. Now that the Immortal Master is gone and Mr. Huang has changed his mind, what can I do?"

The villagers stamped their feet and said, "Oh, how could the Immortal Master leave so quickly? At least he should wait until Mr. Huang collects the rent before leaving."

Li Sizhu asked, "Can we still control the comings and goings of the gods?"

The village chief was silent for a long time before saying, "Okay, stop complaining. Let's just pretend we haven't heard of this. The Immortal Master has never been worshipped by us. She is a good person for getting Mr. Huang to reduce our rent as a merit."

"Then is it too late for us to worship her now?"

"Yes, if the rent is not reduced this year, there will be a chance next year. The rent of Mr. Huang's family is really too high. I heard that Mr. Chen's family in Sanli Town only charges 50% of the rent."

“The tenant farmers in Sanli Town are doing really well.”

"Yes, if Sanli Town wasn't so far away, I would have wanted to rent land there."

"What's the immortal master's name? I will kneel down and kowtow to her tonight."

Li Sizhu said, "The immortal master's surname is Pan, but I don't know his name. Wait for me to find out and I'll tell you next time I come back."

Li Sizhu took a lot of effort to find out from the kitchen that Master Pan was called Pan Sanzhu, and he had two Taoist children by his side, one named Miaozhen and the other named Miaohe.

Within two days, the villagers began to offer sacrifices to Pan Yun's longevity tablets. Most of them were wooden tablets, on which people who could read were asked to write "Pan Sanzhu Changsheng" crookedly, and then placed in the hall. There was no incense, but only the villagers' sincere hearts. They would kowtow every morning and evening, chanting, "Master, please bless us to reduce the rent next year, and our family will be safe and healthy..."

Not long after, the rent collectors from the Huang Mansion came to the village and called everyone to the village head. Steward Qian took out the account book and said, "I'll read out the names and check the acreage. If there's no problem, you can pay the rent."

Behind them were a number of ox carts, all used to transport farmland for rent.

"Li Sizhu's family rented six mu of land. This year they have to pay 1,895 kilograms of grain, and 1,000 kilograms on credit until the end of autumn next year. The interest is 200 kilograms, is that correct?"

Li Sizhu immediately nodded and said, "Yes, yes."

Steward Qian agreed and said, "Then hand over the remaining 895 kilograms of grain."

Li Sizhu had to pay rent today, so he went back to the village. He hurriedly carried up nine bags of grain that he had prepared long ago.

The other tenant farmers in the village had also asked the village chief to calculate the rent they had to pay, so they were prepared early.

No one dared to shortchange Mr. Huang's land rent, let alone not pay it.

Unless they don't want to live in this world anymore.

So collecting rent was smooth and quick.

After collecting the rent, Manager Qian said, "Our master saw that everyone had a hard time in the past few years, so he showed mercy and specifically instructed that the silage and chickens and ducks that each tenant should hand in this year be reduced by half, and the rent for next year will also be reduced by 10%, to only 60%."

The villagers all opened their eyes wide, and the first thing they thought of was not gratitude to Mr. Huang, but “Master Pan actually showed up!”
It was the village chief who immediately reacted and shouted to everyone, "Mr. Huang is so kind-hearted. Let's thank Mr. Huang and ask God to bless him to live a hundred years!"

The villagers reacted one after another and immediately followed suit to express gratitude to Mr. Huang.

Steward Qian watched with satisfaction, and went back to tell Master Huang, "Master, the villagers were very happy to hear that you reduced the rent of silage and chickens and ducks by half. When they heard that the rent would be reduced by 10% next year, they shouted that you would live a hundred years. I think they are very grateful."

Mr. Huang raised his chin and said, "They are smart!"

He frowned and asked, "Have you been to Dengjiazhuang?"

Butler Qian said, "Let's go tomorrow."

Mr. Huang said, "Dengjiazhuang has committed a serious mistake. Let the villagers who sincerely repent also reduce their rent. The Deng family is the culprit, so they don't need to reduce their rent."

Steward Qian hesitated and said, "The Deng family has severed ties with the Deng Yun brothers. The master did not pursue them before, so the neighbors praised the master a lot. If he treats them differently now, will it be..."

Mr. Huang sneered and said, "I had no choice before. The tenants didn't say anything at the time, but they were very dissatisfied in their hearts. If I do anything to the Deng family, I'm afraid it will provoke a bigger uprising."

"But now two years have passed, and I have repeatedly reduced their rent. If these tenants still don't remember my kindness, they are ungrateful." He sneered, "As for the Deng family, humph, if they hadn't taught their children poorly, I would have reduced the rent from 80% to 70%. Now you're reducing it to 60% to do good deeds? You have to pay me back what you owe me."

He said confidently: "Don't worry about it. With our rent reduction, those tenants will not only no longer be influenced by the Deng family, but may even take the lead in bullying the Deng family. Raising tenants is like raising dogs. Beat them with a stick, give them a sweet date, and then find them a mouse to play with. Slowly, they will become loyal."

"When the time comes, we won't have to do anything. Someone will avenge us."

Butler Qian paused for a moment before asking in a low voice, "Master, will this affect the merits and virtues, and then affect the feng shui of the house?"

Mr. Huang was very unhappy. "I want good Feng Shui so that I can be rich and powerful. Being rich and powerful means I can do whatever I want. This is not allowed, and that is not allowed. Why should I bother with Feng Shui?"

If it weren't for Pan Yun's warning about his "lifespan" and "offspring", he would have reneged on his promise to reduce rent next year.

The longer time goes by, the clearer he becomes. Can this feng shui really change the fate of the Huang family?

Of course, he did not doubt Pan Yun's skills. After all, he had witnessed her many abilities with his own eyes. He just had doubts in his heart.

Is it really worth it to pay so much just to live a few more years and have those illusory offspring?
In fact, if he earns a little more money and hires a famous doctor, he should be able to live longer, right?

Mr. Huang spent every day in this kind of self-doubt and self-evaluation. His temper became worse and worse, and he was almost going crazy.

When the news reached Dengjiazhuang, the rent collection team also followed into Dengjiazhuang and confirmed the news.

After the rent collectors left, the villagers crowded into the village chief's house and discussed, "Is the Immortal Pan that people are talking about the same Immortal Pan who came to our village some time ago?"

(End of this chapter)