My Wife is Unbeatable in the Whole World, Touch Me If You Dare!

The man, upon hearing this, showed a bitter expression. After a year of hard work, in the end, not only did he not earn money, he owed even more debt...

This year's hardships are over, but next year, if the harvest is bad again, how will he repay twice the amount?

After thinking carefully, he pointed to the little girl beside him and said, "Sir, look, can I sell my daughter to you? The money from selling her can partly offset the rent..."

Chen Tieniu glanced at the little girl and asked, "How much silver do you want to sell her for?"

The man immediately said, "Ten taels, just ten taels!"

Chen Tieniu sneered and said, "Ten taels, you wish. People sell their fair-skinned and chubby daughters for only several taels. Your daughter, with her thin arms and legs, looks like she would be blown over by the wind. No one would pay five taels for her. Considering your family has farmed for the lord for so many years, I'll give you five taels..."

The man, upon hearing this, could only sigh, kowtowing and saying, "Thank you, sir..."

Although he was reluctant to part with his daughter, if he didn't sell her, his entire family would starve...

At this moment, a figure walked in from outside the door.

Chen Tieniu saw Chen Qi and happily said, "Qi'er, you're back. Go prepare dinner. Today we're lucky, I got your favorite dish from Sinong Si. It cost ten silver taels just for a small bundle..."

The man kneeling on the ground heard this, his body trembled slightly, and there was a complex look in his eyes.

Chen Qi walked to the side of the father and daughter, glanced down, and said to Chen Tieniu, "Father, no one can predict natural disasters. Let's waive their rent for this year..."

Chen Tieniu always followed his son's wishes, but this time, he did not agree. Shaking his head, he said, "That won't do. If we waive theirs, do we have to waive others'? If we waive this year, and there's a disaster next year, do we have to waive again? If we do that, what will our family eat and drink? Don't worry about it, quickly go prepare to eat..."

Chen Qi said, "We have many shops, don't they make a lot of money too?"

Chen Tieniu said, "Shops are shops, land rent is land rent, the two can't be mixed. Besides, in Chang'an, our Chen family is considered poor. To stand our ground here, we need to earn more money..."

Chen Qi sighed deeply and said, "How much silver is considered a lot..."

He didn't argue with his father anymore. He took out his money bag, poured out all the silver taels, thought for a moment, put it back in, and handed the entire money bag to the man, saying, "Take this money."

Chen Tieniu was taken aback by this and hurriedly asked, "What are you doing..."

The man stood in place, not daring to take it, but Chen Qi stuffed the money bag into his arms, saying, "Take it."

The man came to his senses, pulled his daughter, and kept kowtowing, his voice trembling with a sob, repeatedly saying, "Thank you, young master, thank you, young master!"

Chen Tieniu did not stop them this time. After the father and daughter left, he said to his son, "I know you have a kind heart, but there are too many poor people in this world. You can help one, you can help ten, a hundred, but can you help a thousand? Even if our Chen family's entire silver is given away, it won't change anything. Don't be too naive..."

Chen Qi showed a doubtful expression, somewhat confused, muttering, "Why are there so many poor people in this world?"

Chen Tieniu said, "Of course it's because they don't work hard. Our Chen family used to farm too. It was your father, risking my life, who paved the way for us through wind and rain to build what we have today..."

What his father said seemed to make some sense, but Chen Qi felt there was something inexplicably odd about it.

That night, he had trouble sleeping.

The next day during break, he asked the teacher.

The teacher was a Sixt Subjects' Scholar, the smartest person on the continent. He could surely enlighten him.

But the teacher didn't tell him, instead letting him find the answer himself.

Coincidentally, the teacher announced a two-day break for them to review what they've learned, and Chen Qi decided to personally experience the lives of the tenants and servants at home.

At dinner time, Chen Tieniu looked at his son in surprise and asked, "You want to go to the farm outside the city?"

Chen Qi nodded and said, "The teacher said this could help comprehend the essence of the Holy Sage Scripture."

Since it was for the imperial examination, Chen Tieniu didn't think much about it. He was a simple man, didn't understand scholarly matters, and just did as his son said.

The Chen family owned several hundred acres of land outside of Chang'an, bought after they achieved success. Every year tenants farmed it. If the harvest was good, he would take seventy percent of the grain, leaving thirty percent for them. If the harvest was bad, the tenants had to pay in fixed silver taels instead.

Regardless of whether it was a barren or abundant year, he would never suffer a loss.

The next night, Chen Qi collapsed in the carriage returning to the city, staring blankly at the carriage roof.

Last night, he had the family coachman take him to the farm outside the city.

At 5 a.m., before dawn, he was up, starting the day with the tenants.

There was no well in the village, so he had to carry two buckets to the distant river for water, the first task after waking up.

Using turbid river water, they boiled a small pot of wild vegetable porridge mixed with bran. He found it hard to swallow, yet the man ate it with relish.

Forcing himself to swallow a few bites with great difficulty, as the first light of dawn appeared, it was time to go out and work.

It was the busy farming season, they would leave before dawn and only return after sunset.