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Ch37 - Employment
“Ah-Gui, is that the Liang Estate up ahead? How come they’re opening fields outside their walls?” Zhou Kan curiously asked as he rode on the back of a weary old horse.
Rows and rows of grass-roofed huts stood beside the long low wall. The nearby land was already being ordered into fields separated by raised ridges. There were a few cows ploughing the soil, and a few gaunt men watering and weeding in their wake. They seemed to be busying about in preparation for the summer planting season.
Didn’t these nobles and aristocrats commonly build walls around their holdings? Why were they clearing fields outside their walls? Wasn’t it a bit late to be cultivating the land now? And those ploughs were strange too – how were they overturning the soil so effortlessly?
Zhou Kan hadn’t been able to resist voicing some of the questions stuffing up his head, yet the servant of the Liang Estate next to him didn’t answer. Zhou Kan raised his volume, “Ah-Gui?”
Only then did ah-Gui snap back to his senses and hurriedly answer, “Yes, it’s the Liang Estate, but it’s a bit different from when I left
.”
It’d only been a month, how different could it be? Zhou Kan shook his head and stopped asking. No matter what it used to be like, at the moment, it looked much better than all the villages he’d seen on the way. It was hard enough to plant fully cultivated fields theses days, who had the spare energy to open up new land? Perhaps his cousin really hadn’t been exaggerating in her letters.
Speaking of, coming to the Liang Estate hadn’t been an easy decision for Zhou Kan. His ancestral home might be troubled by war, but his family had lived there for generations; they were familiar with their neighbors, and looked out for one another. But here in the Liang Estate, he was a stranger in a strange land. And Bing Province was a place with many barbarians – it was scary just to think about. If he happened to meet with mountain bandits or rogue armies on the road, he’d be done for.
Many of Zhou Kan’s cousins had tried convincing him not to go, but he decided that instead of spending all his efforts toadying his way into being a petty official like his cousins had, he’d rather find another path. At least the master of the Liang Estate was a fifth-order marquess. Wasn’t it better to be a retainer of a marquess than to be a petty official scrambling at others’ beck and call? Besides, his family wasn’t affluent; he’d lighten their burden if he found a way to feed himself. And he would definitely regret it if he missed this opportunity.
For the sake of this journey, Zhou Kan had begrudgingly parted with his money and bought an old horse. He’d been on the road with the Liang Estate’s messenger, dodging bands of rogue soldiers, for over half a month, before finally reaching his destination. The Liang Estate’s apparent prosperity naturally put him at ease and reassured him of his decision.
After they wound through the fields and approached the gates, they dismounted from their horses and were carefully searched and questioned before they were allowed to pass. Inside, was the true Liang Estate. It was even livelier than outside. Right now, the farmers were busy harvesting ripe wheat and preparing for the summer planting season. It hardly looked like they’d been impacted by drought at all.
And there were people wearing clothes of the same color and cut, either using spears to poke at straw dummies, or sparring in small groups with sabers and shields. One couldn’t help but tsk in wonder just watching from the sidelines.
Were these the soldiers of the Liang family? How come they seemed even stronger than the rogue soldiers running amok?
Having been distracted along the way, only upon arriving at the high walls of the main estate did Zhou Kan begin to get nervous. Would such a noble household really take him on as a retainer? He’d learned maths from his father ever since his youth, never taking much interest in literature, nor studying it intensively. If he made a fool of himself before the master, he’d have come al the way here for nothing.
“Uh, ah-Gui, could you let me see my cousin first? I, I haven’t seen her in so long, I really do miss her
” said Zhou Kan to ah-Gui.
“Sure thing,” ah-Gui readily agreed.
After another round of being searched and questioned, they entered the main residence. Ah-Gui went to report back to the steward while Zhou Kan was led away by a servant into the depths of the labyrinth residence. The further he walked, the faster his heart pounded. The Liang family’s residence was huge, would they really hire him? There had better not be any miscommunication between him and his cousin. What would he do if the Liang Estate didn’t want an uncultured boor like him?
They walked all the way to a certain side courtyard before stopping. The servant went in, and shortly after, came out with a woman.
“Cousin!” Zhou Kan exclaimed upon seeing Zhaoyu.
Zhaoyu paused with surprise before responding, “Ah-Kan? Why are you here? Auntie
”
She cut herself off. As far as she recalled, her cousin was very filial. If his mother were still alive, he likely wouldn’t leave her side to travel to the Liang Estate off in faraway Bing Province.
As expected, Zhou Kan sighed, “Mother passed away last year. There’s nothing tying me down to the family anymore, so I left to make my own way. Unfortunately, most of my other cousins have found employment and weren’t willing to come here with me.”
Zhaoyu had left home for six or seven years already. She stilled inadvertently for a moment, melancholy for all that must’ve changed. She hurriedly consoled her younger cousin, as he looked her over a few times and asked hesitantly, “Cousin, aren’t you a nursemaid? Why are you dressed so
”
Zhaoyu’s attire really wasn’t that of a nursemaid’s. With her sleeves tied back and a hemp apron around her waist, she looked like a coarse laborer.
We’re sorry for MTLers or people who like using reading mode, but our translations keep getting stolen by aggregators so we’re going to bring back the copy protection. If you need to MTL please retype the gibberish parts.
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“What status?” Zhaoyu shook her head, “A nursemaid is only a slave-servant. The young master might be still be little now, he’s bound to welcome a wife into the family eventually, so it’s not appropriate to assign me any important household duties. But managing the tailory is another matter altogether; I do count as a supervisor, however incidental. It’s better than being a servant that lives off their charity.”
He hadn’t thought about it that way. Zhou Kan nodded, suddenly realizing, “In that case, is the Liang Estate short on manpower?”
“That’s right. The previous heads of household only cared to indulge in luxury, and never asked after matters of the estate. It was all a right mess until the current master personally took control. Ah-Kan, now that you’re here, you must behave. You absolutely cannot get any wicked ideas. The master’s eyes are very sharp, and he shows no mercy in disciplining unruly servants.”
Zhou Kan began to sweat, “Then do I have any chance of being hired? My poetry’s not very good
”
“What about mathematics?” Zhaoyu interrupted him, getting straight to the point.
“I’m familiar with everything in  everything in the ‘The Nine Chapters on the Mathematical Art,’” Zhou Kan said honestly. He didn’t have much talent for math, but he at least had a good foundation.
Zhaoyu sighed in relief, “That’s good then. Come with me, let’s pay respects to the master.”
They were going to see him just like that? Zhou Kan anxiously asked a very important question, “Cousin, what’s the master’s personality like?”
Hearing this question as she was untying her sleeves, Zhaoyu chuckled, “The master treats us very well, and he’s blessed by Buddha. He’s a benevolent man.”
“Huh?” Didn’t she just say he was sharp-eyed and merciless? Befuddled, Zhou Kan worriedly followed Zhaoyu to the main courtyard.
※
“Master, you’ve got to give a few more to the metalworks this time!”
“Craftsman Ding, the metalworks already took three last time. I’m afraid I really can’t assign any more people to your workshop,” Liang Feng said bemusedly to the short, stocky, and square man in front of him.
“But last time, master, all you wanted was ploughs. Now you want some horseshoe thing and more arrowheads! How many people has the metalworks got? How’re we gonna finish it all?!” Ding Da had no intention of backing down. He knew that if wanted to finish all the master’s orders, he had to expand the metalworks and nab a few more apprentices.
The people in the estate were all tied to their wives, kids, cousins, parents. Metalworking wasn’t like other trades – it wasn’t frivolously taught to outsiders. What if their craft was stolen by some wicked bastard? Better to choose from among the newly come refugees. They had no family or friends, so once they entered the metalworks and acknowledged him as their teacher, he’d become the only one they could depend on; naturally, they wouldn’t dare betray him. That was why Ding Da, who’d been mulishly recalcitrant for so long, finally planned to expand the metalworks.
If this stubborn old goat had decided to expand the metalworks at any other time, Liang Feng would have surely applauded his decision. But right now, he needed recruits for the militia and labor to cultivate the untamed land. And Ding Da specifically picked those who were clever and fit. He practically wanted him to part with his own flesh! If he handed them over to Ding Da, then ah-Liang would be the one hopping mad next.
Liang Feng cleared his throat, “You know, you’d save a lot of effort if you let the clayworks make your molds. As for the arrowheads, you can get women or children to grind and polish them. Why the insistence on healthy young men?”
“What? No!” Ding Da’s eyes instantly bulged, “That’s all delicate work! If they mess it up, they’ll make all our previous work go to waste! Is grinding blades something you can let sissies and kiddies do? They’ll drop from exhaustion just moving it back and forth on the whetstone!”
“I seem to recall that the clayworks have wheels powered by pedals that they use to shape and smoothen clay. Why not turn your whetstone into a wheel such that you can spin it using footpower? If the whetstone spins, you can grind out edges just the same, no?” Liang Feng studiously recalled everything he knew of modern grinding tools.
Ding Da lurched, then started mulling it over. Liang Feng pressed, “I’ll let Craftsman Liu help you figure something out. If he manages to make one – there’s no shortage of women or children!”
“I’ll give it a try! But if it doesn’t work, you’ll have to send a few men over to the metalworks, master!” Ding Da hopped to his feet, sloppily saluted, and dashed off.
Liang Feng shook his head and chuckled helplessly as he watched him bustle off. He’d only just gotten the metalworks to start making iron ploughs; they counted as an extravagance. Ding Da had refused for days, grouching that it a waste of metal. In the end, he’d had to let him melt down a portion of the weapons they’d seized from the bandits and take three of the refugees as apprentices to get him to agree.
Iron ploughs were definitely worth it though. They could till uncultivated land twice as fast as the wooden ploughs they’d been using before. But on the other hand, Ding Da had gotten a taste of poaching refugees for his metalworks. The moment he mentioned horseshoes, Ding Da was matter-of-factly asking for more people. Liang Feng wasn’t annoyed by his bullheadedness. He might be somewhat unreasonable, but he was excellent at his craft. If he was able to produce iron horseshoes, then he would be able to organize a cavalry using the few horses in his estate.
That’s right, even though there were already proper horse saddles in this era, horseshoes were nowhere to be seen. The outermost layers of a horse’s hooves were easily damaged. He only had so many horses on his hands – it’d be a shame if they wore out their hooves during the course of training. Thus, the smarter option was to spend some time and money to develop horseshoes first before making any plans.
As he was wondering whether the grinding wheel would be successfully created, and whether he could get technologies and innovations to flow between the workshops a servant outside reported, “Master, Zhaoyu requests an audience.”
“Let her in,” Liang Feng instantly perked up. He’d already been informed earlier that Zhaoyu’s cousin had arrived at the Liang Estate. This was the accountant he’d been waiting for! If he was a useable person, his own burden would be much lighter.
A moment later, Zhaoyu and Zhou Kan entered the study. Zhaoyu kneeled properly before the desk, “Master, my cousin Zhou Kan has come to pay his respects.”
Zhou Kan kneeled behind Zhaoyu, rather more flusteredly, as he nearly tripped over his own feet. The reason being that, when he entered, he’d given in to the urge to take a peek at the master’s face.
Why hadn’t his cousin told him that the master of the Liang family was so gorgeous?!
Zhou Kan was utterly stupefied. This was the first time he’d seen such an honest to heaven beauty. Not only were his features exquisite, but his noble bearing was also breathtaking. Someone like him was simply born to be an aristocrat, to debate art and poetry, to drink and make merry. A master like this minded the trifling affairs of his household? Would he even deign to consider such a drab person as he?
Zhou Kan’s heart was pounding and his mind was blank as he blindly monkeyed Zhaoyu’s salute.
Liang Feng, of course, noticed that the newcomer seemed out of sorts. He smiled at Zhaoyu, “I appreciate your efforts. How are the new uniforms for the militia coming along?”
“They’ll be done in three days,” Zhaoyu answered. “This time, as they’re made of fine hemp, they should stand up to far more wear and tear.”
“Excellent. You’re dismissed then.” He could hardly let Zhou Kan’s relative stay around as he interviewed him. After Zhaoyu left, Liang Feng addressed the still muddled youth, “According to Zhaoyu, you’re skilled in mathematics?”
“I, I’m not too talented. I only learned he ‘Nine Chapters’
” Zhou Kan thoughtlessly said. Then, he vexedly realized that he’d accidentally shown his hand. This wasn’t just any questioning, this would determine whether or not he could remain in the Liang Estate! How could he be so stupid?!
Liang Feng chuckled and asked unconcernedly, “Two people set out from the same location. Person one’s footspeed is seven, person two’s footspeed is three. Person one walks directly east, person two first walks south for ten steps, then walks northeast until they meet up with person one. In that case, how many steps did each person take?”
Zhou Kan blinked. Wasn’t this a question from “The Nine Chapters on the Mathematical Art?” He took out his counting rods, laid them on the table, fiddled about with them, then looked up and said, “Person one took fourteen and a half steps. Person two took ten and a half steps.”
That was the right answer. Liang Feng nodded and continued, “A fast man walks at a pace of a hundred steps; a slow man walks a a pace of sixty steps. If the slow man gets a headstart of a hundred steps, how many steps must the fast man take to catch up?”
This time, Zhou Kan answered quickly, “A hundred and fifty steps!”
“Excellent.” Since he’d smoothly answered both questions, it meant he had a decent understanding of mathematics. Besides, he wasn’t looking for some genius who knew everything from astrology to geology. His calculational abilities were sufficient.
Then, Liang Feng handed him a piece of paper, “A while ago, I thought maybe these characters could be used for accounting.”
Zhou Kan received the paper, unfolded it, and saw, “ćŁč,” “莰,” “揁,” “肆,” etc., a whole string of characters with corresponding numbers written beside it. He realized at a glance that this was a new way of recording numbers. And since these characters were complex, there wasn’t any chance that they could be adulterated. He remarked gladly, “Keeping account with these, there’s no worry that they’ll be tampered with!”
Seeing as his expression seemed genuine, Liang Feng nodded with satisfaction. His basic maths were solid and he wasn’t opposed to using anti-fraud numerals. It meant he wasn’t a disingenuous person. His accountant didn’t need to be very smart, but he had to be honest and reliable. On that account, Zhou Kan already met his requirements.
“Right now I urgently need someone who understands mathematics to help me manage the accounts. Are you willing to serve as a retainer of my estate?” Liang Feng asked beamingly.
He’d passed just like that? Zhou Kan blinked and stammered, “Of, of
 no, it would be my honor!”
“Right now, I need you to help me with two things. The first is to inventory everything in the storehouse, making sure that every item matches up with the account books and that all the numbers are exact.”
“I can do that!” Zhou Kan blurted.
Liang Feng overlooked his interruption and continued, “The other is to calculate, according to the farmlands’ crop production rate and the population’s consumption rate, how much money and grain is required to sustain the estate over a period, as well as the expected surplus and deficit at the end of that period, so that I may use it as a reference. We’ll call this ‘budgeting,’ I suppose. You must think carefully and take every detail into account before submitting your report.”
That was rather new, but Zhou Kan didn’t think it’d be too difficult. He instantly nodded, “I’ll take care to be utterly meticulous!”
“Very good. As for your salary, one and a half stone of grain per month, room and board covered by the estate, if that’s alright?” Liang Feng probed.
“Yes! Of course!” Zhou Kan’s face was red with excitement. He lowered his head and bowed. A stone and a half was quite generous. His cousins only got two and a half stone each month, and that didn’t include room and board!
Tsk! Liang Feng silently swore. Looks like his offer was too high. He’d based his estimate off of Tian Chang’s pay and the standard wage of a petty official, halving it and rounding off the remainder. He hadn’t thought the newcomer would happily agree without even trying to haggle. In that case, he’d set aside the end-of-year bonus and see how efficiently he worked first.
Quietly smarting at the cost, Liang Feng’s smile was constant as ever, “Traveling all this way here must’ve been exhausting. Why not take a rest first. Tomorrow, I’ll let ah-Liang hand over to you. You need only present the accounts to me once a month.”
“Thank you, master!” Zhou Kan prostrated again before cheerily taking his leave. That wasn’t nearly as bad as he’d been expecting! Or was it on account of his cousin that the master was so genial?
But wait – Zhou Kan suddenly paused. Just then, he’d clearly lost decorum, yet the master hadn’t shown any hint of displeasure. As low-born, uncouth, and awkward as he was, that person hadn’t treated him as inferior. That was how he’d, in such a short exchange, won over his respect and admiration. No wonder his cousin said that the master was very kind to them.
As another burst of gratitude fluttered in his heart, Zhou Kan clenched his fist. Since the master treated him so well, he’d definitely repay the master by doing his very best with the accounts!
The author has something to say
*cough* I got the math question from the “nine chapters” from the internet. I’m bad at math, don’t blame me if it’s wrong →_→
I also realized that I mixed up the lunar calender and solar calendar. The 4th month of the lunar calendar isn’t spring 曧. So after fixing it, Liang Feng transmigrated during the end of the 3rd month. Then a month later, dealt with the bandit invasion, expanded the militia, and started opening fields. So now it’s the beginning of the 5th month that they’re harvesting grain and preparing for summer planting season. As long as you get the general idea.
As for yesterday’s content, I’ll just throw out the first level of the Qin Kingdom’s 20 levels of military merits. See how driven the Qin Dynasty was
[A paragraph of old Chinese that the translator didn’t have the brainpower to translate]
With one enemy soldier’s severed head, they got rewarded a hundred mu of land, and houses and slaves. And that’s for the lowest level nobility of 慏棫. It’s obvious why the Qin armies were fierce as wolves and tigers.
And then in Western Jin, they had the “land-owning norm” and “fixed-tax system.” In the “fixed-tax system,” an adult male had to farm 50 mu of land, and an adult female, 20 mu of land. The court would collect tax based on household size. For the “land-owning norm,” an adult male could cultivate 20 mu of untamed land, and an adult female, ten mu of untamed land. The land that was turned from untamed lands to cultivated fields was tax exempt. The Northern Liang dynasty had the “equal-field system.” Males got 40 mu, females 20 mu, that were returned upon death. They also had twenty mu of mulberry fields that they could own & pass down indefinitely. It wasn’t until the Tang Dynasty, when the population exploded and they ran out of land, that they started using the “dual-tax system.” If you ask ‘is there enough farmland,’ the answer is: of course. There’ll be enough for the next two three hundred years.
One mu of land produces about 1 stone (60kg) of grain. Ten mu of land, untaxed, would be around 10 stone of soldier’s salary per year. And they’ve got to find tenant farmers to help farm it. Back then, the monthly salary for a petty official was about .8 stone, which was about 9 to 10 stone per year. And soldiers have to get on the battlefield and kill. They’d be lucky to survive a few large battles. When you put it that way, still think it’s too outrageous to exempt soldiers from taxes?
I won’t go into detail on the other stuff. There’ll be time to explore it slowly later on. And I slightly changed how many mu of fields the soldiers have. Right now, there’s not many people in the battalion, so there’s no need to give extra land. Later on just increase the number.