Chapter 64 part two - two

Nekhludoff woke up at nine o'clock the next morning.The young clerk sent by the counting house to wait on the master, when he heard him turn over in bed, brought him a pair of well-polished leather shoes and a glass of cool mineral water, and reported to him that the peasants were gathering.Nekhludoff jumped out of bed and regained his senses.The feeling of reluctance to hand over the land and clean up the manor yesterday has completely disappeared.Thinking of that feeling at the moment, it feels strange instead.He thought of what he had to do with joy and pride.He looked out the window of his room and saw the grassy tennis court overgrown with dandelions.The peasants gathered there by order of the steward.The frogs were noisy yesterday evening, no wonder the weather is gloomy today.It had been a warm drizzle in the morning, with no wind, and water was rolling on the leaves, branches, and grass.The fragrance of the grass and trees, and the smell of the long-dried earth floated in from the window.While dressing, Nekhludoff looked out of the window several times to see the peasants gathering on the tennis court.They came in twos and threes, took off their hats to greet each other, leaned on crutches, and stood in a circle.The steward was a strong, muscular young man in a jacket with a green collar and large buttons.He came to Nekhludoff and told Nekhludoff that everyone was here, but they could wait a moment. Nekhludoff might as well drink some coffee or black tea first, both of which were ready.

"No, I'll go and see them first," said Nekhludoff, feeling timid and ashamed at the thought of talking to the peasants soon. He was ashamed to fulfill the peasants' wish, which they dared not even dream of - to give them land at a low rent, that is to say, to give them a gift.When Nekhludoff came up to the peasants, who took off their hats one by one, revealing their hazel, curly, and gray hair, and their bald heads, he suddenly felt so embarrassed that he was speechless for a long time.There was still a drizzle of rain in the air, and the peasants' hair and beards and the down of their robes were beaded with water.The peasants looked at the master, waiting for him to speak, but he was too embarrassed to say a word.This uncomfortable silence was broken by the calm and domineering German superintendent.He thought he knew the temper of the Russian peasants, and he spoke beautiful Russian.This well-fed, well-built man, like Nekhludoff, was in sharp contrast to the wrinkled, emaciated peasant, with shoulder blades protruding from his robes.

"Listen to me, now the Duke and Young Master want to favor you and give you the land to plant yourself, but to be honest, you are not worthy of saying that God can interfere with human affairs. Tang Liu Yuxi compiled 30 volumes and called it "Liu Yuxi" sir," said the steward. "Why are we unworthy, Vasily Karlitch? Haven't we worked for you? We have always been grateful to the late lady, may she be safe in heaven. We are also grateful to the young prince, who did not abandon us," said one who liked said the garrulous red-haired farmer. "That's why I asked you to come. If you like, I intend to give you all the land," said Nekhludoff.

The peasant was silent, as if he didn't understand what he said, or didn't believe it. "Give us the land, what do you mean?" said a middle-aged farmer in a robe pleated at the waist. "It's just rented out to you, and you can farm it as long as you pay a little rent." "It's a beautiful thing," said an old man. "But we have to pay the rent," said another old man. "Would you still want to give the land?" "Farming the land is our job, and we live off the land!" "This will save you trouble, just collect the money, and avoid a lot of trouble!" Several people said at the same time.

"You're the cause of the trouble," said the German, "if you work hard and play by the rules..." "We can't do that, Vasily Karleich," said a thin old man with a sharp nose. "You ask me why I put the horse in the field, but who wants to let it go? I swing the scythe all day long from morning to night, and work for one day is like a year. When I let the horse out at night, I will inevitably take a nap. The horse slips away. Into your oat-fields, and you shall skin me!" "You should obey the rules." "It's easy to talk about keeping the rules, but we can't do it," said a tall, middle-aged farmer with black hair and a beard.

"I told you a long time ago that a wall should be built." "Then you give us timber," interposed a small, unassuming peasant. "I wanted to fence it with logs, but you put me in a jail and fed lice for three months. Hey, that's called a fence!" "What is it all about?" Nekhludoff asked the steward. "The number one thief in the village," said the butler in German. "He was caught stealing trees in the woods every year. You have to learn to respect other people's property first," said the steward. "Don't we respect you?" said the old man. "We have to respect you, because we are all in your hands. If you want us to grow, we can grow, and if we want us to be short, we can be short."

"Hey, man, people won't bully you, as long as you don't bully others." "Hmph, 'I won't bully you'! You slapped me last summer, and you slapped me, what else can I say! You can't reason with rich people, that's obvious. " "You just have to obey the law." Thus began a war of words.Neither of the belligerents quite understood what they were arguing about, what they were saying.One side is full of anger, but restrained by fear; the other side knows that they are superior and have power.Nekhludoff listened to their quarrel with distress.He tried his best to bring everyone back to business, agreeing on rent and payment terms.

"Then what about the land? Are you willing? If all the land is given to you, what price will you offer?" "Things are yours, and the price is up to you." Nekhludoff fixed a price.Although the price he set was much lower than the rents in the surrounding area, the farmers thought it was too high and began to bargain.Nekhludoff had expected that his price would be accepted with pleasure, but no one showed the slightest sign of satisfaction.Nekhludoff decided that the price he had set was in their favor, because when it came to who should take the lease—whether the whole village or a co-operative—the peasants were divided into two factions and disputed Very intense.One faction wants to exclude farmers with weak labor force and difficulty in paying, and the other faction is those farmers who are excluded.In the end, thanks to the efforts of the manager, the price and payment deadline were negotiated.The peasants then descended noisily down the hill to the village, while Nekhludoff went with the steward to the counting house to draw up a lease.

Nekhludoff's wishes and plans came true: the peasant got the land, and paid a rent that was 30% lower than in the neighbourhood; There are incomes from falling forests and selling farm tools.Everything seemed to be going well, but Nekhludoff always felt a little ashamed.He saw that although some of the peasants said some words of gratitude to him, they were not satisfied, but expected more benefits.As a result, he himself suffered a great loss, but he still did not satisfy the peasants. The next day, I made a lease at home and signed it.Nekhludoff, escorted by several selected old peasants, got into the steward's troika, which the cabbies called luxurious, with a feeling of melancholy that the work was not done. The farmer, who shook his head dissatisfied, bid farewell and went straight to the train station.Nekhludoff was very dissatisfied with himself.As for what he was dissatisfied with, he couldn't say for himself, but he was always unhappy and ashamed.