At the start of the story, what does Pahom believe is the only problem the peasants face?

At the beginning of the story, two sisters are arguing about whether it is better to be a tradesman or a peasant. The younger sister says that though the life of a peasant is harsh, it is at least free from anxiety. The more you earn, the more you have to lose, and that is not a problem for peasants, because they never earn much in the first place. Her snobbish older sister has none of this. Being a peasant means living and dying on the same heap of dung. What kind of life is that?
As he listens to the two sisters arguing, Pahom tells himself that peasants are so busy tilling the land that they do not have time to let nonsense settle in their heads. In that sense, he agrees with the younger sister. However, Pahom then goes on to say that the biggest problem facing peasants is that they do not have enough land. It is not difficult to follow Pahom's logic here. The more land that peasants have, the more they will have to work, and the more they have to work, the less time there will be for nonsense to enter their heads. As Pahom subsequently proves, however, this line of reasoning is deeply flawed, to put it mildly.