At the beginning, the whole family fled from famine, and I used a milk bottle as a koi carp

Chapter 33 Naturalization by location

As soon as the villagers heard that naturalization in Shitai County cost eight taels of silver and that the land allocated was mountainous and there was no fertile farmland, the crowd immediately exploded.

At this time, there was no family planning, and there was no talk of family separation for the elderly. The whole family lived together, and it was normal for a family to have more than ten or twenty people. If each person has to pay 8 taels, most people in the village will need more than taels per family.

Undoubtedly, this is a huge sum of money for most villagers!

An Laoer and Liu Erhu rushed to Qimen on horseback, and they arrived in half a day.

When he arrived, he went directly to Liang Guancai's cousin Yu Guancai, who was on duty at the county government, and explained his purpose of coming.

When Yu Guancha heard that he was introduced by his cousin, he did not doubt or hesitate, and said directly: "There is a quota. Originally, this quota was free, but this is under the rule of the county master, and not everyone can have it." This quota. Now that the world is in chaos, the jurisdiction of the imperial court is slightly better.

Why would he leave a few taels for the county magistrate? He heard from the clerk that it would not be less than three taels. If they are interested, he can help introduce them. "

An Laoer was silent for a moment and thought: "In fact, we agree with the matter of paying for naturalization. But can we look at the land allocated after naturalization? There are more than 300 people in our village. From now on, we will eat, drink and make a living on this land. .

Besides, it's not the two of us who can decide on this matter. This still needs to be discussed between the village chief and the village elders. "

"Okay, I'll tell the clerk and find time to take you to see the place and then make a decision." Yu Guancha was no longer coy. Since he knew his cousin, he was willing to help.

An Laoer and Liu Erhu invited Yu Guancha and the clerk to have a meal in the restaurant.

An Laoer talked about some of his experiences along the way, excluding some unpleasant things of course. The few people chatted happily. The clerk was a scholar. Knowing that An Laoer was also a scholar, the conversation became even more enjoyable.

They simply didn't stay here longer and went back that day, but made an appointment with Yu Guancha to see the place they would be assigned after naturalization. This place was still near where the villagers were stationed, so An Lao Er and the other two went back alone.

When the two people returned to the village to camp, it was already dark. It was already mid-October, so it got dark relatively early.

Fortunately, there was a big road all the way, and the back part was difficult to walk, so I got off my horse and led him away. An Laoer said to Liu Erhu: "Fortunately, the roads here are well built. If we go to Shangaoli, it will be inconvenient to go out."

Liu Erhu deeply agreed, "We have to let the village chief make a careful selection. Convenient transportation is better, but the allocated land is also very important. Are there differences between mountains? It is best to have fertile land so that we can grow some food in the coming year. Even if we are assigned to grow tea, how can we not grow any food at all?

How can we farmers live without food? "

At the same time, when they went to Qi County, the village chief took Mr. An and two young adults from the village to see the clerk of Shitai County and asked to see the land that would be allocated in the future.

I had just given the clerk two taels of silver before, and I didn't embarrass them. The clerk still wanted to facilitate this transaction and make some money to celebrate the New Year! It is not allowed to send gifts or visit relatives during the New Year and holidays.

The clerk found an official to take them to see a place circled on the map, within which they could choose.

The village chief followed him around for a long time and was quite satisfied with that place. There were mountains in front of him. Ninety percent of the areas they divided were hilly areas. Except for a small flat area, they were all separated by short ridges. This area Compared with the towering mountains in front of it, it is short.

Moreover, the water system is also developed. At the foot of Huanshan Mountain is a meandering river that flows into a nearby large lake. There are also small streams on the mountain, which flow all the way down from the mountain and converge into the big lake in the distance. Generally speaking, it should be no problem to grow some food and some tea. He has seen the situation in nearby tea plantations. But most people plant on flat land with a relatively gentle slope. Mainly in this place, there are fewer people and more land. Local families allocate a lot of land, and no one wants to go so far to farm in the corners.

The imperial government has a policy of opening up wasteland, which has been a consistent practice throughout history. The more land is opened, the more taxes are paid. However, the first three years of land reclamation are tax-free.

The people in Xiushan Village are not harmonious, so every family is very happy to be allocated such land.

Why do they spend so much hard work and winning money to become naturalized? Having a legal body is one of them. The most important thing is the land they will get after naturalization. This is the foundation of their future life.

If the land is allocated to fertile land, you can harvest it in the same year. If the land is too barren, it will take two or three years to cultivate the land to maturity. This is also the reason why the land will be reclaimed and taxes will be collected after three years.

As long as it was not a large capital city, there would have been fewer people and more land due to years of turmoil. However, most of the land was in the hands of aristocratic and wealthy families, and land in the hands of ordinary people was already scarce.

At noon the next day, when Yu Guancha came, he took the village chief and An Lao'er and the others to see the area circled on the map.

This piece of land is just south of the piece of land on Shitai. It is separated by continuous mountains. A large area of ​​land extends directly to the foot of the mountain, but the mountains here are relatively steep. The climb is relatively difficult, and it would be okay if we could get some flat land at the foot of the mountain, but that land already has an owner.

The people in the village are a little disappointed. The south is only suitable for beasts. It's not impossible for those with a small number of people to live, but they have a population of more than 300. They can't all become hunters and go up to the mountains to hunt!

After bidding farewell to Yu Guancha, the village chief discussed with the clan elders and discussed with the clerk at Shitai.

The village chief took two clan elders and talked with the clerk in charge of Shitai. Finally, they successfully negotiated the terms of naturalization with the conditions of five taels of silver per person and no money for those under five years old.

People in the village chipped in and out, and those who didn't have it had to borrow it from others. It was hard to get enough money without being owed money.

Every family in the village has been peeled off. It’s not easy. If it weren't for the extra income along the way, most people probably wouldn't be able to afford it.

The next day after paying the money, the official came to measure the land. Since then, Xiushan Village has settled in a new place. The village chief is still the village chief, but the allocation of land to individuals is still decided in a very traditional way - drawing lots.

The official just designated a whole piece of land in the unowned land on the map as the village's land. As for how the village will allocate it to individuals, this is left to the village.

The village chief had no choice but to take the young adults in the village to measure the land in the mountains. The land allocated in the village was a large hilly area, reaching to the river at the foot of the mountain in the north, and to the steep slopes and deep forests in the south.

An Laoer drew the terrain on paper, then actually measured the size of the land and calculated how much land each family would be allocated. However, the land was divided too widely for one family. It was almost ten households per unit. One big piece at a time, and then draw a lottery in units of ten households.

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　　(End of this chapter)