Chapter 88 - 88 Farming on the Wasteland
88 Farming on the Wasteland
Sheng Huaixuan had donated all his family assets and obtained a farmer’s residence and 50 acres of land. This was considered a great gift from Ling Kingdom.
When the commoners of Zhao’s Farmyard saw this arrangement, they all looked disappointed.
Then what kind of arrangement could they, a group of commoners with nothing, get?
Everyone followed Sheng Huaixuan to the registration office to register. Bai Wutong asked the soldier beside him, “General, what kind of land can we get?”
When the soldier heard others call him General, he said in a good mood, “When you settle down in the village, the men can each get an acre of land. If there are no men, you can go and explore the wasteland. You can have as much as you want there.”
Each man only had one mu of land. How could a family of old and young expect one mu of land to be enough for them to survive? Ling Kingdom’s arrangement was clearly to chase all the refugees to the wasteland.
Even if they were unwilling, they could not do anything in Ling Kingdom without a household register.
If it was so easy to explore and establish ancient lands, everyone would not have lacked clothes and food.
Bai Wutong frowned. “General, where can we stay if we go to the village?”
The soldier saw that there were so many of them and smiled. “The world is huge. You can live anywhere.”
Bai Wutong said, “Will we be assigned homesteads?”
“If you go to explore the wastelands, there will naturally be a homestead,” the soldier said.
Bai Wutong asked, “General, do we have to pay taxes on the land we reclaim? What about everyone’s household registration?” Bai Wutong was most concerned about the problem of settling down. The people of Zhao’s Farmyard were more worried about what to do without land next year.
The soldier said, “Of course you have to pay taxes. When you’ve paid enough food and completed your commissions, you can settle down smoothly the next year.”
In the first year of farming, one had to pay the grain tax and complete a commission before settling down. Everyone looked at each other and saw endless disappointment in each other’s eyes.
Cui Shiji couldn’t help but ask, “Can’t we pay to buy the land?”
With so many people in the Qinghe 30 families, they would definitely be separated by the government and integrated into the various villages. Then, the Qinghe 30 families would completely disappear from the long history records.
The soldier looked at him and raised his chin. “No, rules are rules. You have to obey the arrangements. If you go wherever you want, how are we going to manage it? Besides, you don’t even have a household register now. How are you going to buy land?” He was just short of writing on his face to ask them to obey.
Perhaps they were afraid that the refugees would cause trouble, so the supervision of the refugees who entered the Ling Kingdom’s territory was very strict. After they were assigned, they could only go to a fixed place. If they were not careful, they would be arrested and questioned in detail about whether they were spies from the Yan Kingdom.
If they did not want to be separated, their only choice was to farm.
“Where is the exploration location?” Bai Wutong asked.
As someone who had lived in the post-apocalyptic world for a few years, she was very satisfied as long as there was a place with mountains and water to settle down.
She had space and banknotes. She would definitely be able to live well.
She would not interfere with the choices of the others.
The soldier looked at the long queue and said, “Go ahead and ask. I don’t know about this.”
The family assets donated by Sheng Huaixuan finally had some effect. Bai Wutong and the others were specially received by a small official in charge of registration.
Without asking them what they would choose, he placed a map in front of Bai Wutong and the others and said impatiently, “You can explore the places marked on this map.” Then he said bluntly to Sheng Huaixuan, “You can also choose any of the 50 acres of land rewarded by the Eldest Prince.”
He was considered a decent-sized landowner with 50 acres of land.
Everyone suddenly felt a little envious of Sheng Huaixuan.
Sheng Huaixuan smiled at Bai Wutong. “Sister-in-law, where do you want to settle down?”
Bai Wutong looked at the map and asked the small official a few questions. The small official answered impatiently. Bai Wutong pointed to one of the places and said, “Sir, please help me. My husband and I want to go here.” What could they do with an acre of land? It would be troublesome to be a village chief. She’d might as well go to explore new lands and be free. She could have as much land as she wanted.
The place Bai Wutong had chosen was very far from the Imperial City that the Ling Kingdom had temporarily decided on. It was far from disputes and had four distinct seasons. It was located beside mountains and rivers. She felt that it was a good place to go.
The small officer said, “You can’t choose that.”
Bai Wutong frowned. “Why not?”
The small official pointed at the refugee list and said, “There are 5,000 people in these two places. You can only choose other places.”
He didn’t say it earlier that they could not choose it. This made Bai Wutong roll her eyes in her heart.
Cui Shiji suddenly said, “Madam, why don’t we settle down here together?”
There were more than 5,000 people in total, so they could directly occupy a place. Although they did not know how to farm, they would definitely have servants.
Bai Wutong looked at them and then at the citizens of Zhao farmyard who were definitely going to follow them. She nodded and said to the small official, “Alright.” Then she said, “Sir, we have more than 5,000 people now. Can you let us go to this place to explore the land?”
The small official emphasized, “No matter what your previous identities were, as long as you settle down, you have to pay enough food taxes next year! If you don’t pay enough, you will be reduced to a fallen citizen and can only follow the arrangements to engage in cheap businesses.”
Bai Wutong had also asked around just now. In the first year, they did not have to pay too much food. As long as they explored the land in time and sowed the seeds in spring, there would definitely be enough food to pay the grain tax.
Bai Wutong nodded confidently. “Then I’ll have to trouble you to register us.”
Bai Wutong chose to explore and farm on the wasteland. Sheng Huaixuan glanced at Stinky who was still hanging on Chu Tianbao’s body. From time to time, Lin Yue wanted to attract his attention but hesitated to speak up. He pointed at a spot beside Bai Wutong and the others’ wasteland and said, “Sir, can you give me 50 acres of land here?”
The small official raised his eyebrows in surprise and reminded him sternly not to go back on his word. “These are all thin fields. The output is not good. You have to think carefully!”
Even a fool knew how to differentiate between thin and good land. Sheng Huaixuan glanced at Bai Wutong and the others, but he said without hesitation, “Sir, I want to be with my big brother and the others. Please help me register.”
He had chosen it himself. The official had reminded all that he could. With a few strokes, he divided Sheng Huaixuan’s 50 acres of land to the side where Bai Wutong and the others were going to explore. He also registered Sheng Huaixuan with the only household register among so many of them.
Immediately, everyone looked at him enviously.
If they wanted a household registration, they would have to wait until they paid the grain tax next year.
Everyone frowned again at the thought of the grain tax. They wondered if it had been the right choice to leave their hometown and come here.
Village Chief Zhao could tell that they were worried about the future. He looked at Bai Wutong and Chu Tianbao’s backs and said, “If it weren’t for Madam and Master, we probably wouldn’t have been able to keep our lives. We’re already considered lucky to be able to live here and still have fields to farm. Now, the citizens who are staying in the Yan Kingdom still have to face the war. If they were lucky to survive this year, farming for the next year will be a huge challenge. We should be content!”