Chapter 7, The 7th Inn: Settlement of Household Registration
The talking inside stopped abruptly, and the woman quickly came out and asked, "What's wrong? My grandfather went to the fields and will be back soon."
"Hey girl, come in and have a glass of water."
Yunyin put the basket aside and followed the woman into the house, saying, "Thank you, sister-in-law. I've come to register my household with Village Chief Sun."
"I see. Please have a seat."
Yunyin took the water handed to her and asked, "May I ask how you should address me, sister-in-law? After I register my household registration, I plan to open a restaurant. I wonder where I can buy cheap vegetables and eggs?"
Yunyin had already planned to buy vegetables in this village when she overheard the two talking.
After all, this village was the closest to where she lived. If she came by boat, it would only take a short while, and even if she walked, it would only take half an hour.
It's much closer than going to the town. As for the county seat, it's even farther away. Unless she needs something that's not available in the town, she won't make a special trip to the county seat.
Besides, she's settled in this village, so it's only right that she get along well with the villagers. She can't do anything else for now, but she can still buy some ingredients from them.
When the woman heard that Yunyin needed vegetables and eggs, her eyes lit up and she said, "Sister, you can just call me Sister Qian. You've come to the right person. Our village lacks everything, but we don't lack vegetables and eggs. I wonder how many you need?"
After understanding the price, Yunyin nodded in satisfaction; it was cheaper than what she bought in town.
She smiled and said, "The price is quite reasonable, but I need to register my household first before we can talk about the quantity."
Sister Qian nodded repeatedly and said, "I understand. Don't worry, as long as you pay the money, you can get registered. My grandfather is in charge of our village, and he will definitely handle it for you."
Hearing her sister-in-law's assurance, Yunyin quickly thanked her.
Just then, an aged voice came from behind: "Who wants to register their household?"
Yunyin turned around and saw an old man wearing a turban and a round-necked long robe enter from outside with his hands behind his back.
She stood up and bowed, saying, "Village Head Sun, it is I who want to register my household."
He glanced at Yunyin and nodded, saying, "Wait for me a moment, I'll go get some paper and pen."
Before Sun Lizheng even entered the house, his son came out with paper and pen. He glanced at his son, took the paper and pen, and said, "Why are you home at this hour? Have you finished working in the fields?"
The man looked up at his father, and seeing that he wasn't really angry, he quickly chuckled and said, "I'll go to the fields now, Dad, you take care of the guests."
After saying that, he gave his wife a wink and immediately ran out of the house in a few steps.
Aunt Qian was very perceptive and immediately said to Sun, the village head, "Uncle, I'll go cook."
She also ran off in a flash, leaving only Yunyin and Sun Lizheng. Sun Lizheng sat down on one of the chairs in the hall with paper and pen and said, "I'm sorry to have made you laugh. I wonder where Lady Yun is from?"
Yunyin told Sun Lizheng about Zhang Lin's hometown and waited for him to write it down. After writing down her detailed information and memorizing her appearance, Sun Lizheng asked Yunyin, "Did you bring the money?"
Yunyin handed the two taels of official silver she had prepared to Sun Lizheng. Sun Lizheng carefully examined the silver she gave him, nodded in satisfaction, and handed her a certificate that he had just written, saying, "I have recorded your information. From now on, you are a resident of Linjiang Village. If you buy land or a house in the future, you will need to bring this certificate with you."
Sun Lizheng put away his paper and pen and said, "Since you have settled in our village, I will make it clear to you that because you are a female household, you are only entitled to ten mu of permanent farmland. Unless there are special circumstances, this land is generally not allowed to be sold."
"As for the allotted land, there is none. I hope you are aware of that."
The Great Zhao Dynasty implemented the equal-field system, allocating 80 mu of land per adult male and 20 mu of permanent land to each adult male. Women generally did not receive land unless their families had no male members.
Yunyin's situation was twofold: firstly, her family had no male members, and secondly, she had contributed two taels of silver, so the village head could grant her land, but only ten mu.
However, Yunyin was already satisfied. As long as she could register her household there, she could live peacefully in peace. Now, she had unexpectedly received ten acres of land, even if it was uncultivated open land, she was still very content.
After listening to Sun Lizheng's explanation about how to allocate land to her, Yunyin asked, "Lizheng, I heard that the land over the mountain near the official road also belongs to your village. I wonder if I can get a share of that land?"
Sun Lizheng thought for a long time before remembering and said, "You mean that valley? It does belong to our village, but it's too far away from our village, and the arable land is no more than 100 mu. It's too inconvenient to cultivate, so no one lives there."
Sun Lizheng glanced at Yunyin and asked, "You want that land, do you plan to live there?"
Yunyin nodded and said, "I do have that plan. I also told Sister Qian that I plan to open a food stall, and I will need to buy vegetables and eggs from the village in the future."
Sun Lizheng turned around, intending to glare at his daughter-in-law, but forgot that she was no longer there. He stroked his beard and said, "Since that's the case, then I'll allocate you the land there, and you can also choose a plot of land in that area for your house."
Yunyin thought of something and asked, "I wonder how much silver it would cost to buy that piece of land?"
"Normally, wasteland and open land cannot be sold, but as you know, that place is indeed inconvenient for our village. If you want it, I'll charge you ten strings of cash, and that valley will be yours."
"However, you will have to pay taxes after you buy it. Although wasteland is exempt from taxes for three years, 100 acres of land is still a considerable amount of tax."
Yunyin smiled and said, "I understand. Thank you, Village Chief Sun. I'll plant those ten acres first, and if I need more land in the future, I'll come back to you to buy more."
After finishing these matters, Yunyin remembered Zhang Lin and put her foot down again, asking, "By the way, Village Chief Sun, I'd like to get a temporary household registration for my fellow villager. Can you handle that for me?"
Sun Lizheng nodded and said, "Okay, but you need to bring him over. I need to register his appearance and detailed information and register him as a temporary resident. He can go to work, but I still need to keep a clear record."
Yunyin said she understood. After talking with Sun Lizheng, she was about to go and talk to Sister Qian again when she ran into Sister Qian coming in.
"Sister-in-law, I'm one of your villagers now, so you have to help me choose the best ones. Make sure the vegetables are fresh." Yunyin said, holding Qian's hand. "I need some eggs, greens, scallions, ginger, and rice and noodles. The prices will be the same as you mentioned before."
Sister Qian glanced at her husband secretly, and seeing that he didn't object, she quickly said happily, "Of course, I'll definitely give you the freshest ones."
Just as Aunt Qian was about to get some vegetables for Yunyin, Yunyin stopped her and said, "No rush. I need to bring my fellow villager over to apply for a temporary household registration. I'll come back to buy from you this afternoon."
"But do you have any pickled cabbage at home, sister-in-law? I can buy some from you."
Sister Qian nodded and said, "We have pickled cabbage. How much do you want?"
Yunyin followed Sister Qian to the kitchen, bought some pickled cabbage, scallions and Sichuan peppercorns. After thinking it over, she decided to buy a few eggs from Sister Qian first before taking her basket and saying goodbye.
She moved quickly and arrived at the intersection of the official road in less than half an hour. At this time, Zhang Lin was still working hard and did not see Yun Yin immediately.
Yunyin walked up to Zhang Lin and said, "You did a good job. This is what you've done."
Zhang Lin is building a bamboo shed in the direction of the thatched house, and then building a stove under the shed. Now the shed is completed, he has finished building one stove, and is building another one.
Yunyin praised, "You're quite fast. It seems you really didn't slack off."
Upon hearing Yunyin's voice, Zhang Lin excitedly said, "Miss Yun, you're back! Wait for me a little longer, I'll finish soon."
Yunyin put down her basket and asked, "Have you had lunch yet?"
Zhang Lin rubbed his stomach and said, "Oh dear, I had almost forgotten, I haven't eaten yet."
Yunyin glanced at the sky and realized it was getting late, so she immediately said, "I'll go cook. You should rest for a while."
Zhang Lin glanced at the stove, which was almost finished, and said, "I'll rest after I finish this."
Seeing that the work was almost finished, Yunyin didn't say anything more. She picked up her basket, walked to the lake, caught a fish, cleaned it, and carried it back to the hillside.
The hillside was still the same as it had been before she left. It seemed that Zhang Lin hadn't been here since morning. She started a fire and began cooking rice.
Preparing the fish is quite simple. Slice it horizontally from the tail to fillet the fish, and repeat the same process for the lower half. Slice the filleted fish into individual pieces, keeping the head separate, and cut the fish bones into pieces.
She washed and chopped the pickled cabbage. After the rice was cooked, she fried the fish bones and head in oil, then added ginger, garlic, and Sichuan peppercorns to the pan and stir-fried until fragrant. She then added the pickled cabbage and stir-fried it. Finally, she poured in hot water and brought it to a boil, then added the fish head and bones to make soup.
The fish fillets are also marinated with soy sauce, salt, and egg white. After the broth in the pot has been simmered and flavorful, the marinated fish fillets are added one by one.
When Zhang Lin arrived, he smelled a sour and numbing fragrance.
Yunyin was doing the last step, adding chopped scallions, when she saw Zhang Lin coming over and quickly said, "You've come at the right time, we can eat now."
Zhang Lin washed his hands, took the bowl of rice from him, and smelled the strong aroma, saying, "It smells so good."
Yunyin nodded and said, "This is sauerkraut fish. Try it and see how it tastes. I don't have much money at the beginning, so I only plan to sell noodles. For meat dishes, I'll make sauerkraut fish. There are still a lot of fish in that river."
Zhang Lin deftly picked up a piece of fish with his chopsticks and ate it, nodding repeatedly and saying, "This pickled fish is really delicious, sour and numbing, it goes very well with rice. I can eat five bowls of rice with this dish."
Yunyin's reverie was interrupted by Zhang Lin's words, and she snapped out of her thoughts, saying, "I have extra rice; eat as much as you want."
"However, you will have to come with me to Linjiang Village this afternoon. I have already spoken with the village head to help you apply for temporary household registration first, and then I will hire you."
Zhang Lin stopped eating and said incredulously, "Didn't Lady Yun say she was going to test me? How come she's suddenly willing to sign a contract with me?"
Yunyin looked at his clothes, which were torn from working, and said, "You work hard, and I'm very satisfied. Of course, I'm willing to hire you."
"Alright, hurry up and eat. After we finish eating, we'll go to Linjiang Village."
Zhang Lin quickly buried his head in his food and soon the two of them finished the whole pot of pickled fish.
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com
