Chapter 104 Earning Land
Everyone looked unhappy when they heard this.
How can we keep the rice fields healthy if there is no water source?
Su Hanchu spoke patiently.
"Then can we reclaim it and use it as dry land for planting?"
The village head shook his head slightly and spoke after hearing this.
"That won't work. Water accumulates here during the rainy season, and I'm afraid we won't be able to grow anything other than rice."
Everyone's faces darkened when they heard this. The land was divided too poorly.
Jun Moye's expression also turned ugly.
Su Hanchu looked at the land filled with rocks and trees. It seemed that the village head was not very welcoming to the exiles. He hoped that there would be no problems in their future interactions.
The village head felt a little guilty when he saw everyone's faces changed.
"Don't be unhappy. The village is so small, and with so many of you here at once, it's good enough to have some wasteland to divide. If we can find a way to bring water down, these paddy fields will still be able to support people."
Suddenly a voice was heard.
"Mrs. Jun, why are there so many of you here?"
Suddenly I saw the village head was there too.
Aunt Zhou spoke hurriedly.
"Oh, the village head is here too?"
The village head spoke.
"I'll show them the wasteland they were allocated."
Aunt Zhou took a look at the vast wasteland and spoke with an embarrassed smile.
"Brother Zhao, it will take a lot of time to take care of this piece of wasteland, not to mention there's no water to bring in. This will all belong to the same village, and they have a lot of women and children. I'm afraid they'll need to divide it up and dig a few more acres of good land or fields."
The village head spoke with some displeasure upon hearing this.
"You from the Zhou family just can't change your habit of meddling in other people's affairs. You always want to get involved in trivial matters. The wasteland south of the village was also allocated to them."
Aunt Zhou also knew about the land on the south side of the village. It had been fallow for many years. It was unknown how much effort it would take to reclaim it all at once, so she continued to speak for Su Hanchu and others with a thick face.
"Brother Zhao, you know my habit of talking. I tend to be a little bit sympathetic to children. This young couple has brought so many people with them, and they are both young, with so many children. It must have been difficult for them to come this far. Even if it's just for the sake of having so many children, can you give him another two acres of land?"
The headman's face darkened completely when he heard this.
"Zhou family, just take care of your own family's affairs."
Jun Moyerao had never farmed before, but he understood it clearly. He was probably afraid that there was other land in the village, but the headman was unwilling to divide it up.
"Uncle Zhao, according to Tianyuan's laws, each of us exiled people is entitled to at least one mu of land. There are nineteen of us in total. This piece of wasteland, plus the few mu of land south of the village you mentioned, probably won't make up nineteen mu, right?"
There is indeed not enough land, but the land that has been cultivated has not been divided up, and Zhao Lizheng is not willing to divide it up. After all, as long as the land has not been divided up, it will be managed by his family.
"It's certainly not enough for 19 mu, but how many children are there in your family? How much can one child eat? Besides, there are too many of you. This village doesn't have that much land to divide. Anyway, there are only these two pieces of wasteland. You can do whatever you want."
Su Hanchu, who had always been good-tempered, became expressionless when he heard this. It seemed like someone was being targeted.
"Uncle Zhao, according to Tianyuan law, as long as we exiled people make it to the place of exile, we will be ordinary citizens and enjoy the same treatment as you, the people of Tianyuan. We came to Guanping Village with documents from the county government and stamped by the town head."
Zhao Lizheng became even more unhappy when he saw that the two of them expressed their disagreement with the land division in their words.
"You've been allocated two plots of land, what else do you want? Madam Jun, sometimes it's better not to be too picky, especially for women. Being too aggressive can be disliked."
Jun Moye's face suddenly darkened.
"Zhao Lizheng, if you don't want us to be resettled in Guanping Village, then please take us to the head of the pavilion to explain the reason and ask the head of the pavilion to find us another place to live."
Zhao Lizheng's face turned as black with embarrassment when he heard this.
"Are you threatening people?"
Su Hanchu spoke upon hearing this.
"Uncle Zhao, we've just arrived in this village and are unfamiliar with the area. How can we threaten others? We just want to get the land that's rightfully ours. This is the right enjoyed by the people of Tianyuan. Why are you misinterpreting our meaning?"
Seeing that the two sides were about to quarrel, Aunt Zhou hurriedly spoke up to smooth things over.
"Alright, alright, we're all from the same village, so let's just talk it out. Brother Zhao, didn't you always say that we villagers should unite and look after each other? Doesn't the village still need several acres of public land and paddy fields? Give some to their family. When times get tough, I believe the Jun family will remember your kindness, right?"
The village head gave Aunt Zhou a fierce look.
"Okay, you're the one who's always bothering me. You're the one who's always nice."
Then he looked at Jun Moye.
"There are at least ten acres of newly reclaimed land here. I can give you three acres of dry land at most. If you have any more requests, I can't do anything about it. This is the only condition the village has."
As the saying goes, a strong dragon cannot defeat a local snake. As soon as they arrived here, Su Hanchu and others had to take a step back.
"Then I'll trouble Uncle Zhao to take us to look at these three acres of land. If it's suitable, we can plant some vegetables first."
The village head spoke with a dark face when he heard this.
"Come with me."
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