Chapter 18 White Elephant Village
After wiping the sweat from their foreheads, the Lin family members lined up in front of the county government office.
From time to time, exiles came out with their shackles and chains removed, some with frowns on their brows and some with jubilation.
"Lin Hongyuan, there are a total of twenty-five people in your family, including nine adult men, seven adult women, six underage men, and three underage women. Twenty-four or twenty-five people were exiled, so the total number of people present is twenty-five."
The clerk sitting on the armchair looked at the man in front of him in surprise. He didn't expect that a frail scholar could protect his entire family and walk safely from Kyoto to Lingnan. Don't judge a person by his appearance!
"Yes, sir, where do you think we will be assigned?"
Lin Hongyuan handed over his ID and a stack of banknotes, with a flattering but not fawning look on his face.
The clerk touched the thick stack of banknotes and nodded. This was a man who could bend and adapt and was very sensible.
"Let's go to Baixiang Village! This is a newly built village with only two families living in it. Since there are so many of you, it's best to separate yourselves. Baixiang Village is fully occupied with fifty households."
"Okay, let's split up into seven households. Lin Hongyuan, Wang Xiangyi, and Lin Daxuan are one household; Lin Yixu, Zhang Tao, Lin Daping, Lin Dachan, Lin Lang, and Lin Qiang are one household; Lin Yiguang, Xie Zhouzhou, Lin Dazheng, Lin Daqing, and Lin Jiao are one household; and Lin Yichen is another.
Lin Hongzhi, Min Xin, and Lin Yue are one household; Lin Yihua, Qian Qianqian, and Lin Dayu are one household; and Lin Yiyan and You Dai are one household.
Sir, do you think this is okay?"
"Okay, this is your ID card. When traveling in Lingnan, you'll need to recruit people based on your ID cards to build city walls, canals, and other projects. Adult men must be ready at all times.
The imperial court also encouraged land reclamation. For three years, no taxes were collected. After three years, three dou of grain per mu was collected. Three generations of the family were forbidden from taking the imperial examinations. The family members were required to control themselves and not to provoke the local residents.
"Thank you, sir. I understand."
Seeing that Lin Hongyuan was so understanding, the clerk gave him a few more suggestions.
A group of people were escorted through the county, passing through towns and villages, all the way to the lush forest.
"Okay, this is White Elephant Village, go in on your own!"
The two officers with swords left after saying this.
The Lin family and the other people assigned to Baixiang Village looked at each other in bewilderment. They had nothing and just threw us here?
The lush forest and the whistling wind are a bit creepy.
"Aunt, are we going to live here from now on? I'm a little scared."
Lin Dayu held Lin Yue's hand and blinked his eyes, so cute that it was unfair!
"Don't be afraid, grandparents, father, mother, and aunt are all here, accompanying Brother Yu. Look, there are so many people here, including sisters and brothers!"
Ever since entering the Lingnan area, Lin Yue felt that his body was stretching out and his supernatural powers were showing signs of recovery.
"Brother Lin, I don't know what to do now?"
The person who was questioning was Jian Chengyu, a secretary of the Ministry of Personnel. He had given the emperor advice, which violated the emperor's taboo, so his entire family was thrown into prison and was exiled for half a year. Unfortunately, ten of them died along the way, and now there are only thirty people left.
During this period of time, it seemed that Jian Chengyu, apart from being a bit old-fashioned and stubborn, was a decent person to get along with. The people in his family were also very well-behaved, and the thoughts of his children were not offensive at all.
Except for the narrow path at the entrance of the village, the rest of the area is covered with lush trees and there is not a single house to be seen. Doesn't it mean that there are already two families here?
"Let's go in and take a look. We've found two other families. It's getting dark soon, so we need to find a place to stay first."
As they spoke, everyone drove the ox carts and horse carriages into the secluded path. It took about a quarter of an hour before they saw smoke from cooking.
"There's someone, Grandfather, there's someone ahead."
Lin Da was skipping to Lin Hongyuan's side, pointing excitedly at the place where the smoke was rising in front of him, with a bright smile on his little face.
"I see, Zheng'er, hold grandpa's hand and don't fall. This place is not very flat."
"Who are you?"
A skinny man with yellow and black skin, about 1.6 meters tall, was holding a tree trunk and looking at the person who came fiercely.
If we didn't have so many people on our side, I'm afraid we would have already attacked.
"Don't be afraid, young man. We are newly assigned exiles. The master said there were originally two families here, one surnamed Feng and the other surnamed Li. I'd like to know your names, young man."
Feng Niu felt a little relieved when he heard that they were new residents. His father had already learned the news when he went to the city a few days ago.
"Wait a minute, I'll go call my dad."
Before anyone could react, the dark and thin young man ran away.
Lin Yue looked at the tall trees around her. It was a completely undeveloped primeval forest. Could this be considered a village?
This is not a joke!
How to live in such an environment?
Where is Tian?
Where is the land?
Where can houses be built?
Just as Lin Yue was daydreaming, the dark and thin boy quickly came over with his father.
"Hello, my name is Feng Shiyun. I moved here last year. This is a new village with nothing here. Everything depends on you.
People in Lingnan usually build tree houses, that is, houses on trees. One reason is that there are many trees in Lingnan, and the other is that there is a lot of rain here, and houses built on the ground will easily be flooded and damp, making people prone to illness, and the third reason is that there are many insects and ants here.
This entire mountain is part of Baixiang Village. You are free to live wherever you want. It is best to live together so that everyone can help each other.
There are tree house builders in the city. If you're new here, you should find experienced locals to help you build a house. Look, this is my house. There are five of us in my family, so five rooms are more than enough. Of course, you can also build a kitchen under the tree, store miscellaneous items, or build a stable or cattle shed.
Everyone saw a large tree house built three meters above the ground, with more than a dozen trees serving as load-bearing pillars. It looked very spacious, but in fact, there was an open kitchen and shed underneath.
"Won't the oil and salt below get transferred to the top?"
Lin Yue was still very interested in the tree house, as it would provide a higher view, and she also wanted to understand it more clearly.
"This will have some impact, and how long do you think we can live in this tree house? It needs to be replaced at most every two years. It's exposed to wind and rain all year round, and even the best wood will rot, not to mention us living in it.
This is also the case with most people in Lingnan who build wooden houses. This is because the frequency of replacement is too high, and families don't have the money to hire someone to build a wooden house every time. Of course, it's not a difficult job, and anyone with a bit of strength can learn it.
The Lin family and everyone else looked at each other in bewilderment. They had never lived in a house like this before, and they were all a little worried. They wanted to build a house made of bricks and tiles, but they felt that Feng Shiyun was right. They were also worried that building a tree house would not be strong enough. Could they adapt to life in it?
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