Chapter 1912 Xia Xia (March Monthly Ticket Plus 2)
Village Chief Xu bowed his head and said humbly, "Xia Yan was a scholar in the fifth year of the Dade reign. He used to live in Songhua Alley. However, Songhua Alley is crowded. I only know that he died in the second year of the Dazhen reign. He had only a daughter and son-in-law at home. I don't know much else about him."
Magistrate Zhai asked, "Does he have any other relatives?"
"Of course there is. He was from the Xia family of Hongtian Village, and it seems he was buried in Hongtian Village after his death."
County Magistrate Zhai finally understood why Zhou Man came to see him. This old man, Village Chief Xu, was not honest.
As the village head, he would not only know the hundred households under his charge in great detail, but also the relationships between each household and the clans behind them.
Otherwise, why would he become the village head?
The village head is either a highly respected person or has a powerful family whose ancestors have lived here. How could he not understand the people under his jurisdiction?
They knew more and in greater detail than he, the county magistrate.
County Magistrate Zhai had not just arrived in Shangzhou, so he naturally knew Village Chief Xu and understood the twists and turns involved.
He snorted inwardly, glanced at Zhou Man and Bai Shan, who remained expressionless, and asked with a slight raise of the corner of his mouth, "Then who is living at No. 23 Songhua Lane now?"
Village Chief Xu froze and bowed, saying, "The head of the household is Xia Yi. By the way, he is also from the Xia family of Hongtian Village. He must be a relative of Xia Yan."
"Does the house belong to him? Or does someone rent it to him?"
After taking a look at Zhou Man, Chief Xu said, "It should be his. I haven't heard that he rented it."
Magistrate Zhai sipped his cup and chuckled, "How can Chief Xu be so unfamiliar with the people he governs? He doesn't even know if they're tenants? Remember, the county magistrates conduct a population census every spring, right?"
The population of tenants and the population of household heads are not counted together; they are two separate merits.
The sweat on Lichang Xu's forehead slid down, and he didn't know if it was because of the heat.
Manbao and the other two sat quietly by the side, no one spoke.
After a while, just as Village Chief Xu was hesitating whether to speak, County Magistrate Zhai looked up and said, "Come here, go to Songhua Alley and invite Elder Du and Elder Zhu to come. Then have someone call Xia Yi over. Yes, I remember Xia Xia from Daxi Alley, next to Songhua Alley. I remember his family is also from Hongtian Village, right? Go and invite him too."
Manbao and Baishan raised their lips. Sure enough, they had to find the county magistrate. Is there any local tyrant in the world who is more powerful than the county magistrate?
Ahem, of course, they are not saying that County Magistrate Zhai is a local tyrant.
Lizhang Xu swallowed and said hurriedly, "Xia Xia seems to be seriously ill. I'm afraid he can't get up."
County Magistrate Zhai said nonchalantly, "Go and invite him first. If that doesn't work, ask Xia Rui to come."
Manbao then asked, "Who is Xia Rui?"
Magistrate Zhai: "Oh, it's Xia Xia's son."
Manbao nodded and waited quietly.
Village Chief Xu, who was sitting on the stool below, wanted to speak several times, but he was too embarrassed to do so. The main reason was that what happened was beyond his expectation. Not only did Zhou Man appear suddenly, but she was also able to find the county magistrate in such a short time and ask the county magistrate to speak up for her.
Lizhang Xu pressed his thumb against the joint of his index finger, tightening and unclenching his fist. Finally, he opened his mouth to bring up the topic again, "I remember now. The Xia Yi family has a deed to the house, so they are not tenants."
Magistrate Zhai glanced at Zhou Man, and seeing she didn't react, he then handed over the house deed his men had been holding and said, "What a coincidence! Lord Zhou also has a house deed. How did he get a new one from the county government when the original one wasn't invalidated?"
Village Chief Xu stared at the title deed for a long time and was speechless.
County Magistrate Zhai had already given another order, "Have the Household Department investigate."
He glanced at Zhou Man and said, "Check the records from fourteen years ago to ten years ago. Let's start from fourteen years ago."
The officer responded and left.
Everyone turned to look at Village Chief Xu, and County Magistrate Zhai said, "Village Chief Xu, you should know about this, right? Buying or selling a house requires the Village Chief's signature."
If people like Manbao want to enclose land or buy land to build a house in the village, they need to report to the village head. Even if they want to buy a shop in the county town, they have to tell the village head.
Because property and population are important conditions for assessing household rank, and household rank assessment involves the payment of taxes, the taxes paid by upper and lower households can be quite different.
Every village head had an account in his hands or in his mind. When County Magistrate Zhai said he didn't know whether Xia Yi's family was tenants or owners, he sneered, but etiquette restrained him.
The head of the village sighed, stood up and knelt to confess his guilt. He knew that he had made a mistake and should have confessed more when he entered the county government office. He could not get away with it like he did with Zhou Man and the other two at home.
Village Chief Xu said: "Xia Yi's house should have been occupied twelve years ago. It was decided by the Xia clan to give it to him."
He said, "Sir, Xia Yan has no heir. After his death, the clan has the right to reclaim his land and property and redistribute them. Xia Yi's family is Xia Yan's closest relative."
That's not wrong, but why did he hide it?
County Magistrate Zhai looked at Zhou Man.
Zhou Man slid his cup and said with a slight smile, "My father married into the family, so those lands and properties naturally belong to my parents."
County Magistrate Zhai almost dropped his teacup. Marrying into the wife's family?
Village Chief Xu had anticipated her words and said without much change in expression, "It seems that the Xia clan saw Zhou Yin and Xia Xin leave and never returned, and no one visited the Xia couple's graves. So they concluded that they would never return, and thus divided up the family property."
Zhou Man sat up straighter and asked, "Where are my grandparents' graves?"
Village Chief Xu didn't expect that she was asking this question. He thought she wanted to defend her parents. When she was at his house, she only said that her parents died early, but didn't say the reason.
Lizhang Xu paused, then said, "It's on Da'an Mountain, not far from the city."
That's not what he said before.
Manbao and the other two glanced at him, but didn't pay attention. Instead, they asked carefully, "Where is it in Da'an Mountain?"
"On the east side of the mountain, your parents erected a monument there. You can find it there."
Manbao frowned and asked, "Why not bury him back in Hongtian Village?"
Fallen leaves return to their roots and are usually buried back in the village.
When Lizhang Xu remained silent, Magistrate Zhai consoled him, saying, "Da'an Mountain is also a good place. Many talented and virtuous people from Shangzhou are buried there."
Manbao nodded.
Just as they were talking, the yamen runners who had gone out to invite people came back one after another. What surprised Manbao was that there was another person who was carried in lying on a rattan chair.
County Magistrate Zhai also stood up in surprise and introduced himself to Manbao and the other two, "This is Xia Xia. He's a famous silversmith in Shangzhou. Many dignitaries have come to him with hundreds of gold coins begging for a piece of silver jewelry."
When the person was brought to the front, Xia Xia had already squinted his eyes and looked around. After a few glances, his eyes fixed on Zhou Man. He pointed at her and asked, "You, are you the eldest lady of the Xia family?"
See you tomorrow
(End of this chapter)
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