Chapter 141 Buying a house and settling down in Hongliutun!
Hongliutun was a military settlement. During the busy farming season, they cultivated the land, and when they weren't busy, they trained their troops. When the first snow of summer fell, the settlement would stop cultivating the land. In the morning, they would clear the snow and store firewood for the winter. After finishing their chores in the afternoon, they would squeeze out time to train their troops.
If you want to get by, you can't rest. If you rest for even one day, you might have to cook one less meal at home. In Dongchuan's winter, even missing one meal of cooking can freeze you to death!
Corporal Zhang Liao got up as usual, and the first thing he did was ask his wife if there was enough firewood. He told her that there were good people and children in the family, so there was no need to be frugal.
"That's enough. Don't go too far to gather firewood. There are many tigers and wolves in the mountains. It's too dangerous!" Wang said with a worried expression.
She would rather skip cooking one less meal at home than have her husband live in fear after going deep into the mountains!
"I'm not going to talk to you anymore, you wouldn't understand anyway," Zhang Liao said as he put on his cotton-padded coat. Over the coat, he wore wolf-skin knee pads, a wolf-skin vest, and gloves.
Looking at the four worn fingers on one of the gloves, Zhang Liao sighed silently.
Just as I was about to sit up, I suddenly heard arguing outside.
"Damn it, they're all so energetic, what a waste of their time! Go up the mountain and chop firewood!" Zhang Liao angrily patted his gloves and walked out the door.
Just as the Shen family was surrounded and about to be beaten, Zhang Liao opened the door and came out.
Wait, these people aren't from Hongliutun.
"Who do you think you are, shouting at my door so early in the morning?" Zhang Liao walked over with a stern face.
Upon seeing so many unfamiliar faces, Wang, who was following behind, quickly went to call for help.
Liu Yan stopped watching the spectacle and walked towards Zhang Liao.
“We were assigned here by the county, and this is our household registration.” Liu Yan showed Zhang Liao her own and her family’s household registration.
Zhang Liao didn't know many characters, but he recognized the county's official seal.
He frowned and hesitated, then asked, "Are you exiled prisoners?"
Liu Yan chuckled in response.
No wonder Zhang Liao guessed it right away; one-third of the population of Hongliutun were exiled here.
However, these people are different from the prisoners. The prisoners who were exiled here before were all sent to the army, but the household registration records show that they are farmers!
He used to take in many convicts who were sent to the army, so he could still distinguish between the household registration of convicts and that of farmers!
"Who brought you here?" These people were clearly acting strangely, and Zhang Liao, as the highest-ranking official in Hongliutun, naturally had to inquire about them.
Liu Yan replied, "It was the county yamen runners who brought us here. Something happened at the county yamen, and after the runners hurriedly settled us in, they rushed back!"
Zhang Liao knew what had happened at the county government office. Baihe County wasn't large, but if anything happened to the government, the whole county would know within a day.
Zhang Liao returned the household registration to Liu Yan.
"Alright, now that you've joined our Red Willow Village, you're people of Red Willow Village. We're all military households here, and everything must be done according to the rules of the military. You all understand, right?" Zhang Liao coldly swept his gaze over the crowd!
Liu Yan nodded: "Our family will definitely obey the rules!"
Zhang Liao nodded in satisfaction upon hearing this, then turned to the other prisoners.
Others followed suit in twos and threes, saying, "We'll follow your orders too!"
Zhang Liao nodded expressionlessly: "I'll give you three days to settle in. After three days, all males over the age of fifteen in your families must come with us to the mountain to gather firewood!"
Liu Yan replied, "Lord Zhang, the county has only allocated three houses for all of us, and there's not enough room for everyone. Could we buy some uninhabited houses from the village?"
Zhang Liao looked at Liu Yan with a strange expression: "You want to pay money to buy it?"
Others seized the opportunity to say, "We want to buy too!"
Shen Yuanjing: "We'll buy some too."
Zhang Liao frowned. Did these people intend to squander all the resettlement money? Judging from their clean faces, rosy complexions, and warm clothes, they must have brought enough money.
After understanding this, Zhang Liao's expression immediately improved.
There are quite a few vacant houses in Hongliutun. If these people aren't short of money, selling them to them would be perfect. We can use that money to buy more grain!
"Alright, you wait here for me!"
Just as Zhang Liao was about to take people to see the house, Wang arrived with a large group of people.
The soldiers were all strong and robust, and their imposing presence was palpable as they stood at the entrance to Zhang Liao's house.
The prisoners didn't dare to breathe loudly, and whispered their pleas for Liu Yan to step in.
After hearing Zhang Liao's words, the soldiers calmed down considerably.
These aren't prisoners, they're practically gods of wealth!
"Brother Zhang, there are many vacant houses next to my house. The roofs don't leak much, but some of the walls have collapsed!"
"There are also several empty houses near my home, built of stone, very sturdy, these are good houses!"
The implication is clear: good houses are more expensive, and bad houses are cheaper!
The three houses allocated by the county government had no roofs and were completely uninhabitable.
These people must be settled in before morning!
"Put your things here first. Unless I give the order, no one will dare to touch your things!"
“You’re all coming to see the house with me now.”
After arranging the house, Zhang Liao instructed his men to eat and drink their fill and then hurry up and gather firewood.
"These three houses are empty, the roofs are all fine, only the courtyard wall has collapsed. The stove and kang (heated brick bed) are still in good condition, and the courtyard is large. Anyone who wants them can have eight taels!"
No one spoke up. Zhang Liao's expression turned sour. He cursed himself for being wrong. These were all poor people who couldn't afford to buy nice houses!
"This one has a nice roof and walls, a large yard, and a bluestone slab paving the ground. There's also a well in the yard. Twenty... fifteen taels!"
These people can't even produce eight taels, let alone fifteen taels!
Liu Yan replied, "Make a note of this first. If there's nothing better later, we'll take this one!"
Zhang Liao was surprised. His eyes darted around. So, after all that, no one wanted the dilapidated house!
He grinned and said, "You should have said you liked nice houses earlier! There are many nice houses in Hongliutun built with stone. They are all sturdy and durable, and the courtyard walls are high!"
"Come on, come on, I'll take you to see other places!"
After walking for a while, Zhang Liao led them to a row of stone houses.
“These are all good houses, otherwise… I definitely wouldn’t have sold them to you!” Zhang Liao didn’t say much, and pushed open the door to lead them inside.
"There are tables, chairs, and benches inside. There are many rooms, and the roof doesn't leak at all. The yard is also large, and there's a well just ten meters away from the door. If I weren't so attached to my home, I would have moved here with my family long ago."
The place is nice, and most importantly, it's very clean, as if someone cleans it regularly.
"How much?"
Zhang Liao opened his mouth and made a three-point gesture.
"I'm not bragging, but this house won't collapse even if there's a heavy snowfall!" He pursed his lips a little guiltily after saying that.
Liu Yan replied, "Alright, this one counts, let's go check out the others!"
After Zhang Liao led Liu Yan to revisit the three stone houses, he was puzzled.
"You want more?"
The house we booked is big enough for these people to squeeze in!
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