Chapter 16 (Sixteenth Chapter) - Through the Zhao Family's Connections
Seeing her like this, Guo Baiwen asked curiously, "Mother-in-law, since you don't get along with him, why don't you continue doing what you did before?"
Didn't you say yesterday that you used to work as a matchmaker and trade livestock?
His question completely opened up Granny Sun's floodgates of conversation.
"Young man, as you know, life is not easy without a house in this county town."
That's true.
The previous statement that two taels of silver was enough for a family of three farmers was based on the cheap prices in Guojia Village. In addition, the farmers had their own land, vegetables, and wells, and they didn't eat much meat or buy many clothes throughout the year, so this amount of money was naturally more than enough.
But this amount of money isn't enough to cover expenses in the county town.
If you were to rent a room in the county town, even the cheapest single room in Huaihua Lane would cost 180 or 20 wen a year. And what about the daily necessities in the county town – firewood, water, and emptying chamber pots – all cost money?
If he were to rent a house in the county town, even with the utmost frugality, it would still cost more than two taels of silver, not counting food and drink. Not to mention that the two sets of clothes and a pair of shoes he just bought would also cost almost two taels.
So he nodded and listened as the matchmaker continued.
“My husband was originally a bailiff in the county government. Although his annual salary was only six taels, he was still in the county government, so he could at least have some extra income to supplement the family income.” Granny Sun wiped her eyes. “However, although his bailiff status was not considered lowly, it was still considered a service occupation. Seeing his perfectly good child also become a service occupation, and after serving as a bailiff for so many years, we finally found out that after serving a certain number of years, he could still be transferred to ordinary citizen status.”
Guo Baiwen was unaware of these matters.
He originally thought that since the bailiffs worked in the county government office, they were practically officials themselves.
Who knew that the household registration system could be divided into so many different categories besides scholars, farmers, artisans, and merchants?
"Wouldn't it be better to just change to civilian status?"
"Sigh, it would be great to be able to change my citizenship. But the problem is, the number of slots for this change each year is limited!"
"I don't know how long this new regulation will last. As long as the household registration isn't transferred, I won't be able to have peace of mind," sighed Granny Sun. "My grandson is due in a few months, and I heard that if I spend money to help smooth things over—"
As soon as Granny Sun said that, Guo Baiwen understood.
Even a hero can be brought down by a single penny.
Providing a matchmaker for a couple would earn you at most fifty to three hundred coins, and livestock trading doesn't seem to bring in much more. Both of these combined don't earn as much as being a real estate agent.
He asked in a low voice, "Have you inquired about how much money is still needed?"
Granny Sun gestured to him from inside her sleeve, and Guo Baiwen saw clearly that it was a 'ten' sign.
Ten taels of silver.
Thinking about his visit to Granny Sun today, he wondered if things would be settled and Granny Sun might actually be able to earn those last ten taels of silver.
Thinking that the other party's family had two bailiffs, and that their household registration was not important, since they were at least working in the county government.
Guo Baiwen originally wanted to ask Granny Sun to help him find a reliable broker, but after hearing what she said, he simply told Granny Sun his purpose for coming today, "Grandma, we just completed a deal yesterday. Although we don't know each other inside and out, we do know each other to some extent."
"I came to see you today not to talk about anything else, but to ask you to introduce me to a broker so I can buy some land."
“But after hearing what you said just now, I suppose your family has some connections with the county government. I wonder if there are any vacant or resold fields near this county town,” he continued, looking at Granny Sun’s widening eyes. “As for the commission for purchasing the land, Granny, don’t worry. It will be based on the current market price.”
After hearing this, what could Granny Sun possibly object to?
Few people are willing to give up their land, but there are always some families who cannot pay their taxes or are burdened with debts and can only rely on their land to pay off those debts.
In situations like this, apart from the wealthy households in the county town, only the county government's household registration office would know the truth.
So, Granny Sun stopped wasting time under the wooden sign. She glanced at the sun; it wasn't noon yet, so her husband should still be at the county office.
Perfect timing, I can take my young master over to have a look.
This was the first time Guo Baiwen had ever seen what the county government office looked like. Granny Sun was obviously very familiar with the internal structure of the county government office. Seeing that he did not react, she thought he was a little scared, so she comforted him, "Don't worry, young man. It's just that it may seem a little scary the first time you see it. You won't feel anything after you see it a few more times."
As soon as she said that, she felt like she had said something wrong.
Ordinary people would rather not come to the county government office than not take a look around.
So she stopped talking and walked to the ceremonial gate. There she saw several servants standing there and was about to ask someone to call her husband when she spotted her son among them.
So he immediately waved, "Ah Ren, Ah Ren!"
Zhao Yiren was on duty outside the ceremonial gate when he suddenly heard his mother's voice. He turned around and looked around, and saw that his mother was bringing a strange young man over.
Although he was somewhat puzzled, he still said something to the people around him and then came forward.
"Mother? What's wrong?"
He knew his mother wasn't the type to come to the county government office looking for him on her own initiative, so he couldn't help but feel anxious. "Has something happened at home?"
"No, no," Granny Sun hurriedly explained, then repeated why she had come.
Knowing that they were just bringing people to buy land, Zhao Yiren relaxed a lot and a smile appeared on his face. "So that's what it is. Then Mother, don't worry. Father is on duty at the household registration office. I'll take you there in a bit and tell him."
Besides maintaining order and standing guard, the bailiffs would also go to the other six offices to help out.
This house happened to be the place within the county government office where people's livelihoods were managed.
It was just a coincidence.
When Zhao Yiren led them there, it was almost noon. The head of the household affairs office had gone to have lunch and rest, and only his father, Zhao Dayong, was still there.
Buying and selling land was a common occurrence. People would usually choose to sell to their relatives, neighbors, or creditors, and often they would need to go to the county government to complete a "transfer" procedure.
Zhao Dayong was also literate.
They quickly found the registers used for land registration.
The best farmland near the county town is all owned, and most of the land that is still idle is of inferior quality. This is because the land is oddly shaped and difficult to irrigate, or the soil is not fertile enough to produce enough yield, so no one is willing to spend money to buy it.
This kind of land is about the same size as Guo Baiwen's two acres of land.
When Old Man Guo was alive, he worked diligently, and even on two low-quality plots of land, he could produce nearly three bushels of grain in a good year, which is about four hundred catties. But when Grandma Guo and Guo Bawen took over the farming, they worked themselves to the bone all year last year and only harvested one hundred and eighty catties.
However, the yield of a medium-sized field is only about two to four shi, not to mention the superior fields that can produce an average of four to six shi.
It would be better to buy better farmland.
Guo Baiwen didn't expect to be able to seize any of the better land that had slipped through the net from those gentry or landlords, but, "Are there no medium-grade land left either?"
Zhao Yiren also helped his father search, and after a long time, they finally found information on two medium-sized fields in the corner of the booklet.
They weren't even close to the county seat, and all of them had tenant farmers.
"Young master, take a look. Are these two plots of land suitable?"
Guo Baiwen took a closer look at the two locations. One was a contiguous plot of land, covering eight mu (approximately 0.33 acres). The other was more scattered, interspersed with three plots of lower-grade farmland, totaling twelve mu (approximately 1.65 acres). Although not close, it was still much better than the location of Guojia Village.
Moreover, the land comes with tenant farmers, so he no longer needs to find people to rent land from. He can simply collect 40% rent annually as is the original practice for the land.
In this way, even if the harvest from the two acres of land is not good, the rent from 40% of the land each year will still be at least 15 shi (a unit of dry measure).
Currently, land is taxed based on the average productivity of different grades. One mu of inferior land is taxed only one cent, but the Guo family only sold the land during the autumn harvest, so they still paid grain based on the initial three mu of land.
Medium-quality fields are divided into two parts, while superior-quality fields are divided into three parts.
He is now a commoner without the authority to exempt himself from taxes, and the land registered in his name still requires him to pay taxes on time every year.
Even with the two acres of land at home, the taxes he had to pay each year were only a little over four shi (a unit of dry measure). Whether he stored the remaining grain for himself or sold it to rice shops, it would still be a considerable source of income.
His calculation skills weren't very good. He carefully calculated for a long time, writing and drawing on his palm with his fingers. Only after confirming that the number he calculated was not too far off did he breathe a sigh of relief.
Buying so much land at once will cost a lot of money, so he still needs to be careful.
As soon as he looked up, he found that Sun Ya Po, Zhao Dayong, and Zhao Yiren were all staring at him expectantly.
That's true, after all, whether we can raise the money for the transfer of residency before the end of the year depends on today.
Guo Baiwen didn't want to keep them in suspense, so he smiled and nodded. "Okay, I'll buy both of them."
Upon hearing this, Granny Sun, who had been holding her breath, almost jumped up from the spot. "That's wonderful! Young Master Guo, you are truly a great benefactor in my life!"
At present, the market price is eighteen taels for a mu of top-quality land, ten taels for medium-quality land, and between three and five taels for low-quality land.
Zhao Dayong quickly calculated the price for him, which was 228 taels in total. Since he was brought by Granny Sun, they did not charge him for any extra fees for writing materials or tea.
There were already templates for the land deeds, and after Zhao Dayong quickly drafted one, the others took over and reviewed it to make sure there were no problems.
Zhao Yiren went out and called the original owner of the land. They would then go to the county government office to transfer the land deed, and Sun Ya Po's commission for the day would be completely in her hands.
When Guo Baiwen finally saw the seller, he was an old man who was not young. He was dressed in fine cotton clothes and seemed to be from a well-off family. He was squatting on the ground, smoking a pipe, and keeping his head down in silence, looking preoccupied with his own thoughts.
Compared to him, the other person was much more flamboyant, carrying an open paper fan even in the freezing cold, and wearing a moon-white long robe.
The young man in the long gown wore clothes with cotton and linen lining, but the outer layer of the gown was made of silk.
Without them even saying a word, you could tell they must come from a wealthy family.
As mentioned before, the reason why people have to sell their family's land is mostly because they have encountered some urgent need for money.
Guo Baiwen wasn't interested in asking others why they were selling their land.
So as not to be thought to be trying to reopen old wounds.
When the young man heard that he had to sign on the land, he obviously didn't care much about the appearance of the eight acres of medium-sized land. He signed his name and pressed his fingerprint directly. If Zhao Yiren hadn't spotted him and pulled him back, he would have looked like he was ready to take the money and leave at any time.
But the old man hesitated for a long time over the land deed, and even asked Guo Baiwen if he would continue to lease out the land. After receiving an affirmative answer, he finally signed and affixed his fingerprint to it.
Although both sides had arrived, the land deed still needed to be stamped by the head of the household registration office. So Guo Baiwen and his group waited at the door for quite a while longer, until the lunch break was over, and they saw the head of the household registration office return to continue his duties.
Before he could even speak, Zhao Dayong had already gone up to greet him. In his words, Guo Baiwen somehow became a distant relative of the Zhao family.
But when the head of the household looked at him, he subconsciously straightened his back, nodded, and gave him a somewhat shy smile.
So, considering they were all acquaintances, for such a large land deed, the person in charge only charged a token fee of 500 cash for the expedited stamping.
Guo Baiwen saw this and kept it in mind. Thanks to the Zhao family's connections, he had saved a lot of money on intermediary fees today.
Afterwards, we still need to thank Granny Sun and the others.
A note from the author:
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I plan to take a day off on Monday, but will resume regular updates afterwards.
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