Seeing Yunniang's certainty, the old official put down the household register and said, "I advise you not to change your household register. Your deceased husband still has family and relatives. If anything happens, they will still be your support."
Song Liyun suppressed her irritation: "Sir, we are from Suijin Town, and we have no family or relatives left."
"Oh! From Broken Gold Town, let this old man take a look!"
The old clerk seemed to only then realize that Song Liyun and her companion were from Suijin Town. He unfolded the household register again, reading it word by word, and then looked at the wooden boxes on the black wooden shelf, searching for them one by one.
Song Liyun was speechless: No wonder there was a long queue outside the county government office. The efficiency of handling affairs is too low, really too low.
No one noticed that a man dressed in a green official robe was sitting next to the office, separated by only one wall.
The man was about twenty-five or twenty-six years old, with a fair complexion and a thin build. Although his appearance was plain and ordinary, his official robes gave him an air of aloofness.
At this moment, a file was placed in front of him.
The old official's voice could still be heard from the side: "Qi Yunshi, one husband Shi Lei, died in a raid by the Di barbarians, and one son Shi Lin went missing."
Jin Sanzhong, the second husband, died after being beaten for theft. Tsk tsk tsk, your fate is truly unfortunate!
Jiang Feng pointed to a spot in the dossier where Yunniang's name was clearly recorded, just as the old official had described.
In order to understand all the affairs of Broken Gold Town, he had to do everything himself.
"You want to start your own household now because you have a landlord to rely on..."
That's not impossible. As long as you can support yourself and pay your taxes and corvée labor, you can establish a household. You say who your employer is... the Song family... a military household... this..."
The old official's voice was intermittent, but it didn't interrupt Jiang Feng's thoughts.
He quickly found a page on the side that wasn't bound into a book, covered with tiny, densely written characters.
During his time in Qili County, he went through all the files from the past five years in Suijin Town.
With his photographic memory, he had already compiled everyone's deeds into a separate booklet.
Two military households received special treatment.
The Song family, Song Liyun.
She has been involved in several recent cases involving Tianxianglou.
Jiang Feng could clearly see the woman in front of the old official through a diamond-shaped dark window in the partition.
She was sixteen or seventeen years old, petite, with almond-shaped eyes and peach-blossom cheeks, two slender black eyebrows, plain clothes, and a clean face, looking delicate and frail.
Jiang Feng sneered: This seemingly frail woman has been implicated in several deaths, yet she has managed to cover her tracks so thoroughly that no one can find a single flaw in her actions.
Truly, a woman's heart is the most poisonous.
He lowered his eyelids, his gaze falling on the small print after Song Liyun's name: the big boss of the acorn food factory in Suijin Town, and the owner of the cardboard box factory.
Jiang Feng pursed his thin lips. The fact that Suijin Town could be restored to its current state was inseparable from the acorn food factory, and it could also help the surrounding people. The results were obvious.
But it was definitely her doing!
Now everyone in the city is saying that Lord Jiang is cowardly and incompetent, and that he doesn't dare to touch those bandits and outlaws in Qili County.
In fact, under the guise of investigating the case, Jiang Feng had already figured out the details of Suijin Town.
However, the ringleader of Tianxiang Tower has not been captured, and the town is protected by the Zhenbei Military Guard. Going to the town rashly would definitely alert several parties, and he does not want to make a move that would alert the culprit.
At this moment, the old clerk's voice came again: "The household registration is now complete. From now on, the annual taxes must not be reduced."
Since Song Liyun is willing to act as your guarantor and ensure timely payment of taxes and corvée labor, please have the guarantor write another contract.
Song Liyun hadn't expected that establishing a female household would be so easy; it was beyond her imagination.
In her view, at least some harsh conditions should be proposed.
Although this old official is a bit long-winded, he doesn't approve of women starting their own families, saying things like "nothing can be accomplished without men, and a family won't prosper without male offspring."
However, she didn't intend to make things difficult for the two of them. Now that Song Liyun was asked to write a contract to guarantee Yunniang's future life, she readily agreed.
Taking the pen, and following the old official's instructions, Song Liyun wrote down her willingness to assume responsibility for Yunniang's future corvée labor.
After pressing his fingerprint on the paper, the old clerk took the still-wet paper, looked at it carefully, and then put it aside before handing Yunniang's household register to the servants: "You follow him. As long as you get the official seal affixed to the magistrate's office next door, the matter will be settled."
All that's needed is another official stamp; it feels even simpler than getting a procedure done before the apocalypse.
Song Liyun rose and bowed, saying, "Thank you, sir!"
With this matter successfully completed, a huge weight has been lifted off her shoulders, but she can't help but have some ulterior motives: Steward Wan said that this Lord Jiang is extremely shrewd and should not be underestimated.
Now is the time to find him to leave his seal, so that I can finally see his true face.
This move seems somewhat risky; who knows, you might get something better off than something worse off than something worse off than something worse off?
Song Liyun and Yunniang followed the servants into a covered corridor, and after turning two corners, they entered a spacious study.
The two waited outside. The servant brought in the household register, and after a moment, the servant invited the two inside.
The magistrate's office was spacious, as was his desk, behind which sat a young official.
Song Liyun was very glad that the Wu Dynasty did not have the habit of casually performing kneeling and bowing rituals.
She and Yunniang went in with their heads down, not daring to look around, and after bowing, they waited to be asked questions.
The official asked, "Qi Yun, do you currently have any family property as a female household?"
Although Yunniang was nervous, she still honestly said, "I am employed by the Song family and live in the Song family. My previous family property was burned down by the Di barbarians, so I have no family property."
"I see!"
Song Liyun raised her head slightly and saw a pair of slender, indifferent, and scrutinizing eyes...
Song Liyun disliked the feeling of being spied on. She lowered her eyes, remembering Steward Wan's words, and reminded herself to be careful.
Soon, Jiang Feng asked, "Song Liyun, I heard from Commander Luo that the acorn food factory in Suijin Town is your employer. As a military household, you are not required to pay taxes to the government. What do you think about this?"
Song Liyun didn't know if Luo Baihu had said those words, but to be on the safe side, she only needed to shirk responsibility.
"Your Excellency, I support taxation. Taxes should be taken from the people and used for the people. Only by keeping things running can the nation prosper."
However, since the woman is a military household member, whether or not she should pay taxes is naturally up to Commander Luo. Even if she is to pay, it should be paid by the garrison!
According to the laws of the imperial court, military households were required to enlist in the army during times of war. This was an obligation, and the benefits they received were tax reductions or exemptions, or the taxes would be paid on their behalf by the garrison that managed the military households.
Upon hearing Song Liyun's words, Lord Jiang remained expressionless for a few moments before nodding, seemingly completely unprepared for such an answer.
Then he picked up his official seal and affixed it to the household registration document.
After leaving the county government office, Yunniang looked at her new household registration book over and over again.
A look of joy appeared on his face, as if he had just dropped a piece of rotten meat; it was a rare moment of ease and comfort.
Song Liyun felt a heavy weight in her heart. She had met Lord Jiang, and although they hadn't exchanged many words or he hadn't made things difficult for her, she still felt that something was amiss.
Forget it, the important things have been resolved, we can deal with the future later. Even if the sky falls, we have a way to handle it.
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