Chapter 143 [Registering Household (Extended)]
This old man is really the prefect of Dan'er County!
Everyone was surprised, but who wouldn't go crazy at the thought of being exiled to such a place to be a county magistrate?
The exile team of more than 60 people was very conspicuous on this remote island. After arriving, the four people who were playing cards naturally noticed them quickly.
Seeing so many people, they rubbed their eyes in disbelief, huddled together, and asked fearfully, "Are we hallucinating?"
Lord Hu was surprised: "Are you human or ghost?"
"Why are there so many people at Cangsha Ferry?"
Wang Zifu stepped forward and handed Lord Hu the official document. "Sir, you are Lord Hu, the prefect of Dan'er County, right? My name is Wang Zifu, and I am the chief of the yamen runners escorting fugitives from the capital."
Lord Hu looked at Wang Zifu, then at the long line of exiled prisoners. His weathered eyes widened. "Ah, I remember now! It seems to be true."
"The Haizhou government sent me a pigeon message saying that some fugitives would be exiled here."
Then he muttered quietly, "But I didn't read the note carefully. I went to roast and eat the pigeon."
There are high mountains in the middle of Haizhou Island, and the altitude gradually decreases as it extends to the surrounding areas. This terrain makes communication between the north and south banks difficult by land.
However, this terrain also has its advantages. There are rivers originating from the mountains in the middle of the island, flowing from the mountains to various places and then into the sea. Therefore, the huge island of Haizhou Island is not short of fresh water resources.
The Haizhou government office was on the north bank, and messages and orders to Dan'er County on the south bank were delivered by carrier pigeons. It was a waste of manpower to go around Haizhou Island by water just to deliver a message.
Therefore, the Haizhou government office raised a group of pigeons to deliver messages.
Normally, after Dan'er County receives a message from a carrier pigeon, they would tie a reply to the pigeon's leg and send it back.
The Haizhou government office had not received a reply for several days, and the pigeon had not returned. They thought the pigeon was lost or hunted by the indigenous people in the mountains, so they sent another carrier pigeon.
This is how Lord Hu fleeced the government.
Jiang Lili shook her head when she heard that Lord Hu, the county magistrate, had actually fallen to the point of roasting carrier pigeons for food. It can be seen that Dan'er County is really too poor!
With so many people coming, there might be more pigeons to eat in the future. Thinking of this, Lord Hu smiled and waved to the people behind him: "Welcome, welcome. You are the first group of exiles to Dan'er County. I don't know how to deal with you..."
Hu Daren pondered for a moment, then immediately stopped thinking. No, I've been playing it badly for too long, my brain is going to explode. I can't use my brain any more!
He casually pointed in the direction of a distant village, looking as if he didn't want to bother with anything else: "We have two villages here, I can't remember what they are called, just pick the one you like and register your household registration."
"If you have nothing else to do, you can go to the village and ask about lodging and naturalization."
The convicts were afraid that the government offices in the place of exile would oppress them day and night and force them to work and open up wasteland. Seeing that Lord Hu was so lazy and didn't have to worry about anything, everyone felt relieved.
Before Lord Hu could take the document from Wang Zifu's hand, he reminded him, "Sir, this document..."
"Oh, oh, oh." Lord Hu slapped his forehead. He took the official document handed to him by Wang Zifu and said, "I will write you a receipt document from the county government. Please wait a moment."
After saying this, he turned to the young man on his right and said, "Xiao Wu, go get my writing brush, inkstone, paper, and inkstone."
The man called "Xiao Wu" came into the house and brought out the calligraphy.
Jiang Lili observed that the inkstone was just a pit on the stone, the brush handle had faded, and the bristles at the tip were split.
It’s so miserable.
However, this condition did not affect Mr. Hu's performance at all. He wrote furiously, and in just half a cup of tea, he had finished writing an official document of acceptance.
Jiang Lili discovered that although Lord Hu was lazy and unhurried in his work, the content of the document was concise and clear, and the handwriting was neat and easy to recognize.
Lord Hu handed the written acceptance document to Wang Zifu, and he casually placed the list that Wang Zifu handed over under the earthenware water cup.
He continued to make his roasted bat delicacy, took out a small earthenware jar that seemed to contain seasoning, and kept tapping the bottom of the jar.
Scattered powder fell out of the small jar.
Mr. Hu said with a bitter face: "Oh, the chili powder is out again. When will I be able to buy another can?"
He cursed, "Damn the imperial court! They only give out such a meager salary and supplies. Who are they going to send?"
Jiang Lili sighed that this state was just like her at work, where she had to scold dogs.
Yang Baoshan had not yet shaken off the cautious state of being an official in the capital, and upon hearing this, he quickly reflexively advised, "Master Hu, be careful with your words!"
"I see you were an official before, right? Now that you've been exiled, you're still serving as a servant of the imperial court?"
Speaking of the imperial court, Lord Hu was in high spirits: "I'll just curse! I'll just curse! Anyway, I can't be demoted any further!"
Jiang Lili saw that the County Magistrate seemed quite easygoing, even more relaxed at work than the neighborhood security guard. She couldn't help but ask, "Sir, is it really okay to eat this roasted bat?"
Lord Hu looked at Jiang Lili warily, thinking she was eyeing the roasted food in his hand. His body naturally went into food protection mode and he replied, "I've been demoted here for almost two years. The food here is poor, and there's not much to eat. I've eaten this many times and I'm still fine. Do you think there's any problem?"
He felt it was rather awkward for a group of people to gather around and watch him pick at the chili powder jar, so he quickly sent them away: "Alright, you can go now. I welcome you verbally, but I don't have any food or shelter here."
He pointed to the young man who was helping him run errands: "Xiao Wu, take them to Yeli Village or a nearby fishing village to discuss with the villagers how to resettle them!"
Xiao Wu was the most powerful of the three young yamen runners. Upon hearing this, he stood up and said to the prisoners, "Please follow me. I will take you to the village to settle down."
Seeing that Lord Hu was about to send people away, Jiang Lili left a message: "Lord Hu, if you need chili powder, you can come to me."
After saying that, she followed Xiao Wu away.
"Hey hey hey! Wait a minute!"
Upon hearing this, Lord Hu quickly stood up from the wooden stool. He stood up so quickly that he rubbed his aching knee and asked Jiang Lili with shining eyes, "Did you bring any chili powder? How much is it? I want some!"
"Sir, do you think silver is hard currency in this area?"
Jiang Lili answered Lord Hu without turning her head.
Lord Hu limped after him and asked, "What do you want? A house? My thatched hut is no longer big enough for anyone to live in. I can't just conjure one up for you!"
Jiang Lili waved her hand to signal Master Hu not to follow: "Wait for me to go to the village and take a look!"
I didn't expect that a small amount of chili powder could control Lord Hu. It seems that Lord Hu can't get used to the local food of Haizhou Island.
Both villages are not far from the county government office, about two miles away. The roads are all dirt roads, overgrown with weeds, and filled with the chirping of insects.
Xiao Wu ran into some fishermen returning from the coast. The fishermen were quite familiar with Xiao Wu, and when they saw that he had brought so many people with him, they were surprised and asked, "Xiao Wu, why did you bring so many people?"
The fishermen were extremely worried: "Has the Haizhou government sent another serious criminal to our place?"
The government would send prisoners whose crimes did not warrant the death penalty but who refused to change their ways despite repeated warnings and whose attitudes were bad and difficult to discipline to Dan'er, under the pretext of reclaiming wasteland, but in reality it was just to clean up the environment and pass the buck.
This huge group of people is almost as numerous as the entire population of their village. If so many criminals who refuse to change their ways are sent to Dan'er County, there will be no peace.
"These are prisoners exiled from the capital to Haizhou. I'm taking them to the village to register them. Most of the prisoners here were exiled for dereliction of duty, rebellion, or rebellious speech."
Seeing the fishermen panic, Xiao Wu hurried to explain.
The fishermen breathed a sigh of relief: "Oh, we don't care about the court struggles in the Great Sheng Dynasty. As long as we don't steal or rob, that's all."
They had no sense of belonging to Dasheng and also had complaints about the Haizhou government office.
"If anyone has a vacant room at home, they can rent it to these fugitives!"
Someone had already realized from Xiao Wu's words that these fugitives were former officials and their families, and immediately said, "I'm from a village near the fishermen's village. I have a side room at home, and I earn one tael of silver a month."
"I can sleep in a bed in my thatched hut, and it costs three hundred coins a month."
"If you want me to help you build a thatched bamboo house, the wages are 100 coins a day."
…
The fishermen knew that there was a shortage of supplies and shelter here and the convicts had no other choice but to follow them.
Many fugitives thought the price was too high, but since they hadn’t arrived yet, they decided to wait and see.
As they talked, they entered a nearby fishing village. The village had a salty smell of sea water and seafood. The houses were all thatched bamboo houses, and some were surrounded by bamboo. Chickens and ducks were raised in the courtyards, and some families even had cows, sheep and ponies.
Jiang Lili couldn't help but say, "One tael of silver a month for a room, isn't that too expensive?"
Ordinary people in the capital city rent a room for about 170 wen.
The fishermen were not happy to hear Jiang Lili's words and argued, "We are close to the fishing village. We have a good location and can go fishing. You can also dig clams and crabs for a snack!"
These words made the convicts in the team, who had ample belongings and had been bribed along the way, very excited.
The head of a nearby fishing village rushed over after hearing the news. Seeing many people looking hesitant, he said, "If you think it's too expensive, you can stay in Yeli Village! The roads in the village are lined with coconut trees. Be careful, you might get hit on the head by a coconut one day!"
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