bullyxtreme Chapter 79 The Hunter's Daughter in a Fictional World (Part 4)
Chapter 79 The Hunter's Daughter in a Fictional World (Part 4)
Ignoring the children playing around, Liu Yuxi asked her grandmother, "Did your uncle go to the fields?" "Yes, your grandfather and the others are in the fields!" Her grandmother's family owned thirty mu of land: ten mu of high-quality land, fifteen mu of medium-quality land, and five mu of low-quality land. In the past two years, after the children grew up, they had also reclaimed five mu of wasteland.
Wangjia Village was settled by people who fled during the dynastic change. They were all from the same family, and after settling down, they cultivated their own land. After the new dynasty was established, the court issued land deeds to them. Many who had cultivated less land regretted it. Later, the court implemented a policy: newly cultivated land was exempt from taxes for three years, then taxed as first-class land for three years, and then as medium-class land for five years. After that, you could apply to the government office for a land rating. If it was rated as top-class, you would pay taxes as top-class land, and if you wanted to sell the land, the price would also be calculated based on the price of top-class land. If you didn't get a rating, you would continue to pay taxes as medium-class land.
Although policies had become more lenient for farmers since the establishment of the new dynasty, and even those who went out to perform corvée labor received silver, the number of able-bodied people in a family was limited, so the land that could be cultivated was also limited. Besides Daqingshan Mountain, there were only a few small hills near Wangjia Village. During the war, the Wang clan hid in Daqingshan Mountain, and after the war subsided, they came down from the mountain to cultivate the land here.
In other words, they got in early. Later, when people came here, if they were single-family households and had good character, they were accepted. But if a whole clan came, the Wang clan leader at the time would lead the villagers to persuade them to leave. If they couldn't be persuaded, they would resort to force. With the establishment of the new dynasty, people could settle anywhere. If there were people here, they could just move to another place. There was no reason for them to lose their lives here after surviving the war.
Therefore, when the imperial court came to conduct a general survey, the area of Wangjia Village was set very large, covering the entire area from the official road to Daqingshan. At that time, Wangjia Village had just settled down and had a relatively small population. It has gradually become the large village it is today after decades of development.
Liu Yuxi's maternal grandmother's family was only of average means in the village. After all, their circumstances were different when they fled the disaster, so their starting points were also different. A few families in the village sent their children to private schools in the county, but so far only one person has passed the county-level imperial examination and two have passed the preliminary examination. No one has yet passed the provincial-level imperial examination.
She sent Wang Zhi to the fields to call his father back, and chatted with her grandmother. When her uncle returned with Wang Gui, Liu Yuxi said to him, "Uncle, could you borrow an oxcart from the village head and come with me to the county? I've harvested two big things, and I need to sell them quickly. It's getting hot, and they won't be fresh anymore. I'll go straight home and wait for you!" "Okay, I'll change my clothes and go!" her uncle said as he went back into the house.
I told my grandma, put the little one on the bed, and went home without waiting for him to cry.
Seeing her uncle arrive in the oxcart, she moved the old bear and the stag from her spatial dimension to inside the courtyard gate. After her uncle parked the cart, she moved the old bear and the stag onto the cart.
Her uncle was startled when he saw the bear and quickly asked, "Are you hurt?" "No, I'm fine. I shot the arrow from the tree, Uncle, don't worry." "Then you have to be careful when you go into the mountains in the future. This bear is no joke. If you encounter one, run away as fast as you can. Don't be greedy for this money." "I know, Uncle. I still have Yu'an to take care of. I'll be careful." "It's good that you know what's going on!"
As they talked, they walked toward the main road outside the village. Once they reached the main road, they both got onto the oxcart. Of course, this only happened on flat ground and downhill. When going uphill, they got off and pushed the cart, not wanting to tire the old ox out. Even though it wasn't their own ox, they still had to take care of it.
On the way, I told my uncle that I wanted to buy a cow. My uncle was very excited. What farmer wouldn't want to buy a cow? But with so many people to feed, we really couldn't spare the ten or twenty taels of silver to buy one. While telling Liu Yuxi where the livestock market in the county was, my uncle said, "Once we have a cow and the family can manage, we'll also clear out five mu of land for your family. Then you won't have to go up the mountain so often. It's dangerous up there. In a few years, we'll find you a family. We'll take care of Yu'an, so don't worry!"
Liu Yuxi echoed her uncle's sentiments, saying there were still a few years to go, and there was no need to discuss or argue about the future now, which would only cause premature anxiety. She should tell her family about her situation when she was closer to the end of her mourning period.
Upon reaching the county town, the roadside pharmacies, seeing the bear and stag on the oxcart, all came over to inquire about the price. Liu Yuxi chatted with each of them, also asking about the purchase prices of other medicinal herbs. He didn't give a definitive answer, only saying he'd first ask Master Qian; if Master Qian didn't want them, he'd come back to the pharmacies. Hearing Master Qian's name, everyone offered their highest price and returned to their shops. After all, they all knew Master Qian was the richest man in the county and a generous person; if Master Qian took a liking to them, the price he offered would definitely be higher than theirs.
Master Qian was a celebrity in the county, not only because he was wealthy, but also because his cousin held a high-ranking official position in the capital, a second-rank official. Although he was a commoner, the county magistrate treated him with great respect. Master Qian had an excellent reputation; he never bullied the villagers. He sent his eldest son to study under his cousin in the capital, and he was strict with his concubines and servants, fearing they might hold his cousins back. He was a relatively harmonious and generous wealthy man. Therefore, whenever the people of the county encountered something rare, they would first go to the Qian residence to ask if they wanted it.
They drove to the main gate of the Qian residence and asked the gatekeeper to go inside and inquire whether Master Qian wanted bears and deer. They waited outside for a reply. Soon, the gatekeeper came over with the steward. The steward led Liu Yuxi and her uncle into the courtyard through the small gate used for procurement. There they saw Master Qian waiting. Master Qian was in his thirties, a little plump, with a gentle face. If you didn't see his attire, you wouldn't know that he was one of the most important people in the county.
Master Qian circled the carriage for a moment, then instructed his steward to fetch 200 taels of silver notes. He also gave Wang Dahe two ten-tael silver ingots. Wang Dahe accepted the silver and notes, handed them to Liu Yuxi, thanked Master Qian, and then left the Qian residence with Liu Yuxi and the steward. As they left, the steward said to them, "If you hunt anything rare in the future, send it over. If our master takes a liking to it, you won't be shortchanged." The two naturally agreed.
After walking a few dozen meters, Wang Dahe seemed to just realize what had happened and asked in a low voice, "Xiaoxi, did you sell it for 220 taels of silver?" "Yes, Uncle." "My goodness, that much?" Seeing his uncle's shocked expression, Liu Yuxi smiled and said, "Those rich people are all rich, and our county's Master Qian is very generous, so he gave more. You see, the pharmacy couldn't give this much." "Master Qian is really generous, Xiaoxi. If you hunt anything good again, just send it to Master Qian's residence." "I know, Uncle. Let's go buy cattle now!" "Okay, get in the carriage! Let's go now." Sure enough, once buying cattle was mentioned, his uncle couldn't care less about anything else.