Chapter 268: Chapter 268: Tian Village 2
Once the location was selected, they first measured eight acres of wasteland at the foot of the mountain. Since the regulations required each person to cultivate two acres each year, Xu Shuanghong and her two daughters were not among the exiles. With their current household registration, there were exactly eight people. As for the additional eight acres of wasteland, they would have to move toward the mountain for unified measurement later.
"Are we really going to settle here?" Liu Yun stood on the future foundation, her feet on rubble. To really build a house on this would be a major project.
Clearing out these stones and laying adobe bricks would take them a year of hard work, and even then, they might not finish the house.
"How can we live here?" Xu Yulan couldn’t comprehend, as even sleeping on the ground like before, the stones would still be uncomfortable.
"Let’s clear it first. Tomorrow, the eldest and second will go to the city to see if they can hire a construction team to build a house." Gu Baijiang didn’t expect them to have the ability to build the house.
"That’s a good idea," Xu Yulan’s eyes lit up. "But if we want a three-courtyard house, this place seems too small."
"What are you thinking? At most, we can only build four rooms here," Gu Kaichen shattered his illusion. "As long as it can shelter us from the wind and rain, don’t give wild commands."
Who wouldn’t want a big courtyard? But in this godforsaken place, spending too much silver was unnecessary. If only there was more silver on Dad’s hands, he would have bribed the County Magistrate to let the family stay in the city, better than this remote place.
"Just four rooms for so many of us?"
"How else can we live? Of course, we’ll have to squeeze in," Gu Kaiping already started drawing on the ground with a stick. "The rooms can’t be big, just enough for a bed and a cabinet will be good."
Gu Antong calculated silently. Grandfather, parents, and Second Uncle needed three rooms. Would she, her two younger brothers, and Ms. Xu and her daughters all squeeze into the fourth room?
"Include a kitchen," Gu Baijiang looked at him drawing seriously and pointed to a small empty corner. "Clear this area, and there can be a kitchen."
"Grandfather, just three rooms aren’t enough," Gu Antong had enough of everyone crowded into a small space and didn’t want to go through it again.
More importantly, Liu Yun seemed to be getting more allergic, her body almost covered with red rashes.
And since she was getting older, living with her parents felt inappropriate.
Previously on the road to exile, everyone managed, with no fuss. But now, settling down meant she couldn’t share a room with her parents and brothers. What about her reputation?
"With such a small space, you can’t even squeeze more rooms out of it. Should we find another place?" Liu Yun joined in. "With such a big family, three rooms aren’t enough no matter how you divide."
When it concerned personal interests, everyone agreed. After finally arriving here, who wouldn’t want a better life, eating better food, and living more comfortably, which isn’t too much to ask?
Gu Baijiang, "Go and ask the village head how much land each household can have.
This place was chosen because no one wanted it. Otherwise, the foundation area would have been smaller."
"Can’t we buy it?" Xu Yulan looked around dissatisfied. The surroundings were still farmland, and the damn peasants had probably poured something foul over them.
"Buy?" Gu Baijiang sneered. "With our current status, do we have the right to purchase land?"
Forget about buying land; they still needed to cultivate a fixed amount of land each year. Failure to do so would incur the government’s accountability.
The first two years were tax-free, but after that, more than half of the harvest would belong to the government. And they couldn’t get land deeds for these fields; everything belonged to the government.
Everyone understood the reasons, so why say such foolish things at this time?
Silence fell over the scene, and the initial excitement of arriving had vanished.
"Come on, don’t waste time here, let’s quickly set up a shelter for tonight." Though the climate in Lingnan was mild, it could freeze people to death at night.
Whether they liked it or not, everyone started working.
Luckily, the journey had prepared them, and soon they used oilcloth to set up a shelter that protected from wind and rain.
No one noticed that not far from them, Chen Dafu and Zhou Gang’s families had settled down.
Zhou Gang, seeing Chen Dafu claim such a large piece of land, was envious. "Mr. Chen, how did you manage to get such a large piece? How much did you bribe the village head?"
Chen Dafu glanced at him. "Mr. Zhou, we followed the rules and didn’t give any bribes."
"Then how did you..."
"Of course, we divided the land among my seven sons, so naturally, it looks big."
Zhou Gang saw his sons lined up behind him, pursed his lips. Indeed, with so many people, he wouldn’t have even managed a place to lie down.
"Mr. Chen, you’re truly cunning, having anticipated all this. With your seven sons and your land, you could build a whole mansion."
Chen Dafu, not picking up on the sarcasm, laughed and said, "I had no choice. With so many sons, it’s exhausting to have everyone eating from the same pot.
Dreaming of a big mansion is unrealistic, but at least everyone can live a bit more comfortably.
Too bad your sons are still young, otherwise, you could do the same."
Faced with the gaze of so many strong men, Zhou Gang felt intimidated, but thinking of what lay ahead, he thickened his skin and spoke, "Mr. Chen, can we have a word in private?"
Chen Dafu looked at him and instructed his sons to hurry and tidy up the area. Then he followed Zhou Gang, hands behind his back, "Let’s go take a look at the brook."
When no one was around, Zhou Gang asked, "Mr. Chen, you chose this place with much thought. Who’s backing you?"
Chen Dafu looked at him in surprise, wondering what this old man wanted to ask. Unexpectedly, it was this puzzling question.
"I don’t know what you’re talking about, Mr. Zhou, please clarify."
"Don’t play dumb with me, Mr. Chen. You’ve been watching Gu Baijiang this entire time. Our goals are the same."
Chen Dafu, "You’re slandering me, Mr. Zhou. When have I ever focused on Gu Baijiang? We just happened to be in the same exile group.
I don’t have many hobbies, but I like watching the excitement. The Gu Family always had something going on, so staying behind them was at least entertaining.
But since you’re asking, do you have different motives? Do you have a grudge against Mr. Gu, or..."
