To go to the county town, you must first register with the village head.
Fortunately, Jiang Sanlang is now the village chief. He just needs to fill out the household registration pass for his family and then have the village head confirm and stamp it.
As the farm work has come to an end and the large ditch in the village is almost completed, Jiang Sanlang simply took his wife and children to the county town to stroll around and see their new home.
So Chunniang asked her elder and younger sisters-in-law to help look after the chickens, dogs and ducklings at home, and then she got on the carriage.
Yingbao also picked two baskets of apricots and peaches to give to Wu Daozi, and chatted with him about the specialties of Qinchuan County.
The horse-drawn carriage ran faster than the mule-drawn carriage. It set off before dawn, rested twice on the way, fed some hay and water, and drove into the county town gate in the afternoon.
Jiang Sanlang drove all the way to the door of his new home, jumped off the shaft of the car, picked up his three children, and then helped his wife get out of the car.
Yingbao looked up at the house in front of her.
There are a few bluestone slabs in front of the small courtyard gate, with horse posts on both sides of the gate. The mottled and dilapidated gate can still be seen to have been painted black.
Jiang Sanlang tied up the horse, took out the key, unlocked the door, and opened it to let his wife and children in. "This is our new home."
Chunniang lifted the hem of her skirt and stepped over the threshold.
There is no hidden wall inside the door, and in front of you is a large courtyard with a lotus pot in the middle.
Now there is no water or lotus in the lotus pot, only dried silt and weeds.
Jiang Jie and Jiang Wu followed their sister A Niang into the yard and looked around happily.
There are three main rooms with a wooden column eaves in front of the door, two side rooms on the east side and a flower garden on the west side.
There was not much furniture in the rooms, only some broken tables and chairs.
There was not even a pot on the stove in the kitchen on the east side. The cupboard against the wall was full of holes bitten by rats, and the cupboard was full of rat droppings.
Several jars and pots in the corner were all broken and covered with dust. There was only one large water tank in the entire kitchen that was still usable.
It seems that I need to tidy up the house before moving in and buy a lot of household items.
Yingbao looked around and didn't see the well, so she couldn't help but sigh.
I don't know if there are any public wells nearby, or if it's close to a river it would be fine.
There are one or two wells in the main streets and alleys of the county town to provide residents with convenient water supply.
But there is no water in remote areas. People have to fetch water from a distant river or draw water from a shallow earthen well.
The water in the earthen well is definitely not as clean as the water in the deep well, and it will dry up in case of drought.
"Dad, is there a river near our house?" Yingbao asked.
Jiang Sanlang: "There is a river. I went to see it. The water is quite clear."
The river water here is naturally not as clear as that in Sichuan, but it is fine for washing clothes and vegetables.
The only drawback is that getting water is difficult as you have to fetch it from a shared well.
"Why don't we dig a well so that we can get water conveniently in the future," Yingbao suggested.
Jiang Sanlang nodded and said, "Let's talk about it later."
It would cost nearly a hundred taels of silver to dig a deep well, but he didn't have the money at the moment, so he could only wait until this batch of golden ears was sold before asking someone to take a look.
After seeing the new house, Jiang Sanlang took Yingbao to the county government office to pay a visit to the county magistrate Wu Shi, while Chunniang took Jiang Jie and Jiang Wu to clean the house.
The situation in front of the county government office was still the same, without any change; even the two guards at the gate were the same people as before.
"Oh, you bring Xingzi to see our master again!" The bailiff recognized the little kid in front of him and teased him with a smile.
Ying Bao raised her head and smiled, "Yes, please let the uncle know." Then she took down two baskets from the carriage, which were filled with ripe apricots and peaches. "These are grown at home, and I brought them for you two uncles to taste."
The two yamen runners smiled and quickly took over: "Oh, how can I be so embarrassed? Thank you, Xiaoyingbao. I will pass the message to you right away."
A yamen runner ran happily to the inner courtyard of the yamen.
Another yamen runner chatted with Yingbao with a smile: "Your peaches are really early. It's only a few months now, and they are already ripe."
Yingbao nodded: "Yes, the fruit trees in our area ripen early. In a few days, the pears and grapes will also be grown. If I come to the county again, I will bring some for uncle to taste."
The yamen runner laughed so hard that his mouth couldn't close. "Thank you very much, Xiaoyingbao. If you need your uncle in the future, just let me know. I won't say anything else. There is no one in this county who doesn't know me, Jin Wu."
Yingbao bowed to Jin Wuxing earnestly, "With Uncle Jin's words, I am not afraid of being bullied by bad guys."
Jin Wu laughed and said, "Yes, yes. If you encounter those ignorant people in the county, just tell me. Although your uncle Jin has no other skills, it's no problem for him to deal with a few street thugs."
Yingbao was waiting for these words and quickly expressed her gratitude.
He then pulled his father over and introduced him: "Dad, this is Uncle Jinwu. Uncle Jin, this is my father Jiang Sanlang, he is the village chief of our village."
Jiang Sanlang and Jin Wu saluted each other and then started chatting.
At this time, the bailiff Cheng San brought Wu Rui out from the inner courtyard.
Yingbao saw it and ran over immediately, "Uncle Wu! I'd like to come and see Uncle Wu. Is that convenient?"
Wu Rui smiled and said, "I am here to take you in."
Jiang Sanlang hurried over to greet him.
So Wu Rui and Jiang Sanlang each carried a basket of peaches and apricots to the inner courtyard.
Yingbao followed the two of them and skipped inside.
Wu Rui led the two men to the backyard, where he saw two people in blue robes sitting under the wisteria trellis.
One was an old man with white hair and a long beard, about sixty years old, and the other was the county magistrate Wu Shi.
"Uncle Wu!" Yingbao ran over happily and saluted Wu Shi seriously: "Uncle Wu, how are you?"
Wu Shi laughed, "Your Uncle Wu is doing very well, thank you Xiaoyingbao for your concern."
He turned around and introduced the old man next to him: "This is my father. Today he also wants to see the young doctor who treated me."
Yingbao quickly bowed to the white-haired old man again: "Hello, Grandpa Wu."
Old Master Wu stroked his white beard and smiled, "Good, this child is indeed smart."
He turned to Jiang Sanlang who was standing outside and said, "This must be Jiang Cunzheng, come and sit down."
Jiang Sanlang then walked under the wisteria trellis, clasped his fists towards Ming Fu and Ming Fu's father, and sat down stiffly at the side.
Wu Rui brought the teacup, poured a cup of tea for Jiang Sanlang and Ying Bao respectively, and then left.
Wu Daozi asked: "Jiang Cunzheng, have you planted all the cotton in your village?"
Jiang Sanlang quickly stood up and replied, "Return to the Ming Mansion. They have all been planted."
"Sit down and talk." Wu Shi picked up the teacup and took a sip. "Did you suffer any damage during the last bandit attack?"
Jiang Sanlang sat down as he was told, straightened his back and replied, "Of course there was some damage. Most of the houses in our village were destroyed, and several people were injured. Fortunately, no one died."
Wu Daozi nodded and said, "I also heard from people down below that you even moved your village to live on the hillside."
"Yes." Jiang Sanlang said, "There are only a few good houses in the village. It is not cost-effective to rebuild on the original site. The fields on the south slope do not produce food, so..."
Wu Shi: "I understand."
After thinking for a while, he asked, "Do you have any difficulties with summer poetry this year?"
"There will definitely be difficulties when we return to the Ming Mansion, but what else can we do?" Jiang Sanlang said with a miserable face, "No matter how poor or difficult it is, we have to live on."
Wu Shi paused while holding the tea.
The villagers complained to him, but he was speechless.