“Well, Xie Yuan is actually quite a good catch. If only he didn’t come with two burdens…” the woman beside Fang Shi sighed.
Xie Yuan was handsome and educated. Under normal circumstances, many women would have fought to marry such a son-in-law.
But now that the new dynasty had only just been established, no one knew whether the imperial examinations would resume on schedule. No one even knew if scholars would still be able to continue their studies or whether academies still existed.
Who knew how many years it would take before Xie Yuan rose to prominence?
For poor families, the imperial examination was the only path toward changing one’s fate.
Yet that path was unimaginably distant.
Talent alone was not enough. The cost was enough to frighten ordinary people away. A farming family could exhaust their entire household supporting one scholar, only for all their efforts to amount to nothing in the end.
Taking everything into account, Xie Yuan was not truly considered an ideal son-in-law.
The four members of the Xie family knew nothing about these discussions. They were busy digging up yams with all their effort.
Even Xie Yuan had not expected the yam harvest to be so abundant.
Beneath a single vine grew two yams as thick as a baby’s arm. If they managed to dig them all up, they might not lack food even through the coming winter.
It was truly wonderful news.
After tasting the yam, no one dared slack off anymore.
With proper tools, the digging became much faster.
Xie Yuan dug at the front while Zhou Xing and the two children followed behind, shaking off dirt and placing the yams into baskets.
Before long, the three baskets they had brought were completely full.
“Husband, the baskets are full,” Zhou Xing said awkwardly.
That was the correct form of address, right? Otherwise, what should she call him? Xie Yuan? A’Yuan?
Xie Yuan was clearly startled as well, though he recovered quickly.
“I’ll carry these back first. You all stay here and wait,” he said before lifting the baskets, already covered with wild vegetables, and quickly heading down the mountain.
Fortunately, the Xie house was located at the foot of the mountain, so the round trip only took about half an hour.
“You two come rest for a bit as well.” Zhou Xing called the children over to sit down. “I’ll look around ahead to see if there’s anything edible. You two must not move around.”
“Alright, Auntie, don’t go too deep into the mountains,” Xiao Zong warned.
Further ahead was the deep mountain region, where only village hunters dared venture. By now, the brothers already considered Zhou Xing one of their own.
“Auntie knows her limits. I won’t go far. If there’s nothing to find, I’ll come right back. You two shouldn’t wander around either,” Zhou Xing instructed them.
She had already observed the surroundings carefully. Many villagers had once gathered wild vegetables in this area before moving elsewhere after the plants were exhausted. It was not too remote or dangerous. Otherwise, she would never have dared leave the two children there alone.
The children were obedient. After resting briefly, they prepared to continue working.
Zhou Xing walked farther ahead toward a small valley below.
Relying on memories from her childhood, she carefully searched for edible plants and surprisingly discovered quite a few useful things.
Across the valley was a slope filled with jelly fig trees and another patch of oak trees.
In the summer, they could make grass jelly.
In winter, acorns could be ground into acorn tofu.
Weren’t those all food sources?
After picking some wild berries, she hurried back. Xie Yuan had not returned yet, and the two children were already hard at work again.
Zhou Xing felt both gratified and helpless.
The three of them ate some raspberries, finally putting something into their stomachs.
She deliberately saved the remaining handful for Xie Yuan.
People here only ate two meals a day, something Zhou Xing still could not get used to.
Once they had money, she swore they would eat three meals a day and be full every meal.
Her wish was truly that simple.
When Xie Yuan returned and saw the berries they had saved for him, he did not refuse. He was genuinely hungry.
At this rate, it would take at least three more days to finish digging up all the yams.
Although it was exhausting, having work to do meant they would not starve. That feeling alone brought peace of mind.
Dinner was simple steamed yam. Even so, the children ate enthusiastically, repeatedly saying that yam tasted even better than steamed buns.
Zhou Xing smiled. “Yam can also be cooked with pork ribs and turned into pastries. It has many uses. Later, Auntie will make those dishes for you.”
The children happily laughed. Although they had no idea what those foods were, they were certain they must taste wonderful.
Ever since Auntie arrived, life in the household suddenly felt hopeful again. Their uncle truly had not abandoned them after taking a wife, unlike what others had said.
Their Auntie was the most caring person in the world.
Late at night, just as Zhou Xing drifted into sleep, she suddenly heard movement outside and abruptly opened her eyes.
She saw Xie Yuan also turning toward her, asking with concern, “What’s wrong?”
After listening carefully, he reassured her, “It’s alright. Just an owl.”
Zhou Xing also realized it was the sound of an owl and cautiously said, “Our yard has no fencing at all. It never feels safe. Should we build a courtyard wall later?”
She had no idea how much it would cost. She only felt this family truly had no money left.
“Alright.” Xie Yuan had been thinking the same thing. “Next month, we’ll see if there’s a suitable craftsman.”
“We actually have enough money for that?” Zhou Xing had not expected him to agree so readily.
Xie Yuan smiled. “Don’t worry. I’ll solve the money problem.” After pausing, he added, “In one month, I’ll make a trip into the mountains. Once I return, we’ll have money.”
He had no intention of hiding it from Zhou Xing. Judging by her actions these past few days, she genuinely treated his nephews well. Since they were already married, he also needed to fulfill his responsibilities as a husband.
“But the house is already out of oil, salt, soy sauce, and vinegar. We also need a large tub for bathing, spring clothes for the children, though their straw sandals can still last a while. We don’t have enough farming tools either. Oh right, using only clay pots for cooking every day isn’t practical. Shouldn’t we buy an iron pot too?” As Zhou Xing listed everything one by one, it became obvious that calling the family destitute was not an exaggeration at all.
Xie Yuan suddenly felt a headache coming on. He had not expected her demands to be so ambitious.
“Enough, hurry to sleep. We’ll have to slowly acquire these things over time. By the way, in a few days the county office will distribute farmland. We all need to register with the clerks then.”
“Is the land distributed according to household population? Then what about taxes afterward?” Zhou Xing asked.
Usually, when a new dynasty was first established and farmland was newly distributed, taxes were waived for the first two years.
After all, newly reclaimed land required time to recover. What family started out with perfectly fertile fields?
“There won’t be taxes for the first two years. Even grain seeds can be borrowed from the county office and repaid after the harvest,” Xie Yuan explained.
One reason he had married Zhou Xing at this time was also related to the land distribution.
Land was allocated according to population. An adult woman received three mu of land, while each adult man received four mu.
The Xie family consisted of three males and one woman, meaning they could receive a total of fifteen mu of land.
According to the allocation system, they would receive five mu each of high-grade, middle-grade, and low-grade farmland. If managed properly, it would be enough to support the family of four.
In Xie Yuan’s memory, Yongping Township would suffer a terrible snowstorm and cold wave that coming winter. Many people would die, severely damaging the strength of the newly settled villagers.
Over the following decade, bandits would become rampant as well.
Yongping Township would become an unstable and dangerous place until the governors of two prefectures eventually joined forces to suppress the bandits and restore peace.