As the saying goes, good news stays close, while bad news travels a thousand miles.
The news that the Black and White Impermanence had appeared in Laobie Gouzi Village spread to several nearby villages in less than a day. Combined with all the things Tang Yuan had previously said about the underworld, the story became increasingly sensational and bizarre as it traveled.
People from neighboring villages who had relatives in Laobie Gouzi Village even came directly to ask whether the story was true.
As for Tang Yuan, she felt incredibly proud of herself.
With her own efforts, she had completely crushed Eighth Grandfather’s family—and even caused such a huge commotion.
The matter had been settled, but Tang Yuan couldn’t keep living at someone else’s house forever. It was inconvenient to do anything there, so she still needed a place of her own.
Thus, Tang Yuan took Yingzi around the village and wandered for half a day before finally finding a suitable place.
It was a stone house located at the edge of the village, close to the foot of the mountains.
The house itself was already there.
After checking the original owner’s memories, Tang Yuan learned that the stone house had once belonged to an old hunter.
One winter, the old hunter went into the mountains and never returned.
Everyone in the village knew that he had most likely been eaten by one of the large wild animals in the mountains.
As a result, the stone house had been vacant for more than ten years.
There was a reason no one had been willing to live there for so long.
First, it was far away. The nearest household in the village was two or three hundred meters away.
Second, it was very close to the mountains.
People had seen wild animals coming down from the mountains and wandering around near the stone house. Some had even spotted wolves nearby.
With wild animals occasionally appearing in the area, no one dared to live there, no matter how sturdy the house was.
But what other people were afraid of, Tang Yuan wasn’t.
Looking at the stone house in front of her, Tang Yuan thought it was perfect.
Although the roof had completely collapsed, the surrounding stone walls were still extremely solid.
She could simply hire someone to repair the roof. The interior was quite spacious and could be divided into two rooms. She could then build a small courtyard around it.
It would be more than enough for her to live there alone.
And if the house was properly maintained, it could easily stand for another eighty or a hundred years.
When she returned and told Grandfather and the others about her plan, they initially refused.
They were worried about a young girl living alone so far from the village.
In the end, Tang Yuan had no choice but to bring up her grandfather once again.
Only then did Grandfather and the others reluctantly agree.
Once everything was settled, Grandfather took Tang Yuan to see the village head the next day.
Although the original owner of the house had died long ago, Tang Yuan couldn’t simply move in whenever she wanted.
To obtain the proper deed, she had to go through the village authorities first. The village head would issue something similar to a certificate, after which they could go to the county government office to complete the property registration.
Ever since Emperor Wu ascended the throne, one of his first decrees had stipulated that women aged twelve and above could establish their own household registration.
Tang Yuan met the requirements.
So early that morning, Grandfather borrowed Old Ox Grandpa’s ox cart and took Tang Yuan and the village head into the city.
The ox cart swayed along the road.
By the time they reached the city, an hour had already passed.
There was a designated place near the city gate where ox carts and horse carriages could be left for safekeeping.
It cost five wen.
For ten wen, they would even provide food and water for the animals.
It was surprisingly considerate.
After leaving the ox cart there, the three of them first went to Second Granduncle’s bookstore.
Along the way, Tang Yuan looked around curiously.
The stone-paved road wasn’t particularly wide, but it was fairly smooth. The various shops lining both sides of the street looked almost exactly like the ancient streets she had seen in historical dramas in her previous life.
One- and two-story buildings were ordinary shops, while the larger two- or three-story buildings were restaurants.
The only difference was that everything looked more primitive and weathered.
Seeing how interested Tang Yuan was in the stone road, Grandfather explained,
“This road isn’t anything special. I’ve heard that in the capital, both the main roads and the small lanes are paved with cement.”
“The cement was developed by craftsmen working under the emperor. It’s sturdy and smooth to walk on. They say the prefectural city has these roads too.”
“As for cement, they sell it even here in our little town. But it’s ridiculously expensive. One bag costs more than a hundred wen. Mostly wealthy families can afford to use it. Ordinary people like us can’t afford such a thing.”
Tang Yuan raised an eyebrow.
So this Emperor fellow from my old world has invented this too.
After walking for quite some time, Grandfather finally said,
“We’re here.”
Tang Yuan looked up.
Facing south stood a magnificent three-story shop. It was almost as large as the grand restaurant they had just passed.
The large signboard above the entrance read:
Hao Hai Bookstore.
When the shop assistant heard that the visitors were relatives of the shopkeeper, he immediately went inside to deliver the message.
While waiting for Second Granduncle at the entrance, Tang Yuan couldn’t help looking around again.
The store was truly enormous.
It looked to be around 150 square meters, with rows upon rows of shelves filled with books organized by category.
At the very back was a wooden staircase leading to the second floor.
Tang Yuan glanced outside at the sunlight.
It was probably around eight or nine in the morning.
People were coming and going along the street, while quite a few scholars dressed in long robes were browsing the books inside.
If one ignored the old-fashioned appearance of the shop itself, the atmosphere was surprisingly similar to a modern library.
The entire bookstore carried a mixed scent of paper and ink.
Tang Yuan took a deep breath.
This is the smell of knowledge!
Then she suddenly turned her head and noticed a tall display rack near the entrance.
When she saw what was written on the stacks of paper displayed there, she was completely stunned.
Great Ming People’s Daily.
Great Ming Legal Gazette.
Literary Gazette.
Holy crap!
This emperor fellow from my original world is seriously incredible!
He’s even invented newspapers!
His brain must be ridiculously good!
Just then, Second Granduncle appeared.
He was wearing a gray long robe and was coming down from the second floor.
When he saw the three people from his hometown, he smiled and immediately led them to the back courtyard.
After hearing why they had come, Second Granduncle didn’t hesitate.
Getting the property transferred through the government was an important matter, and he needed to handle it personally.
The county office’s current clerk, Master Liu, had been acquainted with Second Granduncle for more than ten years.
If ordinary commoners went to the government office to handle their affairs, the matter would eventually be completed, but without spending some extra money, the clerks wouldn’t necessarily handle things efficiently.
Connections were a completely different matter.
Tang Yuan watched Grandfather sitting with Master Liu, drinking tea and chatting casually.
Then she looked at the clerk who was efficiently stamping her documents.
She couldn’t help sighing inwardly.
Whether in my previous life or this one, connections are everywhere.
Half an hour later, Tang Yuan was holding her freshly issued household registration, land deed, and property deed.
They were still warm from the freshly applied official red seals.
She looked at the documents and sighed.
From now on, I’m really going to put down roots here.
Since they had come all the way into the city, they naturally had to eat lunch here.
Tang Yuan wanted to treat them because Grandfather, Second Granduncle, and the village head had all been running around on her behalf. She was genuinely grateful to them.
But the moment she suggested buying them lunch, Second Granduncle interrupted her.
“You little girl, you’re barely old enough to be called a grown-up, and you’re already thinking about treating your elders to a meal?”
“Forget it. Keep your own money safe. Your Second Granduncle will pay for today’s meal.”
“If I let a little girl like you pay, wouldn’t that make me lose face? What would people say about me?”
With that, he led the way toward the street behind them.
Second Granduncle’s bookstore was located on the largest and busiest street in the city.
The street was filled with large restaurants, cloth shops, pharmacies, pawnshops, teahouses, cosmetics stores, jewelry shops, and other expensive establishments.
It was practically the economic center of the entire little city.
The street Second Granduncle was taking them to, however, was much more ordinary.
There were smaller restaurants, pastry shops, grocery stores, and various other everyday businesses.
Tang Yuan followed behind them, quietly taking everything in.
For the first time, she truly felt that she was beginning to establish a life of her own in this ancient world.