Chapter 16: New Home

One day later, Yangmei Town.

This is a small town built in the mountains, with a three-mile plum forest next to it, hence the name.

Yangmei Town is also within Dayu County, but it is one of the poorer small towns in the county. There aren't any special products except for the yangmei fruit and yangmei wine produced here, and nothing else.

Even due to its location in the mountains, the grain production is scarce, unable to support many people. The entire town has only about a thousand people.

Such a small town does not attract much attention in the whole county.

Similarly, the Black Wolf Gang did not extend their reach here.

"This is a quiet and peaceful small town."

Lu Yuan arrived here and was very satisfied with the environment and atmosphere of the town located in the valley.

It took him a full day to investigate and finally decide on this new residence.

Because it's poor and sparsely populated, the Black Wolf Gang has not shown any interest. There are only a few small hooligans, if any.

Also because of its poverty, there aren't even any officials here, so there's no need to worry about encountering those petty officials.

The security of the town is maintained by a local militia formed spontaneously by the villagers. The number is small, only about a dozen people, managed by the town's mayor.

There are no Jianghu gangs, no corrupt officials, and all uncontrollable factors are kept at bay. This place is simply perfect.

"Who are you?"

The quiet town has always been self-sufficient and rarely had outsiders coming in. As a result, when they saw Lu Yuan at the entrance of the town, several militiamen soon surrounded him.

Their duty is to patrol for thieves and guard the village.

"Sir, I am a hunter from the mountains. I would like to request an audience with the mayor."

Seeing the vigilant militiamen, Lu Yuan revealed a slight smile and said with a hint of flattery.

...

A short while later.

"You want to settle in the town?"

The mayor of Yangmei Town, whose surname is Sun. Most of the townspeople share this surname. He has a slightly round body but looks affluent. At this moment, upon hearing the request from the hunter before him, his eyes lit up and he stared intently at Lu Yuan and said, "You don't have a household registration and you're a black household. This is a bit difficult."

Although his words expressed difficulty, Lu Yuan could understand the meaning by looking at the mayor's eyes.

Fortunately, Lu Yuan was prepared when he arrived. He took out two silver taels from his bosom and handed them over, saying, "Please, sir, be lenient and think of a solution."

Mayor Sun glanced at the silver handed over to him and took a sip of tea from the teacup beside him without speaking.

Seeing this, Lu Yuan felt bitter in his heart, knowing that he had met a greedy man.

Without satisfying the mayor's appetite, getting his household registration settled would be difficult!

He sighed, took out another tael of silver from his bosom, and said, "Sir, I was negligent just now and brought too little tea money."

After a long time.

With the newly acquired household register in hand, Lu Yuan quickly left the mayor's residence.

After he had gone some distance and saw that there were no people around, he cursed under his breath, "Damn, what kind of mayor? He's just a corrupt official, a skin-ripper.

Just to allow me to register and settle in, he charged me five silver taels. That's too much!"

For local officials, an increase in the population under their jurisdiction is their political achievement.

Lu Yuan took the initiative to come and request household registration. This was like sending political achievements to them on a silver platter.

Despite this, Mayor Sun still tried to exploit him. Five silver taels, that's really too much!

"I'll remember this loss. If there's an opportunity in the future, I'll definitely get it back. My money is not that easy to take."

After cursing a few times in his heart and drawing some small circles for Mayor Sun, Lu Yuan turned his head and went to a guesthouse in the town.

No matter how unhappy he felt, at least his household registration was done. But in order to have his registration truly implemented, he still needed to buy a house in the town and settle down completely.

Having no choice, Mayor Sun's exact words were: "You have no fixed residence. How will the court levy taxes on you? What if they can't find you? Without buying a house, you'd better go back to the mountains and be a wild man. At least then, no one would bother you, and you'd be at ease."

With the words reaching this point, for the sake of turning his household registration into reality, Lu Yuan had no choice but to spend a fortune and endure future exploitation.

Although the life of a hunter may be free, it is also very bitter. Living in mountain caves and surrounded by dangerous wild beasts and poisonous insects that threaten their lives.

When they leave the mountains, they suffer from the exploitation of gangs and the bullying of small officials. There is really no human rights, and they are simply being bullied.

Compared to that, being an ordinary citizen, although inevitably being taxed by the court every year, at least there is some security, and someone will take care of you when you die.

One option is not to be human, and the other is to be human.

If it were you, which would you choose?

The answer, of course, is to be human—even if it's the lowest type of person.

"Fortunately, I got Ma Jiqing's fortune. Even if I subtract the money for household registration, I still have more than thirty-eight silver taels."

Staying at the inn and ordering a room and some food, Lu Yuan thought while eating, "With so much money, even if I buy another house, the remaining savings would be enough to last me two or three years for food, daily expenses, and taxes."

This huge sum of money gave him the confidence to register his household.

The house purchase went smoothly.

It was just a matter of asking the innkeeper and hearing that he was new and intended to settle in the town. The innkeeper purposely introduced him to a residence.

There was a family in town whose son had become the owner of a liquor store in the county town and made a name for himself. They wanted to bring the old couple to the city to enjoy their blessings.

However, when the people left, the house was still there, unoccupied and going to waste.

As a result, they wanted to sell it.

The house had two bedrooms, one hall, one courtyard, one kitchen, and one side room, covering more than four hundred square meters.

Because it was in a rural town, and the original owner wanted to move to the county town and sell it urgently, the price was not expensive. It was sold for thirteen silver taels.

Later, Lu Yuan took out another two silver taels, buying furniture and items that were difficult for the homeowner to move. This saved him the trouble of acquiring them himself.

In this way, fifteen silver taels later, he finally owned his first real house in this world.

Although it's not big and still out in the countryside.

But compared to when he first crossed over—living in a cave, sleeping on the floor, and warming himself by the fire—having a house that provides shelter from the wind and rain and a warm bed to sleep in now makes life feel like heaven.

With an identity and a secure place to live.

Lu Yuan is very satisfied with his current life.

"However, even though I have my own house, sitting idly is not a solution. I can't give up my hunting skills, as it's the only means I have of making a living now.

Also, there are those smoked meat and hides I left in the mountains—that's also a great fortune.

In a few days, I'll ask around and see if the Black Wolf Gang people have left. I'll find a chance to go back and bring all of it back."

"It's a pity about the leopard I killed the day before yesterday. I didn't have time to handle it. I don't know if it rotted or if some wild beast got it for free."

Nighttime.

After cleaning the house all day and working up a sweat, Lu Yuan took a shower, laid out a cotton quilt, and comfortably laid down on the soft bed. He soon fell asleep, thinking about his plans.

Asleep in the safety of the town and in his own house, he felt at ease.