Chapter 125
Chapter 125
Once everyone had arrived, they stood in orderly formation in the valley square according to the squads previously assigned to them.
Xiao Che stood on the raised platform, looking solemnly over the sea of heads below.
Allocating land could easily cause disputes and was a troublesome matter. Fortunately, he had Xiao Jingmo, his strategist, to help.
Although the land allocation had been postponed until now, Xiao Jingmo had long since completed the preliminary work.
A month earlier, he had personally led people in measuring every tract of arable land in the valley and had even drawn a geomantic survey map.
The map clearly marked each plot’s location, size, soil quality, exposure to sunlight or shade, and distance from the stream.
Xiao Che glanced at the survey map in his hands, closed it, and then began. “The Awakening of Insects has just passed, making this the perfect time for farming. Last night, I discussed the matter with Mr. Xu and Xiao Jingmo.
“Our valley now has just over two thousand people and more than three thousand mu of farmland. By rights, it should be divided equally at one and a half mu per person.
“However, the valley includes elderly people, children, the injured, sick, and disabled, as well as widows. They cannot receive land on the same basis as able-bodied adults, or the farming season may be delayed. I trust you can understand that.
“The Northern Frontier is a living example. It has vast lands and few people, and the authorities once divided the wasteland outside Bei’an City equally, reportedly allotting it by headcount. And what happened?
“Families with more able-bodied workers benefited, while the elderly, weak, sick, and disabled could not cultivate their plots. In the end, the fields lay abandoned and the people still starved to death.
“The valley also has physicians, teachers, craftsmen, and guards. They certainly will not be farming, but the valley cannot function without them.
“As the old saying goes, people follow the land, and the land follows the people. The division of this land concerns the lifelong livelihood of most people here. If handled poorly, it will lead to endless disputes.
“Therefore, we have devised another method. We will establish public fields to be cultivated by able-bodied adults in rotation. Any household assigned to work the public fields that year may pay ten percent less tax, but the yield of those fields must not fall below the average.
“The produce from the public fields will support the elderly, weak, sick, and disabled in the valley.
“No tax will be levied on the public fields, and any surplus grain will be stored in the granary for emergencies.
“The physicians, craftsmen, teachers, and guards will all be supported by taxes. After setting aside the public fields and excluding those people, the remaining land will be divided equally among the rest of the population. Xiao Jingmo will now read out the results of our calculations. The land belongs to all of you, so you have the right to know how it will be divided.”
When Xiao Che finished, he stepped aside. Xiao Jingmo walked forward holding a register.
He reviewed this register every day.
That was because the valley’s population structure changed daily.
Since the refugees entered the valley, many people had formed new families.
The valley also encouraged everyone to marry and establish households, even offering newlyweds a generous gift package.
By now, nearly every woman in the valley over sixteen was married.
Unfortunately, there were twice as many men as women, so a large number of men still remained single.
Xiao Jingmo swept his gaze over the crowd.
More than two thousand people had gathered, yet at this moment the area below was utterly silent.
Everyone able to move had come. Some leaned on crutches, some carried children on their backs, and others supported the elderly.
Golden sunlight spilled into the valley and illuminated their expectant yet anxious faces.
Pei Wanqing stood to one side of the raised platform with Jin Bao in her arms.
Jin Bao wrapped her small arms around Pei Wanqing’s neck, her two large eyes darting about as she surveyed the dense crowd below.
This was the first time Jin Bao had seen everyone in the valley gathered together, and she felt inexplicably excited.
At that moment, Xiao Jingmo opened the register in his hands.
He took a deep breath and spoke in a ringing voice.
“Residents of the valley and village, I will now announce the population figures for Black Pine Valley and New Life Village.
“We currently have 2,131 people in 443 households, along with 3,660 mu of arable land.
“After discussion, we have decided to allocate this land in three ways.
“First, subsistence fields. Every household will receive three mu of subsistence fields regardless of how many people it contains.
“Second, individual-share fields. These will be allocated according to the number of workers in each household. Based on my records, every healthy person older than thirteen and younger than fifty will receive two mu of individual-share fields.
“Third, public fields. Five hundred mu will be reserved as public fields, and all revenue from them will be managed by the valley. Eligible households will collect a monthly allotment based on population registration. I will post the list on the notice board later for everyone to check.”
After finishing, Xiao Jingmo stepped aside.
The crowd below immediately erupted.
“There are five people in my family, but I’m the only one who can farm. With the subsistence fields and individual-share fields, we’ll receive five mu. The Valley Master said the valley can grow two crops a year, so that’s equivalent to the ten mu we used to have. We only pay forty percent tax, and if it’s our turn to cultivate the public fields, we’ll pay ten percent less. Our family will never go hungry again.”
“My family received fifteen mu! I never imagined I would own fifteen mu of land one day. My ancestors survived by farming rented fields, but now I have land of my own. May our ancestors bless us! The Valley Master is truly righteous.”
As Xiao Che looked at the flushed, excited faces below, the corners of his mouth rose despite himself.
Some elderly and disabled people even dropped to their knees and kowtowed to Xiao Che.
They had thought they would die in the snow disaster. Never had they dreamed that someone would now support them in old age without requiring them to farm.
Once the crowd gradually calmed, it was time for the most crucial step: formally allocating the plots.
Which plot belonged to whom was what everyone cared about most.
The three thousand mu included poor and fertile soil, near and distant plots, sunny land and shaded land.
No one wanted a poor plot, but someone had to cultivate the inferior land.
To ensure fairness, Xiao Jingmo had long ago prepared lots for everyone to draw.
Xiao Jingmo glanced at Xiao Che and gave him a slight nod.
Xiao Che unfurled the geomantic survey map in his hands.
Ye Qi and Ye Ba immediately carried up a frame and hung the map from it.
Then Xiao Jinghao led several people carrying dozens of bamboo tubes onto the platform.
Each tube contained prepared bamboo slips engraved with numbers.
Xiao Jingmo stood beside the bamboo tubes and reopened the register in his hands.
“Next, we will draw lots. The plot you draw is entirely up to fate. Once selected, that plot will be yours, and you must not exchange it privately. I will now begin calling names.
“We have 443 households divided into eleven groups, with forty households in each group. Proceed in order and do not fight over the lots, or you will lose your qualification to receive land.”
The crowd, which had been murmuring moments before, instantly fell silent. Everyone stared excitedly at the bamboo tubes on the platform, rubbing their hands together in hopes of drawing a fine plot.