Chapter Sixty: Household Registration (2)

Qin Zhen: “?”

Are these people insane? This is clearly unreasonable, yet they’re here making a scene for no reason.

If they thought the wages were too low, they shouldn’t have taken the job in the first place. I, Qin Zhen, never forced them!

Now the work is done, and they’re shouting for more money?

They even threaten to take it to the county office for justice?

Don’t they know everyone at the county office is on my side?

“Pay them what they’re owed and send them packing.” Qin Zhen was done wasting words on these ruffians. He turned to Li Han and instructed, “From now on, don’t just bring in anyone from outside. We don’t lack workers now, understand?”

Li Han had already had enough of Wang Yuan.

With Qin Zhen’s signal, he immediately led his men forward.

“What, you want to start a fight? Let me tell you, our Wangjia Village isn’t so easy to mess with!” Wang Yuan blustered, trying to sound tough.

Li Han opened the money pouch, took out half, then tossed the other half at Wang Yuan.

“Get lost!”

“Why are you stealing our wages?” Wang Yuan shouted in anger.

“You injured people here and don’t want to pay for their treatment?” Li Han sneered. “It’s only because young master Zhen is kind-hearted. If it were up to me, you wouldn’t see a single coin if you caused trouble!” With that, he pulled out a club and pointed it straight at Wang Yuan’s forehead. “Get out now! If you keep hanging around being an eyesore, don’t blame me if you end up dead!”

All around, dozens of the village guard squad looked menacing, some with knives, others with crossbows, ready to strike at the slightest provocation.

Wang Yuan might be burly, but he wasn’t stupid.

He snatched up the money, glared furiously at Li Han, spat out a threat, and led his men away without looking back.

“You just wait!”

“Oh, I’m so scared!” Li Han yelled after them.

Anyone can talk tough.

Once they’d left the fishing village, the Wangjia Village men were all boiling with indignation.

“That damned Qin Zhen. He makes a fortune selling fish every day but pays us hardly anything. He’s taking advantage of us!”

“Exactly! We fish the same seas, so why does he earn so much more than us?”

“He’s just bullying us because we’re honest folk!”

Wang Yuan’s anger was burning now—he’d never suffered this kind of humiliation.

“Brothers, we can’t take this lying down! Qin Zhen needs to learn our Wangjia Village isn’t to be trifled with!”

His words drew a chorus of agreement.

“Wang, we’ll follow your lead. What do you want us to do?”

With all eyes on him, Wang Yuan’s expression grew sinister. “I know which road Qin Zhen’s fish carts take. We’ll rob his fish!”

Unaware that Wang Yuan had set his sights on him, Qin Zhen regarded Wang Yuan as nothing more than a petty clown, hardly worth thinking about.

At that moment, he had returned home, excitedly writing something down.

“Zhen, this was a big deal today. Why didn’t you consult me before making such a decision?” The old village chief entered with his hands behind his back, face drawn. “How can you treat outsiders the same as our own villagers? They’re not family!”

Typical feudal thinking.

To the old chief, only the original fishing village folk counted as “his people.” Whatever was done for them was only right. Outsiders who came to work were always just that—outsiders. Giving them a bite to eat was enough; there was no need to show them the same care as his own.

“With more and more people coming to our village, if we want the place to flourish, everyone needs to feel respected,” Qin Zhen said as he wrote on a bamboo scroll. “Chief, please record the villagers and the outsiders separately—permanent residents and migrant workers alike.”

“What’s the point of that?” The old chief, puzzled, walked over to look at the scroll, but he couldn’t make out what Qin Zhen was writing.

Qin Zhen replied excitedly, “I’m creating a household registration system. I want everyone in Coastal County to dream of joining our fishing village!”

“Oh, come on! You think people from the county town will leave their nice houses to come here?” The old chief clearly didn’t believe him.

“Just trust me! If this works, our fishing village might truly become a fishing town!” Qin Zhen urged him.

“If you don’t mess the place up, I’ll count my blessings,” the chief grumbled, but he still left with the register.

No sooner had the old chief gone than Chen Shu entered.

“Did I hear there was trouble again?” he asked as he came in.

“Just a few ruffians. They’ve already been dealt with,” Qin Zhen replied without even looking up.

“If I were you, I’d make an example of them! Give them all a good beating and see who else dares to cause trouble!” Chen Shu said harshly.

In his view, the fishing village gave these people jobs, paid their wages, and fed them! These poor souls who never knew where their next meal would come from now had work and wouldn’t starve. They ought to be grateful to the village!

But Wang Yuan still dared to complain, as if he deserved more!

Outrageous!

In truth, most people were indeed grateful to the fishing village and Qin Zhen, but there were always a few whose greed knew no bounds.

Qin Zhen merely smiled and let it go.

“By the way, we’re short-handed in the guard squad. Can you think of a way to recruit more people?”

Ever since Qin Zhen had received permission from Magistrate Zhang Miao to form a militia, he’d had Chen Shu wracking his brains to expand the village guard.

But as soon as the villagers heard they might have to fight bandits or pirates, they acted as if they’d seen a ghost—no one wanted the job. Even when Qin Zhen kept raising the guard squad’s pay, people would rather join the lower-paid fishing teams than the guard.

Most thought fishing, though risky, was still preferable to fighting pirates.

There was nothing Qin Zhen could do about it.

Hearing Chen Shu bring up the matter again, a sudden idea flashed through his mind.

“Leave it to me,” he said with a confident smile.

The old chief was highly efficient. With the villagers’ cooperation, over twelve hundred residents’ details were soon registered.

Among them, the original fishing village folk numbered just over a hundred. The rest were outsiders who’d settled from nearby places, and many of them now considered the fishing village their home.

The remainder, for various reasons, saw the village merely as a waystation, a temporary shelter.

Soon after, a notice was posted in the most prominent spot at the village entrance.

Its main points were as follows:

First, outsiders coming to the fishing village would receive a temporary residence permit. With this, they could work and live in the village. After working for a month, they could visit the village committee—the old chief—to receive a household registration card, officially becoming a villager.

Second, anyone who joined the village guard squad would be granted village household registration immediately.

Lastly, household registration could not be rented out or sold. The temporary residence permit was valid for three months. Anyone who, for any reason, failed to obtain registration within three months but wanted to remain had to buy a new permit. Those without permits would be expelled.