CHAPTER 20: CHAPTER 20: SPECIAL CASE SETTLEMENT ASSISTANCE FOR HOUSEHOLD REGISTRATION

EDITOR: ENDLESSFANTASY TRANSLATION

Lin Wanwan expressed that she was fortunate to have been diligent in her childhood, having attended a free calligraphy interest class at school. Although her brush script wasn’t exceptionally practiced, it was legible, and she learned a good deal of traditional characters while practicing writing.

Even without systematic study, viewing traditional characters wasn’t difficult for her. Therefore, with her level, teaching the children in this isolated seaside village was more than sufficient.

Lin Wanwan immediately proposed, "Let’s build the clan school next to my house. When the foundation is set, I’ll also have my house rebuilt, and it can count as my gift to the clan."

The Clan Leader waved his hand, saying, "It can’t all be on you, it can’t be. You’re willing not to take a fee to teach the village children to read, and that’s already more than enough. Our clan still has some public funds, from this spring’s fishing catches that haven’t been divided yet."

Lin Wanwan laughed, "Clan Leader Uncle, let me do my part, don’t argue with me. The children’s education is a big matter, and I’m happy to exert myself for it. Oh, right, Clan Leader Uncle, regardless of gender, I will take them all in for school. Moreover, I’ll also provide them with a lunch."

"This, this, this, girl children eventually need to marry, and you teach them too? And even provide meals?" The Clan Leader’s voice trembled.

Lin Wanwan replied, "My mentor left me quite some money; you don’t take it with you when you leave this world, investing it in the clan’s children is well worth it. When my mentor adopted and educated me, he didn’t care that I was a girl, so I naturally treat boys and girls equally. Besides, boys and girls alike are the future of our Lin clan!"

The Clan Leader sighed twice, standing up and then squatting down, finally saying, "You’re right, boy or girl, they’re all our Lin family’s children. Some families without boys can even recruit a son-in-law if their daughters learn literacy."

Upon discussing this matter, the Clan Leader couldn’t even take his afternoon nap; after Lin Wanwan left, he immediately instructed his eldest son, Lin Mengwen, to inform several clan elders and peers with the national character in their name to come and discuss the clan school.

Just this one issue made the Clan Leader abandon any future thoughts of persuading Lin Wanwan to remarry; if she wished to maintain the widow’s gate, she could.

As the Village Chief overseeing 103 households across three villages, the Clan Leader also bore the responsibility of matchmaking for widowers and widows. But compared to the benefits Lin Wanwan’s settling could bring to the clan, these responsibilities were insignificant.

His greatest responsibility was to lead the Lin clan to a better future!

Regarding Lin Wanwan’s household registration issue, the Clan Leader naturally shouldered it all, determined to ensure Lin Wanwan stayed!

Each year after the autumn harvest, the Great Tang registered populations and created household records. Without parents above or young children below, nor any legitimate brothers, the Clan Leader decided to register her in the female household.

But this matter couldn’t be delayed; he instructed He Elder to handle it specially, to complete the registration a day sooner, so he could be at ease a day sooner.

With him as the Clan Leader, the Lin family would always protect Lin Wanwan—as long as she sincerely taught the clan’s children.

After discussing this matter, Lin Wanwan prepared to return to the town with Lin Mengli, taking along the Sea Jellyfish Skin and wild Yellow Croaker sent by Lin Mengbo’s family.

These two items, she intended to take back to the modern era after returning to the town.

Seeing Little Qingyu about to leave, Da Ya and Little Crab were extremely reluctant. Little Qingyu not only had delicious food to share with them but also fun toys (all wooden toys purchased by Lin Wanwan from the modern era) to play with them. In just half a day, the three little ones had become inseparable.

However, compared to Da Ya and Little Crab, Lin Wanwan was the most important to Little Qingyu. As soon as her mother mentioned leaving, she would follow without a second thought.

Her greatest fear was being left behind by her mother, which would surely make her cry her heart out.

"Boo hoo hoo, Xiaoyu, will you come back to visit us?" Da Ya asked, crying.

Little Qingyu looked up at Lin Wanwan, softly asking, "Mother, will we come back?"

Lin Wanwan smiled, ruffled her hair, and replied, "Of course, dear. Mother will have our house built here in the future. Our home will be here."

The three little ones heard this and were immediately overjoyed, no longer weeping over the temporary parting.

Lin Mengbo pushed out a cart, loaded with the Yellow Croaker and one of Lin Wanwan’s boxes, sending them to the nearby Lu Family Manor to borrow an ox cart from the Lu Clan Leader.

The Lu Family Manor wasn’t far from the Lin Family Manor, both were small with forty or so households each, averaging about twelve people from young to old in each family, scattered across the hills.

The entire Lu Family Manor didn’t even have 500 residents, fewer than the neighborhood Lin Wanwan lived in in the modern era, which had both villas and high-rise sections with a total of 780 households.

In the Tang Dynasty, a village consisted of four households as neighbors, five neighbors as a unit, and a hundred households as a sector with one Village Chief, five sectors as a township with an Elder.

The Lu Family Manor, with only about forty households, and each family with less than six men, naturally hadn’t appointed a Village Chief. Besides the Lu Clan Leader managing affairs, the concurrently serving Village Chief, the Lin Clan Leader, also handled matters.

The Lin Family Manor, the nearby Lu Family Manor, and the distant Dafeng Village, composed of refugees and mountain dwellers, together made up 103 households, forming a sector with Lin as the Village Chief.

The Lu Clan Leader had a leg disability, was a retired soldier, and shared a strong bond of camaraderie with the Lin Clan Leader.

Here, the Lu Family Manor’s residents were mainly farmers, relatively the wealthiest; next was the Lin Family Manor, although they lived off fishing, being unified and cooperative, no one starved; as for the mixed Dafeng Village, their situation was dire.

This was what Lin Mengbo and Lin Mengli discussed with Lin Wanwan while walking toward the Lu Family Manor.

Soon, the three of them arrived at the Lu Clan Leader’s house at the Lu Family Manor. Lin Wanwan paid the fare to hire their ox cart to the town.

Back at the rental courtyard in town, Lin Wanwan bid farewell to Lin Mengli.

The little one had a high fever last night and played for most of the day, falling asleep in the returning ox cart.

Lin Wanwan gently opened the door, carrying her into the bedroom and laying her on the bed. She glanced at her watch from the locked box: it was now 3:30 p.m., equivalent to 1:30 a.m. in the modern era. Since returning there had nothing important, she might as well stay in the Great Tang with little Qingyu.

The little one didn’t sleep deeply; she woke in less than half an hour. Seeing that it was still early, Lin Wanwan decided to take her out to order bricks and craftsmen to build the house.

Although the Clan Leader said the house could be built by the clan’s men, Lin Wanwan felt it necessary to have a professional oversee the process.

After all, Yongcheng was a city ravaged by typhoons annually, especially since they lived by the sea. Although the mountain blocked much of the wind, there was still risk, and she wanted the house to be built solidly to feel at ease.