Chapter 2: The Identity of Gentlemen

  The villagers were very enthusiastic, and under the arrangement of Zhang Luo, all the men, women, old and young in the village worked together to quickly build a thatched hut for Qin Yu.

  Qin Yu looked at the so-called residence with a mixture of laughter and tears, forcing out a smile. Originally, Qin Yu needed to thank the villagers, but all he had was a pocketful of seeds, a mobile phone, wallet, lighter, and half a box of Red Tower Mountain cigarettes, none of which could be used as gifts.

  In the end, it all came to nothing. Looking at the disappointed eyes of the big and small children, Qin Yu was really entangled in his heart, "I knew I should have brought some candy."

  Muramasa asked Qin Yu about his hometown, Qin Yu's ambiguous explanation made it unclear where he came from. Now that only he was left, Muramasa didn't dwell on this question.

  It wasn't until they reached the age that they were stuck for a while, until the village chief called someone to bring a basin of water, that Qin Yu discovered he had actually become ten years younger.

  It's not just the appearance, but it seems that the body has also undergone a transformation, feeling full of energy and vitality, and the voice has become somewhat younger.

  "This is compensation, I suppose." Qin Yu let out a quiet sigh and finally apologized to Muramasa, making an excuse that he didn't know the age and randomly said a number.

  Muramasa saw Qin Yu's sincere attitude and nodded in satisfaction, quickly issuing a household registration document to Qin Yu, who signed and stamped it.

  Although Qin Yu wrote in simplified characters, Cun Zheng recognized the effort of the tea cup and shouted to bring a middle-aged man with Qin Yu to Yongnian County to report. After reporting, Qin Yu would officially become a citizen of the Tang Dynasty.

  Zhangjiacun has a total of 32 households with 212 people. Originally it was 211 people, but now there is an additional Qin Yu.

  After experiencing war and turmoil, although there have been several years of peace and quiet, the villagers' lives are still somewhat difficult, not a single fat person can be seen.

  There is a donkey cart in Zhangjiacun, which belongs to the village head. The driver is Zhang Dashan, the nephew of the village head. Because Qin Yu has settled down, Zhang Dashan appears very familiar and explains everything one by one, no matter what the problem is.

  As they chatted along the way, Qin Yu finally learned that due to the war, countless people of the Tang Dynasty had been killed or injured. Li Shimin issued an order that all those who had escaped would be given help by the government as soon as they came out, so that these escapees could quickly integrate into the Tang Dynasty and become children of the Tang Dynasty.

  The government's help was at least five mu of tax-free good land for three years, a head of ox, Zhang Dashan was very direct and asked Qin Yu to borrow an ox without any euphemism. Qin Yu would not refuse and readily agreed to Zhang Dashan's request, after all, he had already used the initiative to cultivate the land as an exchange.

  Qin Yu hadn't crossed over before, although he was a small landowner, everything was mechanized, and he had taken care of many people, so he didn't need to do anything personally. If Qin Yu really went to cultivate the land, it would be unknown what kind of situation would arise.

  In the Tang Dynasty, cattle were important assets. Whether a cow was ill or dead, its owner would be punished, which shows how much Li Shimin valued people's livelihoods.

  Zhang Dashan borrowed a cow for no reason, he actually had thirty mu of good fields, and Zhangjiacun village had a total of one thousand mu of good fields, among which the village chief had one hundred mu of good fields, other families also had dozens of mu, but the whole village only had five head of draft cattle.

  It was precisely because of this that Village Zheng half enticed and half threatened Qin Yu to register in Zhangjia Village, of course, this Zhang Dashan would not say it, but Qin Yu compared before and after, naturally understood the reason, and also wouldn't say it out.

  Speaking of Zhangjiacun, Zhang Dashan was indeed very proud, and it's true that all the land belonged to Zhangjiacun, they were all cultivated by themselves, without a single tenant farmer. In Yongnian County, Zhangjiacun is a well-known good place, and the surrounding villages all wanted to marry their daughters into Zhangjiacun.

  Yongnian County town is not too far from Zhangjiacun, but it took nearly two hours. The county town is not big, but also not small, with 532 households and a population of 5,220 people inside. Outside the county town is a high city wall that protects the county town inside.

  Entering the county town, it's not as prosperous as Qin Yu imagined, but it's enough to make him curious. As a modern person, Qin Yu hasn't seen many cities or ancient houses before, so he looks around like a curious baby, earning quite a few snickers.

  Of course, Qin Yu was being watched by others at the same time, and as for those mocking smiles and sarcastic words, although Qin Yu was somewhat dissatisfied, he wouldn't show it on his face, instead responding with a smile, which also brought him not a few kind glances.

  Upon arriving at the county government office, the county magistrate warmly received Qin Yu and inquired about his background. At first, he was surprised by Qin Yu's eloquence and further inquiry revealed that Qin Yu had read books from the imperial academy, which led to him obtaining a scholar identity for himself.

  Acquiring the identity of a scholar is not without its trials. Although Qin Yu graduated from a science and engineering program, he had an extremely strict great-grandfather who made him read the Four Books and Five Classics from a young age. If he couldn't recite them, he would be beaten. As a result, even after growing up, Qin Yu could still recall many of the Four Books and Five Classics.

  Although it was useless in the past, it is now useful. The Four Books and Five Classics were compiled during the Song Dynasty. Although my memory is not complete, I can cope with the county magistrate, but there's nothing to be proud of. It's just that when I think back to my childhood, I inevitably feel a little melancholy.

  Scholars, farmers, workers and merchants are the four classes of the Tang Dynasty. Don't underestimate the identity of scholars. With just a change in identity, Zhang Dashan's gaze at Qin Yu changed dramatically, becoming extremely respectful, and even the county magistrate's attitude became much friendlier.

  County Magistrate Lu Ziyuan of Yongnian County, about 40 years old, a typical southerner with a southern accent, seemingly from the Jiangsu and Zhejiang region. Qin Yu didn't dare to ask questions.

  The county magistrate waved his big pen, and Qin Yu officially became a child of the Great Tang Dynasty, belonging to Zhangjiacun, Yongnian County. Due to his identity as a scholar, 20 mu of good land and an ox became Qin Yu's private property. The county magistrate handed over the deed with a smile on his face and then issued a household registration document to send Qin Yu out of the county government office.

  Qin Yu naturally knew why the county magistrate would smile, it was because he had done a good job of executing Emperor Li Shimin's orders, adding a weight to his promotion, after all, Li Shimin valued talent, and Qin Yu's family learning was profound, this was no small achievement.

  Zhang Dashan has been running around non-stop since Qin Yu obtained his scholar identity, helping Qin Yu lead the oxen, under the envious eyes of the county town residents, carefully supporting Qin Yu onto the donkey cart and driving the donkey cart away from the county town.

  On the way back, Zhang Dashan was abnormally excited, his eyes occasionally glancing at the ox, but Qin Yu's interest was not here, and he was silent all the way thinking.

  Zhang Dashan naturally didn't dare to disturb Qin Yu, and from time to time he would secretly take a look at Qin Yu. He wanted to know that previously he and another person had threatened Qin Yu, and was afraid that Qin Yu would come after him for revenge. However, looking at Qin Yu's expression, Zhang Dashan gradually put his mind at ease.

  Qin Yu didn't think of anything special, just about his future life. With the Tang Dynasty newly established and Li Shimin in power, there was no need to worry about war, so how to live in the Tang Dynasty became the top priority.

  "Ah, great Tang, it's not bad to be a small landlord in the future." Qin Yu withdrew his thoughts and secretly sighed, looking at Zhangjia Village which was getting closer and closer, and stretched his waist lazily.

  Qin Yu's adaptability is very strong, can't go back, and won't force it, although he misses his old family very much, but can only put it in his heart, after all, people still have to look forward.