After crossing over: kidnapping a female hunter to be the stepfather of the three cubs

Zhao Huanxi quickly replied, "Your Excellency, the County Magistrate, my name is Zhao Huanxi. My ex-husband was a compulsive gambler, so my parents-in-law decided to divorce me. I've come here today to ask the County Magistrate to allow me to become a self-employed woman."

After saying that, he took out the divorce papers, the village chief's handwritten letter with the village seal, and a small cloth bag.

"Sir, this is the divorce agreement between me and my ex-husband, Lu Feng. This is the settlement certificate written by the village chief, as well as the evidence of our divorce. Please review it."

"Send it up."

The officers and soldiers nearby immediately stepped forward and presented the things to the county magistrate.

After checking the written evidence and the divorce agreement, the county magistrate knew that the kneeling woman was not lying.

Although the formalities were complete, the county magistrate still didn't want to simply agree to Zhao Huanxi's request. If it were easy for women to settle down, wouldn't the world be ruled by women? Besides, this woman hadn't lost her father or husband; she was just getting divorced.

The county magistrate then said coldly, "Please wait a few days before coming back. I am very busy with my duties now, and I will give you an answer in a while."

Zhao Huanxi saw that the county magistrate was deliberately making things difficult, so he spoke up to remind him, "Sir, please take another look at the evidence of my divorce from Lu Feng. I believe that after seeing it, you will understand my painstaking efforts."

The county magistrate then opened the cloth bag, revealing a piece of flowered cloth and, surprisingly, twenty taels of silver. Seeing the silver, the county magistrate instantly understood why the woman had said that, thinking that even though she was wearing patched linen, she was quite clever. His eyes softened noticeably.

Bribery in court is a serious crime. Although she is now in her own county magistrate's office and is not afraid of being known by outsiders, if it is exposed, she will only hand over the physical evidence.

If I took the money and didn't do the job, I would be embezzling the evidence. I didn't expect that this woman knew it in advance and would not give her the stamp so easily.

Zhao Huanxi saw that the county magistrate's eyes relaxed and were no longer as cold as before, so he felt that there was hope.

So she struck while the iron was hot and said, "If the County Magistrate does not mind this physical evidence, I am willing to present it to you."

Of course, the county magistrate wouldn't mind. It was just a matter of stamping the document. If she hadn't intentionally wanted to make things difficult for her, it would have been done by now.

But... these twenty taels should be wasted.

The county magistrate then slowly spoke, "If you establish your own household, you only need to pay 20% of the tax each year, and you don't have to send anyone out for labor service. Did you know that?"

These were special decrees issued by the imperial court a few years ago for the orphans and widows left behind by the soldiers who died in the war.

Zhao Huanxi hadn't expected so many benefits. No wonder the village chief said it was difficult to establish a household with women. So that's why. She nodded and replied, "Thank you, County Magistrate, for telling me."

The county magistrate pulled a thicker piece of paper from the table, then took out something that looked like an official seal. He took the household registration booklet next to it and opened it. He then told Zhao Huanxi and the other children to stand up.

Then he asked Zhao Huanxi where her parents were from, how many people were in her family, her own age, the names of her children, and their ages, and then wrote them down in the household registration book. He then copied them onto the thick paper.

After finishing writing, he took the official seal of the county government next to him and stamped it, then took out his own personal official seal and stamped it on the paper, and stamped several times in a row.

Zhao Huanxi thought that getting things done was not easy in any era, but here he could get it done by spending some money. Fortunately, Zhao Huanxi sold the Ganoderma lucidum, otherwise he would have been left staring blankly.

"Lingzhi~Thank you~Thank you~Little Lingzhi~"

Zhao Huanxi took her household registration and walked out of the county magistrate's office with her children. She thought to herself that from today on, Zhao Huanxi and her children would be a separate household, and would no longer have anything to do with Lu Feng. She felt relieved and walked with a lighter heart.

When I walked out of the door, I saw the two soldiers still standing guard diligently. I thought that if I had to come to the county government office for something next time, it would be easier if I had some acquaintances.

He then took out another ounce of silver from his pocket and handed it to the soldier who brought him in.

"Sir, thank you for reporting for me just now. I was able to go in and see the county magistrate. I am very grateful. Please take this little gift and have some snacks."

The officer saw that there was another tael of silver to be taken. You should know that he only received one tael of silver as a monthly salary when working in the county government.

Immediately, he smiled and said to Zhao Huanxi, "You are too polite, big sister. Next time if you have something to do and you see me on duty, just come to me."

Zhao Huanxi also smiled and said, "Thank you for your hard work, sir. If there is a next time, I am afraid I will have to trouble you again. I just don't know what your name is?"

The soldier replied to Zhao Huanxi, "My name is Zhang Luo. Since I am younger than me, you can just call me Brother Zhang." Zhang Luo said to Zhao Huanxi.

"Brother Zhang is so open and honest. My surname is Zhao, so you can just call me Zhao Huanxi."

Zhao Huanxi asked Zhang Luo about some things in the town, then said goodbye to the county government office with the girls and walked towards the cloth shop in the town. The clothes on them were all patched, which was only because the people they met in the past two days did not dislike them. They had to go and buy a few feet of cloth to make two sets of clothes for themselves and the children.

When she walked into the cloth shop, Zhao Huanxi remembered that she didn't know how to do housework, which would be difficult.

The cloth shop was neither big nor small. Zhang Luo had just asked about it, and he'd heard the owner was very friendly and didn't judge people by their taste. That's why Zhao Huanxi had brought her children here to buy.

On the counter were displayed various printed silks and fine cottons, and even a corner of coarse semi-linen cloth was placed.

Today was not a big market, so there were only a few pedestrians on the street. Seeing a visitor, the female shopkeeper who had been dozing in the corner immediately stood up and greeted Zhao Huanxi: "What kind of cloth do you want, young lady? Our shop has all kinds of cloth, affordable and of good quality."

Zhao Huanxi said to the shopkeeper, "Shopkeeper, do you have any ready-made clothes for sale?"

The female shopkeeper thought Zhao Huanxi would buy cheap coarse linen, but she suddenly asked about ready-made clothes. As expected, appearances don't always tell the whole story. She said to Zhao Huanxi, "Madam, our shop only cuts the cloth and processes it into garments to your measurements. We don't sell ready-made garments directly. If you were to buy ready-made garments directly, the price would be much higher than buying the cloth directly. Why not take a look at our fine cotton cloth? A bolt of cloth is about forty feet long, enough for two sets of clothes for you and your family."

Zhao Huanxi asked again, "How long would it take you to make two sets of clothes for each of us?"

The female shopkeeper looked at Zhao Huanxi. This family looked like an ordinary farming family, and their clothes had many patches on them. But the woman in front of her looked extraordinary and did not look like someone who had lived in the countryside for a long time.

So he said, "If you need it, my lady, it can be done in three days at the earliest. Just come and pick it up then."

Zhao Huanxi nodded and ordered two sets of half-linen, half-cotton clothes from the shopkeeper, using a whole bolt of cloth. The shopkeeper told Zhao Huanxi that there would probably be five or six feet left after finishing the whole bolt, and asked if she wanted some shoe patterns made for her. Besides embroiderers, the shopkeeper's family also had shoemakers.

Zhao Huanxi nodded in agreement and spent 400 coins to buy half a piece of light blue printed cotton and linen cloth, and half a piece of light pink printed cotton and linen cloth of the same quality to make dresses for the girls. The girls were young, so they would look better in brighter clothes.

The shopkeeper measured the dimensions skillfully and started calculating on the abacus.

"My lady, these two halves of cloth cost a total of eight hundred wen of silver. The processing fee for an adult garment is twenty wen per piece, and the shoes are ten wen per pair. The processing fee for a child's garment is fifteen wen per piece, and eight wen per pair. That adds up to two adult garments, six children's garments, two pairs of adult shoes, and six pairs of children's shoes. The processing fee comes to two hundred wen, a total of seventy wen per liang of silver."

Zhao Huanxi didn't pay the bill, but asked, "I want another piece of linen. Can you give me a discount?"

The shopkeeper fiddled with his abacus again and said, "A piece of coarse linen is 250 wen, which makes a total of one liang of silver, 320 wen. Just give me one liang of silver, 300 wen."

Zhao Huanxi felt that the price could be even lower, so he took the shopkeeper to bargain for a while, and finally settled on one tael of silver and two hundred and fifty coins.

The shopkeeper took the money, wrote a receipt, and told Zhao Huanxi to come back with the receipt in three days to pick up the goods. Only then did Zhao Huanxi leave with the cloth in his arms.

After leaving the cloth shop, seeing that it was almost noon, he took a few children to a wonton stew stall not far away, walked up, found an empty table and sat down, and asked the owner for four bowls of wonton stew.

After Zhao Huanxi sat down, she smiled at the children and said, "How is it? Are you tired of coming out with mom?"

The second son, Zhao Yin, replied, "Mom, we are not tired. The town is very lively."

The eldest brother, Zhao Pan, also had a look of joy on his face: "It was just that when I went to the government office with my mother, I was scared to death. The people inside looked so fierce. When that adult came out, my heart almost stopped."