She's skilled in medicine, martial arts, and even understands animal language—the abandoned dau

"Grandpa Village Head, do you mean that if we want to buy that land, we need to go to the county to register our household first, right?" Shen Man asked the village head for confirmation.

“That’s right, and the law stipulates that commoner families are allocated one mu of land for every three people, while low-class families are allocated one mu for every five people. You and your daughter are commoners, but the exact number of mu you can be allocated depends on the actual situation. However, given your current circumstances, it’s probably difficult for you to get even one mu,” the village head said helplessly.

“I think the Zhu family in Qiufeng Town owns more than a dozen acres of land!” Shen Man said somewhat indignantly.

“Man’er, these regulations only apply to us ordinary people. For the rich, they’re nothing! They can acquire more land and wealth through various means, while we can only rely on our own efforts and luck,” the village head sighed.

"Can't we just pay to buy the area that exceeds one acre?"

"You two should go and get your household registration sorted out tomorrow. I'll take care of the rest. Oh, and Lanxiang, remember to bring your divorce papers with you when you go to the county tomorrow."

The next morning, Shen Man and Lan Xiang once again took the village head's oxcart to town.

Because they didn't know when they would be able to return, they didn't ask Changsheng to wait for them in town.

Afterwards, the mother and daughter went to the carriage shop in town and rented a horse-drawn carriage to go to Tongan County.

Tongan County is about 60 li away from Qiufeng Town. A round trip by horse-drawn carriage takes about two or three hours in good weather, and even longer in bad weather.

It was Shen Man and her companions' first time traveling far from home, and they had no experience in choosing a carriage. Once they were on the road, they discovered that the horse they rented was not strong enough and struggled to walk the entire way.

When the mother and daughter arrived at the county government office, it was already noon. The officials in charge of handling the matter had already left the office and they could only come back when the government office reopened in the afternoon.

The bumpy journey left Lanxiang feeling dizzy and disoriented; she had already vomited up the little porridge she had drunk that morning.

Seeing her extremely weak appearance, Shen Man made a decision, and because of this decision, the mother and daughter almost couldn't return to Xiaoyao Village.

“Mom, you’re carsick. Let’s find an inn to eat something and rest. We’ll take care of the household registration this afternoon and go back tomorrow.”

"I'm fine. Let's finish this quickly and go back. We don't know anyone here, and everything costs money..." Lanxiang said, trying to sound tough.

"No. Spending money is a small matter; ruining your health is a big deal. There should be an inn nearby; let's find a cheaper one to stay in first, so you can get some rest," Shen Man insisted.

Lanxiang had no choice but to agree, worried that Shen Man was too young to handle the back-and-forth movement.

The mother and daughter quickly found a reasonably clean-looking inn near the county government office.

After they went inside, they asked for a room. Having been exhausted from the morning's journey, Lanxiang lay down on the bed and fell into a deep sleep.

Shen Man looked at her mother with heartache and decided to go out alone to buy some food to replenish her strength.

She strolled around the street, bought some steamed buns and porridge, and also inquired about the procedures for registering her household registration.

Back at the inn, Shen Man found Lan Xiang still asleep, so she gently woke her up.

"Mom, I bought some food. Get up and eat something..."

Lanxiang sat up, looked at the food laid out on the table, and asked Shen Man, "Man'er, did you buy all of this? Did you go out alone?"

"Yes, Mother, let's rest for a while after we finish eating, and then we'll go to the county government office this afternoon," Shen Man replied calmly.

After the mother and daughter finished eating and rested for a while, they felt much better when they woke up again.

Lanxiang took Shen Man's hand and they headed to the county government office together.

At this time, the county government office was wide open, and people could be seen inside carrying out their duties.

However, when they were about to enter the county government office, they were stopped by the gatekeepers.

The constable looked them up and down and said coldly, "Do you have any letters of recommendation or appointments? If not, I'm afraid we can't get things done today."

Lanxiang and Shenman looked at each other speechlessly; they had no idea that these things were required to get things done at the government office.

Just as they were at a loss, the constable whispered to them, "Give me two taels of silver and I'll let you in!"

Upon hearing this, Shen Man was furious. Two taels of silver was no small sum for them, but if they gave up now, they didn't know when they would be able to complete the household registration process.

Seeing that they didn't react, the constable realized he couldn't make any money off them and immediately shooed them away menacingly: "If you have no money, get out of here! Don't get in my way!"

Shen Man suppressed her anger and pulled Lanxiang away from the county government office.

"What should we do? If we don't give him the money, we can't get into the county government office. If we can't get into the county government office, how can we register our household registration? Man'er, why don't we just give him the money?" Lanxiang said anxiously.

"Mother, don't worry, I'll think of another way," Shen Man comforted Lanxiang.

Just in case, the mother and daughter took fifty taels of silver notes and ten taels of loose silver with them when they went out this time.

It wasn't that they didn't have money to give to the constable; firstly, they didn't want to give it to him, and secondly, they were afraid of showing off their wealth in front of strangers and bringing danger upon themselves.

Shen Man looked around and spotted a tea stall next to the yamen. An idea struck her, and she whispered a few words to Lanxiang. Lanxiang nodded repeatedly in agreement.

Afterwards, Shen Man went to the tea stall, ordered two bowls of tea, and deliberately chatted loudly with the stall owner, talking about how wealthy her family was.

Hearing the sound, the constable curiously came over.

Shen Man casually revealed the silver pouch at her waist and continued her boastful talk.

Upon seeing this, the constable's eyes lit up, and he stared greedily at the bag.

A moment later, Shen Man suddenly stood up and exclaimed, "Oh no! My purse is gone! That person must have stolen it!"

As she spoke, she pointed to a strange man in the distance.

The constable immediately volunteered to help Shen Man catch the thief. Shen Man feigned gratitude and followed him in the chase after the "thief."

After running for a while, Shen Man took advantage of the yamen runners' inattention and quietly slipped back to the entrance of the county yamen to meet up with Lanxiang.

Lanxiang asked anxiously, "How is it?"

Shen Man smiled slightly: "Don't worry, Mother, he won't be back for a while."

While the constables were chasing the "thief," the mother and daughter successfully entered the county government office. They found the place for registering households, and the official in charge of household registration did not give them any trouble and smoothly completed their household registration.

Shen Man and Lan Xiang walked out of the county government office and were delighted to see that the yamen runner had not yet returned.

"Mother, we rarely come to the county town, so we must have a good look around today," Shen Man said with a smile.

"Okay, whatever you say!"