Di Ming

Chapter 71 County Government
What did he say? The boat is ugly and an eyesore; we need to pay more?
Do they charge one or two berths of boat fee for a day's stay?

Zhu Yin and the others turned green with rage.

Do you know how much one tael of silver is?

An armored soldier's pay is only one tael and two mace per month, and that's the full amount!

We only need to stop one boat at Peach Blossom Ferry, and it costs one or two taels of silver per day?
Why don't you go and grab it?
Seeing the grim expressions on everyone's faces, the ferryman, speaking in a refined and authentic Hongwu dialect, said with a casual smile:

"Is the boat owner a foreigner? No wonder. Let the boat owner know that these rules were not set by me, but by the owner."

"This is the Qinhuai River, stretching for ten miles. Boat berths at all the ferry crossings are in high demand. It's expensive, really expensive. But it's also worth it."

He stood on the dock, looking down at the pier with his hands behind his back, a confident smile playing on his lips.

"Captain, is my reasoning correct?"

He casually pointed south, then north, speaking with perfect Hongwu rhyme and rhythm, his words clear and articulate:

"Just a hundred steps from the south bank are Wuyi Lane and Pipa Street. Not only locals, but also scholars from other places who are studying there all know about them."

"That's fine. But less than half a mile to the north are the examination hall, the prefectural school, the Confucius Temple, and the Prince of Zhongshan's residence!"

"Does the little captain still think it's expensive, Om?"

"If you still think it's too expensive, you can choose another place. Other places might not be willing to let your boat dock, the boat is too ugly."

Zhu Yin tilted his head up and gave the other person a deep look.

The ferryman wore a long blue robe with a cross-collar and narrow sleeves, the silk fabric neatly starched, his hair tied up in a neat bun, a sachet hanging from his waist, and a pair of clean, thick-soled black boots.

More importantly, his smile carried a hint of unspoken arrogance.

Zhu Yin was very familiar with that smile and expression.

Isn't this just the sense of superiority that "local aristocrats" feel when outsiders come to big cities?
There are just too many petty citizens with such an overwhelming sense of superiority.

Zhu Yin was too lazy to keep arguing.

Ning Caiwei was too lazy to say anything more.

She gave him the money directly.

"We'll stop for a hundred days, and then I'll pay you a hundred taels."

She sealed one hundred taels of silver on the ship and paid the bill without hesitation.

"I'm honored with a gift of one hundred taels of silver. Please follow me."

The ferryman took the six-pound silver, carrying it heavily in his hands, and led the group into a waterside hermitage by Peach Blossom Ferry.

Inside the study, there was a group of clerks. To the untrained eye, it would look like the sixth office of the county government.

The ferryman wrote a receipt, noting the date, amount, and type of boat, and then said:

"Please show me the ship's title deed so that I can register the ship owner and the ship's registry."

Zhu Yin narrowed his eyes. "We are the ship owners, and the ship is registered in Jining. It's just that the ship's registration was destroyed in a fire at the inn."

"Oh?" The ferryman grinned, gently placed the brush on the brush rest, and rubbed his hands together, saying:
"Without a ship title deed, how can the ship owner's name and the ship's place of registry be registered?"

"This ship... has a hard time anchoring."

Zhu Yin gritted his teeth inwardly, "How can I make an exception?"

At this moment, he was like a driver who couldn't find a place to park and was being harassed by the parking lot attendant.

This medium-sized sand barge cost at most a few hundred taels of silver to build. Such high mooring fees are actually not worthwhile; it would be better to just sell it.

But its value lies not in the ship itself.

Rather, its original owner had already bribed the ship, paying tens of thousands of taels of silver annually, making it a ship that could sail directly out to sea!
Until at least June next year, the Tongzhou Garrison and the Langshan Navy will not intercept or inspect this ship as it sails out to sea via the Yangtze River.

It can also freely enter the Yangtze River from the sea.

If we abandon this ship, the losses will be enormous, and we won't be able to go to sea anymore.

Even if you try to bribe them again, you're unfamiliar with the area and have no connections to give gifts or make connections.

Therefore, Zhu Yin could not abandon this ship.

"How can we make an exception?" The other party didn't expect the child to be so understanding and take the initiative to offer this suggestion.

That would be easy.

He held up a hand. "Add another fifty taels. I'll take the risk of the black ship for the small boat owner."

"If you were to renew the deed for this boat at the county government office, it might cost more than fifty taels, and you might even face a lot of questioning."

"Let's get this straight, I never haggle. Fifty taels is a huge deal, isn't it? Fine, let's do the deal. If not, we'll stay friends. Little Captain, is that alright?"

Zhu Yin was truly impressed.

There's nothing we can do about such insignificant people.

"Alright, fifty taels it is," Zhu Yin said dryly.

The ferryman received another fifty taels of silver, and his face was beaming with joy.

These unlicensed black ships are quite rare. Since we've come across one, we should definitely rip it off.

I just happened to buy a set of jewelry for my lover at Ruyi Tower, and that pretty girl was delighted.

This is what we make a living from. If we don't earn this kind of money, wouldn't we be idiots?

His tone was much gentler now, "What is your honorable name, sir? How old are you?"

Ning Caiwei said, "The boat is mine. My surname is Ning, my given name is Caiwei, and I am ten years old."

The ferryman registered the boat owner's information and stamped the document with his seal. He then handed the document to Ning Caiwei with both hands and smiled, saying:
"Young lady, you must keep this safe and make sure it doesn't get burned again."

Ning Caiwei also gave a professional fake smile, "Then goodbye. If it's a renewal after 100 days, will you only charge the parking fee?"

The ferryman said solemnly, "Of course. Some money can only be earned from the same person once."

Just as everyone was about to leave, the ferryman suddenly said:
"Since you've just arrived in Nanjing and are new to the city, would you like to purchase some necessary books? Please look this way..."

He pointed to the rows of brand-new books on the bookshelf.

Zhu Yin was already very familiar with traditional Chinese characters. He squinted and saw that they were books such as "Essentials of Scholars and Merchants" and "A Complete Map of the Journey." These kinds of books were indeed useful.

Zhu Yin immediately bought four books, spending two taels of silver.

This is actually quite expensive.

Two taels of silver could buy three shi (a unit of dry measure) of grain. However, books were still not cheap in the Ming Dynasty at that time.

The group returned to the boat, led all the horses ashore, and pushed the carriages ashore as well.

Only then can it be considered abandoning the ship and changing horses.

Zhu Yin looked through the newly purchased map of Nanjing's streets and directed the carriage onto Lishe Bridge, into Gongyuan Street, and then westward along the bustling Gongyuan Street to the Confucius Temple at the East Archway.

The area in front of the Confucius Temple was extremely lively. As far as the eye could see, there were crowds of people.

We came here, of course, to eat.

We found a restaurant called Changkuailou and went in to eat and drink our fill.

After dinner, Zhu Yin and the others had a very important task to do: buy household registration!

Without a household registration, one is considered a migrant, facing obstacles at every turn.

The reason for saying "buying a household registration" is that at this time in the Ming Dynasty, the household registration system was in complete disarray, and grassroots management had fallen into disarray.

Officials and clerks took advantage of the situation to embezzle and enrich themselves, treating the national household registration system as a joke.

During the late Ming Dynasty, social order collapsed. Coupled with the rapid development of commerce, the worship of money by scholars and common people reached an unprecedented high.

In Zhu Yin's view, late Ming society was somewhat similar to 18th-century Europe.

As long as you spend enough money, regardless of whether you are a vagrant or an unregistered person, you can be re-registered in the Yellow Register and given a legal identity.

This is what it means to buy a household registration.

Nanjing was part of two surrounding counties: Jiangning County to the south and Shangyuan County to the north.

The so-called Nanjing city was administratively part of two counties.

The county governments of both counties were located in Nanjing. The government office of Yingtian Prefecture was also located in Nanjing.

The three local administrative offices share the same city.

Zhu Yin was heading to the Jiangning County government office, which was closer.

After making some preparations and inquiring with the shopkeeper, Zhu Yin and his party boarded the carriage and headed to the Jiangning County Government Office.

In ancient times, it took great courage for ordinary people to go to the government office.

Zhu Yin and Ning Caiwei are very courageous.

Because there is silver.

If you're willing to spend money, then you're not a troublemaker, but a guest of the clerks.

It is said that the money was spent lavishly, and one could even drink the finest Longjing tea inside the house.

Because they were busy with their business, Zhu Yin and the others had no interest in browsing the market at Confucius Temple.

The carriage left the bustling Confucius Temple and entered Xuanzhen Lane. After traveling only a short distance along Xuanzhen Lane, a wide and well-maintained avenue came into view.

This is the famous Flower Market Street.

Huashi Street connects to Nanmen Street in the south, Dagongfang in the north, and the Jiangning County Government Office is located to the west!
The carriage finally found an opening and hurriedly crossed Flower Market Street, entering County Front Street.

Upon entering the county town street, one can see a majestic and imposing government office located on the north side of the street.

Above the gate are four large characters, written from right to left: Jiangning County Government Office.

Above the tall eaves, there is a pair of hanging fish, which is truly ironic.

On the street-facing square in front of the yamen, there is a row of mounting stones and hitching posts on the left and a row of sedan chair canopies on the right.

Inside the sedan chair shed, there were more than a dozen sedan chairs, all exquisitely decorated and extremely luxurious. Clearly, their owners were either very wealthy or of high status.

The sedan chair bearers lazily rested beside their respective sedan chairs, chatting and joking, gambling, playing chess, picking lice, and scratching their feet.

Those with more courage might even take a nap in the sedan chair during this time, and be the master for a day.

Just then, a man came out of the government office, and the sedan chair bearers, who had been dozing in the sedan chair, quickly climbed out.

According to the Ming Dynasty law, only civil officials of the third rank and above were allowed to ride in sedan chairs. Civil officials below the third rank and all military officers were only permitted to ride in carriages or on horseback.

However, the law is meant to be broken. Now, not only all civil officials, but even military officials have begun to ride in sedan chairs.

Not to mention officials, even wealthy merchants and minor officials all ride in sedan chairs.

Zhu Yin's carriage stopped on the left, and he took several dozen taels of gold before leading the group toward the county government office.

A row of yamen soldiers stood on the steps leading to the county government office, their chests puffed out and bellies protruding, while a large drum stood under the eaves.

This is the county government's grievance drum.

However, the drumsticks on the grievance drum had vanished without a trace.

I don't know if it was never there to begin with, or if someone took it.

When Zhu Yin arrived at the yamen (government office), looking at its tall and imposing facade, his understanding of ancient county yamen became much clearer.

In later films and television dramas, the county magistrate was portrayed as a minor official, and the county government office as a small, insignificant institution with little authority.

But the reality seems to be different.

The Jiangning County Government Office exudes an aura of unassailable majesty.

The so-called "county magistrate" is by no means a minor official.

"This is the important county government office! Who are you, and what brings you here?"

The guards at the gate drew their swords and demanded an explanation.

"Do you have a business card to deliver? If not, leave immediately!"

P.S.: Late update, I'll punish myself with three drinks. Goodnight. Thank you!
(End of this chapter)