Comrade Zhao smiled and said, "Your situation is quite special. We'll need to hold a meeting to discuss it. We'll also report your actual circumstances to our superiors to see if we can make special arrangements. I'll have our comrades process your household registration certificates right away, so you don't have to make another trip."
After speaking, he called out a young woman, about eighteen or nineteen, also in a grey-blue military uniform.
"Little Li, please help Comrade Chen Lan with her household registration certificate."
Her mother-in-law, worried, said, "I'll go instead!"
Little Li replied, "It's best if you both go. It won't take long, just a little while!"
Indeed, the household registration certificates for the entire family were quickly processed.
Chen Lan found Comrade Zhao again. "Um, Comrade Zhao, could I trouble you with one more thing?"
Comrade Zhao said, "Go ahead."
Chen Lan, her eyes red-rimmed, said, "It's like this, my husband, Xu Mingxuan, is also in the revolutionary ranks. He was injured and went missing two and a half months ago during the campaign to liberate Tianjin. We haven't seen him since, dead or alive. If our whole family moves to Jilin, and he comes home looking for us, please ask the government comrades to tell him we've gone to Jilin and that he should come find us, or you could notify us, and we'll send someone back to pick him up." Su Dan Novel Network.
Chen Lan wiped the corners of her eyes with a handkerchief.
Comrade Zhao stood up emotionally and walked over to hold the mother-in-law's hand, saying, "My apologies, my apologies! You are the mother of a hero."
"Regarding notifying your son when he returns, I'll assign someone specifically to follow up. Please provide us with the exact address where you'll be staying before you leave."
"Alright! Do you think this would work? I'll assign Comrade Zhang Haoyang, the young man from just now, to handle this matter. He'll be back shortly, and you can give him your son's specific information."
Chen Lan and her mother-in-law poured out their heartfelt thanks.
Comrade Zhao waved his hand dismissively, saying, "It's just our comrades and fellow soldiers, and it's part of my job. I should be doing this, so there's no need for further thanks."
"Regarding the classification of your family's background, I will report it to the higher authorities as soon as possible and strive to resolve it for you promptly. Comrade Zhang Haoyang will also be responsible for following up on this matter," Comrade Zhao promised solemnly.
After another round of heartfelt thanks from Chen Lan and her mother-in-law, seeing that Comrade Zhao was genuinely busy, they took their leave.
The mother-in-law and daughter-in-law walked towards the pawnshop together.
As they walked, the mother-in-law said to Chen Lan, "Later, have your father-in-law carefully inspect everything, and I'll bargain with the pawnbroker."
"Alright, Mother!" Chen Lan let out a chuckle.
"Mother, you must bargain hard. Father-in-law said the government will confiscate these illicit gains sooner or later."
"Oh! Right! Mother, Father-in-law also said our carriage needs to be donated to the government, otherwise, it will affect our background classification." Chen Lan once again invoked her father-in-law, who was nowhere to be found.
The mother-in-law sighed helplessly, "I know. We'll tell them when we get there later."
They chatted as they walked into the pawnshop. At this moment, the pawnshop was eerily quiet and deserted.
The mother-in-law called out loudly, "Is anyone here?"
A head with greying hair poked out from a window and asked,
"Is that you, Shopkeeper Xu? What, you want to pawn something? I'm not accepting pawns right now."
The mother-in-law got straight to the point, "Shopkeeper Qian, are you selling the good items in your pawnshop?"
Shopkeeper Qian replied hastily, "Selling! Selling! Selling! Please come in quickly." With that, he quickly opened the side door to invite the mother-in-law and daughter-in-law inside.
Once inside, he asked them to sit down. As Shopkeeper Qian was about to prepare tea, Chen Lan quickly declined.
The mother-in-law said, "Shopkeeper Qian, don't be so formal! Quickly bring out the good items in your shop. We can't stay here long."
"Understood, understood. I'll go get my son to bring them."
Shopkeeper Qian hurried inside to call someone. It turned out the residential area was behind the pawnshop, and Shopkeeper Qian's family lived there.
Soon, Shopkeeper Qian emerged from behind, followed by two tall, slender youths, each carrying a wooden chest.
After placing the chests down, Shopkeeper Qian instructed, "You two, go bring more. Be careful not to be clumsy." Then, he quickly addressed the mother-in-law and daughter-in-law,
"Shopkeeper Xu, please take a look and see if there's anything you like." With that, he opened the chests one by one.
The mother-in-law and daughter-in-law examined each item carefully. Shopkeeper Qian asked eagerly,
"Shopkeeper Xu, how is it? Is there anything that catches your eye?"
The mother-in-law remained silent and looked at Chen Lan. Chen Lan awkwardly touched her nose. To be honest, she didn't know much about these things. She felt everything was nice! She quickly replied, "Let's look a bit more."
Then, with a thought, she activated the selling function and scanned the items...