The next morning, Wen Rou Niang knocked on Chen Lan's door to wake her up. Habitually, Chen Lan checked the system time; it was only 5:10 AM. Yawning, she got out of bed, slipped on her slippers, opened the door, and welcomed Wen Rou Niang in.
"Mother, why so early?"
"It's not early. Hurry and wash up. Your mother-in-law and the steward are already in the main hall preparing to eat. What are you waiting for? Hurry! Let me see my precious grandson."
By the time the five of them, split into two carriages, reached the county town, the system time already showed 7:00 AM.
They went to the grain and oil shop first. The shopkeeper, Sun Mingli, and a young assistant, Xiao Fuzi, were waiting in the shop.
Er Hu and Xiao Shuan parked their carts and quickly packed the grain, oil, salt, soy sauce, vinegar, and other necessities to be sent to Cui Qiao Niang's home. Their mother-in-law told Xiao Shuan to take the cart to the general store first, while she herself would supervise the packing of daily necessities for their own use, to be sent to Cui Qiao Niang's home beforehand. Steward De Shu and the mother-in-law were verifying accounts with Shopkeeper Sun. Shopkeeper Sun counted the items, and Xiao Fuzi helped move them. Since De Shu and Shopkeeper Sun had already organized everything the day before, the account reconciliation went quickly, only needing to subtract what was taken today.
Taking the account book and locking the shop door, they bid farewell. As the mother-in-law was about to step onto the carriage, Shopkeeper Sun's hesitant demeanor amused her.
"Shopkeeper Sun, is something the matter?"
Shopkeeper Sun rubbed his hands awkwardly and said, "Esteemed owner, could I trouble you to speak with the government cadres? If the government continues to operate this grain and oil shop, could I, could I still work here? I'm troubling you, esteemed owner."
"Me too, me too!" Xiao Fuzi quickly added.
The mother-in-law smiled, patted Xiao Fuzi's head, and replied, "Alright! No problem. I'll do my best to negotiate for you. It shouldn't be too difficult, but I can't guarantee it now. Wait for my news."
"Alright! Let's take care of ourselves!"
It was already 9:30 AM after they finished inventorying the general store. They rushed to the county government temporarily set up in the Chamber of Commerce and explained their purpose. Soon, a burly, kind-faced middle-aged man in a dark grey military uniform came out to greet them warmly.
The middle-aged man introduced himself as Zhao and asked them to call him Comrade Zhao.
The mother-in-law stated their purpose and handed over the account book, property deed, and land deed in her hands (the property and land deeds were originally in a box, but Chen Lan, recognizing them as antiques, sold them to the system), expressing her intention to donate her assets to the government and her support for their work.
Comrade Zhao was deeply moved. He accepted the account book, property deed, and land deed with both hands. He called a young male comrade, Zhang Haoyang, also in a dark grey military uniform, and arranged for him to accompany De Shu to receive the donation. Er Hu hitched the horse to the carriage to take them to the shop, while the mother-in-law and Chen Lan waited.
Comrade Zhao was very touched and invited the mother-in-law and Chen Lan into a room, presumably a reception area. He poured each of them a cup of water and asked the mother-in-law if she had any requests.
The mother-in-law then spoke to Comrade Zhao about Shopkeeper Sun and Xiao Fuzi. She also mentioned that Shopkeeper Qian of the general store and his assistant, Xi Zi, wanted to work for the government and asked if they could be considered first if the government had any needs, praising the good character of these four people. The mother-in-law spoke highly of them.
Comrade Zhao smiled and agreed, saying it could be decided immediately.
The mother-in-law and De Shu expressed their gratitude again.
Comrade Zhao then asked if they had any difficulties at home.
The mother-in-law hesitated for a moment before asking, "Comrade Zhao, when will the class status divisions be finalized?"
"We are currently carrying out public outreach and household registration and review. This is a rather tedious process that requires repeated verification. The results will likely be available in the latter half of the year," Comrade Zhao replied.
Comrade Zhao then asked, "Comrade, do you have something you need?"
The mother-in-law thought for a moment. Since government comrades would have to issue certificates eventually, she spoke frankly. "Our entire family plans to move to join relatives in another province. We will need you to help with the necessary certificates then."
The mother-in-law thought for a moment and then said, "Comrade Zhao, the situation is like this: our entire family has only reserved enough provisions, oil, and salt for three months. Everything else has been donated. Could you make an exception and finalize our class status as soon as possible? We need the household registration and status certificates to join our relatives. If we wait until the latter half of the year, we won't be able to go this year."
"Why the hurry? Why can't you go? Where are your relatives from?" Comrade Zhao asked.
The mother-in-law looked at Chen Lan, and Chen Lan interjected.
"Jilin, near Changbai Mountain. It snows early there. By late September or early October, it might snow, and once it snows, nothing can be done. We need to arrive a few months early to prepare. We need to finish building a place for our large family before the snow. Comrade Zhao, could you possibly make an exception and handle this specially?"