The Evil Mother-in-law: Torment Children, Work Hard, Be Rich!-Chapter 206: Wasteland Turned Homestead

"Why not?"

Since he is the manager of Taohua Dessert, there shouldn’t be any problem.

However, Liu Tieshan needs to understand the specifics of He Chao’s situation.

Otherwise, if someone suddenly appears in the village and turns out to be a refugee, bandit, or criminal and he hasn’t cleared it up, it would be his responsibility if anything happens.

Even though he trusts Tong Huaqiong, he still needs to ask clearly.

After all, there’s no way to see who’s a criminal or a bandit or a rebel leader just by looking at their face, right?

Liu Tieshan asked, "Dashi’s wife, I want to ask about the current household registration status of Manager He?"

In this era, the household registration for settling in villages usually divides into two types: one is the main household, which includes families with land and who bear taxes; most villagers in Qinghe Bay have land and belong to the main household.

The other is a client household, which refers to families without land who rent land from landlords, such as tenant farmers.

Boss Qian from Fengle Building is definitely a main household; he runs a tavern, has land, and is originally from Yan Guan Town, so whether he settles in Qinghe Bay doesn’t make a difference.

He Chao is different; he works for Tong Huaqiong. Although in this era, there are not many restrictions on the identity of shop clerks, they have the freedom to move and be employed in various shops.

But Liu Tieshan still wants to ask whether He Chao’s relationship with Tong Huaqiong is a simple employment connection or whether he has signed a contract as a servant with Tong Huaqiong.

As the village chief, he needs to ask clearly, since it involves a series of questions related to later taxation, conscription, and so on.

He Chao took the initiative to say, "I am free and have always been in Pingchuan County."

This era is relatively commercially developed and has not imposed strict restrictions on people’s identities, having abolished the categorization of civilians into good and lowly classes since the founding of the dynasty.

Even if He Chao was a steward in the Zheng Family, he was still free and not under a lifetime servitude contract.

It’s similar to the relationship between companies and employees in Tong Huaqiong’s previous life.

Now she and He Chao have signed an employment contract, which renews every three years.

However, it does not rule out that some households sign lifelong contracts with their clerks and household staff.

Tong Huaqiong understands the village chief’s question.

Tong Huaqiong said, "Old He is just my shopkeeper, free to come and go."

Liu Tieshan nodded, saying, "Then Manager He’s household registration can be considered a main household."

He Chao looked indifferent, but Mrs. Hong was full of joy.

From now on, their family would be a legitimate main household.

Liu Tieshan looked at He Chao, seemingly hesitating.

This look obviously meant he had something to ask.

He wanted to inquire whether He Chao had committed any crimes but didn’t know how to start; asking this in front of him would be too embarrassing.

It would also seem too distrusting of Tong Huaqiong.

Tong Huaqiong asked, "Village Chief, do you have anything else to ask? Just ask. Otherwise, problems might arise when registering later, and wouldn’t it be unfair to Old He?"

Liu Tieshan gave an awkward smile.

Boss Qian, hearing Tong Huaqiong speaking, pondered for a moment and said, "Village Chief, are you wondering if I’ve committed any crimes or anything? I’m an honest citizen doing legitimate business; I haven’t even taken a concubine."

Tong Huaqiong: "..."

Liu Tieshan: What does taking concubines have to do with being a legitimate citizen?

"Who in Yan Guan Town doesn’t know that Boss Qian is a good person?"

Liu Tieshan offered a compliment.

At this point, He Chao also realized the question was primarily about his case.

He Chao said, "Village Chief, it’s appropriate for you to ask, after all, you’re responsible for residents in Qinghe Bay. I can assure you, I’ve never committed any crimes; you can inquire at the Pingchuan County government, and you’ll find that I don’t even have any documents related to disputes."

Liu Tieshan breathed a sigh of relief.

Though nobody would really go inquire at the county office, since He Chao says so, he believed it.

When the time comes for He Chao to register, he would need to go to the county office to report and verify his identity.

If something indeed went wrong and investigations were pursued, he could claim he had asked.

Should the process be right and the result wrong, it wouldn’t fall on him.

Moreover, given the relationship between County Magistrate Liu and Tong Huaqiong, it’s likely that Tong Huaqiong had already investigated thoroughly before making He the manager at Taohua Dessert.

Liu Tieshan continued, "Dashi’s wife, I’ve learned what I needed to know. When Manager He registers in our village, he needs to live here for a year. This is not my rule; it’s the government’s, and I felt you should know."

Truth be told, it was the first time Tong Huaqiong knew about this household registration system.

Living for a year to register is not a difficult matter.

It’s much simpler than the residence policies from her past world of study.

He Chao said, "I knew that, since I’m planning to buy a homestead and build a house in Qinghe Bay, we’ll definitely continue living here."

He and Mrs. Hong had thought it through; since they followed Tong Huaqiong, they would settle in Qinghe Bay.

If Tong Huaqiong were to leave Qinghe Bay, they would make other plans.

Liu Tieshan said, "Alright. If that’s the case, there’s nothing to worry about."

"Those two plots of land are unclaimed, so if you want to build a house, you can do so anytime. Register with the government once the house is built."

Liu Tieshan gave a reminder.

Currently, the waste land haunted with grievances is ownerless, and no one in the village wants to build there.

If the grievances are appeased and a house is built, someone might get jealous.

So, registering after the house is built helps prevent the risk of the land being taken by others.

"Village Chief, thank you for the reminder."

Of course, He Chao was familiar with this procedure. Even if he missed it, Boss Qian, who was buying the homestead with him, would have reminded him, but he still thanked the village chief, Liu Tieshan.

In most villages, families live and thrive over generations in a close-knit community.

Except during wartime, people rarely move.

Because of this, some villages don’t welcome outsiders, and even when they do arrive, they might exploit them.

Having a reasonable and fair village chief in Qinghe Bay is beneficial for He Chao and Mrs. Hong.

He Chao, in front of Tong Huaqiong, handed over some silver to Liu Tieshan, saying, "Village Chief, please take this silver and have some tea."

Boss Qian reached for his pocket, realizing he hadn’t brought any silver.

It wasn’t his fault; he hadn’t planned to buy a homestead in Qinghe Bay before coming here.

He wasn’t used to carrying silver in Yan Guan Town; he found it cumbersome. Everyone in the whole of Yan Guan Town knew him, and if he wanted to buy something, no one would hesitate to sell it to him on credit, since not carrying silver wouldn’t cause any inconvenience at all.

But this time, he made a mistake...

Boss Qian took off his jade ring and handed it to Liu Tieshan.

He Chao’s silver was already unexpected for Liu Tieshan, and the jade ring from Boss Qian made him widen his eyes.

This was too extravagant.

How could he dare accept it?

Liu Tieshan waved his hand and said, "This is my duty as the village chief. You should take it back."

He Chao said, "Village Chief, there is no such thing as duty. If you find an intermediary to buy a house or land, you also have to pay a commission."

Boss Qian tried to shove the jade ring into the village chief’s pocket.

Liu Tieshan jumped up and moved closer to Tong Huaqiong, saying, "Dashi’s wife, please tell them to take it back. How can I, the village chief, be like an intermediary? I don’t make my living by introducing houses and land to people."

Tong Huaqiong understood the village chief’s mindset well.

In Liu Tieshan’s mind, he might not have become a village chief without Tong Huaqiong’s help.

Plus, Tong Huaqiong approached him for buying land and hiring people, and she also wanted to provide pest control and sterilization medicine for the whole village.

Liu Tieshan felt he owed a lot to Tong Huaqiong, and now, to finally have someone introduced by Tong Huaqiong in need of his help, if he took the silver, wouldn’t he seem inferior in front of Tong Huaqiong?