CH 47.2

Jun 21 2023

The registrar shook his head, “I haven’t paid attention to that.”

The county magistrate proceeded, “Do you happen to know who cured the strange illness of the second young master of the Cai family, which has been rumored to have improved recently in the city?”

The registrar continued shaking his head, but an uneasy feeling started to rise in his heart.

The county magistrate glanced at him, paused, and changed the topic, saying, “The tax collection for this year’s autumn harvest is also of great concern to the county magistrate. Registrar, let’s hear your opinion first.”

The registrar, upon hearing the county magistrate’s words, set aside his doubts and repeated the issue concerning the tax collection.

“This is exactly the same as what you mentioned during the summer harvest,” remarked the county magistrate.

The registrar bowed his head in silence.

It was merely an excuse the registrar casually came up with, lacking any novelty. He simply repeated what had been said before, a familiar topic of discussion.

“Alright, you can go back now and think about the tax issue,” said the county magistrate.

The registrar nodded repeatedly and was about to leave.

“Furthermore,” the county magistrate called him back, saying, “Registrar, when those people come again tomorrow to handle their matters, make sure to handle it properly. Don’t bring trouble to the entire county office.”

Originally, the county magistrate didn’t want to remind his colleague, but he feared that if he made a mistake, the entire county office might be implicated. Reluctantly, he added a few more words of advice.

When he first heard that the owner of a snack stall had cured the strange illness of the second young master of the Cai family, the county magistrate had intentionally gone to North Street to have a look. When he saw the young man just now, he immediately recognized him. A few days ago, the Cai family had distributed mooncakes made by the snack stall as Mid-Autumn Festival gifts. He even heard reports from his household servants that the Cai family had invited the snack stall owner to celebrate the Mid-Autumn Festival together. It was evident that the Cai family highly regarded this snack stall owner.

However, he didn’t expect that the registrar would intentionally keep the person waiting for an entire afternoon. Did he truly not want to advance in his position? It didn’t matter if he didn’t want to advance; the county magistrate himself still wanted to.

Moreover, the matter of unlicensed registration was known only to a few insiders and some officials who had handled it. Even the county magistrate kept it hidden from the Cai family, fearing any mishaps. Yet, the registrar had chosen to harass this person closely associated with the Cai family. It was truly beyond comprehension.

“Hmph!” The county magistrate snorted coldly in his heart and cunningly thought to himself that perhaps the higher authorities already knew about this matter but simply hadn’t found the time to take action. After all, he had vehemently opposed it back then. If something went wrong, it might turn out to be his own opportunity.

Sighing, whether he could absolve himself from the situation was hard to say. He might even face serious consequences. The county magistrate sighed once again, extinguishing his own sense of luck. He only hoped that the registrar would be wise.

In the evening, the registrar went to Boss Wang’s house and learned about the situation with the snack stall. He was so infuriated that he pointed at his nephew and scolded, “Why didn’t you tell me about that person’s relationship with the Cai family?! Are you out of your mind? If he mentions something to the Cai family, even a word or two, I’ll be finished!”

Boss Wang learned the reason and was about to teach his disappointing son a lesson with a stick, but he was stopped by his wife.

The registrar became furious and said, “Don’t come to me with your matters anymore!” With that, he turned around and slammed the door as he left.

Early the next morning, although Yu Qingze knew about the relationship between the registrar and Boss Wang, he still had to handle his household registration, so he came with the village chief and others.

He mentally prepared himself for various troubles or a hefty loss of money, but when he arrived at the room where he was ignored yesterday, he saw the registrar who had avoided him suddenly wearing a warm smile.

“Oh, you’re here. I apologize for my urgent matters yesterday. My subordinates have informed me. Here, this is the completed wooden plaque for your household registration. The other procedures have also been taken care of. Just go to him to sign and leave your fingerprint.” The registrar personally handed Yu Qingze his completed household registration wooden plaque, displaying an unexpectedly warm and sincere attitude.

Yu Qingze: …

The clerks and the village chief: …

The three of them exchanged puzzled glances, struggling to comprehend this miraculous transformation. However, since the household registration was successfully completed, they accepted the outcome.

Translated on ho lo lo novels dot com.

“Thank you, sir,” Yu Qingze had a faint speculation in his mind. Yesterday, the registrar treated them strictly professionally in the morning, but then his attitude changed in the afternoon. It was likely that something happened during lunchtime. And today, his attitude had changed again. Could it be that yesterday afternoon, the registrar didn’t know about his slight connection with the Cai family, but then he found out in the evening? That’s why his attitude changed?

Regardless, this was the best outcome.

Yu Qingze received the household registration wooden plaque and then signed and left his fingerprint with the clerk in charge of household registration. The household registration was now completed.

Even after leaving the government office, the three of them remained somewhat dazed.

The village chief glanced behind him and asked, puzzled, “Why did things suddenly turn so good today?”

Li Zheng also shook his head and said, “I don’t know. Sigh, these people, it’s not something we can understand. In any case, as long as the household registration is done.”

Yu Qingze nodded and said, “Li Zheng is right. As long as things are done well.”

When the three of them reached the snack stall, Yu Qingze shared the good news with Chang Le and showed him the wooden plaque for the household registration.

Chang Le looked at the brand-new wooden plaque, feeling as if his own household registration had been completed, and he was very happy. He gestured and expressed his congratulations to Yu Qingze.

Brother Chang and his father also congratulated him when they learned that his matter was resolved.

Yu Qingze smiled and thanked them, then he said to Chang Le, “I have something to attend to and need to go back first. You should close the stall early today because I invited Li Zheng and the village chief for dinner tonight.”

Chang Le nodded with a smile, agreeing to the plan.

On his way back, Yu Qingze asked the village chief, “Village Chief, is Matchmaker Liao’s house on the way? Also, if there is a marriage proposal in the village, what kind of gifts should be prepared?”

The village chief was surprised and asked, “You want to propose?”

Yu Qingze scratched the back of his head, feeling a bit embarrassed. He nodded and said, “Yes.”

The village chief smiled and asked, “Which young man caught your eye?”

Yu Qingze smiled and replied, “Brother Le.”

“Brother Le?” The village chief widened his eyes but then thought it made sense. Yu Qingze was rescued by Brother Le in the past and had been living in his house ever since. It was not surprising that they had developed a good relationship.

He nodded and said, “Brother Le is good, a fine young man.”

Yu Qingze was happy to hear the village chief praise Brother Le and chuckled.

The village chief glanced at him and said, “Matchmaker Liao is in the small village behind our village where Li Zheng lives. As for what gifts you should prepare for the proposal, it depends on how much money you have. Matchmaker Liao will let you know. The countryside doesn’t have as many customs as the city, so if you have money, prepare more; if you don’t have much, prepare less. It entirely depends on your own situation. Besides, I don’t think Brother Le’s family will care much about the amount of gifts and betrothal money.”

Yu Qingze nodded and said, “Thank you, Village Chief. I understand.”

After returning home, Yu Qingze invited the village chief and Li Zheng to come over for dinner in the evening. Then he had lunch and immediately went to Matchmaker Liao’s house in the afternoon.

After settling matters with Matchmaker Liao, he went to the city to buy all the necessary gifts, along with groceries, and returned home.

Later, he secretly placed the gifts at the village chief’s house in advance, so he could pick them up later, and he asked the village chief’s family to keep it a secret. He managed to keep all of this hidden from Grandpa Chang and Chang Hao’s eyes, without letting them know. Of course, Chang Le was busy with the snack stall, so he had no clue either.

In the evening, Yu Qingze prepared a table of delicious dishes to thank the Li Zheng and the village chief for their help.

Li Zheng and the village chief tasted the dishes Yu Qingze prepared, and they were pleasantly surprised. They couldn’t stop eating and left with satisfied hearts and full stomachs, happily returning home.

After the village chief and Li Zheng left, Yu Qingze went to Brother Chang’s house to inform them that he wouldn’t be opening the stall tomorrow and also told the three of them to take the day off.

They were all a bit surprised, but since Yu Qingze had made the decision, they nodded in agreement.

The next day, after having breakfast, Chang Le returned from the creek after washing clothes and entered the house to find Matchmaker Liao sitting in the main hall, talking to his grandfather.

His heart sank.

Oh no, Matchmaker Liao has come again to propose to Big Brother Yu!