The wicked mother-in-law doesn't try to whitewash herself; she only abuses her awful children.

"Why not?"

Since it's the owner of Peach Blossom Desserts, there's definitely no problem.

However, Liu Tielian needs to understand He Chao's specific situation.

Otherwise, if someone suddenly appears in the village and he doesn't properly vet them—what if they're a vagrant, bandit, or criminal?—he'll be responsible if something goes wrong.

Although he trusted Tong Huaqiong, he still needed to find out the truth.

After all, you can't have criminals, bandits, or rebel leaders written all over your face.

Liu Tielian then asked, "Great Heat Mother, I'd like to ask, what is the current status of Manager He's household registration?"

In this era, rural household registration was generally divided into two types: one was the main household, which was a family that owned land and paid taxes. Most villagers in Qinghewan owned land and belonged to the main household.

One type is the tenant, which is a family that rents land from a landlord without owning any land, such as a tenant farmer.

Mr. Qian, the owner of Fenglelou, is definitely the main tenant. He runs a restaurant, owns land, and is originally from Yanguan Town. Whether he moves to Qinghewan or not makes no difference.

He Chao was different; he was Tong Huaqiong's employee. Although the restrictions on the status of shop assistants were not so strict in this era, they were free to move between various shops and be employed.

But Liu Tielian still wanted to ask whether He Chao and Tong Huaqiong had a simple employer-employee relationship or whether He Chao had signed a servant contract with Tong Huaqiong.

As the village chief, he had to find out the details, as it involved a series of issues such as subsequent tax collection and conscription.

He Chao took the initiative to speak, saying, "I am a free agent and have been living in Pingchuan County."

Commerce was relatively developed in this era, and restrictions on people's status were not so strict. From the beginning of the dynasty, the household registration system of good people and lowly people was abolished.

Even if He Chao works as a housekeeper in the Zheng family, he is still a free man, not someone who has signed a contract to sell himself into servitude.

It's similar to the relationship between the company and its employees in Tong Huaqiong's previous life.

She and He Chao have now signed an employment contract, which is renewed every three years.

However, it cannot be ruled out that some families sign life-long contracts with their employees and servants.

Tong Huaqiong understood the village chief's question.

Tong Huaqiong said, "Old He is just my manager; he's free to come and go as he pleases."

Liu Tielian nodded and said, "Then Manager He's household registration is the main household registration."

He Chao remained calm, while Hong Shi was overjoyed.

From now on, our family will be the proper head of household.

Liu Tielian glanced at He Chao, seemingly wanting to say something but holding back.

It's obvious they have something to ask.

He wanted to ask He Chao if he had ever committed any crimes, but he didn't know how to bring it up. Asking this question in front of him would be too awkward.

It also shows a lack of trust in Tong Huaqiong.

Tong Huaqiong asked, "Village Chief, is there anything else you want to ask? Please feel free to ask. Otherwise, if any problems arise when it comes time to register your household, wouldn't that be putting Old He in a difficult position?"

Liu Tielian gave an awkward laugh.

When Mr. Qian heard Tong Huaqiong speak, he pondered for a moment and said, "Village Chief, are you trying to ask me if I have committed any crimes? I am an honest and law-abiding citizen, and I do business honestly. I have never even taken a concubine."

Tong Huaqiong: "."

Liu Tielian: No, what's the connection between taking a concubine and being a good citizen?
"Everyone in our Yanguan Town knows that Boss Qian is a good man."

Liu Tielian offered a compliment.

At this point, He Chao realized that the question was mainly about his situation.

He Chao said, "Village Chief, it's only right that you ask, since you are the village chief and you have a responsibility for my settlement in Qinghewan. I can guarantee that I have never committed any crime. You can find out by asking around at the Pingchuan County government office. I don't even have a single document related to any dispute."

Liu Tielian breathed a sigh of relief.

Although no one would go to the county government to inquire, he believed He Chao since he said so.

When He Chao registers his household registration, he will need to go to the county government to report and verify his identity.

If anything goes wrong and the higher-ups investigate, he'll say he already asked around. If the work process was followed correctly but the result was wrong, it won't be his fault.

Furthermore, given the relationship between Magistrate Liu and Tong Huaqiong, Tong Huaqiong must have already inquired about the matter before appointing him as the manager of Peach Blossom Dessert Shop.

Liu Tielian continued, "Great Heat Mother, I understand everything I wanted to know. Manager He needs to live in our village for a full year to settle down. This isn't a rule I set out for him, but a rule set by the government. I wanted to let you know that."

To be honest, this was the first time Tong Huaqiong had heard of this household registration management system.

It's not difficult to register your household after living there for a year.

This is much simpler than the household registration policy in the place where she studied in her previous life.

He Chao said, "I know that. Since we're going to buy a plot of land in Qinghe Bay to build a house, we'll definitely stay here."

Both he and Mrs. Hong had made up their minds: since they were following Tong Huaqiong, they would settle down in Qinghe Bay.

If Tong Huaqiong leaves Qinghewan in the future, then we will make other plans.

Liu Tielian said, "Alright then. In that case, there's nothing to worry about."

“Those two plots of land are unclaimed anyway. You can build houses anytime you want. Once the houses are built, you can register them with the government.”

Liu Tielian gave a reminder.

Now that wasteland where wronged souls are buried is unclaimed, and no one in the village is willing to build a house there.

If the house is built after the vengeful spirits are appeased, some people might become envious.

Therefore, after the house is built, it should be registered to prevent the risk of being taken away.

"Village chief, thank you for reminding me."

He Chao was naturally familiar with this procedure. Even if He Chao was negligent, Boss Qian, who bought the homestead with him, would remind him. But he was still grateful to Liu Tielian, the village chief.

Most villages are basically communities where generations have lived and multiplied together, making them typical close-knit communities.

Aside from war, there is very little movement of people.

For this reason, some villages do not welcome outsiders, and even if they do come, they will bully them.

Having such a reasonable and understanding village chief in Qinghewan is beneficial to He Chao and the Hong family.

In front of Tong Huaqiong, He Chao took out some silver and handed it to Liu Tielian, saying, "Village Chief, please have some tea with this silver."

Mr. Qian felt his pockets and realized he had no money with him.

It's not his fault; he didn't plan to buy a plot of land in Qinghewan before he came.

He wasn't used to carrying silver when he went out in the Yanguan Town area; he found it too heavy. Everyone in Yanguan Town knew him, and people were willing to give him credit when he wanted to buy something, because not carrying silver caused him no inconvenience at all.

But this time they overlooked it.

Boss Qian then took off his jade thumb ring and handed it to Liu Tielian.

He Chao's silver had already exceeded Liu Tielian's expectations, and Boss Qian's jade thumb ring made Liu Tielian's eyes widen even more.

That's incredibly extravagant!

How could he dare accept it!

Liu Tielian waved his hand and said, "This is what I, as the village chief, should do. You should take it back immediately."

He Chao said, "The village chief has no right or wrong. When buying a house or land, you have to pay a commission to the middleman."

Mr. Qian then stuffed the jade thumb ring into the village chief's arms.

Liu Tielian jumped up and moved closer to Tong Huaqiong, saying, "Dashu's mother, you should tell them to move aside. Do you think I, the village chief, am the same as a middleman? I don't make a living by introducing houses and land to people."

Tong Huaqiong understood the village chief's thoughts very well.

In Liu Tielian's mind, he was able to become the village chief thanks to Tong Huaqiong.

In addition, Tong Huaqiong sought his help to buy land and hire people, and also needed to distribute disinfectant and insecticide to the entire village.

Liu Tielian felt indebted to Tong Huaqiong for many favors, and now that he had finally found someone introduced by Tong Huaqiong who needed his help, wouldn't he be putting himself in a lower position in front of Tong Huaqiong if he accepted money? (End of this chapter)