My wife and I are both time travelers.

Chapter 37 A bright future
Taking the cigarette and lighting it with the one Zhou Jiye offered, Xu Guoqing looked Zhou Jiye and the others over and said, "Come with me."

Then he turned and left, with Zhou Jiye and Lin Ying following closely behind. Xu Guoqing led the two of them westward for a while, then turned a corner and arrived at an abandoned warehouse behind the restaurant.

The area was deserted and there wasn't a soul in sight. When they arrived, Xu Guoqing stopped and turned to Zhou Jiye and the others, saying, "Since you were introduced by Lao Wen, I won't ask any more questions. Lao Wen told me that you wanted to resolve your Shanghai residency issue. He briefly mentioned it to me, but he doesn't know the specifics. Please tell me your situation in detail first."

Zhou Jiye hesitated, unsure whether to speak or not. At this moment, Xu Guoqing smiled and said, "What? Worried that I'm unreliable? How about we just let it go and pretend we never met today?"

"Wait for Brother Xu!"

Seeing Xu Guoqing about to leave after saying that, Lin Ying quickly stepped forward: "Since we came, how could we not trust you? My husband is an honest man. It's not that he doesn't trust you, Brother Xu, it's just that he's slow-witted and doesn't know how to explain. How about I explain the situation to him?"

Xu Guoqing nodded, remaining silent and continuing to smoke, waiting quietly for Lin Ying to speak.

Lin Ying immediately told Xu Guoqing about her and Zhou Jiye's situation in detail. Of course, what she said was half true and half false. She told Xu Guoqing that they came from the Northwest. She said that her parents were from Shanghai and took her family to the Northwest shortly after she was born. Later, they died in an accident. Although she was born in Shanghai, she no longer had a Shanghai household registration and had no relatives in Shanghai.

Zhou Jiye is a local from Northwest China. After the two got married in Northwest China, they decided to come to Shanghai because of Lin Ying. However, when they returned, their original home was long gone, and they didn't even have a household registration. They could only find a temporary way to stay here.

After telling this story, a mix of truth and lies, Lin Ying maintained excellent composure, making her narrative sound plausible. Xu Guoqing listened quietly without interrupting.

After Lin Ying finished speaking, Xu Guoqing asked directly, "So you're not only from the Northwest, but you all have rural household registrations?"

Lin Ying nodded in agreement, and Xu Guoqing immediately frowned so deeply that he could trap a mosquito in his brow.

"If that's the case, then things will be a bit difficult..."

"What does Brother Xu mean...?" Lin Ying couldn't help but ask.

Xu Guoqing sighed and explained, "I originally thought you were just people who came from Shanghai, or that you had some relatives in Shanghai. But I didn't expect that not only are you all from out of town, but you don't even have any relatives in Shanghai. What's worse, you don't have non-agricultural household registration, which makes things very difficult. If you were all urban residents, and you had relatives in Shanghai who were willing to help, then we could probably find a way to get your household registration. But now..."

Upon hearing this, both Zhou Jiye and Lin Ying showed expressions of disappointment. According to Xu Guoqing, he probably couldn't handle the household registration issue, as they didn't meet any of the requirements.

"Brother Xu, could you help me think of a way? Even if we can get one of our two household registrations sorted out, it would be fine! Without a Shanghai household registration, we have no way to establish ourselves in Shanghai, and this will cause a lot of trouble in the long run." Zhou Jiye was a little anxious. Seeing that Xu Guoqing's cigarette was almost finished, he quickly handed him another one and stuffed most of the pack of cigarettes into his hand.

Xu Guoqing glanced at the cigarette in his hand, then looked up at Zhou Jiye: "Old Wen, who introduced you here, is my cousin from my maternal family. Since you are his friends, you are also my friends. I will definitely help you if I can because of Old Wen, but your situation is indeed very difficult!"

As he spoke, Xu Guoqing briefly explained why it was difficult to handle. He told Zhou Jiye and Lin Ying that if they were both non-agricultural residents, and if they had relatives in Shanghai to help them, they could find a way to resolve their issue through this policy for returning educated youth to settle down in the city.

Currently, the task of transferring the household registration of educated youth returning to the city from other places is not handled by the police station or the street office, but by the educated youth office.

The office for educated youth, as a temporary agency handling the return of educated youth to the city, wielded considerable power. As long as connections were in place, they could directly help with household registration through the return files, which greatly increased the room for manipulation within the organization.

Try to find a flexible way to handle the file, and then use this policy to treat them together as educated youth returning to the city.

In addition, the relocated household registration must ultimately be settled in this city, and this settlement requires a receiving residence. In other words, the household registration must ultimately be settled on the household registration book of a certain household in a certain place in Shanghai.

If they have relatives in Shanghai, they can register their household under their relatives' household registration book, or they can register their household under their own house. But if they don't have relatives or their own house, they simply can't register their household. Even if the educated youth office can help them, they still can't get their household registration.

After hearing Xu Guoqing's explanation, Zhou Jiye and Lin Ying suddenly understood why Xu Guoqing had asked these questions right away; that's what it was all about.

Unfortunately, they didn't meet any of these conditions, and it was impossible for anyone in Shanghai to easily help them register their residency. This was no small matter; the issue of relocating educated youth back to the city was fraught with conflict. Some had parents or siblings in Shanghai, but when they tried to transfer their residency back, their families, fearing it would affect their housing situation, created obstacles and refused to help. This kind of situation was not uncommon, but compared to Zhou Jiye and his group, those people, having originally come from Shanghai, could always find a way even with family obstacles. It was a different story for them.

"Is this another dead end?"

Zhou Jiye was somewhat disheartened, and Lin Ying's expression was also unpleasant. Even Xu Guoqing couldn't handle this matter, so wasn't the household registration an insurmountable obstacle? If that was the case, what would they do next? Was leaving Shanghai really their only option?
"You just said you wanted to get a household registration because you wanted to stay in Shanghai?" Xu Guoqing suddenly asked.

"Yes, yes, yes!" Zhou Jiye nodded repeatedly: "We only have rural household registrations from the Northwest right now. We're barely staying in Shanghai because of the introduction letters from our hometowns. But as you know, Brother Xu, an introduction letter is not as reliable as a household registration. And you can't rent a place without a household registration. Plus, there are a lot of educated youth returning to the city these days, and the checks outside are very strict. We're worried that we'll be in trouble if we get caught."

“That’s true.” Xu Guoqing nodded in understanding, then thought for a moment while smoking and said, “You can forget about getting a Shanghai city residency permit; that’s definitely out of the question. But if you don’t mind a rural residency permit in the suburbs, we could try to find a way to get one.”

Lin Ying had been somewhat desperate, but when she heard Xu Guoqing say this, her eyes lit up and she quickly asked for details.

"Anyway, all you want is to stay in Shanghai. I don't think it's necessary to get a city hukou. Getting a rural hukou in the suburbs is the same. Whether it's non-agricultural or not, at least it's a Shanghai hukou. With this, you won't have any problems renting a house in the city, and it won't affect your daily life and business in the city."

Zhou Jiye and Lin Ying were overjoyed when they heard this. Why hadn't they thought of this?
They certainly know that a Shanghai hukou (household registration) is valuable and difficult to obtain. Not to mention in this era, even decades from now, it won't be easy for outsiders to obtain a Shanghai hukou. In addition to the high-end talent introduction policy, there is also a special settlement policy that requires accumulating points and years of residency. If you don't meet the requirements for both, you simply can't get a hukou. Even if you do meet the requirements, you'll have to wait for several years.

The problem is that this only applies to urban household registration in Shanghai. In this era, Shanghai household registration is indeed highly valuable. However, rural household registration in the suburbs of Shanghai is a different story. Compared to urban household registration, rural household registration in the suburbs is looked down upon by almost no one. Even people from the suburbs are called "country bumpkins" by urban residents of Shanghai.

One is a rural household registration, the other is a non-agricultural urban household registration. Countless people would do anything to get the latter, but nobody cares about the former. But in Zhou Jiye and his group's view, even so, a rural household registration in the suburbs is still a legitimate Shanghai household registration!
"Will this work?"

When you think there is no way out, there is always a way out!
Xu Guoqing's words were like a bright light in the darkness, suddenly dispelling the fog, and Lin Ying was instantly excited.

Xu Guoqing is absolutely right. Although a rural household registration in the suburbs of Shanghai may not be very valuable, it is still a Shanghai household registration! As long as they have this household registration, they will have no problems renting a house or doing other things in Shanghai, and they will not be subject to the constraints of letters of introduction or household registration.

Moreover, as people who came to this era more than forty years later, both Zhou Jiye and Lin Ying are well aware of how valuable rural household registration in Shanghai will be in the future.

Decades later, this pattern will be completely reversed. The value of urban household registration will plummet, while the value of rural household registration will continue to rise. Of course, this only refers to first-tier cities like Shanghai and Beijing; there will be no difference in third- and fourth-tier cities.

Moreover, in the near future, with the continuous development of urbanization, the urban area of ​​Shanghai will gradually expand outward. For example, the rural suburbs that Zhou Jiye visits every day will become new urban areas in just ten years. The original farmland will be replaced by new development zones and residential communities, and countless buildings will rise from the ground. The farmers of that time will also become residents with urban household registration.

For others, a rural household registration in the suburbs of Shanghai might be beneath their notice, but for Zhou Jiye and Lin Ying, it was something they couldn't ask for.

The two of them couldn't help but exchange a glance, both seeing excitement and anticipation in each other's eyes. With such a great opportunity, what was there to hesitate about?

"Rural is fine, we can accept that!"

Zhou Jiye and Lin Ying said in unison, and seeing their eagerness to agree, Xu Guoqing couldn't help but laugh.

"As long as you have no problems, that's fine. However, although we can try to get you a rural household registration in the suburbs, there are some unpleasant things I need to tell you beforehand. You need to think this through carefully, so you don't regret it later."

"Brother Xu, please tell us the details. Don't worry, we are so grateful for your help. In the end, the choice is ours. We will definitely not regret it or complain about you." Lin Ying said to Xu Guoqing sincerely. Zhou Jiye nodded repeatedly. The two were so sincere that there was nothing wrong with their attitude.

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(End of this chapter)