My wife and I are both time travelers.

Chapter 38 Taking a Gamble

Xu Guoqing was very satisfied with their attitude. After all, this was no small matter, and he was only helping out of respect for Lao Wen. Moreover, there were bound to be risks involved in doing such things. Without a familiar and reliable person to introduce him, Xu Guoqing would never have offered his help.

Xu Guoqing said there were three things that needed to be made clear in advance. The first thing was that they had to transfer their household registration and archives from their hometowns. They had to figure out how to do this themselves, because without these documents, Shanghai couldn't accept them.

This task might be difficult for others, but it was a piece of cake for Zhou Jiye.

Don't forget that Zhou Jiye's father, Zhou Furong, is the Party branch secretary. For him, transferring a household registration and getting a certificate from the commune is as simple as eating and drinking. They don't even need to go back; they can just ask Zhou Furong to handle it. Zhou Jiye immediately agreed.

"The second thing is that this matter requires money. How much money can you come up with?" Xu Guoqing asked bluntly.

Zhou Jiye and Lin Ying exchanged a glance, not surprised at all. It's impossible to ask someone for a favor without expecting something in return; they had prepared for this beforehand.

"Brother Xu, how much do you think would be appropriate?" Lin Ying asked tentatively.

Xu Guoqing laughed and said, "It depends on where you're going to register your household. To do this, you need someone willing to accept you. In rural communes or production brigades, you have to spend money to smooth things over. Without someone's approval, it's impossible to get it done. Also, the household registration will definitely be under the jurisdiction of a villager in the local village, and you'll have to pay to settle that too."

At this point, Xu Guoqing paused, thought for a moment, and said, "How about this, give me two thousand first, that should be about right, and I'll make up the difference later, what do you think?"

"two thousand?"

Zhou Jiye opened his mouth. Two thousand was no small sum. They had been working from dawn till dusk every day and had only managed to save a little over three thousand. Now that so much was going to be taken away all at once, it really hurt.

Furthermore, Zhou Jiye was worried about another issue: if the money was spent and the matter was resolved, that would be fine, but what if it failed? Especially since he was meeting Xu Guoqing for the first time today. Although Lao Wen had introduced them, and Xu Guoqing claimed that Lao Wen was his cousin, Zhou Jiye had never met Xu Guoqing before! What if the other party was trying to scam him? Once he paid the money, wouldn't it be like throwing it all away?

Despite thinking this, Zhou Jiye didn't dare to ask directly. He wasn't stupid; if he showed distrust in the current situation, what if Xu Guoqing simply turned his back and left?
"Brother Xu, how confident are you about this?" Lin Ying asked at this moment.

Xu Guoqing said calmly, "About seven or eight out of ten. Who dares to say one hundred percent about something like this?"

"Only seven or eight points?" Zhou Jiye became anxious upon hearing this. Just as he was about to say something, Lin Ying stomped on his foot hard. Zhou Jiye almost cried out in pain, but when he grimaced, he saw Lin Ying glare at him fiercely, her expression clearly telling him to shut up.

"Brother Xu, you just mentioned three things, what's the last one?" Lin Ying didn't bring up the money first, but instead asked about the third thing that Xu Guoqing hadn't mentioned yet.

Xu Guoqing gave Lin Ying a meaningful look: "The third thing is that even if you register your household there, you won't be able to enjoy the village's benefits. In other words, your household registration won't be considered as original residents of the village. You won't be allocated private plots or homesteads. Your household registration will just be there. As for grain rations and other rural household registration benefits, you won't get them. But since you're doing business in Shanghai, you should be able to handle this yourselves. Think about it and see if you want to get it done."

Lin Ying thought for a moment and asked, "What if I want to have the same treatment as the villagers? Is that possible?"

"Hehe, if that's the case, then it will cost more. As long as you have money, things are easier to talk to. However, I can't guarantee whether it can be done right now. I'll have to ask around to find out," Xu Guoqing replied with a smile, twirling his fingers.

"How much more do you want?" Lin Ying continued to ask.

Xu Guoqing thought for a moment, then held up one finger and said, "We need to add at least a thousand more, so it will be three thousand in total. Whether it will exceed that depends on the specific circumstances, but even if it does, it probably won't be by much. It shouldn't be a big problem."

“Alright, please do it for us according to this plan.” Lin Ying agreed without hesitation, then reached into her pocket and took out the money she had prepared in advance, and said sincerely, “I left in a hurry today and only brought five hundred with me. Consider this five hundred as a deposit. We’re counting on you, Brother Xu. If you can get it done, we will definitely repay you handsomely in the future.”

Xu Guoqing glanced at the money in Lin Ying's hand, but didn't take it immediately. Instead, he asked with a smile, "You trust me that much? Aren't you going to discuss it further? This is no small matter. You're just giving me the money right away? Aren't you afraid I'm a scammer?"

"Brother Xu, you're too kind. You're Brother Wen's brother, and Brother Wen is our friend. We're all family. Since Brother Wen recommended you to us, you must be reliable. How could I not trust you? Please take this money first, Brother Xu. We'll write back to our hometown after we get back and ask them to transfer our household registration. Once this is done, we'll bring you the remaining money and the necessary documents. What do you think?"

Lin Ying's words surprised Xu Guoqing. He looked at Lin Ying with admiration, laughed, and generously accepted the money. He counted the money in his hand to make sure it was five hundred yuan, then put the money in his pocket: "That's settled then. You go back and prepare first, and come find me when you're ready. I'm basically at the shop from Tuesday to Sunday, so just come at the same time as today."

After saying that, Xu Guoqing left without further ado.

After Xu Guoqing left, Zhou Jiye couldn't hold back any longer and complained to Lin Ying, "How could you give him the money so easily? What if Xu Guoqing is a swindler? That's five hundred yuan! How much do they earn in a whole day of hard work?"
"You can't catch a wolf without risking your cub, don't you even understand this principle? If you don't pay first to finalize this matter, are you going to wait until things get complicated?" Lin Ying retorted bluntly.

"That's five hundred! Five hundred!" Zhou Jiye was getting anxious. "Five hundred yuan! How many old hens would I have to sell, how many tea eggs would you have to sell to earn that back? And we still have to spend another two thousand five hundred afterwards, that's no small amount. Besides, this guy surnamed Xu himself said he was only seventy or eighty percent sure, he didn't even dare to say one hundred percent, how could you believe him so easily?"

Seeing Zhou Jiye's anxious look, Lin Ying burst out laughing.

"What are you laughing at? We're talking serious, be serious!" "I think you should go to Hong Kong."

Lin Ying suddenly said something that left Zhou Jiye completely bewildered. How did the conversation suddenly veer off to Hong Kong?

"What do you mean?"

"With your abilities, you could become an official in Hong Kong."

"Become an official? What kind of official?"

“The Governor of Hong Kong! The highest-ranking official!” Lin Ying tilted her head and looked at him meaningfully.

"The Governor of Hong Kong?"

Zhou Jiye was puzzled. Why did he suddenly say he could become the Governor of Hong Kong? When he muttered "Governor of Hong Kong" twice, his face turned green instantly.

"Fine, you!" Zhou Jiye gritted his teeth. "How can you be so sarcastic towards your husband? I'm worried that the money I spent might not be used and the project would be a complete waste, and you're mocking me for being stupid? Like an idiot? Ugh! I'm so angry!"

Just as Zhou Jiye was about to jump up in anger, Lin Ying's words surprised him again.

"You really are stupid, incredibly stupid. You're a genuine Governor of Hong Kong!"

Lin Ying commented bluntly: "If Xu Guoqing had said outright that this was absolutely no problem, and patted his chest to confirm that he was 100% certain, I still wouldn't have believed him. You spent a few years in Shanghai before, how come you don't understand the characteristics of Shanghai people?"

"How to say?"

"People from Shanghai always leave some room for maneuver in their words. They never do anything they're not sure of, and they certainly don't make promises lightly. Even if they're 100% sure, they'll only say they're 70% or 80% sure at most, because they understand the principle that man proposes, God disposes."

"In Shanghai, only unreliable people or swindlers will confidently guarantee something. Today, I'll teach you a lesson: never believe anyone in Shanghai who promises you something. Tell them to get as far away as possible; nine times out of ten, they're unreliable. On the contrary, those who leave some room for doubt in their words, and who tell you upfront that they're only 70-80% sure, are the truly trustworthy ones. Moreover, people in Shanghai have another characteristic: they will never accept favors from others unless they are certain, but once they do, they will do their best to get things done. Now you understand?"

"this……."

Zhou Jiye was stunned. What Lin Ying said really overturned his imagination. Although he had indeed spent a few years in Shanghai, Shanghai back then was no longer the Shanghai it is now. The number of migrants was huge, and their proportion far exceeded that of the locals.

People used to communicate in Mandarin, which is completely different from now. You can't tell whether someone is a native of Shanghai just by talking to them.

So, to be honest, Zhou Jiye didn't really know much about the character and behavior of people from Shanghai. It was only after arriving in this era that he gradually came to understand them.

"You deliberately gave him five hundred first just to test him?" Zhou Jiye asked after thinking for a moment.

"Well, at least you're not completely stupid!" Lin Ying nodded. "Without paying first, this matter can't be settled. Since he's accepted the five hundred yuan, according to the rules of Shanghai, this matter is considered settled today."

"What if there are problems in the end? What should we do then?" Zhou Jiye asked, still feeling uneasy.

"What can we do? We can only accept it as is!"

Lin Ying rolled her eyes at him: "Money can be earned back, but this opportunity is gone forever if you miss it! I think Xu Guoqing is quite confident about this, otherwise he wouldn't have told us this. Besides, how will you know if you don't take a chance?"

"this……."

Zhou Jiye was speechless. After thinking it over carefully, he felt that Lin Ying's words made sense. Indeed, this matter was worth taking a gamble on. If it succeeded, they would have no worries. Even if it failed, they would only lose some money. As for the money, they could always earn it back through hard work. But once the opportunity was gone, it was gone forever.

　During the new book release period, please consider investing in this book. Also, I'd appreciate your monthly votes. Thank you!

　　
　
(End of this chapter)