Chapter 359: Immigration and Naturalization Briefing

The next day, the police did indeed come to verify their information. The household registration forms had already been filled out, and a police officer checked and registered them one by one. Since they had no fixed address, they were registered under the inn’s temporary household. Then, each person was issued a temporary identification card.

Zhuo Yifan and the others had hoped to see the fiery policewoman again, but she did not come. Instead, a few charming young policewomen arrived. After the previous incident, no one was foolish enough to cause trouble. Several of the occupied courtyards didn’t even open their doors, the occupants all hiding inside.

Though the household registration forms were detailed, the officers still asked a great many questions: where they came from, who in their family hadn’t come, what they did for a living, whether anyone in their family was an official or held a title… They probed every detail.

The numerous questions were annoying, but their smiling faces held an undeniable authority. Li Xiaoliu had already warned them: they could not refuse to answer. Otherwise, they would not be able to register, get a temporary ID card, or stay in Lingao.

Fortunately, they had learned about these procedures from the “Notes on Pacifying the short-hairs” and had prepared their “cover story.” Zhuo Yifan was confident they had revealed no flaws.

After registering their households and receiving their ID cards, the police officers left. Wan Lifeng respectfully saw them out and breathed a sigh of relief upon his return.

“That went smoothly!”

“Thanks to the ‘Notes on Pacifying the short-hairs’!” Meng Bofei said with a serious expression. “The short-hairs’ method of checking backgrounds is thorough. If we hadn’t been prepared, we would have been exposed today.”

Though they were deputies in the team, their experience in the martial arts world was far greater than Zhuo Yifan’s. This process of registering households and obtaining documents, while tedious for ordinary people, was a very effective move for this cobbled-together team.

If just one or two people’s stories didn’t match, they would be immediately exposed.

Zhuo Yifan, however, had no time for reflection. He had to go out immediately and send the “safe arrival” signal to contact Sima Qiudao.

Sending the signal was simple: he just had to place a stone on the wall of the public toilet in the alley where the inn was located.

Before he received a response, Li Xiaoliu had already come to invite him to a “briefing.”

The clients of the “Qiong’an Inn” were almost all wealthy landowners who had come to Lingao to “escape the turmoil.” Some had fled their hometowns due to disasters, selling their land and houses. Others, seeing the Ming Dynasty on the verge of collapse, had sent their sons and nephews to Lingao to buy property and prepare a retreat for their families, a classic “three burrows for a crafty rabbit” strategy.

Whatever their motives, these people all carried large amounts of capital and intended to purchase property and settle down. Lingao was a peaceful place, but its social management was completely modern. Not to mention the local tyrants from small towns, even the landlords from the capital and Jiangnan might not be able to adapt to the local rules.

To prevent his clients from being flogged or sent to dig sand shortly after arriving, Li Xiaopeng had specially prepared an “Immigration and Naturalization Briefing” for new clients.

This briefing was organized by the inn. A naturalized citizen cadre from the Lingao County office would first introduce the basic laws and policies. For this, Li Xiaopeng had even printed pamphlets for the clients. This was followed by a presentation on related investment opportunities.

As the “young master,” Zhuo Yifan could not refuse—he had come to Lingao under the pretext of buying a house and moving.

The briefing was held in the inn’s garden. To satisfy the clients’ “Ming-style lifestyle,” the “Qiong’an Inn” had set up a courtyard in the garden with a flower hall and a small stage, for the wealthy to feast and watch plays.

Many people were already seated in the flower hall: elderly men with white beards, handsome young men, and middle-aged men already running to fat. They were all dressed in silk and satin, but their faces were filled with anxiety. Though everyone said Lingao was a paradise, this place was no longer under the rule of the Ming. From the moment they entered Qiongzhou, the inn’s attendants had repeatedly reminded them: the rules here are different, and you must not act arrogantly.

Many families had brought their entire households. Even those who had only sent their sons and nephews had brought a large amount of property. A single mistake in this strange land could be a disaster.

The only local person they could trust was the owner of the “Qiong’an Inn.” Therefore, they attached great importance to this “briefing.” Not only had the masters, old and young, come, but a bamboo curtain had also been hung at the back—clearly, many of the women had also come.

The briefing had not yet begun, and the flower hall was filled with a low hum of conversation.

Zhuo Yifan, accompanied by his pageboy, was led by Li Xiaoliu to an empty table. Tea and four kinds of fruit pastries had already been placed on the table.

Li Xiaoliu whispered, “Master Zhuo, please have a seat. This is the ‘Immigration and Naturalization Guide.’ The key points of the briefing are all in here. You can listen and read at the same time, which will make it easier to understand.”

After speaking, Xiaoliu refilled his teacup and carefully withdrew.

After a while, Li Xiaopeng led in a “fake short-hair” with short hair, wearing a gray four-pocketed jacket. Zhuo Yifan knew that this was probably a so-called “cadre.” He had heard from Shi Weng that these “fake short-hairs” were all riff-raff from the Great Ming who couldn’t support themselves, so they had joined the short-hairs and become their most capable agents. Many loyal subjects of the court had fallen at their hands.

Zhuo Yifan wanted to see what this “capable agent” looked like. He looked intently and saw only an ordinary young man, no more than thirty years old, with ordinary features and a dark complexion. He had short hair like a monk and a clean-shaven face. He wore a gray cotton jacket with patches on the elbows—he looked quite poor, but his clothes were clean and tidy, and he had an air of neatness about him. He carried a plain canvas satchel slung over his shoulder.

Li Xiaopeng said a few opening words, nothing more than polite pleasantries, and then introduced the man as a “clerk from the Civil Affairs Section of the Lingao County Office of the Civil Affairs Committee.”

Zhuo Yifan didn’t know what kind of official this was, but he thought it was probably something like a clerk—and he secretly looked down on him.

He saw the man stand in front of the central table, take off his satchel and place it on the table, and then scan the flower hall with a calm and composed gaze, completely unlike the either obsequious or sinister expressions he had seen on the faces of Ming officials.

He secretly praised in his heart: The short-hairs really have talented people!

The “fake short-hair” didn’t bother with pleasantries and began to explain the local policies and regulations.

Zhuo Yifan had originally thought he was just here to make an appearance, but now he put away his contempt and listened carefully.

The briefing was divided into several parts. The first part concerned the laws and regulations related to daily life, such as the “Hygiene Regulations,” the “Urban Appearance Regulations,” and the “Public Security Law.” These were things that people would encounter in their daily lives, and a slight carelessness could lead to a violation. For people who had come from the Ming and had not yet had time to change their old habits, “breaking the law” was a matter of minutes.

For these wealthy families, some of the regulations were not very relevant, such as spitting and urinating in public. They had servants carrying spittoons when they went out, and they knew to be discreet about urinating and defecating. But the various “privileges” in social life that the gentry and wealthy families were accustomed to were absolutely forbidden under the rule of the Senate.

In other words, the government could no longer be ordered around by the gentry and wealthy families with a single note, nor would you be considered the “foundation of the state” just because you were a grain-paying household or had a title, enjoying various legal exemptions and preferential treatment.

The phrase “everyone is equal before the law” was deafening, and it made the wealthy families, who were used to privileges, feel anxious. What? Would they have to be on an equal footing with the unruly commoners in the future? Those unruly commoners, who would still resist rent and cause trouble in the market even with the threat of the yamen’s paddle and cangue, if they were truly “equal,” could they still live their lives?

Some of the wealthy families in the audience began to have second thoughts. Those who had already brought their entire families began to regret their rashness.

“The so-called equality before the law does not mean that favoring the poor is equality. It means handling matters impartially based on facts and in accordance with the law! Under the rule of our Senate, we will not favor or protect anyone because of their wealth, gender, place of origin, or any other reason. I think everyone knows that some officials in the Ming pride themselves on being honest and upright: in a lawsuit between a rich man and a poor man, they favor the poor man; in a lawsuit between a rich man and a scholar, they favor the scholar… Here, there is no such thing!” he said, chopping his hand down. “Whoever is right and legal, we will protect them. Whoever is wrong and breaks the law, the law will never let them go!”

Zhuo Yifan sneered inwardly: To be able to say such empty and beautiful words, the short-hairs are truly shameless. Not to mention whether they would favor the poor, just this “everyone is equal,” every dynasty has had the saying “if the prince breaks the law, he is punished the same as the common people,” but who has ever taken it seriously? You know, “punishment does not extend to the great officials” was also said by a sage.

As expected, the faces of the wealthy families around him showed expressions of disbelief.

The cadre seemed to know what they were thinking and said again, “I know you won’t believe it right away. But you will be in Lingao for a long time, so you can experience for yourselves whether what I have said today is true or false.”