Era: Seven money-losing girls? They're trying to trick me into having a daughter again!

Village Chief Zhou was already waiting at the intersection leading to the town.

Today he wore a dark blue Zhongshan suit, with a fountain pen in his pocket and a kraft paper envelope in his hand containing a certificate issued by the village.

"Uncle Zhou! Sorry to keep you waiting!"

As soon as Fang Wei saw Village Chief Zhou, he immediately handed him a cigarette and addressed him more warmly than before.

Village Chief Zhou took the cigarette, put it in his mouth, and waved his hand: "I just arrived too. Did you bring everything? Did you bring your household registration book?"

"Yes, I brought it."

Wu Shaoli took out a household registration booklet wrapped in an old cloth, carefully opened it and showed it to Village Chief Zhou. Then she took out a piece of paper and said, "This is the application letter."

Village Chief Zhou nodded and said, "Let's go. We just happened to be there. Old Zhang is also going to town today and is waiting for us there."

Fang Wei didn't immediately recognize who Old Zhang was. It wasn't until he saw the oxcart that he remembered how to address him: "Uncle Zhang! Are you going to town too?"

This Uncle Zhang was older than his deceased father, and was one of only two people in the village who raised cattle.

"That's right!"

Old Zhang cracked his whip. "Hurry up and get on, it takes almost half an hour to get to town from here!"

"Okay! Thanks, Uncle Zhang!"

Fang Wei carried Daya and Erya into the car one by one, then reached out to help Wu Shaoli. After Village Chief Zhou got in, he was the last to jump into the car and sit next to his wife and daughter.

"drive--"

With a shout from Old Zhang, the old ox slowly started to move.

The oxcart swayed and rattled its way toward the town. The rice paddies on both sides of the road had already begun to sprout ears, a lush green expanse.

Er Ya leaned against the side of the cart, her eyes darting around, everything she saw seemed new and exciting: "Big sister, look! There are so many birds over there!"

Daya also leaned over to look, but she was looking in the direction of the town in the distance, muttering something under her breath.

Fang Wei turned his head to look at Wu Shaoli, who had been silent, took her hand, and reassured her, "It's just changing the name, it'll be quick, don't be nervous."

"I'm not nervous..."

Wu Shaoli said she wasn't nervous, but her palms were sweaty.

She glanced at Village Chief Zhou, and seeing that he wasn't looking in her direction, she hesitated for a moment before resting her head on Fang Wei's shoulder. Finally, she felt less panicked.

More than half an hour later, the oxcart entered the town.

Old Zhang, being a good Samaritan, drove the oxcart directly to the roadside in front of the town police station. Fang Wei carried his daughters off the cart one by one and helped Wu Shaoli down as well.

The town's police station is a two-story gray brick building with a white wooden sign with black lettering hanging on the wall at the entrance.

"This is it."

Village Chief Zhou straightened the collar of his Zhongshan suit, took the kraft paper envelope, and was the first to go in.

Fang Wei led Daya by the hand, and Wu Shaoli led Erya by the hand. The whole family quickly followed them into the lobby of the police station.

There weren't many people in the lobby, and the floor was still damp. There were a few wooden benches against the wall, and opposite them was a row of desks with some documents piled on them.

A young male clerk wearing navy blue arm sleeves sat behind a table at the far end, his head down as he wrote something.

He looked to be in his early twenties, wearing black-rimmed glasses, which gave him a somewhat refined appearance.

Village Chief Zhou walked up to the table and said with a smile, "Comrade, hello there, we're here to take care of something."

The male clerk looked up, glanced at Village Chief Zhou, then at Fang Wei's family behind him, and asked, "What kind of business do you need?"

That's right.

Village Chief Zhou took out the certificate from the kraft paper envelope, and then took the household registration book and application letter from Wu Shaoli, and handed them over together.

"This is Fang Wei from our village. He wants to change the names of his daughters."

The clerk grunted in acknowledgment, took the household registration booklet and letter, glanced at them briefly, then suddenly slammed everything onto the table and said coldly:

"The information is incomplete, so we can't make changes! Come back when you have all the information ready!"

Village Chief Zhou was taken aback, but still asked cautiously with a smile, "Comrade, we have brought all the necessary documents for changing the name, including the household registration book and the certificate from the village."

"In the past, villagers went through the same procedures when changing their names..."

He looked at the clerk and tentatively asked, "Have there been any new regulations recently? What supporting documents are needed? Could you please explain this to us so we can go back and get them?"

The clerk glanced at Village Chief Zhou with obvious impatience: "A child's birth certificate is required to change a name!"

He said arrogantly, "Without a birth certificate, how can anyone know where this child came from? No changes will be made!"

When Village Chief Zhou heard him speak so definitively, his expression changed instantly.

Fang Wei, who had been listening quietly, also frowned.

In rural areas during the 1980s, babies were delivered at home by the village midwife; no one ever went to a hospital, let alone had a birth certificate!

In villages spanning dozens of miles, you probably couldn't find more than a few birth certificates!

"Comrade, listen to me,"

Village Chief Zhou felt the clerk's attitude was a bit strange, but he still smiled and explained, "In our rural area, we hire midwives to give birth, so we really can't produce the birth certificate you mentioned."

"But I'm the village head of Laotang Village, and I can guarantee that those girls in his family are all Fang Wei's biological daughters!"

"It's all clearly stated on the certificates issued by this village!"

"Snapped!"

The clerk slammed his hand on the table and said impatiently, "Can't you understand human language?!"

"I told you, without a birth certificate, it can't be changed! If you continue to disrupt the office order here, I'll have someone kick you out!"

Village Chief Zhou was so shocked by the shout that he took a step back, his face trembling.

Fang Wei looked at the clerk and felt something was off. This person was clearly deliberately making things difficult for their family!

But he had never met this clerk before, let alone had any grudge against him!

Why would this person target his family?!

"Uncle Zhou,"

Fang Wei suddenly reached out to stop Village Chief Zhou, who was about to step forward to argue, and said in a low voice, "Forget it."

"Comrade, please don't be angry. We were just ignorant of the rules. We'll go home and look around to see if we can find the birth certificate. We'll come back when we do."

The clerk snorted coldly, not even glancing at Fang Wei, and lowered his head to continue writing.

Fang Wei quietly packed all his things, pulled Village Chief Zhou, who still wanted to say something, and led his wife and daughter out of the police station lobby.

"Dawei..."

When they reached the door, Wu Shaoli said in a trembling voice, "They said they wouldn't change it without a birth certificate... Where...where are we supposed to find that birth certificate?"

Daya and Erya were so frightened that their faces turned pale, but neither of them dared to utter a sound.

As soon as they stepped outside, Er Ya's lips twitched a few times, then she burst into tears: "Daddy! Does this mean my older sister and I can't go to school?! Are they going to stop us from going to school?!"