Extra Story: Get an ID Card

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Goes sometime before Extra 6.18 (The 2017 New Years Special) but definitely after "Ten Years Later"

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Wang Meng poured himself some wine and looked at his primary school classmate who was sitting across from him. This guy had spent seven or eight years doing all kinds of dirty work in Tengchong. Later, he somehow became a deputy county magistrate and rose to fame in the local area. A few years ago, he married a local girl and bought a house. As Wang Meng looked at his dark skin, he realized that the man had completely integrated into the local society.

"I have something very difficult to ask you." Wang Meng said. His classmate squinted at him and then looked at the road outside the window. They were eating at a common roadside shop in Tengchong and his car was illegally parked on the curb. "Just say it, what is it?"

"I have a friend from here. He wants to go to Vietnam, but he doesn't have an ID card," Wang Meng said. "Can you see if there's any way to resolve it?"

"How can he not have an ID card? Is he a foreigner? Or is he here illegally?" His classmate frowned.

"He's from the countryside. His parents have been gone since he was a kid and he never got to study. No one cared about him or bothered to register him. He's been begging for food and living a shady life."

"That's so pitiful. But couldn't the village committee solve this? What's his name? Go to his village and report it if you want it to get resolved quickly." The classmate took a sip of wine.

"His surname is Zhang. He already reported it, but the document was returned. Look at this file and help me help him." Wang Meng handed over a file folder.

His classmate took out the information and looked at the photos. He was silent for a moment before he looked up and asked, "Are you sure this person has been begging for food?"

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"What's your client's name?" The clerk asked Wang Meng. "There's no proof of his previous identity, correct?"

"Didn't Director Wang tell you? It all burned up in a big fire. There's no proof of registration in the village now."

"Why isn't he here doing it himself? Are you related to him?"

"Why are you asking so many questions? I already spoke with your boss."

Wang Meng wiped the sweat off his forehead. The clerk gave him a piece of paper and said, "Write his name down."

Wang Meng thought about it and made a phone call, "Boss, it should almost be done. What's his name? Is it really Zhang Qiling? Isn't that just a position?"

There was a grunt on the phone. Wang Meng nodded and wrote the words Zhang Qiling down on the paper before handing it back to the clerk who handled household registrations. The other party looked at it and said, "It's quite elegant."

As they started typing the information into the system, Wang Meng waited around. He felt as if he was witnessing a monumental event. After tapping on the keyboard a few times, the clerk gave a tut, "Strange, is there something wrong with the system?"

"What's the matter?" Wang Meng asked.

"I can't enter the name." The clerk had just finished speaking when his desk phone suddenly rang. At that moment, a phone on the next table also started ringing. Within a few seconds, they could hear all the phones in the office start ringing.

Wang Meng turned pale as he watched everyone in the office rush around frantically.

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