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Chapter 21: Adoption
My dad is the best in the world!
─── ⋆⋅☼⋅⋆ ───
Madam Zhou was so angry that she gritted her teeth, raised her palm but couldn't bring herself to strike, so instead, she poked her head. "You ask yourself!" Angrily, she turned around and went to fetch water.
Old Qin had his daughter sit down and speak slowly.
Qin Feng whispered something to his youngest son.
The little one sat up and said in a sweet voice, "Grandma, don’t be mad. Miaomiao will help you hit her."
Madam Zhou couldn’t help but laugh, walked over, and picked him up. "You really are Grandma's good grandson."
The child tilted his head, sizing her up. "Grandma, are you not angry now?"
"I’m not angry." Madam Zhou figured it out—she couldn't keep her daughter anymore.
If it weren’t for her son threatening Wang Genbao, Wang Genbao might really have sold her.
Qin Feng stood up, took the bench his father had been sitting on, and placed it across from himself, signaling his mother to sit down.
Miaomiao slid out of her arms and squeezed into her father’s embrace. Leaning against his broad, warm chest, his little arms resting on his big thighs, he felt as comfortable as if he were on a swing.
Qin Feng looked down at the child. "How about I make you a swing later?"
The child’s eyes were full of confusion and curiosity.
Gu Xiao'er: "He's so small, how can he sit on a swing?"
Qin Feng: "Aren’t you guys here?"
Gu Xiao'er didn’t have time to brush his shoes. "Really?"
"Not now," Qin Feng had just casually mentioned it.
Gu Xiao'er wasn’t bothered. His dad would always fulfill whatever he promised, whether sooner or later.
Gu Wuyi asked, "Grandma, what happened just now?"
Madam Zhou was too embarrassed to say because her son had seen through it.
Luckily, they had thought their son was just overthinking.
Qin Feng laughed.
His sister wasn’t short of money, and since she wasn’t anxious, it definitely wasn’t a life-or-death matter. The two nieces were still young, not yet at the age of discussing marriage, and hadn’t even taken their high school or college entrance exams. It probably wasn’t a business matter either. Excluding these possibilities, if they didn’t dare to let him know, there was only one thing left.
Madam Zhou saw her son’s determined expression and couldn’t help but ask, “You know?”
“The child is a boy,” Qin Feng said, smiling at his mother.
Madam Zhou’s mouth slightly opened.
With a splash, Gu Xiao'er’s shoe fell into the water.
Gu Wuyi instinctively looked toward the main room, only hearing sounds but not being able to make out the words. "No way? Dad, you said it yourself, as long as they dare to buy, you’ll report them to the police."
Qin Feng: "The law only applies to abduction and trafficking, not to adoption."
Madam Zhou couldn’t help but ask, "You really know?"
Qin Feng didn’t answer but asked in return, “Did she borrow money from you?”
"How could she? She wouldn’t borrow from you even for an electric oven."
Qin Feng: "So, she just came to inform you?"
Madam Zhou shook her head and looked into the room. "Not entirely."
Qin Feng was very surprised. "Wang Genbao is afraid I won’t agree?"
Madam Zhou: "There’s that possibility."
Gu Wuyi couldn’t help but ask, "Is he scared of being beaten by my dad?"
Qin Feng thought for a moment, looking into the living room. If that was the case, then he could use this trick more often in the future.
Anyway, even if his sister hated him, she wouldn’t report him to the police.
As long as Wang Genbao still wanted to live a peaceful life, he had to endure.
Besides, even if he went to the police, his brother-in-law hit him but didn’t cripple him, so the police would mainly try to mediate and reconcile.
Gu Wuyi tugged at his clothes.
Qin Feng snapped out of his thoughts. “What if I disagree?”
Madam Zhou said, “Your sister asked her in-laws to come and talk to you.”
“So, the Wang family doesn’t oppose it?”
Madam Zhou nodded.
Qin Feng sneered, “A bunch of ignorant fools!”
Madam Zhou’s breath caught for a moment, and she couldn’t bring herself to say a word.
Qin Feng asked his mother, “If your own daughter isn’t close to you, and you’re raising someone else’s child to support your old age, what does she think?”
Madam Zhou’s face changed slightly. “Lower your voice.” She noticed her two eldest grandsons in the corner of her eye and quickly explained, “Your dad wasn’t talking about you.”
Gu Wuyi and his brother, being close, both put their arms around their father’s shoulder. “I know. Besides, our dad is so capable, he won’t need to rely on us when he’s old. Maybe we’ll even have to rely on him.”
Qin Feng nodded. “In my line of work, the longer I work, the higher my salary gets. By then, maybe both of your combined salaries won’t be as much as mine.”
Gu Wuyi thought about his past life’s achievements and couldn’t help but laugh at him—ignorance is bliss!
Qin Feng shot him a glance. “Don’t believe it?”
“I believe it!” Gu Wuyi quickly said. “My dad is the best in the world.”
Qin Feng pushed his little arm aside. “Go wash your socks.” He then asked his mother, “What else did she say?”
Madam Zhou didn’t dare to hide anything, afraid her son would hit her daughter again. “She said she didn’t need to give them money—”
“Do you believe that?” Qin Feng coldly spat out the words.
Madam Zhou didn’t believe it, but since they were doing business privately, the police couldn’t take them in without evidence. She had no choice but to believe it. "The mother of the child is not an outsider.”
Qin Feng didn’t understand what she meant.
Madam Zhou whispered, “You’ve met her.”
Qin Feng’s intuition kicked in, and he opened his mouth. “That—Wang Meijuan?!”
Madam Zhou nodded.
Gu Wuyi, suddenly curious, couldn’t help but perk up his ears as he heard Qin Feng ask, “Are you sure it’s her child and not one she stole or trafficked?”
Madam Zhou shook her head. “No. You should have heard of her. Her husband was also classmates with your sister. He dropped out after middle school. Later, he took the college entrance exam again, and it took him two years to pass.”
Qin Feng couldn’t help but think of those scumbags who abandoned their wives and children. “He passed in ’80?”
“Yes, three years later.”
“A college dropout dares to abandon his wife and child?”
Madam Zhou was stunned. “You—you know about this?”
“There are a lot of people like that. It’s actually rarer for someone who gets into school and still stays with their wife through thick and thin. Mom, continue.”
“Wang Meijuan's eldest son is one year older than her second son, and her second son is two years older than Miaomiao. Her second son was born the year her husband passed the college entrance exam, but he was born in January. At that time, neither of them thought that he would be admitted."
Gu Xiao'er couldn’t help but sigh, “What a coincidence.”
Gu Wuyi quickly shot him a glare.
Madam Zhou nodded. “Yes, it’s a huge coincidence. If her husband had gotten into school when she was pregnant, and he had left with no one to care for the child, she would have been too scared to have it. She only had one child, and if she had gone to the city with her husband, maybe later she wouldn’t have been swindled by city girls, abandoning both kids with her.”
Qin Feng wanted to laugh. He wondered when his mom’s mindset would ever change.
“One hand alone can’t clap. Of course, the city girls who seduce married men are wrong, but if he could have been like me—”
Madam Zhou waved her hand. “Don’t bring yourself up. I wish you could meet a woman and just not be able to move.”
Qin Feng nodded. “Alright, let’s not talk about it. What’s going on now?”
Madam Zhou said, “Wang Meijuan’s former in-laws were afraid the current daughter-in-law would get angry, so they cut ties with her. Her family wanted her to find someone with similar conditions, but she didn’t want to. Her family was mad at her for not listening, so they also cut ties with her. She wanted to go to the city to find her husband, but with the kids, it wasn’t convenient. So she thought about giving the kids away.”
Qin Feng frowned. This seemed familiar, like he had heard something similar before.
“An eight-year-old and a six-year-old, both of them know their parents’ names and where their home is. Your sister dares to raise them?”
Madam Zhou sighed. “Who’s to say?”
Qin Feng thought for a moment, "Wang Genbao is so smart, how can he not be afraid of making a fool of himself for someone else?"
Madam Zhou shook her head, "I haven't asked. Your sister says those two children are sensible, and they know their mother has it tough. They don’t want to drag Wang Meijuan down, so they’re willing to go with anyone, but with one condition: they don’t want to be separated."
The two brothers exchanged a look, both seeing the disbelief in each other's eyes.
— It can't really be them, and do they have memories from their past lives just like us?
Qin Feng furrowed his brows, "So, does my sister want to raise both of them?"
Madam Zhou replied, "She can’t afford to raise both. She doesn’t know what to do, so she came to ask me."
Qin Feng laughed in frustration, "My sister and Wang Genbao really don’t care about facing the consequences."
"Tell her, no way!"
Madam Zhou was startled by his cold attitude.
Gu Wuyi couldn’t help but say, “Grandma, their real father is a scoundrel, their real mother doesn’t want them. They’re probably afraid of becoming little beggars or ending up in an orphanage, so they’ll say they’ll go with anyone."
Madam Zhou thought about it and agreed with the logic.
Qin Feng motioned with his mouth towards the house.
Madam Zhou immediately called her daughter out.
Qin Feng and Gu Wuyi's voices were loud enough for Qin Ying to hear clearly. As soon as she came out, she said, "That's not it. Those two children like me."
"Like you, like helping others raise children?" Qin Feng asked bluntly.
Qin Ying was at a loss for words.
Then Old Qin came out and couldn’t help but ask, "So, you met them?"
Qin Ying quickly nodded, "Of course I had to see how the children were, to see if they were really sensible."
Qin Feng didn’t hold back, "What, are you treating it like inspecting goods?"
Qin Ying immediately deflated, unable to stop herself from hiding behind her father.
Madam Zhou turned to her daughter, "What if they come back after two or three years and ask for them?"
Qin Ying shook her head, "That's not possible. Wang Meijuan's husband had another child with that woman. They don’t lack children."
Madam Zhou wanted to hit her again, "I’m talking about Wang Meijuan."
"That’s even more impossible. Her husband doesn't like the two children she had. If he wants kids in the future, she’ll just have another one."
Qin Feng laughed in frustration, "Her husband doesn’t even want her, and she’s going to have another? Are you fooling me?!"
Qin Ying's breath caught.
Madam Zhou couldn’t help but sigh, "How—how have you become so confused? You believe everything others say, but you don’t believe anything we say."
Qin Ying couldn’t help but glance at Qin Feng.
Qin Feng, feeling weary, said, "I do want you to divorce Wang Genbao, but I won’t make up nonsense just to make that happen."
Gu Xiao'er couldn’t help but ask, "Dad, Aunt has two kids. Does that mean she’s allowed to adopt them?"
— Doesn’t this go against adoption law?
Qin Feng had once gone to the public security bureau to inquire about adoption when he wanted to adopt Gu Wuyi and Gu Qingkuang—this was before the adoption law was in place. Later, the law required that an adopter must be over 30 years old, childless, and financially stable, which none of them met.
Qin Feng replied, "She and Wang Meijuan agreed that as long as the children weren’t trafficked, it’s fine."
Qin Ying nodded, "We asked at the public security bureau. As long as there’s a birth certificate and both parties are willing, it’s fine."
Qin Feng sneered, "You really have everything planned out, huh?"
Qin Ying immediately fell silent.
Gu Wuyi cautiously asked, "Does Aunt like them so much because those two kids look like us, or are they as obedient as Miaomiao?"
Qin Ying nodded without thinking, "Well, they’re just a little skinny."
"Can they be thinner than your daughters?" Qin Feng retorted.
Qin Ying went silent.
Old Qin glanced at his son, signaling him not to argue with her.
"Xiao Ying, if you want to adopt, then just adopt."
Qin Ying suddenly turned to her father, unable to believe what she was hearing.
Old Qin said, "Let me make this clear. If in the future you don't have money to build a house for the kids or marry them off, don't come to us to borrow. If the kids grow up and run away, don't come to us crying. If you want to visit during the holidays, then come, but if you don't want to come, then that's fine."
"What are you saying? You’re my parents, how could I not come?"
Old Qin raised his hand, "I haven't finished. When you come to visit us in the future, we won’t give you eggs, duck eggs, or miscellaneous grains and fruits anymore." He paused. "Consider us just ordinary relatives."
Qin Ying’s face instantly turned pale.
Gu Wuyi was anxious. How could those two unfortunate brothers be raised by Wang Genbao, that useless guy?
Just thinking about them calling Wang Genbao "Dad" made Gu Wuyi feel uneasy. "Grandpa, Aunt might really end up with nothing."
"Then it's her own fault," Old Qin replied, uninterested.
Qin Ying couldn’t help but defend herself, "Dad, Wang Meijuan and her husband don’t want those two kids. Who else could they go to but us?" She couldn’t understand why it would end up like this. "If we treat them well, even a stone can be warmed up."
Qin Feng reminded her, "Those two brothers don’t want to be separated."
These words made Qin Ying remember the purpose of her visit.
Madam Zhou couldn’t help but ask, "You don't want us to help you raise one of them, do you?"
Qin Ying’s breath caught, and her face slightly changed, showing signs of embarrassment and guilt.
Seeing this, Qin Feng immediately couldn’t sit still. His youngest son handed something to his mother, and Qin Feng grabbed the shoes Gu Xiao'er had just cleaned and threw them.
Madam Zhou was startled but not surprised.
It was no surprise that her son could hold back from hitting her!
Qin Ying screamed and ran outside.
"What’s going on?"
Xue Qing and Feng Mai Miao, who were passing by outside, instinctively stopped.
Old Qin reacted quickly and rushed to grab his son.
— If he hit Qin Ying like he did Wang Genbao, he would probably end up seriously hurting her.
"Let go!" Qin Feng broke free from his father. Seeing his father stagger backward, he quickly went to support him.
Xue Qing came over to mediate, "Why can’t we just talk this through?"
Feng Mai Miao agreed, "Yes. Engineer Qin, it's rare to have a day off. Don’t make things worse for yourself."
"Getting too angry is bad for your health," Xue Qing added.
Qin Feng released his father and handed the shoe brush to Gu Xiao'er.
Xue Qing couldn’t help but say, "That’s better." Then she turned to Qin Ying, "Is this your sister? Siblings shouldn’t be shouting and yelling at each other."
Seeing someone approach her, Qin Ying immediately couldn’t help but say, "This lady is right. Can you help me judge for me—"
Madam Zhou hurriedly interrupted her, "Aren’t you embarrassed?"
"Embarrassed? What’s there to be embarrassed about? Wang Meijuan has to go to the provincial capital to find her husband. She can’t raise the kids, so I’ll help her raise them. Isn’t it better that they don’t end up in an orphanage?"
Madam Zhou was so angry she rolled her eyes.
Gu Wuyi supported her.
It was the weekend, and Feng Mai Miao had some free time. She was a little curious, so she asked Qin Ying to explain what was going on.
Qin Ying thought they, like her and Wang Genbao, would think that not having children is the worst thing. Little did she know, they actually wanted to help Qin Feng. So, she laid out her plan in full.
When Feng Mai Miao heard that Qin Ying wanted to send the eldest child to her parents, she didn’t know how to react.
Did she think raising a child was as easy as taking care of a cat or a dog?
Feng Mai Miao pulled Xue Qing back a couple of steps, "Engineer Qin, please continue."
Qin Ying was in disbelief.
Madam Zhou laughed in anger, "Did you see that? Did you see that?"
"Do you want them to turn into beggars?" Qin Ying asked loudly.
Qin Feng’s eyebrows twitched. Could it be that these two really were the little villains in the story?
If it really were the two little villains who ended up as beggars in the book, and if they weren’t taken in by Gu Wuyi, their fate would be even more tumultuous than in the story. With Gu Wuyi protecting them, they wouldn’t be renting a house at 18 after earning their first bucket of gold. The two little antagonists wouldn’t have had the opportunity to sneak into Gu Wuyi’s home, steal blankets for the winter, get caught by him, and then be taken in.
Moreover, even if that’s not the case, two unwanted children wouldn’t have it any better than the villains in the book.
One is eight years old, the other six, and they are so weak that one person can carry them both. If Qin Feng continued to stop them, it’s very likely that he would be putting their lives in danger.
Although Qin Feng had indulged himself in the past, he had never done anything illegal.
He couldn’t just stand by and watch.
Qin Feng looked at Xue Qing, "Those two kids are older now. You don’t need to carry them or soothe them. They don’t cry or make a fuss. All they need is food, clothes, and to be sent to school. What do you think?"
Xue Qing understood, "This… My Wu Zheng doesn’t like children, especially crying and noisy ones. He couldn’t stand the first three years, they don’t understand. But if they were like you said, Wu Zheng might—"
Madam Zhou interrupted her, "Don’t listen to him. You’re not unable to have children."
Xue Qing smiled, "Auntie, you don’t know, my mother-in-law passed away after giving birth to my little sister-in-law. Wu Zheng doesn’t dare let me have more children. A difficult baby is very draining. But if they were older, Wu Zheng might agree."
"But they’re not biological," Madam Zhou wasn’t comfortable passing off her daughter’s situation to someone else.
Xue Qing shook her head, "That’s not the point. As long as we treat them well, does it matter whether they are biological or not? Just like your eldest and second grandsons, one is ten, the other nine, yet they treat Engineer Qin like their own."
Qin Ying looked at Qin Feng, then at Xue Qing, and incredulously asked, "What do you mean?"
Xue Qing replied, "We like those two children as well."
"No way!" Qin Ying shouted.
Qin Feng shook his head, "Your opinion doesn’t matter here. Let me remind you, Wang Meijuan is eager to leave, and you can’t afford to raise two. If we don’t help, she’ll have to find someone else. Sister Xue Qing and Brother Wu Zheng both work, have a spacious home, good wages, and most importantly—no children."
Gu Wuyi thought it might be better for them to go to Xue Qing’s home. "Yes! Aunt Xue, go ask Uncle Wu Zheng—"
Xue Qing looked at Feng Mai Miao.
Feng Mai Miao immediately grabbed her and headed home.
Qin Ying saw this, opened her mouth, and noticed that they were walking quickly. She suddenly ran outside.
When Madam Zhou saw that their family was the only one left in the large courtyard, she felt like she was dreaming, “So, it’s all settled now?”
Qin Feng sighed, “This is just the beginning.”
Madam Zhou didn’t understand and turned to her husband.
Old Qin said, “Xiao Ying will go back and tell Wang Genbao, there will be trouble.”
At this point, Gu Wuyi really disliked Qin Ying, “Even if she makes a fuss, it’s useless. Those two kids know that brothers shouldn’t be separated, and they definitely know who they are better off with. If they don’t want to, they’ll cry and make a scene. Aunt wouldn’t think about going to the police station to handle the paperwork.”
Madam Zhou sighed in relief, “That’s good.” She noticed the socks in the basin, “Qin Feng, wash these.”
Gu Xiao'er quickly said, “I’ll wash them!”
“Your arms aren’t even as long as the socks, what are you going to wash? Let your dad do it. You’re used to working, in two years, he’ll have you washing clothes and sheets while he acts like a hands-off boss.”
Gu Wuyi laughed, “My dad’s busy with work.”
“You’re tired from school too.” Madam Zhou glared at her son.
Qin Feng helplessly nodded, “Fine, just put them in the basin, I’ll wash them.”
After washing the socks and underwear, and cleaning the shoes to dry on the windowsill, Qin Feng was about to go back to the village to make lunch when Xue Qing and Wu Zheng arrived.
When Qin Feng saw Wu Zheng with a joyful expression, he suddenly worried that Wang Genbao might have had a fight with him, so he shared his concerns with Wu Zheng.
Wu Zheng smiled and said, “It depends on the kids’ wishes. If they want to stay with your sister and brother-in-law, I won’t fight them for it. But if they want to stay with us, even if I have to fight your brother-in-law, I’ll take them.”
Madam Zhou worried about causing trouble for others, “Aren’t you worried they won’t grow up well?”
Wu Zheng replied, “Not worried! Kids who are ignorant might go looking for their biological parents when they grow up. Those two kids know what their parents are like, and they’ll be easier to raise. With such pitiful children, a little warmth is enough to melt their hearts.”
Qin Feng was puzzled, “Then why don’t you go to the orphanage?”
Wu Zheng looked even more confused than him.
Qin Feng continued, “Our city has an orphanage. There might be very few boys, but there should be plenty of girls.”
Wu Zheng and Xue Qing had been working in the factory for years. In the factory, some workers had children early, while others had them late, but everyone could afford to raise their children, and no one was willing to abandon them. As a result, they subconsciously believed that orphanages didn’t have healthy children.
Feng Mai Miao also came over, and upon hearing this, couldn’t help but ask, “Engineer Qin, who told you that?”
Qin Feng looked at his mother.
Madam Zhou thought about the situation in the village, where even in the old cemetery, there were children. She couldn’t help but sigh, “If you really want to adopt, I can ask around for you.” She glanced at the Wuli Village, “No need to go anywhere else. They are just babies. If you want to adopt older children, you’ll have to go to the orphanage.”
Feng Mai Miao still didn’t understand, “Aunt, do you mean that even healthy children can be abandoned?”
Madam Zhou nodded and looked at Wu Zheng and Xue Qing.
Wu Zheng pondered for a moment, “Why not go to Wang Meijuan’s house first?” He turned to his wife.
Xue Qing said, “Children in the orphanage might hold onto illusions, like thinking their parents abandoned them because they had no other choice. But those two children, even if we’re not very good to them in the future, they won’t go looking for their biological parents.”
Wu Zheng saw that his wife thought the same way, “Engineer Qin, I’m worried that delaying might cause changes. Shall we go and take a look right away?”
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