Chapter 107: Chapter 107 Receiving the Package Chapter 107: Chapter 107 Receiving the Package Stone’s eyes suddenly turned red. Ever since his mother passed away, except for his grandma who was still kind to him, everyone else seemed to feel that he owed them something; even his uncles were getting impatient with him.
Sometimes, Grandma would secretly give him an extra cornbread, but she was also angry about his mother’s affair and was no longer willing to be close with him.
Because of his mother’s compensation money, the three uncles couldn’t do anything too extreme, so he rotated living and eating at each of his uncles’ houses every month.
Luo Qiao served him a good amount of vegetables and said, “Just eat like you’re at your own home. Help yourself to more, and don’t be shy.”
Stone nodded. It had been so long since he had a proper warm meal. Mostly, he only got to eat what was left over after everyone else was done, and sometimes there was only a spoonful of soup left in the bowl.
Luo Qiao asked, “Stone, do you have a proper name?”
Swallowing the bun in his mouth, he replied, “Ning Zhenglei.”
Luo Qiao looked at Stone. “Ning Zhenglei, that’s a fine name, quite suitable for you. Integrity—be a person of integrity and candor.”
After dinner, Luo Qiao handed him a pair of pants she had altered for him the night before, saying, “Stone, these have been made from old clothes, so please don’t look down on them.”
Stone’s eyes filled with tears again. He had grown taller over the past six months, even though he hadn’t eaten his fill; his old pants were all too short now, but none of his aunts bothered about it.
With a nasal voice, he said, “I don’t mind at all. Thank you, Sister Luo Qiao.”
He measured the pants against his legs, thanked her and left with them in his arms.
Luo Qiao wished she could make him two new pairs of pants, but she feared that wouldn’t just result in trouble for him at home; it would also attract unwanted attention in the village. Old clothes wouldn’t stand out as much.
Watching Stone’s retreating figure, Luo Qiao thought that if possible, she wanted to help the child. However, she needed an income that she could openly show to the village to avoid gossip.
But what could she do at fifteen years of age? She had to silence the gossipers while also helping Stone.
Luo Qiao spent the entire afternoon pondering this problem, not expecting that when she finished work, the brigade leader would tell her that there were parcels for her at the village office.
Moreover, there were two of them, both sent from the Capital City. The brigade leader had already checked.
Luo Qiao signed her name and mentioned, “It’s from a teacher I had at the farm.”
Once Gao Jiefang heard this, he understood and even had the scorekeeper help deliver them. The village stirred with excitement, everyone guessing what was inside the parcels.
Many families discussed Luo Qiao’s parcels over dinner.
At the Zhao Family, Zhao Xiaoxing complained with some resentment, “I don’t know what came over you, Mom, to reject Luo Qiao. If you had just accepted her smoothly, all those items would be ours.”
Gao Suhua was also furious. She had never expected that orphan girl to have such a skill or that someone still cared about her enough to send parcels.
Zhao Xiaomei hadn’t left the house in a while, keeping busy with housework. She was genuinely afraid someone would bring up the past, although her father assured her no one in the village knew the full story.
But what if someone from Beipo Village talked? She was constantly on edge.
Now, as they talked about Luo Qiao, Zhao Xiaomei’s eyes showed an unmistakable hatred, scaring Zhao Xiaoyun, who sat opposite her, into a shiver.
Only Zhao Xiaohua, the fourth daughter of the Zhao family, said, “Don’t forget what our uncle said earlier: don’t covet what isn’t yours, or you’ll become the laughingstock.”
She knew full well that Luo Qiao was not to be messed with. She feared her family would provoke Luo Qiao further. Even a cornered rabbit would bite, let alone a human being.