"Anyway, Xiaoxi is with your family; whether he’s been fed or housed, as his parents, if he doesn’t need you anymore, so be it. From now on, everything concerning him has nothing to do with you two. Village Secretary, Captain, please bear witness for us. From this day on, Xiaoxi is a member of the Ruanlin Family!"
"Are you insane?" Liu Mei looked at Mrs. Ruanlin in disbelief, wondering if she had lost her mind.
Why would someone want to bring a child from another surname into their home to support?
Did they have surplus money at home? Or excess grain that they couldn’t finish eating?
Xiu Jianlin immediately voiced his opposition, "No way!" He was still alive, not dead. If he gave his eldest son away to someone else to raise, how would the people in the team view him?
But this time, Mrs. Ruanlin no longer cared about his opinion. She walked over to Xiaoxi, crouched down before him, and pointing to the many village cadres behind her, she asked him, "Xiaoxi, would you like to live with the Ruan Family from now on? From this point forward, you will have no relation to the Xiu Family. Would you like that?"
"I would." Xiaoxi nodded without any hesitation.
Xiu Jianlin was watching him too, thinking he would hesitate, but he didn’t expect that Xiaoxi would agree without a second thought, making him feel a burning pain on his face. He raised his hand to strike, "You unfilial son! Your father isn’t dead yet, and you just..."
"Jianlin." Ruan Jianguo easily caught his arm.
His gaze was cold as he looked at him.
Xiu Jianlin was shorter than him and not as robust; with that look, the assertiveness in him faded significantly, but he still asked, "Brother Jianguo, why are you trying to take away my son?"
"Don’t tell me you’ve had an affair with that one from before? Are you planning to acknowledge your ancestors now?" Liu Mei’s eyes rolled around as she muttered with suspicion.
No sooner had her words ended than Mrs. Ruanlin gave her a slap.
Liu Mei covered her face in disbelief, staring at Mrs. Ruanlin, unable to believe she dared to hit her!
"If your filthy mouth dares to spew any more crap, I won’t just hit you, I’ll tear your mouth apart!" Mrs. Ruanlin hissed coldly and even gestured with her hand, as if she was ready to tear Liu Mei’s mouth if she spoke another word of nonsense.
Liu Mei, now frightened, pouted and didn’t dare to speak recklessly anymore. However, when she glanced over at Xiu Jianlin, her anger got the better of her and she shouted, "Xiu Jianlin, are you dead or something? Didn’t you see your wife being hit?"
"If she hadn’t hit you, I would have!" Xiu Jianlin said irritably. Even the most disgraced man wouldn’t like to wear a cuckold’s cap in public, especially when it was put there by his current wife.
Hearing this, Liu Mei’s eyes flickered, knowing she was at fault, she bit her lip and didn’t dare to say anything more.
"Jianlin, you shouldn’t be so angry. We’ve been neighbors for years. We’ll say nothing about how you’ve treated this boy, but our silence doesn’t mean it never happened. Everyone has a conscience. If it wasn’t for Xiaoxi’s luck, who knows how many years ago he would have died!"
"I’ll ask you this. Have you ever seen Xiaoxi at your dining table eating a meal?"
"Has he ever worn a new piece of clothing? Let’s not even talk about new clothes, just appropriate clothing, does he have any? In the dead of winter, he’s still wearing a vest, his little feet turning purple from the cold."
"Jianlin, oh Jianlin, one shouldn’t be . Be careful or you might get struck by lightning!"
"How can you treat this child and not be afraid that his mother might come to settle accounts with you in the middle of the night someday?"