"Whose is it?" Brother Fang Yuan asked.
"I don’t know, it was abandoned at the hospital," Tang Jiao seldomly glanced at Brother Fang Yuan as she spoke.
"Poor child," Mrs. Fang couldn’t help but say, thinking of her missing eldest grandson, her heart still ached.
"When the time comes, we’ll have someone look for his parents. They must be anxious with the child missing," Mr. Fang said, looking at Ge Liang.
Tang Jiao frowned and said, "This child has problems; I think he was abandoned. When I saw him, his body was covered with leaves, lying naked on the bathroom floor of the hospital. Fortunately, he was found early, or he would have gotten sick."
Mrs. Fang exclaimed in shock, "That’s too heartless. Even if the child has issues, you can’t just not dress him."
Saying so, Mrs. Fang stood up and looked at Ge Liang, "The child has a good appearance and looks strong. If we can’t find his parents, why don’t we keep him in our family?"
Mrs. Fang understood Tang Jiao’s intention; Tang Jiao would not bring home a child for no reason, she must have been thinking about it.
The grandson was missing, and although Mr. and Mrs. Fang blamed themselves, several years had passed. With their son and daughter-in-law cold to each other but not separating, just dragging on, Mr. and Mrs. Fang had grown white-haired while longing for their grandson.
And Fang Yuan, their younger son, had always been obedient. Because the grandson was lost, he even became a train conductor. But the dutiful son didn’t want to look for a partner anymore, which worried Mr. and Mrs. Fang.
Fang Yuan was not home at the moment. When Mrs. Fang finished speaking, Fang Yuan’s older brother, Fang Hui, and sister-in-law Tang Jiao fell silent. This text is hosted at ɴovelfire.net
Mr. Fang looked at his eldest son and daughter-in-law and said, "We can afford to raise him. If you’re willing, adopt him." Mr. Fang didn’t really care as long as his eldest son and daughter-in-law got along well.
Besides, the house was too quiet without a child.
And so, Ge Liang was adopted by The Fangs.
Over at Xia Xiao’s place, she slept until Zheng Xianghong woke her up in the late morning. Zheng Xianghong had made breakfast early before going to work, but since it was early, she didn’t wake Xia Xiao. She didn’t expect that when she came back, Xia Xiao’s breakfast was untouched, prompting her to knock on her door right away.
Hearing a response from inside, Xia Xiao replied, and Zheng Xianghong breathed a sigh of relief. If there had been no response, she would have had to call Gao Guoqiang and Gao Jiazhi to break down the door.
"Mom," Xia Xiao walked out after opening the door.
Zheng Xianghong said, "How come it’s only now? You haven’t eaten breakfast; you must be starving."
Xia Xiao felt a bit guilty right then; she went out ’thieving’ last night and would have slept through to the afternoon if not for Zheng Xianghong waking her.
"Mom, I didn’t sleep well last night and didn’t have much of an appetite. I just drank some warm water and went to bed," Xia Xiao could only say so. After all, she had gone to bed at 8 pm last night after turning out the lights; she had to come up with an explanation that made sense.
"Come to the living room, let me have a look," said Zheng Xianghong. Xia Xiao followed her and sat down, extending her hand towards Zheng Xianghong.
After a while, Zheng Xianghong took her pulse and said: "There’s nothing wrong with your pulse; you must be thinking of Jiaxing, right?"
Xia Xiao could only nod. Zheng Xianghong sighed, "Don’t think too much. This boy has never caused me, his mother, so much worry; he always comes back full of life."
With that, Zheng Xianghong said, "I’ll make you something to eat."
Watching Zheng Xianghong leave, Xia Xiao relaxed a bit and followed her into the kitchen.
Now, only Zheng Xianghong and Xia Xiao were at home. Xia Xiao asked Zheng Xianghong, "Mom, how come I haven’t seen Dad and the others?"
"They’re all at the old house; Old Lady Gao is back," Zheng Xianghong said, not very happily.
Ah, Old Lady Gao came back.
"So, Grandmother won’t stay at the old house from now on, will she?" Xia Xiao felt torn. She didn’t care much for Old Lady Gao.
Old Lady Gao forbade Zheng Xianghong from visiting, but she, the granddaughter-in-law, wasn’t forbidden. What if she didn’t visit in the future? Would Old Lady Gao make trouble for her?
"She actually wants to live in the city, but her dear son and daughter-in-law are unwilling; she’s been sent back," said Zheng Xianghong.
"So, Dad, Big Brother, Sister Yu Hua, and Weilin went there?"
As Xia Xiao finished speaking, Zheng Xianghong nodded, "Yes, if you hadn’t been asleep, your dad would probably have called you to go too."
Fine then. At that moment, Xia Xiao didn’t feel guilty, and was even glad she slept late. She didn’t want to go to the old house to see Old Lady Gao at all.
At the old house, Gao Guofu brought Old Lady Gao back, with a clear indication to leave Old Lady Gao in Gao Guoqiang’s care. After all, Old Lady Gao couldn’t stay with them any longer, nor could she live in the county town anymore.
Having said that, Gao Guofu left on his bicycle right away, yes, a bicycle.
Gao Guofu’s hurry to come back and leave without a lingered moment, but his bicycle made the village folks stare in amazement.
"Guoqiang, Guofu is heartless; he doesn’t want his mother. Guoqiang, Guofu..." Old Lady Gao clutched Gao Guoqiang’s hand and wept. She no longer showed her usual toughness but the heartbreak of a spoiled younger son.
Gao Guoqiang frowned, "Mom, it’s my turn to be angry. You know the situation, yet you still make trouble at home. You should avoid these things when guests are over."
Gao Jiazhi, holding his child, and Sun Yuhua left without a word to Old Lady Gao.
After Xia Xiao finished eating, Gao Jiazhi and Sun Yuhua returned with the child. Zheng Xianghong asked, "How is your grandmother?"
"She won’t die," said Gao Jiazhi. Though his words sounded unfilial, he really couldn’t muster any filial piety towards Old Lady Gao.
Gao Jiazhi then explained the situation regarding Gao Guofu sending Old Lady Gao back and told Zheng Xianghong not to bother with the matter.