Chapter 105

Mu Jin was somewhat troubled, fearing he couldn't shoulder the responsibility of caring for a mentally challenged boy.

One advantage that boys have over girls is that boys have a pink mole on their forehead.

If a woman is defiled, her mole will turn red, making it easily noticeable.

Most men would restrain themselves somewhat when facing a simpleton.

But there are also old widowers in the village who don't discriminate between meat and vegetables.

He has a lot on his plate and can't keep an eye on Wang Li all the time. Plus, his house is in a remote area, so he's really worried that if he's not careful, someone might bully her.

How will he explain this to Zhou Fengnian then?

Wang Li's formidable father and stepfather will likely use this incident as an excuse to cause trouble at his door and demand an explanation.

With Zhou Lin at home, this mess is being dumped on his head, and even with a thousand mouths, he can't explain it away.

Mu Jin's thoughts were racing; he really didn't dare to take on this hot potato.

Seeing this, Zhou Chuxue frowned slightly. "Jin-ge'er, is there a problem? We were inconsiderate."

Mu Jin gently shook her head. "As for my uncle, I'm not afraid of you saying I'm cold-blooded or lacking in kindness. However, since A Lin is still at home, I don't dare to question the humanity of the gambling king's family."

Moreover, the Wang family wasn't any better than Zhou Wushi either.

Upon hearing this, Zhou Fengnian sighed deeply.

“It’s your uncle who’s making things difficult for you. Never mind, I’ll take him to Doctor Mu to get two doses of fever-reducing medicine.”

Mu Jin glanced at the boy on the bed, whose lips were cracked from the fever, and felt a pang of pity.

“Uncle, it’s freezing cold outside, and Li’er is sick. We shouldn’t bother him by going back and forth. Let’s invite Doctor Mu to come home.”

"Okay, I'll go right away."

As Zhou Fengnian spoke, he picked up the five taels of silver that no one had touched on the table, and hurriedly stepped out the door through the snow.

Zhou Chuxue sighed, "It's the New Year, sigh. After Li Ge'er takes his medicine, your uncle and I will take him home."

Mu Jin gently tucked the blanket around Wang Li, who was shivering under the covers.

“As for my uncle, this can’t go on. Li’er’s mind is like that of a toddler. Raising him is not as easy as raising a mentally sound boy.”

Zhou Chuxue sighed, "How could I not know? But seeing him abandoned by his parents is like seeing myself as a child, and I can't bear it."

This is truly a rather worrying matter.

Inside the room, Mu Jin, Wen Zhaoran, and Zhou Chuxue all fell silent, leaving only Wang Li's somewhat rough voice from the feverish bed.

Wen Zhaoran couldn't bear to see the young master suffer, but she also knew that if Wang Li stayed at home, it would probably cause a lot of trouble.

Even if you give him money to find a better place to live elsewhere, he probably won't be able to hold onto it.

It's really worrying.

As the sun gradually rose, thinking about Zhou Ming's son's 100-day celebration, Mu Jin was too busy to attend to everything, so she asked Zhou Lin, who was outside, to take the gifts he had prepared and go there first.

He remembered Zhou Si telling him that the steward of the Zhao family in town would also be there to show his support. Whether he went or not, or went later, Zhou Ming and Mu Qing would probably be too busy to notice.

Doctor Mu came in a hurry, took my pulse, and prescribed medicine.

To bring the fever down as soon as possible, they gave him a few more injections.

Zhou Fengnian rushed home, boiled some medicine, and fed it to Wang Li.

After finishing his fuss, Zhou Fengnian saw that it was getting late, so he borrowed a quilt from Mu Jin, wrapped Wang Li in it, and prepared to take her home again.

Just as they picked up Wang Li, whose fever had subsided a bit, Zhou Lin walked in with a young man who looked to be around forty years old.

"Ah Jin, is this Uncle Qin?"

Mu Jin was stunned for a moment, then quickly stood up and called out, "Uncle Qin?"

Uncle Qin glanced at Wang Li, whose face was slightly flushed and who was sleeping peacefully under the covers, and asked, "Is this the Li-ge'er you were talking about?"

Zhou Lin nodded, "I caught a chill yesterday and have a fever. I'm afraid I didn't sleep well either."

Uncle Qin sighed, "Alas, what a pitiful boy."

For the first time, Mu Jin was somewhat confused, and quietly walked to Zhou Lin's side.

"A-Lin, what's going on?"

Zhou Lin said gently, "We'll talk about it later. Uncle Qin is here to adopt Li Ge'er."

"Adopt Li Ge'er?!"

Zhou Chuxue and Wen Zhaoran spoke up in unison, their eyes filled with surprise and joy.

Uncle Qin smiled and gently touched Wang Li's head, which was huddled under the covers, with his somewhat rough hands.

"Your Uncle Qin and I have never had children. Now that we're this old, we've long given up on the idea. A few years ago, we thought about adopting a boy that no one else wanted. We looked for two or three, but we couldn't tame them. They would run away home after two or three months. Yesterday, when I saw this boy, I was immediately fond of him because of his pure eyes. If he's willing, my wife and I are willing to treat him like our own son."

Mu Jin's eyes flickered slightly. She knew the Qin family; the old couple were honest and hardworking farmers.

Because of Uncle Qin's health, he was unable to bear children for the Qin family and continue the family line. Uncle Qin's grandparents had forced him to divorce his husband countless times.

Finally, he threatened to separate the family, leaving Uncle Qin with no choice but to take Uncle Qin's sister out of the family.

The elderly couple are hardworking and down-to-earth people, and since they have no children to support them, they have probably saved up some money over the years.

They now live in a mud-brick house. When Mu Jin passed by his house before, she glanced at it and saw that the yard was kept very clean and tidy.

"Uncle Qin, Li-ge'er has some mental instability. You... and Uncle Qin don't mind?"

Zhou Fengnian put Wang Li down from his arms, his eyes unconsciously filled with a hint of expectation as he looked at him.

Uncle Qin smiled and said, "Young Lin told me on the way that if I minded, I wouldn't come back."

This was truly a case of things taking a turn for the better, a sudden and unexpected turn of events.

Zhou Chuxue secretly breathed a sigh of relief, her eyes shining slightly.

"I'll go home and tidy up in a bit. The bed and bedding are all ready. I made a lot of clothes for my son before, but I don't know if they'll suit him."

Seeing that they did not refuse, Uncle Qin was delighted. He turned around and went out to go home and tidy up the house.

Although Zhou Fengnian knew that the Qin family was a better place than the Wang family, he was still somewhat uneasy.

Did you call out to Uncle Qin, who had just stepped out of the room?

"Uncle Qin, please wait a moment. Li-ge'er is currently ill. Once he recovers, I will go with you to the Wang family. These household registration documents need to be changed as soon as possible after the New Year."

Upon hearing this, Uncle Qin slapped his forehead and said, "Look at my memory. As I get older, it's getting worse and worse. That's right. We should ask Brother Li's wishes first."

Zhou Fengnian smiled, feeling a huge weight lifted from his heart. He still needed to investigate further in the next few days.

He was finally completely relieved after the household registration documents were replaced.

Picking up the still-sleeping Wang Li again, Zhou Fengnian and Zhou Chuxue went home together.

Uncle Qin didn't go to the full moon banquet; he happily went home to clean up.

Zhou Lin sighed, "Are we still going to Xiao Suo'er's full moon banquet? It shouldn't have started yet."

After thinking for a moment, Mu Jin suggested that Wen Zhaoran go to Bai Qiqiu's place for lunch, but she went with Zhou Lin instead.

No matter what, it's really annoying that he, as the uncle, doesn't show up.

On the way there, Mu Jin learned that it was Zhou Wu Shi who had made sarcastic remarks to Zhou Lin after he didn't come.

Zhou Lin naturally had to defend him.

Hearing this, Uncle Qin, who was holding Xiao Suo'er affectionately, suddenly had a few ideas.

He pulled Zhou Lin aside, asked him a few questions, and then followed him there.

Mu Jin sighed, "I hope the Qin family is a trustworthy family."

Mu Qing's house was frequented by many villagers, and the courtyard was filled with about ten tables.

The courtyard was filled with the laughter of children and the chatter of uncles and aunts from the village.

When Zhou Wu saw the two of them, she said sarcastically, "They really know how to pick their time; they came because they smelled meat."

Mu Jin smiled and said, "Mother, please don't be offended. Family matters kept me busy, so I had no choice but to be a little late."

Upon hearing this, a woman said, "Jin-ge'er, you didn't really take that boy in, did you? Oh dear, I know you're kind-hearted, but you've gotten involved with the Wang family, and I'm afraid it will be hard to get rid of them."

Mu Jin had a gentle expression. The matter was to be accomplished in secret. Before Uncle Qin adopted Wang Li, it was best that few people knew about it.

"Alas, Auntie, I am willing but unable. There are three mouths to feed in my family, and only five acres of poor land. We barely make ends meet, so where would we find the spare money to support others?"

“That’s true. Your second brother has made something of himself now. Look, even the managers of the wealthy families in town have come. What a show of respect.”

Ichiro clicked his tongue, his eyes filled with envy.

Zhou Wushi looked like a victorious rooster, her expression full of contempt.

So what if the eldest son is a skilled carpenter? His second son is far more capable than him.

Even without her eldest son to support her, she lives a comfortable life.

The other day, Zhou Ming brought her back a piece of fine cotton cloth from town. The cloth was so soft and smooth.

Mu Jin didn't want to talk to her anymore, so she went to Zhou Si's table and sat down there.

"Big brother, you've finally arrived."

Mu Jin smiled and said, "We just saw each other yesterday, why are you missing me again?"

Zhou Si chuckled and nodded in agreement, then whispered, "Second Brother really stole the show today. Now he doesn't even look at the villagers properly."

"Why worry about all that? Let's finish eating early and go home. The day after tomorrow is New Year's Eve, and there will be a lot of work to do at home."

"I just can't stand his smug, petty attitude. He's so rich, yet he's always trying to take advantage of me and steal my prey. It makes me angry just thinking about it."

Mu Jin helped put a plate of pork knuckle on the table, which was instantly devoured, leaving him with only a little bit of pork skin.

"This vegetable is really firm, but delicious!"

"Looks like Ming has made quite a bit of money this year!"

"That's right, they said there's also braised pork and stewed chicken! Just one son, and it's worth all this extravagance."

"Hurry up and eat yours, you're lucky to have anything to eat."

Mu Jin was completely focused on grabbing the vegetables, while the sounds of villagers talking occasionally reached her ears.

After we had eaten and drunk our fill, we went inside to pretend to play with the now fair and tender little Suo'er for a while.

Mu Qing was truly happy today. Finally, although she had given birth to a son, she could hold her head high because of the child's father.

When she saw Mu Jin, she surprisingly refrained from openly or subtly arguing with him.

Bai Jin held Xiao Suo'er, happily playing with her.

The room was peaceful and harmonious.

Not long after, he went out of the house and took Zhou Lin home.

The snow on the village road had been trampled into a hard, white path, and if you weren't careful, you would slip and slide.

Mu Jin helped Zhou Lin up and let out a soft burp. Putting everything else aside, the dishes at today's meal were quite to his liking.