Chapter 3: You're not welcome here, you should leave.

The six children inquired everywhere in the city and finally found a courtyard house through the introduction of a kind aunt.

"The owner of this courtyard is abroad and hasn't come back. It's just sitting empty, so his brother is looking after it. His brother's family bought a new house and doesn't live here anymore. They're worried about the house being wasted. Would you like to rent it for six months or a year?" The kind aunt, surnamed Liu, enthusiastically introduced the courtyard.

Qiu Xiaoman went inside and took a look around. It was pretty good; there were quite a few rooms. If the other children were also rejected by their biological parents, they could come here to meet up with them.

Qiu Xiaoman didn't want the hassle of moving around, but she wasn't sure if living here would be convenient, so she planned to rent for six months first.

"If you pay by the month, it's two hundred a month. There's a discount of one thousand for six months and one thousand eight hundred for a year. Young lady, why don't you think about it some more?" Aunt Liu was very enthusiastic, afraid that these girls wouldn't rent it.

Qiu Xiaoman, however, was wary and said she would think about it some more.

After leaving the courtyard, she went to the nearby police station and found a greenhorn named Li Erhu. She asked him to help verify the situation: "Comrade, as you can see, we are all pitiful creatures abandoned by our parents. If we get scammed again while renting a house, we simply can't live. If the six of us commit suicide by drowning together, and the public outcry gets big, it will be bad for everyone."

Upon hearing this, the naive boy became unhappy and angrily scolded Qiu Xiaoman, telling her to cherish life and not to speak recklessly about life and death.

After finishing the training, he immediately put on his police hat and rode his bike to verify the situation for them.

Qiu Xiaoman and the others waited for news at the police station.

An hour and a half later, Li Erhu returned with the homeowner's brother, wanting to watch them sign the contract to prevent the six children from being scammed.

After signing the contract, Li Erhu sighed: "You lot really don't have any other relatives in Yunnan?"

All six children shook their heads in unison. Li Erhu had no choice but to turn to their director and say, "Director, how about we take these five underage kids and try again? We can't control the adults, but at least let's see if we can get these two little ones back to their parents so they can finish middle school."

"Alright, go this afternoon, it's almost time to get off work." The director checked the time; it was getting late, and there was no overtime pay, so it was time to go eat. As for the kids, the director simply handed them over to Li Erhu: "You keep an eye on them, just make sure they don't cause any trouble."

Li Erhu smiled and led the six children to the courtyard house. After looking around, he saw that all the daily necessities were available, so he instructed, "One of you come with me to buy some things so we can have hot pot."

Li Tuantuan quickly stepped forward: "Let me do it, I'm a boy, I'm strong."

Li Erhu put his arm around his shoulder and said, "Let's go."

On the way, he asked about Qiu Xiaoman's situation: "She paid for the rent, right? You guys shouldn't just eat and stay for free. When I take you to see your parents later, try to be a little thick-skinned and at least ask for some money. Split the rent with that woman."

"I understand, Officer Li. I'll listen to you," Li Tuantuan said with a smile. "Speaking of which, I also have the surname Li. Maybe we're even from the same clan."

"Really? What's your father's name?" Li Erhu had been so focused on verifying the house's details that he hadn't asked about the children's family situations yet.

Li Tuantuan mentioned a name, and Li Erhu was dumbfounded: "No way? He's my brother's classmate. I'll have my brother talk to him later. It's so unethical of him to disown his own child! He should at least offer some money."

“They gave me two hundred, and she kept complaining about being poor. My sister has a strong sense of pride, so I just gave it to them,” Li Tuantuan said helplessly. “Actually, I feel embarrassed too, but I’m older now, so I can learn a trade or something. My sister is still young. If you’re going over there later, please try to help my sister. I’ll just leave it to them. That way, it’ll be easier.”

"Okay, what do you want to learn? I'll help you find out." Li Erhu wanted to help them as much as possible because they shared the same surname.

Li Tuantuan thought for a moment and said, "Anything is fine. Carpentry, bricklaying, welding, painting, whatever people are looking for apprentices for, I'll learn it."

“Don’t worry, these things will take a while, especially for carpenters and bricklayers. I’ll ask the electronics factory if they need any workers.” Li Erhu patted him on the shoulder. “There’s always a way out. Don’t rush. I’m here for you.”

"Okay! Thank you, Brother Tiger!" Li Tuantuan cheered up; there's always a way out.

After returning from shopping, the five people who remained had already tidied up the yard, bought bowls and chopsticks, lit the stove, set up the pot, and boiled water in the pot, which was now being used to scald the bowls and chopsticks.

After blanching the vegetables, Li Erhu boiled another pot of water, sprinkled in the seasonings he had bought, and started blanching the vegetables directly: "Come on, let's have a simple meal, eat it while it's hot."

I blanched some spinach, glass noodles, noodles, and eggs, and then I got some carrots, kelp strips, and tofu skin.

Despite the freezing weather, the group of people were covered in sweat.

Qiu Xiaoman put down her chopsticks and remembered something: "By the way, Officer Li, if someone takes my money and doesn't return it, how much should I report it to the police?"

"Anything over eight hundred is fine." Li Erhu asked curiously, "Did someone steal your money?"

Qiu Xiaoman asked if what happened last night counted as theft.

Li Erhu put down his chopsticks: "That's a scam. You can report it to the police. You'll come back to the station with me later."

"Let's wait a bit longer. He's only sixteen. I'll give him a chance. I'll go to his house later." Qiu Xiaoman didn't want to make enemies right away. It wasn't that she was afraid, she just didn't want to cause any unnecessary trouble.

She needs to focus her energy on making money first.

So she asked, "Does the station need a police dog handler? I can do it."

"You?" Li Erhu laughed, he didn't believe it. "With your skinny arms and legs, even a large dog standing up is taller than you. If it bites you a few times, you won't even know who to hold accountable. You should save your breath."

Qiu Xiaoman's smile vanished. This Officer Li was quite responsible, but he had a sharp tongue.

She already disliked his excessive talking when they were at the institute, and now that she had finally managed to salvage a little bit of her impression of him, he started being cheeky again.

Qiu Xiaoman sneered, "Don't speak too soon, Officer Li. We'll see."

Li Erhu chuckled and continued eating: "Young man, it's good to have ambition. I can tell you, with the current poor public security, there's a high demand for police dogs. We really do lack two skilled and professional trainers, but you, tsk, you're not up to the task."

Qiu Xiaoman was too lazy to argue with him; the truth would come out eventually.

She'll go to Lü Yong's house first, and if she has time, she'll go and shock Li Erhu.

She remembered something and asked, "By the way, Officer Li, three of our children left together last night. Could you go check on them this afternoon? If they've gone home, I won't worry about them anymore. But if they haven't... I'm worried something might have happened to them."

“Okay, tell me their family situations, and I’ll write them down.” Li Erhu finished eating and took out a ballpoint pen and workbook from his uniform pocket.

As a result, A-Yue simply handed him his notebook: "Uncle Li, just copy it."

"What did you call me?" Li Erhu was only in his early twenties, and he felt like the sky had fallen.

Ah Yue looked completely bewildered: "Officer, did I call you the wrong person? Uncle?"

Li Erhu became withdrawn and ignored her, burying his head in his writing.

After memorizing everyone's information, Li Erhu couldn't help but gasp: "Xiao Qiu, you're actually a child of the Shen family? Your second great-uncle is a big shot in the computer field, and he's invested in several companies overseas. It's said he gets a lot of dividends. It's a pity he has no children, so who knows who will inherit his vast fortune. Maybe your father? After all, your father is his nephew."

Qiu Xiaoman didn't want to deal with these things. She only asked, "Can I go to work now, Officer Li? I'll be waiting for you here at six o'clock tonight. Let's check the information of those children, okay?"

"Okay, okay." Li Erhu put the workbook back into his breast pocket and couldn't help but sigh, "Now I know why your father doesn't want to acknowledge you. I guess your stepmother is eyeing your second uncle's fortune. One less child means less competition, which is only natural. But this is too much. Your second uncle is so rich. Even if he had ten more children, each of them would get a lot of money."

Qiu Xiaoman pretended not to hear, but Li Tuantuan noticed that she was unhappy and quickly pulled Li Erhu aside, whispering, "What are you doing? What if the other three don't want to share the rent with her?"

Li Erhu thought it made sense, but the words had already been spoken and couldn't be taken back, so he could only comfort her, "Maybe those three will all be taken by their parents this afternoon. In the end, you'll be the only one left to split the rent with her."

Li Tuantuan fell silent, well... that's actually quite good.

He glanced back at Qiu Xiaoman, who was tidying up the table, then blushed and looked away.

After Officer Li and his colleagues' tireless efforts throughout the afternoon, they finally managed to get Li Yuanyuan handed over to her father. After all, the child needed to go to school, and junior high school is compulsory education. If Old Li really ignored it, the police would have a reason to come to his door and lecture him every day, and how could he do business then?

As for the Song siblings, one word: tragic.

Their mother was not doing well after remarrying and lived in a crowded tenement, unable to make ends meet.

Their father was quite wealthy, but unfortunately he married a woman ten years younger than him. She would cry, make a scene, and threaten suicide, refusing to have any children. When asked, she would say she had no money, and if asked again, she would commit suicide.

In the end, their father gave them a thousand dollars, and that was the end of it.

As for how thirteen-year-old Song Xiaojun will go to school, Song's father is willing to help solve the problem, but there is one condition: he cannot live with him and his current wife.

In the end, six children went out, and seven children came back.

Qiu Xiaoman returned with a stray dog. When she entered the courtyard, she found that A Yong and Xiao Qiao had also come.

Ah Yong was still clutching a thousand yuan in his hand. When he saw her, he immediately returned it to her: "I wanted to buy a lottery ticket, hoping to win a big prize and then pay you back. That way, you wouldn't have to worry about your hospital bills, and I could also make my parents furious. But I only won four hundred yuan out of the thousand yuan, losing six hundred. My dad made me pay you back this money. I'm sorry."

Qiu Xiaoman took the thousand yuan she had just recovered and then gave him the order to leave: "You're not welcome here, you should go."

Ah Yong, concerned about his reputation, clenched his fists as if he wanted to say something, but in the end, he left without looking back.

Li Erhu quickly chased after him: "Hey, wait a minute, where are you staying tonight? Your parents don't want you anymore, why don't you come back with me, we'll figure something out tomorrow."

Qiu Xiaoman looked at the others, but before she could say anything, Xiao Qiao had already wiped away her tears and turned to make dinner.

Qiu Xiaoman didn't ask about the situation there. She led the stray dog ​​to the main house she had chosen, to familiarize it with the place and see if the dog was intelligent.