Chapter 41

Twelve years ago, Zhao Di was found in a hospital by a middle-aged couple.

It was a summer day when the couple, who had been unable to conceive, went to the hospital for a checkup. There, on a hospital bench, they found an abandoned baby wrapped in swaddling clothes.

"How can you be sure she was abandoned?" the paparazzi couldn't help but ask. "Maybe her parents just had some urgent business and left her somewhere."

The middle-aged woman rolled her eyes and said, "Who would leave a newborn baby outside the hospital just because they're in a hurry?"

Follower: ...Seems true, huh.

He chuckled awkwardly.

The middle-aged woman said calmly, "Back then, my husband and I had just been diagnosed by the doctor, and the chances of us getting pregnant were very slim..."

The couple was going through a very difficult time. After all, their hometown was remote and had a feudal atmosphere. If word got back to the village, they would be drowned in gossip. Not to mention, the woman's in-laws were extremely difficult to get along with.

Coincidentally, at that moment they encountered Zhao Di, who had been abandoned.

There's a saying in their village that couples who have been childless for many years can adopt a child and raise it with them, hoping that this child might "bring them a child."

Although it's unclear whether this claim is true, the couple decided to try anything, even if it seemed hopeless. They figured that bringing a child home would silence the gossip in the village and prevent them from being ridiculed as barren hens.

And so, Zhao Di was taken back by them, and they claimed to everyone that she was their daughter.

At first, they treated Zhao Di very well, after all, they might have to rely on this child for the rest of their lives, and she might be their only child.

But who knew that after seven years, when both of them had given up on the idea of ​​having their own child, the woman suddenly became pregnant.

"Even the doctors say it's a miracle!" the middle-aged woman said proudly.

At this moment, seeing the couple beam with joy and pride whenever they mentioned their biological child, the others present felt a chill in their hearts and suddenly had a premonition about Zhao Di's future situation.

And as it turned out, their hunch was correct.

Zhao Di, Zhao Di—the name itself is filled with the couple's perfunctory attitude towards their adopted daughter and their longing for their biological son. Now that their wish has finally come true, their attitude towards Zhao Di has naturally become subtle.

After ten months of pregnancy and the birth of the child, who turned out to be a son, their attitude towards Zhao Di completely changed.

At first, they were just impatient, but the more they looked at Zhao Di, the more they disliked her. They would beat and scold her, and even treated her like their son's nanny. Poor Zhao Di, at such a young age, had already learned how to take care of another child.

"...She's not my daughter. We're already being kind by giving her a bite to eat." The middle-aged woman argued confidently. "If her father and I hadn't taken her in from the hospital, she might be dead by now. That's a life-saving favor. She can't possibly be too grateful to us, can she?"

The woman felt that they were already very responsible for not abandoning Zhaodi after their child was born; anyone else would have probably found a way to abandon her long ago.

"Besides, we didn't starve her or thirst her, and we even sent her to school. That's what biological parents do, right?" the woman said, pursing her lips. "Who knew that just because we killed a dog, she would hold a grudge against us?"

She glared at Zhao Di and concluded, "Sure enough, you can't raise a child without blood ties! After raising her for so many years, she's still an ingrate."

Zhao Di's eyes reddened as she listened. She bit her lip and gripped Xu Guiyi's clothes tightly, her expression somewhat bewildered. After being told what the woman said, she couldn't help but start to doubt herself.

Am I really an ungrateful wretch?

"Your words sound so high and mighty. Anyone who didn't know better would think you were so good to Zhao Di," Xu Gui sneered. But if they really cared about Zhao Di, why would they have been willing to kill her beloved dog, Da Huang?

The woman, however, felt she had done nothing wrong, stating matter-of-factly, "At least we raised her to this age, instead of just sending her away and leaving her to wander the streets..."

She muttered, "Who would raise a child who has no relation to their own once they have their own? It's not like they're being taken advantage of. If you were in their shoes, would you be willing to do it?"

She spoke with such confidence that it seemed as if Xu Gui and his group were the ones making a fuss, which left them speechless.

The proprietress couldn't help but say, "Whether she's your biological child or not, since you've taken her in, you have to be responsible for her! This isn't like raising a cat or dog, where you can just give her a bite to eat."

That being said, people nowadays take care of their dogs in every way, showing them great care and attention. This family's care for Zhaodi was not as good as how people care for dogs these days.

"Aren't we responsible?" The middle-aged woman couldn't help but roll her eyes at the proprietress's words. She repeated her previous statement: "Do we need her to eat or drink?"

Xu Gui: "If raising a child only requires giving her food and water, what's the difference between that and an orphanage?" At least the orphanage cares about the children's physical and mental health, but what about this couple?

All they knew was to mock Zhao Di for treating a big yellow dog like family, and then cruelly kill the dog—that's the ultimate act of killing someone and destroying their spirit.

"Your behavior is disgusting," Xu Gui commented.

Her words were quite impolite, and the couple in front of them couldn't help but show an angry expression, looking rather embarrassed and furious.

“You make it sound so simple, young lady,” the man in the couple said. “Do you know how expensive it is to raise a child? Not only do you have to feed her, but you also have to pay for her schooling. Do you know how much it costs throughout the year?”

Xu Gui looked at him and asked in return, "Do you know how much it costs to hire a maid for a year? Did you pay her a salary when you had her help take care of your son?"

The couple: "..."

The middle-aged woman said, embarrassed and annoyed, "Fine, fine, we treat her badly, we treat her like a servant, so you treat her well and don't treat her like a servant, then take her back and raise her... Tch, anyone can say nice things, it's just a matter of words."

The woman crossed her arms and said nonchalantly, "She's not our child. We're already being very kind by giving her food! If you want us to support her, this is the treatment we'll give you. If you're not satisfied, then take her away!"

She looked at Xu Gui and the others with a sense of smug confidence.

Beside her, her husband, playing the good cop, sighed, "If we could, we'd like to treat Zhaodi better too, but that's just how our family is. We have two children, and everything costs money—food, drink, everything. We can't do anything about it."

oh……

Xu Gui understood. The other person's meaning was actually similar to his wife's, only the words sounded better. The essence was the same.

"Since you put it that way..." Xu Gui wasn't angry. She simply looked at them calmly and said, "So I'll take her away?"

What?

Everyone present turned their gazes to Xu Gui, their expressions somewhat bewildered.

"Teacher Xu, what do you mean by that?" The photographer humbly sought to remain calm and composed.

Xu Gui looked at the middle-aged woman and said, "Didn't she say that if we were not satisfied with their attitude towards Zhao Di, we could take Zhao Di away?"

Others: ?

Xu Gui looked down at Zhao Di and asked her, "Zhao Di, what about you? Do you want to go back with your adoptive parents, or come with me?"

No, is this something that can be decided in just a few words?

The proprietress couldn't help but ask, "Miss Xu, wouldn't you like to reconsider? Zhao Di is such a big child. If you let her come with you, where do you plan to place her? Besides, you're so young, it's not really suitable for you to raise a child."

Zhao Di, who was about to say something, closed her mouth again and stared at Xu Gui expectantly.

Seeing everyone's hesitant expressions, Xu Gui chuckled and said, "You all think I'm going to take Zhao Di back and raise her myself?"

Others: Isn't that right?

Xu Gui, being very self-aware, said, "I can't even support myself, how can I support a child?"

Even the young of a black tortoise are very fragile, let alone human cubs. Xu Gui is not so arrogant as to think he can take care of a cub.

“I was thinking of placing Zhao Di in our orphanage so that the director and others can take care of her,” Xu Gui said, reaching out to pat Zhao Di’s head. “I grew up in an orphanage, so I know our orphanage better than anyone else.”

She didn't know much about other orphanages, but she knew the orphanage where she grew up very well. Although the conditions there were simple and austere, the staff and volunteers genuinely loved the children.

Moreover, the harsh conditions would soon be improved, Xu Gui thought proudly, after all, he had just earned two million!

“Zhao Di, if you come with me, I will temporarily send you to the orphanage. That’s where I grew up, and many children live there!” Xu Gui squatted down, his gaze level with Zhao Di’s. “You can decide whether you want to go back with your adoptive parents or stay here.”

She gave the choice to Zhao Di.

Zhao Di looked at her blankly, then glanced at her parents standing not far away, their expressions agitated. She bit her lip and whispered, "Sister, I want to go with you... I'm not afraid to go to the orphanage."

Upon hearing Zhao Di's words, the one who reacted the most was not anyone else, but Zhao Di's adoptive parents.

"Ha!" Zhao Di's adoptive mother looked at Zhao Di with deep disgust in her eyes and said with great aversion, "If you like such a worthless thing, then take her back and raise her."

The tone made it sound as if she wasn't talking about a living person, but a pet, a small animal that she didn't find pleasing.

"Officers, did you hear that? It's not that we're abandoning her!" The woman immediately looked at the two officers. "She wanted to leave on her own. If she needs anything in the future, don't come looking for us."

The man sighed and looked at Zhao Di, then hesitated before saying, "Zhao Di, since this is your choice, then I, your father, respect your choice."

After saying that, he turned his head away, looking reluctant, but Xu Gui did not miss the scheming and ruthlessness flashing in his eyes.

Zhao Di's adoptive mother tossed "this trash" to Xu Gui as if it were garbage, and then fled as if escaping, giving the two policemen no chance to persuade them.

The two policemen were speechless. So, what should they do now? Should they really send the child to an orphanage?

They looked at Xu Gui with worried expressions, hesitant to speak: this Miss Xu was only doing this for the child's sake, but they didn't know what to say to her.

Xu Gui looked at them and said, "Given Zhao Di's situation, you should be able to help find her biological parents, right?"

The two police officers, who were pondering what to do, exclaimed, "Huh?"

Xu Gui said, "I would like to ask you to help me find Zhao Di's biological parents. I think her parents are probably looking for her too."

"Didn't you want to leave her at the orphanage?" the landlady couldn't help but ask.

Xu Gui chuckled, reached out and patted Zhao Di's head, and said, "Zhao Di has parents. If we find her biological parents, there's no need to leave her in the orphanage."

Her initial idea was not to leave Zhao Di in the orphanage and let her grow up there. She just wanted the orphanage to be a temporary place for Zhao Di to stay until she found her biological parents.

At least compared to her heartless adoptive parents who only knew how to manipulate Zhaodi, she didn't have to do laundry, cook, take care of children, or be used as a servant in the orphanage.

Zhao Di understood what Xu Gui meant, and she couldn't help but grab her hand and call out, "Sister."

Xu Gui glanced at the unfinished food on the table, reached out and patted her head, saying, "Eat first, and after you finish eating I'll buy you something and then take you to the orphanage."

Zhao Di nodded obediently, sat back down on her stool, and continued eating.

Inside the restaurant, Xu Gui, the proprietress, and the paparazzi were all happy, but the two police officers standing nearby looked rather worried.

"Uncle, is this really okay?" the young policeman couldn't help but ask his senior. "Isn't this against the rules? How can you just dump a child on a complete stranger?"

His uncle glanced at him and said, "The little girl is willing, her adoptive parents are willing, and that Miss Xu is willing... Who do you think you are? Who cares whether you're willing or not?"

Young police officer: Hmm?

The older policeman sat on the stool, eyes lowered and eyes closed, looking completely at ease. The younger policeman glanced at him, then at the three people sitting next to him, who seemed to be enjoying themselves, and wisely kept quiet.

Meanwhile, not far from the proprietress's house, Zhao Di's adoptive parents, who had already left, were standing there quietly watching the proprietress's restaurant.

The man who had been all smiles and friendly to the police now had a gloomy expression.

"Didn't you always complain that that girl was a money-loser?" Zhao Di's adoptive mother said. "Now that you've dumped her, why are you still unhappy?"

The man glanced at her and said, "What do you know?"

He did the math with Zhao Di's adoptive mother: "If we had sent this girl away when she first came to our family, I wouldn't have felt any heartache. But look at us, we've raised her to this age, twelve years old, and it's cost us so much money. If we send her away now, we won't have recouped any of our investment. Do you think I'd be happy?"

He had already planned it out. Zhao Di was already twelve years old and could get married in two more years. They would find her a wealthy husband's family, and not only would they receive a large dowry, but they would also be able to find a way to support their precious son.

"I've thought it all out. The Luo family is a good choice!" the man said with a gloomy expression. "The youngest son of the Luo family is an idiot. As long as a girl is willing to marry this idiot, they're willing to pay this much!"

The man held up five fingers. "If Zhao Di marries into the family and gives birth to a healthy, chubby son, do you think the Luo family will be overjoyed?"

But now, all his plans have come to naught. He gave away such a beautiful young woman for nothing. It was all for naught. He got nothing in return. How could a man be happy?

After hearing this, Zhao Di's adoptive mother couldn't help but slap her thigh, almost turning it blue.

"You're right!" she exclaimed, adding anxiously, "We can't just give this girl away for nothing! I'll go get her back right now!"

The man grabbed her arm and said irritably, "You were so generous just now, giving away your daughter whom you've raised for twelve years, and now you regret it?"

Zhao Di's adoptive mother replied, "I didn't think that much about it! No, we can't leave Zhao Di with them... She's such a big girl now, they'll ask for a lot of dowry later!"

The adoptive mother sounded very regretful—why hadn't she thought of the bride price?

"What's the rush? Those two policemen are still here. Don't make a scene, or things won't look good." Otherwise, he would have stopped his wife back at the restaurant.

"Besides, so what if they take Zhao Di away?" the man sneered, a glint of shrewdness in his eyes. "We've raised Zhao Di all these years, and we've spent real money on her over the past twelve years. Do you really think she'll disown us?"

"When she gets a few more years old, as her parents, it's only natural to find her a good husband, right?"

Zhao Di's adoptive mother understood; her husband was trying to get something for nothing.

"You're right!" she said, looking at her husband with delight. "You're so clever! So what do we do now? Should we let Zhao Di go with them for the time being?"

The man calmly said, "Let's find out who that young woman is first. Hmph, since she's trying to be kind, we'll make sure she gets nothing in return!"

The sordid schemes the couple were plotting were unknown to others, but Xu Gui had a vague idea of ​​them. However, she didn't pay much attention to it, since Zhao Di was still young, and even if they harassed her later, it would be many years from now.

It's better for Zhao Di to be married off to a fool than to be entangled in a future with them.

Xu Gui closed his eyes, his expression indifferent.

The paparazzi secretly glanced at her, regretting that they weren't live-streaming and hadn't let Xu Gui's fans see her like this—Xu Gui's aloof demeanor would definitely make her fans scream with excitement.

*

After Zhao Di finished eating, Xu Gui took her to buy some basic necessities and then sent her to the orphanage.

However, when she arrived at the orphanage, she first saw an acquaintance there.

"Sister!" Wu Xueya ran over quickly, her eyes sparkling as she looked at Xu Gui, and asked, "Why did you come here?"

Xu Gui: "I'm sending a little sister over. She'll be staying at the orphanage for a while."

Wu Xueya looked curiously at Zhao Di standing next to Xu Gui. Compared to the shy and timid Zhao Di, he was much more outgoing and went straight over to her, asking curiously, "My name is Wu Xueya, what's your name?"

Zhao Di: "I, my name is... Zhao Di."

When she spoke her name, her voice was barely audible, and she looked rather embarrassed—she was already grown up and knew that her name was strange. Other classmates' names reflected their parents' hopes for them, but her name was the only one that reflected her parents' expectations for their son.

Because of her name, she had been laughed at a lot, which made her feel very inferior every time she introduced herself to others.

Fortunately, when Wu Xueya heard her name, he didn't show any strange expression on his face. Instead, he talked to her curiously. After this back and forth, Zhao Di's mood relaxed considerably, and soon Wu Xueya pulled her to play with the others.

Xu Gui watched the two figures as they walked away, and couldn't help but fall into deep thought.

Wu Xueya, Zhao Di… she's already taken two children from their orphanage! Is she working in the orphanage's admissions office? And neither Wu Xueya nor Zhao Di are their "parents'" biological children. If we add the already adult Mr. Li An, Xu Gui has already encountered three children who aren't their "parents'" biological offspring.

"Do I have some kind of strange constitution?" Xu Gui muttered to himself.

Just then, the director of the orphanage came over. She had asked others to tidy up Zhao Di's room, and she came over to ask Xu Gui about Zhao Di's situation.

Xu Gui briefly explained Zhao Di's background to her, and concluded by saying, "Director, don't worry. Zhao Di will only be staying at our orphanage for a short time. After she finds her biological parents, she will leave."

The director smiled and said softly, "What do I have to worry about? This is an orphanage, a place to take in homeless children. If this child's situation is really as you say, she is pitiful, and our orphanage will naturally not refuse her."

“It’s her adoptive parents…we’re afraid they’ll cause trouble.” The director frowned.

Such situations have occurred before in the orphanage. Children who couldn't be raised were secretly abandoned at the gate of the orphanage, and then the parents would come back to take them back once they were grown up. Zhao Di's situation sounds even more complicated and serious. Her adoptive parents are probably not easy to get along with.

Xu Gui sighed and said, "I know, but her adoptive parents are not good people. Zhao Di is only twelve years old, and they are already thinking about using her to exchange for a bride price. If we keep her in that family, I'm afraid she will have to go to someone else's family to be a child bride soon."

The dean was surprised: "Really? It can't be that bad, can it?"

Xu Gui chuckled and said in a nonchalant tone, "They feel that they've spent so much money on Zhao Di, and if they don't get it back, it would be a huge loss. So they have to make it back as soon as possible?"

The dean remained silent.

As the director of the orphanage, she had seen many cases of children not being treated as human beings. It is said that there are no parents who do not love their children, but this principle does not apply to their orphanage. Most of the children in the orphanage are not loved by their parents.

However, she still felt somewhat heavy-hearted whenever such a thing happened.

The dean looked at Xu Gui and said, "In that case, Zhao Di will stay with me for now. We will take good care of her, so don't worry."

Xu Gui took her hand, nuzzled her head against her shoulder, and said sweetly, "I brought her here specifically because I trust you. I wouldn't trust anyone else."

The dean looked at her fluffy head and smiled.

"How come you've even learned to act cute?" she said with a smile, reaching out to pat Xu Gui's head.

Hmm, it feels pretty good to touch.

"What do you think, should we change Zhaodi's name?" The dean asked, stroking Xu Gui's head. "When she introduced herself to Xueya just now, she seemed quite ashamed of her name. Xueya is also changing her name, so we can do it together."

Xu Gui asked in surprise, "Does Xueya want to change her name?"

Dean: "To be specific, it's about changing his surname. He brought it up himself and wants to take Aunt Tuanzi's surname from now on."

Xu Gui smiled, somewhat happy for Aunt Tuanzi.

The dean sighed, "For this, we have to thank the Wu family. They never forbade Xueya from contacting your Aunt Tuanzi, so Xueya wasn't too resistant to your Aunt Tuanzi."

Wu Xueya and Aunt Tuanzi already had a very good relationship... oh, we should call her Li Xueya.

Back when Aunt Tuanzi was still his aunt, he liked her very much. Now that they have gone from uncle and nephew to "mother and son," they quickly became close after the initial awkwardness and discomfort.

“Zhao Di, let’s not change her name yet,” Xu Gui said after thinking for a moment. “Let her find her biological parents and then let them change it for her.”

“That works too…” The dean glanced at her and asked with a smile, “But are you so sure she can find her biological parents?”

Xu Gui nodded confidently: "Of course, I'm a fortune teller, if I say I can find it, I definitely can!"

"By the way, how is Dongzhi's illness?" Xu Gui asked Dongzhi again.

She had already transferred two million to the hospital director, asking him to arrange surgery for Dongzhi first, but she didn't know how things were going.

At this point, the hospital director became happy and said, "I've already contacted the doctor, and I'll take Dongzhi to the hospital in a few days..."

At this point, she looked at Xu Gui and said somewhat apologetically, "It's all so kind of you to do this. This is something that I, as the dean, should have done, but unfortunately I'm not capable enough, and instead you've had to put in so much effort."

Xu Gui didn't care. Since she could make money, she would naturally help if she could.

“…I’m also part of the orphanage, so of course I have to help,” she said earnestly.

The dean looked at her, feeling both happy and touched, and sighed, "You're a good child, and Rose and the others are good children too..."

"Rose and the others" refers to the other children in the orphanage. Like Xu Gui, they are all adults who have left the orphanage and become independent. Rose is the name of one of the girls.

Some of these children never return after leaving the orphanage, but others, like Xu Gui, always think about the orphanage and frequently send money there.

Thanks to them, this orphanage, which is a gathering place for the elderly, the weak, the sick and the disabled, has been able to persist until now.

"Don't worry about the money, I'll work hard to earn it... I'll tell you a secret." Xu Gui leaned closer to the dean, speaking mysteriously as if he were about to tell her a secret:

"My goal is to earn 10 billion!"

The dean looked at her in surprise, and then Xu Gui said with regret and pity, "But this is a big goal. Before achieving the big goal, I have to achieve my small goal first."

"What is your small goal?" The dean suddenly had a subtle premonition.

Xu Gui clenched his fist: "Let's earn 100 million first!"

Dean: "..." The slight sadness that had just surfaced in my mind has completely disappeared.

Xu Gui told her, "Dean, please don't tell anyone else."

She wrinkled her nose and said with disdain, "Everyone here is so unambitious. When I tell them my goals, they always think I'm joking. Who's joking with them?!"

Otherwise, people think she's delusional, which is why Xu Gui is now unwilling to talk to anyone about her goal.

The dean asked in a daze: Are you sure it's a goal, not a dream?

Xu Gui said generously, "Don't worry, Director. Once I've earned 10 billion, I'll use the money to expand and renovate our orphanage, bring all the orphans to our orphanage, and make our orphanage the number one in the country... no, the world!"

Dean: "...Whatever makes you happy."

She had heard of many things that were number one in the world or country, but she had to admit that this was the first time she had ever heard of the title "number one orphanage in the world."

After all, someone with enough money to build an orphanage into the best would never focus their attention on an ordinary orphanage.

The dean's gaze fell on Xu Gui, who looked at her expectantly: "Dean, what do you think? Isn't my goal amazing?"

The dean smiled, his eyes crinkling, and nodded with a smile: "Yes, it is indeed a very noble wish."

She said, "Little Turtle, I believe you can do it!"

Xu Gui nodded vigorously, her expression extremely proud—she really was a super dreamy, super great turtle!

The Third Elder would surely be astonished if he saw himself now.

Hehehe.