Mother Fan kept quiet and didn't say anything.

Fan Qian and Sun Jinhua were selling grain that their second son's family had given them to help them through the famine years, and they were also raising Zhao Di. They planned to take Zhao Di back once she was grown up, so how could they sell her?

If we sell it, we won't be able to get it back.

Fan Jin walked over, holding Shui Qing in one hand and Zhao Di in the other, and went straight to the old village chief. He said, "Old village chief, my wife and I are not buying Zhao Di, but adopting her. From now on, she will be our daughter."

In return, I'll give my elder brother's family a thousand catties of black liquor. If they agree, we'll draw up a written agreement right now.

When Yan Qiuxing returned to Jianghehu and heard this, a look of joy appeared on her face.

They didn't know what adoption was, but once they found out, their little sister was truly part of their family!

Just like the previous two months, we ate, slept, studied, and worked together.

"Adoption?" Sun Jinhua murmured, her mouth agape.

In the past, there were also adopted children in the village. The rule of adoption was that the child would have no relationship with the biological parents after the adoption. The child would only care for the adoptive parents after their death, and no one would say a word. On the contrary, if the child was good to the biological parents, they would be called ungrateful.

How can this be done?

Fan Qian breathed a sigh of relief, tugged at Sun Jinhua, and whispered, "Luckily it's just a daughter. Anyway, a daughter can't raise us or bury us, so we've adopted her. We haven't lost out."

Sun Jinhua looked up at her husband, wondering if it was really not a bad deal.

Mother Fan kept nagging, "A thousand catties of black flour is too little."

"Zhao Di is such a quick worker, how come she only got this little bit?"

"My four grandsons all eat a lot, so should we add some more?"

The old village chief ignored Fan Qian's family and only asked Fan Jin and Shui Qing, "This is a baby girl. Are you two sure you want to adopt her?"

One advantage of adopting a girl is that she won't inherit any family property, and if things don't go well, she can still get married. However, the disadvantage is the same: once she gets married, she won't be able to support her family in their old age. Therefore, in the past, adoptions were always made to sons from the same clan, and daughters were never adopted!

Especially since Fan Jin and Shui Qing already have two daughters and three sons, and are well-off, knowing that their elder brother is scheming, are they really going to jump in?

That's a thousand pounds of black face!

Even if the two of them didn't take care of Zhaodi, the villagers wouldn't say anything.

Fan Jin and Shui Qing nodded at the same time.

Only through adoption can Zhao Di truly escape her bloodsucking biological parents and have a vast world of her own in the future.

They couldn't actually buy Zhao Di; that would be too cruel for her. Nor could they simply keep Zhao Di as a pet, because then she would still be sold.

They didn't care about a thousand catties of black flour; to be precise, they felt it was a good deal to exchange a thousand catties of black flour for Zhao Di.

Shui Qing smiled and said, "It makes three 'good' characters, which means many people and prosperity."

The old village chief looked up at Shui Qing, and this time he was truly shocked.

This woman is truly magnanimous!

He looked at Fan Qian and asked, "Do you agree?"

Mother Fan interjected, "That's too little. Zhao Di might be able to handle it! Raising her won't be a loss for us."

The old village chief suppressed his anger and calculated the costs for her: "That's quite a lot. A thousand catties of black flour. There are only seven of you. If you make three catties a day into a paste, it will last you for almost a year."

Winter wheat will be harvested in the first half of next year, and after that, rice can be planted and harvested in the second half of the year, enough for your family to get through the disaster year.”

Mother Fan was still not satisfied: "Three catties is not enough? My four grandsons can eat three catties in one meal."

Besides, a porridge made entirely of water won't fill you up, and making dark flour buns uses up too much flour.

This time, without the old village chief even having to speak, the aunties and grandmas watching couldn't stand it anymore!

“Hey Aunt Fan, do you know what the price of black flour is now? It’s six coins a pound! A thousand pounds is six taels of silver! Go ask around the whole city, can you sell an eight-year-old girl for a thousand pounds of black flour?”