Chapter 27 The Gloomy Little Darling of the 1970s

With their most promising grandson still standing in front of them, the two old folks didn't want things to get too awkward and cause their grandson to drift away from them.

"Old man, this is our grandson. We won't sell him even if you offer us a lot of money!"

Don't listen to this wretched woman spouting this nonsense! We've raised this child since he was tiny, it's not something that can be resolved with just 100 yuan!

Old Mrs. Zhou still tried to save face, but Shen Ci didn't want to waste any more words with them, so she took out several stacks of money.

"Five hundred yuan, one price. If it doesn't work out, that's fine too. Even if the child isn't registered in the same household as me, he's still my son, my own flesh and blood. That can't be changed."

People are easily swayed by self-interest; if they aren't, it means they haven't been offered enough.

Old Man Zhou and Old Woman Zhou had been farmers all their lives; they had never seen so much money before! Bundles of banknotes were placed in front of them, and just looking at them was exciting. If this much money were theirs, any difficulties their family was facing could be easily solved!

"Old man..."

Grandma Zhou was tempted and prepared to persuade her husband to just give a perfunctory refusal. After all, it was so much money; they couldn't just give up the money for their grandson, could they?

Old Zhou was also very tempted, but greed is in their nature.

"Eight hundred yuan, add another three hundred, and we'll go to the city with you now, along with your household registration book."

It's not that their grandson is too precious, it's that they don't give him enough money. They have a scale in their hearts, and in their minds, their own grandson is only worth 800 yuan.

Shen Ci smiled and said, "Okay, take your household registration book now. Two hundred yuan is the deposit, and the rest will be paid after the formalities are completed, so you won't deny it."

Shen Ci casually tossed two stacks of money over, and the two immediately hid the money in the most secluded place in the house before packing their things and leaving with them.

"Where's Xiao Huai? Call him, it's time to go."

It takes a while to walk from the Zhou family home to the parking lot. Along the way, when they encountered many villagers, Old Mrs. Zhou and Old Mr. Zhou would change their expressions and wave happily when asked.

"Our eldest grandson is living in the city with his mother now, and we're worried about him, so we're going to check on him."

The children are also thinking of us grandparents and want to take us to the city for a visit!

Only those two old folks could say such things without batting an eye, without feeling guilty at all. They were clearly selling their grandson out, but they still pretended to be loving and affectionate.

"Oh my, what a filial child! He's enjoying his retirement, yet he doesn't forget you two. What a wonderful grandson! We're so envious!"

"I told you two were blessed to raise such an amazing grandson. And Shen Ci, his conscience is beyond reproach!"

"I knew that kid would amount to something since he was little, and I was right!"

Flattery and compliments flowed freely, and the two old men laughed more and more heartily. They wondered if they were fooling themselves too!

Zhou Huai ran up quickly from behind, saying, "I just went to the restroom."

After he explained, no one said anything more.

When the elderly couple saw the Cadillac parked there, their eyes widened in surprise, as if they had seen some legendary ancient beast!

"Oh dear, this must cost a lot of money."

"What a waste! A woman like you drives such a nice car, aren't you afraid of attracting unwanted attention?"

"I don't know where this money came from, or if it's clean. I'm afraid it might corrupt my grandson!"

As always, Old Lady Zhou continued to speak ill of Shen Ci, and Zhou Huai listened with an increasingly profound look in his eyes.

From childhood to adulthood, this so-called grandmother had been saying these things to him. As a child, Zhou Huai had not yet developed a proper sense of right and wrong, so he harbored resentment towards his mother for a period of time.

Fortunately, he was intelligent and as he grew up, he gradually learned the right principles and became more and more aware of the kind of wolves and tigers his family members were. After he became sensible, although he still resented his biological mother for abandoning him.

But I also feel that it's fortunate she left; in a family like that, who wouldn't suffer if they stayed?

Although I hate her, I also understand her difficulties.

It's one thing to say it behind his back, but now that his mother is back, this old hag still dares to say these things to his mother's face.

“If Grandma keeps saying these things, she can go to the city by herself. Anyway, one person can go alone to change her household registration.”

His eyes were cold. At most, he was just numb when he was at home, but now they had a touch of coldness and an undeniable aura. Old Mrs. Zhou rolled her eyes at him and muttered something.

"Fine, don't talk then. Don't you even know who raised you? You're such an ingrate."

After getting in the car, the two of them touched and examined everything inside, looking on with envy. They'll be bragging about it for years to come. Such a nice car, able to hold so many people, it must cost at least tens of thousands of yuan!

To avoid any unforeseen complications, Shen Ci quickly processed the matter, taking her household registration book and relevant documents to the office. The two old men, unfamiliar with these matters, could only sit and wait, their only thought being to get the money as soon as possible.

“Old man, once we get this money, let’s buy a bicycle when we get back home. We haven’t had any meat in a long time.”

"Why buy a bicycle? My second son will be getting married in a couple of years, and then we'll have to spend money on the bride price. All the younger kids in the family need money for school and marriage!"

"Okay, okay, I'll buy a few pounds of meat in a couple of days. The kids are still growing!"

Before they even received the money, the two of them had already started discussing how to spend it, openly discussing it without any regard for their grandson standing beside them.

He sold you out, yet he still counted the money in front of you. This is what he calls family, what he calls relatives.

Even though his heart had long since turned cold, Zhou Huai still felt a pang of pain. He wasn't old enough to ignore these things. He remembered when he was a child, when he was the only child in the family, his grandfather would take him up the mountain and carry him back down, afraid that he would get tired along the way.

Grandma would also make clothes for him, mend shoes, save the best food for him, and protect him from being beaten by Zhou Dayou.

How did it change?

People are such complicated people. Zhou Huai closed his eyes tightly, not wanting to listen to their reckless words.

Soon, everything was done. The two old men thought it was just a change of household registration and never expected that Zhou Huai's surname was being changed. Now that Zhou Huai's household registration was not on their household registration book, they had no way of knowing.

"Is it all done?"

You better not mistreat the descendants of the Zhou family! Otherwise, even our ancestors won't forgive you!

"Where's the money!"

Old Zhou stopped acting and gave Shen Ci a fierce warning before reaching out for money.

"If your Zhou family really has an ancestor, he would probably be the first to not forgive you, and he would even abandon his children."

Take this. From now on, the child has nothing to do with you anymore. Never see them again, and never disturb their life again.

Shen Ci got into the car with the child, threw money out the window, and said in a great mood in front of them.

"Let's go, son. From today onwards, your name is Shen Huai. Drive!"