Chapter 4 New Foster Families
Wu Lifang had always dreamed of having a daughter, and her heart melted upon hearing this. "Xiaxia, come to my house, and Auntie will treat you like her own daughter."
The intellectual and the modern young woman's lips moved slightly, as if about to retort, but Director Liu glared at them with sharp eyes and said:
"The most important thing is that the foster family and Xiaxia get along well. Wu Lifang, the neighborhood committee will conduct regular home visits. The farce in the Wang family must not happen again."
Upon hearing this, Wu Lifang immediately made a solemn oath, her expression as serious as could be.
"Wu Lifang, the grain coupons and cloth coupons will be given to you on the spot after the foster care procedures are completed. As for the foster care fee, the neighborhood office will temporarily keep it. You can come and collect 5 yuan every month. Do you agree?"
"Director Liu, even if I don't have a single penny, I'm willing to take care of Xiaxia."
"Uncle Liu, what if the foster care fees run out and Dad still hasn't come back?"
A sweet, soft-spoken girl timidly asks an extremely practical question.
Director Liu paused for a moment, thought for a moment, and said, "Xiaxia, if it really comes to that, the neighborhood committee will pay 5 yuan for you. Don't worry about things that don't exist; we have adults to back you up!"
It's only about 5 yuan, even if you're on a tight budget, you can still save up.
The little girl shook her head, her eyes resolute, and said, "Uncle Liu, my father said that a person should have backbone. When the time comes, Xiaxia will write an IOU to the neighborhood committee, and when she is able to earn money, she will pay it back according to the bank interest rate."
Her words saddened the adults present. At this age, other children would throw tantrums for a long time for a bag of snacks, but she was forced to grow up.
Director Liu laughed heartily, "As expected of Jianfeng's daughter, she has guts. Okay, let's do as Xiaxia says. Wu Lifang, come with me to complete the foster care procedures."
...
It was the dead of winter, and it had just snowed. A thin layer of ice had formed on the blue brick ground, and one could easily slip and fall. The little girl refused to be carried, so Wu Lifang had no choice but to hold her hand.
Huaimin Street was a residential compound for employees of a textile factory. Houses were allocated to employees based on population and job positions, but compared to other families, the Wu family's house was noticeably more dilapidated.
A crack appeared in the blue brick wall, propped up with white wooden stakes. The roof tiles were broken, and standing inside, looking up, one could see light shining through the crack.
Tick-tock!
A drop of snow water fell onto her forehead.
Wu Lifang quickly wiped away the snow water and led her to stand aside. "Xiaxia, before the New Year, Auntie will definitely ask someone to fix the roof."
Thump! Thump! Thump!
Upon hearing the strange knocking sound, Wu Lifang's expression suddenly tensed up, and she rushed into the side room, with Yun Xia following behind her with her short legs.
"An'an, Mommy's here. Don't be scared. Open the cabinet door, okay?"
An'an?
It's that autistic child who never leaves the house!
Seeing that she was about to cry, Yunxia felt a little sorry for her and stepped forward to tug at her sleeve. "Aunt Wu, only children can have common ground. How about... I give it a try?"
Seeing her hesitation, Yunxia talked for a while before finally persuading her to leave. She then took out a nougat candy with a peanut pattern and slipped it into the cabinet through the gap.
The thumping stopped abruptly, and then the nougat was stuffed out of the cabinet by the little black hand in the same way.
Yunxia raised an eyebrow, picked up the nougat from the ground, and without any hesitation, tore open the packaging. The candy, filled with crushed peanuts, was incredibly fragrant.
"An'an, how about we play a game?"
"Guess the story. If you guess right, you knock once; if you guess wrong, you knock twice. You have five chances to guess. If you guess right three times, you can come out of the cabinet. If you agree to play the game, you knock three times."
The wait was unbearable. Just as she was about to think of other methods, three thumping sounds suddenly came from the cabinet. Yunxia's already bright eyes lit up even more.
"An'an, the enclosed closet space makes you feel safe."
Thump!
"You really wanted to eat that nougat from earlier."
Thump! Thump! Oops, I guessed wrong!
"You like pink."
Thump! Thump!
Uh, if you don't like it, why are there so many pink items in the house?
"The latch in the wardrobe was installed by your brother... no, you installed it yourself."
Thump!
"You don't like to interact with outsiders."
With a loud thud, the little figure inside the cabinet clearly exerted a great deal of force.
The cabinet was pushed open from the inside, and a small baby with sickly pale skin, who had never seen the sun for many years, crawled out from inside.
Jiang Chao, who had been lurking by the door, walked over with a sinister look, grabbed a tattered slipper, and gave the little kid a good beating on the bottom.
"Jiang Chao, stop right now! Hitting a child is illegal, don't you understand?"
Jiang Chao, his face grim, shook off Yun Xia's hand. "The eldest brother is like a father. An'an is naughty and deserves a beating."
"Hehe, brother is right, keep going, don't stop!"
An'an's chubby face was beaming with smiles, and her legs were kicking excitedly, as if she wasn't being beaten, but playing a fun game.
But Jiang Chao deflated like a punctured balloon, unable to bring himself to do it.
Once free, An'an dashed to bed and buried herself completely under the covers.
“Jiang An, if you stick your head out, you’ll get sick, and your family won’t have the money to treat you.”
The raised, lumpy thing thumped a few times, and its furry head emerged from under the covers, its bright eyes excitedly staring at Jiang Chao.
Jiang Chao clearly didn't want to pay him any attention. He snorted coldly and left the room in a sinister manner.
In an instant, the excitement in the little child's eyes faded, leaving them empty and lifeless. He turned over, facing the wall covered in posters, exuding an aura of depression and gloom.
Yunxia, completely bewildered: ...
Wow, the way these two brothers get along is really quite unique!
However, does An'an's behavior just now really fit the characteristics of autistic children?
Unable to understand, Yunxia shook her head, placed a few nougat candies on the bedside table, and turned to leave the room.
In the afternoon, Director Liu came to deliver the luggage and also brought two jin of flour. At first, Wu Lifang refused to accept it no matter what, but in the end, it was Yun Xia who intervened and she finally agreed to accept it.
The soft, chubby little girl, with her lips pursed and her doe-like eyes fixed longingly on Bai Mian, could melt even the strongest exterior.
Today, the Wu family ate refined grains for the first time ever. Half a bowl of white flour was poured with hot oil to make a flaky pastry, and several scallion pancakes were baked. Yunxia ate them with her mouth full of oil, feeling incredibly happy.
Since the room hadn't been tidied up yet, Yunxia temporarily shared a bed with Wu Lifang. Fortunately, it was the dead of winter, so it was quite warm to be together.
Yunxia stayed at the Wu family's house for a few days and got to know their personalities.
Wu Lifang is efficient and skillful, but she has a slight obsession with cleanliness and can't stand dust in her home.
Jiang An dislikes contact with others and prefers to hide in small, enclosed spaces, but he is definitely a brother-obsessed brother. Whenever he sees Jiang Chao, he smiles like a flower and will do whatever he is told.
Jiang Chao is a sinister person with a sharp tongue, often leaving people speechless. He is decisive and farsighted in his actions, and many of Wu Lifang's decisions depend on him. He is a true little adult.
These past few days, Yunxia hasn't been idle either. While catching up on her winter break homework, she's been secretly thinking about ways to make money.
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