The division of the family property had already been agreed upon beforehand, so Mrs. Huo didn't beat around the bush.
Once downstairs, she had Mr. Huo call everyone from each household to the living room.
"We had been talking about splitting up the family for a while, but it was delayed for a period of time because of these troublesome things happening in the Yang family."
"Now that the matter is resolved, and since all of you families happen to be free today, I'll take the liberty of dividing the family property for you."
Seeing that everyone was still standing still, Mrs. Huo asked, "What's wrong?"
The people from different houses exchanged glances, and finally, Huo Erge spoke on behalf of everyone.
"Mom, there's still no news from my eldest brother. Should we postpone the matter of dividing the family property?"
My older brother was abandoned in an orphanage by that beast when he was a child. Nobody knows whether he is alive or dead, or whether he is doing well or not.
If the family were to split up at this point, everyone would feel quite uneasy.
But what Mrs. Huo said next surprised and delighted everyone.
"No need. Your older brother can't return to Beijing for the time being. We'll give him his share when he comes back."
It took them a while to react: "Mom, you mean, my older brother—"
"That's right, your older brother is still alive!"
Even Huo's mother didn't know exactly what happened in between; it was Huo's father who told everyone the details.
It turns out that after Yang Zhiqi switched the children, he had been planning to get rid of the real Brother Huo.
But ever since Dong Lihua finished her postpartum confinement, she has been living and eating with her two children, and he has never found a suitable opportunity.
As time went on, the child gradually grew up.
According to Yang Zhiqiang's confession, he had originally considered keeping the child.
On the one hand, the child has been changed, and Brother Huo has become their son in name only.
If they are raised properly, someone will be there to care for them in their old age and see them off when they die.
On the other hand, it's also because Brother Huo was such a well-behaved child.
Even at the age of three, if he had a bite to eat, he would think of his parents first.
However, a casual remark from a neighbor solidified Yang Zhiqiang's resolve to send the child away.
It was only at this time that he realized the two children were starting to look more and more alike.
Especially when these two stand next to him, a little attention will reveal that Huo Tingtao's facial features and contours are noticeably more similar to his.
In fact, Yang Zhiqiang initially intended to kill the person.
But I don't know if it's because they've grown attached to the animals over time, or if they're afraid of getting involved in a murder case.
At the last minute, Yang Zhiqiang changed his mind.
As everyone knows, he dumped Brother Huo at the gate of the Beijing Municipal Relief Center.
After confirming the whereabouts of the eldest brother of the Huo family, Huo's father immediately contacted Director Qi of the orphanage.
Although nearly thirty years have passed, Dean Qi still has vivid memories of the eldest brother of the Huo family.
The reason why Dean Qi remembers it so clearly is mainly because of the children who were abandoned in their orphanage during that era.
They either have a disease or a defect in their brain or body.
Children like Brother Huo, who are physically healthy, good-looking, and intelligent, are extremely rare.
That's why almost everyone who came to the orphanage to adopt a child back then chose Brother Huo.
At that time, Brother Huo had been at their orphanage for more than a year, and the four-year-old child had already begun to develop his own consciousness.
Therefore, Dean Qi gave the choice to Brother Huo.
Perhaps it was fate, but Brother Huo chose a middle-aged couple from among the crowd.
The other party was also a soldier. Due to injuries sustained on the battlefield, he lost his ability to have children, so the couple decided to adopt a child.
Afterwards, Brother Huo went back to his hometown in Xinjiang Province with the couple.
Fortunately, in those days, a letter of introduction was needed to go anywhere. After obtaining the other party's exact contact address, Mr. Huo immediately contacted the person in charge of the Xinjiang Military Region.
Uncle Huo was also very helpful, directly contacting the public security bureau where the other party's household registration was located.
Thanks to the efforts of several parties, good news finally came from Xinjiang Province the day before yesterday afternoon.
The local police have already contacted Brother Huo's adoptive parents!
Mr. Huo was initially worried that the child's adoptive parents would be very resistant to this.
After all, they had raised the child for over twenty years, and now suddenly someone jumped out and said they wanted to adopt the child.
Who would be willing to give it to?
Little did they know, after the child's adoptive parents learned the whole story...
I immediately informed Brother Huo and also contacted Father Huo.
The child's adoptive parents said on the phone, "You didn't intentionally lose the child. Put yourself in their shoes; if our child were lost today, we would definitely do everything we could to find him."
“Although we are not his biological parents, we share a common goal: as long as the child is doing well, there is nothing we cannot agree to.”
Afterwards, the child's adoptive parents told Huo's father about some of Huo's circumstances.
Mr. Huo said, "Your eldest brother is now called Lu Zhankai. He is currently serving as the battalion commander of the Type 59 tank battalion under the 4th Armored Regiment of Xinjiang Province."
"He got married five years ago. Your sister-in-law was an educated youth who went to Xinjiang Province to help with construction a few years ago. Her name is Meng Yuan."
"In the second year of their marriage, they had a son, and last year they had a daughter."
"..."
Upon hearing that their eldest brother had not only grown up safely but had also settled down and started a family in Xinjiang Province, all the branches of the Huo family were moved to tears.
Grandpa and Grandma Huo cried so hard their eyes turned as red as rabbits'.
"Mom and Dad, this is good news, don't cry."
After comforting her in-laws, Huo's mother wiped away her tears and quickly called a halt to the group.
"Alright, your older brother is doing well now. He'll contact us once he's finished with his training."
"Wipe your tears, everyone. After we finish dividing the property, we'll go out for a nice meal."
"Your dad's treating today, so eat as much as you want when we get there. Don't try to save your dad any money."
Mr. Huo's eyes, which were already sore and dry, really wanted to cry after hearing those words.
He saved up less than twenty yuan in secret savings over half a year. Was it easy for him?
No one knows a father better than his son.
When the second and fourth sons saw their father like this, they knew that their father was short of money.
However, their situation wasn't much better than that of Huo's father.
All the cigarette coupons they had were obtained by exchanging them with other people using their work unit's coupons.
After discussing it, the two brothers each donated 10 yuan to their elderly father.
Seeing this, Jiang Si secretly donated 10 yuan to Huo Tingzhou.
The commotion they made wasn't particularly loud, but it wasn't insignificant either.
When Mrs. Huo saw this, she couldn't help but burst out laughing. She quickly pressed the wrinkles at the corners of her eyes.
"Alright, alright, sit down, everyone."
"Okay, Mom~"
Everyone nodded and obediently sat down on the sofa opposite Mrs. Huo.
Without any hesitation, Mrs. Huo laid out the account book.
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