Chapter 234 The Child Has Been Returned
When Li Mei said this, her tone was filled with shock, disbelief, and even more anger!
They had agreed that she would get a boy for 300 yuan, so she took labor-inducing drugs and risked her life to give birth to the child prematurely.
As a result, these people took the money but did nothing wrong, replacing her with a deaf and mute child.
I haven't even gone to settle accounts with them yet, and they have the nerve to come to the military region!
Thinking about all this, Li Mei's face grew increasingly pale.
If the sentry hadn't been there, she would have loved to rush up and give the couple a good beating.
When he spoke again, his tone was very unfriendly: "Who let you come here?"
Faced with Li Mei's questioning, the midwife, Granny Cai, who had helped her switch babies, remained silent.
Her husband, however, remained calm and composed. "Comrade Li Mei, are you sure you want to say this here?"
As he spoke, he glanced, intentionally or unintentionally, at the sentry not far away.
He didn't say anything, but in Li Mei's eyes, this scene was a blatant threat.
Li Mei's chest heaved with anger.
But considering her plans for the future, she had no choice but to swallow her anger for the time being.
Once the group reached a secluded spot, Li Mei immediately launched into a tirade against the two men.
Finally, he said, "There's something wrong with this child. Take him away right now, I don't want him!"
"I don't care what method you use, you have to help me get a normal child today."
She had thought about it.
While the child is still young, she must get a normal child back as soon as possible.
As for what the military doctors would think, Li Mei wasn't worried at all.
That day, she just brought the child over for her to see briefly, without conducting a detailed examination.
Besides, these days, misdiagnosis is all too common in hospitals.
As long as she insists that the child is hers.
What can the military doctor do to her?
Li Mei's plan was good, but she overlooked one thing: the other party had come all this way not to solve these problems for her.
Granny Cai said in a nonchalant tone, "Comrade Li Mei, when the child was brought over, you checked him from head to toe several times to make sure there were no problems before you paid."
"The baby has been with us for over ten days now, and you're telling me there's something wrong with the baby? Are you kidding me?"
After saying that, she pursed her lips and said, "Who knows if you've given the child any medicine during this time?"
"Let me tell you, you can't just give your child medications like gentamicin and streptomycin without consulting a doctor."
"Don't give me that nonsense. I've never even heard of either of those medicines you're talking about."
Seeing that the other party immediately shirked all responsibility, Li Mei was furious.
"Since I brought this child home, I've only ever fed him milk. Even the army doctor said that this child is congenitally deaf!"
"If you insist on saying it that way, then there's nothing I can do."
Granny Cai lifted her eyelids slightly. "Anyway, the child was perfectly fine when you gave him to me. As for why the child is deaf now, only you know that."
Upon hearing this, Li Mei knew that this person was going to act like a scoundrel.
But what she didn't expect was that this was just an appetizer.
After saying these words, Granny Cai took a child out of the basket on her back.
"Here you go." She handed the child over.
Li Mei took a step back in fright. "What...what does this mean?"
Why give her another child when everything is fine?
"This is your daughter."
After speaking, Granny Cai looked over indifferently.
“The family that agreed to adopt her has decided not to take her in anymore, so you’ll have to take her back yourself.”
Li Mei opened and closed her mouth, and it took her a long time to react.
"How could they do this? How could they go back on their word!"
Grandma Cai shrugged: "There's nothing we can do about it. The damage from this typhoon was too great. Their house collapsed, and all the able-bodied members of the family were injured."
"We can barely afford to eat right now, so where would we get the spare money to raise a little girl, especially since she's not even our own child?"
Li Mei never expected things to develop this way, but she already had a hot potato in her hands.
She absolutely cannot have this child.
"Aunt Cai, please think of a way, I'm here..." Li Mei's tone softened a bit.
As he spoke, he pulled out all the money from his pocket.
Granny Cai glanced at the star anise that she was handed over.
He scoffed inwardly, thinking, "Is this how you treat beggars?"
She pushed the money back, saying, "It's not that I don't want to help you, I really have no other choice."
Li Mei panicked. "Auntie, I beg you, please think of something. If all else fails, go to the neighboring county and see if anyone will be willing to adopt her."
“Comrade Li Mei, that’s not how it works. You’ve had several daughters yourself, so you should know that these days, which family wants to raise a girl?”
"Yes, yes, yes..." Li Mei was now filled with deep regret.
If she had known it would turn out like this, she wouldn't have bothered with all that trouble.
It's fine if she has a daughter; at worst, she can try for another child.
But it's too late to say all this now, Li Mei gritted her teeth.
"Auntie, if you can find her a good family, I... I'll give you another hundred yuan, okay?"
One hundred yuan is quite a lot.
But Granny Cai wasn't after a one-off deal.
“This isn’t about money. To be honest, nobody wants your daughter. You should take her back with you.”
"Auntie—"
In the brief moment of their struggle, Li Mei suddenly remembered something.
She remembered that Granny Cai had mentioned that her youngest son had only given birth to boys, and had not had a single girl.
"Auntie, don't you have no daughters? Why don't you take this child home with you..."
Before he could finish speaking, Old Man Cai interrupted him with a cold face.
"You make it sound so easy. My family doesn't have any daughters."
"But they're already struggling to make ends meet. If another mouth to feed is added to the family, how will they survive?"
"Old woman, what are you standing there for? Give her the child."
Grandma Cai quickly shoved the child into Li Mei's arms, saying, "Our family's circumstances are just average, and we really can't afford to adopt this child."
"Auntie, I'll give you the money! I'll give you the money, okay?"
Li Mei didn't know what came over her; she acted impulsively and blurted out.
"I'll give you an extra five yuan every month, is that alright?"
These days, five yuan is a lot of money.
But the elderly couple were clearly not satisfied with this number.
The two sides struggled for a while longer, until Li Mei finally had no choice but to give up.
"Eight dollars! That's all I can offer. I'm unemployed right now, and my husband only makes that little money a month!"
"We still have several children to raise, and we really can't afford to spend any more money."
The elderly couple exchanged a glance.
Eight yuan is a bit short of their expectations, but it's more than enough to raise a child.
Moreover, a girl can be exchanged for a dowry when she grows up.
This deal is a win-win situation no matter how you look at it.
Besides, the child Li Mei is holding is their own grandson; it wouldn't be good to push them too far.
With that in mind, Granny Cai reluctantly agreed.
"We'll take the child back with us, don't worry."
"Since we've agreed to take care of her, we'll treat her well. Remember to send the living expenses over before the end of the month."
Li Mei nodded blankly.
"Auntie, can you think of another way? I don't want this child..."
Granny Cai understood what she meant, but she had carefully selected such a good family for her grandson, so how could she allow her to turn against them at this time?
Patting Li Mei's hand, Granny Cai spoke in a heartfelt tone.
"It's not that I don't want to help you, but boys aren't like cabbages; you can't just have them whenever you want."
Li Mei understood the reasoning, but she was still unwilling to accept it.
"How come you still can't wrap your head around this?"
Granny Cai said, "Didn't you just say you didn't have a job? There's a perfectly good excuse right here, but you don't know how to use it."
Li Mei was taken aback: "What do you mean?"
Granny Cai raised her chin. "Your family has many children, and now there's another deaf-mute. Shouldn't the army consider giving them some special treatment?"
"In my opinion, you might as well take this opportunity to have the military arrange a job for you."
"Having a job means you can earn your own money and spend it as you please, which gives you more confidence, don't you think?"
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