Chapter 54

Go to adopt

"Erdan, today we have fine white flour, why don't you eat it?"

"I, I'm not hungry today."

"If you're not hungry, then why are you drooling?" Chen Lina thought it was strange. Erdan only ate a small bowl of rice and refused to eat any more. She watched Sandan picking cucumber shreds from the noodles and drooling, but she was determined not to eat any more.

"Why, are you afraid that mom will think you eat too much and send you to your aunt?" This should be the crux of the problem.

Erdan finally washed his hands clean. He wiped his tears and said, "Mom, I will eat less in the future."

There weren't many noodles to begin with, and seeing the child looking aggrieved, Chen Lina pushed the food she had just served away from him with her chopsticks and said, "That's enough, no one would give away food just because a child can eat it. Eat it, mom can afford to support you."

Well, all of a sudden, the three brothers seemed to have put down a heavy burden from their hearts, and started to dig their rice.

"Sweep the bottom, sweep the bottom. All the cucumbers are mine." Nie Weimin was rarely greedy, so he occupied the bowl of cucumbers. This child loved nothing but vegetables.

However, unlike the three Nie brothers who were very happy, Qian Goudan from the opposite side seemed to be very sad. He was crying loudly, and each cry was getting longer and longer.

"Nie Weimin, come out to me." Qian Gou'er was calling outside the door.

"If you don't come out, I'll tell your mother," he said.

Erdan came out with a bowl of cold noodles mixed with cucumber shreds, and said in a very hoarse voice, "Have you ever tasted cold noodles that are so delicious? Qian Goudan, what's wrong with you?"

"Tell your brother to come out. I have something to do with him. It has nothing to do with you." Qian Gou'er looked furious.

Well, Nie Weimin came out and asked directly, "Qian Goudan, are you done yet?"

"You have to pay for my shoes. Look at my sandals. You ruined them all."

You know, a pair of plastic sandals is very expensive nowadays, just this pair, three yuan.

Mrs. Qian went to the mining area two days ago and bought a pair of sandals for Goudan. She planned to let Goudan wear them after he finished wearing them, and then let his younger brother wear them. But this morning, when he followed Nie Weimin to climb trees and take bird eggs, the straps were broken. His mother used a rope to string them together to fix them, but the plastic straps were tied with cotton thread, and they broke as soon as he walked.

It started again. Just now, Mrs. Qian used the sole of her plastic sandals to beat Goudan. Now Goudan is here to bother Nie Weimin.

"My mother told you to compensate me for my shoes because your mother is the manager and she has money," said Qian Goudan.

Nie Weimin said nothing at first, took two steps, and suddenly turned around and prepared to use his fists. However, Qian Dasao was watching from the door, and she shouted, "Dadan, why do you like to hit people more and more now?"

"Wei Min, what's going on?" Chen Lina also chased out.

"We were climbing a tree together, and his sandals got caught on a tree fork. It's none of my business." Nie Weimin said, and his eyes turned red. This stubborn child, who doesn't cry easily, rubbed his eyes.

"Director Chen, I won't say anything else. You should take care of Dadan. There is nothing he won't do, whether it's going down the river or climbing a tree. He's only seven years old. If he's older, won't he be able to fly to the sky? Besides, my Goudan is always careful. If it weren't for him, how could the laces of Xinxin's sandals break?"

"Mrs. Qian, you can't say that. Dadan is naughty, but Goudan is not bad either. Besides, we can't control a boy this big, climbing trees and going down rivers. We can't just tie them up with a rope. If you ask me, give each of them fifty strokes of the cane, and I'll fix your sandals. Okay?"

You know, these plastic sandals are just becoming popular now. They are nice-looking and comfortable to wear, but if the strap breaks, there is nothing you can do about it.

When Mrs. Qian heard that Chen Lina could actually make up for it, she said directly, "Oh, no, I can't make up for it. I strung it with cotton thread, but it fell off as soon as the child left."

Chen Lina didn't say anything else. She picked up Qian Gou'er's plastic sandals with a broken clasp, turned into the kitchen, burned a coal clip red in the stove, took it out and put it on the plastic clasp of the sandals, and when the plastic clasp softened, she pinched it hard again. Hey, it was fixed and intact again.

"Mrs. Qian, can you let the child try it on and see if it's okay?" Chen Lina said.

Once Qian Gou'er put it on, it felt completely different from the ones patched with string, it was very firm.

In the afternoon, Chen Lina drove and took her three children to the mining area welfare home to visit Liu Xiaohong.

"I will never go to the Baiyang River to look for wild duck eggs again." Nie Weimin said in a very melancholy but obedient manner while sitting in the back seat.

"If you really can stay away from the Baiyang River, I, Chen Lina, can swear that I will never eat wild duck eggs in my life," said Chen Lina.

"Then let's hang ourselves on the ropes and not change for a hundred years," Nie Weimin said again.

However, the three brothers were still particularly worried, especially Nie Weimin and Sandaner, both of whom were heavy-hearted.

"If my brother makes a mistake, will mom give him away?" Finally, Sandaner mustered up the courage to ask.

"No, no matter how big a mistake you make, I will never give you away, absolutely not. But one thing is, if you make a mistake, I will get angry. If you fall from a tree, or get hurt in a river, your father and I will be sad, very sad."

Sandaner didn't quite understand, but Nie Weimin understood, "That's because you love us."

My God, this father and son are so arrogant that they actually misunderstood that she loves them. Chen Lina almost wanted to laugh out loud. They both love her, okay?

The welfare home in the mining area is actually not very big, and of course there are not many children. There are only a few, and all of them were sent in because of disabilities or congenital diseases. Children like these will only be raised by people with truly overflowing maternal love.

As for Liu Xiaohong, she was not only pretty, but also a girl of her age who could cook and wash clothes. Her uncle did not want her because he could not afford to feed her enough food in the countryside. He only wanted a son, as boys were valued more than girls in the countryside after all.

But the workers in the mining area had food provided by their employees and did not have to worry about this. Therefore, when Chen Lina arrived, there were several other people who wanted to adopt Liu Xiaohong, not just the Song family.

However, Chen Lina came up empty-handed on the first day.

It is said that it was the director of the welfare home who took Liu Xiaohong to say her final farewell to her father before his cremation.

The farm was so busy that Chen Lina couldn't make it in time, so she had to take the children back to work and come back the next day.

Well, the next day they said they were attending the burial. It wasn’t until the third day, which was the weekend, that Chen Lina called District Chief Gao from the chief engineer’s office, and the welfare home said that they would officially start the adoption procedures for Liu Xiaohong today.

After taking her three sons with her, Chen Lina prepared to take them to watch the adoption of Liu Xiaohong.

"Sister, why are you going to the welfare home too? What's going on?" On the way, Chen Lina actually saw her elder sister Chen Lili and her husband getting off a truck. They were standing on the side of the road, holding onto a fork and spitting.

She also gets truck sick.

When Chen Lili saw Chen Lina's car, she was quite unhappy because it was not used to take her child.

Wang Hongbing said, "We don't have any children, but we heard there's a little girl in the orphanage who's ready to be adopted. Let's go take a look."

"Is her name Liu Xiaohong?"

"Really?"

"Mom, auntie also wants to adopt Liu Xiaohong. Let them get in the car and let's go together." Erdan jumped up as he spoke. They were all children who played together at the base. When they heard that Liu Xiaohong was going to be adopted and that auntie was eyeing her for a child, the three children's hearts were beating fast.

"Sister, I have to tell you, if you really want to adopt a child, you have to be mentally prepared. A child is not a pet or a puppy, but an independent and healthy person. If you are angry, you can't beat her up just to vent your anger. If you are happy, you can't just indulge her blindly. In short, biological children may be easy to manage, but adopted children, after all, are not pregnant for ten months, so they are very difficult to discipline."

In her previous life, Chen Lili was also bullied for a long time after Wang Hongbing became lame, and the two probably didn't remarry until at least ten years later.

But after the remarriage, they had a child, so what Chen Lina is worried about now is that her sister wants to adopt a child.

But once she has her own biological child, will she abuse the adopted one, or will she find it troublesome and too lazy to raise the child and just give the child away?

"Sister, I want to have a child, regardless of gender, because your brother-in-law is too busy all day long, and the house is really empty. Moreover, when a woman reaches our age, it is really impossible not to have a child. You won't give it to you. Forget it, you can’t stop me from adopting a child, right?”

"You don't know, they're fine when they're obedient." Chen Lina was driving and took a look in the rearview mirror. The three little ones were sitting in a row, just as well-behaved as three kittens. She couldn't help laughing and said, "But when you come home tired after a day's work and they pull firewood all over the yard like dogs, or when it rains and they wrap themselves in mud and water and hug you like dirty pigs, in your eyes, they are big monsters."

Nie Weimin punched Erdan, who immediately raised his hand and said, "Mom, I will never go out to play in the water again when it rains."

"I know, I know that children are difficult to raise, especially boys, but Liu Xiaohong is a girl. I have seen her at your base. She is a very well-behaved little girl." Chen Lili added.

"Mom, let's help Auntie adopt Liu Xiaohong." Seeing that Mom was still hesitating, Nie Weimin shook her hand on the gear lever, "Okay?"

Everyone in the car, including Wang Hongbing, was looking at Chen Lina.

"I can only say that we should go and see if there is a better family who can adopt her, that would be great. If not, and you, sister, are really willing to adopt her, then just adopt her." Chen Lina finally spoke up.

When Chen Lina arrived at the office of Director Guan of the welfare home, it was already crowded with people who wanted to adopt Liu Xiaohong.

Dean Guan is a Xibe, a plump old lady.

As for Liu Xiaohong, the little girl was wearing a pair of damask overalls that were left over from when Chen Lina made clothes for her, and a small shirt that she had made from her old floral shirt. She stood in the corner with a red face, biting her red lips, and blinking her big eyes.

"Sister, I, I'm so sad." As soon as she entered the room, Chen Lili grabbed her sister's hand and rested her head on her shoulder. "That little girl looks like she is from the old society and is about to be sold with a straw tag on her neck?" she said.

However, when Liu Xiaohong saw the Nie Weimin brothers squeeze in, her eyes suddenly lit up, and she waved to Chen Lina while standing behind the dean.

"Okay, let's listen to the situation first. I think there are a lot of people here."

"Okay, let me introduce Liu Xiaohong to you. This girl's father is not a good person, he is a Soviet revisionist, but the girl has not been influenced by the remnants of her father's evil, and her thoughts are very healthy. During the checkpoint attack at Loulan Farm, she even protected our comrades, so this is a very good girl. Now, please introduce yourselves."

The first person to squeeze in front of Dean Guan was actually Sun Ainan.

Her husband had been imprisoned for corruption, but in the mining area there was no such thing as family members being implicated.

So her conditions are pretty good for now. She owns a two-bedroom, two-living room house in the mining area. After all, Wang Fusheng was quite greedy back then, so her family conditions are probably pretty good too. It's just that her hair has turned a lot whiter, probably because of the torture she's endured.

"I can't have children myself, so I really want to adopt a child. The dean gave her to me. I will definitely educate her in terms of morality, physique, education and all aspects, and completely eliminate the remnants of Su Xiu's ideas in her mind, so that she can become a good child who can contribute to society." Sun Ainan said.

Dean Guan flipped through the files she had handed over and saw that her husband was in jail for corruption and misconduct. Naturally, her brows furrowed.

However, she saw that the man from another family looked more reliable, so she said, "Okay, you two can introduce yourselves."

This family is a couple who work in a plastic factory in the mining area, and they are both full-time workers.

The man was tall and the woman was very capable. However, Director Guan asked, "Don't you already have a child? Why do you want to adopt?"

The woman said, "To be honest with you, Dean Guan, I have three sons. The oldest is already sixteen and works in our plastics factory. The youngest is ten and is very naughty. We have always wanted to have another daughter, but we just can't have one. We both work full-time, and we have no shortage of rice, flour, and oil. We have everything the mining area has, but we just need a child to wash clothes, cook, and help with cleaning." As she spoke, the woman pushed out a boy with a face full of wine pimples and acne, and said, "Look, this is my eldest son. He really wants a sister. I think our family is the most suitable to adopt this little daughter."

As soon as Chen Lina saw the young man, she felt uncomfortable.

How should I put it? It was the same look that she had seen in newspapers in her previous life. It was the same look in the eyes of those thugs who were to be dealt with in groups during severe beatings.

It’s not that the little boys of fifteen or sixteen are bad by nature, but they are the kind of little scum who are ignorant and hate society. They kick every trash can they see, and they are like pigs who hate dog trash. That’s the look in his eyes.

Liu Xiaohong asked the little boy to stare at her. He was obviously very scared. He was playing with his clothes and was so nervous that he was about to cry.

"I feel that you just want to find a free babysitter for your family to help your three sons with laundry and cooking?" Dean Guan was probably used to this kind of thing and saw through the woman's thoughts at a glance.

"Is there anything wrong with that? We adopted her, we feed her, and if she's smart, she can go to school. If she's dumb, she can't go to school, so she can just stay at home and cook. I have three sons, so I can marry her off to anyone in the future. Will she ever have to worry about food? It's hard to find a worker for a plastics factory girl these days."

"But your second son has polio." Director Guan was no longer dissatisfied, but angry. "Okay, I see, you are not here to adopt a child, you are here to find a daughter-in-law for your second son who has polio. Excuse me, you and Comrade Sun in front are not suitable. Let's go."

"Alright, it's just a little girl, it's good enough that someone wants her, but there are so many procedures, it's really hard. If no one adopts her tomorrow, we'll try again." The woman pulled her eldest son over, and the whole family went out angrily.

Nie Weimin pulled Chen Lina's clothes and said, "Mom, it's your turn now."

"If you have any problem, call mom. If you are fine, call Xiao Chen. Comrade Xiao Nie, I really don't like you treating me like this."

Ah, the little guy asked her to do something, and she had to do it.

Nie Weimin touched his nose angrily and looked at Liu Xiaohong through the gap between Chen Lina's arms. He saw that she was staring at him straight. Her big eyes were so beautiful.

What’s strange is that after Nie Weimin grew up, so many girls passed through his life that he couldn’t even remember clearly what Chen Tiantian, the girl he loved the most and treated like a true sister, looked like when she was a child.

Only Liu Xiaohong's appearance at this time always appeared in his dreams.