After chatting about everyday things, everyone in the courtyard fell into a strange silence.
The aunt suddenly put on a big smile and looked at Xu An: "This must be Anzi. You've grown so much in the years we haven't seen you. Are you in high school? Are you about to take the college entrance exam?"
Grandma Xu couldn't help but snort.
"When will the college entrance exam be held? The college entrance exam is already over, so when will it be held again?"
The aunt's expression froze for a moment, then she smiled again: "Hey, look at my memory, it's getting worse and worse, I can even forget this."
She then shifted her focus, beckoning to Xu Kang and Xu Le: "Why are these two kids so shy? I'm your aunt, come here to your aunt."
Perhaps because of Xu An's presence, the two of them became bolder.
They called out to their aunt and her two companions in childish voices, "Old hag, old demon king, and your henchmen, my brother is here, I'm not afraid of you!"
Everyone present froze for a moment, their expressions ranging from shock and embarrassment to anger.
Xu An patted his younger siblings' fluffy heads and explained on their behalf, "They've been listening to the story of Little Red Riding Hood lately, so they see everyone as a bad person."
"Heh, heh, is that so? I see. Ha, ha ha."
The aunt followed the suggestion Xu An made, but her expression was still not very pleasant.
The younger sister's mother-in-law seemed unwilling to dawdle any longer. She raised her hand, wiped her mouth with her sleeve, and looked down at Grandma Xu with an air of superiority, getting straight to the point.
“My dear in-law, we’ve come here today not only to see you, but also to discuss with you the possibility of sending Xu Kang and Xu Le to our home.”
Look, you've broken your leg. I don't know if you'll be as agile as before after it heals. I heard Xu An is a good student; he'll probably go to university. Then you'll be an elderly person with mobility issues raising two young children—life won't be easy.
Xu Juan and my husband Wenbin have been married for seven or eight years, but we still don't have children. Over the years, I've stopped thinking about it. It's just that all our relatives and friends have a child, making our family seem a bit lonely.
That's when I thought of Xu Juan's two little nephews. Xu Juan is their aunt; she'll definitely treat them well.
While my aunt was speaking, my uncle looked at her in shock. As soon as she finished speaking, he immediately questioned, "Mom, didn't we agree that we wanted a boy...?"
Before her husband could finish speaking, her aunt grabbed him and explained to Grandma Xu with a smile, "Mom, don't listen to Wenbin's nonsense. We like both boys and girls. They'll be treated the same when we bring them home. We absolutely won't do anything like favoring boys over girls."
Grandma Xu was quite old, but she wasn't senile. How could she not understand the subtext of their words? But Xu Juan was, after all, her own daughter, so she still gave her some face and didn't say anything too absolute.
"Xu Kang and Xu Le are shy around strangers, but they get along well with their older brother. Besides, I only have one leg that's weak, but I'll be able to walk and move around again once I'm better. I can take care of them, so you don't need to worry about it."
Upon hearing this, the aunt's husband and mother-in-law became anxious. With their mouths agape, they cried out in anguish, "In-laws, you can't say that! You have to consider the future of these three children!"
Xu An is eighteen now, and he'll be twenty-two when he finishes university. In less than two years, he'll have to think about marriage. At that time, Xu Kang and Xu Le will only be ten years old.
Think about it, what girl would willingly marry into a family and have to take care of a twenty-year-old child? It's no different from being a stepmother. Even if you could take care of them, in six years you'll be older, and many things won't be as easy as you used to.
Xu Kang and Xu Le are being raised by Xu Juan as her own children. They're being supported to study in the city, and who knows, they might even get into a university in the capital—a bright future indeed!
Do you agree with this?
Grandma Xu's expression of disgust softened slightly after these words; everything her in-laws said was exactly what she had been worried about.
But when he glanced at his own daughter, Xiao Juan, who was speaking to her in-laws with an indifferent expression, his eyes darted around the yard, and when he saw Xu Kang and Xu Le, his expression became even colder.
This behavior made it difficult for Grandma Xu to make a decision. Grandma Xu didn't speak, and the other villagers didn't want to interfere in other people's family matters, so the room suddenly fell silent.
Xu An realized that it was time for him to step forward.
"Aunt, I heard you went to Majia Village a few days ago?"
In the silence, Xu An's words drew everyone's attention, and they all looked at his aunt.
"Ah, this." The aunt felt guilty and didn't know what to say for a moment, unable to continue the conversation.
"Didn't our neighbor, Aunt Liu, ask you to go with her?" the uncle reminded him from the side.
"Ah, yes, yes, Aunt Liu had something to do, so I went with her to Majia Village. It happened several days ago, I don't remember it very well, haha."
At this moment, the third grandmother, who was sitting next to Grandma Xu, scoffed and said coldly in a voice that everyone present could hear.
“He didn’t even come to see his own mother when she broke her leg, but he’s always eager to come to the neighbors’ homes when they need something, and he even accompanied them to Majia Village. Majia Village is only half an hour away from Xujia Village, and he doesn’t even come back to see his own mother.”
Before the aunt's family could refute the third grandmother's words, Xu An continued speaking.
"I heard that my aunt went to the shaman in Majia Village to ask for a child. The shaman said that you are destined to have no children and that you have to adopt a child in order to have your own."
I didn't believe it at first, but since you came to my door today, my dear sister, and said you wanted to take Xu Kang and Xu Le away, it's hard for me not to believe you.
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