"Wasn't it snowing at the time? Luckily it wasn't heavy, so I followed the footprints to find the person."
There were footprints on the ground in both the direction the person came from and the direction they left.
He guessed that the snow was quite heavy when he arrived, and thought that the footprints would be covered up, so he didn't pay much attention to it.
As a result, the snow lessened considerably and almost stopped.
"That person was watching right there! Probably afraid the child would freeze to death."
I guess if we hadn't come out soon, he would have taken the child away.
"I was worried about the child, so your mother and I caught them red-handed."
Xiao Yichen asked, puzzled, "So you gave the child back to them?"
That can't be right, otherwise, where would his older brother come from?
Xiao Aimin slapped his thigh: "I was thinking that when we went out, I was holding a boning knife, and your mother was holding a kitchen knife."
Back then, the nights were brighter than they are now.
You could tell he was a man around thirty years old.
The mother-in-law was dressed in tattered clothes.
But she must love the child very much.
The child was wrapped up quite tightly.
When the man saw that your mother and I had found him, he cried.
We told him to take the child away.
He disagreed, and he immediately knelt down before me, a grown man crying his eyes out.
You have no idea how terrifying that scene was.
On a snowy night, a child was crying loudly, and a grown man was also wailing.
There was also the sound of howling wind.
Sigh. Just thinking about it makes me feel uneasy.
It's been so many years.
Thinking back to that night, Xiao Aimin still felt a chill.
"That person just knelt on the ground, tears streaming down his face. It was so cold outside, the tears were freezing his face."
He said he had no choice; his entire family had died, leaving only him and his child.
There's no way I can survive.
They said they were going to flee and needed to find some relatives to help them out.
This child is simply too difficult to raise.
If you carry it with you, it will most likely ruin the road.
They heard we didn't have any children, so they brought it over. They were just afraid we wouldn't want it, so they left it at the door.
They planned to try and save this child's life by giving him to us to raise.
Wiping away her tears with her withered, twig-like hands, Xiao Aimin continued, "Your mother and I weren't happy about it, but that person said if it really didn't work out, we could rest for a while."
He went to borrow some food and drink from his relatives, and once he found them, he came back to pick him up.
They gave me some money, saying they would come back to pick up the child in one or three months at most.
We didn't want to agree, but he said there was no other way and we could only abandon the child in the mountains and let him fend for himself.
It's better than suffering on the road, like being slowly tortured with a dull knife.
Sigh, it's still just one life, isn't it?
If we hadn't seen it, we wouldn't have said anything. But if we did see it, we can't just leave a baby to fend for itself.
There's no other way but to keep it.
Later, a long time passed, but that person did not return.
Your mother wants to send the child away.
This is a boy; someone will always want to have a son to carry on the family line.
Actually, it wasn't easy to send them away back then, as there were too many children without parents.
However, I'm also reluctant to part with it. I've raised it for several months now, and I've grown attached to it.
You don't know, but when your older brother was little, he was so cute and smiled at me.
She looks so beautiful when she smiles.
Your mother almost divorced me because of this.
Later, after your second brother was born, your mother stopped mentioning sending you away.
Gradually, so many years have passed, we've all started to forget about it. Why is he showing up now?
Thirty years!
He raised his son for thirty years!
Xiao Aimin started crying again.
Snot bubbles are also coming out of my nose.
Then continue wiping with a handkerchief.
Xiao Yichen closed his eyes.
I can't bear to look, so I have to stop looking.
"Dad, what are you planning to do?"
Xiao Aimin wiped his nose: "What can we do? He's his own father, his own flesh and blood."
What can we do?
We can't be so heartless as to refuse people's recognition.
If your brother wants to acknowledge him, then let him. You said it yourself, that man is a high-ranking official. Living with his biological father, his life will be better than ours, won't it?"
Xiao Yichen stared at the water in the river for a long time.
Winter is approaching, and water is scarce.
Much of the riverbed is exposed.
"What about Jin Dan and the others?" Xiao Yichen chased after the withered grass on the riverbank with his toes.
The sound was very soft.
It was scattered in the wind.
Old Man Xiao heard it.
His face was frozen.
Yes, what about the child?
Head down.
He wiped his nose again before speaking: "Well, what can we do? We can only go with their grandfather."
My grandfather is just an old farmer. What future can he have following me? He'll just be toiling in the fields, facing the yellow earth and turning his back to the sky.
"If I go with my grandfather, and then marry a high-ranking official, I'm sure I'll live a good life."
Xiao Yichen patted his pocket.
He wanted to smoke too.
However, he had nothing in his pocket except a few bills.
This was not the answer he wanted.
But his father was right.
Following a high-ranking official is definitely better than following them.
When the two returned home, although they tried to be calm, Aunt Xiao still noticed something was amiss.
That evening, Aunt Xiao pressed Old Man Xiao for answers: "Tell me, what happened?"
Xiao Aimin, who was soaking his feet, shuddered and said, "No, it's nothing!"
They clearly lacked confidence.
Aunt Xiao doesn't indulge him.
To make it easier to discipline their own father, the children were all sent to the second child's care.
Now we don't have to worry about the kids having wild thoughts.
She stepped forward and started twisting his ear: "It's nothing, but look at what you looked like when you came back."
Her nose and eyes were red and swollen, clearly from crying.
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