Chapter 114 Guagua Two-in-One
Before this, Xiaoya's presence was not strong, even though she was the center of the argument between the two sets of parents.
Xiaoya listened to the four people talking, and her thoughts swung like a pendulum.
Does she want to live a good life in the city?
After moving to the city, you don’t have to do farm work or earn work points, you can wear new clothes, and maybe even have meat to eat every now and then.
Just thinking about such a day made her heart excited.
But Xiaoya is also a sensitive child, and she has been observing her two "new" parents.
Although her biological mother kept crying and her biological father looked at her kindly from time to time, she always felt that the way these two people looked at her was not the way they looked at their long-lost daughter.
Like...during the holidays, she stood by the stove and watched her mother stir-frying meat in the wok.
Yes, she inexplicably felt like she was that pot of delicious meat.
So she turned to look at her parents, but they didn't look at her. However, her father kept sighing. She had never heard her father sigh so much.
Her father didn't talk much, but he would always discuss things with her mother, such as "Xiaoya's birthday is coming soon, let's go to the river to find some small fish and shrimps and smoke them, she loves to eat them", "Xiaoya's trouser legs are too short again, let's get some cloth of the same color and sew them for her".
Although her mother would sometimes scold her when she got angry over trivial matters, she would boil an egg to coax her the next moment.
Her father and mother didn't eat the egg, so it all went into her mouth.
Xiaoya Xiaoya, in the eyes of her parents, she is the best daughter Xiaoya.
If she returns to her biological parents, will she still be the best daughter in their eyes?
When Xiaoya heard her mother recalling her life as a baby, she knew that it was probably not the case.
Girls of this age are sensitive and know a little bit about everything. They know how to weigh the pros and cons in addition to their feelings.
But the real decision came after her mother remained silent after hearing what her biological mother said.
Sometimes people toss a coin when they have a difficult choice. When the coin is tossed, people often immediately know what they want to choose. Xiaoya had such a feeling at this time.
After her mother fell silent, she instantly knew which side her heart leaned more towards.
So she mustered up the courage to pull her mother's arm and said in a trembling voice, "Mom, I won't go. I won't go to the city."
When everyone present heard Xiaoya's words, they were all stunned.
Sun Qiaozhen's voice nearly split. She looked at Xiaoya and subconsciously wanted to go forward and pull her: "Xiaoqing! Don't you want to go back to the city with your parents to live a good life? What future do you have in the countryside?"
Xiaoya stepped back and stammered, "I don't want to leave."
"But, but," Sun Qiaozhen glanced at the honest Zhou Laoer and the expressionless He Jinfeng, "We are your biological parents!"
She forced a friendly smile and said, "I know you must be reluctant to leave your familiar environment, but don't worry, mom and dad are your biological parents. How could they lie to you? We will definitely treat you well."
Xiaoya looked at He Jinfeng and lowered her head: "I don't want to leave my parents."
Her parents didn't want to leave her either.
She is the only child of her parents, but not the only child of her biological parents.
The situation suddenly reached a stalemate. Seeing that it was getting late, Uncle Zhou coughed and said, "Xiaoya is already old enough, it's normal for a child to have his own ideas. It's getting dark today, you should go to the county town and find a place to rest, and then come back to talk another day."
Sun Qiaozhen said in a bad tone, "Who knows if you will say something unpleasant to my daughter while we are away."
Li Zhiguo also said: "Now we should both be very sure that Xiaoya is our daughter Xiaoqing. Now that we have figured out the whole story, we still want to take our daughter back home first."
He smiled and then continued, "Don't worry, you've raised our daughter for so many years, and we're not heartless. We'll give you all the compensation you deserve. Just ask for whatever you want. As long as it's within our means, we won't hesitate."
In the crowd, Xiang Yao felt very uncomfortable when he heard this. According to Li Zhiguo's words, it seemed as if he wanted to buy out the relationship between Xiaoya and Zhou Laoer at one time?
Besides, didn’t Xiaoya say that she didn’t want to leave? Why did these two act like they didn’t hear her?
Don’t you respect children’s opinions?
Coincidentally, He Jinfeng felt the same way. She snorted coldly, "Do you think we, the Zhou family, sold our child? Who wants compensation from you?"
Sun Qiaozhen acted as if she didn't understand what she was saying: "Compensation still has to be given. Although I know that raising a child in your country doesn't cost much food or money, we will definitely not hesitate to give what we owe."
She stepped forward and took He Jinfeng's hand: "Sister-in-law, take a look and tell us the amount. When we go back, we will lend the money to your family even if we have to borrow money."
Seeing that He Jinfeng didn't say anything, she said again: "Two hundred yuan, sister-in-law, what do you think?"
He Jinfeng almost wanted to vomit. She shook her hand away and said sharply, "Who wants your family's money? We have always raised Xiaoya as our own daughter. Don't talk about money!"
The smile on Sun Qiaozhen's face faded. "Sister-in-law, you think it's too little. Let's stop talking about how to raise a child. Xiaoqing is not your biological child. As parents, it is only natural for us to take her away. Just tell me how much you want."
He Jinfeng spat on the ground beside her: "Why don't you understand what I'm saying?"
Sun Qiaozhen ignored her and turned to the crowd of onlookers, saying, "I believe everyone just heard us. Our family sincerely wants to compensate Brother Zhou and his wife's family. This is from our heart. Even if your wife doesn't specify how much she wants, we will send as much money as possible later."
She glanced at Xiaoya and continued in a gentle voice, "It's just that we want to take the child away today. After all, it's getting late, and we also want to take her home early."
Xiaoya raised her head and looked at He Jinfeng in panic: "Mom, I really don't want to leave."
"I'll stay at home and not go anywhere." She mustered up the courage to look at Sun Qiaozhen and whispered, "Well... your family already has other children, but I'm the only one my parents have. I really won't leave."
Sun Qiaozhen was stunned: "My child, I know you are worried about this. You do have brothers and sisters at home, but I promise that I will never be partial. Your father and I will definitely take good care of you."
Li Zhiguo rubbed his hands and nodded quickly: "Yes, yes, we will definitely treat you well."
Xiaoya grunted twice, but still said, "I don't want to leave."
She looked at Uncle Zhou for help. Uncle Zhou put down his hand soothingly and said, "Since the child hasn't thought it through yet, you should come back tomorrow."
He smiled gently, but his words were less polite than at first: "Look, the child himself doesn't seem very willing to leave now. You parents should be more patient and give him some time to react. It's getting late, and we don't have a place to stay here. You can come back tomorrow."
"That won't work..." Sun Qiaozhen bit her lip, unwilling to leave.
However, Li Zhiguo realized that if they stayed here any longer, they might not be treated well. After thinking about it, he compromised.
"Okay, then we'll both leave today and visit again tomorrow."
Sun Qiaozhen was dissatisfied and wanted to say something, but he held her back.
She had no choice but to say to Xiaoya, "Xiaoqing, we will come to pick you up tomorrow. You don't need to prepare anything. We will buy new things when we get home."
Xiaoya lowered her eyelashes and didn't look at her.
She felt uncomfortable. She felt that her biological parents did not value her ideas at all. They didn't even bother to act out this point and simply ignored her words.
Anyway...anyway, she won't leave tomorrow, she thought helplessly.
He Jinfeng looked at the two people indifferently as they turned around and prepared to leave, and shouted, "Wait a moment."
She pointed to the packages of cakes and brown sugar in the corner and said, "My family doesn't want these things. You can take them away."
Sun Qiaozhen smiled and said, "Sister-in-law, please don't be so polite to us. I know your family is not well off, so just keep this gift. You will need it in time."
He Jinfeng snorted, "I told you to take it away. We don't need it even if we're poor. If you don't take it away, I'll throw it away later!"
Sun Qiaozhen: ...
Li Zhiguo squeezed her hand, stepped forward and took the things away: "Okay, let's take it, let's take it."
After the two left, everyone left one after another under the persuasion of Zhou Laoer and Zhou Tangshu.
Most of them were not very excited about watching the fun at this moment, but were worried instead.
"This is the only daughter Zhou Laoer has. They have worked hard to raise her for more than ten years. How can they just take her away like that? Hey."
"What can I do? If it were me, I wouldn't want to let my child leave. Who can bear it?"
Others have other opinions: "But the biological parents must have been extremely anxious when they lost their child. Now that they have finally found the child, they must take him back."
"Ah! It's all a sin to say the least..."
This kind of thing is quite confusing to everyone, and it seems a bit wrong no matter which side you stand on.
Even if they were more inclined to Zhou Laoer's side, they were neighbors after all, and everyone knew the situation in Zhou Laoer's family.
They only have this one daughter, and Zhou Laoer and his wife dote on her so much. What would they do if she were suddenly taken away?
But how could the two couples from the city be willing to give up family reunion after finally finding their daughter?
Xiang Yao also frowned.
If Zhou Laoer's family had stolen or robbed the child through some illegal means, she would definitely support Sun Qiaozhen and her husband in taking Xiaoya away without hesitation.
But it just so happened that Xiaoya was originally abandoned in an alley by someone who intended to kill her, and she was picked up by the kind couple of the Zhou family.
The grace of giving birth and the grace of raising, who can clearly explain this?
As for Xiaoya, she is not an adult yet, and the adults probably won’t listen to her own ideas.
Just look at the behavior of Sun Qiaozhen and her husband just now. Xiaoya clearly said she didn't want to do it several times, but they pretended not to hear.
Xiang Yao thought about the couple's behavior and felt that something was wrong.
But then she thought, since they had finally found their lost relatives, any reaction seemed normal.
Alas, even if the admission time to the melon field was increased, Xiang Yao would not be happy.
"Yaoyao, it's getting late. I won't continue chatting with you today." He Yuezhi said at the fork in the road.
Xiang Yao nodded: "Yes, goodbye, auntie."
After saying goodbye to her gossiping partner, she was still thinking about this matter while walking forward. Suddenly, she bumped into a solid "wall" in front of her -
"What are you thinking about? You're so absorbed in it."
The Wall asked in a low voice, without moving.
Xiang Yao covered his forehead and raised his eyes aggrievedly: "Nie Baichuan, you hurt me..."
Nie Baichuan: ...
Logically speaking, was it him who hit her?
But he paused, then good-naturedly decided not to be reasonable: "Well, sorry, let me take a look."
He pushed Xiang Yao's hand away and looked at her forehead in the faint light of dusk.
"It's a little red," he judged seriously, rubbing it gently with his fingertips. "Does it hurt?"
Xiang Yao felt a little embarrassed being stared at so seriously. She wasn't really in pain, she just suddenly wanted to find a reason to act coquettishly.
"Okay, okay, it doesn't hurt anymore." She pushed Nie Baichuan away and changed the subject, "Why are you on the road?"
Nie Baichuan explained: "Since you haven't come back yet, I came to pick you up."
Xiang Yao was very happy, but still waved his hand: "It's such a short distance, why do you need to pick up the train?"
Nie Baichuan smiled, pinched her cheek, and said gently, "Let's go home."
The meal was ready, and all the dishes except the half fish that Lao Nie brought back were fried.
Xiang Yao stood in front of the stove frying fish and listened to Lao Nie share his fishing experience today.
"I told him it wasn't a good spot and there wouldn't be many fish, but he was so stubborn he kept saying he caught a big one there last time and it was sure to be good this time."
"In the end, I gave him half of the fish. Then I could go back and report to the kid at his house who was clamoring for fish. I just said I'd give it back to him next time."
Talking about this, Old Nie's face was filled with pride. When it comes to fishing, he is the authority!
Xiang Yao smiled and gave him a thumbs up: "It seems that our family will never lack fish to eat in the future."
Old Nie's mouth opened wide with joy: "Of course, I used to come back from fishing all the time, and our family never lacked for this all year round."
Nie Baichuan didn't say anything, but just kept stuffing firewood into the stove.
Old Nie is indeed very good at fishing. He would secretly bring back a few big and small fish from the wild river every now and then. However, the cooking skills of the father and son are very average.
Especially things like fish, if it is not cooked well, it will have an earthy smell and taste very bad...
During the meal, the conversation turned to what they had seen and heard at Zhou Laoer's house. Xiang Yao sighed, "I don't know how they're going to handle this matter later. It feels quite awkward."
Old Nie shook his head. "Ultimately, it all depends on the child's opinion. If she doesn't want to go to her parents' house, Zhou Lao Er and his wife will always find a way."
Xiang Yao nodded. That’s right. Anyway, if Xiaoya really didn’t want to leave, could Sun Qiaozhen and her husband take her away by force?
Nie Baichuan said, "From your description, it seems like there's a pretty big problem here. The city isn't very big here, so if they really wanted to find someone, they'd definitely ask around in places like guesthouses. And once they've done that, it's impossible not to find them."
In this era, population movement was strictly controlled. Whether it was taking long-distance transportation or finding accommodation, it was impossible to move forward without a letter of introduction.
Why didn’t the Li family find it at that time?
And after so many years, when all the original information had become even harder to find, they somehow managed to find out all of a sudden?
Xiang Yao: "Yes, so I always feel that something is wrong. I even wonder why the couple suddenly came to recognize their relationship. Do they have any special purpose?"
She added: "Of course, this question assumes that something is wrong."
Assuming that it would not have been difficult for Sun Qiaozhen's family to find their lost child a long time ago, why haven't they come to recognize their child for more than ten years?
Why did he come to find Xiaoya when she was sixteen years old and about to become an adult?
Just find her, but instead of cultivating the relationship first, you are so impatient to take her away, unable to even wait for one night. This is weird no matter how you think about it.
Xiang Yao was thinking about something, so he was a little absent-minded in everything he did.
So when it was time to go to bed at night, Nie Baichuan held her in his arms and rubbed her skin with his fingers meaningfully. She was still dazed and couldn't react.
"No, didn't we just do that last night..." Xiang Yao blinked, her eyes looking particularly bright and lively under the dancing light.
Nie Baichuan smiled, gently pinched a certain raised spot with his hand, and asked meaningfully, "We did it yesterday, so we can't do it today?"
Xiang Yao took a quick breath and stuttered, "That's not the case."
Nie Baichuan stroked her slender waist and leaned over to kiss her deeply.
Perhaps it is very easy to lose one's clear mind in the arms of a lover. At this moment, Xiang Yao felt like he was in a pool of water.
The water was very gentle, wrapping her in layers, and ripples spread out in circles, and her thoughts gradually melted away with the waves.
As human beings, the most praiseworthy emotional exchange is probably a long and lasting kiss.
The pursuit of lips and tongue is an intimate activity unique to this great species. Accompanied by accelerated heartbeat, burst of hormones, and secretion of adrenaline, the entangled bodies fall into the mud of love.
Xiang Yao raised her beautiful swan-like neck, and couldn't help but let out a soft moan as the man tirelessly lit the fire.
It is like poetry and song, and also like a chant that penetrates deep into the soul. It is like thin and flexible spider silk that drills into the man's eardrum, making him more courageous and invincible.
What do people usually think about when they exercise?
Xiang Yao had thought about this question before.
But when she was really in the middle of the exercise, she realized that when a person is really depressed, the brain is almost on strike.
The body and soul, both without the guidance of thought, rely on instinct and scatter wantonly.
Thus, another quiet night was spent in a dizzy and drowsy state.
…
Because when Xiang Yao parted with He Yuezhi yesterday, she asked He Yuezhi to call her if there was any movement in the Zhou family, so He Yuezhi came excitedly not long after breakfast.
Xiang Yao grabbed a handful of candies left over from the previous two days and gave them to her, and they went to Zhou's house hand in hand.
"That couple came early this morning! This time it was even more grand than yesterday. They brought a lot of things with them. Tsk tsk, I think this Li family must be very rich."
He Yuezhi's sources of information were very extensive. Even though she hadn't been there herself, she described the scene vividly, as if she had seen it with her own eyes.
"And, oh, that couple said Xiaoya's grandmother was lying in bed and dying, and they wanted to see their granddaughter before they left!"
Xiang Yao said, "Huh?" and said, "No, why didn't you mention this yesterday? Could it be that you came up with this excuse last night in order to take Xiaoya away?"
But when she said it, she felt that it was unlikely. After all, most people would not joke about such major events as birth, aging, illness and death.
He Yuezhi curled her lips: "Who knows?"
There was nothing to do at this time of year, and news spread quickly. By the time the two arrived at Zhou Laoer's house, the crowd had already surrounded them in three layers.
Xiang Yao looked at Sun Qiaozhen who was crying again and found it quite magical.
What a coincidence! Yesterday when she just squeezed to the front, she saw this woman crying. Today when she squeezed in, she saw her crying again.
How can I shed so many tears every day? I guess I drink a lot of water...
In such situations, tears shed too many times become worthless.
Xiang Yao felt no emotion at all and just quietly watched the scene.
"Xiao Qing, your father and I originally thought that if you don't want to go back, then don't go back. Let's take it slow. As your parents, we can take time to visit you and slowly cultivate a relationship with you. It's okay, but..."
Sun Qiaozhen wiped away her tears and said hesitantly, "It's just that your grandma doesn't have many days left to live. We called last night and told her we found you. She was so happy and wanted to come see you, but she's too sick to get up."
"Just come back with us. If you want to come here someday, we will definitely send you back."
She looked at He Jinfeng and said, "Sister-in-law, our family is in this situation now. There is nothing we can do. I believe you can understand, right?"
He Jinfeng was so angry. What she said was just nice words, such as "I will send Xiaoya back when you want to come back", but only a child could believe such words!
If Xiaoya was really taken away, would they really listen to her and send her back?
They don't listen to Xiaoya's ideas now, let alone in the future!
The family of three had already agreed last night that as long as Xiaoya really didn't want to go to her biological parents' house, the couple would definitely fight for their daughter.
As a result, this matter is now in broad daylight, and people have clearly stated that the dying old man in the family wants to see his granddaughter. How can she refuse?
If she hardened her heart and refused, others would accuse her of being unfilial and would drown her little girl in spit.
She and her husband didn't care about other people's opinions, and they had never cared about it over the years. But what would her daughter do in the future? She was just a little girl, and she was shy. If others said this and that, saying that she didn't even go to see her dying grandmother...
Parents always think hard about their children. Just like at this moment, He Jinfeng felt that she was caught in a dilemma.
This is much more difficult than yesterday.
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