The police accompanied him to a paternity test, and the report confirmed that Han Fei was indeed his biological grandfather.
When the seven little ones called him "Grandpa" in unison, Han Fei had the illusion of watching Calabash Brothers.
“Grandpa, look…” The policeman hesitated, avoiding the boy’s sharp gaze, and whispered in Han Fei’s ear, “If you can’t raise him, you can apply for subsidies. If you really… really can’t raise him, you can give up your custody rights.”
Although it wasn't appropriate for a policeman to say these words, he genuinely cared about the seven children. They had already investigated the old man's situation; he had no savings, no property, and was a scavenger. How could he possibly raise seven children under such circumstances?
Before Han Fei could answer, an enraged Han Chengda rushed forward, grabbed Han Fei's hand, and started to pull him away, shouting, "Grandpa, we're going home with you! Little brother and sister, come with us! We're going home with Grandpa, and no one can separate us!"
Han Fei smiled apologetically at the police and was then surrounded by seven children as he squeezed out of the police station.
The clever Han Chengshan turned around, stuck his tongue out at the policeman, and shouted, "No matter how poor or miserable we are, Grandpa can still support us. He will never abandon us!"
Han Chengwu snorted loudly, "You bad cop, you actually want to break us up! Grandpa won't listen to you!"
Han Qi turned around and spat at the policeman, her voice still childish: "Bad guy!"
Police officer: "..." Oh well! Good intentions gone wrong, and these kids are holding a grudge against me!
Han Fei picked up Xiao Qi, worried that her short legs couldn't keep up. Looking into the child's clear and innocent eyes, he felt a headache coming on: "Who taught you to spit on people?"
Little Qi blinked her big eyes and pointed with her little hand.
The culprit, Han Chengshan, hid behind his second sister and said in a low voice, "It has nothing to do with me. She followed me to watch the commotion and saw the old ladies arguing at the village entrance. Later, she learned their lousy trick of spitting at people."
Han Fei felt that educating children was a difficult problem, especially for such a cute, pretty, and adorable little girl. He couldn't hit her or scold her, for fear that if he spoke too harshly, the little girl would be frightened and cry.
Han Fei racked his brains and sighed, "Don't spit at people anymore, it's very impolite."
"Okay, I'll listen to Grandpa," Xiaoqi replied in her sweet, childish voice, looking both well-behaved and adorable.
Han Fei breathed a sigh of relief. It seemed that children weren't too difficult to teach, and they were quite obedient, weren't they?
Following the route home he remembered, Han Fei stood in front of the bicycle parking lot. He knew the environment was bad, but he didn't expect it to be so dirty and messy!
The original owner had nowhere to go, so a relative of one of his coworkers let him stay in the management office of the bicycle parking lot. It was a small room of about seven square meters. He didn't have to pay rent. He just slept there at night and kept an eye on the bicycles. The guard fee was considered his rent. He could also rest and store his things there during the day.
He completely treated this place as his home. The tiny seven-square-meter room contained a worn-out mattress, and there was hardly any room to put his feet down. It was filled with waste cardboard boxes and plastic bottles.
"Ah—" Han Qi let out a scream.
Han Rou rushed over and kicked him hard.
One of the cockroaches wasn't very resilient and died under the little girl's shoe.
Han Rou smiled at her younger sister: "Little Qi, don't be afraid, your older sister has already eliminated it!"
Han Chengwu trembled and hid behind Han Chengsi, lowering his voice: "Second sister is not gentle at all, she's so fierce!"
Han Chengsi chuckled, "I'm going to tell my second sister that you were talking bad about her!"
Han Chengda silently stepped forward to start tidying up the cardboard boxes. Han Rou immediately went to help, and Han Chengshan dragged Xiao Si and Xiao Wu forward to help. Xiao Wu protested, shouting, "I'm scared! What if a cockroach comes out?"
Seeing that he was in the way, Han Chengshan pushed him to Han Qi's side: "You stay here and coax Xiao Qi."
With a confident "Leave it to me" look on his face, Han Chengwu smiled and looked at Xiaoqi, whose eyes were filled with tears. He said with a grin, "Don't be afraid, little sister. Cockroaches are very nutritious. Some people even eat cockroaches. They're delicious!"
Han Qi: "...Waaah!"
The little one, who hadn't cried before, suddenly couldn't hold back and burst into tears.
Han Fei sold off all the piled-up junk at a low price, but the place was simply not suitable for seven children to live in.
The pile of scrap metal only fetched a mere thirty-two yuan. After receiving the money, Han Fei planned to take the children to find a place to stay when he saw an old man across the street waving frantically at him: "Old Han!"
Han Fei stopped to wait for him. Old Xu ran over carrying a sack, grinning, "Old Han, you're really generous. I was just helping you show the police the way, why are you giving me so much money?"
Three of the criminals arrested by the police this time were wanted criminals, so Han Fei received a reward of 20,000 yuan. He gave 10,000 yuan to the old man Xu who accompanied him and gave him directions.
Although Han Fei was short of money, he believed that he could not complete this task independently without Old Man Xu's guidance and lookout.
"You deserve the money."
"Huh? Who are these seven little babies?"
"My grandson and granddaughter."
Old Xu's eyes widened in disbelief: "You? Aren't you unmarried and childless? Where did these seven grandsons come from? Could it be..." Old Xu looked left and right, then lowered his voice: "Did you find gourd seeds? Planted them in the ground, and seven gourd babies grew overnight?"
"Don't talk nonsense." Han Fei curled his lip. "It was a mistake I made when I was young. Forget it, let's not talk about it. I need to find a place for the kids to stay. Are you trying to sell me as scrap?"
"I was originally going to sell scrap metal, but I'm not doing that anymore," Old Xu said with a smile. "Looking for a place to stay, huh?"
"Hmm?" Han Fei looked at him suspiciously.
"How about coming to my place?"
Han Fei questioned, "Can your house accommodate so many of us?"
Old Xu smiled mysteriously: "You'll find out when you get there!"
Han Fei was very suspicious, after all, the other party was a penniless guy like himself who didn't even have an old-fashioned mobile phone.
Old Xu waved to the seven children: "Kids, your grandpa and I are brothers in arms, sworn brothers! Hehe, call me Grandpa Xu and let me hear it."
"Who said you're a brother who'd gone through thick and thin with me? Get out of my way!"
Han Fei pushed him away in a fit of irritation. If he had been any later, the old man's filthy hands would have touched Xiao Qi's head.
Old Xu rubbed his sore hand and said irritably, "Those human traffickers have murder on their hands. I heard from the police that someone tried to stop them from tricking children and was beaten to death! Tell me, wouldn't you call us brothers in arms?"
"Alright, alright, I'll count you as a brother." Han Fei shook his head with a smile, feeling rather helpless.
When Han Fei arrived at Old Xu's place, he felt a pain in his face.
Don't let Old Man Xu's lack of money fool you; he owns a three-story self-built house!
Old Xu said with a self-deprecating laugh, "If it weren't for the fact that homestead land can't be sold, this place probably wouldn't have survived either. The location is too remote to rent out, so there are plenty of rooms available. You can choose whichever you like to stay in."
"Old Xu, it seems you have a story to tell." Han Fei looked up at the three-story building and sighed. Turning his head, he was startled to see that Old Xu's face was covered in tears.
"It's a long story..."
Old Xu ended up in this state because he made a fortune in the stock market and had affairs, which led to his wife and children breaking up. Later, during the financial crisis, his stocks plummeted, and his mistress stole all his belongings, which is why he has now fallen to the point of scavenging for a living.
Having found temporary shelter, Han Fei breathed a sigh of relief. But just as he lay down to sleep, there was a knock on the door. The young man stood alone in front of the door and said, "I know you don't want to support us."
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