After listening, Jiang Yu thought it made sense, nodded, and said nothing more. Worried that her older brother might let something slip, she specifically explained the whole story.
"You two are really thick-skinned. It took you so many years to find out the truth about this, and you still don't know the truth behind the so-called facts."
But then again, if what that kid said is true, and he was sold to the next town, which is our oil shop town, isn't it?
If you and your husband trust me, then I'll tell your sister-in-law about this. We'll all keep an extra watchful eye and make some inquiries. It's much better to have any leads than to be completely lost and guessing.
Shen Ci's words were a wake-up call; the two had complete faith in their elder brother and sister-in-law's character. Therefore, they readily agreed.
A little while later, Shen Ci returned to Shi Yangyang's ward. While going downstairs to buy food, Shen Ying happened to run into Shen Daniu, who was delivering goods to a nearby shopping mall. She asked him to pass on a message, saying that neither of them would be going home that night, but would stay at the hospital with Yangyang.
Shen Daniu agreed without much thought.
After the meal, as before, Shi Shumei spoke a few words with Shi Yangyang, gave Shen Ci some instructions, and went back to the shop to check on the situation.
Before leaving, she made a point of checking on Jiang Yu. She'd heard that not many people bought children a few years ago, so if she put in a little effort, she should get some news soon.
Jiang Yu and Shen Ying smiled knowingly after hearing this. Their words implied that they were grateful for their sister-in-law's trouble.
"Don't say that, we're family. If it weren't for my sister-in-law's salary, Yangyang's illness would have ended there. You are his, and even our family's, savior. It's only right that I help out with this little bit of help I can. Please don't say that again."
Afterwards, they left the hospital.
Back at the oil shop in town, she saw two workers counting out the last of the stock, so she went to the counter alone. They were used to the owner's wife's visits; after all, the daily profits were considerable, and checking the books was a perfectly normal thing to do.
The two greeted Shi Shumei and tactfully went to the back room to organize the containers and wash them.
The woman took out her abacus and started calculating the day's bills.
A moment later, a child, about three or four years old, appeared in the shop, his clothes tattered. He stretched out his dirty little hand, stood on tiptoe, and placed the paper ticket he was clutching on the counter, saying in a childish voice:
"Auntie, I want a bottle of oil."
Shi Shumei wondered why such a young child would be allowed to go out to buy things. In the meantime, she got up and reached for the oil bottle.
I was shocked when I saw the child's face unexpectedly.
Although the child was filthy, his features were so distinctive, resembling Yangyang as a child and even more so Niannian now.
She looked around for a while, and seeing that there were no adults nearby, she squatted down and asked softly:
"Little friend, how old are you?"
Three years old.
The child was a little shy and leaned timidly against the counter, speaking in a low voice.
Where are your parents?
"......"
Hearing the woman's question, he scratched his head, thinking for a long time, but didn't know what to say. Just as Shi Shumei was about to ask something else, a simply dressed woman rushed in, grabbed the child's ear, and began cursing:
"It takes you so long to buy oil. You can't do anything right all day. I'm really wasting my time raising you."
The woman had a ferocious face and a harsh appearance, as if she harbored a deep-seated hatred for the child.
"I just wanted to chat with the child because he was good-looking; it has nothing to do with him."
Seeing the child's expressionless face as he was being pulled by the ear, seemingly used to it all, Shi Shumei felt a pang of heartache. She couldn't fathom what kind of torment this child endured every day to be able to bear such treatment.
“What’s so interesting about that? They all have two eyes and one nose. If I could, I would even trade this child for a shop like yours.”
The woman glanced at the oil shop, then looked at Shi Shumei. She didn't seem to be joking; there was a chilling feeling about her.
"You're joking. Where do you live? I've never seen you before."
Shi Shumei pretended not to care about her words, her tone indifferent. Just like when she was trying to get close to customers, she didn't notice anything unusual.
"Our family is also in Shicun, the family where my mother-in-law just passed away a couple of days ago. Don't you recognize us, Sister Shumei?"
The woman was composed, and when she spoke of her mother-in-law's passing, she couldn't stop smiling.
Shi Shumei thought for a moment but couldn't recall anything. It wasn't her fault; Shi Village was quite large, divided into Shi Village 1, Shi Village 2, and Shi Village 3, and besides, she had been at the hospital recently, so she simply hadn't had time to pay attention to what was happening in the village.
However, she could go back to the village and inquire whether the child was her biological son. If not, where did he come from?
"Okay, come again next time, I'll give you a discount."
Fearing she might alert the woman, Shi Shumei's abrupt, fake smile went unnoticed. She continued striding forward, carrying the oil bottle, while the child following behind, wearing ill-fitting shoes, couldn't keep up.
Seeing this, she sighed. This matter needed to be verified as soon as possible, otherwise, the child would be ruined.
Then I thought, I really hope he is a child of the Shen family. Then I won't have to suffer with this family.
After quickly checking the bills and informing the two employees, I rushed to the hospital as fast as I could.
Upon arriving at the hospital, she went straight to Jiang Yu's ward. While they were both there, she recounted what had happened. Worried that they would be anxious and distressed, she deliberately concealed the child's ordeal, only mentioning that the family seemed very poor.
"I'll go to Shicun tomorrow after Jiang Yu finishes her IV drip."
They are action-oriented and can't sit still for a moment.
"I'll go over this with your older brother later, and think about this family's address and any related matters. Let's not make a wasted trip."
Shi Shumei was in high spirits. Although she had no impression of this family, Shen Ci had a good memory, so he might know.
After their conversation, the eldest sister-in-law returned to Shi Yangyang's hospital room to discuss the matter with Shen Ci. Jiang Yu then spoke:
"When you go there, you must not alert the enemy. It would be best to get a hair sample from the child to do a paternity test."
"Paternity test?"
Shen Ying was somewhat puzzled by this thing. He didn't know what it was. Considering the time, this technology had only recently been introduced to China, so it was normal that he didn't know.
"It's nothing, it's just a technique to test whether a child is biologically related to the parents. We can ask the doctor about it during rounds tomorrow."
Jiang Yu brushed it off with a few words, and since the man's attention wasn't on that, he didn't think much about how she knew that.
Around 7 p.m., someone knocked on the door of the ward. Shen Ying opened it and saw a bouquet of flowers and a fruit basket. Behind her were the two Su siblings.
Seeing that Jiang Yu had woken up, Su Jinshi hesitated for a moment. Seeing this, Su Yujing showed no emotion and pushed her into the room.
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