Lin Shen's face darkened again. Are they still good brothers? Why do they always say such hurtful things?
Wei Shaoan noticed Lin Shen's expression, cleared his throat, and changed the subject.
"I heard from Lao Lin that you came back to find someone? Who are you looking for? Didn't I remember that your family all immigrated? Could it be that you still have a first love or confidante that we don't know about?"
As Wei Shaoan's words became increasingly outrageous, Xu Zhenghuai shook his head, both amused and exasperated, to interrupt him.
“You have quite the imagination,” he explained to the two of them. “I did come back to look for someone, and I’ve found her. She’s the granddaughter of an old friend of my mother’s. That aunt’s children died in an accident a few years ago, so she has to raise her granddaughter alone.”
At this point, Xu Zhenghuai sighed. He remembered playing with the older boy from that aunt's house when he was little, but he never expected...
"Last month, my mother couldn't contact this aunt. After going through several friends in China, she finally found out that the aunt had suddenly suffered a heart attack and passed away.
My mom remembered that this aunt had a young child at home, and since she was our old friend's only child, she wanted to find out where the child was and see if they could help take care of him.
Their family didn't think too much about it; they just felt sorry for the child who would be all alone in the future. They could leave some money for the person who took care of her so that life would be a little easier for them.
However, when Xu Zhenghuai returned this time, he realized that his family had oversimplified things.
When Wei Shaoan and Lin Shen heard about this, they felt a pang of sorrow. What a pitiful child, losing all his family at such a young age.
Wei Shaoan then asked with concern, "How old is the child? Where did you find him? His family is all gone, shouldn't he be sent to an orphanage?"
Speaking of this, Xu Zhenghuai's temper, which had calmed down a little after seeing his friend, suddenly flared up again.
“The child is six years old this year. Although the child’s grandmother has passed away, there are still relatives, and the child is currently staying with relatives.”
Judging from his expression, Lin Shen and Wei Shaoan knew that there was probably more to the story.
Sure enough, Xu Zhenghuai said with a dark face, "That family isn't raising the child out of love for him, but because they've got their eye on Aunt Chen's house."
Xu Zhenghuai spent a lot of effort to find the person. The house that Aunt Chen used to live in was already occupied by that family.
Aunt Chen's granddaughter, that child, was sent to the countryside instead.
Aunt Chen passed away suddenly from an illness, without leaving a single word. She had no relatives, and according to blood ties, her closest family was her current younger brother's family.
Although they haven't been in contact for a long time, no one can object when the family says they want to raise the child.
The neighbors could tell that this family had ill intentions, but what could they do? After all, they were neighbors, and they had no right to interfere or control the matter.
The neighbors couldn't help raise the child. But they remembered it, so when Xu Zhenghuai inquired, he told him everything.
An old woman wiped away her tears and said to him, "Chenchen is such a good child, why is she so unlucky?"
Xu Zhenghuai is also troubled. His child is indeed not doing well, but his family is, after all, an outsider with no blood relation to him, and has no right to interfere in this matter.
But if they were to just abandon him like this, not only would Xu Zhenghuai's mother feel bad, but Xu Zhenghuai himself wouldn't be able to bear it either.
“My mom’s passport has expired and she can’t come back for the time being, so I have to handle this. I’ve also consulted a lawyer these past few days about whether I can fight for custody with a stranger, but they all think I’m crazy.”
Wei Shaoan now has a daughter, and hearing about the child's situation, he sighed, but this matter is really difficult to handle.
He then advised, "That child isn't related to you at all, so even if you wanted to, you couldn't control him. I think you should just give him some money, and find someone to help keep an eye on him from time to time."
Actually, what Wei Shaoan said makes a lot of sense. It's already quite difficult for a friend's child to come back to China to inquire about the situation and ask someone to take care of them. There's really nothing more that can be done.
Seeing that Lin Shen had been frowning and remained silent, Wei Shaoan asked him, "Old Lin, what do you think?"
Lin Shen remained silent, actually thinking of Wen Xi.
Abandoned at a very young age, if someone hadn't found her and sent her to an orphanage, and later adopted by Uncle Xia and Aunt Ke, I really don't know what would have happened to her now.
He thought for a moment and said to Xu Zhenghuai, "That family definitely doesn't want to raise a child. They just want the house, or something that Aunt Chen left behind. Raising a child is just to make all of this seem more legitimate."
Xu Zhenghuai nodded. That was indeed the case; raising a child was no simple matter. Nobody wanted to raise another child for no reason.
However, according to the law, since Aunt Chen's children predeceased her, her granddaughter inherited the inheritance by representation, and her inheritance rights take precedence over Aunt Chen's brother.
Aunt Chen's brother wants a house or money, which means he'll definitely have to support his child.
"Actually, my mom really wants to adopt this child. I'm getting old and haven't gotten married or had children yet. She and my dad's eyes light up whenever they see a child outside."
Xu Zhenghuai also discussed the situation with his mother. Xu's mother felt that since the friend was gone and the child's relatives were obviously unreliable, they should raise the child themselves. It's not like they can't afford to.
Xu Zhenghuai felt that raising children was a serious matter and should be approached with more caution, but he wouldn't object to his mother's decision.
Chenchen's relatives are currently her guardians. If someone wants to adopt her now, they can agree as her guardians.
"I haven't seen the child yet, let's talk about it after I see him."
Xu Zhenghuai sighed again. This was no small matter; he would have to discuss it with his parents later.
"Alright. Stop looking so gloomy. If you don't like it, send the child to my house. My family only loves daughters."
Wei Shaoan patted Xu Zhenghuai on the shoulder, then looked at Lin Shen and said to the two of them, "It's getting late. I've made a reservation at a restaurant. I'll treat you to dinner tonight."
Wei Shaoan thought that Xu Zhenghuai hadn't been back for many years, so he decided to take him to visit the newly developed commercial districts in the city to show him the great development of the motherland. The restaurant was also located there.
As luck would have it, Xia Wenxi was also out to eat with her two roommates today. This shopping district is quite close to the concert hall, and there are many interesting shops here, so the three of them decided to meet here.
Take a stroll, browse through some interesting little shops, and then find a place to eat.
As a result, the two groups of people met by chance.
When Xia Wenxi saw a black car slow down beside the three of them and honk its horn, her mind was filled with thoughts of the new human trafficking methods she had recently read about.
He pulled his two friends along quickly, very cautiously.
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