CHAPTER 14
”Will there be any problem?”
At this time, international contacts were not completely opened up. At the beginning, they were all written, and the letters were checked in the first few years. She didn’t know what happened in the past two years. Now she wants to apply for international long-distance calls, and he is worried that it will cause trouble. But Li Xia knows the future development trend and shakes her head and says it doesn’t matter.
”I’m just sorry to bother you for a few days. I don’t know when I can get through to him on this phone.”
”I, I’ll find a way. Don’t worry, I’ll give you at least a week.”
”Thanks.”
Han Jun’s father was paralyzed in bed, and his mother was ill and needed care all year round. His wife was already busy taking care of the children and the elderly, so he would rush home after get off work every day. But now he had to help, and he thought of his cousin. Even if he had to pay her, he had to get through this period.
Li Xia knew his worries, so when she got home, she went to the west room to find her neighbor. She asked her to help take care of the three of them for 15 yuan for ten days.
Zhang Qiuhua’s mother was an unemployed housewife. She nodded in agreement immediately as she could earn money and take care of the family at such a close distance.
”I have no problem taking care of them, but where are you going? You are going for so many days.”
”Nothing, I’ll be back as soon as possible.”
Without saying much, she gave the other party ten yuan, and the other party patted her chest and promised to help her take care of the family. With Han Jun helping to look after her, Li Xia prepared to buy a ticket to Beijing the next day.
She told the two children about the situation that night, and Huihua nodded obediently. “I will help take care of them. I know what to feed them.”
Shen Hui also agreed: “I will take care of Dad.”
After telling her family, she bought a ticket to Beijing the next day. The train was rattling for several hours, and it was already late at night when she arrived. She stayed in a guesthouse for one night with the letter of introduction issued by the street office. The next step was to apply, wait for approval, and then make a phone call.
During this time, she was traveling around Beijing and happened to come across a house for sale. It was basically the same as the courtyard house she saw in the provincial capital. The house was well maintained and not much damaged. The other party offered 11,000 yuan, urgent sale, cash.
This was really a pillow for a sleepy person. She had seen a report in the newspaper in her previous life that during this period, someone bought a courtyard house in Beijing for about 10,000 yuan, and it was worth tens of millions after the millennium. She paid a deposit of 500 yuan, and in order to get the money as soon as possible, she did not choose to remit it through the post office, but went to Province B.
It was agreed that she would go to the provincial capital to get the money in five days, and she would pay for the travel expenses. After the contract was signed, the other party shook his head and said that she, a woman, was quite knowledgeable.
Li Xia put away the receipt and contract and said with a smile: “See you in the provincial capital in five days.”
”Okay.”
After buying the house, she finally got the chance to make an international call, but the first attempt didn’t go through. She was so anxious that her forehead was sweating. Fortunately, the staff allowed her to make the second call.
”Beep, beep, beep,” the sound of the standby phone made her heart beat so fast that it seemed to jump into her throat. She prayed silently in her heart: Please answer it, please answer it, please.
“Hello, May I help you,”
”Hello, I’m looking for Mr. Shen.”
She nervously said what she had planned, but the other party actually replied in English. She tried to speak a few more sentences, but the other party was still speaking English, which clearly showed that the other party did not understand Chinese.
Soon the call was hung up by the other party, and she was dumbfounded holding the receiver. The staff took the receiver from her and called the next person. She had already paid the money, and was now pushed aside by people who were in a hurry to make a call.
It’s over. Did she dial the wrong number? No, she checked it over and over again. It couldn’t be wrong to dial according to the letter. Maybe the other party wrote it wrong? Or maybe the phone number was changed?
Anyway, her call didn’t work. She called again but still couldn’t communicate in a foreign language, so she had no choice but to return. Before leaving, she sent another letter from here according to the address, hoping to get in touch as soon as possible.
The trip took a week. When she got home and just entered the yard, Zhang Qiuhua’s mother told her another piece of news: “Huihui was taken away by his mother. Han Jun went to look for her, but I don’t know how she managed to keep the child. You have to be careful.”
Seeing that she was stunned, the woman began to persuade her: “If it were me, you should leave this child alone. If the biological mother is willing to raise the child, then let the child live with the biological mother.
Being a stepmother is hard enough for you, and his father is still lying in bed and needs you to take care of him, so why add so much trouble to yourself? “
The neighbor outside the courtyard heard it and said, “That’s right. People outside say you’re doing it for the money, but in fact the money is all in the bank. You work hard every day to earn money and you don’t get any money from others. Why do you want to have it both ways? You raise a child and still get criticized like that.”
”Give his child and money to his mother. She is his flesh and blood, so You can have peace of mind.”
Neighbors who knew her well had said so recently, and she knew it too. But she had promised the old lady that she would take good care of the child. Now that things had come to this, she could only do her best and leave the rest to fate. If the child was really awarded to Murong Danling, she would have no other choice.
She said nothing about the comments of outsiders, washed and changed her clothes to go to Murong Danling’s mother’s house to see the child. She had to ask Han Jun what the situation was. If it was really the child’s wish, she would not interfere. A forced melon is not sweet, not to mention that she, as a stepmother, was against the biological mother, and she had no right to force it.
She packed up and waited for her daughter to get home from school, and the girl told her the details.
”Mom, brother hui was taken away. The day after you left, a few adults came after school and took him away. I heard them talking about mom and granduncle, and my brother struggled and said he didn’t want to go, but he was still taken away.”
”Yes, mom knows. Mom will go find brother.”
She went out to find Han Jun to inquire about the situation. Han Jun sighed and said to her, “I don’t know what Murong Danling said to the child, but Shen Hui has believed her now. She said that she would bring the father to live with them in the future, and the family would live together. This alone has won the child’s heart, and he no longer resists her.”
”Then, it seems that Shen Hui is going to be with his mother. Does he have to give the savings under his name to Murong Danling as well? Or is there any other way to not give it to her?”
”It has to be given according to the law. If she becomes the child’s guardian, then the property under the child’s name must be given to her for safekeeping.” Han Jun sighed: “Forget it, she is the biological mother after all. The worst that can happen is that she will waste the money. After all, she will raise the child well, right?”
”I hope so.” Thinking of the news she saw in her previous life and the words the old lady told her before she died, she decided to go see the child. “Take me to Murong Danling’s house.”
”OK.”
The two of them arrived at the place quickly, and just as they opened their mouths, Murong Danling led Shen Hui out. The two parties immediately stood there in a confrontation. Murong Danling touched her son’s head and looked at Li Xia with pride.
”Tell her that you will follow your mother from now on.”
Li Xia’s eyes moved to Shen Hui, and the little guy lowered his head and didn’t dare to look at her. He finally raised his eyes with apology. He didn’t listen to Murong Danling’s words, and looked at Li Xia with some guilt.
Children are born to yearn for their parents. This is the nature of humans and all animals. If he wants to follow his mother, then, there is nothing to say. She just needs to fulfill her responsibilities and have a clear conscience.
”Huihui, are you okay?”
The little boy shook his head and nodded again. “I’m sorry.”
”It’s okay. I was just worried about you so I came to see you. Do you want to come home with me now or stay here?”
”Of course my son follows me, his biological mother.”
Not long after Li Xia left, she took Shen Hui to live with her. Judging from the child’s current attitude, he has been brainwashed a lot during this period. As a stepmother (outsider), it is really not appropriate for her to interfere in the relationship between the biological mother and child, because it is likely to be thankless and may even have a counterproductive effect.
”Then Huihui, I’m leaving now.”
She had done her best, and there was nothing more she could do. Otherwise, it would only backfire if the child rebelled and regarded her as a bad person, and she would not be able to interrupt him in the future. Anyway, even if the custody of Shen Hui was given to Murong Danling, they would still live in the same city. She would take it one step at a time and act according to circumstances. For the sake of the old lady, she would try her best to take care of him and give him some advice, which was worthy of the old lady giving her a house and helping her settle down.
”I, I’m going back to see my dad.”
Unexpectedly, the little guy shook off Murong Danling and chased after her. Li Xia smiled and took the child’s hand. The people from the Murong family behind her wanted to pull her back anxiously, but they were stopped by Han Jun.
After returning home with the child, the little guy fetched water to wash his father’s face and feet. Without Li Xia asking, he took the initiative to explain to her.
”My mom said that we could take my dad to be taken care of, and we can be together as a family of three in the future.”
”……Do you believe it?”
”My grandparents and my uncle and aunt all said so. They said that my mother didn’t take me with her because there was no place to live. Now my second uncle’s company has a new place to live and he has moved out, so we can have a place to live. And my money…”
After all, he is a child, and he hopes that his parents will be together. What can Li Xia say about this? She can only keep quiet and think of ways to leave him a way out. Use his father’s money to buy him a house, so that he will have a way out in the future, and he will not do anything extreme for money.
After going to the bank to withdraw money, she completed the transaction with the person accompanied by Han Jun. She took the receipt and went to Beijing to handle the house transfer. When she came back, it was already three nights later.
Because of time constraints, she didn’t set up the stall the next day. Zhang Qiuhua’s mother came to settle the account for her previous help, and after the matter was settled, she began to persuade her.
”People should know when they are content. You took care of them for a few months and saw the old lady to her final resting place, but you also got the house and household registration. Now they want people and money, so just let them go. Don’t be too…”
”Aunt, do you also think that I am greedy for their father and son’s money?”
”Why don’t you let go? The dispute is about money. That’s what people say. You’re in court over the money of this father and son.”
Li Xia didn’t explain anything. This kind of thing couldn’t be explained clearly. She sat on the bed and massaged Shen Haiyang, and then she started to argue. “Aunt, you and Shen Haiyang have been neighbors for decades. In your opinion, is it okay for me to take care of them during this period?”
”Very good. We neighbors have all seen this. You are efficient and takes good care of them. No one can say anything about this.”
”If the trial on Shen Haiyang’s guardianship is held, can you help me testify?”
”What are you proving? Just saying that you took good care of them and weren’t irresponsible”
”right.”
”Okay, I’ll testify for you. His uncle has bad intentions. If it wasn’t for the benefits, he wouldn’t rush to take care of a vegetative person. He disappeared when Haiyang first got into trouble. Ever since he knew that the father and son got the money, he has started to make plans.”
”Thank you very much.”
Try your best to get people to testify for her. She is the guardian chosen by Shen Haiyang’s mother to take care of her son. If the neighbors testify, the slander of the uncle should be broken. As for Shen Hui, it may be useful to find a way to make him see Murong Danling clearly.
Looking at Shen Haiyang on the bed, she whispered, “Do you know that you and your son have become the fat meat that everyone wants to take a bite of? Without money, no one wants your combination, and now that you have money, it’s troublesome. Your mother passed away, and your father can’t be contacted. I wonder if our marriage is considered good?”
After she finished speaking, she smiled and sighed, “But don’t worry too much. Even if your uncle wins the lawsuit, I won’t let him take you away. I promised your mother to take care of you, and I will do my duty. Your uncle is a man with bad intentions, and I won’t give him the chance to harm you. As for the money, don’t worry, he can’t swallow it. As long as we contact your father, he will have to spit out whatever he gets.”
Li Xia had an idea in mind and was not in a hurry about the court hearing. In her previous life, she saw on the news that Shen Hui grew up in a single-parent family, so she always thought that Shen Haiyang would be like this in his life and did not notice his changes during this period. His eyelashes trembled and his fingers were shaking slightly, as if he was trying hard to open his eyes and wake up.
After a day’s rest, she continued to set up the stall to sell buns. At noon, she told Shen Hui that she was a little busy these days, so she asked his mother to help take care of Shen Haiyang.
”As a family of three, she needs to get used to it first, right?”
”Okay. My mom said she was ignorant before, but she will take good care of my dad in the future.”
”Well, I’ll go sell the food, and I’ll leave your dad to your mom.”
Murong Danling never expected that she would be dragged by her son to take care of Shen Haiyang. She was already shivering slightly when she stood at the door. She was extremely resistant to entering the house where Shen Haiyang lived. When her son dragged her to the door, she racked her brains to think of how to refuse. She really couldn’t go in. Standing at the door, she seemed to smell an unpleasant smell, which made her hair grow all over.
”Huihui, Mommy… Mommy’s stomach hurts, Mommy doesn’t feel well. Mommy…”
Although Shen Hui is young, he has been through a lot. The residual memory of the accident just now made him stop suddenly. His big eyes looked at her, and the clear black and white reflected her resistance.
”Mom, didn’t you say that we would be a family of three together in the future? You will take care of Dad. We are a family and blood relatives.”
”I…I, give me some time. I…”
”You don’t want to take care of dad at all, do you?”
”Yes. I just don’t want to take care of his eating, drinking, defecating and urinating.” The woman was forced into a corner by her son, and her suppressed emotions burst out and she began to speak without thinking. After she finished speaking, she saw her son’s cold eyes and instantly came back to her senses, remembering what her family had discussed. She blamed herself for speaking too quickly and quickly made up for it.
”Mom is, Mom is your mom. I just want to take care of you. Mom loves you very much. Children all want to be with their biological mothers. Don’t you want to live with Mom?”
Seeing Shen Hui remained silent, she pointed at Shen Haiyang on the bed and continued, “Your father is already a useless man. He can’t give you anything. But mom can take you out to play, to the zoo, anywhere you want to go. Only then can mom love you.”
”I have to take care of Dad.”
The little guy said firmly, then went in and squatted down to empty the urine bag for his father. After finishing the job, he walked out with the urine pot. Seeing this, Murong Danling quickly dodged to the side, still dodging the urine pot that looked clean.
Shen Hui emptied the urinal and fetched water to wipe his father’s hands and face. Murong Danling was so anxious that her head was buzzing. Then she rushed in and snatched the towel from his hand, washed it in the basin, and wiped the patient on the bed.
”I’ll take care of him, okay?” The woman took the towel from her son’s hand and wiped the man’s hands and face. Seeing her son’s expression softened, she gave the little guy a look and said, “I was the one who took care of your dad when he got into trouble. You don’t remember it at all. Now that Li Xia has only taken care of him for a few days, you all remember her kindness. You are so ungrateful.”
