Chapter 5: The Arrival of the Stranger

Chen Guoliang had just finished work and was on his way home, drenched in sweat, when a young boy suddenly appeared in front of him, tugging at his clothes and shouting: “Uncle Chen, you’d better go home, something happened at your place, my mom sent me to call you.”

Chen Guoliang was startled and grabbed the boy’s collar, squatting down to ask: “Tiger, what’s going on? What happened at my house? What did your mom tell you?”

“I don’t know,” replied Tiger, the son of Old Zhang, who lived downstairs from Chen Guoliang. He was only eight years old and had been sent by his parents without much understanding, scratching his head and saying: “Several people came to your house, and then Aunt Cai started crying.”

Hearing this, Chen Guoliang’s heart pounded with anxiety. Seeing the boy couldn’t explain clearly, he sprinted home without a word.

Chen Guoliang ran home without stopping to catch his breath. When he reached his floor, he found a crowd of neighbors gathered outside his door.

“Old Chen is back,” the neighbors whispered, making way for him. Some of them pulled on his arm to talk, urging him to speak to his mother.

Chen Guoliang wiped his sweat and sighed in relief. His mother had arrived, and he had been startled. But in the next moment, he remembered what his mother usually said, and his head ached.

Through the thin wooden door, Chen Guoliang heard his wife Cai Zhen’s delicate sobbing, interspersed with a young girl’s shrill voice.

He pushed the door open, slipped inside, and quickly closed it, blocking the curious gazes of the neighbors behind him. Although he knew they wouldn’t leave and were likely still eavesdropping, it was better than nothing.

Inside, Chen Guoliang saw his mother, Old Lady Wang, sitting on a chair, and his wife Cai Zhen standing in front of her, holding their second daughter Chen Fang, sobbing softly.

His sister Chen Hongying and her husband Wang Dazhu stood behind Old Lady Wang, like two guards. In his sister’s arms was a boy…

A boy?! Chen Guoliang’s heart skipped a beat, his eyes circling the boy. It wasn’t his brother’s son or his sister’s. Who was it?

Chen Guoliang’s thoughts were clear, but he kept his face expressionless. He took a few steps forward, approaching Old Lady Wang cautiously and saying, “Mother, you didn’t tell me you were coming. I would have gone to pick you up.” Then he greeted his sister and brother-in-law.

Old Lady Wang’s face was stern, and she replied impatiently, “I dare not. You didn’t chase me out when I came to the door, that’s already good enough. I don’t dare ask you to pick me up.”

“Mother, you know what you’re saying,” Chen Guoliang’s forehead broke out in a sweat again. “You are my mother, I’m just trying to respect you as a son should.”

“Respect me?” Old Lady Wang gave a cold laugh. “Fourth son, look at your wife’s attitude. This is how you respect me? I haven’t even warmed the bench since I entered the house, and she’s already crying. I’m not dead yet, and you’re already mourning for me?”

Chen Guoliang’s face changed color. Old Lady Wang’s words were quite harsh, and if the elders heard them, they would scold him for being disrespectful.

Behind him, Cai Zhen also realized what was happening, and quickly said, “Mother, that’s not what I meant…”

“Then what did you mean?” Chen Hongying glared at her sister-in-law, her words coming out like machine gun fire: “You just don’t welcome us, as soon as mother comes in, you have a gloomy face, and before any words are exchanged, you start crying as if we have bullied you. Mother has been walking for a whole afternoon, not even a sip of water to drink from you.”

She then turned the “gun” towards her own brother: “Fourth brother, mother has saved every bit of food for you, not even a bite for herself. You know the current situation in the village, this little bit saved for you is like mother scraping it from her own mouth. But look at your wife, what is she doing?”

Chen Guoliang listened, his face turning red with embarrassment. He knew why his mother had come, but as his sister said, his mother had always been good to him, the most loving. His wife’s behavior was indeed disrespectful. No matter what his mother’s purpose was, offering a cup of water to drink was the least they could do.

He glared at Cai Zhen and sternly said, “Didn’t you hear? Go and pour mother a cup of water, then start cooking. Prepare something good, to nourish mother.”

Cai Zhen quickly agreed, turning to get the hot water bottle. But when she picked it up, she realized the water was gone. Remembering the hot water still boiling on the stove outside, she hurriedly grabbed the hot water bottle, intending to go out and refill it.

Old Lady Wang, who had heard her daughter-in-law berating her son and daughter-in-law, now slowly spoke, “No need to rush, we should finish our talk first, otherwise, I won’t be able to drink this water.”

Chen Guoliang, hearing this, stopped his wife and faced Old Lady Wang, “Mother, please speak your mind.”

He then glanced at the boy in his sister’s arms, sensing that his mother’s words would be related to the child.

As expected, Old Lady Wang opened her mouth, instructing Chen Hongying to place the child in front of Chen Guoliang and Cai Zhen, then said firmly, “You two will raise this child. Tomorrow, go and register his household, he will be our Chen family’s grandson from now on.”

Chen Guoliang and Cai Zhen’s eyes simultaneously fell on Xiang Chen, and the room fell silent.

Xiang Chen, holding a half-eaten red potato, was almost speechless.

He had thought that this family had no children, so Old Lady Wang bought him. But to his surprise, this family not only had children but four girls. One was now glaring at him from the corner, two more were behind a curtain, one about the same age as him, and the other just over a year old. He had heard that the oldest had not come back yet.

Old Lady Wang said the daughter-in-law could not give birth, and the son’s line was about to be cut off. Apparently, in Old Lady Wang’s eyes, girls didn’t count as children! How could she be so biased towards males?

“Mother, where did the child come from?” Chen Guoliang asked after a long silence.

Old Lady Wang waved her hand, “You don’t need to worry about that. Just treat it as we adopted him from another village, and I have already asked your second brother to prepare the paperwork. You can go and change the household registration for the child.”

Cai Zhen, standing behind her husband, clenched her fists, but dared not say a word. Old Lady Wang had mentioned this to her before Chen Guoliang came back, and had even threatened that if she refused, she would force Chen Guoliang to divorce her, and she would rather lose this job and find a woman who could give him a son.

Old Lady Wang did not explicitly say so, but it was clearly implied, even saying that their family’s line could not be cut off by the Cai family.

Cai Zhen was both anxious and angry, and she could not help but cry. But when Chen Guoliang returned, she dared not speak.

She felt guilty, afraid that Old Lady Wang would indeed force Chen Guoliang to divorce her. She knew her husband still wanted a son.

Earlier, when their second daughter was born, after three or four years, Cai Zhen’s belly had not moved. Old Lady Wang had thought of letting Chen Guoliang adopt his younger brother’s youngest son.

But Cai Zhen was not blind, her younger brother-in-law, Chen Guoliang, was lazy and lazy. That child, following in his father’s footsteps, was even more mischievous, stealing her daughter’s things to eat the first time he came to the door. Not only that, he later sneaked into her room and took her facial oil for his mother. It was obvious who taught him.

Cai Zhen dared not want such a son, fearing that her family’s property would eventually become the younger brother’s family’s.

So, Cai Zhen asked her mother to come over, as a daughter-in-law, she could not directly confront her mother-in-law, and her mother was at least of the same generation.

Later, for reasons unknown, her mother-in-law flew into a rage, but fortunately, Chen Guoliang supported her, and with her being pregnant again, the matter was settled for the time being.

Unexpectedly, the third pregnancy also resulted in a daughter. After that, for a long time, Cai Zhen dared not return to their village with Chen Guoliang, even avoiding over the New Year, afraid of being troubled by her mother-in-law.

For the past two years, Chen Guoliang had been moving things into the house, and she dared not say much, hoping that these things could make her mother-in-law satisfied, and she could buy peace of mind.

After hiding for three years, she was pregnant again, and this time, everyone said it was a boy. Cai Zhen also thought so, as all the reactions were different from her previous three pregnancies. Chen Guoliang was also very happy, looking for things to nourish her, saying that they could not let their son suffer.

Cai Zhen thought, this was the end of suffering and the beginning of sweetness. After longing for so long, she had given birth to another daughter, and now, Cai Zhen had no more expectations.

Chen Guoliang’s words interrupted Cai Zhen’s thoughts: “Mother, you want us to raise this child, you should at least tell me where he came from. If it’s unclear, and we have already registered the household, what if his real parents come looking for him?”

Old Lady Wang, hearing this, knew her son was interested, and she had known. The child was good-looking, and who wouldn’t want him.

So, she smiled and said, “Fourth son, don’t worry, this child’s family can’t be found, this is what I exchanged from someone from another village with.”

In those days, people rarely traveled, and exchanging a child from someone from another village was a euphemism, meaning the child was not from this place, and was exchanged from another place, with intermediaries in between, so the original family would not be able to find them.

Chen Guoliang understood, so this child was bought from a human trafficker, and his heart was even more determined.

As for Xiang Chen, it was a lie that everyone liked him just because he was good-looking. Although there was a bonus from his appearance, more importantly, Chen Guoliang really wanted a son. His wife had given birth to four daughters, and his mother wanted him to adopt. His two older brothers’ sons were already too old, and the only suitable one from his younger brother’s family, he and his wife did not like.

This child was good, only four years old, young and forgetful, could be raised, and later, without his real parents, could be raised as his own son. His mother was indeed wise.

Later, Cai Zhen also heard that the child was taken by a human trafficker, and her heart was also moved. Old Lady Wang’s attitude was firm, and she could see that her husband’s heart was also moved. If she continued to resist, she would only make things harder for herself.

The child was good, without his real parents, she could raise him well, and he would not dare to disobey her. If she had a son in the future, she would not be afraid of him fighting for the inheritance.

When he grew up, he could also go to work and help the family. With four daughters to marry off, she needed to save for the dowries.

If she adopted a child whose parents were nearby, she would be restrained in disciplining the child. It was better to have this one, it was more convenient.

The couple’s thoughts reached a rare consensus, and they quickly agreed to Old Lady Wang’s proposal. Cai Zhen even volunteered to handle the household registration, earning a satisfied look from her mother-in-law and husband.

Xiang Chen had thought that in this situation, there would definitely be a fight, and he might be kicked out, but before he could react, he was picked up by someone else.

The woman who had been looking at him with a look of disgust was now smiling and saying, “We will be your parents from now on, come, call me mom.”

The man beside her also had expectant eyes, “Call me dad.”

Xiang Chen: “……”

I only ate half a red potato, what did I miss?