Chapter 107: Receiving the Package

Suddenly, Shitou’s eyes welled up with tears. Since his mother passed away, except for his grandmother, who was relatively friendly to him, everyone else seemed to think he owed them something. Even his uncles were a bit impatient with him.

Sometimes, his grandmother would secretly give him an extra steamed bun, but because of his mother’s situation, anger was often directed at him, and they were reluctant to get close to him again.

Because of the compensation money from his mother, the three uncles didn’t want to go too far, so he rotated staying and eating among their houses every month.

Luo Qiao served him a generous portion of food into his bowl and said, “Consider this your own home. Eat more, don’t be shy.”

Shitou nodded. It had been a long time since he had a proper hot meal. Most of the time, he ate whatever was left after everyone else finished, sometimes just a bit of soup left in the bowl.

Luo Qiao asked, “Shitou, what’s your full name?”

Shitou nodded with a mouthful of steamed bun, “Ning Zhonglei.”

Luo Qiao looked at him and said, “Ning Zhonglei, hmm, that’s a good name. It suits you well—honest and upright, a person of integrity.”

After finishing the meal, Luo Qiao handed him a pair of pants she had altered last night and said, “Shitou, these are made from old clothes. I hope you don’t mind.”

Shitou’s eyes welled up again. Despite not having enough to eat for over half a year, he had grown taller. His old pants had become too short, but none of his aunts cared.

With a slightly nasal voice, he said, “I don’t mind. Thank you, Sister Luo Qiao.”

He gestured on his legs before thanking her and left holding the pants.

Luo Qiao wanted to make him two new pairs of pants, but she worried it might not only attract unwanted attention but also cause trouble at home. Using old clothes was different—it was less conspicuous, at least.

Luo Qiao watched Shitou walk away and thought to herself, if possible, she wanted to help this child. However, she needed a legitimate source of income to avoid gossip in the village.

But she was only fifteen years old, so what could she do? She needed to silence others while also helping Shitou.

Luo Qiao spent the whole afternoon pondering this issue. Unexpectedly, when she finished work, the Captain said there was a package for her from the village team.

Moreover, it was not just one, but two packages. The captain had already checked and confirmed they were sent from the capital.

Luo Qiao signed for the packages and said, “They are from the teacher at the farm I used to work at.”

Gao Jiefang understood immediately and even had the secretary help deliver it. Now the village was buzzing with speculation about what might be in those packages.

During dinner, many households were discussing Luo Qiao’s two packages.

In the Zhao family, Zhao Xiaoxing complained, “I wonder what you were thinking, Mom, because you didn’t recognize Luo Qiao. If you had acknowledged her back then, all those things would belong to our family.”

Gao Suhua was also upset. She never imagined that a stubborn girl had such abilities and that someone would remember her and send her packages.

Zhao Xiaomei hadn’t left the house in this period, staying home to help with household chores. She was afraid someone might ask about past events, even though her father had assured her that people in the village were unaware of the truth.

But what if rumors spread to Beipo Village? She was nervous all day long.

Now, hearing them mention Luo Qiao, she couldn’t hide the hatred in her eyes. Zhao Xiaoyun, sitting across from her, was frightened and shivered visibly.

Only Zhao Xiaohua, the fourth daughter of the Zhao family, said, “Don’t forget what Uncle said before: don’t covet what isn’t yours, to avoid being laughed at.”

She knew clearly that Luo Qiao was not someone to mess with. She feared her family would provoke Luo Qiao again. A cornered rabbit bites, let alone a person.