Divorce Part 4 [Edited]

At this time, Old Lady Lin found the person who had previously fostered the child. Since there weren’t many people with the surname Ji on this street, Old Lady Lin asked around and was directed there smoothly.

Old Lady Lin had long thought that the Ji family was wealthy but did not expect their house to be so large and the sofa in the living room to be so luxurious. She did not bring Lin Chenghai with her, fearing that the Ji family might think their child looked like Lin Chenghai.

She needed to see what the child looked like first.

Thus, Old Lady Lin specifically asked to see a photo of the child. Old Madam Ji showed her the photo. They were grateful to Old Lady Lin’s family for taking care of the child in an emergency.

Old Lady Lin looked at the photo and felt somewhat reassured. The child did not look very much like Lin Chenghai and his family. Mainly, the child looked a bit fairer. Since he was in the city and did not have to work in the fields, he wasn’t as tanned.

“Originally, we wanted him to join the army, but he couldn’t endure the hardship,” Old Madam Ji sighed.

They really couldn’t do anything with this son. The younger son just couldn’t handle hardship and was unwilling to suffer. He kept saying that the family should use their connections to arrange things for him.

Even though this son now holds a minor leadership position in a factory, it was only because of the family’s connections. The son didn’t have to work too hard and could get promoted easily.

“He… he went to work?” Old Lady Lin asked. She wanted to see her biological son. Over the years, she often missed him but couldn’t visit him and didn’t dare let the Ji family notice.

“Today is the weekend. He isn’t working and isn’t staying here,” Old Madam Ji said. “To be honest, we feel that we owe him. We’ve spoiled him, which has made his temper quite bad.”

Old Madam Ji felt a headache just thinking about it. This son had been troublesome since childhood. Old Madam Ji had two sons, and Old Master Ji’s previous wife had one son.

During the war, Old Master Ji and his first wife were separated, and he thought she was gone. Back then, many people were like that, remarrying after being separated. Old Master Ji’s first wife did not remarry and later reunited with him after the liberation.

The country implemented a monogamy system, which created difficulties for Old Master Ji. His first wife had given him children and cared for his parents, while his second wife was younger but had a good relationship with him.

In the end, it was the first wife who voluntarily declared their marriage invalid. Old Master Ji’s first wife was surnamed Meng, and others called her Mrs. Meng or Old Madam Meng.

Old Madam Ji had a good impression of the eldest son of Old Madam Meng. She felt that it was a way of making up for the fact that Old Madam Meng had helped her and her husband.

However, when it came to the youngest son, Old Madam Ji was somewhat tolerant. But after the youngest son got married, she eventually sent him out of the house. Old Madam Ji thought it was better to let the youngest son leave early rather than letting the eldest and second sons resent her.

The youngest son had caused quite a few problems and had even broken someone’s leg. If the Ji family didn’t have influence, the boy would have been thrown into jail a long time ago.

These were family scandals, so Old Madam Ji did not mention them to Old Lady Lin.

“The children are all grown up. It’s uncomfortable for them to live with us old folks,” Old Madam Ji said.

“Speaking of children, sigh…” Old Lady Lin sighed. “I’m not afraid you’ll laugh at me, but if it weren’t for the family issues, I wouldn’t dare come here. My second son is a few months older than your youngest son. As parents, we inevitably feel more sorry for the younger or the eldest son, so he, being in the middle, received less affection. I don’t know what triggered him recently, but he said he’s not our son and insists he’s your child.”

“Oh?” Old Madam Ji didn’t expect this.

“He’s digging at my heart,” Old Lady Lin said. “How could a mother not recognize her own child?”

“…” Old Madam Ji looked at Old Lady Lin, feeling something was off.

“His wife returned to the city after the college entrance exams and wants a divorce. I said he only has an elementary school education and isn’t worthy of his wife,” Old Lady Lin said. “He went mad, insisting he’s your child. He even came here yesterday, afraid he might really find you.”

Old Lady Lin deliberately wiped tears from the corners of her eyes, hoping to make Old Madam Ji think that Lin Chengshan was not a good person and that he was abandoning his biological parents for a woman.

“If it weren’t for fearing he might make a big mistake, I wouldn’t come to the city,” Old Lady Lin said. “We country folks, it’s embarrassing to keep coming here. Over the years, you’ve sent us quite a few things.”

“Where are you staying?” Old Madam Ji asked.

“We arrived last night and stayed at the station for the night,” Old Lady Lin said. “We plan to rent a room today. My eldest son also came. He has nothing to do in the countryside, and with so many mouths to feed at home, he wants to see if he can find work in the city.”

“There are many opportunities outside,” Old Madam Ji said with a smile.

“…” Old Lady Lin had expected Old Madam Ji to directly offer a job to Lin Chenghai. She was surprised when Old Madam Ji did not mention it. Old Lady Lin gritted her teeth and was about to kneel in front of Old Madam Ji.

“Get up, get up,” Old Madam Ji said, surprised by Old Lady Lin’s actions.

“Can you please help find a job for my eldest son? We are unfamiliar with the city…” Old Lady Lin said. “With the issues with the second son, we’re afraid he’s gone mad. We need to find him and help him.”

“You get up first,” Old Madam Ji said. “I’ll see what I can do about the job.”

“I know I shouldn’t be asking you this, but with so many issues at home, we really don’t know who else to turn to, so we came to you,” Old Lady Lin said.

“Don’t rush,” Old Madam Ji said. “I’ll arrange a place for you to stay. You can move in first, and I’ll arrange a job for your son later.”

Old Lady Lin thought these people were relatively easy to deceive. She noticed that Lin Chengshan and Old Madam Ji’s family did not seem similar, at least not to the people in the photos. Old Lady Lin figured that since the Ji family was already aware of the situation, they definitely wouldn’t be deceived by Lin Chengshan.

After all, Old Lady Lin had heard that blood tests for paternity weren’t always accurate. Many people’s blood types were similar even if they weren’t biologically related. Otherwise, there wouldn’t be the need for blood donations.

Old Madam Ji invited Old Lady Lin to stay for a meal and also sent her some food to take with her. She arranged for someone to take Old Lady Lin to her lodging.

Old Lady Lin’s words were aimed at gaining benefits for her family, while at the same time belittling her second son.

This made Old Madam Ji feel uncomfortable. Having participated in the revolution herself, she had endured hardships and was not merely a bystander. Listening to Old Lady Lin’s words, Old Madam Ji felt something was off.

If they are not biological children, then they are not biological children. After so many years, if Old Lady Lin’s second son really came, it wasn’t certain that what he said would be true.

But Lin Chengshan hadn’t even come to her yet, and Old Lady Lin came over to talk about it. It’s not that the Lin family didn’t know their phone number, but Old Lady Lin didn’t choose to call, but came over in person.

In Old Madam Ji’s view, this matter seemed suspicious. After so many years, Old Madam Ji and her husband were indeed very disappointed with their youngest son. They always felt their youngest son didn’t understand their good intentions. For their youngest son, the old couple sacrificed a lot, which led to some resentment from their eldest and second sons, while the youngest son always claimed they owed him.

What if, what if the youngest son really wasn’t their biological child…

Old Madam Ji didn’t dare to think about it…

A dragon gives birth to a dragon, a phoenix gives birth to a phoenix, and the son of a mouse will know how to dig holes.

If a child inherits the bad genes from his parents, he may still have problems even if he receives the best education.

After Old Lady Lin left, Old Madam Ji felt her legs go weak. Before Old Lady Lin walked out, Old Madam Ji had maintained a calm appearance, even commenting that children are really difficult to educate.

Old Madam Ji reached for the phone with trembling hands, unable to hold it steady. She had just asked her second daughter-in-law to take the people to their accommodation and hadn’t gone herself, fearing she wouldn’t be able to manage.

“Mom,” said Old Madam Ji’s eldest daughter-in-law, Eldest Madam Ji, as she came over.

Usually, Eldest Madam Ji and her husband lived with Old Madam Meng. Since Old Madam Meng was alone, Eldest Madam Ji’s husband wanted to spend more time with his mother. Old Master Ji had no objections. It showed that his eldest son was filial.

Because Old Madam Meng’s place was very close to the Ji family’s home, in the same neighborhood, Eldest Madam Ji often visited.

“I… is your mother at home?” Old Madam Ji asked, referring to Old Madam Meng.

“Yes, she’s at home,” Eldest Madam Ji replied.

Old Madam Ji felt anxious and needed to talk to someone. She considered Old Madam Meng like her own sister and had often sent things to Old Madam Meng. With such a significant issue arising, if it turned out to be true, Old Madam Ji really didn’t know what to do.

“What else can we do? Of course, we look for our own mother, our biological mother,” Old Madam Meng said. Seeing that Old Madam Ji was in a panic, Old Madam Meng wondered if something serious had happened. She told Old Madam Ji to sit down and, after hearing what Old Madam Ji had to say, she became serious. “This situation is indeed suspicious. She didn’t come to ask for help with finding a job for her son before, but now she comes running here when her second son isn’t even here yet!”

Old Madam Meng hadn’t received much education and wasn’t very literate. However, like Old Madam Ji, she had participated in the revolution and had shed blood on the battlefield, so she wasn’t naive.

“You and her child are born months apart. It’s impossible that there was a mix-up. It can only mean there was a switch,” Old Madam Meng said directly. “When you sent someone to pick up the child, they took advantage of the fact that you didn’t know what the child looked like and swapped the child.”

“It’s just a theory for now…” Old Madam Ji said. “Sister, you know, my husband has always been very fond of his granddaughter. The Ji family hasn’t had a granddaughter for generations. The child is also very sweet… I’m just worried that if the child really isn’t ours, can he handle it?”

“He has been through the battlefield,” Old Madam Meng said. “His resilience shouldn’t be that weak. Are you going to let other people’s children mistreat your own? Regardless, this matter needs to be investigated thoroughly, or you’ll always have a thorn in your heart. Or do you think that just because the child grew up in the countryside, he can’t be yours?”