Biological Son Part 2

In the evening, Old Madam Ji overheard her husband talking about their granddaughter with great joy, which made her even more uncertain about how to discuss the day’s events.

“I promised to buy her a big doll,” Old Master Ji said with a smile. “She also wants to go fishing with me.”

“You really dote on her,” Old Madam Ji said.

“She’s our only granddaughter,” Old Master Ji said. “The rest are all boys. Her father may not be great, but at least he had her. Her grades aren’t very good, but that’s her father’s fault.”

Old Master Ji was optimistic that her grades would improve as she grew older and understood the value of studying. He reassured himself that there would be ways to handle things as she matured.

“Once she understands the benefits of studying, her grades will naturally improve,” Old Master Ji added.

Old Madam Ji ultimately didn’t mention the events of the day, deciding to have someone investigate Lin Chengshan first. She would wait for the results before deciding what to do.

If Lin Chengshan was indeed her biological son, Old Madam Ji would certainly inform Old Master Ji. If he was not, Old Madam Ji thought it might be best to keep the matter to herself.

Early in the morning, Lin Chengshan made lean meat porridge, cooked two fried eggs, and prepared dough. Later, he planned to make some buns and steamed buns to give to the neighbors.

Lin Chengshan was unsure what the neighbors were like. If he were alone, he might not care much about it. But as a single father with a child, it was important to establish good relationships with others in case he needed help in the future.

Lin Qingqing knew how to brush her teeth and wash her face. Lin Chengshan had prepared water for her so she didn’t have to use a small stool to get water.

After breakfast, Lin Chengshan went out to clear the weeds in the yard, leaving his daughter inside. When Lin Qingqing wanted to help with the weeding, Lin Chengshan set up a small stool for her to sit on instead.

“Don’t move,” Lin Chengshan said as Lin Qingqing reached out to pull weeds. “It might hurt your hands.”

“I used to pull weeds at home,” Lin Qingqing said. “At the old place.”

Xiao Man never pulled weeds herself, it was always Lin Qingqing who did.

“…” Lin Chengshan sighed. He felt a pang of sympathy seeing his daughter so cautious. Despite his many attempts to reassure her that she didn’t have to be so careful, she remained fearful, leaving him with limited options.

“It’s different now. You don’t have to pull weeds,” Lin Chengshan said. “Just sit there.”

“Like Mommy?” Lin Qingqing asked, quickly covering her mouth and then adding, “Like Aunt?”

“Yes, just sit,” Lin Chengshan said. “You just need to stay nearby and not move. If it gets too hot, go inside.”

Lin Chengshan glanced around, thinking he should buy a hat for his daughter so she wouldn’t have to sit out in the blazing sun.

“Okay,” Lin Qingqing nodded.

Lin Qingqing obediently sat on a small stool, watching her father pulling out the weed. She swung her little legs and thought that her father was better than her mother. She could only call her mother in her heart; her biological mother was no longer in her life, and she had to refer to her as “Aunt.”

Lin Chengshan, with his strength and knowledge of manual labor, found weeding to be a simple task. He stopped around ten o’clock.

“Daddy, water,” Lin Qingqing ran up to Lin Chengshan and handed him her little water bottle.

“Qingqing should drink it herself,” Lin Chengshan said, recalling a news report he had seen in his past life where children got infected with viruses from eating things that had been bitten by adults. Although such cases were rare, they were serious when they occurred. Lin Chengshan wanted to be cautious. “Let’s go inside. Daddy will make you some buns.”

“Buns are delicious,” Lin Qingqing remembered the big meat buns she had eaten before, and her mouth watered.

“Do you want to learn how to make buns?” Lin Chengshan asked.

“Yes!” Lin Qingqing replied eagerly.

Lin Chengshan didn’t actually expect Lin Qingqing to learn how to make buns. He just wanted her to have some fun. He had already prepared the meat filling in the morning and was also planning to make some with vegetable fillings. Lin Chengshan wasn’t stingy about giving away meat buns, but he had to be frugal due to limited funds.

The dough had already risen. Lin Chengshan placed everything on the low coffee table, which Lin Qingqing could reach. He realized their home lacked many things, like a higher-backed chair suitable for Lin Qingqing that would prevent her from falling.

Lin Chengshan thought he might find some wood and make one himself.

“Look, a little rabbit,” Lin Chengshan made a bunny-shaped steamed bun and showed it to his daughter.

“It’s pretty,” Lin Qingqing lightly touched the bunny and then pulled her hand back.

“Pretty and even better tasting,” Lin Chengshan said.

That day, Xiao Man and Dong Weixin went to get their marriage certificate. The whole process from their first meeting to getting the certificate took less than a week. The Xiao family hoped for a quick resolution, and Dong Weixin thought that since Xiao Man was already divorced, they might as well marry sooner. The child needed a mother too.

Mother Dong was not very pleased with Xiao Man, especially when she learned that Xiao Man had come for the blind date while still married. However, since Xiao Man had entered university, Mother Dong saw some merit in her and believed that any child Xiao Man had would likely be intelligent.

Although Mother Dong already had grandchildren, she didn’t mind having one or two more.

Xiao Man and Dong Weixin were both entering their second marriages and needed to hold a wedding banquet. Dong Weixin’s first wedding banquet was modest due to the special times, but now many policies had been relaxed.

Typically, second marriages are low-key, but neither the Xiao family nor the Dong family wanted to be overly modest. They decided to hold the wedding banquet before Xiao Man’s school started in mid-September, ideally in early September when the weather was cooler.

Mother Dong specifically went to inform her brother and sister-in-law in the Ji family about Dong Weixin’s marriage. Mother Dong wasn’t Old Master Ji’s real sister but a relative from his mother’s side, making her Old Master Ji’s cousin.

Since the Ji family was doing well, Mother Dong wanted to maintain a good relationship with them.

“Is it the Xiao Man from the Xiao family?” Old Madam Ji initially hadn’t thought of Xiao Man, but once Mother Dong mentioned her, Old Madam Ji remembered. “Didn’t she go to Zaizi Village as an educated youth?”

“Yes, that’s her,” Mother Dong confirmed. “This girl was pitiful, forced to marry that man due to the situation. Fortunately, she entered university, and everything is back on track.”

“Wasn’t her ex-husband surnamed Lin?” Old Madam Ji asked.

“I’m not sure,” Mother Dong replied. “I heard her ex-husband came to the city and that the Xiao family gave him a large sum of money to get a divorce. He even demanded the Xiao family help arrange schooling for his child. He was very shrewd and wouldn’t take a loss. No wonder Xiao Man didn’t want to stay with him. Such a person, who only knows how to take money from the woman’s side, is really something.”

Old Madam Ji had already sent someone to investigate Lin Chengshan but hadn’t gotten results yet. After all, finding someone in Rongcheng City was like searching for a needle in a haystack.

Old Madam Ji had also sent people to Zaizi Village, where many refugees had settled. The villagers were not very united, but some useful information had emerged, such as Lin Chengshan being poorly treated by the Lin family, the Lin family blocking him from joining the army, and him having to support the Lin family even after starting his own family.

The investigators had reported briefly over the phone that the Lin family had exploited Lin Chengshan like a workhorse.

Some villagers were cautious and didn’t say much.

The investigators also visited the village head, who provided a truthful account of the situation. Determining the exact truth and verifying family relationships was not an easy task.

“Have you seen her ex-husband?” Old Madam Ji asked.

“No, I just heard about him,” Mother Dong said. “Many young women from the city were forced to marry during that time. City girls are fair and pretty compared to rural girls. Those men who saw city girls often acted like rascals, pressuring them.”

Old Madam Ji acknowledged that such behavior did exist in the countryside, but Mother Dong had never seen Xiao Man’s ex-husband.

“Perhaps her ex-husband is actually a good person,” Old Madam Ji speculated.

“Even if he has a better character, he still forced Xiao Man to marry him,” Mother Dong said. “I heard that they originally didn’t want Xiao Man to take the college entrance exam.”

Mother Dong had mainly heard these details through matchmakers and others, and she believed them to be relatively accurate, though she acknowledged that there might be some exaggeration. The real situation was likely more significant than the exaggerated parts.

“…” Old Madam Ji looked at Mother Dong. “We were also from the countryside once.”

“It’s precisely because we come from the countryside that we know how chaotic it can be,” Mother Dong replied. “Many men, unable to find wives, resort to buying or forcing them. I’m not saying there aren’t good men in the countryside—my brother is one such man. But truly good men are very rare.”

Old Madam Ji did not continue the conversation. She was thinking about finding out where Xiao Man’s ex-husband lived, hoping that he wasn’t Lin Chengshan and that he wasn’t her biological son. It would be very awkward if that were the case.