CHAPTER 122: CHAPTER 122: THE PLAN

Patting his chest with lingering fear, he said: "Luckily, we didn’t mention that the child was at our place earlier, otherwise your uncle might blame us for meddling."

The Zhu family is in a mess now and isn’t in the mood to investigate how Lin Yi’s family knew about the abandoned child. Later, they might assume the police station inquired about Nanyu to find Zhu Fugen and his wife, and won’t overthink it.

Lin Qin snorted heavily, "Dad! Let me tell you, since they’re not planning to acknowledge this child, you don’t have to tell them the child’s whereabouts either.

Plus, relatives like your uncle who are oblivious and ruthless should be avoided in the future. If something happens, they might not help us, yet they’ll come to us first if they have issues!

How interesting!"

During the New Year when Zhu Fugen and Li Lan visited, Lin Qin already felt uncomfortable. Relatives who haven’t visited for years suddenly coming over during the festive season, with intentions to stay, would unsettle anyone.

After these incidents, she has completely lost any impression of Zhu Fugen and his wife. It turns out that her uncle isn’t much better either. Truly, like father, like son.

Lin Yi sighed deeply, tacitly agreeing with Lin Qin’s approach.

Zhu’s father arrived at the police station and voluntarily confessed to the crime of Zhu Fugen and Li Lan abandoning the child due to unpaid medical bills, and expressed willingness to repay the money and take the child back home.

The police noticed his good attitude in admitting the mistake, coupled with his age, and didn’t make things difficult for him. They promptly informed Shen Wenfeng.

After learning the outcome, Shen Wenfeng personally went to Nanyu to pick up the child.

"Thank you for all your hard work during this time, I’ve applied for a subsidy from the leader, and it’ll be delivered later."

Lin Qin smiled and said gently, "No need to be polite, Captain Shen. This child is our relative after all. Taking care of them for a while is really nothing, but..."

Lin Qin’s expression changed several times as she carefully told Shen Wenfeng about the Zhu family’s attitude, "I’m afraid if you give the child to them, they might sell the child or casually abandon them, or even secretly make the child disappear."

Shen Wenfeng’s face changed drastically, his brows knitted, and he nodded solemnly, "I understand. Rest assured, I know what to do."

With Shen Wenfeng’s assurance, though Lin Qin was reluctant, she still gritted her teeth and handed the child over to him, along with the child’s belongings and the freshly heated milk by Lin Yi.

As Shen Wenfeng carried the child through the gate, Lin Yi, with tears in his eyes, almost stopped him.

Huang Yuezhen was also heavy-hearted, but knew the child must be handed back.

The family closed the gate, and Lin Yi squatted on the ground, secretly wiping his tears.

Worried about the child, the family had no appetite; even Ping’an and Yaya felt disinterested.

When Chen Wenjun returned and saw the house without the child, he was a bit puzzled, "Where’s the child?"

Lin Qin, with lowered eyes and feeling downcast, recounted the day’s events.

Seeing Lin Qin’s reluctance, Chen Wenjun said, "If you like, I will go to the police station to ask where your uncle’s family is staying. If they don’t want the child, we can adopt him ourselves."

Lin Qin looked at Chen Wenjun, paused, and shook her head bitterly, "The Zhu family isn’t reliable enough. If they know we adopted the child, they’ll have endless reasons to bother us. I don’t want any entanglement with such a family."

She really liked the child and indeed wanted to adopt him, but reason told her she shouldn’t act impulsively.

Chen Wenjun respected Lin Qin’s decision and didn’t act on his own.

Unexpectedly, at seven the next morning, Zhu Fugen’s family arrived at Nanyu.

At this time, both Chen Wenjun and Lin Yi had left, Huang Yuezhen was taking Ping’an and Yaya to school, leaving Lin Qin alone at home.

The boatman dropped off Zhu Fugen’s family, and greeted Lin Qin.

Since no one else was home, Lin Qin didn’t close the gate this time, but asked the boatman to wait a while for convenience in taking Zhu Fugen’s family across the river.

After the struggles of yesterday, Zhu Fugen’s family looked exhausted, coupled with the child crying all night in their hands. None of them slept well; all had panda eyes and were muddled, with concerns in their hearts, not noticing Lin Qin’s actions.

They hastily brought the child inside.

Once inside, Zhu Fugen and Li Lan noticed Lin Qin was pregnant. They exchanged a glance before looking at Zhu’s father.

Recalling Lin Qin’s fierce and unreserved attitude yesterday, Zhu’s father dared not underestimate her. Once seated, he asked, "Where’s your dad?"

"He’s gone out with Wenjun to sell things. Why are you and cousins here so early?"

Lin Qin didn’t want to waste words with them and got straight to the point.

Zhu’s father didn’t feel awkward at all, rather he shared their family’s struggles with a worried face, "Our whole family relies on a few acres of land, and there’s never money saved at the end of the year. I only have your cousin, who surely wants a son, otherwise, in the countryside, everyone would look down on us!

But unfortunately, your cousin-in-law’s womb didn’t cooperate; two tries resulted in girls. If the village women’s leader finds out, surely they’ll force your cousin-in-law to undergo ligation immediately.

Even if we luckily escape, should she have more children, we can’t afford the fines!

Earlier, your cousin and cousin-in-law were ignorant, but the police have criticized and educated them. They’ve realized their mistake. Now, we just want to find a better family to adopt the child. It’d be better for them to live comfortably with a wealthy home than suffer with us, right!

In the city, aside from your family, we have no other relatives. We hoped you could help inquire, if there’s a family with good conditions yet no children, they could adopt the child."

Lin Qin lowered her eyes, staying silent for a long while. This indifferent reaction left Zhu Fugen and his wife unsure, feeling uneasy inside.

Li Lan immediately knelt before Lin Qin, sobbing, "Cousin, we are without options. When the child was born and turned out not to be a son, we were confused. I realize my mistake now, please help us!"

Lin Qin exhaled deeply, coldly gazing at Li Lan, "Cousin-in-law, I indeed sincerely wanted to help you before, but how did you respond? As a bystander, I shouldn’t say anything, and it’s pointless to discuss something that’s already happened.

Considering the familial bond, I can help, but I don’t want endless trouble after doing so. Do you understand my point?"

Li Lan seemed confused, clearly not understanding.

Zhu’s father chuckled and said, "Niece, whatever’s on your mind, just say it directly."