CHAPTER 165: CHAPTER 165: THE MATTERS OF THE PAST

Han Chunli only told the Qiu Family couple to let the child go over first to adapt to life there, and to discuss other matters later. The Qiu Family couple were already conflicted in their hearts, so they didn’t reveal too much to Qiu Qingmei.

After sending their daughter away, they regretted it deeply, feeling they shouldn’t have been selfish in the first place: "Old man, why don’t we go back and look for that family? If it really doesn’t work, we’ll tell Han Chunli the truth."

Qiu Jouxuan smoked one pipe after another: "Yilan County is so big, how do we find them?"

Huang Yufeng said tearfully, "Could the hospital have records?"

Qiu Jouxuan irritatedly put out the pipe: "That family was just there because the child was sick in the hospital. So many years have passed; how could there still be records?"

Huang Yufeng fretfully said, "Then what do we do?"

Qiu Jouxuan leaned back against the neatly stacked quilts: "How should I know?"

In those years, times were tough. Though they had selfish intentions, they didn’t have the courage to harm others. While hesitating, the child fell ill again.

At that time, he happened to get an opportunity and planned to use part of the money given by Han Chunli to exchange for a job. It was indeed inconvenient to travel with a sick child.

Just then, his wife also gave birth to a daughter, who was only nine months younger than this little girl. Remembering what Han Chunli had said, he thought of letting their biological daughter take the place of that child.

Unexpectedly, after discussing with his wife, the two of them readily agreed. To make future dealings easier, they promptly paid the money and secured the job.

Thinking that upon reaching a new place, no one would know their background, their daughter could safely assume the child’s identity without future troubles.

They didn’t mistreat that child. At the time, the couple seeking treatment in the hospital with their daughter were impoverished and couldn’t afford the treatment. They lied, and the couple agreed.

To ease their conscience, they gave that family three hundred yuan.

For their own peace of mind, they instructed the couple not to mistreat the child, deliberately saying they’d come to fetch the child later and forced them to swear to let the child go to school when she grew up.

Before leaving, they wrote down the child’s birth date details and the name Han Chunli mentioned, and gave them to the couple.

Unfortunately, in their panic, they forgot to ask which village that family was from. When he later went back to search, the family had already left the hospital. Yilan County being so large, where was he to find them?

He pulled back his thoughts and sighed: "Let’s wait for now. If Qingmei adapts well, there’s no need to mention this again. It’s better for Qingmei to go to the Capital than to stay with us."

At that time, Han Chunli had straightforwardly given a thousand yuan. He spent five hundred to secure the job, another three hundred to settle that child with the family, and still had two hundred left. This helped them survive the years of famine.

*

In the Capital, when Han Chunli and Ji Linfeng arrived at the sanatorium, Han Jingchen had just returned from his physiotherapy.

Seeing them, he merely said plainly, "Have a seat."

Ji Linfeng felt awkward as his family had borrowed money from his second brother-in-law: "Second Brother, how has your health been recovering recently?"

Han Jingchen gestured for him to sit down: "Still the same, recovery seems impossible, but at least I suffer less."

Han Chunli, preoccupied with thoughts of her daughter, said: "Second Brother, you mentioned before for us to come together. If there’s something to say, please go ahead."

Han Jingchen had Su Jingsong by his side bring over a notebook. He opened it and placed it in front of them: "This is the money you’ve borrowed from me over the years. Have a look to see if it’s correct."

Han Chunli, somewhat puzzled, looked at the opened notebook, thinking: What is the second brother trying to do?

With this thought, she asked: "Second Brother, what do you mean by having us look at this?"

Han Jingchen took a sip of tea: "To have you confirm if the amount is correct."

Ji Linfeng took the notebook from his wife’s hands, looked at it entry by entry, and calculated it in his mind. It truly shocked him that they had borrowed eighteen hundred yuan from his second brother-in-law over the years.

He frowned and looked at his wife: "How could it be this much?"

Han Jingchen continued drinking his tea, observing their changing expressions and interactions without interrupting, waiting for them to speak up to confirm.