Chapter 566: Chasing After
Chapter 566: Chasing After
Mrs. He watched as Jiang Xia hurriedly drove away, completely dumbfounded.
How was this different from what she had expected?
Wasn't Zhao Cheng Lei very concerned about Zhou Chengyan's children, fearing that they would take Zhou Zhou back, so he wanted to establish a legal adoption to prevent it?
Otherwise, why would they go through all this trouble for nothing?
He Xiuhui had always obediently followed her mother's instructions without a word. Now that Jiang Xia was gone, she approached Mrs. He, "Mom, if Lei's wife brings Zhou Zhou over, can you help me take care of her for a couple of years? Once I have my own children, I'll talk to Zhi Hai and have her come live with us."
Without children of her own, she always felt like an outsider in that family. Everyone else was related by blood, while she felt like an outsider, which made her hesitant to take Zhou Zhou in.
Mrs. He felt they had been deceived by Jiang Xia!
"Take her? Are you crazy?! I knew it, there's no such thing as a good aunt! Who would treat her husband's niece like her own daughter? And adoption? This is all a setup for us!"
He Xiuhui looked at Mrs. He, confused, "What do you mean?"
Mrs. He, angry, said, "Isn't it obvious? You didn't see it? Zhao Cheng Lei's wife doesn't want to raise Zhou Zhou anymore. She pretended to propose adoption in front of the Zhou family, knowing we wouldn't want to let Zhou Zhou go and would object. She then used this as an excuse to push Zhou Zhou onto us!"
"Then she can go home and tell the Zhou family that you disagreed, that you want to take Zhou Zhou back, and that it's better for her to grow up with her biological mother! This way, she achieves her goal without looking heartless."
He Xiuhui frowned, "That's a bit much, isn't it? Zhou Zhou and her seem to be very close."
"How is it not? Didn't you see how eager and happy she was? She practically wanted to pack Zhou Zhou up and send her away immediately! All that affection is just an act! You haven't met someone as smooth-talking as her! And who likes raising someone else's child?"
Mrs. He thought it was normal for Jiang Xia not to want to raise Zhou Zhou. After all, it's hard to form a bond with someone else's child.
"We've been tricked!"
He Xiuhui had a bit of a desire to take her daughter back and wanted Mrs. He to help care for her for two years. She was worried that if she couldn't have her own children, she would have no one to take care of her in old age.
The other day, her daughter had called her "aunt", showing a lack of affection. How could she possibly take care of her in the future if they didn't have a close relationship?
"Mom, we can't let Jiang Xia take the child to Zhen Shang. Go back to the village and bring Zhou Zhou home! You can help me take care of her for two years..."
Mrs. He interrupted her, "Take her? Haven't you seen the Zhou family's living conditions? What about our own? Do you want Zhou Zhou to suffer with us? Can you bear to see your own child go through hardship?"
"But Jiang Xia doesn't want to raise her anymore..."
"She just disagrees with those two conditions. Sign the certificate quickly, and I'll take it back to your former mother-in-law."
They couldn't let Jiang Xia go home and tell Zhou Mu that they disagreed and wanted to take Zhou Zhou back, only to have her actually send Zhou Zhou over.
Even if Mrs. He was foolish, she knew that Zhou Zhou would have a better life with the Zhou family than with them.
Looking at Zhou Zhou's usual clothing and appearance, even Zhen Shang's children didn't match her.
She often saw Zhou Zhou going to the convenience store with her cousins, buying snacks.
Which child has the money to run to the convenience store regularly?
Besides, if they took her in, Mrs. He had her own grandchildren to take care of. How could she find the time to look after someone else's child?
*
After buying oil, salt, soy sauce, vinegar, and other necessities, Jiang Xia returned to the village just before eleven.
Her little sister was already asleep. Tian Caifua carried her inside and laid her on Zhou Mu's bed, where she would sleep with the two older brothers.
She carefully placed the mosquito net back in position. As she came out, she saw Zhou Mu handing a certificate to Jiang Xia. "It's from Zhou Zhou's grandmother."
Jiang Xia took it and glanced at it. The signature was already there, along with a fingerprint.
Tian Caifua clicked her tongue.
Her own biological children, and she could just give them away like that.
Jiang Xia checked her watch. "I'll go take care of this now."
Zhou Mu said, "It's almost quitting time. You can go in the afternoon."
"There's still over an hour left. Things get done faster when people are eager to leave."
Jiang Xia ran upstairs to get the necessary documents, then drove out.
After completing all the procedures, she double-checked everything to make sure nothing was missing before walking out of the office building with the file folder.
The midday sun was blinding and scorching. Jiang Xia put on a straw hat and rolled down her shirt sleeves, ensuring not a single ray of sunlight could reach her skin, before descending the steps and walking briskly toward her jeep.
As Jiang Xia drove past the town government building, she saw an unexpected figure.
She gently pressed the brake and stopped in front of the person.
The car didn't have air conditioning, so Jiang Xia had the window down. She called out, "Dr. Ruan, what are you doing here?"
Ruan Tang stood under the shade of a tree. Hearing Jiang Xia's voice, she walked over. "Comrade Zhou didn't get his rabies vaccine yesterday. I was worried he might have forgotten, so I came to remind him. He works here, right?"
Jiang Xia: "…"
She hadn't expected that reason.
"Last night, my husband asked him if he had gotten the vaccine, and he said he got it at Zhen Shang Health Center. I'm really sorry for the trouble."
Ruan Tang: "I just checked, and your town's health center doesn't have any rabies vaccines left. No one got one yesterday."
Jiang Xia: "…"
She glanced at her watch and leaned over to open the car door. "It's ten minutes until quitting time, and the sun is too strong. Get in the car!"
Ruan Tang: "It's fine. I'll wait in the shade. You go about your business."
Ruan Tang still had to take Zhou Chengsen back to the city for the vaccine.
Rabies vaccines need to be stored in a cold environment. In such hot weather, they would lose their effectiveness in just an hour, so she hadn't brought one.
Jiang Xia insisted, "It's no trouble. I'll wait with you. Get in the car."
Seeing Jiang Xia leaning over and insisting, Ruan Tang opened the door and got in.
Jiang Xia handed her a large sunflower fan. "Use this to cool off. It's too hot!"
"The Meteorological Observatory said it will be hot for the next few days", Ruan Tang replied, gently fanning herself with the sunflower fan.
Jiang Xia drove to a shaded spot to wait for Zhou Chengsen.
Fifteen minutes later, Zhou Chengsen walked out and saw the jeep parked under the shade by the roadside. He pushed his bicycle closer, intending to greet Jiang Xia, but then he saw Ruan Tang's cold gaze from the car.
In the scorching summer heat, Zhou Chengsen felt a shiver run down his spine and instinctively hopped on his bicycle!
Jiang Xia: "…"
Ruan Tang: "…"
Ruan Tang quickly opened the car door and got out. "Comrade Zhou Chengsen!"
Zhou Chengsen's rationality returned as he sat on the bicycle. He quickly turned the handlebars, passing the jeep, and pretended he hadn't been trying to run away. He greeted Ruan Tang nonchalantly, "Dr. Ruan, what brings you here? Are you on a rural visit?"
Ruan Tang: "I came to take you for your shot."
"…"(End of Chapter)
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