RPAGF Chapter 20: Thinking of Adopting Xiao Tang
Chapter 20: Thinking of Adopting Xiao Tang
When all the dishes were served and the whole family sat around a large round stone table to eat, looking at the two daughters of the eldest son's wife and the two children of the second son's wife, Zhao suddenly realized what she was missing.
The eldest sister-in-law has two daughters who can help with housework, and the second sister-in-law has Shen Yinxiu to help with embroidery to earn money. She only has a pair of twins who both have to go to school, so she has no one to help her.
She needs to have a daughter soon!
Even if she gets pregnant now, she won't be able to give birth until next year. It will be another three or four years before she can work again. She won't even know if the baby will be a boy or a girl. If she really has a daughter, she might not be willing to let her own daughter suffer.
She racked her brains and considered things carefully before finally coming up with a good idea.
That is to adopt Shen Xiaotang into his own name!
That girl is not only quick and nimble, but also smart and hardworking. She can cook very well at such a young age. If she is adopted, she can not only do her laundry and cook for her, but also help her weave cloth.
Most importantly, whatever the girl eats, it's all from the family's food supply, so she doesn't have to pay for it herself. She also doesn't have the spoiled attitude that Shen Yinxiu has. When she grows up and gets married, she can receive a dowry from her husband's family.
Thinking about it this way, it's a sure thing to make a profit!
Her eyes sparkled as she reached out and picked up a piece of green vegetable with her chopsticks, placing it in Shen Xiaotang's bowl, her tone very gentle.
"Xiao Tang, don't just eat cornbread, eat some vegetables."
Shen Xiaotang paused, holding the cornbread in her hand, thinking to herself, "Why is she being so overly attentive? I wonder what my third aunt is up to."
On ordinary days, the eldest son's family did a lot of work but had little presence. In the eyes of Mr. Shen and his second wife, they were not important. The second and third wives also disliked their half-brother, so naturally they were not good to their sister-in-law and two nieces. The brothers in the family were busy with work and studying, and they rarely communicated.
As a result, he also became distant from his sisters-in-law and younger relatives.
So, as soon as Zhao finished speaking, everyone looked up at her.
Zhao gave an awkward smile and immediately said, "Why are you all looking at me? Eat!"
Forget it, let's not talk about adoption at the dinner table. Otherwise, everyone's eyes will be on her, which will make her feel uncomfortable.
After dinner, Zhao hurriedly washed the dishes and pots, then pulled her husband back into the house.
“Dad, it was already tiring enough for me to weave cloth all by myself before. Now I have to take turns cooking. Not only is it tiring, but we are also weaving cloth more slowly. We won’t be able to earn as much money in the future.”
Upon hearing this, Shen Haichuan immediately frowned.
"You're right, so what do we do?"
“Why don’t we adopt Xiaotang? She’s quick and efficient and can cook. I can also teach her to weave. Look at Yinxiu, she can even help Second Sister-in-law with embroidery. Second Brother and Second Sister-in-law must have more savings than us. I weave every day until my arms are so tired I can barely lift them, and I still have to hand over half of it to your mother. If this continues, I’m not going to do it anymore.”
Upon hearing this, Shen Haichuan immediately looked troubled.
"Xiangcao, we haven't separated our family yet. It's a bit unreasonable to adopt Xiaotang under our name, isn't it? Since ancient times, it's always been sons who are adopted, not daughters. It's already good enough that our elder brother hasn't mentioned adopting our son, how dare you even think about adopting his daughter?"
"He dares!"
Zhao glared at her husband and plopped down on the bed. "Our Changfeng and Changsheng are determined to become top scholars in the imperial examinations. No matter what, I will never let them be adopted. In the future, no matter which of our sons becomes a top scholar and becomes an official, we can both enjoy the good life. If one of us is adopted and the adopted one passes the exam while the unadopted one fails, we will have nowhere to cry."
“You’re right, that makes sense, but how am I supposed to ask Father for this?”
Shen Haichuan felt that his wife's request was indeed a bit excessive, as she not only refused to let his elder brother and sister-in-law adopt their son but also wanted to adopt their daughter.
He couldn't bring himself to say it, nor could he bring himself to do it!
Zhao's eyes reddened, and she immediately felt wronged and was about to cry.
“If you don’t bring it up, I’ll pack up and go back to my parents’ home tomorrow. At my parents’ home, I don’t have to weave or cook. Staying at your old Shen’s house, I’m exhausted every day, and I can’t say or mention anything. I’m just suffering this humiliation for no reason.”
Shen Haichuan panicked when he heard that his wife wanted to go back to her parents' home.
His two sons are still young and only know how to be waited on hand and foot. Neither of them knows how to do housework. If his wife really leaves, his two sisters-in-law can take turns cooking, but who will wash their clothes? If no one weaves cloth, where will the three families get their income?
So he immediately relented and began to coax his wife.
"Good Xiangcao, we can talk this over. How can you run back to your parents' home just because things don't go your way? It would only make your parents worry for nothing. Let me think about how to bring this up with Dad."
Zhao was satisfied when she saw that her husband had agreed, and a smile appeared on her face.
The couple whispered to each other inside the house for a while before Shen Haichuan came out and found his father in the yard.
"Dad, there's something I'd like to discuss with you."
"What's going on?"
Mr. Shen was a little puzzled. The three sons of the third son were all studying at the school with him, and the third son's wife was weaving at home. What could the three families possibly need to discuss?
Shen Haichuan was in a dilemma. He took a deep breath, closed his eyes, and said, "Father, Xiangcao and I both like daughters, but we only have Changfeng and Changsheng. Changsheng was born weak and needs to take medicine often. Xiangcao has to weave cloth to earn money to buy medicine for Changsheng. We don't have the energy to have another daughter, so... so we want to adopt Xiaotang."
Mr. Shen frowned slightly, somewhat disapproving, "We're all family, living side by side, seeing each other every day, why would we need to adopt someone else?"
They didn't need to see Xiaotang every day. After being adopted, he was expected to cook and weave for his wife, but he couldn't say that to his father.
Shen Haichuan looked troubled and said, "Dad, you know that calling Uncle and Aunt is not as good as calling Dad and Mom. My eldest brother and second brother both have daughters, and even Dad has a daughter. Xiangcao and I also want one. My eldest brother has two daughters. We can adopt one of them. There's also Xiaoyu. Wouldn't it be great if we could have a son in the future?"
After hearing what the third brother said, Mr. Shen was somewhat moved.
What does the eldest son need so many girls for? They'll all get married eventually. If the third son and his wife really like Xiaotang, they could adopt one of them.
"Okay, don't panic. I'll ask the boss what he thinks first."
Ask your older brother?
Xiao Tang can do chores now and can help her sister-in-law a lot, so her brother and sister-in-law definitely won't agree!
Shen Haichuan immediately said, "Father, let's not ask eldest brother about the adoption. Who would voluntarily give their daughter away for adoption? You are the head of the family, why don't you make the decision?"
Shen Qingchuan, who had been sitting in the corner of the room waiting to ask his father to divide the family property, stepped out from the shadows and refused with a sullen face.
"Father, I disagree with my third brother's desire to adopt Xiaotang!"
Shen Haichuan was shocked to see his elder brother emerge from the shadows and his face paled.