Three people returned to An Rongxue's home. Li Guihua had already bathed Xiao Shu.
The clean little fellow looked much fairer, and his once dark, bright eyes now appeared even more spirited.
He was wearing an oversized garment, likely Xiao Liuzi's.
The sleeves were rolled up, and the clothes covered his bottom.
But this did not hinder Xiao Shu's joyful smile.
Perhaps truly feeling that the people in this home were good to him, Xiao Shu was clearly no longer as anxious and uneasy as before.
Children, in fact, adapt to life most easily.
Su Xiaotian watched the two children playing with mud tops and couldn't help but sigh.
The age difference between these two children was only about a year, and Xiao Liuzi was not a particularly strong child.
Even so, Xiao Shu was much smaller than Xiao Liuzi.
This showed how poor his life had been in the past few years, and whether he could catch up later was uncertain.
"Teacher Shen, why are you here?"
An Rongxue asked in surprise when he saw Shen Zizhen and the others.
He had only seen them off a short while ago.
"Rongxue, I came because there's something I'd like to discuss with you," Shen Zizhen said, feeling rather embarrassed.
Asking someone else to help raise a child, even if the child wasn't theirs, was quite embarrassing.
"Teacher Shen, please tell me what you need. As long as I can do it, I will definitely help you!"
These people had saved the lives of two members of his family. How could he refuse a small favor?
At this moment, An Rongxue had not yet realized that Shen Zizhen wanted him to take care of Xiao Shu for the time being.
On the other hand, Li Guihua, upon hearing Shen Zizhen's words, instinctively felt that this matter was not simple.
For Teacher Shen to say such a thing with such seriousness, it must be a significant matter.
Li Guihua looked at Xiao Shu and felt that Teacher Shen was likely going to talk about this.
She wanted to step forward and say that she was unwilling to adopt another family's child, but she felt it was difficult to voice.
Su Xiaotian walked up to Li Guihua and said with a smile, "Auntie, I also have something I'd like to ask for your help with."
Li Guihua was stunned. What was going on?
Were they all coming to ask for help?
But she dared not forget Su Xiaotian's kindness, so she quickly smiled.
"You are our village's little teacher. Just say what you need, no need for 'asking for help'!"
"Auntie, I have a piece of cloth here. I don't know how to make clothes, so I'd like to ask you to help make a garment for Xiao Shu."
Li Guihua was relieved upon hearing this. Helping to make clothes was an easy matter, so she smiled.
"I can make clothes. We have a sewing machine at home, so I can finish it shortly. I guarantee Xiao Shu's clothes will be made sturdy."
Su Xiaotian hadn't expected Li Guihua to have a sewing machine. Compared to hand-sewing, using a sewing machine was much faster.
"This is a pair of pants belonging to my third brother. Please take them apart and make clothes for Xiao Shu. The clothes he's wearing now are probably beyond repair, and he needs something to change into."
Li Guihua looked at Xiao Shu and pointed to two tattered little garments drying on a bamboo pole in the yard.
"You're right. I just washed those clothes. After washing, they were like rags. So, I had no choice but to let him wear Xiao Liuzi's clothes for now."
Su Xiaotian could sense that Li Guihua was a kind woman.
However, all kindness was actually worthless in the face of reality.
One couldn't neglect their own children for the sake of kindness.
Li Guihua had already done quite a bit to reach this point.
Xiao Shu was unlucky to have encountered such relatives who only wanted to seize family property but didn't want to give him a meal.
If it weren't for meeting the An family this time, it was hard to imagine how much longer Xiao Shu could have lived.
They would be leaving in another day, and before they left, Xiao Shu's situation had to be arranged.
"Auntie, there's one more thing I'd like to discuss with you."
Li Guihua thought it couldn't be anything major for the young girl, so she smiled and let her speak.
"Xiao Shu currently has nowhere to go. I'd like to leave some money with you and ask you to help take care of Xiao Shu for a while."
Li Guihua was actually worried that Su Xiaotian would ask her to adopt Xiao Shu, but now that Su Xiaotian was talking about temporary care, it wasn't adoption.
But how long was "a while"?
Li Guihua had to consider it. If it was too long, her family wouldn't be able to cope.
Although conditions had improved slightly in the past two years, having an extra person to feed long-term, even a child, would be difficult.
However, Li Guihua didn't know how to refuse.
Just as Li Guihua was pondering how to handle this matter, Su Xiaotian took out two "Da Tuanjie" bills from her pocket.
"Auntie, I won't let you look after Xiao Shu for free."
As she spoke, she placed the two "Da Tuanjie" bills into Li Guihua's hand.
When Li Guihua realized what had happened, she saw the two "Da Tuanjie" bills lying in her palm.
She suddenly felt guilty.
"Little teacher, I can't accept this money. It's not a big deal to look after a child for a few days. If I take money, what kind of person would I become?" Li Guihua quickly refused.
"Auntie, taking care of a child is hard work, and besides, the child needs to eat and drink. How can I not accept money?"
Li Guihua actually felt that it was awkward for Su Xiaotian, who was not related to Xiao Shu, to give her money to raise the child.
Especially since Su Xiaotian was also a young girl who hadn't grown up, and giving so much money at once must have meant giving all her savings.
"How about you give me five yuan? That can be for the child's food expenses."
The price of rice was only about seventeen or eighteen cents per jin. Five yuan could buy twenty to thirty jin of rice, which, if used sparingly, would be enough for a child of this age for two months.
Su Xiaotian smiled and said, "Auntie, please accept it. Xiao Shu's situation is still a bit difficult to resolve, and I'm afraid I'll be troubling you for quite some time."
"It's just adding an extra scoop of rice when cooking."
Li Guihua said it lightly, but how could Su Xiaotian not know that it was far more than just adding an extra scoop of rice?
If raising a child were truly that easy, it would be wonderful.
"Auntie, please accept it first. I'm not sure what to do with this child for now. I'm already grateful that you don't mind me causing you trouble."
She was about to leave, and it was uncertain how long the child would stay at the An family's home.
She was even thinking of sending money to the An family monthly once she reached the capital.
In the end, Li Guihua accepted twenty yuan.
As long as she wasn't raising the child for free, Li Guihua was willing to put in a little more effort.
"Little teacher, I shouldn't have accepted this money. But as you can see, our family has the old, the young, the sick, and the weak. Although after the household responsibility system, the family can barely eat enough, raising an extra child is truly a burden."