Seeing Rui Rui follow Chen Li Shu and Gu Xing Dong into the room step by step, Mother He smiled and said, "Rui Rui, your room is upstairs, that's your old room. There are still many of your childhood toys inside. Grandma has never touched them."
When Qing Qing insisted on moving in back then, Mother He hadn't agreed. She hadn't thrown away anything that belonged to Rui Rui, keeping everything perfectly preserved, just so he wouldn't feel too unfamiliar when he returned, and everything would be exactly the same as before.
Rui Rui looked up, his bright, dark eyes full of rejection. "I want to be with my mommy and daddy. Besides, I'm grown up now and don't play with toys anymore."
Chen Li Shu had initially wanted to persuade him, but recalling Gu Xing Dong's words from last night, she smiled and explained, "Auntie, the child is still young and might need some time to adjust."
Her words had a double meaning, referring not only to the room but also to the recognition of kinship.
Mother He was such an insightful person, she naturally understood the implication of Chen Li Shu's words. She had weathered many storms herself and wouldn't harbor any dissatisfaction because the child was more attached to Chen Li Shu and her husband.
On the contrary, it further demonstrated their wholehearted dedication to the child, which was why the child was so dependent on them. Da Feng Novel Network.
"If you don't want to stay there, then don't. Grandma will tidy up the room next door in a moment. Will our Rui Rui stay there?"
Rui Rui immediately beamed a big smile. "Grandma, you're so kind."
Mother He almost shed tears at his words.
"This, this child, I, I'll go tidy it up now," Mother He said, turning and hurrying out of the room.
"Mom, what's wrong? Did Dad upset you again?" He Zi Yu asked curiously, seeing her slightly red eyes.
Father He glared at him. "Nonsense, when did I ever upset your mother?"
Although annoyed by his son's impudent remark, he still looked at his wife with concern. "Who upset you? Tell me."
Mother He shook her head. "It's that child Rui Rui. He just smiled at me and said, 'Grandma, you're so kind.' My heart, I'm so happy."
Father He's tense expression eased considerably.
"For the past couple of days, that child has been quite wary of us. Now, there's finally some thawing. I thought if we forced the child to stay, he would surely feel unhappy. We've already lost Rui Rui once; I don't want him to resent us again."
Old Master He pondered for a moment. "So what is your suggestion?"
Mother He replied, "We've waited for so many years, and now he's right before our eyes. I truly dare not hope for too much. As long as the child is happy and joyful, everything else can be taken slowly."
He Zi Yu stepped forward and put his arm around Mother He's shoulder. "Ms. Luan, you are truly enlightened. Your mindset is far superior to some people's."
Hearing his words, Father He glared at him again.
Seeing that he didn't get angry, He Zi Yu gave a fawning smile and then turned serious. "I understand Rui Rui quite well. Don't let his usual乖巧懂事 fool you. Before coming this time, that child went so far as to make himself sick. If we were to force him to stay, who knows what else he might do."
With everyone saying the same thing, Father He became displeased and said with furrowed brows, "He is surnamed He, the grandson of my He family. If he doesn't stay at home, am I supposed to hand him over?"
"Look at you, old man, getting all worked up... Fine, fine, Comrade He, alright? Rui Rui is surnamed He, that's a fact. My intention and Mom's is just that the child is still young, and you must consider his feelings, right? What if he suddenly runs away one day? Do you want to lose him a second time? Even if he doesn't leave, look at my second brother, and Sister Wenwen isn't here either. What if this matter causes irreversible trauma to the child's young heart, leading to him becoming withdrawn?"
Father He retorted, "You, you better not scare me with these things."
Although his attitude remained stern, his tone had clearly softened.
"Furthermore, you've found your grandson and you're happy, but have you considered the feelings of the Gu couple? Rui Rui is eight years old this year. They raised him for five years, and how long have you been with him? If it weren't for the fact that I operated on your sister-in-law, and they felt obligated to say less, given their temperament, this matter might not have gone so smoothly."
Father He fell silent.
Mother He said, "I think that child Chen genuinely likes him. If they can raise my grandson as their own, frankly, Zi Nian is far behind them."
Father He exclaimed, "Why bring up that scoundrel?"
Mother He continued, "I want to recognize Li Shu as my daughter, and then we'll all be family. Rui Rui won't have to be forced to stay here. He can come and stay for a while during winter and summer vacations each year. Isn't that the most mutually beneficial arrangement?"
"I approve," He Zi Yu immediately agreed with both hands raised, then turned to ask Father He, "Dad, what about you?"
"You've all done the good deeds, what's the use of me opposing?" Old Master He said with a straight face, then turned and walked away with his hands behind his back.
After sitting in the room for a while, Gu Xing Dong stood up. "I'm going out for a bit."
Chen Li Shu looked up. "Where are you going?"
Gu Xing Dong smiled. "To have a chat with the old man."
After saying that, Gu Xing Dong went to the outer room.
Old Master He was feeling displeased after his conversation with Mother He, so he went to the courtyard to play with the pigeons he was raising. Seeing Gu Xing Dong emerge, he became interested and called out, "Xiao Gu, come, come, see how my pigeons are doing?"
Gu Xing Dong knew nothing about pigeons, but upon hearing his words, he still walked over.
He saw about seven or eight pigeons perched in the pigeon coop leaning against the wall. They were all of good size and color. Gu Xing Dong casually remarked, "Your pigeons are really well-raised."
Although he didn't understand pigeons, someone from the countryside could tell a thing or two about chickens. After all, they were both poultry, and flattering was always appropriate.
As expected, Old Master He's face involuntarily broke into a smile upon hearing his words, and he said with a touch of pride, "Actually, it wasn't so smooth when I first started raising them."
When he first retired, Old Master He had nothing to do and started learning to raise pigeons from his neighbor. Initially, it was purely to pass the time, but then he gradually became engrossed. The pigeon coop was originally built on the roof, but his family worried about him climbing up and down at his age, so they moved it to the ground floor.
After Old Master He recounted a long story about his pigeon-raising experience, he suddenly pointed to a single pigeon cage and said:
"See that hen? Originally, she and another cock were a pair, but she never laid eggs. Later, the cock paired with another hen and laid eggs. Who knew that soon after, she began to seek revenge? When the hen was incubating, she would go in and fight, and one egg was broken. I disciplined her several times, but she never changed. In the end, I had no choice but to keep her separately. But she still needed to be trained and released, so keeping her confined all the time wouldn't work, and that was another hassle."