277: Pregnant Woman

[T/N: As I said before, I'll try to update on weekends. Thanks for being so patient!]

As Granny Wang was planning to make a comeback, Wang Bo and his wife finally came back. They came back a day early because his daughter-in-law informed him that two youngsters were looking for him - it seemed to be something urgent. It just so happened that something was also going on with his younger son, so the two came back early.

After learning the news, Wang Cheng and Chu Yifeng rushed over. He still had an impression of Wang Bo, who looked very similar to Old Village Chief Wang, and had a similar personality to him as well: loyal and smart. His three sons were very competitive with each other; two were married with children and their own places, while their youngest son was also just admitted to a prestigious university. Their family lived a happy life.

When he heard that someone was looking for him, Wang Bo was surprised and curious. It wasn’t until Wang Cheng introduced himself to their family that his expression changed a little.

"I remember, you are Wang Cheng, the youngest son of the third brother in the Wang family. How is your father doing?" Wang Bo got up and brought two paper cups to pour them water.

Wang Cheng hurriedly refused. "Uncle Wang, I came to you this time because of something else. I heard that Old Village Chief Wang might know about these matters, but since the old man has passed away, I wanted to ask if you know. If you do, please tell me the truth."

Wang Bo recollected his smile, his expression becoming a little serious. "What you want to ask about is related to your father, right?"

"Yes." Wang Cheng could tell he already knew about these things.

"Since you already suspect it, then I won't hide this from you. I have indeed been told of your father's life experience." Wang Bo asked his wife, Zhao, to get something from his room. "The third brother of the Wang family is indeed not blood-related to Uncle Wang and Aunt He. Based on what my father told me before his death, your father is actually not blood related to the Wang family at all."

"Then did the old village chief say anything else? For example, why my father was adopted by the Wang family?" Wang Cheng asked hurriedly.

"Don't worry, listen to me slowly. About 51 years ago, a pregnant woman suddenly came to the Wang’s Village, and her unborn child was eight or nine months old at the time. She fell at the entrance of the village, where my father discovered her. When my father saw that she was pitiful and with a child, he was afraid that if he didn’t do something, it might create the scene of ‘one corpse, two lives*’. So, he brought her back.”

[T/N: *usually refers to when a pregnant woman dies with a fetus]

"Was she my father's mother?"

"That’s right."

After the woman woke up, she was grateful to learn that Village Chief Wang had saved her. However, when Village Chief Wang asked her where she came from and if she had come to find her relatives, the woman only said that she had separated from her relatives. She then pleaded for Old Village Chief Wang to take her in for a while, and that she would even give them her money.

The old village chief and his wife were kind-hearted. Since the woman was about to give birth, they finally agreed to temporarily take her in.

Although the woman was alone, she had a lot of money and jewelry with her. The old village chief and his wife used the money she gave them to buy the things necessary for childbirth. After staying in the old village chief’s house for nearly a month, the woman was finally about to give birth.

The old village chief invited the most experienced midwife in the village to help with the delivery.

Everything was going smoothly, when unexpectedly, the woman faced excessive bleeding due to the fetus’s position. She almost died trying her best to give birth to the baby. The medical conditions of the village at the time were very poor. The woman knew that she couldn't live much longer, so she left some last words before she died. The woman was very grateful to the village chief and his wife for taking her in. If it weren’t for them, her child could not have been born. So, she gave a portion of her jewelry to the old village chief and his wife. The jewelry was quite expensive, pawning one piece could give them money they could live on for a year.

The old village chief and his wife felt that it was too precious, so they refused to accept it. However, the woman insisted, and also asked them to fulfill her last wish, the arrangements for Papa Wang’s future.

The woman asked the old village chief and his wife to help find a good household for her child. The rest of the jewelry would belong to whoever was willing to look after her child. After explaining how things should be sorted after her death, the woman passed away.

As soon as the child had reached a month of age, Old Village Chief Wang began looking for someone who was willing to adopt the child. However, he didn't mention that adopting the child would get them a few precious pieces of jewelry. He just asked which kind person would take in the helpless baby.

In those days, most families were poor. Some had difficulties raising their own children, let alone adopting a newborn baby. It was troublesome to take care of a newborn baby, so no one was willing to at first. Old Village Chief Wang and his wife grew a little anxious. Just as they were considering the last resort, adopting him themselves, Wang De and his wife suddenly came to the door, saying that they were willing to adopt the baby.

The reputation of Wang De and his wife in the Wang’s Village could only be considered so-so. Wang De was okay; after all, he always considered what he looked like to others and restrained his behavior. However, his wife, He Ying, was notoriously aggressive.

Old Village Chief Wang was quite hesitant at first. That family already had two sons and might not be able to take care of the baby well in the future. However, they were the only ones willing to adopt the baby. He finally agreed after Wang De and his wife promised that they would take good care of the baby.

Old Village Chief Wang later learned why Wang De and his wife adopted the baby. It turned out that they had overheard that the adopted baby might come with expensive jewelry from his mother. However, it was already too late to take the baby back. Fortunately, Old Village Chief Wang had scruples about the Wang De couple earlier, and was worried about the baby being treated too harshly, so he made them sign some clauses on a contract before they could adopt him.

However, the agreement obviously failed to restrain them, especially He Ying. After receiving the jewelry, He Ying exchanged it directly for money. It is worth mentioning that the house the Wang family had owned before the Wang’s Village was all bought could only be purchased after pawning the jewelry. The reason why the Wang family was able to live a comfortable life was also only due to this money. However, the Wang De husband and wife did not fulfill their obligations after taking the woman's money. Old Village Chief Wang stated in the contract that Wang De and his wife must spend half of the money on Wang Hongxin, and must provide enough money for him to finish studying in high school. Wang De and his wife did not fulfill that clause. When Wang Hongxin was younger, he had to rely on himself to study and work to raise enough money for high school. The way things went with that woman and Papa Wang was Old Village Chief Wang’s biggest regret before he died.

"This is what my father had left behind, it still holds the contract inside."

Wang Bo held the box his wife brought. It was a very old box, and its lock was covered with rust.

Wang Cheng couldn't wait to take the box. He attempted to twist open the keyhole with sharp movements, so it stuck a little and took him a few tries to open it. Inside the box, in addition to the contract, there was also a piece of jade pendant that the woman had left for Papa Wang, engraved with the word ‘guard’. The jade pendant was almost crystal clear, and it felt warm to the touch. At a glance, one could tell that it was worth a lot of money.

"According to my father, this is something that the woman left to Third Brother Wang. He said to give it to Third Brother Wang if he ever found out that he was not the biological son of the Wang De husband and wife. However, my father was not very clear on what it could be used for," Wang Bo said.

Wang Cheng guessed that it might be proof of identity or some symbol. Although the woman came alone, she still had so much jewelry with her; it could be seen that her previous life was filled with wealth. Who knew why she suddenly strayed to the Wang’s Village? As for the adoption contract - although it was from fifty-one years ago and a long time had passed, the contract should still be valid.

Wang Cheng suddenly thought of a question. "Uncle Wang, I want to know whether the Wang De husband and wife had registered my father into their family through the Civil Affairs Bureau after adopting him." Although the adoption contract signed privately was effective, it could not establish a legal adoptive relationship. This was especially so since they were in a society where the law they were under grew stricter and more robust than 51 years ago.

"I don’t remember him telling me about that." Wang Bo shook his head.

The conditions from fifty-one years ago were very different from now. Maybe even the deceased village chief did not know whether or not the Wang De husband and wife went to the Civil Affairs Bureau.

Wang Cheng didn't really mind, he could check it out himself as long as he went to the Civil Affairs Bureau.

The two of them went over everything else that Wang Bo knew before bidding goodbye and leaving. They stopped by the Civil Affairs Bureau on the way back to the Guan’s Village.


Wang Bo could not stop thinking about this matter after they left. He stayed quiet for a while, only sighing from time to time.

His wife, Zhao, took one look at his expression and could tell that he was still uneasy. She went up to comfort him: "Those two don't look like ordinary people, I don't think you need to worry too much about them."

"But Wang De and his wife are not ordinary people either, are they? Since Third Brother Wang’s son came to look for us, things must have already begun to go awry. As you know, this was the biggest regret in my dad’s life, he’d always felt that everything bad that happened to Third Brother Wang was his own responsibility." Wang Bo sighed.

Old Village Chief Wang had been talking about how he received the woman's jewelry but failed to help her child find a good family, right up until his death.

Wang Bo had previously been very busy with the demolition of the Wang’s Village and had temporarily put aside his old father’s last wishes. Later on, his family proposed to move to the city and he agreed without thinking too much about it. Afterwards, there were many matters occurring within his family, so he still forgot.

"How about we find another way to help them out?" Zhao suggested.

Wang Bo was Old Village Chief Wang’s only son. He didn’t want his old father to leave the world without a peace of mind. So, Zhao’s proposal coincided with his intentions. As long as he was able to help Third Brother Wang get rid of the Wang De husband and wife, his late father should also be able to feel at ease in the Yellow Springs*.

[T/N: *realm of the dead]

***

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