It would really save An Jiuyue a lot of trouble if the child knew how to eat on his own. She would not have to be in a rush to feed three children three times a day.
If this was winter, the food would have frozen by the time she was ready to eat.
“He must be starving.” An Jiuyue shook her head, feeling helpless.
She wondered what would have happened to the child if he had not met her. He was lucky to have met her. Her heart softened as she watched the child’s cheeks puff up with food.
“Come, have some vegetables. There’s meat too. Eat slowly. There’s no rush.”
She picked up some vegetables and meat for the child and Zheng’er and Rong’er. She watched them eat happily.
“Jiuyue! Jiuyue, are you home?”
Someone was shouting from below the treehouse. Qian Yiyun looked up and raised her eyebrows at An Jiuyue.
“Jiuyue, it’s Aunt Ju! Are you home?”
There was another shout. An Jiuyue placed her chopsticks down.
“It’s the Junior Officer and Aunt Ju. Continue eating. I’ll go downstairs to take a look.” She got up and headed downstairs.
The Junior Officer and Aunt Ju were waiting downstairs under the big tree. They hurriedly rushed towards her with a smile when they saw her coming down.
“Junior Officer, Aunt Ju, why are you looking for me at this time?”
“Ahem.” The Junior Officer coughed uncomfortably and looked at his wife.
Aunt Ju saw that he was looking at her and rolled her eyes at him. It was not as if she had expected him to ask the questions clearly in the first place, so she took a step forward and spoke.
“Jiuyue, although so many days have passed, no one came to ask about the two babies. The Chief came to look for the Junior Officer this morning. We want to ask you if you’re really going to adopt the two babies as your sons.
“You should get this settled quickly if you’ve made up your mind. Let the Chief register the children under your name when everyone in the village is still immensely grateful to you.”
Although Old Tu was not an outsider, An Jiuyue was an unwed woman, so these children would be considered outsiders.
When Old Tu registered Zheng’er and Rong’er in the genealogy, he spent taels of silver building a path for the village. If An Jiuyue wanted to register the two babies under her name, she would have to spend another sum of money.
As it had not been long since An Jiuyue saved the villagers, the Chief could still use that reason to contain any discontentment about allowing her to register the babies without spending money.
That way, the Chief would still be able to remain accountable to the clan. Otherwise, there would be malicious gossip if he helped An Jiuyue to register the children without payment in the future. By then, the Chief would not be able to contain the villagers either.
She should seize the chance and register the two babies quickly so she would not have to spend money.
An Jiuyue glanced at Aunt Ju and said, “Let me think about it again.”
She had a problem—she had three children that had to be registered. She could not possibly register the two babies and exclude the child she picked up today.
“Jiuyue, you have to settle this as soon as possible. Don’t think about it anymore. Settle this early for peace of mind,” Aunt Ju reminded her.
“I heard you brought your children to town today, Jiuyue. Why were you only carrying one child when you returned?” the Junior Officer asked after some thought.