“Wife of Liao Qi, what are you trying to say?” At the end of the day, they were still seeing him as a burden and not want to have anything to do with him! Gu Xiao snickered within himself. He was glad he changed into old clothes in town and wrapped the gold that he brought with him in worn out cloth. It was that easy to see a person’s true colors.
Mrs. Gu grabbed Gu Ming, dragged him next to her and continued, “Fifth Uncle, you said my husband father has an oral agreement with you way back when and we are not going to go back on our words. We will compensate you with a son! This is the eldest son in our family, he will be turning 12 after the new year. He was better than some adults when it comes to working. Look, he’s not too old, you can still bond with him as if he is your own. You have a limp in your leg, he was just the right age to take care of you, what do you say?”
Gu Xiao looked over at Gu Ming and saw a boy with a stubborn look; his eyes clear and pure and his back straight. He certainly has a lot of potentials!
“Well, what do you say, little boy?” Gu Xiao noticed that the body wasn’t too emotional being “sold” by his stepmother. He merely looked at a corner of the house. He looked at the same direction as him and find a scrawny little girl standing there.
Seeing that everybody’s attention was focused on him, Gu Ming frowned slightly. He didn’t replied the old man right away but looked over at where Gu Qiao was and asked nonchalantly, “Dad, is it also your wish to have Fifth Grandpa adopt me?”
Ever since they returned from the town, Gu Qiao noticed that his son was no longer on the same side as him. He always had his guard up like he was facing a thief and that the damned girl was his only family. If he was not going to be his son anymore, he might as well take his place as the adopted son to repay him for raising him all these years.
Thinking of that, Gu Qiao said with faked concern, “Ming-er, even after you are adopted, you will still be my great son. Understand that dad… doesn’t have any options either!”
Gu Ming didn’t have too much hope to begin with so naturally there weren’t a lot of disappointment either. He said nonchalantly, “I get it. But… dad, once I have adopted I will be someone else’s son. Even if I still want to see you as my father I’ll need to have Fifth Grandpa’s consent. By then you will only be my “Seventh Uncle”, and that will be that!”
Gu Qiao’s lips moved a bit, but at the end he did not say a word to try and keep him.
Gu Ming lowered his eyes so nobody could see his disappointment. When he looked up again, it was only clarity in his eyes. He looked straight at Gu Xiao and said with determination, “Fifith Grandpa, I am willing to be your adopted child, but I have a condition?”
“Oh? What condition?” A shred of curiosity flashed passed Gu Xiao’s eyes.
“Adopt my sister too! Don’t worry, I can support her. My sister is very obedient and hardworking, she won’t be a burden to you.” There was a sense of urgency in Gu Ming’s voice. He looked at Gu Xiao pleadingly while awaiting his answer.
After Gu Xiao entered the village, he had asked around about Gu Qiao’s family. He wasn’t too thrill to learn about him and his wife being abusive to the two children from his late wife. As the saying goes, even a vile tiger won’t eat its own young. Truth be told, he’d be worried to have an adoptive son like that!
That being said, even though there were some complications surrounding the adoption issue, he was quite happy with the outcome after all. This child was way better than his father. Even at his young age he knew to take care of his sister; he was certainly a man with a sense of responsibility!
“Okay! Let’s do it then!” Gu Xiao looked at the clan leader and smiled, “May I trouble Second Brother to pick a good day and time so I can officially adopt these two kids? I will go into town tomorrow to take care of the paperwork!”