Shen Wei pondered for a moment but ultimately decided to go and have a look first!
She called Weng Lan and they took the child with them, sitting in the back row. Gu Qingyan drove, Shen Wei sat in the passenger seat. Now they had found Ping An's address!
For the time being, they would go down and check it out first. If there was no problem, they would call the child down.
Along the way, the car drove through the streets, out of the city, and onto a path leading to the countryside. At first, the road was still relatively flat, but after driving further, there were only large trees and farmlands on both sides, with very few houses.
The child had been good with Weng Lan these past few days, probably wanting to make up for the lack of "hugs" before. This child particularly liked being held. Even when sleeping, if they didn't sleep too soundly and were placed on the bed, they would immediately wake up.
The child's dependence made Weng Lan even more attentive!
Now Ping An was leaning against Weng Lan's embrace, the little face looking up at her. To have a child trust them like this was truly healing for a teacher.
The car had driven for three full hours before finally finding the place.
Shen Wei now understood what Gu Qingyan meant by having a poor family background – the houses here were all made of mud. The small courtyard wasn't big, just some vats and piles of miscellaneous items.
After getting out of the car, they went straight into the house.
"Is this Song Laosan's family?" According to the information, it should be this household.
A man came out of the house with a hint of sickness on his face, "It's me!" It was hard to imagine that a man could be that thin. His face also showed an abnormal flush.
Accompanying him was a woman who didn't look particularly young.
"Are you also volunteers from the family-finding organization?" They had come into contact with many people over the course of searching for the child, one after another.
Yet each time, they were filled with hope, only to be disappointed again.
Shen Wei said, "Yes, we also want to inquire about the details of the child's disappearance."
Song Laosan sighed. For him, every recollection was a wound. With his body condition, he doubted he had two more years to live. He had no prospect of having other descendants, and the lost child was his only child in this life.
The woman beside him mocked Song Laosan, "Even at this point, you still won't tell the truth?" Her voice suddenly rose.
Song Laosan painfully covered his head.
Shen Wei and Gu Qingyan exchanged a glance. Their eyes held a hint of complexity. Fortunately, they didn't call the child down directly – it seemed there were other hidden circumstances surrounding this matter.
The woman said, "Back then, I was married into his family for a dowry of 100,000 yuan." This woman was no longer young. She had been married before and had three children from her previous marriage, the eldest already 17 or 18 years old! And her previous three were all sons. After her divorce, many people tried to introduce her to others, aiming for her ability to bear children.
Song Laosan's family offered the most sincere dowry of 100,000 yuan. At the time, it shocked the villagers. Moreover, Song Laosan was more than ten years younger than her and had never been married before. So they became a couple with an older wife and younger husband.
They had a son named Song Baobao, showing just how doted on he was.
But after giving birth, Song Laosan developed tuberculosis. He was treated at a small hospital, and the disease was cured, but he was left with a persistent cough. His health declined. His mother said it was because the child had brought misfortune upon him.
Villagers were superstitious, and some gossiped about it, but it was just rumor-mongering.
Later, his mother took the child out to the market, and when she came back, she said the child was lost. The two of them didn't believe it at first. But no matter how hard they searched, they couldn't find him.
His mother took this opportunity to demand that the couple divorce and return the dowry!
This woman didn't tolerate her either. She went up and slapped her mother-in-law hard. The cries of her mother-in-law that day were heard throughout the entire village. But the child was still lost.
She was furious! Under her torment, her mother-in-law treated her like a rat in front of a cat. Her husband's health also deteriorated day by day – this was their punishment!
