In early autumn, Wen Qian was fortunate enough to go to the city with Big Ning and Ni Sha.
Ni Sha needed to take her child, who was almost a year old, for a checkup.
Originally, the child's father was supposed to accompany them as well, but when he realized the neighbors were all going out too, he felt reassured about them traveling together.
Big Ning needed to procure some things in the city, and since Ni Sha had to take her child as well, she took the opportunity to ask Wen Qian if she wanted to join them.
Wen Qian thought to herself that although she didn't have any particular business, it was a rare opportunity for them to go together, so she tagged along.
She wondered if there might be some new and interesting things to see in the small town, which she didn't visit often.
The three of them went to the village together, where they waited at the pier with other people who were also waiting for the boat.
The one-year-old child was attempting to speak and walk, so she wouldn't keep still for a moment.
Held in her mother's arms, she twisted and turned, sometimes wanting Big Ning to hold her, and then reaching towards Wen Qian's embrace.
The child was teething and constantly drooling, with the bib unable to contain all the saliva.
She pointed at the water birds by the river, babbling unintelligibly.
The boat docked at the pier, and as soon as the gangplank was laid, people started boarding one by one.
There were quite a few people on the boat, so there was always someone talking, and occasionally someone would burst out laughing, startling the child.
While Wen Qian was gazing absentmindedly at the riverbank, she heard the murmurs on the boat grow louder, so she looked up to see the source of the noise.
She noticed that many people were pointing and gesturing towards the opposite shore, where there was a very small pier.
If there was no one waiting on that pier, the boat could skip docking there.
However, on that dilapidated pier, there was a basket.
It appeared to be a woven bamboo basket, and there was no one around it.
It seemed like someone had brought the basket there to wait for the boat but hadn't returned when it arrived.
Someone joked, "Maybe they went into the bushes to take a dump."
When the boat docked, the crew realized that there was a baby inside the basket.
They became more convinced that someone must have left the basket there while going to the bathroom.
However, no matter how much they shouted towards the shore, no one came.
Some people, annoyed at the perceived delay, shouted towards the shore, "If you don't come soon, the boat will leave!"
This elicited a burst of laughter from those around.
The baby in the basket must have been awakened by the surrounding noise and started crying.
From the hoarse cries, the crew members could tell the baby had been crying for a while. When they tried to pick up the child, they noticed that the blanket covering the baby had the child's date of birth written on it.
This made the situation more serious. One of the older crew members was immediately reminded of his own childhood.
When he was in elementary school, he would occasionally see abandoned, dead infants by the roadside.
It was unclear whether they were abandoned because they had died, or if they died because they were abandoned.
The memory from his childhood left a deep impression on him. Back then, abandoning children was quite common, and the methods used to prevent girls from being reborn into their families were cruel.
Upon seeing the date of birth, everyone understood that this was an abandoned child. Otherwise, who would leave a baby there for so long without attending to it?
Some people criticized the parents for being heartless, carrying the child for so long, only to abandon it after birth. They could have taken the child to an orphanage in the city instead.
But they didn't even want to take the child to an orphanage, choosing to simply leave it on the pier, clearly unwilling to spend the money for the boat ride or the journey to the city.
The people unanimously condemned the child's parents and instructed the crew to bring the baby on board, so that someone could take it to an orphanage later.
The living conditions at the orphanage in the small town were decent, as newborns were considered precious. Based on the various benefits and privileges offered to children and pregnant women in different cities, the best place for an abandoned child was the orphanage.
After unwrapping the baby's swaddling clothes, the crowd discovered that it was a girl born with six fingers.
Apart from the extra finger, she seemed to be a healthy baby girl.
The sixth finger was likely the reason she was abandoned, but it didn't seem to be causing any issues with her growth.
The crew placed the baby on the deck, where she continued to cry. Someone tried to give her some warm water to drink.
Ni Sha, who had her own child, was furious to see such a tiny infant being abandoned.
She handed her sleeping child to Wen Qian to hold, then picked up the baby girl and let Big Ning shield her.
Ni Sha tried to breastfeed the infant, who seemed to be starving and lacked the strength to suckle at first.
After the baby girl had eaten her fill, she quickly fell asleep. Ni Sha felt that was all she could do, so she rewrapped the baby and placed her back in the basket.
Watching this scene, Wen Qian was reminded of her own past - how she too had been found and taken in by her grandparents when she was an infant.
This little one's umbilical cord hadn't even fallen off, so her situation must have been similar - abandoned by her parents immediately after birth, just like Wen Qian herself.
Back in those days in the villages, there was no formula milk, so how had her own life been sustained?
Big Ning noticed Wen Qian's pensive expression and asked her, "Do you want to raise her?"
Big Ning didn't think having an extra finger was a big deal, and if she were younger, she might have considered adopting the child.
Now that her own children were grown up, it would be a bit awkward to adopt this baby.
But she saw the look on Wen Qian's face and thought her neighbor might be considering adoption.
Wen Qian shared her own background, explaining that she too had been abandoned by the roadside and taken in by her grandparents.
This was the first time Big Ning and Ni Sha had heard about Wen Qian's past, and they were surprised. They looked at the sleeping infant, then back at their neighbor.
Years apart, their fates at birth had been the same, but fortunately, Wen Qian had been raised by her grandparents.
Should this little one be sent to the orphanage as well?
Wen Qian had seen the children in the orphanage before, all wearing the same clothes.
She, an abandoned child, and this currently abandoned baby had crossed paths here.
Wen Qian had no experience raising children, let alone a newborn. Although her two neighbors looked at her with eyes that seemed to suggest she was destined to be a nurturing figure for the child.
The two of them gazed at her with sparkling eyes, conveying more than words could.
Of course, the neighbors saw Wen Qian as a good person, but the only thing lacking was that she didn't have any descendants of her own.
Now a person with a similar background to her had arrived, and they felt that if Wen Qian raised this child, she would have someone to depend on and accompany her when she grew old.
Wen Qian's mind was indeed in a mess, this was not part of her plan, but changes often outpace plans.
She had never imagined herself picking up a child on the road.
After so many years, the population had plummeted, and those willing to have children were very few. It was already difficult to give birth and raise them, yet someone had abandoned this child.
And she happened to come across it. On this boat, although everyone felt sorry for the poor child, no one wanted to take it in.
The greatest act of kindness was to give it some water or milk, or perhaps help send it to an orphanage.
Wen Qian was hesitating, wondering if she would be a qualified caregiver if she really adopted the child.
At this moment, Big Ning tightly grasped her hand: "You're such a good person, how could you not raise a child well? If you're worried about lacking experience, both Ni Sha and I will help you!"
She even felt that this child was a gift from heaven for Wen Qian.
