How I Tamed My Wolfish Husband Back in 80s-Chapter 379 - 381: Foster Adoption?_1

Li Qiao first went shopping with Hu Xiufang and didn’t know if it was because she was pregnant, but every time they passed a stall that sold children’s items, she couldn’t help but stop to admire. Pointing at a pigeon-shaped milk bottle, she said, "Children’s things are so cute."

Hu Xiufang agreed, "Indeed, no matter what it is, small things are always the most endearing. My big brother’s three kids were so well-behaved and obedient when they were little, but now they’re a scourge to both cats and dogs."

Li Qiao chuckled, "That can’t be true."

"Really, the family dog is so bullied it runs away at the sight of them." freёnovelkiss.com

Li Qiao couldn’t help but laugh.

After shopping around the mall, the two of them left empty-handed.

With trade liberalization, street vendors could be seen everywhere.

A crowd was gathered around the red date red bean cake stall, and Li Qiao joined them, attracted by the sweet smell. The cakes started selling for two cents, with those the size of a cell phone going for five cents. Feeling tempted, she bought two pieces. The vendor skewered the cakes on a reed stick.

After receiving her purchase, Li Qiao handed it casually to Hu Xiufang.

"I was getting a bit hungry," Hu Xiufang said.

Li Qiao smiled, took a bite, and found the cake both soft and sticky, with just the right amount of sweetness. "It’s actually quite good." She hadn’t seen such a thing in the decades of shopping that followed. There were plenty of stalls selling cakes and ice cream, with all kinds of flavors, all too rich for her taste.

"Yep, we can’t steam something like this at home."

After two bites, Li Qiao went back and bought another piece, "I’ll bring one for Ma Ling too."

.....

When Li Qiao and Hu Xiufang returned to their unit, Ma Ling was already waiting at the door, along with Liao Fan. The two were chatting, but Liao Fan saw Li Qiao and Hu Xiufang first and greeted them with a smile and a wave.

Then he turned to Hu Xiufang and said, "Why didn’t you come find me when you got here earlier?"

Hu Xiufang was somewhat shy, "I was worried about disturbing your work."

"Come on, I’m treating today," Liao Fan said.

Ma Ling had already taken a bite of the cake Li Qiao brought, then made a suggestion, "The restaurant up front serves a good big plate chicken, let’s eat there?"

Liao Fan readily agreed.

They entered the small restaurant.

Li Qiao and Ma Ling sat side by side, with Liao Fan and Hu Xiufang opposite them.

The group chatted as they ordered dishes.

They talked about everything from Li Qiao and Hu Xiufang’s studies to local gossip.

"The police station next door dispatched officers the day before yesterday and brought back an abandoned baby, a little girl, healthy and pretty, clean and fair. If you hear anything, do you know anyone who wants her?"

Li Qiao suddenly felt heartbroken, thinking if people didn’t want to raise a child, they shouldn’t have one in the first place. Why abandon her?

Ma Ling commented, "Isn’t there an orphanage? Just send her there."

"She’s too young, they don’t like to take them that young."

Hu Xiufang said, "The scary part is, what if the biological parents come back to pick the fruit once she’s grown?"

"Where would they find her in this vast sea of people? Besides, she was taken from here, and we would process legitimate adoption papers for her. The biological parents wouldn’t have a leg to stand on if they tried to pick fruit," Liao Fan said.

The three of them discussed this matter for a while.

After the meal, Liao Fan specially led the three to see the child.

"She really is good-looking, such fair skin," he remarked.

Li Qiao glanced at the child, who truly was beautiful, fair and clean, with closed eyes and long, curly lashes, and a small, pert nose. The blanket she was wrapped in was dirtied, and her clothes were stained with milk around the neck.

However, Li Qiao immediately noticed that the child’s clothes were not cheap.

Feeling the blanket, despite the dirt, it was soft, and the material was top-notch.

What situation could lead to not being able to raise a child?

Li Qiao was suspicious, "Who found the child?"

"A villager working in the fields heard crying in the bushes and found her, took her to the village but no one claimed her, so she was brought here."

Li Qiao spoke up, "Something feels off."

"What could be off?"

Li Qiao explained, "Jin sells clothes, so I have some understanding of fabrics. This child’s clothing is made from fabric newly released by a textile factory before the New Year. It’s comfortable and warm; adult clothes made from it cost four to five yuan each just at the factory, and we’re just a small, unknown workshop. If it were branded, it would be even more expensive. And this blanket, feel how soft it is, surely it’s been sewn with new cotton. With parents willing to spend so much on a child, could they really bear to abandon her?" Observing the carefully prepared items on the child, she added, "Perhaps we should place an ad in the newspaper to look for the child’s parents."

"This is..." Liao Fan was at a loss.

He had no control over placing advertisements in newspapers.

Seeing this, Ma Ling whispered to Li Qiao, "At most, we could put up a notice at the door, we don’t have the means to advertise in the newspaper."

After pondering for a while, Li Qiao said, "In that case, you contact the newspaper, and I’ll pay for the advertisement."

In a low voice, Hu Xiufang advised, "Li Qiao, you might as well not meddle in this. The child is pretty; she won’t lack people willing to take care of her. If, as you say, the child comes from a well-off family, how could she possibly have been abandoned in the wilderness? Her parents are probably frantic by now, they must have already placed an ad or called the police, right?"

Li Qiao smiled faintly, "You make a good point, but placing an ad isn’t cheap, maybe the child’s parents are still gathering the funds?"

At that moment, a colleague came over and said that an elderly couple wanted to adopt.

And they brought them over.

Li Qiao looked and saw that the man was so old he couldn’t even straighten his back, and the woman’s hair was also white.

Their clothing was not in the best shape, either, and at their age, how many years could they accompany the child?

Such an elderly couple should have their own children, right?

Why would they want to adopt another child?

With them, the child would suffer.

Her heart suddenly felt an unbearable sourness, and the baby inside her womb seemed to sense it too, stirring slightly. Was this a reminder for her to consider adopting?

"I’ll raise her!" Li Qiao didn’t know where the courage came from, but as she spoke, she picked up the child.

Hu Xiufang and the others were startled by her declaration.

Ma Ling advised, "You don’t have your own children yet, why raise someone else’s?"

Li Qiao, "Can’t I have her as a companion for my future children? Liao Fan, my situation is very good, and my partner also earns well, so it should be all right for me to take the child, right?"

Liao Fan hesitated but then nodded slightly.

The old couple was quite upset.

"If someone’s raising her, why did you call us over?"

"Exactly."

The colleague said, "We didn’t call you; it was you who came on your own."

"Isn’t there an adoption notice posted on your door?"

The elderly couple grumbled on, but seeing no one paid them attention, they left in a huff.

They were still thinking of taking the child away to sell her.

Even though she was a girl, there definitely would be childless families willing to take her in.

......

Adoption proceedings require the signatures of both husband and wife. Li Qiao planned to first take the child back home.

Accompanied by Ma Ling and Hu Xiufang, the two of them complained as they walked:

"You tell me, aren’t you just making trouble for yourself?"

"Do you have some sort of addiction to picking up children?"

"Damn Liao Fan, it’s all his fine work. He just had to say it, and took us to see...." Ma Ling cursed under her breath.

Hu Xiufang cleared her throat, signaling Ma Ling not to curse.

Realizing belatedly that her partner was present, Ma Ling laughed awkwardly, trying to cover up the embarrassment.

Li Qiao, "I just feel sorry for the child. If she ended up in the hands of that elderly couple, her life would be over." With such an advanced age, they would probably expect the little girl to look after them, wouldn’t they? Besides, why would they want to adopt a baby at that age? Could they take proper care of her?

Who knows what schemes they might have behind it all.

Li Qiao held the baby the whole way, when Hu Xiufang said, "Let me hold her for a while, to give you a break."

Li Qiao indeed felt her arms growing sore.

She handed the child over to Hu Xiufang.

At that moment, the car arrived. Only after seeing the two of them get on, did Ma Ling leave.

.....