Chapter 292 - 293: A Guy Came Looking for Your Sister
Xia Xiao nodded, and as Zheng Xianghong went to boil the medicine, she stayed on the bench watching Little Ge Liang, trying several times to get him to speak, but Little Ge Liang kept his mouth tightly shut.
Gao Jiaxing and Hong Xing came out of the kitchen, and Hong Xing said, "He hasn’t spoken for a long time. Sometimes it’s not that I don’t want to clean him up, but even after cleaning him, Liu Haihua simply doesn’t care. I just feed him a few bites of rice every day and stop worrying about him, hoping that Liu Haihua and Liu Haiguo would notice and take pity, but their hearts are hard, they simply don’t care about Little Ge Liang."
Xia Xiao said, "If they truly cared about Little Ge Liang, when Ge Li got into trouble and they disowned him, they would have changed Little Ge Liang’s surname too, but they didn’t."
Xia Xiao also thought this method was feasible. If the Red Star Production Team didn’t want him, then they would transfer Little Ge Liang’s household registration. However, Liu Haiguo and his siblings would definitely not agree. It was only that if after this time Liu Haiguo was willing to care for Little Ge Liang, it would be good enough to have some food to give the child.
Xia Xiao and Gao Jiaxing couldn’t do much anyway, given that Little Ge Liang’s real mother was Liu Haihua, and since Liu Haihua had only injured the child, not killed him, they couldn’t really do anything about Liu Haihua.
Moreover, at that time, parents killing their children went unchecked, merely morally condemned. Especially since it was the child of a bad element, maybe even killing wouldn’t matter.
Besides, the mountains were high and the emperor far away. In this remote small county town, this remote small mountain village, who cared about these matters?
Xia Xiao sighed, just hoping The Lius would have some decency and concern, otherwise, things were not sounding good.
She and Gao Jiaxing could not possibly interfere with the affairs of the Red Star Production Team, nor could they meddle in the affairs of Ge Li’s son. It was beyond their reach.
Hong Xing said many things to Gao Jiaxing, and Xia Xiao listened on the side. When Zheng Xianghong finished boiling the medicine, Xia Xiao took a bowl and fed it to Little Ge Liang.
Normally, children dislike the bitter taste of medicine, but maybe Little Ge Liang was often hungry, so the medicine, which Xia Xiao found smelly and bitter, seemed like a delicious soup to him.
Therefore, when Little Ge Liang had nearly finished drinking, Xia Xiao tentatively dipped her finger in it and tasted it, instantly making a face, "So bitter."
Xia Xiao shivered; Zheng Xianghong’s medicine was always so bitter and hard to drink.
Gao Jiaxing watched Xia Xiao and laughed, "Good medicine tastes bitter."
At that moment, Zheng Xianghong also came out of the room and told Hong Xing, "I’ll gather some herbs for him. You boil them tonight and let him drink; this prescription is simple, these herbs are almost everywhere on the mountain."
Xia Xiao looked at the herbs, indeed familiar, but didn’t know their use or names.
"He can only eat soft food, can’t eat anything too hard," Zheng Xianghong instructed again.
Just then, Yang Xuehua hurried over: "Xia Xiao, hurry to the youth point, a man has come looking for your sister, saying he is her partner. The conductor who came last time brought him."
The conductor, sent by Fang Yuan.
Xia Xiao quickly stood up, "What’s his name?" Without waiting for Yang Xuehua to answer, Xia Xiao turned to Zheng Xianghong and Gao Jiaxing, "Mom, Brother Gao, I’ll go take a look."
Zheng Xianghong nodded, Hong Xing and Little Ge Liang were here, they couldn’t go.
Gao Jiaxing stood up and said, "Hong Xing, you and Little Ge Liang stay here, my mother will prepare some porridge, and you feed him. Stay and have dinner at our place today."
Hong Xing hesitantly declined, "No need, no need, I’ll take him back soon. It’s the New Year; I shouldn’t impose at your house."
"It’s fine, just stay for a meal. Jiaxing and Xia Xiao caught a fish today, they caught a two-hundred-pounder, the team is dividing it now. You can go after eating; I’ll boil the medicine for the child again in the afternoon."
Convinced by Zheng Xianghong’s words, Hong Xing no longer insisted. Xia Xiao and Gao Jiaxing followed Yang Xuehua to the youth point.
Upon arrival, they saw two people kneeling on the ground, weeping. Xia Xiao hadn’t yet made out who the person facing Xia Jing was, but from Xia Jing’s emotional state, she could guess.
Yan Hao had actually run to the Guangming Production Team, from north to south, from the very top of the map to the bottom. Xia Xiao was impressed at that moment.
She didn’t know how Yan Hao had come, but his wrinkled clothes, messy hair, and tattered shoes suggested that he had endured hardships getting here.
"Xia Jing, Yan Hao, why are you kneeling on the ground? Get up," Xia Xiao interrupted the two, who were cradling their heads in agony.
Xia Jing paused, only then realizing how many people were watching them. She blushed, and letting go of Yan Hao’s hand, she wiped her tears away and shyly called out, "Big Sister."
Yan Hao also called, "Big Sister."
Looking at Yan Hao’s woeful state, one might think he had come from a refugee camp. Xia Xiao asked, "Yan Hao, weren’t you assigned to H Corps? How did you get here?"
"I went, but I didn’t report. I ran away, but I only had my luggage and file with me. The referral letter can only send me back to S City, so I walked here from S City for over a month. By chance, I ran into Conductor Fang in the provincial capital. He knows Big Sister, so he brought me here."
Yan Hao’s words finished, and Xia Xiao wanted to call him a silly boy, yet she was moved by his actions.
Walking from S City, it certainly wouldn’t be feasible in a month. Yan Hao must have faced many challenges on the road and possibly even received help from others or hitched rides.
"Educated Youth Xia," Fang Yuan said with a smile to Xia Xiao: "I ran into Yan Hao in the provincial capital. He said he was coming to the Guangming Production Team to find you all, so I brought him here."
"Thank you, Conductor Fang," Xia Xiao sincerely thanked him, seeing Fang Yuan and his bicycle, recognizing that Fang Yuan had ridden his bike to bring Yan Hao here, and knowing that Fang Yuan’s family was also from the county town. Yan Hao was lucky to have encountered Fang Yuan.
It was fortunate he had encountered Fang Yuan; if it had been Liu Haiguo or Wang Xueyong, things might not have been so smooth.
Xia Xiao introduced, "This is my spouse, Gao Jiaxing."
"Hello, Conductor Fang, I am Gao Jiaxing, Xia Xiao’s spouse," Gao Jiaxing greeted Fang Yuan proactively.