Chapter 1582: 1584: The Adoption Issue

Chapter 1582: Chapter 1584: The Adoption Issue

“To truly resolve the issues I mentioned earlier—regardless of who Chiang Qingzhu marries in the future or what kind of relatives she has—it would be best to find a reliable couple to adopt Little, essentially transferring Little to them as their child.”

“What? Transfer?”

Chiang Songhai shot to his feet.

Ge Liutao was also stunned, her jaw hanging, staring at Meng Xinian in shock.

“Yes.”

“No, absolutely not. I won’t agree to this.” Chiang Songhai spoke as his eyes suddenly turned red, tears streaming down his weathered face. “Our daughter is gone; all we have left is Little. For so many years, we’ve depended on each other, raising Little from a fragile, sickly little child into who she is now. How could we possibly give her away to someone else?”

Seeing him cry, Ge Liutao’s tears immediately poured down as well.

“Xinian, Little is all we have left. She’s our hope. Do you even know what it means to transfer a child? In our town, there’ve been cases before—families unable to raise their children would transfer them to an uncle or cousin’s family. After that, when the kids grew up, they treated their birth parents like mere acquaintances.”

“Exactly, how could anyone send Little to someone else? If they make her change her surname, she wouldn’t even be able to call herself Chiang Xiao anymore.” Ge Liutao sobbed, wiping her tears over and over.

Chiang Songhai wiped his face with his sleeve, looking at Meng Xinian, his voice hoarse as he said, “I can honestly say, I’ve never had much luck with children in this lifetime. We adopted a foster son and raised him, but once he grew up, he disappeared completely. A few years later, he came back, only to transfer his household registration and change his surname, cutting ties with us entirely. Then there’s our biological daughter—when she turned seventeen, she did that thing and left us and Little behind for fifteen years. Now, it’s clear she’s severed ties with us as well.”

As he spoke, tears began streaming down his face again. “I’ve lived most of my life without committing any wrongdoing, enduring bullying without complaint—all because my mother used to tell me one thing: ‘Good people will have good fortune; doing good builds blessings.’ I once thought Little was our blessing, but now—even Little must be given away? Xinian, if Little is truly transferred to another family, then going forward, she’ll belong to them. You’ll belong to them too.”

He trembled as he wiped his tears with shaky hands and said in a quivering voice, “Then that leaves just me and your grandmother, the two of us, with nothing left.”

After finishing, he buried his face in his hands, crouched on the ground, and began sobbing uncontrollably.

His cries were hoarse, like an old ox backed into a dead-end.

Ge Liutao silently shed tears, wiping at them repeatedly, only for them to overflow again and again, as though they would never stop.

The atmosphere felt suffocating and unbearably heavy.

“Grandpa, Grandma, you both know what kind of person Little is, don’t you? This is merely a temporary measure. Even if she’s truly transferred to another family, she’ll definitely still respect and care for you. You’ll always remain her grandparents.”

Meng Xinian hadn’t expected their reaction to be so intense.

“You don’t understand; it’s not the same,” Chiang Songhai remained crouched on the ground, his head buried in his hands.

“Uncle Hai…” Ge Liutao, her eyes red and filled with tears, reached out to pull him.

Chiang Songhai suddenly stood up, staring at Meng Xinian. “Is this Little’s decision? If she thinks this is best for her, then, then, then I’ll agree.”

Saying these words, his tears surged forth again.

“Uncle Hai, how could you agree?” Ge Liutao panicked, clutching him tightly.

Chiang Songhai’s whole body began trembling. “As long—as long as it’s what Little wants, we—we’ll agree.”