Translator: Dj22031
Editor: Dj22031
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Jiang Lan’s brows moved slightly. He had gone to deal with Suan Yu last night, and for a while he really had no time and energy to take care of the Yao family.
Unexpectedly, before he even had time to go find her, Mother Yao came first.
“Is Yao Shun’s madness cured?” Jiang Lan pretended to be puzzled and said, “Isn’t this a good thing? Why do you seem unhappy? If it was really me who did it, you should thank me, right?”
In fact, the reason why Yao Shun regained consciousness was obvious after a little thought. Last night, Suan Yu had been blinded and lost his wings and legs, so his control and influence must have definitely decreased. Yao Shun was probably controlled by him all the time, so he was crazy.
Now that Suan Yu no longer controlled him, didn’t he have to wake up?
Mother Yao was speechless after being asked back by him. After hesitating for a while, she said, “You just want my son to go to jail. You have no good intentions.”
Jiang Lan’s face darkened: “Isn’t it normal to go to jail for breaking the law? Or do you think it’s good to let Yao Shun remain crazy in order to avoid going to jail?”
He looked at Mother Yao with a half-smile: “If you want, I can help you.”
Mother Yao was startled and took a step back subconsciously: “How dare you! This is against the law! Do you believe that I will send the police to arrest you?”
“You should worry about Yao Shun’s identification certificate first. We won’t accept mediation.” Jiang Lan had no intention of getting entangled with her. He looked at her coldly and warned: “If you are not satisfied with this result, feel free to come to me next time. I don’t mind helping Yao Shun prove his mental illness.”
Mother Yao wanted to say a few more words, but when she met his threatening gaze and looked at Ying Qiao who was obviously not someone to be trifled with, she hesitated and finally stepped back.
The few of them ignored Mother Yao and got in the car and rushed to the funeral home.
Grandma Li’s body was sent to the funeral home for dressing. Jiang Lan paid generously. The makeup artist carefully arranged Grandma Li’s appearance and changed her into new clothes before allowing Jiang Chi to go in to see her for the last time.
After saying goodbye to the deceased, they stood outside and watched the body being pushed into the crematorium.
Jiang Lan signed all the signatures on their behalf. After waiting in the reception room for about two hours, the staff brought out a small urn for them.
When a person died, it was like a light going out. This small urn was the proof that the deceased had lived in this world, and it was also the only thought of the living.
Jiang Chi took the urn and held it carefully in his arms.
Ying Qiao drove them to a cemetery outside the city – the cemetery had been contacted by the funeral home.
Li Xifang was originally a homeless person on the street, making a living by picking up garbage. She had no relatives or friends, and only Jiang Chi, who was raised by her, depended on her for life. Therefore, the funeral was also very simple. There were not many fancy things, only a black and white portrait, a porcelain urn, and a bunch of white chrysanthemums.
Jiang Chi knelt in front of the tombstone and kowtowed three times earnestly.
When he got up again, his eyes were a little red, but his voice was very calm: “Grandma, don’t worry about me, go with peace of mind.”
The old woman in the black and white portrait looked at him silently with calm eyes.
Jiang Lan and his companions bowed to the tombstone and left the cemetery only after completing their memorial service.
On the way back, Jiang Chi and Jiao Tu sat in the back seat, and Suan Ni sat between them, with a crooked posture, leaning on one and lying on the other.
Jiang Chi lowered his head slightly, and his drooping hair cast a small shadow on his face, making it difficult to see his expression clearly.
Suan Ni thought he was crying, so he quickly turned his head to look at him, wagging his tail a little helplessly: “Don’t cry.”
Upon hearing this, Jiao Tu turned around and looked at him with concern.
“I didn’t cry.” Jiang Chi raised his head. Although there was still a slight redness in his eyes, no tears were shed.
He tried to pull the corners of his mouth, revealing an obviously awkward smile.
This was the first time he had smiled.
Perhaps it was because he seldom made such an expression, the smile was fleeting, and Jiang Chi soon returned to his usual expressionless face, with his thick eyelashes drooping downwards, as if he was brewing something.
After a long while, Jiang Lan heard him say, “Grandma is gone now. Does our contract still count?”
When Jiang Lan persuaded him to send Grandma Li to the hospital for treatment, he said that he would pay for Grandma Li’s treatment, while Jiang Chi would be a playmate of Suan Ni and Jiao Tu and also take care of the housework at home.
But in fact, living in Jiang Lan’s house these days, Jiang Chi didn’t have much chance to do housework except playing with Suan Ni and Jiao Tu.
At first, he didn’t understand. He didn’t think that there could be such a good thing like a pie in the sky. He thought that signing the contract would be enough. But after living in Jiang Lan’s house for a week, he was exposed to many things that he couldn’t touch before. He was like a sponge, constantly absorbing information from the outside world. The more he absorbed, the more he understood that Jiang Lan’s words at that time were mostly to coax him.
Before, when grandma had to be hospitalized for treatment, he had the audacity to pretend he didn’t know.
But now that grandma had passed away and her funeral had been properly arranged, Jiang Chi finally asked what he had been hiding in his heart.
He was very nervous before he said it, but after he actually said it, he calmed down.
He had already planned that if the contract was no longer valid, he would go back to his old shed.
Jiang Chi subconsciously stroked the small cloth bag hidden at his waist. In it was the two hundred yuan he had saved for his grandmother’s medical treatment. He hadn’t used it before, so if he used it sparingly, it should be enough to support him for a while. Then he would find something to do and return the money he had spent during this period to Jiang Lan.
Just the thought of leaving made him feel reluctant deep down in his heart.
It wasn’t that he couldn’t bear to give up the good food and clothes he had these days, but that warm feeling he had. This was something he had rarely experienced before, so he missed it very much.
He lowered his head and waited for Jiang Lan’s answer without much expectation.
Jiang Lan also said, “It doesn’t count.”
His eyelashes trembled, and he felt relieved. The fingers on his knees curled up subconsciously, and Jiang Chi said with difficulty: “I will pay for the medical expenses–“
“I plan to formally adopt you from the bureau. Are you willing?”
Jiang Lan spoke at the same time as him. Jiang Chi paused before finishing his words and looked up at him in surprise.
“It’s too late even if you don’t want to.” Jiang Lan added with a smile.
Jiang Chi slowly pursed his lips, clusters of light lighting up in his dark eyes, and he said “hmm” in a low voice.
His heart was bursting with joy.
But before he could be quietly happy for two minutes, Suan Ni had already jumped onto his shoulder. He stood up, patted him on the head in a serious manner, and said solemnly: “There is one more person in our family. From now on, you have to call me brother, understand?”
Jiang Chi looked at his chubby, round, hairy face and couldn’t bring himself to call him “brother”.
But Suan Ni stared at him fiercely.
Jiang Chi’s face turned red before he shouted out.
Suan Ni was very proud and turned to Jiao Tu and said, “Jiang Chi will be the tenth one from now on!”
Jiao Tu nodded and said softly, “Tell the eldest and fourth brothers the good news.”
A new addition to the Dragon Palace was a great joy!
Suan Ni clapped his paws and laughed evilly: “I have another reason to ask Fourth Brother to send me money.”
Ying Qiao:?
He turned his head to look at Jiang Lan: “You have so many brothers in your family? Nine?”
He frowned slightly and updated his understanding of the lion tribe. Although he knew that lions could reproduce, nine brothers was a bit too many.
When he thought about meeting his parents in the future and having Jiang Lan’s eight brothers surround him and ask him questions one by one, he felt like he was suffocating.
The easy mode suddenly switched to the hard mode.
And without even saying hello.
Jiang Lan no longer felt guilty about such a trivial question. He made up a story without blinking, “They are all cousins. My father has many brothers. And not all of them are from the Lion Clan. Some of them intermarried with other clans.”
He also gave an example: “For example, Jiao Tu is one of them.”
Ying Qiao responded calmly, without showing any sign of panic on his face.
He thought it was a good thing they weren’t siblings.
But having so many cousins was also a bit worrying.
For the first time, Ying Qiao felt the racial disadvantage of his family. Why didn’t he have more brothers? At least they could be of some use in the future.
It was true that one only regretted not having enough dragons when they were needed.
….
After entering July, the weather became hotter and hotter, and only the occasional sudden rainstorm could dilute the heat.
In the middle of the month, Jiang Lan received a notice from the police that a case had been filed, as well as the news that Yao Shun’s mental health had been assessed as normal and that he had been criminally detained.
It was said that Yao Shun’s fracture had basically healed around the 13th, and his mental state was also stable. The hospital’s psychiatrist conducted multiple examinations and tests on him. Although he could not explain why Yao Shun suddenly went crazy and suddenly recovered, after evaluating the results of various examinations, it was proved that his current mental state was indeed normal.
Yao Shun was naturally overjoyed, but Mother Yao felt as if the sky had fallen.
Father Yao also sat nearby, smoking one cigarette after another.
Yao Shun had roughly recalled what happened in the past through his parents’ narration. Seeing his parents frowning, he said indifferently: “Can’t you just pay more money to settle it? Isn’t it just a second-degree minor injury? If the other party agrees to settle, I don’t have to be sentenced, right?”
Mother Yao stammered, “We have offended the other party so much before that there is no way to reconcile.”
“It’s all your fault!” Father Yao, who was smoking, glared at her.
Mother Yao felt guilty and kept silent. After a while, she said, “How about I go and beg them again?”
Yao Shun frowned and said, “You have offended people so much that it is useless to beg. The worst that can happen is to get a mental illness evaluation.”
“How can we do this…” Mother Yao didn’t understand: “Didn’t the doctor say you’re not sick?”
“I’ve been sick before, so it’s easy to pretend.” Yao Shun was slightly proud.
Because Yao Shun was so confident, the Yao couple accompanied him to the police station, and then went to the identification institute for an appraisal under the guidance of the police.
Unfortunately, the appraisal from the appraisal institute was not what he had imagined. He pretended to be serious at first, but his flaws were soon revealed under the doctor’s calm and pressing questions.
Of course it didn’t work in the end.
The policeman from the police station who arrived with him immediately detained the man and took him back to the police station for detention.
Of course Mother Yao refused and threw a tantrum in the appraisal office. She finally behaved herself after the police warned her that she would be detained if she obstructed official duties again.
It was now sure that Yao Shun did not have a mental illness, so the police quickly followed the procedures to detain him and filed a case to notify Jiang Lan.
Jiang Lan was too lazy to deal with the Yao family anymore, and Ying Qiao happened to find a lawyer, so he authorized the lawyer to represent him. The Yao family wanted to beg Jiang Lan for reconciliation but failed. Mother Yao finally couldn’t be arrogant anymore in front of the cold lawyer and sat in the police station crying and beating her chest, but that was all for later.
Jiang Lan saved the time of going to the police station and planned to take Jiang Chi to the bureau to go through the adoption procedures on the weekend, and by the way, go and see if Tao Wu, who was still being reformed in the supervision office, was still alive.
It was just that Ying Qiao’s look of “I’m going with you guys” made Jiang Lan feel a little headache.
He was calculating in his mind, thinking that he had to find a way to get rid of him.
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