The Baby I Lost Is Actually with My Ex-Husband!
Chapter 233 - Chapter 233 Chapter 233 Lilis Biological Mother

Chapter 233: Chapter 233: Lili’s Biological Mother Chapter 233: Chapter 233: Lili’s Biological Mother Mo Tiesheng was indeed in a predicament, but after glancing at the $10,000 in cash beside Lin Qi, he finally agreed reluctantly!

“Fine! I’ll take you there.”

Lili’s biological family was in the neighboring county, just an hour’s drive away.

On the way, Mo Tiesheng sat in the car, it being the first time he ever saw such a luxurious vehicle. He looked at the leather seats beneath him, then at the starlight headliner above, his face visibly uncomfortable.

Lin Qi asked him some questions about Lili’s birth mother.

Mo Tiesheng said, “I don’t remember much about her, just that she had two daughters, her husband’s family didn’t want them, planned on giving the kids away, aiming for a third child, stopping only with the birth of a son. No idea if they actually had one. Lili is the second child; she has an older sister.”

Lin Qi asked with a frown, “Why insist on having a son? Aren’t daughters good?”

Mo Tiesheng asked, “Have you had children?”

Lin Qi paused, “Um.”

Mo Tiesheng then asked, “Did you have a son or a daughter?”

Lin Qi said, “A son.”

Mo Tiesheng said, “You have a son, you wouldn’t understand. If anyone has a daughter, they can’t lift their heads in their husband’s home. Sons can provide for the elderly, what use are daughters? Daughters are a losing trade; they grow up and get married, they are raised for someone else. Without a good dowry from the in-laws, daughters are at a loss.”

Lin Qi was somewhat angry but knew she couldn’t argue too much with someone who held beliefs like Mo Tiesheng’s.

Different places have different customs.

Here in this small county, the preference for sons over daughters is deeply ingrained.

Even in the big cities, especially among affluent families, having a son is indeed seen as more prestigious than having a daughter.

Lin Qi then asked, “So Lili’s mom, after having two daughters, gave Lili away?”

Mo Tiesheng said, “By the time Lili was a month old, her older sister was already 5 years old and could help with chores, so they didn’t want to send her away. That kid was just 3 years old when they arranged a child betrothal with another family’s child, it was all set, but her family was poor, so they could only send Lili away.”

Lin Qi narrowed her eyes, “Sent away, or sold?”

The man insisted, “Sent away, sent away.”

Lin Qi asked, “How old is Lili’s mother?”

The man glanced at Lin Qi, “She looks older than you, but I heard she was only around 22 or 23 at the time.”

Lin Qi was shocked, “You said her older daughter was 5 years old, Lili was born when her mother was 23, how old was she when she had her first child?”

The man said, “Seventeen or eighteen. Around here, people that age are already married and having children.”

Lin Qi’s breathing became somewhat unsteady.

Soon, the man pointed ahead, “If I’m not mistaken, right up there, do you see that clothing store?”

Huo Tingdong parked the car by the roadside.

Lin Qi and he got out of the car, and the man also disembarked, “I won’t go over, you two can go have a look.”

Lin Qi looked at Huo Tingdong.

Huo Tingdong said, “Let’s go.”

He locked the car and, holding her hand, walked up to the entrance of the clothing store.

The clothing store was small and modestly decorated. The clothes were factory overstock and looked somewhat cheap and tacky.

The store wasn’t busy, and a woman sat at the counter watching a drama and gobbling down noodles from a bowl.

As soon as she heard the door open, she put aside her bowl and stood up, eagerly approaching Huo Tingdong and Lin Qi, “Here to look at clothes?”

When she reached Lin Qi, the woman was startled.

Lin Qi was also taken aback.

Because both of them realized that they had extremely similar faces.

However, compared to Lin Qi, who had grown up in a city, the woman’s complexion was sallow, her skin rough, and she seemed much older than Lin Qi, with deep wrinkles at the corners of her eyes and on her forehead. Her figure was also out of shape.

Lin Qi was dazed, and the woman was too stunned to speak: “Who… who are you looking for?”

Lin Qi asked, “Are you… Li Wanru?”

Li Wanru nodded blankly, “Yes, I am. Who are you?”

Lin Qi, disregarding her surprise, took out her phone, pulled up a picture of Lili, and showed it to her, “Do… do you recognize this girl?”

Li Wanru stared at the photo, lost in thought.

Lin Qi said, “You might not recognize her.”

After all, Lili had been sent away just a month after her birth; not recognizing her was understandable.

Lin Qi continued, “Did you have a daughter before, who you sent away when she was one month old? She’s now 7 years old.”

Li Wanru’s eyes suddenly reddened, she grabbed the phone from Lin Qi’s hand, staring at the photo over and over, tears seeming to well up in her eyes.

Lin Qi prompted, “Do you remember?”

Li Wanru nodded repeatedly, “She’s this big already?”

She then looked at Lin Qi, “And you are?”

She was full of questions because Lin Qi looked so much like her. Standing in front of Lin Qi felt like looking in a mirror. Yet the reflection seemed to be of herself from ten years ago, at the age of seventeen or eighteen, when she was as fresh and tender as Lin Qi now appeared.

Lin Qi said, “Your daughter is named Lili. I am… her guardian. Lili is currently under my care.”

Li Wanru said, “My daughter, just a month old, was secretly sent away by my in-laws; they did it behind my back, wouldn’t let me know where they had sent her…”

She spoke tearfully, distressed: “Was she sent to you guys?”

Lin Qi didn’t know how to explain, so she simply said, “Your daughter was sent to a family in the neighboring village, but that family has since fallen apart, so Lili was taken to an orphanage. Now, I’m taking care of her.”

Li Wanru asked eagerly, “Could you take me to see my daughter?”

Lin Qi said, “Of course.”

Huo Tingdong looked at Li Wanru and then at Lin Qi, asking, “Don’t you think she looks a lot like you?”

He spoke of what Lin Qi had dared not mention.

Lin Qi nodded, “I think so too, she does look a lot like me.”

Li Wanru, feeling a bit self-conscious, touched her own face, “How so? I’m not as pretty as you.”

Lin Qi said, “No, when I look at you, I think you have a good foundation.” It was just that she looked too weathered, aged prematurely.

After all, in this county town, enduring wind, sun, and rain, the harshness of the times takes its toll.

Li Wanru said, “Hang on a moment; my husband will come to pick me up. I’m running the shop right now and can’t leave. Where is my daughter?”

Lin Qi said, “In Beijing.”

Hearing her daughter was in the city, far from here, Li Wanru hesitated for a moment, “That far…”

She wanted to go to Beijing to see her daughter, but her husband would surely not allow it.

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