A woman in her 70s marries a rough-looking man; her plump wife is too delicate and alluring.

After saying that, he glanced at Li Xuanxue. Li Xuanxue was sitting next to him, holding a child in her arms.

Qin Meng sat on the table and nodded. "Let's raise them. We can afford to raise ten children, let alone one."

After she finished speaking, she added, "Tomorrow I'll go to town to buy some cloth for the baby and make a few diapers."

He Zhaoyang said, "Mother, have you forgotten that Young Master Lu bought us a lot of cloth? Don't worry about it, I'll make some for the child."

Li Xuanxue said in a hoarse voice, "Thank you, sister-in-law."

He Zhaoyang went over and teased the child. The child blew a bubble and said, "Sister-in-law, you're being too formal. When the child grows up, he'll still have to call me aunt."

"Oh, right." He Zhaoyang suddenly remembered something. "Sister-in-law, brother, have you named this little one yet?"

Li Xuanxue smiled at Sheng Kaiyuan, who said, "Get up, call Nuannuan."

At night, the child woke up, and Li Xuanxue got up to feed him twice.

He Zhaoyang heard noises coming from the next room and knew that she hadn't slept much.

He Zhaoyang got up early in the morning, put on his clothes, and woke up Sheng Yuze as well.

Sheng Yuze asked, puzzled, "Why are you up so early today?"

He Zhaoyang said worriedly, "There's been noise from next door all night, and it was just now. I'm worried that my sister-in-law isn't sleeping well, so I thought I'd bring her some food so she can sleep more during the day."

Sheng Yuze stared intently at He Zhaoyang. She was such a kind and considerate girl, yet he had wronged her before.

He Zhaoyang felt nauseous under Sheng Yuze's gaze and ordered, "Don't just sit around doing nothing. Tomorrow is the 29th, and we still need to fry New Year's goods and steam buns. There won't be time to put up couplets. Hurry up and put them up, and after you're done, go and investigate who threw the child away."

Sheng Yuze: "Yes, sir!"

He Zhaoyang gave Li Xuanxue and the others two eggs, and two bowls of brown sugar water were served.

As soon as you come out, you see neatly pasted couplets.

He Zhaoyang praised Sheng Yuze, saying, "So neat."

Sheng Yuze proudly raised his head. "That's right."

He Zhaoyang felt a moment of disorientation; he felt like a fox with its tail wagging.

Sheng Yuze ate a couple of bites of food and then went out to investigate who had abandoned the child.

He made a phone call and found the head of the women's federation of the brigade and a militia company.

Sheng Yuze ordered the militia to blockade Shihe Village in sections.

The entire team of women's federation members was tasked with conducting a thorough investigation of female educated youth sent to the countryside, as well as women who had suddenly become obese, thin, or stayed indoors in the past three months.

Then he went to the health center and the barefoot doctor to retrieve the delivery records and prescription records.

When Sheng Yuze came out of the health center, he was holding three delivery record sheets in his hand. The handwriting on them was messy, but the date and the mother's name were still legible.

On the eighth day of the twelfth lunar month, Liu Hongmei.

The eighth day of the twelfth lunar month, quartz.

On the eighth day of the twelfth lunar month, He Lanhua celebrates.

The director of the Women's Federation, surnamed Zhang, is in her forties and has worked in the village for more than ten years. She knows the situation of every family very well.

She took the three pieces of paper that Sheng Yuze handed her, glanced at them, paused for a moment, and then said, "It might be Hongmei's child."

The eldest daughter of the Zhao family's wife married into the next village two years ago.

Sheng Yuze's brow twitched slightly. "Married off?"

"She got married." Director Zhang handed the note back to him. "She was at her parents' house on the eighth day of the lunar new year, and that's when she gave birth. I went to see her then; the baby was very beautiful."

Later, before she had even finished her postpartum confinement period, she went back to her husband's family home without taking the baby with her.

Sheng Yuze folded the note and put it in his pocket. "Why didn't you take it back?"

Director Zhang glanced at him and lowered her voice, "I heard her in-laws don't acknowledge the child. They say the child's father isn't part of their family."

Sheng Yuze remained silent. He stood on the steps in front of Director Zhang's house, the biting wind whipping against his face.

Director Zhang sighed, "Hongmei is an honest girl. After she got married, her mother-in-law always looked down on her because she thought her family was poor. She also said that her husband worked at a brick factory in town and only came back once every three months."

Her mother-in-law simply didn't believe the child was his, and her family couldn't do anything about it. She gave birth on the eighth day of the twelfth lunar month, and only a few days later, her mother-in-law took the baby away, saying she was giving him away.

"Pah!" Director Zhang became increasingly angry as he spoke. "If you ask me, the child is theirs. Isn't it just because their son fell for a minor leader in the factory? They're taking advantage of their good looks to get involved with the leader's daughter. They're shameless."

Sheng Yuze asked, "What about quartz and orchids?"

"Shi Ying is the second daughter of Shi Pang's family. She got married last October and gave birth at full term on the eighth day of the twelfth lunar month. Both her husband's and her own families were there to watch over her, and the baby was fine. He Lanhua is the third daughter-in-law of the He family in the village. This is her third pregnancy. Her first two were daughters, but this time she gave birth to a boy. The whole family is as happy as if it were New Year's Day."

Sheng Yuze nodded. "So now we can basically confirm that it's Liu Hongmei."

After finishing his sentence, Sheng Yuze suddenly remembered something and said seriously, "Aunt Zhang, don't tell anyone about this yet. Besides her, see if there's anyone else who meets my criteria."

Director Zhang nodded. "Don't worry, I will definitely handle this matter seriously. I absolutely cannot tolerate the fact that a child has been abandoned in the village."

Sheng Yuze said "Thank you for your help" and went home.

Not long after Sheng Yuze returned home, Director Zhang arrived and shook her head at him.

He Zhaoyang poured a glass of water for Director Zhang.

"Thank you, Yuze's wife." After saying that, she took a sip of water and said, "There aren't any who meet the criteria, except for Hongmei's child, who is somewhat suitable. But thanks to you for letting me investigate this matter, I found out about two educated youth who were pregnant out of wedlock. If I hadn't found them, there might have been several more abandoned children."

Sheng Yuze said angrily, "We must make them get a new marriage certificate, and then give them a serious reprimand."

Director Zhang nodded. "I have already reported this matter to the brigade secretary."

Sheng Yuze nodded. "There's one more thing. What's the situation with Liu Hongmei's family? Is it possible that they're planning to engage in human trafficking?"

Director Zhang shook his head. "Hongmei's family are all honest and law-abiding people. They would never do such a thing."

After Director Zhang left, He Zhaoyang asked, "If it turns out that it really was Hongmei's family who threw it away, what will they do?"

Sheng Yuze didn't hesitate: "Go to their village's brigade and explain the situation clearly. The crime of abandonment needs to be reported to the commune. Those who should be criticized should be criticized, and those who should be disciplined should be disciplined."

He Zhaoyang nodded. "If it weren't for my brother finding out early, the child would probably have frozen to death."

After He Zhaoyang finished speaking, he fell silent, unconsciously drawing circles with a stick.

Sheng Yuze looked at He Zhaoyang and asked, "What are you thinking about?"

He Zhaoyang: "I'm wondering, does Sister Hongmei know that her child has been abandoned?"

"Will she bring Nuannuan home with her?"

"have no idea."