After being jilted, the entire neighboring village was filled with deep regret.

Chapter 196 Should We Raise It?
Huang Xinghua suddenly covered her mouth, her eyes wide. "Su Tai, do you think the person who abandoned the child did so because your family is well-off? It couldn't possibly be someone who had their eye on Shen the Cripple! He's a lame bachelor, living with his old mother who can't work. How could he possibly afford to raise a child!"

Huang Xinghua thought about it more and more and felt that this was true. She was inexplicably angry. "Those people are really something! They can't be sneaky, so they resort to shamelessness. They can even do such a despicable thing as throwing away a child. Aren't they afraid of retribution?"

Su Tai's expression gradually became serious. She would tell Shen Yi about Huang Xinghua's guess when he returned.

“I think what Aunt Huang said makes sense. It’s very likely that the other party really came for our family. First, I just gave birth and have milk. Second, our family is well-off and can afford to raise another child. Also, everyone knows that you are kind and righteous and will not stand by and watch someone die.”

Shen Yi met Su Tai's resentful gaze and awkwardly touched his nose. "Honey, what should we do if they're really targeting our family? Should we intervene or not?"

Su Tai was a little depressed. "I have my own child and don't want to raise someone else's child. Besides, I don't even know what kind of background that child has! What if they turn out to be disloyal when they grow up? I can accept it if my own child is unfilial, but I can't accept raising someone else's child into an ingrate."

Shen Yi nodded. "You're telling the truth. I understand. The child is currently being cared for by the village chief. The village chief is also inquiring about the child's background. He will only consider letting the villagers adopt the child if he can't find out anything."

"What if no one adopts it?" Su Tai tilted her head and looked at him nervously.

Shen Yi affectionately patted her hair, "We'll talk about that later. I'll go ask the village chief tomorrow and tell you when I get back."

The next day, Shen Yi rushed to the village chief's house after finishing his business.

As soon as I arrived there, I found Su Tai with her child.

Upon seeing him, Shen Ying immediately stepped forward enthusiastically to greet him, "Shen Yi, you've finally arrived! I was just talking to your wife about the baby girl! I reported the situation to the township head yesterday, and the township head also spoke to the town official."

The town magistrate took it very seriously. After all, the people in the surrounding villages had been doing quite well these past two years, and there were very few reports of families abandoning their children. He had already asked around in the villages near Shenjiazhuang, but there were no suspicious families. So this matter was rather thorny.

"Since your family is well-off and you don't have many children, I was just discussing with your wife whether you should take them home and raise them for a while."

After saying this, Shen Ying's heart was in her throat. Seeing that Shen Yi was calm and composed, she couldn't figure out what he was thinking, so she said, "This is a matter of accumulating good karma! After all, it's a human life, we can't just ignore it. If you adopt that child, it will be good for your family's reputation, right?"

Shen Yi glanced at Su Tai, whose expression was tense, and sat down calmly. "I understand what the village chief means, but I just talked to Shen the Cripple to find out about the situation. It seems that Shen the Cripple and his mother want to adopt the baby girl more. Why did the village chief avoid Shen the Cripple and come to our house?"

Shen Ying chuckled awkwardly, her voice lacking confidence as she spoke, "It's because your family is well-off! How can a grown man like Shen the Cripple raise a child? Besides, he struggles to support himself and his mother. He only managed to save some money thanks to your family. I wouldn't feel comfortable leaving the child with them!"

Most importantly, he had promised the township head that he would find a wealthy family for his child, and the township head had praised him for it, so he couldn't go back on his word.

Shen Yi shook his head and sighed, "The village chief is very concerned about a baby girl of unknown origin, but he doesn't know how to consider the villagers of Shenjiazhuang."

Shen Ying's expression changed drastically. "What are you saying! I've done my best for our Shen Family Village, how come I haven't considered the villagers' needs?" Seeing that he was getting angry, Shen Yicai explained, "What I mean is that the village chief should consider the villagers and other things. You also said that Shen the Cripple's family is not well-off, and it's difficult for him to find a wife. He's also aware of his situation and doesn't plan to get married. Can you bear to see him grow old alone? Now that there's finally a child placed next to his house, it's clearly a gift from heaven to their family. With that child, Shen the Cripple's future has hope."

If the child grows up to be filial, he can find a son-in-law who will live with him, and he can enjoy the life of being surrounded by his children and grandchildren. No matter how you look at it, that child is the most suitable for Shen the Cripple.

Of course, there's another point. Although my family is well-off, the village chief knows how busy my husband and I are. We have limited energy to take care of our own children, so how can we take care of other people's children?

Human nature is biased, and I don't want my wife to waste her time and energy on a child with whom she has no blood relation.

Of course, the village chief's concerns were not without merit. Fortunately, although Shen the Cripple's family was poor, Shen the Cripple's mother could still do some light work and taking care of the child for a few years was not a problem. When the child grew up, they wouldn't need to worry about him much. I could also help out financially.

From now on, I'll occasionally bring food and clothing to Shen the Cripple's family to help him with some of his burdens. That way, my reputation won't be bad either, right, Village Chief?"

Seeing that Shen Yi spoke so logically and had taken everything into account, clearly having come prepared, Shen Ying took a long time to come to her senses, and gave a wry smile, "You've thought of everything so thoroughly, what can I say?"

He couldn't very well say that he was giving the child to Shen Yi because Shen the Cripple's family was not as well-off as Shen Yi's family. If he did that, Shen the Cripple would probably hate him, and the villagers would also have some opinions about him.

Shen Yi smiled, got up and picked up his daughter, then helped Su Tai up. "In that case, I'll go and talk to Shen the Cripple and ask him to come and pick up the child later. We also have a lot of things my daughter used when she was little, so I'll send them over as well."

Oh, right! That baby should still be nursing, right? Our ewe produces more milk than we can drink every day, and my wife sometimes gives it to our baby. We can send some over to that baby as food.

Shen Yinglian's last reason for persuading him was no longer valid, and she waved her hand wearily, "Alright, you can discuss it with Shen the Cripple yourself."

Shen Yi left with his wife and children, completely satisfied.

Shen Ying complained to his daughter-in-law, Zeng Shi.

Instead, Zeng scolded him, "I'd say you're a really bad village chief. When something like this happens, everyone thinks about the people in the village, but you're worried about that child first!"

"It's all because of the township head! That township head has been subtly and overtly reminding me to find a family with a good financial background for my child. What can I do?" Shen Ying felt very innocent.

Mrs. Zeng was even angrier. "What? Is that child his family's?"

"Ha! You can't say things like that!" Shen Ying quickly covered his wife's mouth. "How old is the township head's grandson? With their circumstances, would they need to abandon their child? But I do suspect that the child is from Liu Family Village, otherwise why would the township head care so much? I just don't know which family he belongs to!"