Mu Ran didn't know what to do with the child, so he nodded and asked the police comrade to call and ask.
It didn't take long, and after hanging up the phone, the police told Mu Ran that they could send the child there, and they would take care of it temporarily. Mu Ran was a little bit embarrassed when he thought about the things in the restaurant. There were so many people eating at night, Wang Qin would definitely not agree to his asking for leave now.
Seeing Mu Ran's expression, the policeman said, "Well, you put the child here, and we will arrange for the comrades in the team to send the child there in a while." Forget it, it's all in the institute to contact the relief station or welfare home, but this is the first time he has met someone like Mu Ran who takes children as his own responsibility.
Mu Ran hesitated slightly, and asked, "What will the child do in the future? Will he stay in the shelter?"
The policeman smiled, "This is out of our control, it depends on how the shelter arranges."
Mu Ran frowned, thought for a while and said: "Comrade police, can you give me a day, I promise to send the child there tomorrow."
As soon as the voice fell, the surrounding policemen who heard Mu Ran's words all laughed, and some people shook their heads and said, "What's the tolerance? Why do you act like a criminal when you do good deeds? Please leave a contact information , I’ll just tell you the address and phone number of the shelter.”
Mu Ran blushed a little from the laughter, walked over to write down the phone address, thanked him a few more times, and left the police station with the child. During this period, the child followed Mu Ran closely all the time, neither talking nor crying, and it was unknown whether she understood the conversations of the adults.
Evening is still the same as noon, the child is waiting for him by the cabinet.
Mu Ran was worried that she was hungry, so he bought porridge and steamed dumplings in advance and came back. There was no place to put them in the kitchen. He put the food on the stool, took the bowls and chopsticks for the child, touched her head and told her to eat obediently. Then he turned around and went to work in the kitchen.
The child is small and obedient, always huddled by the cabinet, eats close to the small bench, does not run around, and does not occupy the space in the kitchen at all, but Wang Qin is still unhappy, and has a slumped face as soon as he enters the kitchen. Later, when the bowls outside the kitchen were used up, Wang Qin didn't say a word to the child when she opened the cupboard door to take the bowls. She just reached out and grabbed the child's clothes and dragged the child away, frowning and saying viciously: "Block your hands!" in the way."
The force in her hand was so strong that the child was pulled staggeringly. Subconsciously, she reached out to grab something to keep her balance. With this movement, all the porridge and dumplings on the stool were swept to the ground.
With a sound of "dong", when Mu Ran turned around, he saw the child standing against the wall, the bowl was broken on the ground, there were seven or eight dumplings and porridge spilled all over the floor. Mu Ran quickly turned off the fire, walked to the child and squatted down, asking repeatedly if he was injured.
The child didn't answer anything, just looked down at the dumplings, tears kept dripping from the corners of her eyes, and fell to the ground in big drops.
This was the first time Mu Ran saw her cry.
She didn't cry when she was caught and beaten by Wang Qin, she didn't cry when she was sick and got needles, and she didn't cry when she saw the person who bought and abused her. Mu Ran was a little flustered, and was about to comfort her that it's okay, the food can still be bought, so she squatted down and picked up a dumpling, held it in her hand, and handed it to Mu Ran, then pressed her throat to suppress her crying, sobbing slightly Said: "I want to... eat..."
After repeating it several times intermittently, Mu Ran finally understood what the child was saying: I want to give you something to eat, this is what is left for you to eat.
Wang Qin felt a little uncomfortable beside her. To cover up the embarrassment, she coughed and said, "Oh, why is this child so careless..."
Mu Ran didn't speak, lowered his eyes, picked up the child, turned to Wang Qin and said, "Sister Wang, I'm done with what I should be busy today, so I'll go back first." Before Wang Qin could answer, Mu Ran said again: "There is still I have something to do tomorrow, and I want to ask you for a leave." He had already made up his mind that if Wang Qin didn't agree, or said something nasty, he wouldn't do it. There is always a limit to patience, he has done his best to do what he should do on weekdays, and he is not willing to care about Wang Qin's petty thoughts, but if it still can't please him, then it's not interesting.
When Mu Ran spoke, there was no longer the gentle and good-natured smile on his face, and seeing the child in his arms crying sobbingly, Wang Qin felt a little guilty for some reason, her face He laughed, nodded and said repeatedly: "It's okay, you can go back first if you have something to do."
Mu Ran thanked him, cleaned up all the things on the ground, and left the restaurant with the child.
The child stopped crying, but there were still long tears on her face. Mu Ran reached out to wipe the wet corners of her eyes, and said softly, "Are you hungry?"
The child shook his head, and obediently replied, "I'm not hungry." The voice was crunchy and small.
She had only eaten two or three dumplings, how could she not be hungry, Mu Ran didn't say any more, took her to find a hot pot restaurant, ordered fish in sour soup, and fed her some fish soup.
He originally thought that there was something wrong with the child's speech, and he thought about taking her to the hospital in the city for an examination tomorrow. Now that he knew that the child could speak normally, he felt relieved. He tried to tease her while eating, but Mu Ran was afraid of causing her trouble. Bad memory, don't ask her about the past, don't even ask her name.
On the way home after dinner, they went to Dr. Liu's clinic first. The child felt much better today, and he didn't have a fever. Dr. Liu didn't suggest any more water, and only prescribed some medicine for the child. Hearing that Mu Ran was going to send the child to the shelter tomorrow, Dr. Liu said with emotion, "I hope that everyone she meets in the future will treat her as well as you do."
Thinking of the child's previous experience, Mu Ran didn't know what to say for a while.
Early the next morning, Mu Ran took the child to the city, and it was almost two hours before he took several buses to the shelter. It's not big here, and the sign outside is "Minor Rescue and Protection Center".
The person who came out to receive them was an aunt in her forties. The aunt had heard the police say the situation yesterday, and told Mu Ran that the child could stay without asking any further questions.
Mu Ran looked down at the child who was always clinging to his leg and tightly clutching the corner of his clothes, and asked with some concern, "Has that child stayed here all this time? Or is there some other place to go?"
The aunt sighed, "In her case, we will contact her uncle first, and send her back after verifying the address."
Mu Ran was taken aback for a moment, and then said anxiously: "But if she goes back and continues to be abused..."
The aunt interrupted Mu Ran, and said helplessly: "We can't control this. We have rescue management regulations, and we can only keep her for 10 days at most." After a pause, the aunt explained: "We have no choice. Most of the time, more than a dozen people are sent here a day, if they are not sent back, how can such a small place survive."
Mu Ran didn't speak anymore, he swallowed his saliva to moisten his parched throat, and said after a while, "Then, may I adopt her?"
The aunt looked at Mu Ran in surprise, asked about his situation, and then shook her head: "You can't do it, if a single man wants to adopt a girl, he must be at least 30 years old, and the difference between the child and the child must be more than 40 years old." .”
Mu Ran was a little disappointed, but continued to ask: "Can't the conditions be relaxed?"
"Hey, I can't help it. Look at the current society. There is nothing abnormal. What if something happens to the child..." At this point, the auntie was taken aback, and looked at Mu Ran in embarrassment, "Don't get me wrong, I don't have anything else. mean."
Mu Ran nodded and said softly, "I understand."
The aunt smiled embarrassedly, stood up and said, "If there is nothing else, I will take the child in."
Mu Ran was a little hesitant, but he couldn't waste Auntie's time any longer. He knelt down, looked at the child and said softly, "You stay here and be obedient."
The child reached for his clothes and shook his head vigorously.
Mu Ran reached out and touched her head, and said softly, "I'm sorry, I can't take you back."
The child did not speak, but clenched his hands tightly and looked at him with wide-open eyes.
The aunt next to her couldn't stand it anymore, she came over and pulled the child's hand away, hugged her into her arms, and said to Mu Ran, "Go, it's fine." For Mu Ran, she still didn't cry, she just opened her mouth and shouted: "Don't go."
Mu Ran got up, but he hesitated in his footsteps. His aunt urged him several times, and his voice became a little impatient, before he finally turned around and left.
There were "don't go" one after another behind the back, and at the end the voice became crying, Mu Ran stopped but didn't dare to look back, and finally clenched his fists and strode forward.
It was right to be a little blurry, he reassured himself.
But why is this correct.
What will happen to her in the future? Will she be like him when she was a child, unable to cry when hungry, whether she will be like him when she was young, unable to cry even when she is beaten, whether she will be like him when she was a child, living timidly and humblely, and wanting nothing ,Nothing at all. Obviously she is the child he picked up, no one wants her, no one likes her, why can't he take care of her? Everyone lives desperately because of other people's likes, expectations, trust and dependence, and because the emotions and efforts they put in will be responded and rewarded. But why, be it the dumb mother or the child, no one who likes and trusts him can stay by his side
Mu Ran stopped unwillingly, and even had the idea of going back and taking the child away.
There was a sudden exclamation from behind.
Mu Ran turned around and saw her aunt chasing after her, while the child fell to the ground in front of her. Mu Ran opened his eyes wide, and before he had time to run back, the child got up from the ground and threw himself on him as fast as he could, grabbed his hand, raised his tear-filled face and shouted loudly: "Don't go. "
Mu Ran's body stiffened for a moment, and then he knelt down and hugged the child into his arms.
"Okay," he opened his mouth and realized that his voice was trembling. Mu Ran gritted his teeth, and when he spoke again, his voice was extremely firm, "Don't go."
The aunt behind caught up, and was a little dumbfounded for a while, why she looked like a villain who broke up a father and daughter.
Mu Ran smiled shyly at his aunt: "I'm sorry, can I make a call first?" Seeing that the aunt nodded, Mu Ran put the child down, took out the mobile phone from his trouser pocket, looked through the number, and put the phone on the phone. dialed out.