1110 Pick One of Two
These words were like a wake up call for Xu Lan. Previously, Tan Jing was very unhappy about the fact that Wu Min left the house to Xia Zhe and would always come to Xu Lan to complain about it both openly and covertly. As time passed, Xu Lan also felt that there was something wrong with this decision and even wanted to move into the courtyard house herself. However, if she gave it some careful thought now, was this not Tan Jing’s scheme?

If Xia Fang had not managed to stop them at that time and Xu Lan and Tan Jing had successfully moved into the courtyard house, then all the relatives of the Tan family would have come to take their share of the loot. By then, Xu Lan would not be able to reject them even if she wanted to.

It was not as if the family did not support Tan Jing’s decision to adopt a child, but it was not the right time now. Also, it was really difficult to find a child of the right age with a good personality.

Their family definitely met the criteria for adoption, but they had to be very strict when it came to choosing the child. It did not matter as much if the child was very young, as they would be able to educate the child well. If the child was older and already had formative memories, then they would need to consider it more carefully. The Xia family could not allow just anyone to become a member of the family. The child must have a really good character, otherwise it was better not to go through with it.
If that child from the Tan family had an upright character, they naturally would not reject him. However, that child was greedy, lazy and had even committed theft. He was not a child of two to three years old who could still be reeducated from scratch. He was already more than five years old and had already developed habits. It would be very difficult to correct his mistakes.

!!
As the saying went, one could tell a person’s future by the age of three. This boy was too mischievous and his biological parents did not even bother to teach him properly, so the Xia family did not hold any hope that they would be able to teach this child well.

“Xia Wen, are you mute! This is your wife, can you control her behavior! If you can’t, the two of you should get a divorce quickly. If so, then you’re still my good son. Otherwise, both of you can get lost from the Xia family together! I’ll pretend that I don’t have a son like you!” Xu Lan pointed at Xia Wen and said angrily.

Liu Fen quickly stood up and held on to Xu Lan as she whispered, “Tsk. Eldest Sister-in-law, don’t be so rash. It’s not that big a deal, so calm down. Xiao Wen is just caught off guard for a moment. This kid has also never experienced such a thing, right? You have to let Xiao Wen take a breather.”

Xu Lan was so angry that she felt dizzy and even had a slight ringing in her ears. It was useless for anyone to persuade her. When Xia Wen wanted to marry Tan Jing back then, she had been very against it. Although she could not see any bad traits in Tan Jing at that time, Tan Jing’s family was really unbearable.

The Xia family did not care about family status. As long as their children found a partner they liked, it did not even matter if that person was an orphan. It was alright as long as the person had a good character.

In the beginning, Xu Lan disliked Qiao Mei only because Xia Zhe took matters into his own hands. None of her children gave her an easy time. Xia Wen insisted on going against her wishes and stood firm about marrying Tan Jing. Xia He did not care about her family’s opinions and insisted on getting married even when she had to move far away. Xu Lan originally thought that she would find someone she liked to be Xia Zhe’s wife, but she did not expect Xia Zhe to act without any notice to them and marry Qiao Mei straightaway.

Therefore, at that time, she had strong feelings about Qiao Mei. Coupled with the fact that someone had tried to frame Qiao Mei in the beginning and Tan Jing had further fanned the flames, she disliked Qiao Mei even more.

“Eldest Brother, I think you’ve almost forgotten that your surname is Xia,” Xia He muttered softly.

Qiao Mei quickly covered Xia He’s mouth and whispered into her ear, “Eldest Brother is very nice to us. Don’t wrong him because of the acts of others.”

“But… but looking at how he treats the Xia family and you, does he even care about the Xia family at all? When Tan Jing quarreled with me just now, he didn’t even look at me or speak up for me. How is he still my eldest brother!” Xia He said aggrievedly.

“Of course Eldest Brother is good to you. It’s just that there are so many things going on now and he needs time to react. Don’t be angry.” Qiao Mei patted Xia He’s back and comforted her.

Xia He thought that Qiao Mei looked very calm in contrast. It was as if it was not her child whom Tan Jing was trying to snatch away, like everything had nothing to do with her at all.

“Why aren’t you angry at all?” Xia He asked curiously.

“Me? Getting angry won’t solve the problem. I can’t even be bothered with her,” Qiao Mei said with a relaxed smile.

Qiao Mei just did not know how to start feeling angry. During this period of time, Xia Wen had come to look for her countless times and always to borrow money. She could see how embarrassed and helpless Xia Wen felt and also knew how difficult it was for him.