The Fortunate Lady and Her Mountain Man

Chapter 40: Chapter 40: The Abandoned Dabao

The village chief hadn’t come for any other reason this time. It was all about Dabao.

Back then, no other family was willing to take Dabao in, and for certain reasons, he couldn’t bring the boy to his own home either. He had been relieved to learn that Ji Huan had taken him, but he also felt a bit guilty about it.

Ji Huan was still just a young woman herself, and she hadn’t received any grain rations when the family split. She could barely feed herself, let alone another small child. Wasn’t that just absurd?

If they both ended up starving to death in that dilapidated hut, it would be a dereliction of his duty as village chief. If his superiors found out, not only would he be unable to escape responsibility, but if they decided to investigate strictly, his career as village chief would essentially be over.

On top of that, Dabao had gotten injured, and the village chief couldn’t sit still any longer.

He had come to talk about it once right after Ji Huan returned from town. Ji Huan hadn’t refused, but she hadn’t directly agreed either. She simply said that Dabao’s leg hadn’t fully healed yet and that it wouldn’t be too late to send him after he recovered.

The village chief thought that made sense, so he waited for another ten days or so.

Now the child’s leg was better. The splint was off, and he could walk and stand. The chief felt it was time to send him away.

However, this matter would naturally still have to trouble Ji Huan. After all, countless village affairs required his attention as village chief, and he couldn’t get away for a while.

After seeing the village chief off, Ji Huan stood in the courtyard and stared into space for a while.

She had recently been asking around and gathering information about the Orphanage from various sources, so she now had a general understanding of its nature and how it operated.

Early in the previous emperor’s reign, he heard that the practice of infanticide, though repeatedly banned, had never ceased among the common folk. It was particularly prevalent among poor farming families, especially with female infants. To eradicate this vile custom, he established Orphanages in every prefecture and county, specifically allocating five hundred mu of official farmland whose yields would fund the Orphanages’ daily operations.

Any family that was too poor to raise their children, or any child who had lost their mother at a young age or been abandoned on the streets, could be brought to an Orphanage.

Childless families could also go to an Orphanage to adopt. The government would even provide a subsidy to those who adopted an infant: one thousand coins and three bushels of rice per month for three consecutive years.

In the decades that followed, the policies were continually improved, making great strides beyond the basic welfare of providing food and clothing.

For instance, if a child fell ill, the Medicine Dispensing Bureau would provide free treatment. The court paid to hire wet nurses who lived at the Orphanage to feed the infants. When the children grew older, they could even attend school, also at the court’s expense. Once they reached adulthood, they were free to do as they pleased. Growing up on the government’s dime didn’t mean they were subject to its control or restrictions; they were completely independent individuals.

So all in all, the Orphanage seemed like a decent place to be.

Ji Huan clenched her fists, her resolve hardening.

Dabao was still behind the house, staring at the drying radishes. Ji Huan had told him to make sure the dog Dahuang didn’t ruin them, and he had truly squatted there, "staring" without moving a muscle.

"Dabao," Ji Huan called out to him.

The little ears on the sides of his head twitched. After another moment, Dabao slowly turned around, his big, blackberry-like eyes looking at her with a hint of confusion.

He no longer ignored Ji Huan’s calls completely. He would occasionally react now, and even though it was as slow as a little snail, it was enough to delight Ji Huan.

Looking at the obedient and quiet Dabao, Ji Huan felt an indescribable emotion.

’Perhaps I never should have given Dabao a name.’ People always say that when you name something, a bond is formed. That way, when the day comes to let go, the price you pay is enormous.

’This suffocating, dull ache in my heart... does it mean I can’t bear to part with him?’

It was so strange. When she first arrived in this unfamiliar time and place, she hadn’t felt this way even after leaving her own parents. Yet here she was, experiencing it for a child with whom she shared no blood ties.

Then again, you grow attached to a pet you’ve raised; how much more so for a living, breathing person?

But what could she do, even if she couldn’t bear it?

After paying off the last of the medicine costs and covering the expenses for his nutritional supplements these past days, she was left with a mere one tael and four-tenths of a tael of Silver. This amount even included the money she had recently earned from copying books.

It wasn’t that she absolutely couldn’t afford to feed another mouth; the issue of Silver Coin was secondary. The fundamental reason was that Ji Huan felt she was not yet capable of shouldering the responsibility of raising a child. She couldn’t be responsible for Dabao’s entire life.

After thinking it over and over, she decided it was better to let him go.

Dabao’s belongings were easy to pack: just two sets of new winter clothes, shoes, and a hat that she had asked Widow Xie to make, plus a slingshot Hu Dacheng had made for him.

Ji Huan took out her coin purse. She kept four-tenths of a tael of Silver for herself and stuffed the remaining one tael of scattered silver coins into the pocket of one of his cotton-padded jackets.

After packing everything and locking the door, Ji Huan took Dabao to the village entrance to wait, and they soon boarded a mule-drawn cart heading to the county seat.

Dabao was quiet the entire way.

After passing Juyong Town and traveling for another half a day, they entered Yeyang County.

This was actually Ji Huan’s first time in the city. Her eyes were met with bustling crowds and a wide, flat road paved with bluestone slabs. Shops lined both sides, and the shouts of vendors rose and fell, creating a lively atmosphere she’d never experienced in Juyong Town.

But she was in no mood to appreciate any of it today. After getting off the cart, she asked for directions along the way and finally reached her destination.

The Orphanage was located in a small, dark alley two streets away from the government office. The location was a bit out of the way, and the building itself was very old.

Holding Dabao’s hand, Ji Huan stood at the entrance to the Orphanage. She stared at the mottled, paint-chipped wooden door, hesitating to step forward.

She looked down at Dabao. His eyes were innocent and clear. He didn’t know yet that this was the place where he would be living for a long time to come.

In that instant, Ji Huan faltered. Something was tearing at her heart.

’I promised to raise Dabao, but now I’m sending him away. How is this any different from abandoning him?’

’No, this can’t be considered abandonment.’ She tried to convince herself over and over.

Once he was in the Orphanage, he would have a dedicated supply of food and money each month, as well as people to look after him. If he was lucky, he might even find a good family willing to adopt him. It was surely better than living a hand-to-mouth existence with her in the countryside.

’Besides, for Dabao, isn’t it the same everywhere? His heart is closed off, so even if he leaves me, he won’t feel sad or reluctant.’

With sufficient reasons to support her decision, Ji Huan’s resolve firmed once more. She stepped forward and knocked on the main door of the Orphanage.

It was relatively rare for a child as old as Dabao to be sent to the Orphanage, but because she had a letter from the village chief certifying that Dabao had indeed lost his parents, the manager didn’t make things difficult and quickly completed the paperwork.

Ji Huan asked to see the courtyard behind where the children lived, but he refused, citing that it was against the rules and inconvenient. She had no choice but to let it go.

Before leaving, she pulled Dabao over, wanting to say a few words of advice.

Dabao was still tightly clutching a string of candied hawthorns that Ji Huan had bought for him as they passed through the streets earlier.

His big, clean eyes stared unblinkingly at Ji Huan. A lump formed in her throat, and she suddenly found herself unable to speak. She turned and quickly walked out of the room.

When she reached the covered corridor, she abruptly looked back and saw the little boy struggling to drag his large bundle over the threshold, following closely behind her.

The manager, with his hands tucked in his sleeves, chuckled. "Go on, don’t worry. It’s always like this when kids are first brought here. He’ll be fine in a couple of days."

Ji Huan paused, then forced a smile.

"Dabao, go back. Don’t follow me... From now on, you’ll live here. Someone will take care of you, and you’ll have lots of other children to play with..."

She said all that she could, took a deep breath, and continued walking.

But she hadn’t gone more than a few yards before she heard the child’s footsteps again.

When Ji Huan stopped, he stopped too.

Ji Huan suddenly snapped, pointing at him fiercely. "I’m telling you, don’t you follow me again! I don’t want you anymore, do you hear me? Don’t follow me!"

After yelling, she didn’t dare look at Dabao’s stunned expression. She turned and ran out of the Orphanage, not stopping until she was a long way away.

She looked back. The street behind her was empty.

This time, the little boy finally hadn’t followed.

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