Chapter 5: The Unregistered Resident

The brigade leader looked at Lu Yichen and asked, "How is she now? Has she woken up yet?"

Lu Yichen said coldly, "She woke up once before, ate a little, and then went back to sleep."

Luo Qiao knew that this matter had to be faced sooner or later. It was better to resolve it early to avoid any complications later on.

She got off the kang and prepared to go out, but just then, she heard several people walking toward the room. A large group of people entered at once. Seeing Luo Qiao putting on her shoes, the brigade leader asked, "Nizi, are you feeling any better?"

Luo Qiao’s complexion was still not very good. Having been sent down to the farm with the Luo family for all these years, she had suffered quite a bit, so despite not being short, she was extremely thin.

Luo Qiao replied weakly, "I'm feeling a bit better. Thank you for your concern, Brigade Leader. May I ask Aunt Zhao a few questions?"

The brigade leader glanced at Gao Suhua and said, "Go ahead, ask whatever you want."

Luo Qiao asked, "Aunt Zhao, do you know where my parents are?"

Gao Suhua said with a guilty conscience, "How would I know? That family left in such a hurry back then, and it just so happened that the Luo family wanted a daughter, so they took you."

Luo Qiao asked coldly again, "Are you certain I am not your daughter?"

Gao Suhua said, "How could that be fake? Just looking at your face, you couldn't possibly be my daughter."

Everyone looked at Luo Qiao’s small face. Indeed, there was no resemblance to the Zhao family; the six daughters of the Zhao family all took after their parents, with large, round faces.

Luo Qiao said, "So that means you won't be taking me back to the Zhao family, is that right?"

Gao Suhua said, "You aren't my daughter, so why would I raise you? I certainly won't be taking you back."

Luo Qiao let out a breath and continued, "But you accepted money from the Luo family and agreed that everyone should return to their rightful places. Now that the Luo family has left, you are saying these things. What am I supposed to do from now on?"

Gao Suhua said, "You can't blame our Zhao family for that. You were never our daughter to begin with. I can't neglect my own daughters to raise an outsider. Besides, that money was compensation from the Luo family for raising their son."

Luo Qiao turned to the brigade leader and the villagers and said, "Brigade Leader, fellow villagers, you have all seen my situation. The Zhao family says I am not their daughter and refuses to acknowledge me.

Since that is the case, I won't force myself upon the Zhao family and cause trouble. However, could the village help me register my household and find me a place to stay? I can earn work points to support myself."

Luo Qiao knew that although the village had not yet implemented the household responsibility system and people were still working for work points, those days wouldn't last long; the transition to the household responsibility system was coming soon.

One of the onlookers among the villagers said, "If the Zhao family doesn't want you, why don't you just go back to the Luo family? They have urban household registrations, after all."

Luo Qiao said, "You all saw what happened yesterday. The Luo family will not let me go back, and my household registration has already been moved out. Yesterday, those documents were handed over to Aunt Zhao."

Gao Suhua hurriedly pulled the papers from her pocket, shoved them into Luo Qiao’s hands, and said, "You should keep these things yourself. Our Zhao family can't be bothered with them."

Luo Qiao opened the two papers, read them over, and said, "Brigade Leader, if you don't handle this matter, I will have no choice but to go to the commune. And if it comes to that, I might even have to involve the public security bureau."

Gao Suhua said, "Why would you need to involve the public security bureau for something that can be solved right here in the village? Think of how bad that would look."

Luo Qiao said aggrievedly, "I need the public security bureau to investigate my background. The Luo family has already moved my registration out, and if I can't register here, I have to ask the police for help. I can't just become a person without a legal identity."