Chapter 19 The Fat Uncle is a Great Chef

The man was even more foolish than he was the day before!

He didn’t remember who he was or where he came from. His behavior and mannerisms were like a four or five-year-old child. He felt a sense of familiarity when he saw Shen Nian, and his gaze was glued to her.

Shen Nian recounted the events of the previous day and then said: “You scared all the villagers yesterday. They were very angry, so they won’t let you stay. You came from an unknown place, and we don’t know if you’re good or bad. I don’t want to keep you in the village.”

Before she could finish, the man started crying: “I’m a good person, I’m not a bad person. I apologize, I made a mistake. Don’t abandon me.”

Shen Feng looked at him calmly: “What do you mean don’t abandon you? You wouldn’t be thinking of following Nian Nian, would you? Don’t even think about it. Nian Nian is just a child, she can’t take you in.”

The man cried helplessly, like a homeless child.

In fact, he was indeed homeless now. He didn’t remember anything, he had become a fool, and he had a wound on his head.

They threw him out of the village, and he walked back on his own. He lay at the foot of the mountain and almost died.

If they didn’t take care of him, he wouldn’t know where he would die next time!

Shen Nian thought for a moment and then said to the man: “If you want a place to stay, you can, but you have to do as I say.”

…

The next day, after breakfast, the Shen family went to the fields. They had only walked halfway when they saw commotion in the village and heard the villagers shouting.

“The madman from yesterday is back!”

The Shen family hurried to see what was going on. Sure enough, they saw the man.

The man was wearing tattered clothes and walked into the village. Every time he saw a villager, he bowed and said loudly: “I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to do that yesterday. Please forgive me!”

“I was wrong, please forgive me,”

After apologizing to one person, he went to apologize to the next.

His attitude was sincere, and his voice had a hint of foolishness.

Shen Dong frowned: “Is he the madman you’re talking about? He doesn’t seem crazy at all!”

The man came to the Shen family. Wei Shi instinctively pulled Shen Nian behind her, but the man didn’t have the same excitement when he saw Shen Nian. He bowed and apologized to the Shen family foolishly, and finally knelt down.

Shen Dong quickly helped him up: “Big brother, get up. Why are you doing this?”

The man said in a foolish voice: “I’m bad. I bullied people yesterday, and they were all angry. I don’t want to be driven out. I apologize. I’m sorry, I’m sorry!”

The villagers all gathered around.

“Alright, alright, stop apologizing. We’re not angry with you anymore. Just leave.”

The man shrank his neck: “I don’t know where to go. My head hurts.”

“You want to stay in our village?” Wang Pozi said with her hands on her hips: “I dare not take you in.”

“I dare not either!”

“Me too.”

The man mumbled: “No, no…”

As he spoke, he rolled his eyes and fainted.

Shen Dong was standing behind the man and reached out to catch him.

“Oh! Why did he faint again!”

“Hurry up, carry him into my house first and call Doctor Liu!” Shen Dong said.

Although they said they wouldn’t take him in, in the end, the villagers didn’t throw the man out of the village. They even helped to call a doctor.

About an hour later, the man woke up. He was foolish and couldn’t speak clearly. He couldn’t answer any questions.

This situation made Shen Dong feel a headache. Shen Laotou said: “Let him stay for now. When I was Dart, I received a lot of favors from others. Let’s consider this a good deed. We’ll see if his family comes looking for him in a few days. Then we’ll send him back.”

Shen Nian said to the man: “Uncle, my grandpa agreed to take you in. You have to say thank you.”

The man said “oh” twice: “Thank you, grandpa, thank you, grandpa!”

Shen Laotou said: “Don’t call me grandpa. I’m not your grandpa. Just call me uncle.”

The man: “Okay, grandpa uncle.”

Shen Laotou: “…”

The strange uncle stayed. Because he didn’t remember who he was, the Shen family called him Fat Uncle, because he was a little overweight.

Zhang Ershun, the tofu maker in the village, was going to have a wedding. Her eldest son was getting married tomorrow, and the villagers had to go help out in advance today. They would have dinner at Zhang’s house tonight. Only two or three people from each family could go, not everyone.

Wei Shi and Shen Dong went to help from the Shen family’s eldest branch, while the elders and children stayed at home.

Not long after Shen Dong and the others left, the children in the village came to play with Shen Nian. Twenty or so children gathered at the Shen family’s house, making a lot of noise. Shen Nian called them outside to play. Fat Uncle saw them having fun and found it interesting, so he followed them. A group of children with a big, silly man ran around the village. Shen Nian was invited to play house and became Shen Feng’s mother.

Shen Feng: “…”

While they were playing, Shen Nian glanced over and saw an old lady running towards Zhang’s house, shouting: “Oh no! Zhao Dehai fell and injured his hand. He can’t hold the ladle and can’t cook!”

Zhao Dehai was the Zhao uncle Shen Nian had called. Although Zhao uncle wasn’t tall, he was the best cook in the village. He was very good at stir-frying dishes in a big pot. The villagers couldn’t afford to hire cooks from outside, so they helped each other out. Zhao Dehai was always the one who cooked.

But today, when Zhao Dehai went up the mountain to chop wood, he rolled down a slope and injured his arm. He would have to rest for ten days before he could recover.

The villagers were all worried for Zhang’s family.

“What should we do? The wedding banquet is tomorrow! Where can we find a cook?”

“Not everyone can cook big pot dishes. And no one can cook as well as Zhao Dehai!”

“It’s just a meal for the villagers who are helping out today. We can just make do. But tomorrow is the main event. Relatives from both the bride and groom’s families will come. If the food isn’t good, it will be embarrassing and we’ll offend people!”

Zhang Ershun’s family was very worried.

The children saw the commotion and ran over to watch. Shen Nian was also pulled over. She turned around to find Fat Uncle, but he was gone.

“Ninth brother, have you seen Fat Uncle?”

Zhang Ershun’s family had set up two temporary stoves in the courtyard. They were used to cook the dishes for the wedding banquet. There were ingredients everywhere, and everyone was in front, no one paid attention to this area.

Fat Uncle followed the smell and came over. He felt a sense of familiarity when he saw the ingredients on the ground.

He reached out and picked up a potato, then looked at the kitchen knife next to it.

Shen Nian and Shen Feng searched outside for a while but couldn’t find him. They came to the courtyard and heard a strange sound. They looked up and saw the situation by the stove and were stunned.

“Fat Uncle…”

…

Zhang Ershun’s family and the villagers were still discussing finding a cook when they suddenly smelled a fragrance.

Zhang Ershun frowned: “The cook hasn’t come. Who’s cooking?”

“I don’t know. We’re all here!”

“Could it be some kid messing around? Go take a look!”

A group of people rushed into the courtyard and saw the silly man who had come to the village to apologize to them this morning and was taken in by the Shen family. He was waving a ladle, and the Shen family’s precious daughter and adopted son were adding firewood and controlling the heat for him.

The villagers were anxious.

“Stop! Those ingredients aren’t for you to play with!”

“Put down the pot!”

“Oh my god! How much food is he going to waste!”

Shen Nian turned to everyone and said: “Grandpa, grandma, uncles, aunts, don’t worry. Fat Uncle isn’t wasting the ingredients. He’s cooking. Look, he’s cooking so skillfully!”

The villagers looked closely and were surprised to find that Fat Uncle was indeed a different person than before.

If he was a fool who had lost his three souls and seven spirits before, then now he was a chef who had been given a soul.

He seemed to be glowing.

The villagers were stunned and forgot to stop him.

When they came to their senses, Fat Uncle had already stir-fried the potato shreds and poured them into a wooden basin for holding dishes. The aroma filled the air, making people drool.

Shen Nian took a bite with her chopsticks: “Delicious!”

She beckoned to Zhang Ershun and the others: “Come and try it. Fat Uncle’s cooking is really delicious!”

Everyone came over hesitantly. Zhang Ershun took a bite with her chopsticks.

It was really delicious!

Even better than Zhao Dehai’s cooking!

Seeing Zhang Ershun’s surprised expression, the others also came to try the dish and all praised it.

Shen Dong patted Fat Uncle on the shoulder: “I didn’t expect you to have this skill. You wouldn’t have been a chef before, would you?”