Chapter 9: Shen Yu’an’s Kindness

At this time, in the courtyard of the Shen family, Shen Rong and the 2 brothers Shen Dalang, and Shen Erlang who had returned from school, also joined the team digging the cellar. With more people, the work was done quickly, and the cellar was soon dug out. Grandpa Shen also made a lid for the cellar entrance.

After finishing up, the group sat in the courtyard to rest and chat.

“Why haven’t the second and third sons come back yet? They shouldn’t lose my precious granddaughter,” Grandma Shen muttered anxiously.

“Don’t worry, mother. Maybe they just got delayed while shopping. They should be back soon,” Song  Shi reassured her, though she was also getting a bit worried as it was already dark outside and they still hadn’t returned.

As they were speaking, they heard the sound of wheels outside. Song Shi quickly went to open the door, and saw that it was Shen Yu’an and a few others who had returned, with Shen Ming even driving a cart pulled by an ox.

“Oh my, where did this cart come from?” Song Shi asked in surprise.

“Sister-in-law, let’s go inside first and talk,” Shen Yun jumped off the cart and gestured for Song Shi to speak softly.

Song Shi realized they were still outside and slapped her mouth in annoyance, then turned around to open the door and let Shen Ming drive the cart into the yard.

As soon as Shen Ming drove the cart in, everyone gathered around and started asking questions.

“Wait a minute, let us catch our breath before you start asking us,” Shen Yun said to Grandma Shen.

Sure enough, as soon as Shen Yun finished speaking, Shen’s grandmother was about to slap him, that’s why he quickly hid behind Shen Yu’an.

“Grandma, let us drink  some water first before we tell you what happened this afternoon,” Shen Yu’an smiled and hugged Grandma Shen’s arm.

Grandma Shen’s anger subsided instantly, and she asked a few boys to bring out the prepared cold water.

After they had a drink, Shen Yu’an began to talk about what happened this afternoon, including the purchase of the cart, grain, and cloth.

Zhao Shi looked at the pile of clothes on top of the grain and said with distress, “Why did you buy so many clothes and fabrics? It’s such a waste. The ones we are wearing are still in good condition.”

“Second Aunt, all our clothes are too old. Anyway, we have money now, so let’s just prepare some new ones in advance,” explained Shen Yu’an.

Among the Shen family, only Shen Yu’an and her father Shen Rong had slightly better clothes without patches. Shen Rong taught at school and had to pay attention to his image. As for Shen Yu’an, her family had given her all the good fabric they had.

On the other hand, the clothes of the other people in the family all had patches, even the eldest son who went to school had patches on his clothes.

Shen Yu’an also had her own ideas. Although the original book did not introduce Shen’s village in detail, Wang Zhicai, who lived in the village, was also among those who were fleeing the disaster. The Shen’s village was likely in a disaster area, so she bought rough cotton clothes that were durable and comfortable.

“Yu’an is right. If we buy new clothes, we should wear them now,” said Grandma Shen, who had suddenly become more open-minded. She thought that if things were really as bad as her granddaughter had said, then they should enjoy themselves and have a good time while they still could.

It was surprising that the most open-minded person in the family regarding this matter was the elderly, Grandmother Shen.

When Shen Wulang and Shen Liulang heard that there were new clothes, they couldn’t wait to climb onto the cow cart. Shen Sanlang and Shen Silang, who were a bit older, could control themselves, but Shen Sanlang had always been a bit of a troublemaker. Seeing Wulang and Liulang climb onto the cart, he ran over to join in the fun.

Meanwhile, Shen Yun had taken the fabric that Shen Yu’an had specially bought for the children from the cow cart and brought it to Xiao Zhangshi, saying, “This is what Yu’an bought for our children. Please make some small clothes out of it.”

Xiaozhang Shi touched the smooth fabric in her hand and smiled gratefully at Shen Yu’an, who smiled back.

Shen’s grandmother was getting a headache from the children climbing onto the cart. She slapped Wulang on the butt and said to the others standing around, “Unload the things from the cart first. Put the clothes and fabric in the main hall for now, and move the grain to the cellar. Don’t make a fuss and attract attention.”

Three boys climbed onto the car and slid down along the grain bags. They stood on the side, planning to wait and help move the clothes.

Shen Ming took the clothes from the grain bag and handed them to the boys who were eagerly waiting beside him. As for the cloth, Zhang Shi and Song Shi lifted and carried it into the house.

The remaining people each carried a bag of grain and moved it into the cellar. Shen Yu’an had great strength, so after sending the cloth into the house, she grabbed the middle of a bag of grain with one hand and lifted it effortlessly.

The Shen family knew that she was very strong, so it wasn’t a surprise.

By the time they finished moving the grain, it was already completely dark outside. When they were moving things, Grandma Shen and Xiaozhang Shi were cooking, and now the food was ready.

With many people in the Shen family, they had a large wooden square table for meals, but it still couldn’t accommodate everyone.

The Third Brother, Fourth Brother, Fifth Brother, and Sixth Brother stood and ate with their bowls and chopsticks. They picked up whatever dishes they wanted to eat with their chopsticks.

After the meal, Shen Yu’an, who was tired, washed up and went into a deep sleep.

The next morning, the courtyard was already lively before Shen Yu’an woke up, with the crowing of roosters one after another.

Shen Yu’an crouched in the yard, frowning as she brushed her teeth with a willow twig. She felt very uncomfortable with the fact that there were no toothbrushes here.

“Do we still need to buy grain in town today?” Shen Ming asked.

“We’ll buy it, but I won’t go today. Remember to change the grain store to avoid arousing suspicion,” Shen Yu’an said.

Shen Yu’an thought that they had bought 800 kilograms of grain yesterday, which should be enough for them to eat for the next few months, even if it wasn’t enough, she had some grains stored in her space.

He asked Shen Ming and Shen Yun to continue buying grain, for a different reason.

“Our family’s grain is almost enough, but my mother and Second Aunt-in-law’s family don’t know what the situation is now. Let’s prepare for it. If they don’t have grain later, we’ll give them the grain at the price we bought it for. It’s just that Second Uncle  and Third Uncle  will have to make a few more trips,” Shen Yu’an said.

In Shen Yu’an’s memory, her maternal grandmother was very kind to her and her mother, and her two uncles were also good. However, they didn’t visit Shen’s village very often since they feared that people would say they were living off their daughter’s blood after she got married.

Xiaozhang’s maternal family was the elder brother of Shen’s grandmother. Shen’s grandmother and her elder brother were the only ones in their generation, and their older relatives had all passed away.

Xiao Zhang used to come and play here often when she was a child. She grew up with Shen Yun and they were childhood sweethearts. Grandma Shen have a clear understanding of their background, so she arranged the marriage between Shen Yun and Xiaozhang.

On the contrary, the relationship between Zhao’s family and her maternal family was not very close, as they were just relatives. However, Shen Yu’an looked down upon Zhao’s family because they were so eager to marry off their daughters for a better life, even if it meant marrying into a worse family.

When Shen Yu’an spoke just now, Song Shi, Zhao Shi, and Xiaozhang  Shi all heard it, and they were really happy.

After Shen Yu’an mentioned the dream, Grandma Shen declared that nobody must say anything about it, they can’t   talk to their maternal family about it. They were worried that the more people who knew about it, the more dangerous it would be for Shen Yu’an. They had been hesitant to mention it, but now that Shen Yu’an brought it up, it was like a weight had been lifted off their hearts.

Song Shi and Xiao Zhang were both very happy, but Zhao Shi had a calm expression on her face, and they didn’t know what she was thinking.