Chapter 96: Are You Qualified to Be Called Uncle?

To Sang Luo, Shen Lie was merely two characters in her family register.

But these two characters, which she rarely even thought about, suddenly materialized before her eyes one day.

He slightly bent his waist and sincerely thanked her for taking care of Shen An and Shen Ning. These two had already been completely regarded by Sang Luo as the children she should protect under her wings after several months of getting along.

Sang Luo was a bit confused. It was like building a bridge with great effort, walking to the middle, and suddenly someone else, the owner of the bridge piers and planks, appeared. He saw the completed bridge and was filled with satisfaction and gratitude, bowing to thank her for helping to build the bridge.

He sincerely thanked her. From the looks of it, he should probably be an honest person who wouldn’t resort to violence against her. But how should that feeling be described?

The bridge she had worked hard to build seemed to change hands in an instant. He could allow her to come and go here as she pleased, but he could also withdraw the planks of the bridge at any time because this bridge, built by her, was nominally and legally his.

Applied to reality, it could be this home, or the house she had painstakingly built. It was her nest where she made her living in this time and space.

This feeling was truly, unprecedentedly awful.

But she couldn’t vent her anger. Indeed, she knew that this kind of emotion could only be called displaced anger, because this place originally belonged to Shen Lie, and Shen An and Shen Ning were originally Shen Lie’s younger siblings. On the contrary, she was just a rootless duckweed, relying on his identity and household registration to change from a refugee to a citizen, and she had planted her roots in this grass hut halfway up the mountainside.

Sang Luo thought, if Shen Lie had returned earlier, she would definitely have tried to extricate herself from this world as soon as she arrived, after all, who could accept becoming a wife to a completely unfamiliar man? No, it seemed more appropriate to call him a young man. Who could accept becoming a wife to a completely unfamiliar person they didn’t know anything about?

But Sang Luo also knew that no one was to blame for this, not even the heavens, because the heavens had given her a chance to live another life. Apart from gratitude, how could there be complaints?

She sighed deeply, nodded, and accepted his thanks. Then, she had nothing more to say.

Fortunately, the main house was very close to the kitchen. Shen An and Shen Ning had already brought chairs and utensils over.

Shen Ning’s face was full of joy as she arranged the chairs and was about to pull her elder brother to sit at the table.

She was still immersed in the joy of her big brother being alive and back, and hadn’t thought too much about anything else. At nine years old, she didn’t understand too much about thinking.

But Shen Ning didn’t understand, and Shen Lie wouldn’t fail to understand. He could see the young woman’s frustration, distress, and discomfort all over her.

He casually glanced around the room. There was an old bed and a new one. The bedding on the bed was brand new and thick, obviously comfortable and warm.

Stacked on the shelf near the outer wall were bags filled to the brim. He didn’t know what was inside those bags, but they were obviously well stored. Shen Lie could guess they were grains.

Just from entering the courtyard and then entering this room and seeing the food on the table, Shen Lie had to admit that she had managed this home very well. Even he, from more than two years ago, didn’t have such ability.

Zhou Cunzheng said she got married just half a month before the family split, so it’s only been six months.

Running a household in just six months must have been extremely hard work. To her, he, a rumored dead man who suddenly returned, probably seemed like someone who came back to pick fruit, right?

Shen Lie felt a bit uneasy. He subconsciously cleared his throat and said to Shen Ning, “Big brother has been traveling all the way back, and he’s too dirty to sit at the table.”

Then, he turned to Shen An, who had brought utensils, and said, “Xiao An, help me get some food, I’ll eat outside.”

As soon as these words fell, both Shen An and Shen Ning were stunned. Sang Luo also looked up at Shen Lie, and their eyes met. He smiled kindly at her.

There was a three-point resemblance between his features and Shen An’s.

Sang Luo:…

Suddenly, she felt like she had become the villain.

She stood up. “Sit down and eat. There might not be enough food, but you eat. I’ll make some noodles for myself. You siblings haven’t seen each other in years and probably have a lot to talk about. Eat and chat.”

With that, she got up and prepared to go to the kitchen.

Shen Ning, upon hearing that his sister-in-law was going to make more food, hurried to catch up. “Sister-in-law, I’ll help you start the fire.”

But Sang Luo stopped him with a smile. “Sit down and eat your meal. Also, talk to your brother. It’s not a big deal for me.”

Moreover, she felt a bit redundant staying in the house. She believed that Shen Lie probably wanted to know what had happened after he left home, including the family splitting and her becoming his wife. She decided not to interfere in these matters and let the siblings tell him themselves.

Shen Lie stood by the door. When Sang Luo passed by, he quickly stepped back outside, giving her space.

However, Sang Luo was more focused on his clothes. They were thin autumn clothes underneath, wrapped in animal fur on the outside, either wolf or some other kind. It seemed like his only protection against the cold. He was wrapped up like that, with a coarse rope tied around his waist for stability, and he was carrying a large bag behind him.

Fortunately, although he looked dusty, he wasn’t particularly dirty, and there were no strange smells.

With just a passing glance, she didn’t notice anything else. She went straight to the kitchen, leaving the main house to Shen Lie and the two siblings.

Shen An was very observant. Sensing that his sister-in-law might be uncomfortable, he quickly brought over the stool she had just sat on.

When he entered the kitchen and saw Sang Luo adding firewood to the stove, he placed the stool and approached. After hesitating for a moment, he said, “Sister-in-law, my brother is a really good person. Don’t feel uncomfortable.”

Sang Luo was surprised and amused. Yes, Shen An had always been perceptive and sensitive, so it wasn’t surprising that he noticed anything.

She smiled and nodded. “Okay, I’m just not very familiar yet. You two continue eating. I’ll stay in the kitchen for a while and eat later. I’ll boil some water for your brother to wash up later.”

In the original memories, the imperial court had launched a large-scale military campaign in the northeastern part of the Great Qian Dynasty for nearly two years before returning here. Crossing several northern provinces, which were now all sealed off, Sang Luo didn’t know how he had come back or if he had passed through the epidemic area. It was better to wash up.

Thinking about having only one bathtub at home and only one room for people to live in, she was already starting to worry.

Shen An didn’t notice that she was already worrying about this. He only heard his sister-in-law say that she was just a little unfamiliar and wanted to help his brother wash up. His half-raised worry suddenly dissipated, and he happily agreed, “Then I’ll go back first.”

When Sang Luo nodded, he hurried back to the main house.

—

Inside the main house, Shen Lie had already sat down at the table. Although the volume of Shen An and Sang Luo’s conversation was not high, in the quiet mountains, and with the main house and kitchen being close together, Shen Lie could hear everything they said.

When Shen An returned to the main house, the three siblings sat together. Eating was secondary; indeed, as Sang Luo had thought, Shen Lie had too many things he wanted to know.

The low murmurs in the room continued. Sang Luo didn’t interrupt. She made herself some noodle soup, but when she was halfway through eating, she heard some unusual movements from the main house. Looking out the window, she saw Shen Lie, who should have been eating, striding out of the house, across the yard, and straight out.

Sang Luo: ???

Shen An and Shen Ning soon came out of the main house too. Sang Luo put down her bowl and went out of the kitchen. “What happened?”

Shen An blinked. “We told Sister-in-law how you came here, how the family split, and how Sister-in-law almost starved to death before…”

At that time, big brother’s expression was so ugly. Then he put down his bowl and said he was going out for a while and left.

Sang Luo raised her eyebrows and smiled. “It’s okay. You two continue eating.”

Somebody was about to have a bad time. She wasn’t in a hurry to follow along to see the excitement, for the sake of Shen Jin and the others, but just the thought of Shen San probably getting a beating made Sang Luo very happy!

She wasn’t worried at all that Shen Lie wouldn’t be able to handle Shen San. She didn’t know what Shen Lie was made of, but at eighteen years old, with the Lunar New Year just a month away, he was barely nineteen, but he was really tall. At least 1.88 meters tall, and not the skinny type of tall, probably came back from the battlefield after surviving a life and death situation. Anyway, there was a kind of deliberately restrained sharpness about him.

It’s just that his face still looked youthful, which was quite deceptive. If it weren’t for him stepping back those two steps just now, she would have felt quite oppressed by his presence.

Shen An and Shen Ning apparently also knew what their big brother was up to. Their thoughts were the same as Sang Luo’s. They didn’t want to join in the fun for the sake of their little cousins, knowing that Uncle Three was definitely going to have a bad time.

—

And indeed, Shen Lie heard about the difficult times his younger siblings and sister-in-law had been through before. They had almost starved to death. The anger that had been momentarily suppressed by seeing the two children doing well and being distracted by Sang Luo’s situation suddenly surged up again. He went down the mountain straight to his third uncle’s house.

Since entering winter, Shen San would only get up twice a day to make meals, most of the time he would just stay in bed, not because he lacked clothes, but purely out of laziness. If he could lie down, he wouldn’t bother sitting.

Suddenly, he heard crying and shouting outside. He thought about getting up to see what was happening but found it too cold, so he planned to ask Shen Jin and the others to go out and see. However, he couldn’t find the kids anywhere; they weren’t even home.

After listening carefully, it didn’t sound like anything dangerous was happening, so between curiosity and staying in bed, he chose the latter.

However, before he could even lay back down, he heard a loud bang as the door was kicked open and slammed against the rammed earth wall, with mud falling off.

When he saw who kicked the door in, he thought he was seeing a ghost. He lifted the blanket off and got out of bed, trembling and unable to speak. But before he could say anything, he was punched in the face.

As the villagers who had come to watch Shen Lie make a scene outside the courtyard could hear Shen San’s screams, “Shen Lie! I’m your third uncle!”

“Third uncle? You actually think you’re worthy of being called an uncle?”

What followed were the muffled sounds of punches hitting flesh and Shen San’s pig-like screams. He begged for mercy, “Stop, stop, it hurts too much, I’ll die… Ah! Ah!”

Shen San regretted it. He should have just stayed obediently serving outside; he wouldn’t have gotten beaten up like this today!

A crowd gathered in the courtyard, even the neighbors from the Chen family couldn’t resist coming out despite just reuniting. They all rushed out.

Shen San was dragged out by Shen Lie like a chicken, pushed to the ground.

Shen Lie addressed the villagers in the courtyard, “Bear witness, I, Shen Lie, was sixteen when my third uncle changed my name and sent me to the battlefield in his place. And what did they do? They heard I was dead, so they brought me a wife and sent us away with just two small bags of grain, which almost starved us to death.”

“I, Shen Lie, survived and came back alive. This beating is just to vent my anger. From today on, the main and third branches of the Shen family have nothing to do with each other, and I, Shen Lie, have no third uncle or third aunt.”

He looked at Shen San, who was crouched on the ground, and said, “You two aren’t worthy of being called an uncle and aunt!”

Some in the crowd cheered, some murmured, but Shen Lie didn’t care. After glancing at Chen Dashan, who had followed, he turned and walked out of the Shen family’s courtyard.

Chen Dashan had just returned home. When his father and grandfather surrounded him at the village entrance, especially his father, who was crying miserably, followed by his mother and siblings who heard the commotion and rushed over, the whole family was crying and laughing. Chen Zhengzheng hadn’t heard the conversation between Zhou Cunzheng and Shen Lie at all.

In the time he’d been home, they’d only been talking about what had happened after he left. They hadn’t had time to ask about anything else, so he didn’t even know about Shen An and Shen Ning being split off. Now, hearing what Shen Lie had just said, he looked shocked. Looking at Shen San curled up on the ground, he almost kicked him in anger, fearing he would do it himself without being hit.

“A’Lie went to the battlefield for you several times and almost died, yet you’re not even willing to raise Xiao An and An Ning. Your conscience must have been eaten by dogs!”

With that, he spat on the ground, then went out to catch up with Shen Lie.

Shen Lie hadn’t gone far, just outside the courtyard. Seeing Chen Dashan coming out, he said, “I’ll go back and tidy up quickly. I’ll be at your house in an hour. Also, please invite Uncle Zhou and Uncle Shi Lu’s families. We need to inform everyone about the situation in the north so they can be prepared.”

Chen Dashan nodded and watched Shen Lie start to leave, but hurriedly grabbed him, “You just said your third uncle and third aunt got you a wife?”

Thinking of the reason Shen An had mentioned earlier, that his third uncle got him a wife, Shen Lie’s cheek twitched unconsciously. Then he thought of the tidy courtyard halfway up the mountain, the people in the courtyard, and his anger turned to relief. The feelings inside were complicated.

He nodded, not knowing what to say. He didn’t really understand people. He vaguely nodded, “Um, let’s talk later. I’ll go back first.”

As Shen Lie said this and lifted his foot to leave, he suddenly remembered the conversation he had overheard between Shen An and his wife, about boiling water for him to wash up.

He instinctively sniffed himself and asked Chen Dashan, “I don’t smell bad, do I?”

After spending over two years outside, he had been really dirty at times, almost as dirty as a wild person. But now he was clean, right?