NOVPUB
Chapter 93: Chapter 89 Really Got Nothing for You (2nd Update)
The person who walked by was indeed Shen Yunfang’s future uncle, named Li Hongxing, twenty-eight years old, with thick eyebrows and big eyes, quite the handsome figure.
Shen Yunfang and Sister Meiling had just finished sweeping the rice into the cloth bag in the trough, ready to notify the next family to mill the rice, when Li Hongxing came looking for them.
After entering Gaijiatun, Li Hongxing went straight to Shen Yunfang’s house, but of course, as usual, the steel "general" stood guard at the door. He inquired around and finally found out that his future sister-in-law was milling rice at the production team’s place.
Then, Li Hongxing headed back toward the entrance of the village, coincidentally catching up with Shen Yunfang and Sister Meiling as they were finishing packing the rice bags and preparing to go home.
"Yunfang, are you milling rice here?" Li Hongxing looked at Shen Yunfang with a somewhat unnatural smile. There was an outsider present, and he couldn’t quite bring himself to say what he intended.
"Eh," Shen Yunfang was taken aback by the question before she realized the person was indeed her future uncle. "Oh, is that you, big brother? What brings you here? Aren’t you busy at home?"
"Dad and Mom were worried you might not be able to handle the farm work alone, so they sent me to check on you," Li Hongxing said, sounding even more uncomfortable.
Shen Yunfang almost laughed out loud; the excuse he came up with was indeed amusing. "Big brother, you’re a bit late. Here in our village, we’ve already finished the harvest. There’s not much work left now. When you go back, tell uncle and auntie not to worry about me. I have neighbors and my elder uncle to help, so I can manage."
"Haha, we’re all one family after all, helping each other out is only right. Yunfang, that’s grain you’re carrying, isn’t it? Let me help you with it," volunteered Li Hongxing, reaching to take the rice bag from Shen Yunfang’s shoulder.
Shen Yunfang quickly stepped aside, "Big brother, no need, this isn’t my grain. It belongs to Auntie Wang; I’m helping Sister Wang mill her rice." The families took turns milling rice; Shen Yunfang’s batch was ground in the previous trough, while this trough of rice belonged to Dashuan’s family.
Li Hongxing, looking a little embarrassed, retracted his hand.
Sister Meiling had been observing with a cold eye all along. It was at this moment that she spoke, unable to suppress a smirk, "Yunfang, since someone from your future in-law’s family has come, shouldn’t you bring them to your elder uncle’s house? You better not lead him to your own place. There’s a saying about this sort of situation; it’s not good fodder for gossip when an uncle goes poking around his future sister-in-law’s home."
Shen Yunfang rolled her eyes at Sister Meiling, thinking what nonsense she was spouting.
Li Hongxing, feeling quite embarrassed by her words, his face turning red, stammered, "I’m not going anywhere. I just have a few words to say to you." He was naturally reticent, and being squeezed like this, he didn’t know what to say.
"Big brother, if there’s something you want to say, there’s no rush. Why don’t you come sit at my elder uncle’s house? You’ve come all this way; at least have some water," Shen Yunfang insisted, eager to get him to her elder uncle’s place. After Qian Xinxue’s previous visit, she learned how useful having an elder uncle could be, and now, she planned to use the same tactic to get rid of him.
"No need, no need, I’m not thirsty. Well, Yunfang, when I was coming here, mom told me to discuss something with you, you see..." Li Hongxing gritted his teeth and decided to get straight to the point, but with another person still present, he kept glancing their way, clearly signaling it was time to clear the area.
Both Shen Yunfang and Sister Meiling understood what he meant, but neither of them moved. Sister Meiling didn’t want to leave and have Yunfang at a disadvantage, so she pretended not to understand what was going on, as if saying she was all ears. Shen Yunfang, on the other hand, didn’t see the need to send her away, as it was completely obvious what he was there for, even without needing to think about it.
"Big brother, Sister Meiling is just like a real sister to me. You can speak freely," Shen Yunfang said with a cheerful smile.
Li Hongxing frowned upon hearing her words, but seeing that Dashuan’s wife really had no intention of leaving, he didn’t want to drag it out, so he had to speak plainly.
"Heh, that’s the situation. As you know, my family has many mouths to feed. My mother scrimps and saves every day, yet we’re still not well-off. A couple of days ago, my father fell ill, so we had a doctor come to check on him. He said it’s malnutrition and told us to give Dad better food and more grains. We’re too poor to afford much, so we sent a letter to Hongjun to see what to do. Hongjun replied, telling us to come to you and get some rice, saying we’re all family after all, and you can’t eat much by yourself, so you might as well help out the family a bit. Heh, here I am, taking the time to come. With a sick person at home, we can’t afford to delay," Li Hongxing relayed as if he was repeating someone else’s words.
And indeed, it was a rehearsal. Before coming, his wife and old mother had taught him what to say.
Shen Yunfang carefully pondered the underlying meanings in her future uncle’s words. First, grandpa-in-law was ill, suffering from malnutrition, and in need of nourishment, and she, as a future member of the Li family, had a responsibility too. Second, asking her for rice was done with Li Hongjun’s approval, so their old Li family had a righteous cause, and she, Shen Yunfang, was obliged to provide. Third, she, Shen Yunfang, was considered too naive and foolish to deserve fine grains, which should instead be saved for the Li family members.
Was this how she should interpret Li Hongxing’s words?
Shen Yunfang pursed her lips and, in the end, suppressed her anger and spoke kindly to Li Hongxing, "Big brother, if uncle is sick, why didn’t you come to notify me earlier, so I could also visit him? How is everything at home, have you finished harvesting the grain? Do you need me to help out for a couple of days?"
"Ah, no need, no need, we’ve already finished harvesting at home," Li Hongxing thought to himself, you’re just a half-grown girl, what can you do? Even if we were looking for help, we couldn’t use someone like you. You wouldn’t be able to do much work and we’d still have to feed you, it wouldn’t be worth it at all.
"Oh, you’ve finished harvesting at home? Didn’t Taoshu Village divide the rice? Isn’t there enough to help uncle regain his strength?" Shen Yunfang continued to ask.
You know full well we’ve just finished harvesting when you come to my house asking for grain. Don’t you think about the fact that your own family just received their share? Your family’s portion hasn’t even cooled yet, and you’re already eying someone else’s.
"Yeah, we did get some, but it’s just that... my mother is always careful..." Li Hongxing didn’t know how to continue and fell silent.
Shen Yunfang raised an eyebrow, your mother is so careful, not willing to spare fine grains to nourish the old man, yet when it comes to her grains, she doesn’t hesitate, what kind of logic is this?
"Big brother, I understand what you mean, but unfortunately, my family didn’t get any rice this year. Even if I wanted to give you some, I have none. How about this, I’ll also send a letter and ask Li Hongjun what should be done," Shen Yunfang replied, still with a good attitude, not really believing that Li Hongjun would allow the Li family to take her grain.
"How is that possible? I’ve inquired, and your village had a good harvest this year too, didn’t they? Each family got over a hundred jin of rice," Li Hongxing countered without thinking.
Too? So that means Taoshu Village also had a good harvest, eh? The Li family has many members, six adults alone, which is much more than the fine grains she received. How could they be dissatisfied and covet that little bit of rice from her, a lone girl? 𝚗𝚘v𝚙𝚞b.𝚌𝚘m
At this, Dashuan’s wife let out a snort of laughter. "You’ve really come well-prepared."
Li Hongxing felt rather embarrassed, unable to lift his head, wondering how his true feelings had so blatantly slipped out.
Shen Yunfang also laughed, "Big brother, how can it be impossible? Last year you came and took away my rice, and then my grandmother’s family also took a hundred jin. That made me borrow grains to get by for the whole year. This year, when it was time to distribute the grains, I directly exchanged my rice for corn. I paid back some of it and kept a portion for myself as this year’s ration. I really don’t have anything left to give you."
