Chapter 5 The Little Guy's Family
Shu Jianjun is the eldest son in the family, and Shu Man is the youngest sister.
Back then, Grandpa Shu was quite capable; when his sons got married, he got them all decent plots of land to build houses.
When Shu Man and Yao Guohua got married, Mr. Shu felt sorry for his daughter and didn't want her to go to Yao Guohua's house and squeeze in with a large group of people.
He gave the courtyard to Shu Man and went to live with Shu Jianjun's family.
Schumann's brothers were all very kind to him.
They had previously assumed that Shuman's collapse at work was due to poor health, but after news broke last night that Yao Shula and her younger siblings had ruined their father's wedding banquet, many other things came to light.
For example, people are saying that Schumann was actually angered to death by that despicable couple...
"Shura, tell your uncle, was your mother really angered to death by that despicable couple?"
"Is there any evidence or anything?" Shu Jianjun asked with a stern face.
Yao Shula shook her head.
"Uncle, I overheard my mom and dad arguing by accident."
My mother said my dad was shameless, and that Song Yuling was an ingrate who seduced her own master.
"I don't have any concrete evidence!" Yao Shula said softly.
Actually, Yao Shula didn't know any of this originally; she only found out later...
There's really no concrete evidence, like letters or anything like that!
Shu Jianjun clenched his fists.
"No evidence... it's not a big deal."
We'll still make a scene; I'll make those two bastards pay dearly, or I'm not a Shu.
Seeing her uncle's gritted teeth, Yao Shula quickly pulled him aside.
"Uncle, please don't rush. We need to discuss some things carefully."
We can't let a moment of impulse lead us to ruin ourselves again.
"Uncle, they're cracking down hard right now!" Yao Shula whispered a reminder.
"Shura, what do you want to do? Don't worry, this house was originally under the old man's name, and it was never transferred to his name."
He wants to move the house, but that's impossible!
Shula, today is Sunday, the government offices are closed. Wait until tomorrow, and your uncle will take you, Shuxin, and Shuli together to transfer the house to your names.
"That shameless person won't gain even the slightest advantage," Shu Jianjun said immediately.
Yao Shula felt a little touched.
My uncle is really great!
Actually, the house hasn't been transferred to my maternal grandfather's name yet; it's still registered under his name. Now that he's passed away, my maternal uncle is in charge there.
If the eldest uncle had any ulterior motives... then the house wouldn't have ended up in Yao Shula's family.
"Uncle, I have something else to tell you!"
Yao Guohua will start work in three days. On the day he starts work, you and your two uncles can take us siblings to the factory.
"Some things are better resolved at the factory," Yao Shula said softly.
"No problem, Shura, whatever you say, your uncle will do..."
And so, Yao Shula and her uncle whispered to each other in the main room for a long time.
Yao Shuxin, Yao Shuli, and the little boy playing in the yard all kept nodding as they looked at Uncle Shu...
...
After finishing his business, Shu Jianjun walked out of the main room and looked around the courtyard.
The tables, chairs, and benches from last night were all placed to one side. Although there were many of them, they were not messy.
"Shura, do you still have any rationed grain left in your food supply book to buy?" Shu Jianjun suddenly asked.
“Yes! There’s still almost half left! It’s just…” Yao Shula didn’t finish her sentence.
Shu Jianjun knew what it meant; there was a quota available for purchase, but they didn't have the money to buy it.
Yao Guohua definitely keeps a tight grip on the family's money; how could he possibly let Yao Shula and the others have any?
Shu Jianjun touched his pocket.
I was in a bit of a rush when I left, and I didn't bring much money with me. I only had two five-yuan notes on me, which were deposits I had paid to someone at the lumber mill to order furniture.
"Shura, take this ten dollars first."
My uncle will bring you some more in a couple of days.
The Chinese New Year is just around the corner, so let's get started on making preparations!
"You must tell your uncle if anything happens!" After saying that, Uncle Shu stuffed ten yuan into Yao Shula's hand, pushed his bicycle, and left.
Yao Shula looked at the two five-yuan notes in her hand, then at Uncle Shu's back, and felt a little sad.
This uncle is a good person.
Although I scolded and beat Yao Shuxin and Yao Shuli a few times later, it was out of disappointment and because I didn't want my younger siblings to go astray.
However, Yao Shuxin and Yao Shuli went further and further astray, and Uncle Shu eventually had no way to help them.
Every time after beating Yao Shuli, Uncle Shu would run to Shuman's grave and cry...
"Big sister, what did Uncle say? Did he say he was going to bring his uncles and cousins to cause trouble for Yao Guohua and Song Yuling?" Yao Shuli immediately came over and asked.
"I don't know! Do people tell us what they're doing?"
Okay, let's prepare lunch first!
"After lunch, take this child to the police station!" Yao Shula tapped Yao Shuli on the forehead.
The child who was playing happily with Yao Shuli suddenly looked dejected.
Yao Shuxin continued cooking.
Yao Shula, on the other hand, was thinking about taking her uncle and the others to the factory to look for trouble three days later.
There are quite a few things to resolve this time, so I need to think them through carefully and make sure to get them all sorted out at once.
...
Grandma Zhou next door smiled as she watched the basin of leftovers being eaten and then doze off.
The dog is full, but I haven't had lunch yet!
I'm all alone... what should I cook?
Let's make more noodle soup! Sauté some scallion oil in oil, then add some noodles and some freshly pickled mustard greens...
Grandma Zhou hadn't even scooped out the flour when the door was pushed open.
She peeked out and saw her eldest grandson, who had been gone all night and had just returned.
"Ping An, you're back!" Grandma Zhou said casually.
Zhou Pingan hummed in agreement.
"Grandma, is there anything to eat at home? I'm coming back to change my shoes; I'm going out again later!"
Anything will do, just grab a bite...
"Hey, you've just thrown together something again! Why is there so little? Why not make more so the basin can eat some too?" Zhou Ping'an was speechless after walking around the kitchen.
It's just him and his wife at home, and they can't even finish their combined rations, yet his wife is so frugal...
"I've already eaten from the washbasin! Shura from next door brought it over with her younger siblings."
It must be the meat dishes that weren't finished at last night's banquet.
"She ate a whole basinful! I reckon she could go two days without eating," Grandma Zhou said with a smile.
Zhou Ping'an said "oh" and was about to leave the kitchen when he heard Grandma Zhou mutter two more words.
"Sigh, Shura has it tough. She's only in her early twenties and has to raise her younger siblings."
Now they've picked up another child...
"Grandma, what did you just say?" Zhou Ping'an was stunned.
"I said Shura has it tough! What's wrong?" Grandma Zhou asked, puzzled.
"The last sentence!" Zhou Ping'an pressed for an answer.
"Oh! I found a baby! They said they found him on their way home last night. He's so tall, and he's a little boy!"
They have big, bright eyes and look very clever!
I just don't know why I can't remember where my home is...
"Hey, where are you going! Are you still at home for dinner?" Grandma Zhou called out to Zhou Ping'an's retreating figure.
...
Yao Shuxin cooked rice for lunch and reheated the leftover meat and vegetables from last night, ladling out a full bowl.
The four people sat around the eight-immortal table, one on each side.
Each person has a large bowl in front of them.
Yao Shula only served herself a small half bowl of rice.
She ate too much last night, and this morning she drank a lot of porridge and ate two fried dough sticks. She really couldn't eat much more.
The other three children continued to eat heartily.
The child next to Yao Shula stood up, took a spoon, and scooped some of the vegetable broth into the rice.
Yao Shula quickly put another large meatball on the child's plate.
The child's eyes narrowed with joy.
"I haven't even asked you your name yet!" Yao Shula asked with a smile.
The child mumbled something while shoveling rice into his mouth.
"Lei Jingtian, my nickname is Tiantian! Big sister, just call me Tiantian!"
My family calls me Tiantian.
Yao Shula said "Oh," and realized that the surname was Lei. She didn't know him and had never heard of anyone in the area with the surname Lei.
"Eat quickly! After you finish eating, I'll take you to the police station and ask the police to help you find your family." Yao Shula said, putting another large piece of meat on Tiantian's plate.
Xiao Tian nodded and stopped talking, just silently eating his meat and rice.
The four of them had been eating for a short while when they heard footsteps coming from outside the courtyard.
Yao Shula was wondering, "Whose family member is coming home from get off work? Their footsteps are so loud..."
Then the Yao family's gate was pushed open forcefully.
Apart from Xiao Tiantian, the Yao siblings were all so frightened that they immediately stood up.
Yao Shula squinted at the two men who entered the room.
One is Zhou Ping'an, the grandson of Grandma Zhou next door; the other I don't recognize.
She was dressed in a very fashionable denim outfit for that era, and her hair was styled in a trendy side part, just like in Hong Kong and Taiwan...
Oh, and one more thing, his facial features are quite good; he definitely deserves the word "handsome."
Yao Shuxin was startled to see Zhou Ping'an bring a stranger.
Yao Shuli even instinctively reached for the stool she was sitting on...
Only little Tiantian was still sitting calmly on the stool, munching on a big chunk of meat...
...
Lei Jingwu didn't know how to describe the scene before him.
It was a family, not just a family, but many people who had searched all night. Many people followed the road in front of the residential compound and tried to find their way to the countryside.
I just called Shanghai this morning and asked them to send over Xiaotian's photo as soon as possible so I can go door-to-door with it.
This little guy actually...
Lei Jingwu never imagined that the little guy in front of him, happily munching on a big chunk of meat with chopsticks, was his picky cousin who would refuse to eat at the drop of a hat.
Look at that huge bowl in front of him...
They're even bigger than Xiaotian's head!
Xiao Tian swallowed the meat in his mouth before speaking.
"Big cousin, you've finally found me!"
"You don't know, I came out looking for you, but I got lost. If it weren't for Sister Shura's kind heart, afraid I'd be kidnapped by that old kidnapper, and bringing me back, I definitely wouldn't be seeing you now!"
Yao Shula and her brother then realized that these were Xiao Tiantian's family members!
Everyone breathed a sigh of relief.
Zhou Ping'an also breathed a sigh of relief; it seemed his deduction was correct.
He quickly smiled at Yao Shula, about to say something, but Yao Shula spoke first.
"Are you Tiantian's family? Have you eaten? It's just simple food...would you like to eat something?"
Zhou Ping'an nodded immediately. He was about to pull Lei Jingwu to sit down when Yao Shuxin said with difficulty, "Sister, we didn't make that much food!"
"Then..." Yao Shula was about to suggest that they could eat some vegetables.
Yao Shuli and Xiao Tiantian quickly scooped all the meat chunks and pieces from the basin into the four siblings' bowls.
Then all that was left in the bowl was some scraps of meat and broth...
Lei Jingwu glanced at the meat piled high in Xiao Tiantian's bowl.
Xiao Tiantian immediately covered the rice bowl with both hands.
"I ran away last night without eating!" Xiao Tiantian looked at Lei Jingwu.
"Okay! Eat up! I'll take you home after you're done," Lei Jingwu had no choice but to say.
Xiao Tiantian immediately urged Yao Shula and her brother to eat quickly.
Lei Jingwu and Zhou Pingan just watched the four siblings eat, while the two of them swallowed hard...
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