Chapter 12 Uncle Shen's family This damned world!
Uncle Shen's house was located at the junction of the outer city and the inner city. If one took the long-distance bus between the inner and outer cities of Bianjing, it would take about half an hour, which was not far.
Because the imperial palace where the emperor lived was located slightly to the north, Bianjing (Kaifeng) became known as "the north is noble and the south is lowly." However, as Bianjing became more populous and land prices rose, many wealthy merchants built large mansions in the south of the city and moved out to live elsewhere.
Uncle Shen was the same. Like his father, he also owned a shop in the inner city with a front shop and a back residence, but his residence in the outer city had two courtyards and a total of nine rooms.
Besides, Uncle Shen also owns fifty acres of land in the countryside. He lives in the outer city so that it is convenient for him to collect rent in the countryside and to buy grain in other places—Uncle Shen runs a grain shop.
Since she was going out, Shen Miao dressed up a little. She changed into an apricot-colored embroidered plum blossom jacket with narrow sleeves and tied a blue ruqun (a type of traditional Chinese dress) underneath. The clothes were made of ordinary cotton. This outfit was made when the original owner of the body first married into Jinling. However, the original owner took care of all the housework in the Rong family and usually wore short jackets. She hadn't worn this kind of clothing many times, so it looked new.
She took out the only remaining sterling silver hairpin with a carved plum blossom design from the box, tied it into a bun, and then wrapped the bun with an apricot-colored headscarf. Apart from that, she wore no other adornments.
She changed her clothes and came out. Shen Ji stared at her silently for a long time. Shen Miao asked what she was looking at. He just shook his head and smiled. "Sister is beautiful. Father used to boast to the neighbors that sister is the most beautiful young lady in the area. It made the uncles and aunts who have daughters roll their eyes, but they had no way to refute it."
Shen Miao wasn't modest at all; instead, she curled the corners of her lips and said, "Of course!"
The original owner of this body was indeed beautiful. She was not the kind of woman who would be strikingly beautiful at first glance. Her curved eyebrows and eyes were more like the gentle and graceful beauty that only comes from the rainy alleys of Jiangnan. She was as beautiful as a peach branch that had just sprouted in spring, making people forget the mundane world when they looked at her.
Upon hearing this, Xiang Jie'er also looked up at Chen Miao.
Shen Miao then took her small hand, looked down at her and smiled with her eyes crinkling: "Our Xiang'er is also beautiful, she will definitely be even more beautiful than her older sister in the future!"
Xiangjie immediately imitated her earlier posture, puffing out her chest: "Of course!"
Shen Ji followed behind, watching his elder sister and younger sister's light and graceful figures competing in beauty. He couldn't help but smile, but when his gaze fell on the last silver hairpin in Shen Miao's hair, his smile turned dejected.
This silver hairpin should have been part of the dowry that Mother made for Elder Sister. It was a complete set of headdress. If he remembered correctly, it should have included: a hairpin, a pair of side hairpins, a pair of long hairpins, a hair ornament, a hair clip, a pair of side hairpins, a pair of earrings, a pair of bracelets, a pair of rings, floral hair ornaments, and several pairs of small hairpins.
But now, all that's left by my elder sister is a hairpin.
Over the past three years, he has also harbored resentment towards his elder sister.
But now, upon closer reflection, perhaps my elder sister wasn't doing well either, otherwise she would never have abandoned him and Xiang'er. She used to be so gentle and kind; she must have been bullied terribly in the Rong family to have caused such a drastic change in her personality.
Shen Ji was initially somewhat unfamiliar with his elder sister upon her return. Although her appearance remained unchanged, her personality was completely different. She had become so forthright, resilient, and unpretentious... There was no trace of timidity or hesitation in her eyes.
But at this moment, he realized that his sister must have suffered a lot.
Shen Ji's hands unconsciously clenched into fists until Shen Miao turned around and called to him, "Ji-ge'er, why are you lagging behind? Come on, we have to walk faster, otherwise the long carriage will leave and we'll have to walk."
"Hey!" Shen Ji let go of her hand and quickly caught up with her older sister and younger sister. He silently vowed in his heart: starting tomorrow, he would help his older sister with her work more. No matter whether he could continue his studies, he would try his best to save money. Sooner or later, he would buy his older sister a new set of jewelry!
Buy the most expensive and most beautiful jewelry from the gold and silver shop!
It was late spring, and the afternoon sun shone gently on them, neither too hot nor too cold. Chen Miao led one child in each hand and walked to the vicinity of the cattle and horse market. There were three or four "long carts" for rent, pulled by horses or oxen. These carts had canopies and could accommodate six to ten people. Adults paid two coins and children one coin.
These are "shared carriages" purchased by merchants in Bianjing (Kaifeng) specifically for citizens to carpool in.
Shen Miao paid three coins. Since Xiang Jie'er was still small and could be held on her lap without taking up space, she pleaded with the driver not to charge her. Once the carriage was full, the driver would ask each person where they wanted to go and drop them off along the way.
To put it simply, this is a bit like an ancient version of a public bus, only a bit expensive.
After all, one coin at that time had much greater purchasing power than one dollar in later times.
While waiting, Shen Miao caught sight of a child selling pears by the roadside, so she bought a bagful and paid three coins, getting more than a dozen round, green pears.
Shen Ji glanced at Shen Miao with a puzzled look in his eyes: In fact, he had been a little nervous the whole way, afraid that his sister would be taken advantage of at his uncle's house, as his aunt's mouth was not easy to deal with!
Who knew that my sister, who was clearly there to argue, actually had the leisure to buy pears.
Shen Miao didn't explain, she just smiled.
Arguing, like a shrew rolling on the ground, even if you win the argument, will only result in mutual destruction, ruining your own reputation. But if you can seize the moral high ground and win public opinion, everything is different.
Once you get on the carriage, the bustling atmosphere of the inner city transforms into a completely different scene once you reach the outer city. Along the inner city wall, there are mostly expansive mansions with walls surrounding them. Several carriages and sedan chairs are parked by the side gates, and the wealthy servants, dressed in fine clothes, lean against the gates, picking their teeth and gossiping. As soon as any unauthorized person approaches, the servants will sternly shout and drive them away.
The wheels rumbled on and on, and after passing two moats, some dense residential areas, like those near Jinliang Bridge, appeared on both sides of the street. Restaurants and inns lined the streets, and all kinds of shops and mansions seemed newer and larger compared to the inner city. Uncle Shen lived in this area.
Shen Miao led Ji Ge'er and Xiang Jie'er off the carriage, and relying on their memory, they navigated through the streets and alleys, and soon spotted the sign of "Shen Da Mi Grain Shop" in the bustling city.
When Shen Ji saw the signboard of Uncle Shen's house in the distance, with a large "米" (rice) character embroidered on one side and "沈大" (Shen Da) embroidered on the other, his expression gradually turned stern, and his shoulders tensed up.
Shen Miao patted his hand reassuringly and strode inside.
Upon entering, one sees a rattan rocking chair behind a tall counter. A man who looks to be in his forties, with a large belly and dressed in silk, is lying in the rocking chair, swaying his head and engrossed in reading a book. As he reads, he puts his fingertip in his mouth and slowly turns a page.
After a moment's hesitation, Shen Miao shoved the pear into Ji Ge'er's hand and let out a piercing scream:
"Uncle!"
The sound was like a thunderclap from a clear sky. Even Shen Ji and Xiang Jie'er were startled and instinctively turned to look at her. How much more so would Uncle Shen, who was engrossed in the world of his book? The sound startled Uncle Shen so much that his whole body trembled, and the book in his hand flew out of his hand. He hurriedly tried to get up to retrieve the book, but he overturned the recliner and fell flat on his back with a "bang".
"Ouch, ouch, my butt..."
Shen Ji lowered his head, took a deep breath, and held it.
Shen Miao quickly pursed his lips, trying his best to maintain his miserable appearance. Xiang Jie couldn't help but burst into laughter when she saw Uncle Shen's embarrassing state.
"Who?" Uncle Shen scrambled to his feet in a rage, about to slam his fist on the counter, but froze when he saw Shen Miao. "My niece? What brings you back?"
Shen Miao rushed over, yanked open the small partition beside the counter, and grabbed Uncle Shen's fat arms, which were wrapped in silk and satin, with both hands, wailing, "Uncle! Your niece has suffered so much, you have no idea! Your niece almost lost her life, and I'm so glad to see my family alive—"
Uncle Shen was being pinched so hard he was grimacing, but he couldn't break free. With Shen Miao making such a commotion, neighbors and passersby had already gathered around the grain shop, peeking in from the doorway.
Uncle Shen was terrified by Shen Miao's crying and could only call out repeatedly, "Woman, you wretched woman, come out here—"
Shen Miao wiped her snot and tears with Uncle Shen's sleeve and gave a cold smile.
Uncle Shen's name was Shen Gaodou. Although he was a businessman, he had been sent to a private school by his grandfather when he was young and studied for many years. Unfortunately, despite his grandfather giving him such a promising name, Uncle Shen studied for more than ten or twenty years but failed to pass the imperial examination.
Now he's just a grain merchant who can spout a few literary phrases, yet he still considers himself a scholar, indulging in affectation and spending his days reading classics like the Doctrine of the Mean, Mencius, and the Book of Rites, appearing as a learned man who feels his talents are going to waste.
But because of his background, Shen Miao, combined with the original owner's impression of Uncle Shen in her memory, had already figured out how to deal with people like him who were "mediocre in ability but thought they were extraordinary".
In ancient times, scholars often had a saying on their lips: "A scholar can be killed but not humiliated." They valued their reputation and face extremely. Making them look bad in public would be worse than killing them.
So Shen Miao cried even louder, and while crying, she loudly questioned, "Uncle, you are my only relative! Blood is thicker than water! My parents suffered a terrible tragedy and now have nowhere to seek justice. I married far away to Jinling and had no choice but to entrust my two young siblings to you and let you manage the family shop. Why did you drive them out of the house and leave those two children to wander the streets, almost freezing and starving to death!"
In ancient times, people lived in clans and relied on each other for blood ties. Since the parents of Shen Miao and her two siblings had passed away, their uncles and aunts had an inescapable obligation to raise their nephews and nieces. In particular, the Shen family only had two brothers, Shen Dabo and Shen Fu. If Shen Dabo abandoned his brother's orphan, he would be condemned by the world.
Shen Miao didn't choose to file a lawsuit against Uncle Shen in court. Firstly, it was because Shen Miao, as a junior, was suing an elder, like a wife divorcing her husband—both falling under the category of "the inferior suing the superior," which would result in thirty strokes of the cane before the court would accept the case. Secondly, Uncle Shen's failure to support Ji Ge'er and the others was a moral issue, not a legal one, and the government was too lazy to get involved in such family matters…
This damned world!
Therefore, Shen Miao had no choice but to expose the selfish motives of Uncle Shen's family in person, so that she could also seek some benefits for herself, Ji Ge'er, and Xiang Jie'er!
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