Chapter 9 The Lu Family
The Lu family's house is a bit far from the village entrance; it's located behind Shangshi Village.
Shu Yu followed behind San Ya, and by the time they reached the Lu family's house, they had already looked around the village quite a bit.
Shangshi Village isn't very big, and the houses are built haphazardly, most of them quite old. Even the village chief's house is just a slightly larger mud house.
Upon arriving at the Lu family's door, Sanya quickly ran forward, pushed open the half-closed door, and called out, "Dad, Dad, I'm back."
Shu Yu followed behind, and after entering the house, she closed the door behind her. She placed the basket in her hand in the corner of the yard before looking at the small courtyard in front of her.
It's really small; the entire yard is probably less than fifteen square meters, and even so, it's piled high with stuff. But you can tell the Lu family are hardworking; they keep it quite clean.
Shu Yu crossed the courtyard and entered the main room.
Sanya ran over, covered in sweat, and said nervously in a low voice, "Sister, my father isn't home. He might have gone out."
"Are your family members not home?"
Sanya shook her head. "They've all gone out to work, sister. Can you wait here for a bit? They'll be back soon. I'll go get you some water."
After saying that, she turned around and ran to the kitchen. A moment later, she came back with a bowl that had a small chip on it. She placed it on the table in front of her, pushed it towards her, and said softly, "Sister, I washed this bowl again. It's clean. There's no chip on this side, so you won't cut your mouth. You must be thirsty after walking such a long way. Here, have some."
Even the best bowls meant for entertaining guests had a crack; you can imagine how poorly this family was living.
Looking at the drafty parts of the house and the slightly tilted walls, Shu Yu thought the house was a dangerous building that could collapse at any moment.
Shu Yu watched as the little girl nervously clutched her sleeve, as if carrying her a broken bowl to fetch water was some heinous crime. She paused, then reached out and patted the girl's head. "Thank you."
He then picked up the bowl and drank the water, paused for a moment, and then laughed, "This water is very sweet."
The little girl became happy, "This is spring water. My brother fetches it from the mountain every day." What she didn't say was that her family usually couldn't afford to drink it; they only used it to brew medicine for their father.
Shu Yu was about to inquire about her family situation when she heard this, so she pulled her to sit down on a stool and asked, "Do you have an older brother? Besides your father, you and your brother, who else is in your family?"
"And my mother and my grandmother."
"So, do you have an older sister?"
Mentioning her older sisters, Sanya's mood inexplicably sombered. She nodded slightly, "My eldest sister and second sister... my eldest sister got married a couple of years ago, and my second sister..."
She didn't continue speaking, lowering her head and clutching her sleeve, rubbing it repeatedly.
Shu Yu could tell that this was how she acted when she was uneasy.
Does "second sister" mean herself? Does the little girl know about her second sister's situation?
Shu Yu wanted to ask more questions, but San Ya looked up and urged her, "Sister, drink some water. If you don't have enough, I'll go get you some more."
She clearly didn't want to bring up her second sister's matter anymore, so Shu Yu didn't press her and quickly changed the subject, "Since no one is home, why isn't the front door locked? What if a thief comes in?"
Sanya blinked and shook her head. "We don't have anything at home. My grandma said that even mice would avoid our house."
(End of this chapter)
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