Chapter 121 Shen's younger brother
The old man led the young man to the gate of Shen’s courtyard.
"Sir, this is the in-laws of Shen you are looking for. Their surname is also Shen, but Shen's husband died in an accident not long after she married in, and Shen's mother-in-law is also paralyzed. So Shen has a bad reputation in the Shen family. She is always called a jinx by her mother-in-law. Her life is not good, and it is even a bit bad. This is all I know. I have only been in this village for a few years. Please make yourself at your own pace."
The old man was the same old man who knelt down to beg Lu Changxin last time. He happened to be picking up manure at the entrance of the village and met this young man asking for directions, so he came here enthusiastically with his people.
The young man took out a tael of silver from his pocket and stuffed it into the old man's pocket.
"Old man, thank you for leading the way and telling me the details. This is a small gift from me. Please accept it."
Although the old man looked very poor, he was not greedy for money. He raised his hand and gently pushed out the silver, shook his head and said, "Sir, I am not a greedy person. Silver can only make my life richer, but it is useless to my spirit. If you have nothing else to do, I will take my leave."
The old man bowed, holding a dung rake in one hand and a dung basket on his shoulder, and left dejectedly.
The young man wanted to reach out to stop her but couldn't say anything.
It was he who tarnished the old man's noble character. The young man put the silver away and looked towards the yard.
Because Wan Xingmo had pushed away the fence gate of the Shen family before, there was no gate in the Shen family's yard at this time.
"Excuse me, is anyone there? Is this the Shen family?" The young man stood at the door and shouted into the house.
Old Mrs. Shen was lying on the kang in hysterics, getting angry at her three daughters-in-law. Ma had injured the back of her head and was lying in her room recuperating. Feng was still unconscious at the moment, breathing more than she was breathing, and it seemed that she would die in the next two days.
Li's foot was injured and she couldn't walk, so she was preparing the New Year's Eve dinner in the kitchen. Seeing that all the men in the Shen family had run away, Gan didn't want to be used as a punching bag by Old Lady Shen, so she hid in the kitchen early to help Li.
Old Mrs. Shen scolded her three daughters-in-law one by one in the house, but no one paid any attention to her.
At this time, Gan heard someone shouting and hurried out to take a look.
"Who are you looking for?" Gan saw that it was a young man wearing a thick brocade with a jade pendant hanging around his waist and a rabbit fur round cotton hat on his head. He exuded a gentle and refined temperament.
When Shen Jinyuan saw someone coming out, he quickly bowed and asked, "Excuse me, Madam, is this the Shen family?"
It was the first time that Gan was addressed as Madam. A hint of shyness flashed across her face. She quickly straightened her coarse cloth dress, combed her hair, and said in a pretentious voice, "Sir, this is the Shen family, but none of our men are here, so it is inconvenient for us to invite you in. Please forgive me."
Upon hearing this, Shen Jinyuan quickly took another step back and bowed to Gan.
"Excuse me for being so presumptuous. I wonder if madam could help me call Shen? I heard that she married the eldest son of the Shen family in Shizi Village. I wonder if there is such a person in your family?" After Shen Jinyuan finished speaking, he looked at Gan with expectant eyes.
When Gan heard that the other party was actually looking for that jinx, her face suddenly fell and she stopped pretending.
"You've found the wrong door. There's no such person in our house." After saying that, Gan turned and went into the kitchen, leaving Shen Jinyuan standing there in a daze for a moment.
"This...how come this person changes his expression faster than turning the pages of a book?" Shen Jinyuan muttered to himself, but he was confused in his heart.
The old man just said it very clearly that his eldest sister married into this family, how could he have made a mistake?
But there was no one in the Shen family's yard, and no one was there to answer his questions. He looked around and found that there were many people busy cleaning in the yard next to the Shen family. It was a cheerful and peaceful scene, which formed a sharp contrast with the desolate Shen family in front of him.
Shen Jinyuan hurried to the door of the Wan family and knocked on the wooden door a few times.
Wan Laosi, who was working in the yard with a few boys, heard someone knocking on the door. He quickly put down his work and went to open the door.
At this time, Wan Laosi had his sleeves rolled up, revealing a section of his wheat-colored arms. There was a thin layer of sweat on his face, and his complexion was ruddy. Although he was married, he still looked like a young man.
Wan Laosi opened the wooden door and saw a young man standing outside. He had a quiet temperament and good looks.
"Young master, who are you looking for?" Wan Laosi asked, sticking half of his head out.
Shen Jinyuan only took a quick look at Wan Laosi and knew that he was a simple farm boy.
"My fellow villager, I am here to look for my relatives. I would like to ask you something. Is that okay?"
Wan Lao Si touched the back of his head. He had only been in this village for a short time, and he didn't recognize most of the people in this village. But seeing Shen Jinyuan still looking for his relatives outside during the New Year, this person must be very important to him, right? Even if he didn't know, he could still ask the village chief.
So Wan Lao Si smiled and said, "Please tell me, sir. I will definitely tell you what I know."
Shen Jinyuan hurriedly thanked him, "Thank you, fellow villager. I want to ask if there is a woman named Shen in the Shen family next door? Is she the eldest daughter-in-law of their family?"
When Wan Laosi heard the question asked by the other party, he knew the answer, but then he looked at Shen Jinyuan warily. Why was this person asking about the Shen family?
"Sir, I do know Shen, but what is your relationship with her?"
Shen Jinyuan also noticed the vigilance in Wan Laosi's eyes, and he was a little confused. Why did a neighbor care so much about his eldest sister? Thinking of the old man's words, Shen Jinyuan felt a little heavy. Could it be that his eldest sister was being looked down upon and abused here?
"Oh, it's like this, Shen is my eldest sister. As soon as I found out about her whereabouts, I rushed here. If you know anything, please let me know."
When Wan Lao Si heard that it was Shen's younger brother, he looked puzzled. He heard that Shen had no family members, so how could a younger brother suddenly appear? Could he be a liar?
Wan Laosi was a little undecided. He nodded to Shen Jinyuan and said, "Sir, please wait a moment. I will go ask my mother."
Without waiting for Shen Jinyuan to agree, Wan Laosi closed the door and ran back quickly.
Old Mrs. Wan was directing her grandchildren to clean the furniture in the house. Although the furniture was already spotless, she still asked them to clean every corner again. After all, the floor of the house was made of mud and the walls were made of adobe, so it was normal for dust to accumulate. If they were not cleaned for a few days, there would be fingerprints on them.
"Mom, something bad has happened. Someone is looking for Shen, claiming to be Shen's younger brother, and calling Shen "eldest sister." But I clearly heard that Shen has no family members from her mother's side. Where did this younger brother come from? And judging by the way he's dressed, he seems to be a scholar."
Old Lady Wan glared at her fourth son and said, "Why are you yelling so much during the New Year? You're almost going to be a father, but you're still so unstable."
Old Mrs. Wan first scolded Old Fourth Wan, then she frowned and started to think.
However, Old Lady Wan never dwelled on questions she couldn't figure out. She just thought about it for a moment and said to Old Fourth Wan, "Go and invite the person in first and entertain him well."
Wan Laosi admired his mother's calmness. At this moment, he seemed to have found his backbone and hurried out to invite people in.
Shen Jinyuan, who was still confused outside, saw the door close and open again, only to see Wan Laosi smiling and saying, “Sir, my mother asked you to come in and talk.”
Shen Jinyuan glanced at Wan Laosi, but didn't say anything else. He urgently needed to know the whereabouts of Shen. He nodded to Wan Laosi and walked sideways into the yard.
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