Shen Zishan reached out his hands and carefully took the still-steaming food from Ma Aning's hands.
He was really hungry, and without thinking about anything else, he eagerly picked up his chopsticks and began to wolf down his food.
On the other side, Ma Aning deftly stuffed all the money into her pocket.
Then he turned around and walked to the wardrobe, quickly opened the door, and began to organize their clothes in an orderly manner.
In those days, they didn't have many clothes, especially summer clothes, which were pitifully few, only a handful.
However, things are a little better in winter, when you can wear one or two more layers of thick clothing than usual.
Ma Aning moved skillfully and quickly, and in just about 10 minutes, she had successfully packed all the clothes of the two people into bags.
Not only that, she also made sure to fold the quilt in the cabinet, tie it with a rope, and put it on the bed.
After everything was tidied up, she wiped the beads of sweat from her forehead and called out loudly towards the door, "Brother Yiyan, Aunt Liu, I've finished tidying up here. Could you please come in and help me move some things?"
No sooner had the words left his mouth than a series of noisy footsteps approached from afar, followed by a group of people rushing into the room.
Walking at the front was Shen Yiyan, who scratched his head apologetically and said somewhat embarrassedly.
"Shanzi, I'm so sorry. I said I would come to visit you when you were discharged from the hospital, but I was delayed by various things and it's only today that I'm finally able to come."
Shen Zishan didn't care at all. He smiled and looked at Shen Yiyan, saying sincerely, "Brother Yiyan, what are you saying? There's nothing wrong with us brothers."
“I know you must be busy too, it’s okay. Besides, you came over early this morning to help me tidy up the house and move, and I haven’t even thanked you yet.” After saying that, he nodded gratefully to Chen Yiyan.
At this moment, Shen Yiyan waved his hand and said generously, "Alright, you said it yourself, we're all family, no need for formalities. Let's get started and help you move your things. We can talk about everything else after we're done!"
At his command, everyone sprang into action, creating a lively and bustling scene.
The saying "many hands make light work" is perfectly exemplified here! A crowd of people busily moved about the room.
Some people were responsible for carrying the grain and oil inside. They carried the heavy buckets of cooking oil and bags of rice steadily out, either on their shoulders or by hand. In those days, oil and rice were precious commodities.
Some people carried their packed clothes with practiced speed, while others carefully carried thick quilts as they walked out.
Even more strikingly, two strong, burly men were working together to carry a huge box containing clothes and a somewhat cumbersome old-fashioned wardrobe. Although they were panting heavily, they persevered despite their exhaustion.
Time passed slowly, and in less than an hour, the once full room became completely empty, with almost nothing left. Only a shallow crater remained on the floor, a testament to the heavy objects that had once been stored there.
At this moment, apart from the pit, only Shen Zishan was lying quietly in the room.
After giving Shen Zishan some instructions, Ma Aning hurriedly followed the crowd ahead and walked quickly toward the brand-new residence.
At this moment, Shen Zishan lay quietly on the bed, his gaze slowly sweeping across the somewhat empty room.
Everything inside was so familiar, yet at this moment it gave people a strange sense of unfamiliarity.
He couldn't help but drift into memories.
Over the years, he has experienced far too much in this room.
Good memories, bad memories, happy memories, and painful memories—all flooded his mind like a tidal wave.
Thinking about leaving this place, Shen Zishan couldn't help but feel a sense of attachment and reluctance.
Just then, a series of heavy, slow footsteps approached from afar.
It turned out that he was dragging his slightly tired body into the room.
He first silently surveyed the entire room, then turned his gaze to Shen Zishan and asked softly, "San'er, are you moving to the other side today?"
Shen Zishan nodded slightly, indicating his agreement.
He let out a long, heavy sigh, then said with emotion, "Alas, my child, you should know that your father and I had no choice but to make this decision to separate the family..."
Hearing his father's words, Shen Zishan raised his head, looked at his father with a firm gaze, and replied calmly, "Father, you don't need to say anything more, I understand."
"If you have any difficulties, come back to your father!" He said this seemingly concerned sentence again with a heavy face.
However, at this moment, Shen Zishan felt only a chill running through his heart.
Early in the morning, the daughter-in-law started getting busy, and the villagers all came to lend a hand. Although Zhongchen and his family saw all of this, none of them stepped forward to help.
Even his brothers, who were usually quite close to him, chose to turn a blind eye at this time.
For the past two years, my wife has been the sole breadwinner for all the household affairs, big and small.
He always thought that harmony in the family was the key to prosperity, so he did as much as he could and never argued with his family. He never expected that his leg injury would separate him from his wife, and he would not be able to get most of his salary back, only receiving a small amount of money.
He had injured his leg and hadn't seen his brothers or parents help him at all. Now that he had finally settled into his new home, he was suddenly confronted with these words.
The more Shen Zishan thought about it, the more he felt it was utterly hypocritical. He looked coldly at the so-called father in front of him, his heart filled with disappointment and anger.
Hesitantly noticing his third son's consistently indifferent expression, he realized he was being frivolous and stopped talking, silently turning and leaving the room.
A moment later, Qian Daniu saw the old man come out of the house with a gloomy face, and she couldn't help but complain.
"I warned you long ago not to pay any attention to that ungrateful wretch, but you wouldn't listen to me. Now look what's happened, you went there and got nothing but anger!"
As she spoke, Qian Danu's eyes were practically spitting fire, and her words became increasingly harsh and indignant.
"Shut up!" Hen Hong glared angrily, pointing a finger directly at Qian Danu as he roared.
"No matter what, he is still our son! What good does it do you to ruin his reputation like this?"
"Can't you use your pig-like stupid brain and think about it carefully?" With that, he trembled with anger, his chest heaving violently.
Then, he turned around abruptly, pulled out his old pipe from his pocket, quickly stuffed it with tobacco, lit a match, and began to puff away.
Amidst the swirling smoke, his brow was furrowed, yet he never considered whether he himself had made any mistakes.
At this moment, he was filled with resentment towards his unruly third son.
Just then, a commotion came from outside, and then the door was pushed open, and Shen Yiyan led another burly young man in.
This young man is Shen Daniu, who grew up with them.
Before anyone in the room could react, Shen Yiyan's booming voice echoed throughout the room: "Shanzi, we're here! We'll carry you over there in a bit."
"But wait a moment, let's go find a suitable plank now." With that, the two of them rushed out again.
"Alright, no rush, you can take your time looking. I'll wait here for you to come back," Shen Zishan quickly replied loudly.
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com