Shu Aiguo said with a stern face, "Boys should have some backbone. If you see someone eating, you should stay away. Don't be so tactless as to go near them."
Xiao Jiang, looking dejected after being criticized by Shu Aiguo, said, "I know."
My second aunt's face also looked grim. Such things often happened before they separated from the eldest son's family.
Uncle Shu's family always eats everything behind closed doors. Aunt Shu understands, after all, every family has a hard time these days, and with so many children, if they buy something and share it with everyone, their own children won't get any.
A few years ago, Chu Yu's maternal grandparents passed away. Shu Da's uncle took charge of dividing the family property. He seized the large plot of land on the west side and two tiled houses, and gave Shu Er's uncle the small plot of land on the east side and a few drafty thatched houses.
Uncle Shu secretly embezzled all of my maternal grandparents' savings, and he also took my maternal grandmother's jewelry and belongings to sell for money.
The heartless man lived a good life. The following year, Uncle Shu's family built a tiled house again, while Uncle Shu's second uncle continued to live in these few dilapidated thatched houses.
The two families had originally agreed to leave a one-meter width between the houses so that people could walk through. Uncle Shu agreed at the time, but when the house was being built, he did something terrible. Not only did he build a strange pointed corner on the roof that was pointing towards Uncle Shu's house, but he also took up that one-meter width and built the wall directly onto Uncle Shu's land.
This infuriated Uncle Shu, but what could he do? After all, he was his own brother; could he really afford to break ties and fight him?
Uncle Shu was concerned about his reputation and didn't want his family's shame to be exposed and become a laughingstock in the village, so he swallowed his anger.
Who would have thought that Uncle Shu's family would often cause trouble, like today's watermelon incident, which had happened frequently before. Uncle Shu's second uncle had always tolerated it, but he was, after all, a man of principle. He could tolerate it for a while, but asking him to tolerate it every time was too much to ask.
Uncle Shu was in a bad mood, so Chu Yu comforted him:
"Second Uncle, don't let irrelevant people upset you. Once I make some money, I'll buy a truckload of watermelons for the family. Second Uncle, you can eat them however you like. Steam them, boil them, scoop them out, slice them, stir-fry them, juice them—we're going to make sure we know exactly how to enjoy watermelons!"
One sentence not only made Uncle Shu laugh, but also made everyone else at the table laugh, and the atmosphere at the table immediately became much more relaxed.
"Sis, don't forget me when you buy a truckload of watermelons!" Xiao Jiang winked.
“We’re here too!” Chu Xiang and Yunyun said.
Hearing these heartwarming words, Uncle Shu finally smiled. "Alright, I'll wait for my eldest niece to buy me a truckload of watermelons!"
“No problem,” Chu Yu said easily. “Second Uncle, what did Chu Chu say? Can my mom manage on her own?”
"The surgery was scheduled for next week, but the hospital doesn't have any beds available, so your mother is waiting with Chuchu in the corridor. She probably won't be able to come back in the next few days."
Hearing that Shu Hui and Chu Chu were alright, Chu Yu was relieved. She then talked to her second uncle about the Night-Shining Sand.
Uncle Shu's reaction was similar to his wife's. The child had finally decided to make money, so they couldn't dampen his enthusiasm and had to encourage him.
He'd rather go to bed and take a nap than believe that bat guano could be sold for money; after all, it's not dark yet, and anything can happen in dreams.
Chu Yu knew she hadn't completely convinced them yet, but she wasn't discouraged. Everything is difficult at the beginning; once this step was taken, the rest would be much easier.
"Second Uncle, are you going out tomorrow? I'd like to borrow your bicycle to go to the county town."
“If you’re not going out, just use it if you want. Why are you being so polite with your own uncle?” Uncle Shu said with amusement.
Chu Yu pursed her lips, a faint smile on her face. Her skin was clean and her attire was refreshing. This slight smile truly brightened up the dim thatched hut.
The next day, before dawn, Chu Yu got out of bed. She only washed her face with water, and her skin was clean and flawless. She didn't even apply moisturizer, relying on her youth but actually because of poverty.
Uncle Shu came in and helped her lift the bagged night-shining sand onto her bicycle.
"If it's your first time going, just bring two sacks! I'm afraid you won't be able to ride any more."
The two sacks weigh about 100 jin (50 kg). The purchase price of night-shining sand is not very high, and it takes more than an hour to go to the county town and back. It is really not worthwhile to haul only 200 jin of goods.
Although Chu Yu had never ridden a 28-inch bicycle before, he had ridden a bicycle frequently in his previous life and had a good foundation, so he gritted his teeth and said:
"Four bags, please! I'll bring them back if I don't sell them all."
Uncle Shu disagreed. Four sacks weighed two hundred pounds. He had a wooden board tied to the back of his bicycle, so he could fit the four sacks in. He could just tie them together with a rope. But if the sacks were stacked high, the back of the bicycle would be too heavy, and Chu Yu would be too light, making it easy for the front of the bicycle to lift up.
The girl was gentle and frail, and had not suffered much hardship. The mountain road in Shanguan Village was difficult to travel, with uphill and downhill sections. Chu Yu was not familiar with the road, and what would happen if she overturned while carrying two hundred pounds of goods?
Losing things is a small matter, but if someone rolls into a river or falls off a cliff and there's no one to rescue them, that's a big problem.
With Shu Hui, the mother, absent, and Zhou Jian'an, the father, practically nonexistent, the uncle has to be responsible for his niece's safety.
Uncle Shu shook his head. "Four sacks won't do, three sacks will do! Listen to your uncle, add more next time."
Chu Yu tried out the bike. The three sacks weren't light, but they weren't heavy either, and she could still push them. However, this 28-inch bicycle was a bit difficult to ride. Since the back seat was carrying the cargo, she had to step over the front bar to get on. It was a bit of a challenge to get used to riding it for the first time.
Chu Yu took a turn before she could fully control it.
I have to say, the quality of bicycles these days is really good.
In his previous life, Chu Yu had seen short videos online of African brothers riding 28-inch bicycles and dragging 500 pounds of goods at breakneck speed.
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