"Huh? What did you say? Who is it?"
Jian Dan even picked his ears.
"Say it again, who is that person?"
“My dad said it was his older brother.”
"Second Uncle's eldest brother, isn't that... his father? Wasn't he supposed to have passed away a long time ago?"
Cheng An sighed.
“We found that photo when we were being naughty two years ago. My dad didn’t say anything else to us, just told us to remember it, saying that this is also our family.”
Jian Dan now feels that Liujiatun is incompatible with her. She wanted to keep a low profile and hide, but after coming here, first Cheng Chao, then Cheng Jin, Cheng Zhuo, and now Cheng Jia.
She came to the countryside, but it seems like she's here to reunite with relatives.
"What should we do then?"
She was also a little confused.
The three siblings looked at each other in bewilderment.
Then, he simply slapped his head.
Am I stupid? I actually asked you guys what to do.
"Hurry up and eat, we'll sneak over and take a look later."
It's cold, and apart from the kids, there's no one outside chatting.
This place is far from the village, so it generally won't attract attention. However, Jian Dan still took the children and climbed over the backyard. With the courtyard wall blocking the view, and the cowshed being quite far back, you really wouldn't notice it unless you looked specifically.
When they got to the vicinity, it became two children leading the way.
"Sister, there's still no sound,"
"Will anything happen?"
Even though it's simple, I'm not sure. "Let's go in and take a look."
The door was made of wood, and the three of them pushed it open and came in. The people inside didn't react at all, and Jian Dan's heart sank.
Just as the two children had said, the two lay on the kang (a heated brick bed), their faces pale and their lips bloodless.
The man with gray hair suddenly started coughing, and it was a real coughing fit that he couldn't stop once he started, as if he was going to cough up his lungs. The two children were terrified.
He pulled the child back slightly, and the other person, in the final moments of their life, managed to hold on and finally saw them. Slightly surprised,
Are you children from the village?
Go back now, this is not a good place. Don't come here again in the future, it won't be good for you if others see you.
"Let's go, let's go!"
"You're out of firewood? Why aren't you heating the kang (heated brick bed)?"
Now, the child is no longer afraid.
"Haha!" This was followed by another bout of labored coughing; the laughter earlier was clearly forced and hollow.
“Look at the two of us, one of us is sickly and the other is lame. We don’t even know how many days we have left. We’ll just have to get by. Whether we get a fever or not, it’s not a big deal.”
She turned to look at Cheng An, "Is that right?"
Cheng An suppressed his excitement and nodded slightly.
All right.
Simple and straightforward, he asked directly,
"Excuse me, sir/madam, may I ask your surname?"
"Haha, what's my last name again? I've forgotten it all these years. They all call me a sickly person."
The two children's eyes lit up. They stared at him for a moment before lowering their gaze.
"Xiao An, there's still some porridge in the pot. Go back and get some for this old comrade."
The old man immediately swallowed hard. Porridge?
However, they immediately became more vigilant.
"Who are you? What is your purpose in approaching me? I'm just an old man who's about to die. I don't know anything and I can't do anything."
Weakness is a virtue; judging by his imposing presence, he's no ordinary old man.
"Xiao An, go back now, be careful. Xiao Rui, you..."
"Sister, I know, I'll go get a bundle of firewood."
Simple,
"Okay, go ahead."
After the two children left, Jian Dan finally looked directly at the person in front of her.
"You don't need to worry that we have any ulterior motives towards you. We just noticed that you look similar to an old friend and wanted to confirm it."
"An old friend? Are you kidding me? I don't even know who I am, so where would any old friend come from?"
He laughed it off, but his vigilance remained undiminished.
I haven't seen the photos and can't confirm it, so I'll have to go back and ask the child. Right now, it doesn't really matter.
"Really? Then maybe we've mistaken someone for someone else."
She could hardly believe that someone who had been gone for so many years could come back to life and, by such a coincidence, come to her side.
If that's true, then all I can say is that the world is a vast and wondrous place.
Soon, Xiao Rui returned first, dragging a large bundle of firewood. He then went to find the stove hole and lit it. By the time Cheng An carefully returned with a basket of Laba porridge, the room was already warm.
There was no table, so the child was simply placed on the kang (heated brick bed), and the porridge was brought out.
"Where are your bowls? Come and eat, they're still warm."
The steaming, thick porridge had a sweet aroma that wafted into your nostrils; even the one lying down twitched its nose.
"Old Cheng, what kind of dream is this? Why can you smell something delicious?"
Then the person struggled to get up.
Old Cheng?
Simple and understated.
This person is really vigilant; he just sat there watching Cheng An's every move.
After testing the waters, Jian Dan took the two children and headed outside.
"Alright, let's go back too. Let's go back and see if Cheng Chao has come back or not."
Whether it was intentional or not, Cheng Chao was pronounced slowly and very clearly, as if afraid that the person inside wouldn't hear him.
Cheng Rui didn't notice Jian Dan's expression, nor did he realize that the way he addressed her was inappropriate, and he chimed in.
"Yeah, he's been gone for a bit too long this time. Sis, do you think he'll be able to come back and celebrate the New Year with us?"
Just as Jian Dan stepped out the door, he heard a crisp clattering sound coming from inside the house, followed by the old man's panicked expression.
"What did she say? Was she talking about Cheng Chao?"
She stopped listening after that and kept confirming with the children as she walked. Both children believed that the person was their father's older brother in the photo.
"Well, we can't just confirm it based on this alone. Do you guys have any good ideas?"
Cheng Rui kicked a chunk of snow away, and the snow scattered and landed on his cotton shoes. He then jumped around trying to stomp the snow off, having a great time.
Upon hearing this, my first reaction was,
"Huh? What should we do then? Should we go back and ask again?"
"Xiao An, what do you think?"
Cheng An lowered his head in thought.
"Sister, we were too young when we looked at the photos, so our memories aren't accurate."
Moreover, given the passage of time, even if the person is still alive, their appearance would certainly have changed considerably. Furthermore, even if we can confirm it, it's best not to acknowledge them privately.
Although this person is very likely our blood relative, we have no idea what they have experienced or encountered since they have been away from home for so long.
We cannot be certain whether his personality, temperament, and character are still as pure and kind as they were back then.
Given the current chaotic situation in the outside world, the fact that this person appears among us at this time is either a coincidence or intentional. These questions require careful investigation.
sister,"
Cheng An stopped in his tracks, his face serious.
"Sis, let's hurry and go find Uncle."
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