Chapter 95 First Meeting
During the past two years outside, Chen Lie had thought countless times about what would happen to his younger siblings at home.
He thought about how difficult it would be for Xiao An and Aning; he thought about how without him at home, his uncle and aunt would return to their old ways after their initial guilty conscience, and that Xiao An and Aning would have to live by watching their uncle's face and listening to their aunt's harsh words; he thought about how they might not have enough to eat or warm clothes to wear, and he thought about many, many things... but he never thought that his uncle and aunt would kick Xiao An and Aning out of the house after they thought he had died in the war.
The heartache, worry and anger were swirling in my heart, mixed into a mess, and I couldn't find a way to vent them.
How can people live in that shabby thatched hut with such heavy snow?
Are there insects and snakes in the mountains in summer? If the snow gets heavier, what should we do if the wild animals in the mountains have no food to eat?
It has been half a year since the family split up. How miserable must Xiao An and Aning be now?
Do you have winter clothes? Do you have winter quilts?
Uncle and auntie were willing to kick out their nine-year-old nephew and niece. Could Shen Lie expect them to give him enough to support his life?
Thoughts came to his mind one after another. Shen Lie could even see his younger brothers and sisters, who were pale and thin, wearing thin and ragged clothes, huddled in the thatched hut. Thinking of how much suffering the two brothers and sisters he had raised with great difficulty had endured over the past two years, he felt a momentary sourness in his nose.
The surging emotions became more intense, and the speed of running became faster, leaving a long trail of footprints in the snow and extending into the mountains.
He desperately wanted to see his younger brothers and sisters, to know how they were doing, and to let them know that he was back, alive.
The three mountains that we were originally going to cross were heavily trampled because the children ran back and forth several times a day. There were no weeds or shrubs at all. Even though they were covered with thick snow, you could still tell at a glance where the mountain roads were.
Chen Lie was too anxious, or perhaps he had just entered the place where he grew up, so he overlooked this detail that he would never overlook normally.
After crossing the last ridge and turning out of the path, he looked up eagerly at the thatched cottage halfway up the mountain.
He was stunned at the sight of the high courtyard wall made of rammed earth. From his angle, he could vaguely see the roofs of three thatched houses? Smoke was rising from one of the houses.
The mountain is indeed their mountain, but the house has completely changed.
Chen Lie was stunned for only a moment, then strode towards the unfamiliar courtyard halfway up the mountain. However, because the transformation of this shabby thatched house into a brand new rammed earth courtyard was really strange, he couldn't help but slow down his steps.
It took others fifty or sixty steps to reach the courtyard, but he was tall and had long legs, so he only needed twenty or thirty steps. When they reached the platform on the mountainside where their family had lived for a long time, the feeling of familiarity yet strangeness became even stronger.
The terrain was still the same, but at a glance there were many more things, which could be clearly seen even with the snow piled up. There was a yard of considerable size, a bamboo pipe to draw water from the mountain spring, a few chicken and duck sheds carefully built with thick straw curtains, and a road paved with stones after the snow was swept away.
He took in all these with just a glance as his eyes fell on the yard through the half-open gate. The snow in the yard had obviously been cleared, but the first thing that caught his attention was a fat, slightly silly snowman piled at the door, with eyes and nose made of stone, and hands made of dead branches.
Next to the snowman was another stone road. Unlike the one outside which was paved with stones, this one was paved with smooth pebbles, and even patterns were created using stones of different colors. Looking up again, the only thing that looked familiar was the thatched house where he had lived in his childhood, but the house had obviously been renovated.
There is a gate next to the thatched house. Is there a backyard in the yard?
It's a long story, but for Yu Chenlie it was just a matter of a few glances. However, these few glances made him more and more confused. He couldn't see what the other half of the yard looked like because the door was half closed. He carefully reached out to push the door, but suddenly he heard dense and hurried footsteps coming towards him from the side of the yard.
As soon as I turned my eyes, the protagonists had already turned around the corner and rushed over aggressively, shouting.
Geese! Three large male geese that weighed at least 14 or 15 pounds!
If he had encountered this in the woods before, he would have taken up his weapon and killed Jiacan directly, but this was suspected to be his own home, so it was obviously not possible to do so.
The best way is to push open the gate on the right, which is slightly away from the geese, rush into the yard and close the gate!
Chen Lie thought so and was ready to do so, but when he raised his hand to push the door open and lifted his feet, he met a young woman coming out of the kitchen, holding a bowl of hot food in her hand, looking at him in surprise and vigilance.
Chen Lie's foot, which had already stepped halfway out, was retracted and landed outside the courtyard gate.
The wind was getting closer, and the goose in front was already close. Its long neck was like a javelin, pointing at his calf, and it opened its mouth with serrated upper and lower beaks to bite him.
Chen Lie didn't care about the young woman's reaction in the yard. He dodged and quickly grabbed the most aggressive beak of the big white goose, and did the same with the second one.
The second bully of the Shen family's eldest son had fate grasped by the neck for no apparent reason. He was dazed and could only flap his wings and shake his neck, crying like a goose. He was so dazed that he faced the strange man with his round goose eyes facing sideways during his struggle.
The three tyrants who had already rushed to the front were stunned! Seeing their friend being defeated by the enemy in one move, their small goose brains did not know how to think that the opponent did not have a third hand to clamp it, and they only knew that they had met an opponent.
For the first time in his life, he shamefully hesitated for a moment between attacking and not attacking.
In just such a short moment, Chen An and Shen Ning from the kitchen followed Sang Luo out. Hearing the footsteps, Chen Lie turned his head distractedly to look over, and was stunned when he saw Chen Lie's face that looked familiar yet different.
There was silence in the air for a moment, Shen An and Shen Ning's eyes widened, and then the two little ones screamed almost at the same time and rushed out of the courtyard gate!
“Brother!”
“Brother!”
"Big brother is back! Big brother is still alive!"
"I knew it, I knew it!"
The first two sounds were full of excitement and excitement, but the latter ones were choked with sobs and tears fell.
Chen Lie also let go of the two geese, stretched out his hands to catch Chen Ning who was running towards him, picked him up, and hugged his younger brother Chen An. The three siblings all had red eyes.
The first and second geese were finally able to escape. The other two were frightened to death and quickly ran a few steps away from Shen Lie. When the third goose saw the posture of its two little masters, it knew there was no need to hesitate, so it turned around and left with its two little friends.
Too fierce, too fierce. Turns out they are from the same family. Now we can call it a day.
The three siblings of the Shen family were happy to meet each other, and Sang Luo, who was holding a bowl of stewed tofu, was dumbfounded.
What did Chen An and Chen Ning call that man? Big Brother?
The eldest brother of the little siblings, the one who died in battle?
Isn't that her man?
Where is the widow?
If it were a Qiong Yao drama from decades earlier, she would have at least dropped the bowl of vegetables in her hand to express her shock and terror!
She was indeed shocked, so shocked that her head was buzzing, but the hand holding the bowl was still surprisingly steady.
Shen Ning had already asked her eldest brother to put her down. She was already nine years old, so there was no need to hold her.
The little girl was very excited, with tears still hanging on her eyelashes, but she smiled very brightly. She turned around and called Sang Luo happily: "Sister-in-law, this is my brother. He is really not dead. He is back alive!"
She raised her head and said to her eldest brother, "Brother, this is my sister-in-law!"
Chen Lie was stunned, Sang Luo was bewildered, and they felt completely unwell.
Just when life is getting better, a husband suddenly appears out of nowhere?
How to deal with this?
But this is Chen An and Chen Ning's brother. It is a great thing for them that he can come back alive. She can't think that he shouldn't come back alive.
Sang Luo forced a smile and raised the bowl in her hand: "I'll put the things in the house first."
She needs some quiet time.
Shen Lie watched the young woman enter the house and retracted his gaze, only then did he have a chance to take a good look at Shen An and Shen Ning.
It was completely different from what he thought.
They were not skinny and pale, nor were they wearing thin and ragged clothes. On the contrary, although the brother and sister were a little tanned, their cheeks were plump. They were wearing thick new jackets and trousers, and even their shoes were new cotton shoes that could be seen not long after being worn.
The small bun on Aning's head was carefully braided, with a red hair rope wrapped around it, and two light red hairbands also braided in her hair, with the leading end tied into a beautiful knot.
This is the appearance and spirit that can only be achieved by being well cared for.
The weight that had been weighing on his heart for more than two years finally fell to the ground. Chen Lie laughed and rubbed the tops of the two little ones' heads: "Thank goodness."
I'm glad you're all well.
"Taller, grown up."
Shen An and Shen Ning were both a little shy. Shen An actually had a lot of questions to ask, but thinking that his sister-in-law was alone in the house, he pulled his brother to the yard and said, "Brother, it's cold outside. Let's go inside and talk. Have you had dinner? We are just about to eat. The stewed tofu made by my sister-in-law is especially delicious."
Chen Lie listened to the two children calling "sister-in-law" and then he remembered what Zhou Cunzheng said, that his third uncle and aunt had found a wife for him.
It was only a few steps from the courtyard gate to the main house, and Chen Lie soon made eye contact with the young woman inside again at the door of the main house.
Two complete strangers were in a relationship like husband and wife, which made Sang Luo and Shen Lie extremely uncomfortable and they didn't know how to get along with each other at all.
Chen Ning happily ran to move the stool. There were usually only three square stools in the room. The other square stool was often used for sitting when grinding beans, so it was placed in the kitchen.
Chen An knew how to look at his eldest sister-in-law's expression. Although he had no idea that in his eldest sister-in-law's heart being a widow was much better than having a man, he knew that his eldest brother and his eldest brother were complete strangers. This family was built up by his eldest sister-in-law bit by bit. Chen An subconsciously felt that he must ask his eldest sister-in-law for advice before arranging anything for his eldest brother.
He asked Sang Luo if he could go get another set of bowls and chopsticks for his elder brother?
How could Sang Luo say no? She smiled and nodded: "Sure, go ahead."
Chen An smiled, responded happily, and ran to get bowls and chopsticks for his elder brother.
There were only Sang Luo and Shen Lie left in the room. Neither of them moved. Ever since Shen Lie entered the main house, both Shen Lie and Sang Luo were actually looking at each other.
After a moment of silence, it was Chen Lie who bent his lips first. He bowed and said, "Thank you very much for taking such good care of Xiao An and An Ning for me."
Although he didn't know why the other party became his wife, seeing that Shen An and Shen Ning were living so well, it couldn't be the work of his third uncle and aunt, nor could it be that his brothers and sisters were so capable at a young age. All Shen Lie could think of was the person in front of him.
It seems that Xiao An and Aning are very close to her and they obviously have a very good relationship.
This thank you won’t be wrong.
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