Chapter 57 Brothers and Sisters 2
◎He also saved his former self. ◎
He Jun caught a cold and had a slight fever. After hearing Yan Yue's words, he burst into tears for a while and finally fell into a deep sleep.
He's mother's tears fell, but she kept thanking several people.
"I didn't see him this morning, so I thought he was here again... He still can't let go..."
Yan Yue took out a handkerchief and handed it to He's mother. He's mother nodded and took the handkerchief, but she was sobbing and unable to speak.
The man next to her sighed, "Jun'er is a kind-hearted child, but he is too heavy-hearted! It's really not his fault for what happened back then."
It turns out that He Jun really became like this because of his sister.
Twenty years ago, He Jun was ten years old and his sister was eight years old. It was the New Year's Day, and children loved to join in the fun and couldn't stay at home, so He's mother asked He Jun to bring his sister to buy two fish to prepare for the New Year's Day.
When He Jun was buying fish, his sister suddenly ran to the bow of the fishing boat. Perhaps it was because of the strong wind, or perhaps because the boat was unstable, it swayed and fell into the river.
Although children who grew up near water can swim, He Jun was still young and the river water was cold, so he was ultimately unable to save his sister.
When the fishing boat salvaged the sister's body, the little person was completely dead.
He Jun was still kneeling in front of his sister's body in a daze until his mother and husband arrived. Only when he saw his parents did his eyes turn black and he fainted.
Afterwards, He Jun fell seriously ill and barely survived, but he became a little dazed.
Although he is stupid, he is not foolish. But his temperament has become silent and dull. The child who was originally lively and cheerful always walks with his head down and doesn't like to say hello to people. He is always slow in speaking and doing things, as if he needs a while to react.
The doctor said he was frightened.
He's mother lost her beloved daughter and almost lost her son. She was lucky enough to be able to survive. Why would she care about her child becoming mentally retarded? Still growing up with careful care.
But since that year, He Jun would come to the riverside to wander around every year near the end of the year.
Unexpectedly, he would actually encounter what happened today.
The four of them each held a bowl of ginger and sugar water and listened to He's mother talk about He Jun's story. The man was alone in the kitchen, busying around. After a while, he served a dish and repeatedly invited everyone to stay for dinner.
Yan Yue was just trying to refuse when a man in his fifties, supporting a lame man, rushed into the yard: "Huilan! Big brother! How's Jun'er?"
"Jun'er is fine, he just caught a cold. He drank some ginger soup and went to sleep."
He's mother comforted the two first, and then introduced Yan Yue and others, saying: "These are the kind people who sent Jun'er home. Thanks to their help, otherwise if it were just me and Dashan, Jun'er would have to suffer from the cold for a while longer!"
He's mother introduced the lame man to Yan Yue and said, "This is my husband, Old He. This is Lu Hai, and the one who just took care of Jun'er is Lu Shan. They are brothers."
Chu Zhi exclaimed: "They really are twins. They look alike, but they are different in height, and they are also different in weight."
Mother He smiled slightly: "It seems that you have heard of me a long time ago."
Nan Qing quickly changed the subject: "Rumors are probably false. We won't take them seriously."
Mother He smiled again and said, "It doesn't matter. We don't care what others say. We live our own lives, and we don't need to tell others about the feelings we have."
He's mother's real name was Shi Huilan. She married Lu Shan at the age of sixteen and indeed had no children for three years.
The Lu family was poor, so they married their eldest son to Shi Huilan, and their younger son Lu Hai could not find a wife. The mother-in-law was unwilling to waste the money, so she threatened to divorce her and forced Shi Huilan to sleep with her brother-in-law Lu Hai, thinking that as long as she could continue the family line, it would not be a loss.
Unexpectedly, I still failed to conceive a child.
The mother-in-law believed that Shi Huilan was unable to have children, so before her death, she forced her son to swear and divorce her.
Shi Huilan was divorced and returned to her parents' home. Her family felt ashamed and did not treat her well. The uncle who came to visit had evil intentions towards his niece who was in her twenties. Not only did he rape her, he also thought he could coax her with a piece of silver.
Shi Huilan suffered setbacks one after another and was unwilling to remain weak. She insisted on going to see the officials and wanted them to put her uncle, the beast, in jail.
Unexpectedly, her uncle gave some money to her parents, and everyone in the family stopped her. Her aunt even said that if she insisted on seeing the official, she would be forcing her to death!
She made quite a noise, and many people in the village knew that she had been raped by her uncle.
Shi Huilan did not expect that her parents and aunt would threaten to commit suicide and would not allow her to report to the police. She felt that she would not be able to survive. She was an abandoned woman and was bullied by her uncle. Her reputation was completely ruined.
At that time, Lao He was walking around the streets selling daily necessities such as salt and oil. Shi Huilan brought the cloth shoes she had made and wanted to exchange them for a bag of arsenic, saying that it would be enough to kill two people.
Peddlers like Lao He were the most well-informed and naturally knew what had happened to the Shi family. He didn't dare to give her arsenic, but only advised her not to care about reputation and gossip, and that she could start a new life in another place.
Lao He told Shi Huilan his own story.
He lost his mother when he was born, lost his father when he was a teenager, and married two wives, both of whom died within a few years. The villagers said that he was born with bad luck and that he had brought death upon his parents and his two wives, so they all avoided him.
He sold his house and a small piece of land, moved to the outskirts of Linjiang City, and found a village to buy a new property. Now he has three rooms and three acres of land. He sells groceries and leads a pretty good life.
Lao He said that if Shi Huilan was willing, he could teach her where to buy goods and where to sell them for more money, so that she could become a peddler and support herself. Shi Huilan suddenly felt that life was not so scary anymore, so she left with Lao He.
She wanted to study hard, become a peddler, and then earn money to open her own shop, but she unexpectedly discovered that she was pregnant.
It was the child of her beastly uncle, and Shi Huilan didn't want it.
Lao He advised her that since the child had come to her, it was a destiny between them, and she should not think that the child had nothing to do with that beast, because the child was her own child.
Shi Huilan was divorced for having no children. It was a rare opportunity for her to have a child, and she was soon moved by Lao He's persuasion. However, she was still worried that the child would be criticized in the future. Lao He then said, *if she didn't mind, she could let the child recognize him as the godfather and he would support the child in the future.
Shi Huilan felt that Lao He was a good man. Although he was more than ten years older than her, the two of them could support each other in the future, which was better than her being alone. Old He was originally afraid that he would bring bad luck to her, but Shi Huilan said that she was not afraid of death and also wanted the child to have the surname He and regard him as his biological father.
The two got married hastily and gave birth to He Jun.
Old He truly treated He Jun as his son, and even after his own daughter was born, his attitude towards He Jun did not change at all. As both husband and wife are hardworking, they live a prosperous and happy life.
The turning point happened when He Jun was ten years old. His daughter fell into the water and drowned. He Jun fell seriously ill and almost lost his life.
The family had emptied out their savings to pay for He Jun's medical treatment. In order to earn more money, Old He climbed the mountains to collect medicinal herbs, but he fell down the hillside and broke his leg.
It was at this time that the Lu brothers came to the door.
After Shi Huilan remarried and became pregnant and gave birth to a child, the fact that Lu Shan and Lu Hai were "incompetent" became known to everyone. They felt very guilty and divorced Shi Huilan, causing her to be stigmatized and bullied by her uncle.
After learning about the He family's misfortune, the two brothers took out all the money they had saved for marrying a wife over the years, saying that they were already unable to find a wife and there was no point in keeping the money.
Shi Huilan didn't have time to be tough and took the money to pay for He Jun's medical treatment and to treat Old He's leg. Seeing that she was too busy to handle it all by herself, the Lu brothers took the initiative to stay and help her take care of Lao He, and also helped her with farm work and tending the crops.
This group of people could not leave anymore.
Although Lao He's leg was reconnected, the injury was too severe, leaving him lame. It still hurts on cloudy and rainy days, and it is inconvenient for him to walk around the streets. The Lu brothers simply sold their houses and farmlands and started living together with them.
This strange family of five lasted for twenty years.
The original three simple earthen houses have now become five tall main rooms, four east and west wing rooms, and three back rooms. He set up a backyard and raised some livestock, including a cow, two pigs, eight sheep, and a dozen chickens and ducks. In addition, he also had twelve acres of fertile land.
In addition to Lao He, He Jun also has Lu Shan as his father and Lu Hai as his godfather. But none of these three fathers is his biological father.
Perhaps because it is too legendary, many people in Linjiang City know Shi Huilan's story.
It's just that the facts are very different from what people say.
After the meal, everyone understood Shi Huilan's story. Chu Zhi said indignantly, "I will definitely write this into a storybook to clear your name, Auntie!"
Shi Huilan smiled calmly and said, "We have all been criticized before, but now that we are over 50, we no longer care about what others say. Our family lives in harmony and peace, which is more important than anything else."
Yan Yue and his companions said goodbye, and Shi Huilan, Lao He, and the Lu brothers saw them off together.
When they reached the door, Shi Huilan couldn't help asking, "I heard that the young lady can communicate with ghosts and gods. Is what He Jun said true? What do you think of what the young lady said to him?"
Yan Yue didn't say it directly, but only said: "You just need to know that He Jun saved more than just that little girl today."
"He also saved his trapped ten-year-old self."
Shi Huilan's tears rolled down her cheeks as she bowed to see Yan Yue and the others off: "Thank you, thank you..."
After they left for a long distance, Chu Zhi asked in a low voice: "Boss, will He Jun no longer be stupid in the future?"
Yan Yue poked her head and said, "He Jun isn't stupid at all!"
She sighed and continued, "Ghosts have obsessions, and so do humans. He Jun watched his sister die in front of him. How could a ten-year-old child bear it? He was just trapped in self-blame and guilt, and he became dull and insensitive because of the torment."
Nan Qing couldn't help but sigh: "Twenty years is really not easy. For a mortal, how many twenty years can there be in a lifetime?"
Chu Zhi jumped up and down and said, "I'll make up a story later to clear up everyone's misunderstanding of the He family. By then, He Jun will find a wife and have a big fat boy. It will be a happy ending for everyone!"
The group went back to get what they needed.
A lot of miscellaneous things had been bought and everyone's hands were full, but Chu Zhi still complained that it was not enough.
Bai Chen suspected that she had caught him, a coolie, and was using him to death, so he said sarcastically, "Still buying? Are you going to eat it until you die?"
Chu Zhi rolled her eyes at him, "What do you know? After the 26th day of the twelfth lunar month, there will be few people on the street. You won't be able to buy anything even if you want to!"
Yan Yue couldn't hold any more in her arms, so she begged, "Good Zhizhi, can we come back tomorrow to buy another one? I really can't hold it any more!"
Chu Zhi then returned home with a feeling of unfulfilled desire.
Bai Chen was complaining in his heart, it’s better to be a dog, I won’t become a human tomorrow! When I looked up, I saw an uninvited guest at the door.
The man was carrying a bag on his back and looked very polite. When he saw everyone, he immediately put on a warm smile. His voice was soft and gentle, like the clear water of a summer stream, flowing softly.
"Yueyue, you're back."
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