Shen Dalin was exactly Shen Yuning's biological father who had already passed away.
Shen Yuning turned around in surprise and saw a young man about twenty years old. He looked as honest and solid as his voice. He sized Shen Yuning up and down timidly. He seemed to want to come in but was a bit afraid. He just hesitated at the door, rubbing the tattered corner of his clothes with his hands.
The corner of his clothes was a bit tattered, but his clothes were not really shabby. It seemed that he had been traveling in a hurry and hadn't changed his clothes frequently, so they just looked a bit dirty.
Seeing that Shen Yuning didn't answer, the man asked again, "Um... Does Shen Dalin and Shen Jingui live here?"
Only then did Shen Yuning nod and reply vaguely, "Yes, but they're not here."
The man didn't understand what this meant. He gave a simple and honest smile and said, "Well... I'll just sit here at the door and wait for them to come back."
After saying that, he took a step back and sat on the collapsed door.
After hesitating for a moment, Shen Yuning said, "They won't be back for a while. Who are you and what do you want with them?"
The man was slightly stunned. Obviously, he didn't understand what "won't be back" meant. But seeing that the young girl in front of him didn't seem to want to say more, he didn't ask this question again. Instead, he looked at the girl excitedly.
"Are you... Xiaorou?"
Shen Yuning paused. She wasn't Xiaorou, but in a way, she was Xiaorou.
Her pause made the man think that she was too vigilant to answer. He quickly stood up and took a step forward. "Xiaorou, I'm your second brother. Do you still remember me?"
Shen Yuning was stunned for a long time. What second brother? She only knew that there was an eldest brother in the Shen family named Shen Jingui. She had never heard of a second brother. She had been here for so long and had never seen this so - called second brother.
Seeing her in a daze, the man became even more excited. "I'm Fugui, your second brother. You were already five years old when I got lost. Think about it again?"
Shen Yuning thought to herself, I'm not Xiaorou. No matter how hard I think, I can't remember what happened when Xiaorou was five. But you said you got lost? What does that mean?
Just as the two of them were standing there, still a bit dazed, they heard a shrill female voice outside.
"This slut. She attracted a few half - grown beggars yesterday, and today she even brought a man into the house. Those who know would think she's from a wealthy family in the capital. Those who don't know might think she's a prostitute! Let me tell you, when the human trafficker comes again tomorrow, you have to go even if you don't want to! Can't I make decisions for you?"
Shen Fugui looked in the direction of the voice, frowned and asked, "What are you talking nonsense about! Are you... Second Aunt?"
Tian Shi came here intending to take away Yuanbao, who was disobedient, first so that she wouldn't cause any trouble tomorrow. As soon as she came, she saw a man standing in front of Shen Yuning's door. She couldn't keep her mouth shut and immediately wanted to make some sarcastic remarks. She didn't expect that this man would directly call her Second Aunt when he saw her.
Among the women in Shenjiapo, they competed to see who could be more shrewish and who could pour more dirt on others. Tian Shi just spat and said, "What a whore. She's only been back for a few days, and her lover is already at the door? Tsk tsk, I can't be your Second Aunt!"
Shen Fugui understood that Tian Shi didn't recognize him and thought he was Xiaorou's lover. He remembered that this Second Aunt was very hard to get along with. He immediately sank his face and glared angrily at Tian Shi. "You're spouting nonsense. If you keep talking like this, don't blame me for being rude! I'm Shen Fugui, Xiaorou's elder brother!"
"Hehe, she's not Xiaorou, and she doesn't have a second brother..."
Tian Shi's words came out faster than her thoughts. When she realized what she had said, she was greatly shocked. She stared at Shen Fugui from head to toe. "You... You're Fugui? The Fugui who was sold by the human trafficker?"
...
Shen Yuning sat in front of Yuanbao's bed with a complicated expression. Several clan elders of the Shen family and some uncles from the main branch had come to the main hall. She also understood what they were saying.
It turned out that when Xiaorou was five years old, her eight - year - old second brother was abducted by human traffickers. But since he was already eight years old and had a good memory at that time, the private human traffickers took him to many places, but no one was willing to buy such an old child. He was smart and managed to run away secretly on the way. He planned to run back home, but unfortunately, he couldn't find the way.
Once, when he was extremely hungry, he went to a field to steal melons and was caught by the owner of the field. Fortunately, the family was kind. They didn't have a son, and seeing that he was strong, they simply kept him to help with the work.
When he grew older, Shen Fugui started to inquire about the Shen family. After several years of searching, he finally got a clue. Now that he had found his way here, he found that most of Shenjiapo was the same as in his memory, with no changes. He felt that he was about to find his family. He would soon see his parents, elder brother and younger sister.
After the Shen family members confirmed his identity, they all looked at each other in dismay. Finally, his own second uncle told him everything that had happened to his family over the years in detail.
What made Shen Yuning feel complicated was that if Tian Shi and her husband wanted to sell her, she could still say that she had an elder brother. But now, if this suddenly - appeared second brother had the same thoughts as Tian Shi and her husband, she would really be in a desperate situation.
Shen Fugui listened for a while and then stammered, "So, the younger sister in the room isn't Xiaorou? Xiaorou isn't my real sister. This one is?"
The second uncle nodded reluctantly. "Because of her, your elder brother and sister - in - law were exiled. Yuanbao is still young, so she was left at home..."
There was a moment of silence in the hall. Shen Yuning inside the room turned pale and then red again, and her eyes couldn't help but turn red. This whole family was like a pack of wolves. How could she, a girl, fight against them? But why was it her? What on earth had she done wrong?
"So, what Second Aunt said just now, that when the human trafficker comes, my sister has to go with them. Does that mean they're going to sell my sister? And you just let them sell my sister like this?"
Shen Fugui's voice was still deep, but there was strong dissatisfaction in his tone.
When the clan elders heard his question, they all lowered their heads and didn't say a word.
The second uncle smiled awkwardly and explained, "You've just come back and don't know. Because of her, the men in our Shenjiapo can't find any work. Every family has to raise children. This..."
Shen Fugui glared at him. "What do you mean 'because of her'? That was clearly what our parents did. What does it have to do with her? Moreover, for such a big thing, could our parents have done it alone? Second Uncle, dare you swear to God that you weren't involved? Why, when something goes wrong, do you blame it all on my sister? You're just lazy. When I looked at the fields outside, there weren't many that were well - planted. What do you mean you can't find work? If you can't find it, why don't you come back and farm?"
The more he looked, the more he felt this way. Why did he find his home so easily? It was because Shenjiapo was exactly the same as it was ten years ago. The reason there were no changes was that the villagers were too lazy and just muddled along.
The second uncle got angry, but he was always a weak - willed person. He used to listen to his elder brother, and after his elder brother died, he listened to his wife. He couldn't make his own decisions, so he just looked at the other clan members.
Shen Fugui didn't care about them. He said angrily, "I don't care if she's Xiaorou or not. But since she's my sister, I won't ignore her. From now on, if anyone dares to bully her and Yuanbao, they have to ask me, Shen Fugui, first."
However, after seeing off the clan members, Shen Fugui found that the two girls, one big and one small, in the house didn't know anything. There wasn't even a single grain of rice left in the house. He didn't know how they had survived these days.
"Where are the family's fields?"
Shen Yuning shook her head. "When I came, I asked. Since there were no male members in the family, the fields were all divided up."
Even if there were fields, she didn't know how to farm them.
Shen Fugui sighed. "Then what about your food and drinks?"
Shen Yuning lowered her head. "They said the second uncle's family would take care of us, but..."
But they never really took care of them? Shen Fugui looked at her speechlessly. This younger sister looked so delicate. No wonder she couldn't fight against the shrewd and耍赖 Second Aunt.
Shen Yuning thought for a while and continued, "The grandmother of my previous family was kind to me and gave me a little money. But... It's not much."
It wasn't that she deliberately wanted to lie, but before she came back, the eldest cousin had told her again and again that now she wasn't a daughter of the Xue family and wasn't close to the Shen family. She should always be a bit reserved and not reveal everything as soon as she came back. After observing for these days, she found that the so - called relatives in the Shen family really couldn't be relied on.
The second brother in front of her seemed to be a good person, but for the time being, she didn't dare to trust him completely.
Shen Yuning tried hard to squeeze out a smile. She felt that she finally had a bit of hope. At least from the second brother's performance so far, he didn't seem to want to sell her.
"But it's okay now. Now that you're back, second brother."
Shen Fugui was even more worried. He looked at Shen Yuning, then at Yuanbao on the bed, who was thin and covered in red marks, and finally at the bare - walled house. He didn't know what to say at all.
At this time, Yuanbao pulled Shen Yuning's sleeve and licked her dry lips. "I'm hungry."
Shen Yuning was stunned. The last bit of copper coins she had taken out had been used to buy tofu this morning. Now, there wasn't even a single cabbage in the house. She didn't dare to take out the money hidden under the bed either.
After hesitating for a moment, she stood up and said to Shen Fugui, "Second brother, you take care of Yuanbao first. I'll go to the vegetable garden to see if there's anything left..."
Hearing this, Shen Fugui understood what Shen Yuning meant. Probably there was nothing left in the family's vegetable garden. She was going to see if she could get something from other people's houses.
He shook his head. "Well, I still have a little money. You take it and go to the town to buy some food. Anyway, we can't go hungry."
He opened his cloth bag and took out a small cloth - wrapped package from the very inside. He unwrapped it layer by layer. There was a small pile of copper coins in the innermost layer.
Shen Yuning's eyes went from bright hope to disappointment and finally to despair. Without counting, she knew that there were definitely no more than thirty copper coins. With just thirty copper coins, even if they saved on food and drink, it could only last for about four or five days. What would they three do after four or five days?
Shen Fugui carefully stuffed all the money into Shen Yuning's hands and motioned for her to go quickly so as not to let Yuanbao go hungry.
Shen Yuning didn't hesitate. She would worry about the future later. The most important thing now was to fill their stomachs. She had only drunk some vegetable soup these two days and really couldn't bear it anymore.
When she came back with rice and vegetables for two days, Shen Fugui had already gone somewhere. She didn't care about that. She cooked a good meal, served Yuanbao first. Yuanbao ate happily. After finishing, she still looked into the kitchen.
Shen Yuning shook her head. "No more. If I give you more, there won't be enough for me and your second uncle."
Although Yuanbao was naughty, she understood this very well. Anyway, she wasn't hungry anymore, so she just got up and ran away to play somewhere.
When Shen Fugui came back, he had a very embarrassed expression on his face and sighed. But when he saw the rice, he was like a hungry wolf. He gobbled it up quickly. After finishing, he also looked into the kitchen, just like Yuanbao.
Shen Yuning felt embarrassed. She was holding a half - eaten bowl. She didn't know whether to eat or not. After thinking for a long time, she stammered, "Second brother, if you don't mind, you can have mine?"
Shen Fugui knew that his sister hadn't eaten enough. He waved his hand and refused. He got up and walked around the Shen family's house. When Shen Yuning finished eating and went to the kitchen to wash the dishes, he came over.
"Yuning, my household register is there. It won't be easy to get it back for a while. How about you and Yuanbao come with me?"