Naturally, Shen Yuning wouldn't easily follow her newly - found elder brother away from home. But seeing her second elder brother in a dilemma, she couldn't help but ask in detail and then learned the truth.
It turned out that Shen Fugui, seeing that there was no money or food at home, planned to beg for some fields and reopen the vegetable garden. However, the clan and the second uncle's family kept shifting the responsibility back and forth. Finally, they firmly insisted that they would consider it only after Shen Fugui got his household register back.
Although Shen Fugui's new home was also in Ling City, Ling City was very large. The Yun County where his new home was located and the Maohe County where Shenjiapo was located were at the south and north ends respectively. It had taken him more than ten days to find his way back. Now, the clan had to submit the list for changing the household register upwards layer by layer, and then it would be sent down layer by layer after reaching Yun County. Even if they were all speeding up on the way, it would take at least more than a month.
Hearing this, Shen Yuning hesitated and then smiled, "In that case, we'll just wait. After all, this is second elder brother's home. Second elder brother came back to look for relatives. How could he immediately drag the whole family along to trouble your adoptive father's family? As for the clan, second elder brother needn't worry. In the past, they bullied Yuanbao and me because we were girls. Now that second elder brother is at home, they won't dare to bully us too much, and they won't leave us without food..."
However, the second uncle's family was not trustworthy. She still planned to find a suitable opportunity to take out a few hundred cash and only tell her second elder brother secretly.
But Shen Fugui looked embarrassed. After hesitating for a long time, he said again, "Actually... my adoptive father's family has no sons. They regard me as their own son and have promised their daughter to me. I can't ignore their kindness and affection for raising me for so many years."
Shen Yuning understood then. She guessed that originally her second elder brother came back to look for relatives and planned to settle down first and then bring his wife from there. Now that something unexpected had happened, he might as well take them away.
This was also good. It was better than her having to constantly think about how to guard against the clan members here.
She didn't notice Shen Fugui's embarrassed look. She just thought he was afraid that they would be reluctant to leave their hometown, so she comforted him, "Now that second elder brother is back, Yuanbao and I have someone to rely on. Naturally, we'll go wherever second elder brother goes. As for here... second elder brother knows that I wasn't raised here, so I don't have any special attachment to it."
Shen Fugui just felt that the younger sister in front of him was much more sensible than the Xiaorou in his memory. Thinking of her background, he felt extremely heart - broken at the moment. He deeply hated his own parents for having committed such a wrong, which made Yuning, a little girl, bear so much.
However, Shen Yuning and Yuanbao's household registers couldn't be transferred. Shen Fugui told the clan that he couldn't ignore the kindness of his adoptive family. He would first take his younger sister and niece there to take refuge. After the eldest brother was released from exile, he would send them back.
So the three of them set off.
After staying in other people's homes for so long, Shen Fugui was really good at observing people's expressions and being considerate. He was kind to Yuanbao, a rough girl. But looking at Shen Yuning, his delicate and beautiful younger sister, he seemed to be afraid that she would melt if he held her in his hand. Before setting out, he thought about finding a flat - cart so that she wouldn't have to travel a long distance on foot and hurt her legs.
But he only had so many copper coins. After buying some dry food for the journey, there was not a single coin left.
Shen Yuning waved her hand, "Second elder brother, really. Now I'm Shen Yuning of the Shen family, not that former young miss. How could I be so delicate? Don't worry about me. I can keep up."
Just because they were traveling outside, to avoid causing trouble, she deliberately smeared mud on her face, tied up her hair and dressed like a boy. After all this, they looked like three boys traveling together, so they didn't attract any attention at all.
As for the nights, since the weather wasn't cold at this time, they could just find a long pavilion or a dilapidated temple, wrap a thin quilt around themselves and make do for the night.
After leaving Caoji Town, they walked for another day and rested in a long pavilion outside Maohe County Town for one night. Then Shen Fugui presented his travel permit and entered the county town.
It was Yuanbao's first time in the county town. As a curious child, her eyes kept rolling around. In a short while, she slipped away.
There were a lot of people in the county town. Shen Yuning was extremely anxious and quickly urged her second elder brother to go and look for Yuanbao. In a hurry, she caught the little girl who was running around in a circle surrounded by many common people.
Shen Yuning was so angry that she grabbed Yuanbao's hand and gently slapped it twice, "Will you still break away from uncle's hand?"
She was reluctant to use much force. It was like tickling, so Yuanbao was naturally not afraid. Instead, she pointed to the circle and said, "There's a piece of paper there. A lot of people are reading it."
Shen Yuning subconsciously looked into the circle. With so many people pushing and shoving, she could only vaguely see a person kneeling there with a piece of paper spread out in front of him.
Someone around murmured, "This person is selling himself to treat his father's illness. He's really filial. But he's chosen the wrong place. In our kind of families, who would need such a half - grown boy?"
"People say that he dragged his father all the way from the town to the county town just to find someone who would buy him."
"Tsk tsk, how pitiful!"
Some people were talking while others were moving around. Through the gaps, Shen Yuning saw the young boy's face clearly and couldn't help being greatly shocked. This child was exactly the beggar who had helped her drive away the human traffickers in front of her house the other day.
Shen Yuning immediately stood up and walked in front of the young boy. After confirming his features, it was indeed that beggar. She then looked down at the pleading paper on the ground. Sure enough, it was because he had no choice but to sell himself to treat his father's illness.
Shen Fugui picked up Yuanbao and patted Shen Yuning's shoulder, "Little brother, we have to hurry on our journey."
Shen Yuning looked back at her second elder brother and pointed at the beggar, "Second elder brother, I want to buy him."
When Shen Yuning took out the silver and handed it to the beggar, the beggar didn't even raise his head. He kowtowed three loud times, "Master, from now on, I'll be your servant. But for now, I need to find a doctor for my father. Please wait for me, master!"
When he looked up again and saw Shen Yuning's appearance, he couldn't help being stunned and subconsciously shouted, "It's you."
Shen Yuning didn't hesitate. She didn't want to delay his time to save his father, so she nodded repeatedly, "Yes, go and find a doctor for your father quickly."
But when the beggar dragged the doctor and quickly ran to the dilapidated temple, there was not even a trace of his seriously ill father!
The beggar looked around the dilapidated temple blankly. After not finding his father, he immediately knelt on the ground and wailed loudly.
The doctor wiped the sweat off his forehead, stuffed the consultation fee into the beggar's hand out of breath, saying that he felt sorry for the beggar and wouldn't take this hard - earned money, and then left.
Shen Yuning saw that something was wrong. She went into the dilapidated temple and looked around carefully. Only then did she see a piece of paper in the simple straw - made bed.
The words on it roughly meant that his father was old and in poor health. He thought he would be a burden if he stayed with his son, so he had found his own way out. He told his son not to worry about him and to find a good place to work and support himself.
When the beggar saw the words on the paper, he felt even more sad and suddenly fainted.
Shen Fugui had to carry the beggar onto the straw bed. Shen Yuning saw that there were simple pots and bowls here, so she boiled some hot water and fed it to the beggar. Finally, the beggar came to.
Shen Yuning sighed, "Your father has a kind and loving heart. If you just give up like this, wouldn't it be a waste of all his plans?"
At this moment, the beggar came to his senses. He got up and was about to kowtow to Shen Yuning again, but was stopped by her. He took out the silver from his bosom and handed it to her, "Although it's no longer needed, I'll keep my word. From now on, I'll be your servant."
Shen Yuning took the money and waved her hand repeatedly, "Don't talk nonsense. Judging from your father's and your handwriting, I can tell that you've just fallen on hard times. You must be a person with great talent. How can you casually call yourself a servant? Your father would rather leave than let you sell yourself as a servant. He must have his reasons. Don't say such things again in the future."
The beggar looked up at her, his eyes firm, "You saved me before, and now you've saved me for the second time. Since you don't want me to be your servant, from now on, I'll be your real younger brother."
Shen Yuning hesitated for a moment. She thought the child was extremely pitiful, so she looked up at her second elder brother, following his advice.
Shen Fugui had also roughly understood the situation. He thought this child was fated to be with his younger sister. He also privately thought that if they went back to Dashu Village, he might not be able to protect his younger sister and niece well. With this half - grown boy around, he could feel more at ease.
So he advised his younger sister, "If you don't take him in, he'll probably still be a beggar. It's better for you to keep him. I think he's capable. He'll be a good helper for doing work in the future."
Looking at the beggar's bright - faced expression, Shen Yuning nodded in agreement and then asked, "What's your name? Besides your father, do you have any other family members?"
The beggar lowered his head slightly and didn't look into Shen Yuning's eyes, "My name is Xuan Zhi. I lost my family when I was young. It was my father who adopted me. Later, there was a great change in my father's family. Only the two of us managed to escape. We don't have any other relatives."
Shen Yuning thought to herself that Xuan Zhi and his father were not biological father and son, but their feelings for each other were more sincere than those of ordinary biological father and son. She also thought that his father's former family must have been quite prominent. It was just a pity that the world was so unpredictable.
At this moment, she felt that Xuan Zhi's life experience was so miserable, which was somewhat similar to hers. Her family members, whether in the past or now, no longer seemed like real family.
Since her second elder brother had seen her take out the money today, Shen Yuning simply confessed to him. She only said that actually, the grandmother of the Xue family had left some silver for her before. But when she was in Shenjiapo, she was afraid of causing trouble, so she had hidden all the silver.
Shen Fugui was in a daze for a long time. Instead of being concerned about the money, he asked, "Your former family's grandmother was very kind to you, right?"
There was a bit of loneliness in Shen Yuning's eyes, "I grew up under my grandmother's care since I was a child... Actually, the Xue family has always been kind to me. Even after such a thing happened, grandmother still secretly gave me some silver, and my cousin even hired someone to escort me back to Shenjiapo all the way. It's just that I'm not fated with them. If I have the opportunity in the future, I will surely repay them well."
Shen Fugui laughed heartily and stroked his younger sister's head, thinking that she was talking like a naive child. The Xue family and their Shen family were like heaven and earth. If his younger sister went to repay them, people might think she was there to beg for help.
However, his younger sister had grown up in a noble family like the Xue family. Coming back and encountering such clan members of the Shen family, she must have been so sad.
Thinking of this, Shen Fugui asked in a low voice again, "Yuning must have been quite uncomfortable when you came back, right?"
Shen Yuning was stunned for a moment. Knowing what her second elder brother meant, she looked up and smiled, "Of course I was a bit uncomfortable before. But fortunately, second elder brother is back."
A warm current flowed through Shen Fugui's heart. Blood - related kinship couldn't change. He nodded seriously, "Yuning, don't worry. Second elder brother will surely work hard to let you live a good life!"