Chapter 146 Uncle Chang Geng may still be alive
"Okay, my third uncle just went back to Shenjia Village. Qingming Festival is coming soon, and every household will worship their ancestors. My third uncle's wife and my mother have gone back, leaving me at home to take care of my aunt and little cousin. I can only wait until they come back and ask." Shen Zhi said.
Shen Zhi took a basket and went to Erdan's house to get some bread. Erdan's grandmother had bad teeth, so this bread was just right for her. Shen Zhi repeatedly told her not to be reluctant and to finish it within three days to avoid it going bad.
Then, Shen Zhi sent some to Aunt Zhang and Aunt Guihua's homes, and finally to the village head's home.
At this time, only Zhou and Little Bean were at home, and everyone else had gone to the fields. Zhou tasted a small piece of bread and exclaimed that it was delicious. She wanted to order the rest and wait for her son to come home from work to eat.
"Grandma Zhou, this thing can't be kept for too long, three or four days at most, otherwise it will easily get moldy. This is homemade, just like making cakes, but it's baked in the bread oven built by my third uncle. I'll bake some more and send them over when my uncle comes back, it's not a big deal." Shen Zhi also followed Little Bean and called Zhou's eldest son "Uncle".
Zhou smiled and said, "Mrs. Zhou is blessed by you to have such delicious cakes. Has your third uncle returned to Shenjia Village again?"
Shen Zhi fed little Bean some bread and nodded, "They just left this morning. My mother has also gone. She probably won't be back for two days. They won't be back until they sweep the graves during the Qingming Festival."
The smile on Zhou's face faded, and she sighed, "They must have been feeling very sad these past few days. Your third uncle and his wife finally had a child after many years of marriage, and they were in more pain than their eyes. The child was washed away by the flood while trying to save others, and his body was not found. For these two old people to have to send off their son is like cutting out their hearts with a knife."
After hearing this, Shen Zhi hurriedly asked, "Grandma Zhou, you mean that my uncle's body is gone. Is it possible that he is still alive?"
Zhou shook her head. "Well, your third aunt also firmly believed that her son was still alive. However, later on, the villagers searched along that river for several days and nights, and asked every household in the villages along the way, but there was no clue. If he was alive, he should have been found. Your little uncle was the most filial. The family had just saved some money to arrange a marriage for him, but your third aunt fell seriously ill, and he insisted on not arranging the marriage. He had to use the money to treat the illness, which delayed the marriage. If he was still alive, he would be at least 21 years old. How pitiful! What a good young man." As Zhou spoke, her eyes welled up with tears and her voice choked.
Shen Zhi patted Zhou's back with red eyes and comforted her: "Grandma Zhou, don't be sad, Lin. Maybe my uncle is still alive. I always feel that he is very close to us. Sooner or later, we will meet again."
Zhou nodded and said, "The Bodhisattva will bless him to be alive."
Shen Zhi returned home with a heavy heart, and the same was true in Shenjia Village.
The third uncle's house had been uninhabited for a long time, the yard was overgrown with weeds, and the house was gray everywhere. Now when they returned to the yard, everything had changed and the two old men were in tears.
At the beginning, the two were willing to follow Shen to live in Shitou Village. On the one hand, they were worried that Shen, a divorced woman, would have a hard time raising two daughters, so they wanted to come and help. On the other hand, staying here reminded them of their son. Every blade of grass and every tree here had traces of their son, which made them feel suffocated.
Shen comforted the two of them, then found a sickle and cut the weeds in the yard. She then cleaned the house inside and out. Shen Changlin and Sun also brought Shen Bi to help, and soon the whole house was cleaned.
On the Qingming Festival, everyone carried baskets to the mountain to worship.
After coming down the mountain, my third uncle and his wife were obviously in low spirits and looked even more hunched.
Third uncle was unwilling to stay in Shenjia Village, and Shen Changlin was worried about Third uncle driving, so he drove them back to Shitou Village himself. Shen asked Shen Changlin to stay in the town for a while, and she wanted to take Shen Zhen back to stay for two days. Shen Zhen rarely went home since she took over the photo studio, and she missed him very much.
The carriage stopped at the entrance of an alley. Shen opened the curtain of the carriage and saw Shen Changlin's shocked face. She asked, "Brother Changlin, what's wrong?"
Shen Changlin retracted his gaze, glanced at his uncle and aunt in the carriage, and said, "It's okay, I recognized the wrong person."
After the carriage picked up Shen Zhen and Meng Ting, they returned to Shitou Village. Shen Changlin pulled Shen aside and said, "I just saw a man at the entrance of that alley. He looked very similar to Chang Geng, but he called someone "cousin" and followed that person. But I'm not sure. Maybe he was thinking about Chang Geng all the time these days and was dazzled. Don't tell Uncle San about this in advance, so that he won't be disappointed. I'll go to the entrance of the alley later to see if I can run into him again."
Shen was very excited after hearing what Shen Changlin said. Could it be that Chang Geng was still alive? Just now, when she was worshipping at her parents' grave, she asked her parents to help take care of Shen Chang Geng. Unexpectedly, the two candles suddenly went out. She felt very strange at the time. How could the candles go out without any trouble? It turned out to be a reminder that Chang Geng was still alive.
Shen told Shen Changlin about this matter, and Shen Changlin was also very excited. In this era, people were quite awed by the concepts of ghosts and gods.
Shen Zhi, who was standing behind them, had heard their entire conversation, even though their voices were very low, because she had cheated with the Space Spirit Spring and had become a super-ears person. Shen Zhi was very excited at this moment, thinking of the Geng that Guo Ning mentioned, and the uncle's name was Chang Geng. Although many people have lost their memories, they still know their nicknames in their subconscious.
"Mom, uncle, who else knows how to stack firewood in the way our third uncle does?" Shen Zhi asked.
Shen Changlin said, "This is your third uncle's original invention. Only he can do it. Everyone else would pile up the firewood in the firewood room, but he sawed them into uniform lengths and arranged them neatly into barrel shapes."
Shen Zhi's doubts in his heart became more and more clear, and he asked again: "Will my uncle Chang Geng arrange it like this?"
Shen Changlin nodded, "Of course Uncle Li Changgen will. He has been very thoughtful since he was a child and has arranged everything in an orderly manner. Why are you asking this?"
Shen Zhi was so excited that he was almost certain that A Geng was his third great uncle's son Shen Changgeng.
"Mom, uncle, my uncle Chang Geng may still be alive." Shen Zhi said.
Clang! A crisp sound broke the silence of shock.
When everyone looked, they saw Uncle San standing behind Shen Zhi with red eyes.
Guo Ning and her mother-in-law were sitting in the yard embroidering cross-stitch. They moved skillfully, and their confidence was revealed in their movements.
Soon, this peace was broken by an anxious knock on the door.