Rebirth: WLSB Chapter 3
TL: Hermit
Editor: Hermit
TLC: Hermit
Chapter 3: Attack his heart
“Looking at your aunt, it seems as if she’ll make trouble for you,” the male teacher wrinkled his eyebrows, his face full of worry: “Do you have anyone else at home?”
Shu Ning was very touched: “Yes, I will contact my Uncle and go back with him.”
Shu Ning only left after repeatedly thanking the teachers and surrounding students. The teacher in charge blinked her eyes, feeling that the Shu Ning that had an inferiority complex and used to walk around his head lowered, seemed to have grown up within a night, the change was so significant that it was as if the sky and earth had turned upside down. That perfectly straight back that was neither servile nor overbearing, that sincere gaze, and that indescribable sense of maturity, was it a good or a bad thing?
Perhaps because he had to experience too much, thus he had no choice but to mature early. This poor child, the teacher sighed.
Shu Ning calmly headed to the dining hall to have his meal, as the majority of the students had already finished eating, so there was no need to queue up, actually saving him some trouble. After all, he had mingled with the rich and powerful for many years, it was easy for him to automatically emit an aura of n.o.bility, exuding a simple elegance. He ate slowly and deliberately, waiting for someone to walk right into the trap.
Not long after, the cla.s.s monitor ran over, his forehead covered in sweat.
“Shu Ning! I’ve heard about everything that happened in the teacher’s office, you….how are you?”
The feeling of someone being concerned for him was really good, Shu Ning curved his eyes up in a smile: “It’s nothing.”
“What nothing!” The cla.s.s monitor was so angry that he even jumped up: “You even got hurt until you bled, how is that nothing? Let’s go, I’ll go with you to the doctor to take an x-ray.”
“No need,” Shu Ning had finished eating, pulling down the cla.s.s monitor to sit, giving him his untouched cup of water to relax his tone: “I want to contact uncle to go to the hospital to visit maternal grandmother, and I’ll go for a check up at the same time. Cla.s.s is about to start, finish the water and quickly go!”
“Shu Ning, my condolences.”
Shu Ning patted the cla.s.s monitor’s shoulder: “You’re a good friend, thank you.”
The cla.s.s monitor, however, looked at him askance: “Do you have money to make a telephone call?”
“No,” That’s why I was waiting for you, and you really came, I’m really grateful.
Cla.s.s monitor: “… …”
The cla.s.s monitor who was worried for Shu Ning, would rather skip a cla.s.s, wanting to stay around Shu Ning, holding his hand as if he were an elder brother coaxing a younger brother, walking to the small shop.
In the shop sat an amiable aunt who wore gla.s.ses, the cla.s.s monitor easily insisted on helping Shu Ning to press the numbers, only after the call was picked up, did he pa.s.s the phone to Shu Ning.
At this very moment, the exhausted Shu Ning’s voice was rough: “Uncle.”
“En.”
“Uncle.”
“En.”
“Uncle!”
“En.”
Cla.s.s monitor: “… …” Just what on earth is happening here?
Only after repeatedly calling Uncle for a few times, then did Shu Ning manage to heal that heartwrenching pain he felt. In the past when he first went back with his mother, as he was worried, Uncle still came over to see him now and then. But the Shu Ning who had mingled with the rich and wealthy had started thinking and acting like Qin Yu Zhuo, thinking that his Uncle was trash that shouldn’t have surfaced, completely ignoring him.
Although his Uncle was simple, but after a while his smiles became weak. Knowing that Shu Ning lived well, and didn’t like himself, he didn’t visit anymore. Truth was, Uncle treated others with honesty and didn’t deceive others, just that his personality was slow and prudent, his brain worked slowly, not knowing how to use honeyed words to flatter others, thus naturally he couldn’t win against other people who had put in more effort.
“Uncle, maternal grandmother pa.s.sed away,” Shu Ning choked out those words with emotion, the pain he had experienced in the past, it was still as painful when experiencing it now, but since he traveled back, naturally, he couldn’t let them get away with things: “Maternal grandmother already fainted 10 days ago, it was discovered by the neighbour Aunt Zhang, Uncle Li’s family had a car so they send maternal grandmother to the hospital to be treated, and even paid $200 first. After eldest aunt and second aunt knew about this they weren’t willing to pay the fees, they didn’t even return the money, delaying the optimal time for treatment, maternal grandmother… … pa.s.sed away.”
“In our village, there is the custom of leaving the house to the son, eldest and second aunt were scared that maternal grandmother would leave all her a.s.sets to her only son, so they already sold anything of value in the house, and because they couldn’t find the housing deed, today, eldest aunt came to the teacher’s office and beat me until I spat blood.”
As Uncle heard this, his mind drew to a blank, not wanting and unable to believe what he had heard, his hands s.h.i.+vering madly, completely unable to accept that his elderly mother had just gone like this. He still hadn’t married a wife, hasn’t been filial to her. Tears flowed unendingly down a tanned face, pursing his lips, so full of grief that he was momentarily unable to speak, the foreman at his side looked at him askew.
The public telephones in the past were very loud, if one was standing nearby, they could hear every single word.
The other party’s silence made Shu Ning disappointed, that painful way of speaking immediately changed into a sharp blade: “How much money did you send to eldest aunt? If she had given maternal grandmother some living expenses, would maternal grandmother need to brush metal film to make money to pay my school fees? Even if I say so much, you don’t believe me right? I understand your feelings of wanting to trust your kin, but you also have to judge for yourself if they are human?”
“Xiao Ning… …” This voice was incomparably gloomy and hoa.r.s.e, causing people to feel extremely unwell.
“I know, blood relations are a kind of unbreakable spell,” His hand being held by the cla.s.s monitor, Shu Ning’s heart felt warm and he continued to attack his heart: “Uncle, eldest and second aunt won’t fish out a single cent to bury maternal grandmother, they would even find all sorts of reasons to push away the responsibility, finding all sorts of reasons to sell the house. You come back today, borrow $2000 just to be prepared, we’ll go the Ou Hospital to see maternal grandmother, at the same time ask the nurses, then go back to the village and ask the neighbours.”
“Alright, I’ll listen to you.” The Qin Yu Fu whose IQ had become as messed up as a ball of string felt as if his ears were buzzing.
Putting down the telephone receiver, the cla.s.s monitor immediately paid, pulling Shu Ning to sit on the nearby flight of steps. He was very emotional, the mouth that was usually pretty impressive, was somehow unable to say any words of comfort. As his face blushed, the cla.s.s monitor who had never seen the evils of society made a decision: “I’ll stay here and keep you company.”
Shu Ning was very tired, his head tilted, leaning onto the cla.s.s monitor’s shoulder: “Bai Peng, from now on we’ll be good friends.”
“Ah? The cla.s.s monitor scratched his head, puzzling over what he heard: “Weren’t we friends all along?”
Shu Ning finally laughed, his laugh was sincere and without guilt, after all, his outward appearance was a 13 year old youth!
The foreman drove his car and sent Uncle to the school, there was no need to exchange greetings, letting Shu Ning get on the car hurriedly. Qin Yu Fu wished that he could grow a pair of wings to fly to his mother’s side.
The cla.s.s monitor held on the car window that had been wound down, looking at the two tanned men, neither of them looking like Shu Ning, which one was his uncle? In any case, the cla.s.s monitor knew they were rus.h.i.+ng for time so he quickly opened his mouth: “I’m the cla.s.s monitor of cla.s.s 3, Bai Peng, the teacher wanted me to tell you that Shu Ning was beaten up by his aunt until he bled, the reason was that they wanted the housing deed to sell the house to pay for the operation fee.”
A teacher was a sacred job, the words spoken by a teacher were very important. However, this cla.s.s monitor Bai Peng lied, but he did not regret, when his good friend called earlier, he did not mention the health check up, but since they needed to go to the hospital, they could find out the truth just by asking any nurse they came across. Bai Peng let go of the car window, glancing at Shu Ning, good friend, my ability is limited, I can only help you till here.
Shu Ning nodded his head a few times, if he said thank you now, it would be regarding him as an outsider.
The car disappeared in an instant. Bai Peng stood at the roadside, feeling that he really was insignificant, he couldn’t do anything. Suddenly, an idea came to mind, there were many students in the school who were from the same village as Shu Ning, rumors and slanders could kill invisibly, hehehe… …
After the car reached the hospital, the foreman didn’t leave, following Shu Ning and Qin Yu Fu to inquire, and found the morgue.
Standing outside and leaning against the wall, the foreman held an unlit cigarette in his mouth, narrowing his eyes, listening to the broken hearted crying sounds coming from inside.
After an hour, Qin Yu Fu cried until his was tired, completely unable to stand, the foreman pulled him up: “Alright, what are you doing in the morning? Quickly bury the elderly and let her go to rest.”
Nodding non-stop, the Qin Yu Fu and Shu Ning today cried unstoppable tears, Shu Ning also saw his maternal grandmother’s corpse for the first time, naturally his real feelings were revealed.
However, somethings still had to be done, Shu Ning couldn’t not be mentally alert. If he was spiritless, his eldest and second aunt would take advantage of his uncle till he died.
“Uncle, let’s go ask the doctor in charge?”
The foreman was more experienced in the ways of the world, as the child kept saying that the eldest and second aunt were utterly heartless, he somewhat found it unbelievable. The person who died was their biological mother ah! Thus, he pulled Qin Yu Fu along to determine the truth.
Shu Ning didn’t follow, some things couldn’t be solved just by telling them, letting them find out the truth for themselves would be better.
From the doctor in charge, chief nurse, after they learned of the situation regarding payments and the general situation, Qin Yu Fu was utterly stunned. From when his elderly mother had been hospitalized to when she died…. only $250 in fees had been paid, and it had even been paid for first by the neighbour! The truth was like a knife lodged in his heart, it felt intolerable.
The foreman placed the cigarette near his nose and sniffed it a bit, then forced down the flames in his heart: “Are you even a man? Quickly get yourself together, the dead have pa.s.sed on, you have to cherish the living.”
Qin Yu Fu stared at the foreman bewilderedly for a while, then patting his legs, he stood up, running towards the morgue, Shu Ning hadn’t seen the doctor yet!
Actually, Shu Ning was completely fine, he bit the tip of his tongue in the teacher’s office so that eldest aunt’s reputation would be ruined. If not, when he waited for Qin Yu Zhuo to take him away, what if eldest aunt went to the school again to trick people’s money using his dropping out of school as a reason? She had all kinds of schemes, Shu Ning had to prevent her from using them.
After finis.h.i.+ng up the procedures, the foreman contacted a good friend to help buy a casket. At that time, the village favoured burial, the rich held a 7 day ceremony while the poor held 3 day ceremonies, inviting over the elderly in the village to have a meal and to cry. That afternoon, the 3 returned to the village, the house was very messy, all the furniture was gone, even the blankets and clothes were gone.
They were originally penniless, the only thing they had of value was the house. Qin Yu Fu’s eyes reddened again, Shu Ning sighed: “Let’s first go to the neighbour’s house to return the money.”
Qin Yu Fu nodded, walking out. It was tough for such a honest man to borrow money to settle a debt. Shu Ning quickly tidied up the place, letting the foreman sit down: “Thank you for the help today.”
“Don’t mention it, child.”
“May I know why you helped Uncle?” Shu Ning could also be regarded as being experienced in the ways of the world. It couldn’t be helped that he was blind in his previous life, but in this life he had to be more cautious. In order to leave the man a good impression of him, Shu Ning tilted his head, looking just like a curious child.
“I was the one who took him out of this village,” the foreman was finally able to smoke, squinting his eyes comfortably: “Xiao Fu is honest and doesn’t overstep his bounds, I also never thought that his elder sister would take all his salary in the name of saving up for a wife. You seem to have something you want to say to me, say it.”
“Today my eldest aunt forced me, wanting the house deed, causing me to become suspicious. If I didn’t check, I wouldn’t know, but once I checked, my heart broke. Maternal grandmother left desolately, eldest and second aunt will definitely fight for the house, once Uncle’s heart softens, I’m worried that the same thing will happen again.”
“You also want to sell the house?” The man’s gaze became thoughtful, what innocent child, could it be that this child also was a wolf?”
“En,” Shu Ning looked him in the face without shrinking back, broadly and levelly: “It should be enough to buy a bungalow in a remote area. When maternal grandmother was alive, her last regret was that Uncle still hadn’t gotten himself a wife.”
The foreman’s eyes lit up, finding it feasible: “I understand your idea, leave the sale of the house to me.”
There was a racket outside, eldest and second aunt came really fast. Shouting in such a loud voice, as if wanting to let everyone know that they had been wronged.
Hermit’s Notes:
- Xiao Fu/ Xiao Ning: Xiao = Little, is added to the front of someone’s name, usually used as a nickname.
- There were quite a few idioms in Chinese that wouldn’t have made any sense if translated into English, thus I’ve translated what the author was trying to convey. Hope the chapter still flows well, if not, leave me a comment on what I could improve on!