Chapter 32: The Past

Shen Siyuan had originally thought the generational gap mentioned by Shen Jianjun and his wife referred only to an age difference.

He never expected it to be far more than that.

It turned out that Yu Youcai's comrade had died on the battlefield back then, and on his deathbed had entrusted his wife and daughter to him.

They were fellow villagers, and the elder brother had taken great care of him, so Yu Youcai felt it was his duty, both emotionally and morally.

After he returned from military service, he kept his promise, treating his elder brother's wife and daughter with utmost respect and care.

Because of this bond with the elder brother, the two families visited each other frequently.

Those days, people were simpler, and their feelings were very sincere.

"Uh, could it be that the comrade's widow fell for Great Uncle? That's actually nothing wrong, right?"

A widower marrying a widow could be considered a match made in heaven.

"Not the widow, but his comrade's daughter who fell for your Great Granduncle," Mother Huang Shujuan said.

Hearing this, Shen Siyuan was somewhat surprised; in his mind, his Great Granduncle's comrade should have been about the same age, so the comrade's daughter would likely be ten or twenty years younger.

But Shen Jianjun said, "That comrade was much older; when he died, his daughter was already thirteen or fourteen. By the time your Great Grandmother passed away, she was already a grown young lady."

"In that case, if Great Granduncle really married her, it seems fine; although it might sound a bit unpleasant to others, as long as the two are happy, that's what matters."

"Who says otherwise? I feel the same way; your Great Granduncle just worries too much."

Hearing this, Mother's face lit up with excitement; the reason she was so happy was simply that she felt Shen Siyuan was on her side.

Shen Jianjun, however, shook his head and said, "It's not that simple; the situation back then was already quite complicated, and besides, it wasn't just your Great Granduncle who was a comrade. If your Great Granduncle really married that young lady, how could he face those comrades again? Moreover, many people would surely spread gossip."

"Let them gossip; it's just that Uncle himself isn't brave enough."

Mother strongly disagreed with this; since both sides had feelings for each other, they should overcome all difficulties; if one hesitates and fears, what kind of love is that?

"He is already gone; what's the use of talking about this now?"

Shen Jianjun sighed helplessly, also feeling regret for his Great Granduncle's entire life.

"Um... what happened to Great Grandmother later?"

Shen Siyuan didn't know how to address her; thinking she should be about the same age as his own grandmother, calling her "Grandmother" seemed most appropriate.

"Later? Later she got married and had children, of course."

Mother said, her tone unconsciously carrying a hint of dissatisfaction; after all, Great Granduncle had caused quite a stir back then for her sake, never remarried afterward, yet she went on to marry, have children, and live a happy life.

"Did you lose contact with her completely after that? Is she still alive now?" Shen Siyuan pressed.

He felt that the reason his Great Granduncle was still lingering in the mortal world must be this.

"I'm not sure about that, but when your Great Granduncle passed away, she did come to pay her respects."

"How come I don't remember?"

"You were too young back then, and there were so many people; how could you have noticed?"

Since they had already discussed this far, Shen Siyuan had nothing more to ask, so he took his Great Granduncle's belongings and returned to his room on the second floor.

"Why did he suddenly become interested in Great Granduncle's affairs?"

Seeing him go upstairs, Huang Huijuan asked Shen Jianjun beside her with a puzzled look.

Shen Jianjun shook his head and said, "How would I know? Perhaps it's just that seeing these things made him think of the person."

"I don't think so; haven't you noticed that Siyuan seems a bit different this time he came back compared to before?"

"Different? In what way?"

"I can't quite put it into words, but I just feel something is different," Huang Huijuan said softly.

"Is that a good thing or a bad thing?"

"It should be considered a good thing," Huang Huijuan said after thinking for a moment.

This time Shen Siyuan returned with bright, spirited eyes, indicating abundant vitality; his appetite had greatly increased, showing he was strong and healthy; all these should be positive signs.

"In that case, why think so much? Go back to your room and sleep."

Shen Jianjun took her hand and led her upstairs to their room.

Shen Siyuan, of course, knew nothing about his parents discussing him; returning to his room, he took out the envelopes from the iron box and began to examine them one by one.

One had to admit that people back then, though perhaps not highly educated, wrote truly beautiful handwriting.

Even if slightly less skilled, every stroke was deliberate and the characters clear, obviously written with great care.

Thinking of himself, having used computers too much, he had almost forgotten how to write; picking up a pen, his handwriting looked like a turtle crawling, and he had forgotten how to control the pressure of the brush.

Most were letters exchanged with comrades, containing trivial matters of daily life: asking how work was, inquiring about this year's harvest, checking if wives and children were healthy, etc., all expressing feelings of longing.

Shen Siyuan skimmed through these letters at a glance, reading ten lines at a time, so his reading speed was very fast.

Only when he saw a letter with elegant, delicate handwriting did he stop and read it carefully.

The letter writer's name was Qiaozhen; as for her surname, it was unknown, because only the two characters "Qiaozhen" appeared at the end of the letter.

Shen Siyuan picked out all the letters with the same handwriting and examined them one by one.

In the letters, she addressed Great Granduncle as "Brother Yu"; although the content was similarly about daily trifles, reading it conveyed a young girl's yearning and longing for life.

But as time progressed, the content of the letters shifted from daily trifles to concern for Great Granduncle's life, urging him to take care of his health and not to bring too many things when visiting her and her mother next time; a faint affection leaped off the page.

Later, it became even more straightforward and direct; she told Great Granduncle that her feelings for him were sincere, she feared no gossip from others, and hoped he would cherish her emotions, walk hand in hand with her, and spend their future together...

No one knew how Great Granduncle replied to her; the last letter's paper was clearly soaked with tears.

The letter said that acquaintances had introduced her to a young man from Guangda Village; he was very good, very honest, and even the production team leader of the village...

The letter was full of praise for that young man, yet between the lines one could read a sense of heartbreak.

After Shen Siyuan had browsed through all the letters from beginning to end, he felt only one thing: resentment that Great Granduncle did not fight for her, wishing he could jump up and give him a beating.

Such a wonderful young lady, how could he have lost her?

Additionally, he read between the lines that Miss Qiaozhen must have received an education; not only was her handwriting beautiful, but the content of her letters was well-organized, and her choice of words made reading very comfortable.

From this alone, one could see her background must have been good; however, in that era, having a good background was not necessarily a good thing.

But the past is gone with the wind. Shen Siyuan neatly reorganized the letters, took his change of clothes, and went to the bathroom to take a cold shower.

Though it was night and the sun had set, the air remained stiflingly hot, making his heart feel restless and deeply uncomfortable.

After coming out of the bathroom, he picked up his phone and found a WeChat message he had received at some point. Picking it up to look, he saw it was sent by Jiang Tingyu.

"Are you asleep? What are you doing?"

Shen Siyuan looked at the WeChat message with a flustered expression.

Wait, is this girl really planning to keep him like a fish?

Since she said she didn't want to date right now, why send these? Does she want to hook him into becoming a kept man?

But since he had nothing else to do, Shen Siyuan decided to play along with her; who was hooking whom was not yet certain.

As long as he didn't fall for it, he would not lose.