Chapter 12: Such an Uncle and Aunt

“In the future, be more careful. When you enter the space with your physical body and come back out, if someone in the room sees you, it’ll be impossible to explain,” Xiao Weiguo thought as he watched Xiao Weijun rush through the door.

“What’s the matter? Why are you in such a hurry?” Xiao Weiguo asked his brother.

Xiao Weijun replied anxiously, “The peach crisps and sorghum candies that Sister Zhaodi and the others had left were confiscated by our second uncle and aunt. They even beat and scolded the four of them.”

“Why? It’s one thing to take the treats, but why beat and scold the girls as well?”

“They said that when there’s something nice, they don’t know to save any for their parents. No wonder they’re four worthless girls,” Xiao Weijun added, feeling equally wronged.

Xiao Weiguo pondered for a moment. “Come on, let’s go see them.”

The second uncle’s house wasn’t far from their grandparents’—about three hundred meters, but with all the twists and turns, it took seven or eight minutes to get there.

By the time they arrived at Xiao Pingxi’s house, the beating and scolding had stopped.

The four sisters stood stiffly against the wall, each holding a bowl high above their heads.

As soon as Xiao Weiguo entered, the twins, Laidi and Yingdi, couldn’t hold back any longer and began to sob, still trying their best to keep their bowls raised.

Xiao Weiguo’s heart ached for them. He immediately reached out and hugged both Laidi and Yingdi in his arms.

He told the four sisters, “You can put your bowls down now. I’ll talk to your father.”

Rage surged within him—how could anyone treat their own daughters like this over a few snacks?

However, since these were his elders, he did his best to restrain his anger and called into the house, “Second Uncle, are you at home?”

“Well, if it isn’t Weiguo, the one who wants to split the family. What brings you to your aunt’s house? We have nothing to split here—just four worthless daughters with no one to inherit anything,” the aunt sneered.

As she spoke, she slapped Xiao Zhaodi on the back. “Why are you stopping? Keep standing there. You girls are getting out of hand.”

Xiao Weiguo stepped in front of Xiao Zhaodi. “The peach crisps were from me. I didn’t have much, so I gave some to the children. Next time I buy more, I’ll bring some for you and Second Uncle.”

Second Uncle emerged from the inner room. “So it was you, Weiguo. You shouldn’t have. If you’re bringing treats, bring White Rabbit candies next time. Don’t bring sorghum candy—it’s too sticky,” he said, smacking his lips as if recalling the sensation.

“Don’t just stand there—go play. If I’d known your cousin gave it to you, I wouldn’t have scolded you. I thought you’d stolen it,” Second Uncle told the girls.

“We said it was from Cousin Weiguo,” Zhaodi muttered, head down.

“Since it was a misunderstanding, now it’s cleared up. Second Uncle, Second Aunt, I’ll be heading back,” Xiao Weiguo said calmly.

“We won’t see you out,” Second Aunt replied perfunctorily, then turned to Zhaodi and scolded, “Get in the kitchen and start cooking, you worthless girl!”

Xiao Weiguo paused when he heard this as he was leaving, but then continued walking out of the house.

He knew he couldn’t change things for now, nor did he have the power to stand up for them yet. He needed to develop his strength and wait for the situation to evolve. There would come a time when they would come begging.

For now, the four girls would have to bear it.

Especially the twins, with their big eyes and adorable faces. Xiao Weiguo had always wanted twin daughters in his past life, believing daughters were the cutest beings in the world.

As they walked back, Xiao Weijun asked, “Big Brother, from now on, whenever we have something good, let’s just eat it at our base and not leave any for them.”

Thinking of the so-called base, Xiao Weiguo remembered that it was a place he had organized himself.

At the southernmost part of the village was an abandoned cave dwelling. After much cleaning and arranging, it was neat and orderly, and he often took his peers there to play.

Sometimes they’d roast potatoes or sweet potatoes.

“Alright, from now on, if we have anything good, let’s eat it all before we go home,” Xiao Weiguo agreed.

When they got home, Grandma asked what had happened, and Xiao Weiguo explained everything to her.

Grandma let out a long sigh. “What a sin!”

“When the family split, your grandpa and I should have stayed with your second uncle. There were ten acres of land in total. Six and a half went to your second uncle, and your family only got three and a half.”

“We lived with them for a year, but I just couldn’t stand the way that couple talked. So I found your Uncle Gonglin and split off two more acres, and your grandpa and I started living on our own,” Grandma recalled.

“Grandma, what about your old age? You can’t live like this forever. There’ll come a day when you can’t work anymore.”

“We’ll cross that bridge when we come to it. If worse comes to worst, we’ll do what Old Li with the Limp did and jump off a cliff—a clean end,” Grandma replied, feigning lightness.

Old Li with the Limp was a well-known old man in the village. He was healthy, but his son and grandson complained that he was dirty and an eyesore, always asking why he hadn’t died yet. The house was full of the smell, they said.

One dawn, he went off alone and jumped off a cliff. By the time they found him, the flesh on his face had almost been pecked clean by crows.

“Don’t worry, Grandma. I’ll take care of you and Grandpa in the future. I, Xiao Weiguo, give you my word!” Xiao Weiguo suddenly vowed.

“Alright, then Grandma will wait for you to provide for us,” Grandma said with a smile.

“For lunch, let’s have sweet potatoes. Good boy, you eat two,” she added as she thought about the meal.

“Okay, Grandma. After lunch, I’ll go out again—see if I can catch some more fish by the river,” Xiao Weiguo replied, sharing his plan.

At this stage, he still needed to earn money by fishing.

“Be careful. Don’t go to the deep parts,” Grandma warned, as she always did.

Xiao Weiguo grabbed his straw hat, bag, and rope, and headed straight for the river.

He searched for a long time before finding a secluded spot where no one ever went, took a deep breath, and dove in.

After three hours of hard work, his haul was even more impressive than before—he estimated there were over a hundred pounds of fish in the pond within his space.

This was only because Qu River was a small river with few big fish. If there were more, he could easily catch over a thousand pounds in a few hours, or if the space expanded, his efficiency would increase too.

But there wasn’t enough time today—he decided to go to town early the next morning to sell the fish.

Besides money, he still needed to find ways to get ration tickets. Without them, even with cash, there were many things he couldn’t buy—only items like sorghum candy, which didn’t require tickets.

In the afternoon, Xiao Weiguo took a moment to check the space again. The wheat and other grains were growing at an astonishing rate—the harvest would come soon.

The two chicks and two bunnies had also grown much bigger. He marveled again at how magical it was—they thrived just by eating dirt.

Carrying three grass carp, Xiao Weiguo returned home and said to his grandma, “Grandma, we’re having fish soup tonight. Let’s eat one today, and I’ll take the other two to town tomorrow.”