Originally, Shen San was not afraid of Shen Lin because he had more people than him, but looking at this situation, if a fight really broke out, it seemed that the four of them would not be able to gain the upper hand.
Shen San didn’t dare to say anything to Su Wan.
The onlookers saw that Shen San and Zhang Ergou were frightened by Shen Lin, and they all started laughing.
Zhang Ergou was a little unwilling to accept this. He couldn’t let himself be laughed at by others. Zhang Ergou didn’t dare to say that Su Wan was ugly, so he just changed his words to ridicule Shen Lin.
Zhang Ergou continued to poke at Shen Lin’s sore spot: “Why don’t you eat lunch? Are you unable to afford it or is it because Su Wan can’t cook that you can’t eat? I say, if you honor your grandparents, will your third brother not give you food? By the way, your third brother’s family is having stewed chicken today.”
”Stewed chicken, this is so delicious that it fills your heart. Wow, you must be drooling already.”
”But it’s no use drooling, Third Brother won’t give you any.”
As soon as Zhang Ergou finished speaking, he was surprised to find that there was no movement around him, and the villagers who were talking and laughing just now were also silent.
Shen San, Zhang Ergou and others turned around and saw a fairy-like figure walking towards the direction of the valley, which was exactly the direction they were at.
Shen San was stunned, and Zhang Ergou, Li Si, and Wang Chuan beside Shen San were also stunned.
The girl was wearing a green dress, her face was as white as jade, she had a delicate forehead, beautiful eyebrows, bright eyes and white teeth. At this time, she walked towards them gracefully, holding something in her hand.
Wait, this girl, isn’t this girl Su Wan? Isn’t she an ugly girl with a black face like Bao Gong? How did she become like this?
Shen San and Zhang Ergou were filled with overwhelming shock.
There were several trees at the entrance of the threshing ground. Just as Su Wan approached the threshing ground, she saw Shen San and others surrounding Shen Lin and talking arrogantly.
Su Wan knew at first sight that something bad was going to happen, so she hid behind a tree and listened for a while before coming out.
Su Wan walked towards Shen Lin openly. When she got closer, Su Wan said, “Brother Shen, it’s time for lunch.”
Shen San, Zhang Ergou, Li Si and Wang Chuan opened their mouths in shock. They had not seen Su Wan for only two or three months, but she had completely changed into a different person.
Not only these four people were stunned, but all the villagers in the valley were stunned.
Is this still the same Su Wan who was dark, ugly and dressed in rags? Looking at the clothes and skin color, they are completely different, but the eyebrows and eyes are still the same, it’s just that the skin is whiter, the hair is smoother, and the clothes are newer.
That day, several women and Mrs Wang went to the Shen family. Naturally, they knew that Su Wan had grown beautiful. However, as good news never travels far, bad news travels a thousand miles, so they would not discuss the fact that Su Wan had become beautiful with others.
So the villagers just found out that Su Wan had become like this.
Su Wan walked to Shen Lin’s side, opened the food box she brought, took out a wet towel and handed it to Shen Lin: “Brother Shen, wipe your hands before eating.”
Sitting on the ground, Shen Lin raised his head and took the wet towel handed to him by Su Wan.
Shen Lin: “Didn’t I say I wouldn’t eat lunch?”
Su Wan opened the cylindrical three-layer food box and said, “If you don’t eat at noon, how can you have the energy to work in the afternoon?”
Su Wan opened the lunch box, revealing a plate of fried meat slices inside. It was actually pure meat. People in the countryside would mix a lot of vegetables into the meat when cooking it. With these vegetables, the meat that could originally be eaten for one meal could now be eaten for three or even five meals.
Su Wan actually brought Shen Lin pure meat without any vegetables. The meat slices were fat and lean, and fried to perfection. When you took a bite, you could see that it was crispy on the outside and tender on the inside.
Shen San, Zhang Ergou and the others were so shocked that they couldn’t recover for a long time. First, they were shocked by Su Wan’s appearance, and second, they were shocked by the fried pork slices Su Wan brought.
A strong feeling of jealousy arose in Shen San’s heart. He had looked down on Shen Lin for a long time, but now, Shen Lin happened to live under the same roof with such a beautiful girl and could eat such tempting slices of meat.
Shen San immediately questioned Shen Lin: “Why are you eating fried meat slices alone? You should go and give them to your grandparents first.”
Su Wan said to Shen San calmly, “Brother Shen San, you misunderstood Brother Shen Lin. Before he left, he asked me to make a meal for Grandpa Shen and Grandma Shen. Grandpa Shen and Grandma Shen are so old, they should eat something good. I came to find Brother Shen Lin first because I thought he should bring it to Grandpa Shen and Grandma Shen to show his filial piety.”
Su Wan said as she opened the second layer of the three-layer food box, revealing another plate of fried meat slices.
With so many people, the food will naturally be served to Old Man Shen and Mrs. Shen. Whether they can eat it depends on whether they really treat Shen Lin as their own grandson.
Shen San swallowed his saliva. Since it was for his grandparents, he could naturally eat it as well.
Su Wan spoke in a loud voice, and people around could hear it. Shen Lin specially asked Su Wan to cook for Old Man Shen and Mrs. Shen.
Some villagers murmured in their hearts that Shen Lin was not as unfilial as people said. It was obvious that he still cared about his grandparents. His own family could not even afford to eat, but he still cared about his grandparents.
Yang Wu shouted, “Not bad, Shen Lin. Remember to bring some snacks for your grandparents this time.”
In the past, when the family had a good meal, Shen Lin would bring some to Old Man Shen and Mrs. Shen, but they were all packed tightly to keep warm, and outsiders could not tell that Shen Lin was going to deliver the meal. No one even knew that Shen Lin was always thinking about Old Man Shen and Mrs. Shen when he was having a good meal.
Su Wan stood up and smiled at Yang Wu, saying loudly, “Brother Shen Lin is always thinking about honoring Grandpa Shen and Grandma Shen. Every time he eats something good, he gives more than half of it to Grandpa Shen and Grandma Shen. Every time he picks the best meat for Grandpa Shen and Grandma Shen. Today, when we are having fried meat slices at home, it is impossible for Brother Shen Lin to forget Grandpa Shen and Grandma Shen.”
Everyone then realized that every time Shen Lin’s family had good meals, they would bring them to Old Man Shen and Mrs. Shen. Although they had never seen them carrying meals, Shen Lin did bring something with him, presumably the packed meals.
Shen Lin was so poor but he still did this. It was wrong for Old Man Shen and Old Woman Shen to scold Shen Lin for being unfilial.
Su Wan was in charge of the whole situation. It would be wrong for Shen Lin to give the fried meat slices to his grandparents as if they were his own. It would be even more wrong if he didn’t give them to them. The villagers didn’t care who the meat belonged to. They would only see that Shen Lin had the meat but didn’t give it to Old Man Shen and Mrs. Shen.
Shen San swallowed his saliva. The beautiful woman and delicious food before him were truly the most beautiful picture in the field.
Today, Su Wan was as beautiful as a fairy, even prettier than those unattainable young ladies from official families and wealthy families that they had seen in Qingyun County.
Shen San unconsciously spoke to Su Wan in a soft tone: “Just help Shen Lin deliver it to my grandparents. It’s a good time to sit down and eat some chicken from my house. Come with me quickly. There’s still some chicken left.”
Su Wan smiled and asked Shen Lin: “Should we send this bigger plate to Grandpa Shen and Grandma Shen?”
Shen Lin nodded.
Su Wan said: “Then I will accompany you to deliver the meal to Grandpa Shen and Grandma Shen.”
Su Wan handed the larger plate of fried meat slices to Shen Lin, then turned around and walked towards the Shen family’s grain field.
Shen Lin followed Su Wan, holding the fried meat slices.
Shen San: “Hey, hey, hey, Shen Lin, you don’t have to come…”
Su Wan turned around and smiled: “Third Brother Shen, it’s up to Big Brother Shen Lin to go and show respect to his grandparents himself. I can’t go and show respect to them, right?”
To walk from Shen Lin’s threshing ground to Shen Lao’s threshing ground, one has to pass through the threshing grounds of two families, and there are several other threshing grounds on both sides.
The people in Qingshi Village don’t have much land, so without much land there won’t be many crops. Without many crops, the threshing grounds don’t need to be big, so the threshing grounds are very close to each other.
Every villager in the valley could see Shen Lin’s large plate of fried meat slices. The fried meat slices were crispy on the outside and very tempting.
The villagers all started to salivate. These were fried pork slices. Eating meat was already a luxury, and eating fried pork slices was considered a waste.
There wasn’t much meat to begin with, and adding water and vegetables would make it more substantial. Su Wan actually used such expensive oil to fry the meat slices. Even a large piece of meat would shrink a lot if fried in oil. Otherwise, people would say that she would spend money lavishly after earning money working in the county town.
But the focus now is not on Su Wan’s extravagance. The fried meat slices in Shen Lin’s hand are so tempting that the villagers who had eaten their fill suddenly felt hungry again, and those who were not full and were still eating suddenly felt that the steamed buns and stir-fried vegetable leaves in their hands were simply pig food.
Su Wan and Shen Lin came to the grain field of Shen’s family. Su Wan said, “Grandpa Shen, Grandma Shen, Brother Shen is here to bring you two some fried meat slices.”
As soon as Su Wan finished speaking, Shen Lin walked up to Old Man Shen and Mrs. Shen and handed the plate of meat slices to Old Man Shen.
Men are superior to women, so it is right to give gifts to men.
Old man Shen swallowed his saliva, turned his head away, and said, “I dare not eat it. If I eat it, won’t I have to pay this unfilial grandson again?”
Old man Shen still remembered that he was asked to pay a hundred coins for eating Su Wan’s braised pork ribs yesterday. He thought of embarrassing Shen Lin while there were many people around.
At this time, the villagers in the threshing ground’s attention was all on the Shen family. Hearing what Old Man Shen said, the villagers thought, oh, so they want to ask Old Man Shen and Old Woman Shen for money, this is really unfilial.
Su Wan smiled and said, “Grandpa Shen, look at what you said. People who don’t know would think that you are eating Brother Shen’s food and Brother Shen is asking you for money. Aren’t you putting Brother Shen in an unjust position?”
The onlookers wondered if there was some hidden story behind this.
Old Woman Shen came over in a hurry: “Isn’t it true? Yesterday, the old man and I went to eat Shen Lin’s braised pork ribs, and you asked me for a hundred coins. Do you dare not admit this?”
Old Woman Shen’s voice was sharp and bright, echoing throughout the threshing ground. Originally, the villagers were sitting in their own threshing ground, eating while listening to what the Shen family was saying. Some of them could not hear clearly.
As soon as Old Woman Shen called out, the villagers came to the Shen family’s grain field with their bowls in hand.
Old Woman Shen became even more excited. She thought that there was strength in numbers and asked everyone to accuse Shen Lin of being unfilial. She wanted to see if he would dare to let them pay the money and suffer the humiliation again in the future.
Su Wan’s voice also got louder: “Grandma Shen, you have misunderstood Brother Shen Lin. Brother Shen Lin is very filial to you two.”
”I asked for money for your meal yesterday, but the ribs were bought by me, not by Big Brother Shen Lin. You ate my ribs which were for my health, so I have to ask you two for money to buy more.”
”You wouldn’t bully an orphan like me and eat my pork ribs for free, would you?”
Old Woman Shen wanted to cry but had no tears. Here it comes again, this damn girl’s evil talk comes again.
Old man Shen was still trying hard: “Take this dish back, we don’t dare to eat yours.”
He couldn’t take it back.
Su Wan took the plate of fried meat slices from Shen Lin and said with a smile, “Grandpa Shen, today’s fried meat slices are different from yesterday’s braised spareribs. Yesterday’s braised spareribs were mine because I treated Brother Shen Lin to them. Today’s fried meat slices are mine for Brother Shen Lin and they belong to him.”
”The things belong to Brother Shen Lin, so naturally Brother Shen Lin wants to honor you two, so he will honor you two. How Can I ask you two for money again?”
This thing belongs to Shen Lin, so it makes sense. Shen Lin’s things should naturally be presented to Old Man Shen and Old Woman Shen.
Old Woman Shen glared at Su Wan fiercely and said, “Alright, put the meat down.”
After that, Old Woman Shen said to Shen Lao Da and Shen San: “Lao Da, San San, come and eat meat.”
As soon as Old Woman Shen said this, Su Wan took back her hand that was about to put the plate down.
Old Woman Shen was furious. What was going on?
Su Wan pulled the meat back and said, “Grandpa Shen, Grandma Shen, this is given by Big Brother Shen to you two, not to Uncle Shen and Third Brother Shen.”
Old Woman Shen: “Shen Lin and his uncle are all from the same family. What are they talking about? Shen Lin has meat, so naturally he has to give it to his uncle and his cousin.”
But she looked at the wife of Eldest Shen who was standing beside him: “Aunt Shen, what chicken did you eat for lunch?”
There were a few chicken bones on the ground in front of Eldest Shen and Old Man Shen.
Before Shen Lao Da’s wife could speak, Su Wan asked Shen Lin: “Brother Shen, is the chicken at Uncle Shen’s house delicious?”
The villagers became happier and happier as they watched.
Shen Lin has to give meat to Eldest Shen’s family. When Eldest Shen’s family was eating chicken just now, they didn’t even give Shen Lin a bone to chew.
Grandparents should be respected, but the uncle has three sons, so Shen Lin doesn’t need to respect them. From a moral and logical point of view, Shen Lin doesn’t need to respect his uncle.
If this person were to show filial respect to all the elders, he would not be able to live his life well.
Yang Wu, who was sitting at the edge of the Shenjia Valley, laughed and shouted again: “Oh, I see it clearly. When the Eldest Shen family eats meat, they and Shen Lin are two families. But when the Shen Lin family eats meat, they become one family with Shen Lin. This business is well done.”
Su Wan remembered the character Yang Wu. Yang Wu was also a man of generous character. Normally, he would not draw his sword to help when he saw injustice, but he would still shout a few words.
Yang Wu has six brothers and a younger sister. His family had married off the first three sons with three wives, which had already emptied the family’s savings. By the time it came to Yang Wu, there was no house or land. He was several years over the age to marry a wife, but he had still not married.
Yang Wu made a living by doing hard labor in the county town, and helped out at home during the busy farming season.
Yang Wu also has a bad reputation, but not as bad as Shen Lin’s. Yang Wu’s reputation is that he is lazy and not doing his job properly.
Yang Wu shouted this out, and the onlookers listened and thought, this is true, Old Man Shen and Old Woman Shen are really biased.
Shen Lin said: “It’s okay, Miss Su.”
Although he said this, Shen Lin also woke up as if from a dream. He had always thought about being filial and taking care of his fellow family, but his fellow family, even his own uncle, did not think of taking care of him.
In the two years since his father passed away, his uncle not only not helped him, but also repeatedly made things difficult for him and plundered him. Is such a person really a relative?
Su Wan said, “Grandpa Shen and Grandma Shen, Uncle Shen didn’t invite Big Brother Shen Lin to eat meat, so they won’t be invited to eat Big Brother Shen Lin’s meat. You two elders should move over and go to Big Brother Shen Lin’s grain field to eat with him.”
The onlookers thought, yes, yes, that’s right, Shen Lin should respect his grandparents, but there is no reason for him to respect his uncle and cousin.
”After eating, help Brother Shen Lin rub the corn kernels. He has to break the corn, carry the corn, and rub the corn kernels by himself. This job will take him forever.”
It was indeed not excessive for Su Wan to ask Old Man Shen and Mrs. Shen to help Shen Lin with some work.
”Grandpa and grandma, please follow me to my threshing ground to eat.” Shen Lin spoke. He suddenly wanted to give it a try to see if his grandparents had any love for him as a grandparent would have for their grandchildren.
In the past, except for matters concerning the house, he always followed his grandmother’s wishes and never even made any demands on her.
This time, he wanted to make a request.
Shen Lin added: “After eating the meat, grandpa and grandma can help me with the work for a while. I can’t handle it alone.”
Shen Lin had never shown weakness like this before.
Deserved!