Song Tan’s Chronicle - Chapter 45

“Eldest Uncle!”

From a distance, Song Tan saw her white-haired Eldest Uncle, Song Dafang, sitting at the store entrance, eyes glued to his phone:

“Pair of sevens!”

“Pair of queens!”

“Pass!”

“You play too well…”

Song Dafang, caught up in his game, looked up in surprise when he heard her voice. “Tan Tan? What brings you back?”

He glanced at Qiao Qiao, “And Qiao Qiao too? Have you eaten—”

“Hurry up, I’ve been waiting forever!” a loud voice from the phone interrupted.

Song Dafang looked embarrassed and fumbled to exit the game, but Song Tan stopped him. “It’s okay, Eldest Uncle. We’re family. Finish your game first.”

Eldest Uncle hesitated but then carefully played a card. Soon, he happily slapped his thigh, “Gotcha! Finally drew out your ace!”

Qiao Qiao, curious, leaned in, and soon the two of them were engrossed in the card game.

Taking advantage of the moment, Song Tan looked around the hardware store.

The shop was old and cluttered, reflecting its many years of operation. The shelves were piled haphazardly with hardware supplies. She believed that only her Eldest Uncle could find anything in this mess.

Luckily, the game ended quickly with the opponent’s defeat. Song Dafang, now free, asked, “Weren’t you in Ningcheng? Why are you back?”

Song Tan smiled, “Eldest Uncle, I resigned and came back home to farm this year. Mom asked me to bring some milk vetch for you. I’ve been selling it at the market by the river, but I saved some for you today.”

Qiao Qiao reluctantly tore his eyes away from the phone and proudly displayed his QR code, “Twenty yuan a pound!”

Eldest Uncle was taken aback.

He looked at the small basket of vegetables, roughly three to five handfuls. Twenty yuan a pound? This silly kid? He picked up his phone, pretending to scan the code, “Silly boy, can’t count yet? It’s two yuan a pound! Come on, Eldest Uncle will buy your vegetables!”

Song Tan felt awkward.

Taking money was awkward, but if her Eldest Uncle paid only two yuan a pound, it would be even more awkward in the future.

She quickly pulled Qiao Qiao aside, “Not now, sweetie.”

“Oh.”

Qiao Qiao blinked and then said, “I want to wait until the flowers wilt!”

Song Tan: …

It took her a moment to realize he wanted to play the card game from earlier, so she handed him a single-player game on her phone.

Watching Qiao Qiao sitting on a small stool, immersed in the game, Eldest Uncle sighed, “Such a good kid, and so well-behaved.”

“Your parents have done well, taking care of him all these years.”

Then, looking at the basket of milk vetch, nostalgia filled his eyes, “Haven’t eaten this in years… We only picked these when we had nothing else to eat as kids.”

Then he remembered, “Did you say you came back to farm?”

Before Song Tan could answer, a voice chimed in, “Who came back to farm?”

It was Eldest Uncle’s daughter-in-law, Sun Yanyan.

Song Tan greeted her with a smile, “Cousin.”

Sun Yanyan’s eyes lit up, “Oh, Tan Tan, you’re back? Ningcheng has treated you well; you look so refined and beautiful, just like a star—wait, who came back to farm? Not you, right? Haha…”

Song Tan nodded with a smile, “Yes, it’s me.”

Sun Yanyan’s laugh stopped abruptly.

Song Tan was used to this and calmly explained, “The job in Ningcheng was too stressful; it was taking a toll on my health. My parents are getting older, so I decided to come back, rest for a couple of years, and spend time with them.”

Whether Sun Yanyan accepted this reason or not was not her concern.

Sun Yanyan awkwardly smiled, “Well, that works too. You’re a girl, so you don’t have a share of the family property. With Qiao Qiao’s condition, he can’t manage the land. When the time comes, you can help him out with the fields. It won’t be a loss.”

Just as she finished, Qiao Qiao looked up and glared at her, retorting, “I can farm myself! I don’t need anyone to manage the fields for me! I can grow corn and take care of my sister! Hmph!”

He was genuinely upset.

Sun Yanyan found it amusing, “Oh my, look at him! Tan Tan, make sure to tell any potential suitors that they have to be nice to Qiao Qiao.”

Her words, though seemingly well-intentioned, were irritating. Song Tan had rarely interacted with her cousin, so she was surprised to see this side of her.

Song Tan didn’t bother responding.

She nodded to her Eldest Uncle, “Eldest Uncle, we still have to deliver some vegetables to Aunt’s house, so we’ll be off now.”

She patted Qiao Qiao’s arm, “Let’s go, sweetie.”

Qiao Qiao, forgetting his earlier anger, handed back the phone, “Why didn’t it say: ‘I’ve been waiting forever’?”

Song Tan thought, you played so fast the computer couldn’t keep up. How could it say that?

Before she could answer, Qiao Qiao turned back, walked a few steps, and proudly displayed his QR code again: “Scan here! Twenty yuan a pound!”

Song Tan almost laughed out loud!

If Eldest Uncle really scanned it, it would be too embarrassing.

Sun Yanyan was Sun Yanyan, but she remembered her kind Eldest Uncle.

She quickly explained, “Eldest Uncle, Qiao Qiao is just playing. But please eat the milk vetch soon; it won’t stay fresh. I really do sell it for twenty yuan a pound at the market by the river.”

…

Once the hardware store quieted down, Sun Yanyan, leaning out from the doorway, spoke as if making a significant discovery:

“Dad, did you see? Tan Tan and Qiao Qiao came by car today. Could it be that their family bought it? It doesn’t look new; maybe it’s second-hand!”

Eldest Uncle’s face darkened, “You’ve said enough.”

As her father-in-law, it wasn’t appropriate to reprimand his daughter-in-law harshly. But today, Tan Tan brought vegetables and all she could do was nitpick?

Of course, as a traditional man, Eldest Uncle also believed that girls didn’t have a share of the family land, but he had never voiced it.

Besides, his nephew’s condition made her words hurtful to both of them.

Sun Yanyan pouted, “Qiao Qiao has been simple-minded for over ten years. Are we still afraid of people talking? I was just trying to remind them kindly. Tan Tan is pretty, and if she finds someone with good conditions, they should know in advance.”