Dragon, Truly Shameless (Yuri Futa, Farming) - Chapter 11

At the same time as Long Qing returned to the dragon cave…

Shen Qingming was walking along the mountain path, deliberately moving very slowly, though she herself didn’t understand why. Perhaps the lingering thoughts she couldn’t let go of made her hesitate, hoping Long Qing would appear to bid her farewell, or even that yearning she had intentionally hidden – she hoped Long Qing could keep her. This extravagant wish was too shameless, and even she was ashamed to remember such a version of herself.

Unfortunately, even though she harbored this yearning, by the time she reached the foot of the mountain, the village was close at hand, and her fantasies all ended in disillusionment. She fully realized that Long Qing would not come looking for her.

Due to the few tiger roars earlier, the villagers were highly tense. The village chief immediately organized a group of young and strong men to patrol the village, guarding against the tiger sneaking into the village at night and endangering women and children. Thus, Shen Qingming was caught by the patrolling villagers as soon as she came down the mountain. Torches flickered in the village. They had thought a tiger was coming down, but unexpectedly it was a girl, and this girl looked somewhat familiar.

The village chief walked out from the group of men, held up a torch, and examined her for a while. He was shocked to find that this girl was Shen Qingming. “Xiao Shen, how is it you?”

Hadn’t Shen Qingming been snatched by a tiger half a month ago? At that time, the whole village had gone into the mountains and only found Shen Jinbao. They had all thought Shen Qingming had been eaten, never expecting her to still be alive.

The astonishment in the villagers’ eyes outweighed any joy. Shen Qingming, being such a sensitive person, could naturally feel it. These so-called uncles and aunts were shocked that she was still alive, but there was no sign of joy or relief. She clasped her hands in front of her chest, nodded her head, her hunched posture hiding her face in her messy hair. This was her usual image in front of the villagers. In the perception of her uncles, aunts, and cousins, she was a silent and withdrawn loner.

Seeing her like this, the village chief recalled the tiger’s roar that had echoed in the forest just now. It was currently the season when tigers raised their cubs. Xiao Shen was probably lucky to have encountered a tiger more maternal than beastly, narrowly escaping the tiger’s mouth. Seeing her vacant eyes, looking even more wooden than before, he shook his head, feeling quite pity. But he had to admit, this girl was really tough.

Shen Qingming didn’t understand what they were sighing about. After a moment, she followed them back to the village together. On the way, the village chief told her about the events of the past few days. A tiger had come down the mountain and snatched her and Shen Jinbao. Shen Jinbao had been found half a month ago and was not in mortal danger, but he had been frightened, and after waking up, he had become foolish. In the village chief’s eyes, her current appearance was no different from Shen Jinbao’s, also foolish and blank.

After this incident, the old Shen family had gained two fools. After hearing the village chief’s words, Shen Qingming didn’t know what expression she wore, nor did she know what she said to the village chief. She just returned to the old Shen family in a daze.

Sure enough, she returned to the old Shen family.

Seeing the living her, the whole family was dumbfounded. The old man of the Shen family almost fainted on the spot. His only grandson had just become foolish, and this eldest granddaughter, who should have died to ease their burden, had unexpectedly survived. Not only was she alive, but she also looked foolish. The family had suddenly gained two burdens, along with a pile of daughters waiting to be married off.

The old woman of the Shen family didn’t show the inhumanity of the old man. Her feelings were more complex. She had both regretted and been glad about the death of the only granddaughter left to her by her eldest son. Without the thought of her eldest son, their burden would have been lighter. But now that she was alive, her feelings were still a mixture of grateful and sad. The memory of her eldest son remained, but the burden had become heavier. What would become of the old Shen family’s future?

The people of the second and third branches also sighed repeatedly. Shen Qingming noticed that the second uncle and second aunt seemed to be greatly affected by Shen Jinbao’s incident. In just half a month, the second uncle had become gaunt, with a stubbly beard, no longer as energetic as before. On the contrary, the third uncle looked much more spirited and proud than before.

The whole family didn’t give her a warm welcome. There were only sighs of lament. The village chief walked to the old man of the Shen family, patted his shoulder, and comforted him, “Perhaps the Dragon King manifested. Xiao Shen was protected, you should be thankful. In the future, your family might even rise in the world.”

“Brother, please don’t joke with me,” the old man of the Shen family gave a self-deprecating smile. If the Dragon King truly protected their family, how could their family have fallen so low?

The village chief opened his mouth, but facing the old man’s desperate and cloudy eyes, he couldn’t utter a word for a long time.

Yes, it was just self-comfort. Their only grandson had become foolish. Even if this granddaughter had survived by luck, what then? Could a mere woman possibly revive the family business?

“Brother, take care of yourself.”

“Sigh.”

Tonight, Shen Qingming returned home, but brought with her a chorus of sighs.

Shen Qingming’s heart ached. In order not to be thrown out as a burden, she immediately began to tidy up the house, doing the housework she had been doing for more than a decade. Except that her eyes were more numb and vacant than before, her movements were swift and orderly, practically living like a human machine.

Seeing that she could still work, the Shen family breathed a sigh of relief.

“It’s good that she can still work. Eldest daughter, just do the housework as before. It just so happens that your third aunt has been unwell these past few days, with severe morning sickness. Try to make some good food and keep an eye on things.”

“Mmm.”

Shen Qingming nodded, responding softly, even more wooden than before.

The old man of the Shen family shook his head helplessly. His eldest grandson had become foolish, and the doctor said he might not recover. The family also had no money for treatment. The child in his third daughter-in-law’s belly was the old Shen family’s last hope. He didn’t want that last hope to be dashed. He would wait until his third daughter-in-law gave birth before considering this eldest granddaughter’s matter.

Upon hearing her father-in-law’s words, the third daughter-in-law immediately “weakly” leaned into the third uncle’s arms, covering her forehead and sighing mournfully. The third uncle hurriedly supported her. “Wife?”

“Third Brother, I feel a little dizzy,” the third daughter-in-law sighed again. The third uncle felt his heart ache along with her sigh.

Seeing this, the old man of the Shen family said, “Third son, quickly help your wife back inside, lest she catches a cold and harms my good grandson.”

“Yes,” the third uncle responded loudly, quickly helping his wife back to their room. Now that Shen Jinbao was crazy, his parents’ hopes all rested on him. They had already consulted a fortune-teller, who said that his wife’s current pregnancy was a boy. Hearing this, his spine straightened instantly, while the second brother had become a weakling.

Watching the harmonious scene of the third branch preparing to welcome a new life, the second uncle turned back to look at his son, whose mouth was drooling, and resented his lack of ambition. Originally, the whole family’s hopes rested on the second branch. His son was preparing to go to school, and might even bring honor to their ancestors in the future. But now, it was all just a dream, while the third brother had turned his luck around and was now in high spirits.

“What are you looking at? Look at your eager eyes. Instead of wasting time, why don’t you earn more money to hire a doctor for your son? Besides, the one in her belly hasn’t been born yet. Who knows if it’s really a boy? Maybe it’s another girl,” the second aunt of the Shen family said sarcastically, noticing her husband’s eager gaze. However, this seemingly casual sarcasm sounded like the most vicious curse to the second uncle, who had a strong sense of clan.

“What nonsense are you talking about? Are you cursing the old Shen family to be without descendants?” The second uncle immediately flew into a rage, raising his rough hand to strike. The second aunt’s eyes turned red upon seeing this, but she didn’t dodge and instead raised her voice and roared, “You hit me, hit me to death! You’re just a useless coward who only knows how to hit women!”

“Say that again!”

“You’re a coward!”

The couple’s fierce argument echoed through the unfinished house. Ever since Shen Jinbao’s accident, the second branch had suffered the greatest setback. The second uncle and second aunt quarreled endlessly about it, and Shen Jinbao’s cries made it difficult for people to sleep.

Shen Qingming was so frightened that she didn’t know where to hide, cowering timidly in the kitchen, not daring to enter the main room. In the end, it was the old woman of the Shen family who, fearing the noise would disturb her third daughter-in-law, came out and scolded her second son, and only then did the couple quiet down.

The night was deep and quiet, and the surrounding houses were hidden in the darkness, with occasional barks of dogs coming from afar. Shen Qingming dared to walk out of the kitchen only after the main room became silent, but she bumped into the old woman of the Shen family, who hadn’t gone back to sleep yet.

Seeing that she hadn’t slept yet, a flash of surprise crossed the old woman’s eyes, and then she fell silent. She looked at Xiao Shen, seeming to want to say something, but after waiting for a long time, only a sigh came.

Shen Qingming lowered her head and hurriedly walked past the old woman, her footsteps flustered, looking as if she was fleeing something in panic.