Chapter 143: Go Ask Your Big Brother

Shen Lian had heard a few mentions of Mrs. Li's illness from Manager Xu, but he wasn't clear on the specifics. Given their past, he didn't want to probe too deeply, just sighed inwardly while looking at Shen Jin: "You should avoid going deep into the mountains here as much as possible. I've told you before, it's not just snakes out here. If you're unlucky and encounter something else, a child like you can't handle it."

Shen Jin hung his head, not daring to speak.

It seemed that he still intended to venture into the mountains.

Shen Lian understood; it was his own mother, after all. If there was even the slightest hope of saving her, how could one simply stop due to the risks involved?

This was precisely where Shen Jin and Shen San differed.

Shen Lian didn’t just blindly advise Shen Jin against going into the mountains, as it probably wouldn't have been effective. Instead, he changed his approach: "Moreover, you don’t have to shoulder the burden of your mother’s treatment alone."

Shen Jin immediately looked up at Shen Lian, then became disappointed: "My dad has spent all our money."

He had no expectations from his father.

Hearing this, a hint of scorn flashed in Shen Lian’s eyes. His uncle really failed at being a decent human, probably cold-blooded to the core.

Shen Lian patted Shen Jin's head: "Silly, isn’t there still property and land? 'A poor family still has its riches', even if there’s no cash, there are things to pawn or sell. Poor families might not dare to buy, but wealthy households will buy at lower prices during such times. Aren’t these things less valuable than your and your mother’s lives? There’s no need for a kid as small as you to risk going into the mountains."

Shen Jin was somewhat stunned.

Could it really be done this way???

His eyes brightened: "Brother, how to pawn? Where to go? Will they accept everything?"

Shen Lian smiled: "Just ask your mother, she should know how to handle it. Remember one thing I said: the world is in chaos now, and this place will be too, sooner or later. Apart from hoes, kitchen knives, axes, and such - things that can be used for self-defense or survival in the mountains - nothing else is indispensable. No possession is more important than life; you must learn what can be forsaken."

Shen Jin nodded repeatedly, recalling that his father had pawned the family's gold bracelet for money to avoid conscription.

"So, mom can pawn things too, to get money for medical treatment!"

His entire face lit up with realization: "Brother, I got it. I'll ask mom when I get back."

Shen Lian nodded: "Good, no rush right now. Tie up that pheasant first, I have something else to teach you."

Shen Jin excitedly ran back to tie up the pheasant and then hurried back to Shen Lian with it.

At that moment, Shen Lian and Chen Dasha were surveying the surroundings for a suitable location.

Chen Dasha suggested: "Let’s do it here. Didn’t you already dig one near the village? Later, when life gets harder, it might be difficult to find food near the village, but this place will come in handy."

Plus, they needed to avoid attracting attention and would have to cut down trees. Doing it here would ensure the noise wouldn’t be overheard by villagers.

Just as the two had agreed on this, Shen Jin arrived.

Shen Lian briefly explained his intention to teach Shen Jin how to dig a shelter during this visit. As they worked, they discussed the situation in the mountains and the village, making the learning process simple – two taught, one learned.

Shen Lian and Chen Dasha worked efficiently, and they didn’t dig an overly large hole. The primary goal was to ensure a well-built entrance framework, allowing Shen Jin to gradually expand the interior later. The key lesson was about constructing the shelter.

Shen Jin absorbed the teachings with great earnestness. He was amazed as Shen Lian completed the external camouflage, his jaw practically dropping in awe.

"You can’t tell at all from the outside!"

"Big brother, do you also live in such shelters in the mountains?"

Shen Lian smiled, "We do live in caves, but those are hard for others to find. If you can't find such a hidden cave, hiding in a shelter like this can be safer."

Shen Jin nodded continuously. However, seeing the small shelter ready and observing Shen Lian and Chen Dasha tying up the remaining wood to take away, his face dimmed slightly.

"Big brother, are you and Dasha brother leaving now?"

Shen Lian nodded, picking up a cloth bag he had set aside and handing it to Shen Jin. “This bag contains some jerky, seasoned and smoked with a little salt. It’s not much but adds some flavor. If you store it in the dugout, don’t place it directly on the ground. Use the small wooden rack I made for you, and remember to take it out and air it once in a while.”

The bag, seemingly light in Shen Lian’s hand, suddenly weighed down Shen Jin’s arm as he took it, almost dropping it to the ground.

Eager to see the contents but lacking the strength to hold it up, he opted to place the bag on the ground and peered inside after opening it.

The first thing that hit him was the distinct aroma of smoked meat. As he looked inside, the bag was brimming with meat, about half his height in size.

Shen Jin's nose tingled, and saliva rapidly gathered in his mouth. It had been a very long time since he had enjoyed a proper meal.

Forget meat; even a pot of wild vegetables with a bit of rice was a luxury now.

"Thank you, big brother."

His voice sounded a bit muffled. After a moment, he lifted his head to look at Shen Lian and gave him a smile.

Shen Lian felt a pang of discomfort. He patted Shen Jin on the head and asked, "Are you afraid to stay in the village?"

Afraid?

Shen Jin’s fingers, clutching the mouth of the bag, trembled briefly before he gripped it firmly, his face breaking into a broad smile: "Not afraid. As long as my mom gets better, I'm not afraid at all."

His face lit up with excitement as he recalled recent good fortunes: “Big brother, I met a kind person, a peddler. He knew I needed money, agreed to buy my pheasants, and even traded grain with me. Right now, I'm exchanging them for money to treat my mom, but if I can pawn things from home, next time I catch pheasants, I'll exchange them for grain and quietly save it.”

Hearing this, Chen Dasha glanced at Shen Lian.

Shen Lian's expression remained unchanged as he smiled, “Is that so? Then you've encountered a good person. In the future, if you have the ability and opportunity, you can repay him.”

Shen Jin nodded vigorously: "Yeah, I will!"

Shen Lian offered no further advice, merely instructing Shen Jin to persuade Li Shi to sell household items for medical expenses and to set traps for pheasants at the outskirts of the forest. For deeper excursions, he suggested waiting until Li Shi was well enough to accompany him.

This time, Shen Jin didn't remain silent; he agreed to everything.

As the time to depart approached, Shen Lian checked the sky and patted Shen Jin on the shoulder, “Alright, you should head back. Dasha and I need to leave as well.”

Hesitant to move, Shen Jin finally asked, “Big brother, will you come to see me again?”

Shen Lian thought for a moment, “If I can, I will.”

Hearing this, Shen Jin’s worry eased, and with a look of reluctance, he waved goodbye, “Then, big brother, Dasha, take care on your way.”

Before leaving, he thought of something. He hid the bag of meat Shen Lian gave him in the newly constructed shelter, and then, carrying his bow and the pheasant, waved to Shen Lian and Chen Dasha, looking back repeatedly as he left.

Chen Dasha and Shen Lian discreetly followed him for a while. After seeing him leave, Chen Dasha suggested, “We should go too. It’ll be hard to navigate these mountains if it gets any later.”

Shen Lian nodded, and after a brief clean-up of the site, they carried the leftover wood deeper into the mountains.

……

Shen Jin hid the meat in the shelter and stashed the pheasant in a burrow closer to his brother's home. Inside the burrow, he encountered Shen Yin, who had been waiting. When asked why he took so long, he mumbled a vague response. The brothers emerged from the burrow, sealed the entrance, and returned home with some wild vegetables.

Just reaching the village and not yet near their house, Shen Tie rushed over.

“Brother, why were you out so long? You missed dinner; mom asked about you several times.”

At this time, the evening meal had passed; it was early evening.

Shen Jin didn't answer but countered, "Where's dad?"

“He's gone to the fields.”

Li Shi couldn't handle fieldwork, and Shen San had been busy lately, working in the fields even after meals.

Relieved that his father wasn't home, Shen Jin returned to their house, only to hear a continuous bout of coughing from the main room as soon as he entered the courtyard.

Shen Jin told Shen Yin and Shen Tie to stay in the courtyard, while he went into the main room.

After her coughing fit, Li Shi heard footsteps and slowly caught her breath while leaning on the bed, then asked, "What's going on? Why are you back so late? Did you go deep into the mountains?"

Shen Jin didn’t directly answer but instead said, “Mom, think about what we have at home that we can pawn or sell for money. We can sell our things for your treatment.”

Li Shi was startled, “What are you talking about?”

“I mean you need to get medical treatment.”

Li Shi didn’t understand how her son's trip to the mountains led to this topic. How much would it cost to cure her illness?

Sometimes, when the coughing was unbearable, Li Shi felt she might not have many years left. Was her illness that easily curable? Zhou Laizi's wife was treated, but it drained their entire household, and isn't she still bedridden and ill?

“What nonsense are you talking? What valuables do we have left in our house?”

“How can we not have any? We can sell our warm coats, thick quilts, and mattresses as the weather warms up. We can keep one hoe and sell or pawn the other…” Shen Jin hesitated, realizing he didn’t know what else they could sell, then urgently added, “If that's not enough, we can sell our fields and land.”

At the mention of selling their fields and land, Li Shi panicked, causing a surge in her throat that led to another coughing fit.

Shen Jin hurried to help his mother by patting her back. As Li Shi recovered, she suddenly smelled something fragrant.

The scent of meat?

Smoked meat!

She grabbed Shen Jin's hand and brought it close to her nose, confirming it was indeed the scent of smoked meat.

Clutching his wrist tightly, she breathlessly stared at him, "Xiao Jin, tell your mother, did you come across meat?"

Her intense gaze seemed almost fiery.

"Tell me the truth, has your big brother returned?"

"You’re back late, asking me to pawn things and sell land... how would you know about that unless your big brother visited you, right? Didn't he?"

Desperate for an answer, she gripped his wrist so tightly that Shen Jin struggled to pull free, only to deny firmly, “No!”

"Don't lie to me, did your big brother come back? He might resent me and your father, but he's still kind to you all, isn’t he?"

“No, I was just really hungry and sneaked some pheasant in the mountains.”

Tears sprang to Li Shi's eyes, “Don't lie to your mother. I won't make a fuss about it. If your big brother is back, listen to me, go and plead with him. Take your brother and sister and ask him to take you all away.”

Realizing the improbability of her own words, she changed her plea, “If he's unwilling to take so many, just as many as he can, okay? Hmm?”

Seeing Shen Jin’s persistent attempts to withdraw his hand, Li Shi pursed her lips in silence, then broke down crying, "I won’t ask you to beg; just tell me where your big brother is, and I’ll go plead with him. I was wrong in the past; I’ll apologize to him, bow down to him. I’ll serve him like an ox or a horse for the rest of my life. Even if I don’t live long, I’ll do it in my next life, and the life after that. Please ask him to take you all away."

Already severely ill, Li Shi became agitated and began to cough violently, with tears, snot, and saliva uncontrollably streaming down her face.

Tears fell from Shen Jin’s eyes too as he wiped them away and supported Li Shi, patting her back to help her breathe: “Mother, don't get agitated, big brother really didn’t come back.”

Li Shi, however, was convinced that Shen Lian had returned.

Who else but Shen Lian would care for these children's fate or provide meat at this time?

She clutched Shen Jin's hand desperately, coughing while fixating her gaze on him, hoping he would heed her for once.

Shen Jin, who had been holding back his emotions since seeing Shen Lian that afternoon, finally broke down upon seeing his mother’s tear-streaked face and hearing her pleas for salvation, crying uncontrollably: “Mother, Sister-in-law and Shen An and Shen Ning were in worse conditions than us before. We at least have soybeans and land, and can expect a harvest in autumn. What did they have back then?”

He admitted his fear when asked by his brother, yet was too scared to express it.

This confession caused Li Shi’s grip on Shen Jin to loosen, tears flowing as she lamented, “It’s my sins that have brought this upon us.”

Shen Jin knelt and used a cloth from the bedside to wipe away his mother’s tears, comforting her: “Mother, we can’t rely on anyone else. We all need to rely on ourselves. Sister-in-law only managed to earn a bit of money last winter; how much better off could she be to support so many of us?”

If only his father had used their family's money and the gold bracelet to buy grains, they wouldn’t be so lacking now.

Shen Jin didn’t elaborate but assured, “And I won’t leave. I’ll stay with you, me, Shen Yin, Shen Tie, and Tianya – we can only rely on you.”

“So, Mother, you need to get treatment. Only if you’re well can we siblings be okay. Big brother taught me hunting and how to survive in the mountains. As long as you get better and lead us, we can survive.”

After another coughing spell, Li Shi questioned Shen Jin: “Getting treatment, is it that easy? What will we eat in autumn if we sell the land? What will happen to you siblings? And at a time like this, what price can we get for our land?”

“Whatever the price, we’ll sell it. If you’re reluctant, let’s sell only a part first. I’ve saved 700 coins from trapping pheasants. Let’s use it for your treatment first, and if it’s not enough, we’ll sell more.”

Hearing Shen Jin admit he had saved 700 coins from trapping pheasants, Li Shi realized he had been indulging her earlier lies about trading for grain, insisting she receive treatment instead.

Torn between sorrow and joy, her tears just kept falling.

Seeing Li Shi considering the idea, Shen Jin persuaded: “Mother, don't think about the future now. Two more households have left the village. Who knows what the future holds? Isn’t surviving the present the most important thing?”

He played his trump card: “In the past few days, I went deep into the mountains to trap pheasants. If you don't sell things for treatment, I'll have to go deeper into the mountains to earn money. Moreover, the hiding places big brother taught me are all burrows; they can hide us but not our noises. With your coughing like this, if anything happens, we won't be able to escape.”

This statement shook Li Shi to her core, shattering all her hope and passivity.

“Alright, I’ll get treatment.”

She couldn’t rely on anyone else. Only if she stayed alive, could her four children survive.