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However, when Li Chunhua heard Xingxing say it wasn't Li Jinnan, she relaxed at once.

Ju Geer muttered, "Then whose uncle is it? Is it the uncles from Third Brother or Fourth Brother's side, or my uncle?"

He then denied it himself, "Hold on, you’ve never even met our uncles..."

Xingxing suddenly exclaimed, "Ah!" and clenched her little fists with certainty. "I remember now! That uncle’s surname is Wei! He’s Uncle from the Wei family! He came to visit Grandma last time!"

Hearing the surname "Wei," Li Chunhua and Su Rouer both froze.

Could he be a nephew from their mother-in-law’s family? Since Xingxing mentioned he had visited their mother-in-law, he must be from the Wei family.

Now that she thought about it, Xingxing really should call him "uncle."

Li Chunhua and Su Rouer exchanged glances. Since it was a relative from the Wei family, they ought to go say hello.

"Xingxing, did you see Uncle Wei head this way?" Li Chunhua pointed to the alley behind the old man selling candied hawthorns.

Xingxing nodded, though she seemed reluctant to add more.

Li Chunhua didn’t notice and, along with Su Rouer, each holding one child’s hand, headed into the alley.

Xingxing still wore a puzzled look.

She could’ve sworn she saw... Uncle Wei and another person dragging someone into the alley...

Oh well, might as well follow her aunts to see Uncle Wei first!

The alley was shaded and quite dark. Li Chunhua called out hesitantly, "Cousin Feng?"

It was pitch black - she wasn’t even sure anyone was there.

Fortunately, a wary voice came from the darkness, his tone sharp. "Who’s there?"

Li Chunhua and Su Rouer swallowed hard and instinctively shielded both children.

From the depths of the dark alley, a figure slowly emerged.

The man was somewhat thin and small, holding a wooden stick in his hand.

Li Chunhua almost shrieked!

Luckily, the man recognized Li Chunhua and Su Rouer first and smiled. "Ah, well, look who’s here? It’s you, Sister-in-law... Big Sister-in-law. What are you doing here?"

His tone was relaxed and familiar, his earlier harshness now seeming like an act. Li Chunhua finally adjusted to the dim light in the alley and recognized him.

It was indeed Wei Feng, a nephew from her mother-in-law’s side.

Simple-minded Li Chunhua let out a sigh of relief and laughed. "Cousin Feng, it really is you. You nearly gave me a heart attack!"

Wei Feng chuckled. "I thought you were someone else. Now that I know it’s you, Big Sister-in-law, I’m relieved."

He glanced at Su Rouer and hesitated slightly. "And this is...?"

Li Chunhua quickly introduced her. "This is your Third Sister-in-law. You’ve barely met before, so you wouldn’t recognize her."

In truth, Su Rouer had always snubbed their country relatives and would hide in their room whenever visitors came, so they had rarely crossed paths.

Wei Feng remained polite and promptly greeted Su Rouer. "Hello, Third Sister-in-law."

Su Rouer still felt somewhat apprehensive, not as warm and natural as Li Chunhua. She managed a smile and nodded, "Hello there, cousin."

Wei Feng looked at Xingxing and Ju Geer. He smiled, "Little Xingxing, fancy meeting you again... This must be my fifth nephew, Ju Geer, right?"

Ju Geer was still very young and had met Wei Feng once when he was little, but he was too young to remember.

Xingxing called out, "Uncle Wei," and Ju Geer followed her lead, also calling, "Uncle Wei."

Wei Feng was very pleased. He casually tossed aside the wooden stick in his hand, checked his pockets, then looked somewhat embarrassed. "Ah, I didn’t prepare any gifts this time... No worries. Have you ladies eaten yet? Later, as your younger cousin, I’ll take you all out to eat."

Li Chunhua waved her hand with a smile, "Oh no, that's not necessary. We’ll just buy some things and head home. I’ll tell Mother when I get back. She’s always thinking of you—she’ll be thrilled to hear you're doing well."

Wei Feng remembered something and smiled too, "I’ll go visit my aunt in a few days."

As the two made small talk, Xingxing stared at the dark alley behind Wei Feng.

Someone was standing there, leaning against the wall, waiting.

On the ground, another person lay face down, motionless, whether they were alive or dead unclear.

Xingxing’s little face turned pale with fear.

Wei Feng noticed Xingxing’s gaze and glanced back. Realizing she had probably seen the scene in the alley, he waved it off casually and comforted her with a smile, "Don’t be scared. Your uncle works at a place now, and someone tried to skip out on their debt. I was just giving them what they deserved."

Chapter 83: The Family's Black Sheep

Xingxing listened in confusion. Li Chunhua, being a country woman, wasn't familiar with that world and naturally didn’t understand either.

But Su Rouer, being a girl from the county and with her own brother dabbling in gambling, understood exactly. The "place" Wei Feng mentioned was most likely a gambling den.

Gambling dens were no place for decent folk.

Su Rouer’s expression changed slightly.

"How about this," Wei Feng said with a smile, "you ladies go on ahead with your business. I've got some business to take care of here. Once I’m done, I’ll visit the Yu family another day."

Li Chunhua didn’t think much of it and nodded, "Alright, you go ahead with your work."

Su Rouer knew that most people who worked in gambling dens weren’t exactly good people. Her face turned pale as she tightened her grip on Ju Geer’s hand and followed Li Chunhua, who was holding Xingxing, out of the alley.

Xingxing couldn’t help but look back.

She saw Uncle Wei lift his foot over the unconscious person at the end of the alley.

—The person on the ground let out a blood-curdling scream as if Wei Feng had kicked them hard!

Not just Xingxing, even Li Chunhua was startled.

She muttered, "I don’t know what kind of work Cousin Wei Feng does, but it’s downright scary..."

Just as Li Chunhua was about to urge Su Rouer to hurry, she noticed Su Rouer standing frozen, her body stiff and her face as white as a sheet!