Doing It Over Again [Rebirth]

3: First place

Thanks to the high selling price, Shen Shao still ended up with around three hundred thousand yuan after the trading company took its commission. When the employees gave him the money, they were worried about the child's safety, so they got someone to take him to the bank and had an acquaintance arrange a passbook for him. Shen Shao ended up spending one more night in Furong City. He bought a ticket to return to Peng County early the next morning.

When the bus arrived in Peng County, it was around 4 p.m. He was carrying hundreds in cash, his household registry book, and two bank passbooks. He didn't dare stroll around the street, so he went directly home.

Shortly after he got there, his uncle and aunt hurried over. They were relieved to see him home and well. His uncle smoked a low-quality cigarette—a pack sold for fifty fen—and said in a heavy tone, "Xiao Shao, your father isn't a good person. If you run into trouble in the future, just come talk to Uncle about it. Uncle doesn't have much ability, but I won't let you go hungry or suffer in the cold. You're still young right now. How will you have a good life when you grow up if you don't study hard?"

At first Shen Shao was startled, and it took him a moment to realize what was going on. He'd left home for two or three days without a word. His uncle's family didn't know where he'd gone, so they thought he went looking for his dad. When Shen Shao figured it out, he felt a little guilty. He couldn't tell them about selling the antiques, so all he could do was bow his head and say, "Sorry, uncle. If I go out again in the future I'll tell you first."

When Shen Shao said this, Liu ShuLian pulled her husband's sleeve to shush him. Then she told Shen Shao, "Did you have lunch? Why don't you come over to your uncle's house to eat? Eldest Aunt will make you a bowl of noodles."

Shen Shao had traveled home in a hurry. He ate breakfast, but nothing since getting on the bus. He really did feel a little hungry, and nodded in embarrassment.

"Then come back to our house," Liu ShuLian said with a sigh of relief. She looked at Shen Shao's face and decided that he probably hadn't gone in search of his irresponsible father. "The results of the admission exam will be announced soon, right? School's about to start."

"The results will be out tomorrow. If my score's high enough, I can enroll." Shen Shao followed his aunt out of the house. After locking the door, he followed a step behind her. She asked a few questions about studying, and he answered honestly. When he looked back he saw his uncle silently following. Shen Shao remembered that his uncle was the same in his previous life. He never talked much, but he took good care of Shen Shao during his years in junior high.

Uncle's house wasn't far from his own. It took less than three minutes to walk. When Shen Shao went inside, his two young cousins, Shen Yuan and Shen Hong, were there. They looked over as he entered, then ignored him and continued watching 《Journey to the West》 on TV.

Shen Shao glanced at the TV. It was black-and-white, neither old nor new. There were a few dots of snowflake-like static on the screen. The image wasn't very clear, but the sisters stared at it with great interest.

"You can't watch our TV," Shen Hong said suddenly. She was a few months younger than Shen Shao. When she saw he was also looking at the TV, she added, "It belongs to my family." Some people had told her Shen Shao's parents didn't care about him and he'd someday eat, drink, and spend her family's money.

Shen Shao wasn't going to argue with a child who hadn't even turned eleven. When she started making trouble, he looked away. His eldest aunt served the noodles, and he silently lowered his head and ate.

"Mom, why did you give him an egg?!" When Shen Hong saw there was actually a fried egg in Shen Shao's bowl, she immediately shouted, "Are you going to make him your son? Is that why you gave him an egg instead of me?"