Chapter 21: Chapter 21: Not Afraid of the Old Man Anymore

Translator: 549690339

Yet, she knows, she can’t now, she is still young, only three years old. Even if none of these people know that her soul has been replaced, they’ll, in the end, attribute all faults to Tang Zhinian, accusing him of not teaching Tang Yuxin well. Quite possibly, she might get taken away by Sang Zhilan again, returning to the fate of her previous life.

In this lifetime, she will absolutely not leave the Tang Family with Sang Zhilan. She wants to follow her father; she wants to ensure her father leads a good life, in a big house, instead of providing labour in older age, supporting her loser daughter, paying for her daughter’s university education and her daughter’s house. But neither the house nor the daughter exists anymore.

“Are you going to Grandpa Chen’s place?” Tang Zhinian squatted down, after a moment, realizing that the Grandpa Zhong, voiced by Tang Yuxin, referred to Chen Zhong. He gazed in awe at his daughter’s delicate face, “Xinxin, weren’t you always scared of Grandpa Chen before? You even went out of your way to avoid his house, why do you want to go there now?”

In fact it’s not only Tang Yuxin who fears Chen Zhong, all kids in the village do. That is the part Tang Zhinian does not understand. After all, Uncle Zhong is a good man. Although he is not easy to approach, if the villagers ask him for any help, he always assists. He is not inhuman, or a cold-hearted devil as others portray him. How come the villagers now frighten children saying they’ll feed them to Chen Zhong if they cry, and the children immediately stop crying?

What’s up with Tang Yuxin now? What she used to fear the most, she now seems to desire.

“It smells good at Grandpa Zhong’s place.”

Tang Yuxin wrinkled her little nose. She wanted to smell those scents – the fragrance of herbs, and the cold scent of that strange plant.

Alright then. Tang Zhinian picked up his daughter and took her to Chen Zhong’s.

“Uncle Zhong, are you home?” He knocked on the outside of the door and also called out inside. By all accounts, he knew someone was inside because the door was open. If nobody was at home, naturally, the door would be closed and locked. Even though the people in the village were pretty decent and honest, it wasn’t like they were the sort to leave houses unlocked or find loose change out on the road.

Locking doors is meant to keep out honest people and deter the crooks.

Everyone knew this.

“I’m home, come in.”

Inside, indeed, came the voice of Chen Zhong, not very enthusiastic. Perhaps coupled with his clearly unfriendly face, most people would be disinclined to engage with him.

Tang Zhinian was not completely comfortable either. He braved himself to step inside. But compared to all this, it was the sad face of his daughter that he hated to see even more.

What’s wrong? Are you feeling unwell somewhere?

Chen Zhong put down the herbs he was sorting, and watched Tang Zhinian and his daughter with indifferent eyes.

“Uncle Zhong, it’s nothing,” Tang Zhinian quickly explained, “My daughter Yuxin said your place smells good, and she wants to hang around here. Do you mind?” He asked cautiously, fearing Chen Zhong might reject them.

Chen Zhong’s gaze lingered on Tang Yuxin’s face for a while. Just when Tang Zhinian thought he was about to expel them, he nodded.

“Alright, you can leave her here. Just come and pick her up around dinner time.”

They had just had breakfast, and lunch was still about four hours away. Tang Zhinian, calculating his timeframe, believed he could work a good stretch in the field. As for leaving his daughter here, he felt entirely at ease.