Becoming the Villain's Discarded Wife
Chapter 69 First Encounter_1

Chapter 69: Chapter 69 First Encounter_1

Throughout their journey, other than occasionally stopping to water the horses, the six of them dared not delay even a moment.

Fearing they’d move too slowly and end up sun-dried like jerky.

"Brother Shen-"

A hot, ripping wind whistled by his ear, and Shen Wenchen only tilted his head upon hearing the noise, waiting for what was to come next.

"Are we going to, you know, die from this heat!" Eleven currently felt as if his clothing was thoroughly soaked both inside and out, yet for fear of being scratched by branches on the road, he could only wait for his shirt on his back to dry and then get wet again, then dry out once more.

"If you die from the heat, we’ll collect your body!" Ada laughed heartily, following closely behind Shen Wenchen.

The group spurred their horses on, finally arriving at their destination just as noon was ending.

Seeing the sparse crops scattered across the fields along the way, Shen Wenchen wore a gloomy expression.

With no crops and no water, how could the villagers survive the winter?

With concerns weighing on his heart and his expression growing grim, Eleven quickly spoke up to lighten the mood, "Brother Shen, we still don’t know what your nephew’s name is. Tell us about him, so that when we meet your sister-in-law and nephew later, we’ll know how to address them."

"Gougou."

"What?"

Eleven and Little Shier exchanged glances, thinking they must have misheard.

"His name is Gougou."

Shen Wenchen surveyed the surrounding fields with an unflappable demeanor.

The five men following behind were momentarily stunned. Gougou? Could that even be considered a name?

It wasn’t until they saw the houses that Shen Wenchen straightened out his clothing and hair—after all, this was his first meeting with his son in many years.

Recalling Gougou’s coldness towards him in a previous life caused a pang in his chest. Now that he remembered, he decided it was best to take Gougou with him this time. As for Shen Miaomiao, who had always taken care of him, giving her some silver as a thank-you would suffice...

They had expected to encounter some neighbors on the road, but all the way to their own house, they saw not a single soul.

At first, Shen Wenchen thought to bring everyone directly to Aunt Guihua’s to find Gougou, but seeing his brothers trailing behind him, one holding a chicken and the other cradling a goose, he decided to first lead them to his own home.

Facing the tightly locked courtyard gate, he didn’t hesitate to chop through the chain with his knife and enter.

After all, it was his own house—a simple lock, nothing more.

"Sister-in-law sure is diligent!" Eleven exclaimed as he admired the neatly kept courtyard.

The other four nodded in agreement upon inspecting the yard.

Shen Wenchen’s expression, however, turned a bit strange. On their way here, he had seen several collapsed houses that the earth had reclaimed and which had not been repaired. As he entered, he braced himself, as the house had long been uninhabited. How then did it look as if it had been recently maintained?

Could it have been Shen Miaomiao who came to tidy up?

"Brother Shen, it seems like the sister-in-law isn’t at home?" Little Shier looked around, unsure whether to set down the two chickens he held or keep holding them.

"Put the stuff down in the backyard, don’t just stand there holding them," Shen Wenchen directed them toward the back of the house.

Hearing his instruction, the five men chuckled and carried their poultry to the backyard.

Shen Wenchen, meanwhile, led the horses under the shed beside the courtyard wall and tied them up, then went to the backyard to fetch some water for the horses.

He had thought someone would come home after an hour or so, but by mid-afternoon, there was still no sign of anyone.

Eventually, as their stomachs began growling like an empty city strategy, Shen Wenchen became restless.

He called to Eleven and the others and they all left the house.

"Brother Shen, where are we going?" Eleven rubbed his empty stomach, his eyes filled with yearning.

"We’re going to the river to bathe, and while we’re at it, catch a couple of fish to eat," Shen Wenchen massaged his temples, he had initially planned to see if Shen Miaomiao, assuming she came to clean the house, would stop by today, and then he’d ask her to help prepare a meal.

They waited and waited but saw no one.

Only after hearing about going to the river to bathe did they quickly nod and agree.

If they didn’t wash, they feared they would all start to stink!

Meanwhile, Nanzhi and her little one had just woken up.

The East Mountain was much cooler than the village, and during noon, mother and son had eaten pancakes and fallen asleep in the woods. Now, seeing the sun not as intense as at noon, Nanzhi stretched lazily and called to Shen Zhiyu to get up.

The spot was great for cooling off, and they could invite Aunt Liu and the others to join them tomorrow!

Before leaving, Nanzhi didn’t forget to check the traps and, although not as many as the two from yesterday, they had caught a seven-pound grey rabbit.

She secured the rabbit and put it in the basket, and mother and son happily descended the mountain.

"Mom, why don’t we wait until it gets dark before we go down?" Shen Zhiyu asked, clutching the hem of Nanzhi’s clothes with one hand and sweeping a stick left and right with the other.

Enjoying himself thoroughly.

"The mountain isn’t safe when it gets dark," said Nanzhi, patting the little guy’s head with a smile.

Life these days was quite good; at the very least, they didn’t lack food or drink, and she had a sensible son to keep her company.

As the two of them walked down the mountain, they encountered a few children playing at the foot of the mountain.

Gougou immediately tugged on Nanzhi’s clothes, his large eyes not blinking as he watched.

Nanzhi pretended to be angry and smacked his little bottom, which made Shen Zhiyu cry out and scamper off into the cluster of children.

Thus, a group of children ran and played ahead, while Nanzhi followed behind, carrying the basket on her back and heading home.

Shen Wenchen and the others had initially planned to just wash briefly in the river at the end of the village, but upon reaching the middle, they found the water only came up to their knees, forcing them to walk a bit further upstream.

The water upstream also only went above the knee, but luckily, there was a part of the riverbed that had collapsed into a pit, making a perfect large pool for a good wash.

Just as they finished bathing, they saw a group of children coming towards them.

Old Nine immediately called out to the children on the bank with a smile.

"Little kids, do any of you know Gougou?"

The group of children turned to see several unfamiliar uncles soaking in the river and became wary.

"Where are you from? How did you end up in our Lihua Village?" The older boys asked, protecting their younger siblings behind them.

"We came back to look for someone, to find a little kid named Gougou!" said Eleven, smiling at the children.

Shen Zhiyu, who had just been protected behind the others, poked his head out and said, "My mom said, people like you are kidnappers who abduct children and sell them for silver!"

Hearing the little one’s childish words, Shen Wenchen found it amusing and asked loudly, "Little one, what’s your name?"

Shen Zhiyu heard the question and after some thought, replied, "My name is Shen Zhiyu!"

Shen Wenchen was taken aback by the name; looking at the little kid on the bank, he felt inexplicably joyful; it was indeed a good name.

"Zhiyu! Scram! Who are you talking to?" Nanzhi, hearing her child’s reply, hastened forward, concerned that the children might be in trouble.

As a result, she and the man in the river locked eyes.

Nanzhi felt a jolt of recognition.

Why did this man look so familiar?

Shen Wenchen was struck dumb, staring at the newcomer for a long time without uttering a word.

Ada, thinking Shen Wenchen was just mesmerized by Nanzhi’s beauty, hastily pushed him and whispered, "Big Brother Shen, although that woman is indeed beautiful, you can’t betray your sister-in-law..."

Shen Wenchen stumbled from the push and came back to his senses, softly calling out, "Nannan?"