Chapter 222: Chapter 222: A Joke Like This Is Not Funny at All
The person living in the small house next door was none other than Shen Nian’s youngest maternal uncle, Miao Changquan.
Miao Changquan had originally built a house when he married. However, after his wife died, her family seized it as compensation.
Besides, Miao Changquan didn’t want to return to a place that would only bring him heartache, so he simply built a small house next to his elderly parents’ home.
In any case, he was all alone now and didn’t need a large house. As long as it was a place to live, it was enough.
Miao Changquan returned not long after dinner. Just as he was getting ready for bed, he was surprised to see Shen Nian and Lu Cheng arrive.
"Xiao Nian, Lu Cheng, what brings you two here? Is something wrong?"
Miao Changquan was very fond of his niece, Shen Nian. By extension, he also held a high opinion of Lu Cheng, his nephew-in-law.
He’d heard from his eldest sister-in-law that Shen Nian had been very reluctant to marry and didn’t have a good relationship with her husband. But seeing them today, it was obvious the young couple’s relationship was actually quite good!
I mean, look at them. They even came to see him holding hands!
"Uncle, there is something we wanted to talk to you about. Are you free right now?"
Shen Nian had already been planning to find time to visit Miao Changquan. However, seeing that Lu Cheng wasn’t the least bit surprised when she suggested it, she couldn’t help but wonder. ’Could it be that he had the same idea?’
A flicker of pride went through Shen Nian’s heart at the thought.
"Of course, of course! Come on in. Whatever it is, let’s sit and talk."
After she and Lu Cheng sat down, Shen Nian glanced at him a few times. She grew even more certain that he was thinking along the same lines as her.
Turning to a slightly nervous Miao Changquan, Shen Nian decided not to beat around the bush and got straight to the point.
"Uncle, I’ll skip the pleasantries. I just want to ask, have you ever thought about leaving to find work elsewhere?"
Shen Nian remembered when she was a child. Her uncle was young back then, but he already had a sharp mind for business.
Among all the brothers in the Miao Family, Shen Nian had always felt her youngest uncle was the one with the most promise.
Who would have thought the first half of his life would torment him into his current state? The high-spirited ambition of his youth was now almost completely gone.
But at least his character was still the same; that hadn’t changed.
Her uncle was only in his early thirties! In the past, Shen Nian hadn’t been able to help, but now that she had the means, she couldn’t just stand by and watch her uncle waste away like this.
A spark lit up in Miao Changquan’s eyes when he heard her words, but it faded just as quickly.
"Of course I’ve thought about it! How could I not? But who would be willing to hire a cripple like me?"
Right after his leg was injured, Miao Changquan still had hope. He believed that even with a limp, he could do any job just as well as anyone else.
But reality hit him with a harsh slap in the face. It wasn’t that he couldn’t do the work; it was that no one was willing to give him the chance.
Over time, the hope in Miao Changquan’s heart gradually flickered out.
"Then, what if I told you there is someone willing to hire you? Would you be willing to leave this place and go make a name for yourself?"
Miao Changquan stared at Shen Nian in disbelief, as if he couldn’t quite trust what he had just heard.
"Xiao Nian, you’re not joking with me, are you? A joke like this isn’t funny at all!"
It was true that Miao Changquan was fond of Shen Nian, but that didn’t mean he appreciated her making a joke like this at his expense.
