Chapter 218: 210 Is Aunt
When Tian Sisi and He Xuewen arrived in Beijing, it was already evening the next day. Tian Xinhua and He Chengsi had come to pick them up in a Jeep. Sisi had last seen them during the summer break the previous year, so it had been over half a year since they last met.
Both had grown tall during their development phase, catching up with He Xuewen, definitely over 175cm, and looking like young adults already, especially Tian Xinhua.
Tian Xinhua was naturally handsome, and his experiences over these years had made him even more elegant and cultured, always with a slight smile on his lips—but the warmth didn’t quite reach his eyes, giving off a sense of friendly detachment.
He Chengsi, on the other hand, still had a somewhat silly demeanor, looking like he had just come back from Africa; he was tanned and buff. Upon seeing He Xuewen and Tian Sisi, he eagerly bounded up to them like an excited puppy.
"Daddy, sister Sisi, I missed you so much!"
Tian Xinhua gave him a look, stepped forward to greet He Xuewen and Tian Sisi, and took the parcels from Tian Sisi’s hands. He smiled at Tian Sisi, who, without holding back, loaded him up with her belongings.
After getting into the car, Tian Xinhua drove toward Yun Mansion. During the ride, He Chengsi went into detail about the events that had transpired, of course, he glossed over the embarrassing part about his bare buttocks in front of sister Sisi—who would discuss such a shameful incident?
"Daddy, Granny Niu insists that I’m her grandnephew, but I feel that not only Niu family can have such hemorrhoids, maybe other people can have them too! That’s why I didn’t acknowledge it. I’m waiting for you to decide for me."
Actually, He Chengsi liked Niu Erniu quite a bit, and if Er Niu truly were his great-aunt, he’d be over the moon! But he was scared of just having a fleeting happiness and then suffering later; he preferred to keep things as they were rather than face disappointment later.
"I think there’s a strong possibility. This time I brought the half piece of the Jade Token you had as a child. If it fits together, then you’re undoubtedly a member of the Niu family."
He Xuewen took out a piece of green jade from his bag. The quality of the jade wasn’t that great, just a common piece, clearly missing half, with jagged cracks.
Tian Sisi originally wanted to mention DNA paternity testing, but after thinking about it, she refrained from speaking. After all, it was the year 1975, and even the United States probably couldn’t do DNA paternity testing yet.
Niu Erniu paced back and forth in the room, muttering incessantly to Luo Datou, "He’s definitely my grandnephew, the Ms. Niu lineage has descendants!"
As it turned out, Niu Erniu was a Man, bearing the surname Ms. Niu, a family name she adopted later on. Although Mans were no longer discriminated against, she had gotten used to it after years of use and, being a woman, couldn’t be bothered to revert to her Man Clan surname.
But now things were different, with her elder brother’s lineage continuing; the Ms. Niu family line could be passed down and they would need to restore their Man Clan surname, as it’s not suitable to keep using the Niu surname anymore!
Tian Xinhua drove the car steadily; it was clear he had been driving for a while. Tian Sisi felt an itch to drive—she had driven for seven or eight years in her previous life but hadn’t touched a car since coming here. She wondered when Tian Xinhua would let her indulge in driving the car again.
By the time they arrived at Yun Mansion, it was already 7 pm, the sky darkened. Although Niu Erniu was anxious, she still brought out the hot food from the pot and urged He Xuewen and Tian Sisi to eat quickly.
After dinner, before Granny Niu could ask anything, He Xuewen had He Chengsi take out the Jade Token. Upon seeing it, Niu Erniu started crying.
"It’s my elder brother’s Jade Token; it was originally one whole piece. When my brother and I separated, we split it into two halves. He kept one and I kept the other. He said that even if he was no longer around, his descendants could still recognize me by it."
Niu Erniu, crying, turned around and took off a matching half-piece Jade Token from her neck. The two halves fit together perfectly. Niu Erniu hugged He Chengsi tightly and burst into tears.
"Child, I am your great-aunt, you’re the descendant of our Ms. Niu family."
He Chengsi stared blankly at Niu Erniu, his eyes reddening; without realizing it, he blurted out, "Auntie," as Niu Erniu kept nodding, laughing, and crying simultaneously.
Luo Datou laughed and said, "Kid, you should call me Great-Auntie."
"Great-Auntie." He Chengsi obediently addressed him. Luo Datou was, after all, his half-mentor and he felt very close to him, so there was no obstacle in calling him Great-Auntie.
"Aunt Niu, don’t be too hasty to acknowledge, there’s another letter here, take a look at this first," someone interjected.
He Xuewen had intended to bring out the letter when he took out the Jade Token, but Niu Erniu recognized the Jade Token on sight and got so overwhelmed by crying and laughing, that he didn’t get a chance to present the letter.
Strictly speaking, it was a blood letter; when the old Taoist found Chengsi, the only things he had besides a piece of clothing wrapped around him were this half of a Jade Token and the blood letter.
The blood letter was written on a torn piece of fabric, clearly ripped from clothing, and it contained just a few hurriedly scrawled sentences, indicating the person who wrote it must have been in great distress.
Niu Erniu couldn’t read, so He Xuewen read it aloud: "I beg a kind-hearted person to adopt my son. In the next life, I shall repay your kindness by being your ox or horse! Signed, Ms. Niu of Changshun."
"Ms. Niu of Changshun is my older brother!" Luo Datou was the first to shout, staring peculiarly at He Chengsi.
"Then Chengsi must be Aunt Niu’s nephew," He Xuewen said.
Niu Erniu didn’t expect this outcome. Her older brother was five or six years older than her, and she had thought Chengsi was her brother’s grandson. She never imagined he was her brother’s son. According to this, did her brother have him when he was nearly fifty?
"Chengsi, you are my nephew; you should call me Auntie," Niu Erniu said to He Chengsi.
"Auntie! Uncle!" He Chengsi had no choice but to change how he addressed them.
From ’Great-Auntie’ to ’Auntie,’ this was truly a divine twist. Tian Sisi secretly found it amusing. On the surface, she remained calm and quiet; after all, the years of ladylike training were not for naught. Zhang Mingliu said that no matter what you are thinking or doing, you should always maintain a faint smile. This is the foremost rule of being a socialite.
He Xuewen continued to relay the details of how the old Taoist had found He Chengsi. Even though he hadn’t experienced it himself, the old Taoist had been very detailed, so he had always kept it in mind, hoping to find Chengsi’s relatives.
Listening to the part about Chengsi being abandoned on the mountain right after birth and nearly dying from mosquito poison, Niu Erniu cried again. "Oh, what sin has my brother committed? How could he leave his child on the mountain? My poor child!"
He Chengsi, held and crying in the embrace of Niu Erniu, also felt a sourness in his nose. It was the first time he heard He Xuewen recount how he was found. Thinking of how he was abandoned by his dad as a child, tears involuntarily flowed down his face.
Tian Xinhua never expected He Chengsi to have such a tragic past. "Sigh, in the future, I should pick on him less; this silly big guy is quite pitiable."
"I think Er Niu’s brother must have encountered some danger; otherwise, he wouldn’t have left his newborn son on the mountain and left behind such a blood letter. The situation must have been extremely critical at the time," said the till-now silent Mr. Yun.
He Xuewen nodded in agreement, feeling that must have been the case. If not for an encounter with danger, which father would willingly abandon his child?
Hearing Mr. Yun say this, Niu Erniu began to worry about her brother’s fate. She didn’t know if he was still alive. Everyone remained silent, and judging from the blood letter, it seemed that Niu Erniu’s brother was more likely dead than alive, wasn’t he?
Niu Erniu also understood her older brother was probably no longer alive. For all these years, she had prepared herself mentally, but without seeing a body, there was always a glimmer of hope that one day he might appear before her, just as Chengsi did. But now, having seen the blood letter, she no longer harbored any hope.