Volume 1 Chapter 30 Medicine Jar

  After more than 30 hours of traveling by train, car and taxi, Hong Jun held Rui Xin's hand as they arrived at this small mountain village in central Liaoning. This is a typical mountain village, nestled among the hills and water, with a total population of only 800 people. Most young and middle-aged people have gone out to work, leaving behind only some elderly, weak, sick and disabled people, making it very quiet most of the time.

  As soon as they entered the village, they ran into Old Master Jiaotou, who was dozing off in a corner. Seeing Hong Jun and Rui Xin, he was taken aback for a moment before quickly getting up and leaving with a quiver. He swallowed back his "Old Uncle" that was about to come out of his mouth.

  Both parents were at home, and when they saw their son who had not returned home for over a year, they were first delighted, then they saw the beautiful girl next to their son, and the two old men instantly understood what was going on.

  "Her name is Rui Xin." Hong Jun only said four words to his parents, dropped his luggage and rushed into the north house, where his uncle who had been suffering from chronic illness lived.

  The room was filled with the smell of medicine, and Third Uncle was lying in bed at this time, his eyes tightly closed, looking haggard, his throat wheezing like a bellows. His aunt, who suffered from mental illness, sat on the edge of the bed, chattering away when she saw her nephew come in, Hong Jun understood that she was greeting him.

  "Third Uncle, Third Uncle, it's me." Hong Jun walked to the bedside and gently shook Third Uncle's hand.

  Hong Jun didn't know why he had a third uncle. Since he was young, he knew his father was the only child, with no brothers or sisters. Until ten years ago, one evening, his father suddenly brought back a dying man from outside, followed by a crazy woman. He told Hong Jun that this was his third uncle and aunt. However, Hong Jun couldn't understand what relationship this third uncle had with his father - were they half-brothers or full brothers? He asked his father, but his father said not to ask, saying some things couldn't be told now.

  So Hong Jun had three uncles.

  Third Uncle's body was ill, just like his origins, and the illness was also very strange, to the point where the hospital couldn't find the cause of the disease. Because he was sick, he rarely went out, most of the time lying in bed eating medicine by the handful. Father was extremely good to Third Uncle, and in order to treat his illness, all the money the family had painstakingly saved up was spent, even when Hong Jun worked outside, Father required him to send money back home every month to treat Third Uncle's illness.

  Because San Shu is always with Yao Guangzi, Hong Jun also jokingly calls him Yao Guangzi San Shu, and San Shu is happy for his nephew to call him that. More importantly, after ten years of daily interactions, Hong Jun and San Shu have developed a deep affection for each other, no matter how this San Shu appeared, in his heart, he is just his own uncle.

  "You're back." Seeing his nephew, Third Uncle forced a smile on his face.

  "Third Uncle, Dad said you're not feeling well, I've come back to take a look at you. How are you feeling?" Hong Jun asked with concern.

  "It's better today." Third Uncle waved his hand and let dazed Third Aunt put down the medicine bowl in her hands.

  "Your third aunt hasn't learned anything else in these years, but she's learned to watch me take my medicine." Third Uncle smiled wryly. Hong Jun also smiled, from the first time he met Third Aunt ten years ago, his impression of her was that she was crazy and helpless, not only couldn't take care of Third Uncle who had been ill for a long time, but also needed Third Uncle to take care of her. Now she knew to give Third Uncle medicine, which was already not bad.

  "Third Uncle." Along with Rong Rong's voice, Rui Xin and her parents arrived at the North House.

  "Uh..." Third Uncle looked at Rui Xin in confusion, then turned to look at Hong Jun.

  "Third Uncle, I'm his girlfriend." Rui Xin said calmly and openly, which made Hong Jun's face turn a little red.

  "Haha, okay, okay." Third Uncle's smile grew even more pronounced, but the dryness of his face made his smile look a bit unnatural.

  "Come on, everyone sit down." Third Uncle gestured for everyone to take a seat. Father brought in several small stools from the outer room and handed them out to everyone.

  "Brother, I'm afraid my illness won't get better. You'd better tell everyone the truth." Suddenly, Third Uncle's coughing became violent, with a sound like a knife cutting through steel in his throat. Then, his body leaned forward abruptly, and a mouthful of bloody phlegm spurted onto the ground.

  "Third Brother." Father hastily stepped forward to support Third Uncle, with turbid tears dropping from his eyes. Third Aunt stood by helplessly, shouting "Hurry and save him, hurry and save him."

  Third Uncle waved his hand at Father and struggled to sit up in bed: "Brother, I've already lived ten years longer than I should have. Don't be sad for me. Everyone has to die eventually. I've fulfilled my duty and have no regrets about dying."

  "Third Uncle, what are you talking about? You're just over 40 years old. Besides, with the advancement of medical science nowadays, if we can't cure your illness here, we can go to Shenyang or Beijing..." said Hong Jun.

  "Nephew, you know your third uncle's body is not well, I don't have much time left now. There are some things that it's time for you to know." Third Uncle said, looking at Father, who nodded silently: "Old Three, sit down and rest, I'll take care of the matters."

  "Hong Jun, he is your paternal third uncle." Father stared at Hong Jun and suddenly blurted out a sentence.

  "What? My paternal third uncle? Is my paternal third uncle really my own paternal third uncle?" Hong Jun asked in surprise. In his heart, he had always thought that Third Uncle might have done a favor for Father, so Father brought him back, but he never expected that he was actually his own paternal third uncle. "But isn't our family line supposed to be single and unbroken from Grandfather's generation?"

  "No, that's what we tell outsiders." Father sighed, "Actually, your grandfather had five sons in total."

  "What?" Hong Jun stood up in surprise, looking at his father, then at Third Uncle who nodded slowly, and then at his equally surprised mother, Third Aunt with a confused face, and finally at Rui Xin with a puzzled face. He couldn't believe that his own father was one of the five brothers.

  "I'm the eldest, your third uncle is ten years younger than me, and he along with three others are quadruplets." Father continued, "When you uncles were born, your grandmother suddenly fell seriously ill, as a result only one of the four children was saved, which was your third uncle. Moreover, due to an incident, your third uncle was taken away by someone right after birth."

  "What happened that made Third Uncle be carried away by someone?" Hong Jun asked.

  "Listen to me slowly," Father told Hong Jun, "Just two days after giving birth to your third uncle, your grandmother lost three sons within two days. She couldn't withstand the blow, and with her original serious illness, she passed away." Father remembered his own mother, his face filled with sorrow, and the eyes of this seven-foot-tall man reddened.