Ten Thousand Soul Banner: Deceased, do you have any unfulfilled wishes?
Chapter 431 Grandpa Shen Guanchao

Chapter 431: Chapter 431 Grandpa Shen Guanchao

Shen Guanchao went to the countryside in ’69, when he was only 22, and returned to the city in ’77. He spent a full eight years in the countryside.

He initially thought he would spend his entire life in the countryside, with no hope of returning to the city. So he got married and had children, but fate played its tricks, and with a change in tide, he was given the chance to return to the city.

He was a cultured person, educated and knowledgeable, and he felt that his life should not be wasted in the countryside, living a life of scratching food from the dirt, without two bags of grain a year.

So he resolutely chose to divorce his wife.

After returning to the city, he joined a government department and worked until his retirement.

During this time, he remarried to someone also working in the government department.

And he had two more sons and a daughter.

He didn’t hide the fact that he had been married before from his wife, but at that time, it was quite common, and the thoughts in Shanghai were relatively more open-minded. Even in those days, divorce didn’t seem to be a big deal.

Shen Jianjun even lived with them for a while back then, how they got along during this time is unknown to outsiders, but in the end, Shen Jianjun chose to leave the big city of Shanghai to return to Bin Hai, back to the countryside to be with his mother.

"I think he definitely came back because he was upset," Shen Siyuan said to Ruan Hongzhuang.

"How can you say that about your dad?" Ruan Hongzhuang playfully scolded him with a slap.

"If he were truly filial, he shouldn’t have run off to Shanghai back then, leaving Grandma all alone in the countryside. She must have been so heartbroken," Shen Siyuan argued.

A husband abandons her, and so does her son. What woman can endure that?

"He was young at that time, certainly didn’t consider things comprehensively, but later he realized and stayed in the countryside," Ruan Hongzhuang said.

"Cut it out, he definitely ran back because he was upset in Shanghai, it wasn’t because of Grandma," Shen Siyuan said.

"If your dad knew you thought like that, he’d definitely be angry."

"He does know, I directly discussed this with him, he even told my mom that it was love at first sight with her that made him stay and not go back to Shanghai, all because of love."

Ruan Hongzhuang laughed heartily upon hearing that.

She felt that Shen Siyuan’s family atmosphere was particularly good, speaking their minds without keeping things bottled up because of the elders, which was quite good because most human conflicts stem from communication issues.

At this moment, Grandma came back from the vegetable garden with a bunch of vegetables.

Among them were lots of cilantro.

Shen Siyuan smiled and said, "You don’t love cilantro, why grow so much? You end up feeding the chickens every time, might as well grow something else."

Grandma smiled and replied, "These are an old variety, the taste is different from what’s sold out there."

"Different or not, you still feed it to the chickens."

But Grandma said nothing more and said, "Take some when you leave."

With that, she put the basket aside and went inside to drink water.

Ruan Hongzhuang looked at the cilantro in the basket and suddenly asked, "Do you think maybe someone likes to eat it?"

Upon hearing this, Shen Siyuan instantly realized, widening his eyes at Ruan Hongzhuang.

Ruan Hongzhuang laughed and said, "I’m just guessing."

But Shen Siyuan felt she might be right; it was likely someone in Shanghai liked it.

The emphasis on the old variety, really...

Grandma ended up alone for that person, yet she had no complaints, leaving Shen Siyuan speechless.

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Shen Guanchao was accompanied by his youngest daughter.

First, they flew to Ye City, spent a night in Coconut City, and early the next morning, they rented a car and headed straight to Yu Family Mansion.

Over the years, he hadn’t entirely lost contact with this place. He would write letters to his son Shen Jianjun every year and was somewhat aware of the circumstances of his eldest son’s family over the years.

"Dad, if you feel uncomfortable, just close your eyes and rest for a while."

Seeing Shen Guanchao staring dazedly out the car window, with a not-so-good expression, Shen Guiyan softly reminded him.

She was Shen Guanchao’s youngest daughter, forty-one this year, eleven years younger than Shen Jianjun, with black, luscious hair, slightly curled, chubby body, and a round face, looking very prosperous.

"I’m fine, Qionghai has changed so much over these years."

"Can it not? The last time you came was thirty years ago," Shen Guiyan said.

"No, it was your big brother’s wedding the last time I came, only twenty-nine years, not thirty."

"Does it matter? Stop talking, or you’ll get car sick again later."

As she spoke, Shen Guiyan took a mint candy out of her pocket and handed it to him to suck on.

Shen Guanchao complied and sucked on the candy, but he didn’t close his eyes to rest. He patted Shen Guiyan’s hand and said, "Thank you for coming back with me."

"It’s nothing. I also want to see big brother," Shen Guiyan said.

Back when Shen Jianjun went to Shanghai, Shen Guiyan was only five or six, and unlike her brothers, she wasn’t resistant to Shen Jianjun.

And Shen Guanchao was busy with work, with not much energy to care for Shen Jianjun. The initial period Shen Jianjun spent at their home was rather awkward and bewildering; he was just a stranger in that home, and his half-brothers were quite resistant to him, only the innocent Shen Guiyan would play with this big brother.

Therefore, Shen Jianjun actually had a pretty good impression of this sister.

But Shen Guiyan was too young back then, and doesn’t remember much about those times, only that Shen Jianjun often took her to the nearby parks to play wildly, and once even fought others for her, the specifics she can’t remember.

So she had a pretty nice impression of Shen Jianjun, that’s why she accompanied Shen Guanchao to Qionghai this time.

"But still, thank you, this might also be my last time coming, probably won’t have another chance in the future. But that’s okay, at least I will have fulfilled my wish before I die," Shen Guanchao said sorrowfully.

"Dad, why do you say that? You’re in good health and will watch Yonghao have children, and hold a great-grandson."

The Yonghao Shen Guiyan mentioned was her brother Shen Guoqiang’s son, Shen Yonghao. He’s been married for several years but hasn’t had any children yet.

Speaking of his grandson, Shen Guanchao naturally thought of his eldest son Shen Jianjun’s child, who is actually the Shen Family’s oldest grandson.

"Has Jianjun’s son gotten married?"

"He shouldn’t have, nothing was mentioned about it in the last letter, I’m not quite sure."

"It’s been more than a year now, Jianjun’s son should be 26 this year, right? He should be getting married," Shen Guanchao said.

Shen Guiyan glanced at him and said, "You remember quite clearly."

Shen Guanchao didn’t mind her words and sighed, "Yonghao has been married for years, why is he still not married? Is it because the conditions aren’t good?"

Shen Guiyan said, "I don’t really know."

Perhaps to avoid letting the Shanghai family look down on him, Shen Jianjun usually wrote letters only about the family’s recent happenings and avoided talking about financial issues, so Shen Guanchao didn’t know how Shen Jianjun’s family was doing.