Chapter 30: Return Home
Translator: Atlas Studios Editor: Atlas Studios
After leaving Tian Heng’s Black Clothes Gang, Shen Lang hurried back to his home.
His parents and brother had been waiting for a long time. When he was at the foot of the mountain, his mother came up to him eagerly.
“Son, how did the daughter of the Palace of the Earl treat you?” asked his mother eagerly.
Shen Lang said, “She is very nice to me.”
Shen Lang’s mother said, “That’s heartening to hear.”
The two warriors from the Palace of the Earl carried the boxes of gifts into Shen Lang’s house. There were cloth, food supplies, meat, and a lot of herbs.
Mulan was a very meticulous person. She knew that Shen Lang’s father and brother were injured. Hence, she prepared many types of medicine for them.
Then, Shen Lang took out 300 gold coins and passed it to his father. “This is for us to build a new house with better tiles.”
His father’s expression changed slightly, and he said, “Shen Lang, you are, after all, from the Palace of the Earl. It is alright for us, your parents, to enjoy some benefits thanks to you, but we definitely cannot take the money from the Palace of the Earl. We cannot let them think that you are taking the money out of the Palace of the Earl and ruin your reputation.”
His father said it exceptionally indirectly. To put it more directly, he was worried that Shen Lang would be accused of being a traitor.
Shen Lang smiled. “The gold coins are not from the Palace of the Earl; I earned them.”
His father said, “How?”
Shen Lang replied, “I invented a new formula for dye and sold it to a vendor in the city. In the past, I was afraid to use it. Now, since I am the son-in-law of the Palace of the Earl, I can use this money without any worries.”
Shen Lang would definitely not tell his parents that he had gotten the money from Tian Heng, or they would be even more afraid to use it.
Even so, his father was still very hesitant. He had doted on Shen Lang since he was young; he really could not use his money.
Shen Lang said, “Build a huge house so that I can live in it when I return. If Mulan returns with me, we can’t possibly stay in this house, right?”
After hearing that, his father made up his mind. They definitely would build a new and big house.
Although he felt that the daughter of the Earl couldn’t live with them, if she were to come, he definitely had to make sure she had a place to stay in so that his son would not lose face.
“We only need less than 20 gold coins to build a big house! Why would we need 300 gold coins?” said Shen Lang’s father.
To be honest, he had not even touched gold coins in his life. He had always been using bronze coins and, at the very best, silver coins.
If one went to the market to buy things with gold coins, the vendor would not be able to give them some change.
Moreover, for building a house in the countryside, even if it was a five-to-six-room house with bricks and boards of the highest quality, along with a large backyard and fence, it would not even add up to a hundred gold coins.
Shen Lang said, “The house has to be big and grand. The walls must be thick, and the fence must be high.”
“Sure,” said his father.
Meanwhile, Shen Jian, Shen Lang’s brother, looked at Shen Lang. In the past, he was a hooligan of the lowest social class. Now, his brother became the son-in-law of the Earl. He had long wanted to leave the small village to see the outside world.
Shen Lang said, “You rest well first, once you recover, I will bring you out there. I will make sure your future is bright.”
“Sure!” Shen Jian was thrilled. “Once I become powerful, I will marry Widow Liu.”
His aspiration was still so noble.
Afterward, Shen Lang’s mother prepared a very delicious meal, even though it was already way beyond lunch hours.
Shen Lang ate a meal happily with his family.
His mother asked the two warriors to join them, but they refused. After moving things, they waited outside the door and ate two pancakes as their lunch.
This was a sign of respect but also a sign of desolation. They were unwilling to stay close to Shen Lang’s family.
Although they were willing to sacrifice themselves to protect Shen Lang, they still looked down on him. Shen Lang also had no right to give them instructions.
Of course, Shen Lang did not have any intentions to suck up to them. If they did not want to join his family for lunch, he let them be.
Even when Shen Lang’s mother offered to make tea for them, Shen Lang told her not to do so. Instead, he told her to give them a cup of plain water each.
Shen Lang made a decision.
He had to find his followers. He did not need many but one or two powerful ones. At critical times, after hearing Shen Lang’s instructions, they would rush over without hesitation. 1
Meanwhile, Shen Lang did not have to attend to things personally. He could simply send others over.
He didn’t like how he had to do everything by himself.
For followers, their loyalty and usefulness were more critical than the quantity.
...
Afterward, Shen Lang brewed medicine for his father. Then, he placed medicine over his brother’s fractured bones and secured his leg with a new bandage.
His parents enjoyed happiness.
Their favorite elder son became so filial and knowledgeable; everything was terrific.
The sun was setting. Shen Lang officially bid farewell to his parents and headed back to the Palace of the Earl.
His mother had tears in her eyes but sent him off with all smiles.
“Shen Lang, your friend, Dumb, is injured. His injury is quite bad, so go and check on him.” 1
Before Shen Lang left, his mother could not resist the temptation to say that.
Dumb was Shen Lang’s only friend in the past. He had protected Shen Lang since he was young.
His brother, Shen Jian, fought with others to protect him. Dumb protected Shen Lang by taking the blows for him.
***
Shen Lang went to Dumb’s house. When he passed by the Maple Leaf Village, the villagers gossiped about him.
They looked at Shen Lang with an extremely complicated gaze.
They did not expect Shen Lang, a useless man, to rise in status and became the live-in son-in-law of the Earl.
In the past, they looked down on him. However, now, he had risen in status and became a person whom the villagers admired.
They were really jealous!
However, when Shen Lang looked at them, everyone started to send smiles of flattery at him.
They were making deductions, though. Shen Lang was kicked out of the Xu Family initially, so he probably would be kicked out of the Palace of the Earl soon and return embarrassedly to his house on the mountain.
The villagers were simple people but also sly.
They were empathizing but did not want others to live such a too-good-to-be-true life.
The best would be that someone else lived a worse life than them so that they could occasionally offer help. This way, they could fulfill their benevolent aspirations and feel satisfied.
Shen Lang went past the place without any intention of stopping by to ask the villagers if they needed help.
He was not the emperor, why did he have to act benevolently?
Shen Lang was not a local. Moreover, he was handsome and was intellectually disabled in the past.
Therefore, not only did villagers look down on him, but they even bullied and isolated him.
Since he was young, many children in the village bullied him.
When that happened, Dumb would block the stones for Shen Lang with his muscular body. Once, he had blocked mud that was thrown at Shen Lang.
Dumb, like Shen Lang in the past, had a low IQ.
Rather, Dumb was like the main male character in “Forrest Gump.” He was more naive and stubborn.
Since he was born, he was slightly abnormal since he was already six kilograms.
When he was born, his mother passed away due to dystocia.
Then, Dumb started to grow at an alarming rate.
Even if he did not have full meals every day, he became 2.1 meters in height when he was 18 years old and looked like a giant.
Nobody knew why he was like that. Both his parents were ordinary, but he was different from other people.
Dumb ate a lot every day, but he put in a lot of effort when working. He was able to take up three to four people’s workloads. Moreover, he was extremely strong.
In summary, he was extraordinary.
Although he was very buff and had a lot of strength, Dumb was very kind and sincere. He would never pick fights with anyone. 1
When others beat him, he would turn around and allow others to hit his back. He never fought back.
When Shen Lang was being beaten up, he would hug Shen Lang and turn his back to let others beat him instead.
Dumb did not live a good life. Three years after his mother passed away, his father married another woman, and they gave birth to a boy.
After that, Dumb was treated like he was not their biological child. If he was not able to work for the family, he would have probably been deprived of food.
Of course, although he could work, he could not eat full meals every day. His stepmother only gave him corn porridge and limited its amount. For the most part, he was starving.
***
Shen Lang’s mother said something happened to Dumb, so Shen Lang rushed over to his house.
Shen Lang arrived at the backyard of Dumb’s house. His family background was decent. His father was a famous hunter and had the position of the leader of the Maple Leaf Village’s civilian army. Therefore, they were living in a three-roomed brick house which had a fence.
“Where’s Dumb?”
After entering his house, Shen Lang did not see Dumb. He only saw Dumb’s stepmother and his brother.
Dumb’s stepmother was stunned when she saw Shen Lang. “Dumber, why did you come?”
Then, she covered her mouth since Shen Lang was dressed luxuriously and had two warriors behind him.
“Dumb went to do some work,” said Dumb’s stepmother, “is there any problems, Shen Lang?”
Went to do some work? Didn’t his mother say that Dumb was in trouble?
“Where is he working at; I will go and look for him,” said Shen Lang, “also, I will pass you some money, make sure he gets a full meal every day, understand?”
Then, he took out a bag of money which was filled with 50 silver coins.
When Shen Lang secured his position in the Palace of the Earl, he would pick up Shen Jian and Dumb. However, Dumb still had to stay at home for some time. One-tenth of the money he gave Dumb’s family was sufficient to allow Dumb to be full.
Dumb’s stepmother’s eyes widened and took over the money bag. She nodded with all her might and said, “Rest assured, Shen Lang, I will make sure Dumb can eat and sleep adequately. I will also feed him meat. Nevertheless, thank you for not forgetting about your friend.
While watching this, Dumb’s brother felt astonished and was jealous. He sneered, “Dumb? He probably died and is thrown into a drain.”
As he said that, Shen Lang’s expression changed and rushed out of Dumb’s house immediately.
***
After 15 minutes, Shen Lang met Dumb in a drain in one of the mountains.
He was emaciated and almost dying. He had blood all over his body.
A person with a 2.1-meter build had become so thin. His chest was swollen, and one could see the marks of broken bones.
However, his eyes were still filled with naivety. After seeing Shen Lang, he looked happy and shouted weakly, “Dumber, you are here? I miss you so much!”
“Yes, I am here.” Shen Lang’s eyes welled up with tears as he said, “What happened to you? Why are you in such a terrible state?”
Dumb said, “My brother is mischievous and messed around with a big shot on the mountain. I saved him and was beaten up severely. A few of my bones broke, and I spat out blood. Father has no money to hire a doctor to cure my injuries, so he put me here.”
After hearing this, Shen Lang’s tears flowed uncontrollably.
Bastards!
What merciless parents!
Dumb’s brother was a terrible person. He bullied Dumb and Shen Lang every day. He either threw soil into Dumb’s food or insects into Dumb’s bed. Moreover, he also went to steal money or create trouble and put the blame on Dumb.
Although he treated Dumb that way, Dumb still protected him.
Now, to save his bastard brother, Dumb was injured, yet his father left him there to die.
“What bastards.”
“I will definitely not let them off!”
***
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