Upon Third Uncle Mu's reminder, Niqiu regretted his words and quickly added, "Our village now has a free school, so the little kids don't have to go to other towns to study, nor do we have to worry about not affording the tuition..."
I didn't avoid the matter of my uncle's family and candidly asked Niqiu, "How is our big house now? Where do they live nowadays?"
Upon hearing my question, Niqiu quickly turned to look at Third Uncle and the Clan Leader. Seeing them nod, he turned back to me and said, "Wen'er, your grandparents died long ago, your uncle went mad over ten years ago, and last year accidentally killed your aunt. This spring, when the river thawed, your uncle fell in and drowned. Now, only your two cousins remain, but both are in poor health and can't do farm work. They've been surviving these years with the village's assistance, living in destitution!"
