'Shu Dà' (叔大) means 'uncle', which is how people here call it.
In the Southern Anhui region, accents change every ten li; a single county can have several accents, and even different villages within the same town might have different terms of address.
Just like Tan Jincheng, when calling his two uncles and their wives (aunts), he doesn't call them 'Shu Dà' (Eldest Uncle) but rather addresses them as 'Èr Dà' (Second Uncle) and 'Sān Dà' (Third Uncle); 'Èr Niáng' (Second Aunt) and Sān Niáng (Third Aunt).
As for why Zhang Qingfeng calls his aunt 'sister', that's a historical issue.
Tan Jincheng's maternal grandfather's elder brother passed away early, leaving the family destitute.
Before even marrying, he had to support two nephews.
In such circumstances, no woman would be willing to marry him.
The maternal grandfather was 13 years older than the maternal grandmother.
The maternal grandmother's family were opera performers, and due to changes in that special era, they were willing to marry her to the maternal grandfather.
But the prerequisite was that the maternal grandfather's family had to provide food and support her.
And so, the maternal grandmother, who wasn't much older herself, often played and did farm work with her "eldest nephews" who were not much younger than her.
Over time, the two nephews always addressed her as 'sister'; however, the two brothers were very respectful to the elderly couple.
For over 50 years, Eldest Maternal Uncle Zhang Qingfeng, except for a few times when he left the county town to repair river embankments, has always lived by tending to his few acres of land at home.
During the off-season, he would go to nearby construction sites, precast slab factories, and similar places to do odd jobs and earn a little money to supplement the household income.
He had a very tough life as a child and even in his youth, but fortunately, all that is in the past, and each family's conditions are slowly improving.
Only the maternal grandfather and maternal grandmother were at home; the two younger cousins who lived with them had gone off to play somewhere.
As for the Eldest Maternal Aunt and the Eldest Cousin's son, they lived at the end of the village; this was the head of the village.
They would probably come over when it was time for dinner.
Tan Jincheng greeted his maternal grandfather and maternal grandmother, which inevitably led to another round of pleasantries, with his maternal grandmother occasionally uttering words like "grown stronger" or "tanned."
Tan Jincheng had a good relationship with his maternal grandmother and deeply admired this little old lady.
After his elder brother passed away, the maternal grandfather was responsible for raising his nephews.
While this was noble in that era, it generally aligned with the mainstream values of the time.
The maternal grandmother, however, was different.
Many who were unwilling to marry the maternal grandfather at the time were more afraid of having to raise two nephews upon marrying into the family, finding the burden too heavy.
Although the maternal grandmother was forced to accept this decision due to family reasons, she had no regrets after marriage and never had a single argument with her two nephews or their wives.
An uneducated old lady, for decades, took on responsibilities she shouldn't have, and maintained an optimistic attitude towards life even in old age.
Such qualities are extremely rare.
Around noon, the Eldest Maternal Aunt arrived, and the younger siblings who had been playing outside also returned.
Seeing their Eldest Cousin back, they were all very happy.
They hadn't seen their Eldest Cousin in over a year.
They heard he went to work on a ship and even went abroad, which was big news.
At the dinner table, they all gathered around Tan Jincheng, asking questions animatedly:
"Cousin, is it fun abroad? What's it like on a ship?"
"Yeah, Cousin, tell us about it."
"Maternal Cousin, how much money did you earn working on the ship?"
The many little faces full of curiosity made Tan Jincheng feel as if a lifetime had passed; the son of his Eldest Maternal Cousin who asked how much he earned, married his university classmate in 2022.
The youngest maternal uncle's child hadn't been born yet, and the thought of this boy later calling a child more than 10 years his junior 'aunt' made Tan Jincheng want to laugh.
Not just these younger siblings, but also Tan Jincheng's parents, and his maternal uncles and aunts, looked at him with some curiosity.
Indeed, since coming home, he hadn't yet told his parents about his experiences during the year of working overseas.
"In that case, let's chat: 'Abroad? It's fun, what do you want to hear?'"
"Cousin, did you see sharks in the sea?"
"Of course I've seen sharks. I even saw someone catch one."
"Don't textbooks say not to catch sharks? Cousin, you're lying, aren't you?"
"But some countries secretly catch them, and we just happened to see it. When you grow up, don't learn from people in those countries; you must not do anything illegal."
"Cousin, how many countries have you been to, and what kind of people have you seen?"
"Hehe, speaking of that, your cousin here is quite impressive. I've been to over a dozen countries and seen people with white skin and black skin."
"Is work on the ship busy or not? How's the food? Are you so tanned because you often work under the sun?"
It was Zhang Suzhi who asked this.
These little kids were only asking strange questions, not what she wanted to know, so she couldn't help but ask.
"Getting tanned is because the UV rays are strong at sea, and sometimes moving cargo and such is unavoidable. As for being busy, it's fine; what job isn't busy? Isn't Dad's job sometimes very busy too?"
"As for the food, Mom doesn't need to worry about that. We weren't a cargo ship; we were an ocean liner, which is like a five-star hotel at sea."
"A hotel has guests, so the food is definitely great. See how much stronger I've gotten."
After saying this, Tan Jincheng even flexed his biceps.
This childish gesture amused Zhang Suzhi.
"What's a five-star hotel, Maternal Cousin?"
"A five-star hotel? Just think of it as the best hotel, a really beautiful building, with delicious food and fun things. Later, Maternal Cousin will take you to experience it."
"Didn't you say it was a ship? How did it become a house again?"
"A house on the sea."
"Oh, Maternal Cousin, you're not tricking us, are you?"
"Haha, guess."
Of course, there was truth and falsehood in these topics, but Tan Jincheng didn't explain.
If he didn't have the soul of a middle-aged man, Tan Jincheng wouldn't be able to chat so casually with his younger cousins.
Actually, for some of the younger cousins currently at home, Tan Jincheng's current age isn't much older than most of them.
The eldest younger cousin was only six years younger than Tan Jincheng, the son of his Eldest Cousin was only ten years younger than Tan Jincheng, and the youngest maternal uncle's child hadn't been born yet.
However, due to living in the countryside for a long time, with most parents working away from home, the children had little exposure, and were left bewildered by the worldly Tan Jincheng.
The meal lasted a long time; adults and children alike listened to Tan Jincheng recount his experiences at sea, such as the wonders he saw there.
What kind of people he met when docking in other countries, and who the guests on the ship were.
After lunch, the adults were busy clearing the dishes, while Tan Jincheng, like a king of kids, called them into the house and started distributing gifts.
This was their favorite part.
This time, Tan Jincheng brought back many gifts, big and small.
They were all inexpensive trinkets, but still quite rare in the countryside.
In his previous life, when he was doing business outside, the young and playful Tan Jincheng always liked to buy gifts for his younger siblings that they hadn't seen much of whenever he returned home.
This was an annual tradition.
Looking at his younger siblings scrambling for gifts, Tan Jincheng smiled; he felt that familiar sensation from his previous life again.
Being the eldest felt pretty good, haha!
In the afternoon, Tan Lihua helped his old father-in-law with farm work within his capabilities, while Zhang Suzhi, who hadn't been back in a long time, chatted with the old lady.
The restless Tan Jincheng took his younger siblings out to play wildly again.
Having finally returned home for a visit, he needed to let loose and relive his childhood.
(End of this chapter)
Note: If this novel gets 300 power stones in a week, I will upload 2 chapters/day for the entirety of the following week.
---------------------
Support me on P@treon
[email protected]/charaz
$3 -> 15 chapters in advance
$5 -> 30 chapters in advance
$10 -> 60 chapters in advance
Check my pinned post on P@treon