Sensing his younger sister’s unease, Li Dahe glanced at her and said:
“Little sister, don’t worry. Your eldest and second sisters-in-law have already agreed. They’re at home right now clearing out a room for you and the girls.
Our house may not be big, but it can still accommodate the three of you.”
“That’s right. Just stay at home with peace of mind. You’ve got us and Father now. It’s a good thing you got out of that wolf’s den of a Shen family!
At worst, we’ll just raise a few more pigs next year. Do you think we’d let the three of you go hungry?”
Hearing this, Li Liuye finally broke into a smile through her tears. She quickly introduced her daughters:
“Aping, Ali, hurry and greet your grandfather. This is your eldest uncle, and this is your second uncle!”
Because Shen Wenxuan didn’t like his daughters having too much contact with her natal family, she had always returned home alone. The two girls had rarely seen their grandfather and uncles growing up.
Children forget easily—by now, they probably didn’t remember them at all.
So when they heard their mother, the two girls immediately called out their greetings.
Hearing their soft, sweet voices, the three grown men couldn’t help but respond more gently. And so, the group happily rode the ox cart toward Li Village.
The Li family had only ever had sons—how could they not dote on little girls when they finally had them around?
The two brothers, who had always been doting on their sister, instantly turned into doting uncles toward their nieces.
Along the way, Shen Qingli quietly observed her mother’s family. In truth, the Li family didn’t look bad at all. It was just that they all had square faces and dark skin, which made them appear somewhat fierce.
But their features weren’t ugly—just that they were tall and strongly built, and combined with their identity as butchers, people tended to exaggerate their roughness.
Especially when compared to someone like Shen Wenxuan, a frail-looking scholar—the contrast was even more striking.
Shen Qingping looked at her kind grandfather and uncles, her mother and younger sister by her side, and finally felt at ease.
How wonderful—she wouldn’t have to be traded into marriage anymore!
She no longer had to fear being beaten to death.
Even if life at her uncles’ home was difficult, as long as her mother and sister were with her, she wasn’t afraid.
At that moment, Li Liuye suddenly remembered her second daughter’s earlier abnormal behavior and asked with concern:
“Ali, how are you? Does your head still hurt?”
“It doesn’t hurt anymore. I’m fine, Mother.”
“Ali, why were you so strong just now? I remember you usually don’t have much strength.”
Li Liuye looked worried—she even suspected that her daughter might have been possessed by something unclean. After all, it didn’t make sense.
Hearing this, Shen Qingli knew she had to come up with a reasonable excuse—otherwise, it would arouse suspicion.
Just as she was thinking, a voice suddenly sounded in her mind:
【Ding! Little Yellow Fish System activated. Welcome, host, to explore and use it.】
Hearing this, Shen Qingli felt a surge of joy—she wasn’t alone in this.
She quickly tapped around and entered the so-called “Little Yellow Fish System.” Inside, she saw two clear panels: one for buying, and one for selling.
The “buy” interface was filled with items from an interstellar era, while the “sell” interface was currently greyed out, showing that her balance of “little fish coins” was zero.
She glanced at the instructions. It said that as long as she scanned green, pollution-free plants from this world, she could exchange them for fish coins and purchase any items from the interstellar era.
At that moment, Shen Qingli was overjoyed.
She immediately understood the purpose of this system accompanying her into this ancient world.
Things that were ordinary here—a blade of grass, a flower, even a tree—might seem insignificant.
But to the interstellar era, any green plant was a treasure.
Because plants were the nemesis of radiation!
In their interstellar age, vegetation had long since gone extinct.
That was likely why this Little Yellow Fish System existed—not only to give them a chance at rebirth, but also for the future of that distant era.
After taking a quick look, Shen Qingli closed the system and prepared an excuse in her mind.
Then she said softly:
“Mother, Sister… this is a long story. I’ll explain everything after we’ve settled down.”
“Yes, you’re right. Let’s talk about it after we get home.”
And so, the ox cart carried them, bumping along the road back to Li Village.
As soon as they entered the village, people began gathering around, chatting warmly:
“Old Li, you’ve brought your daughter back?”
“Yes, she’s back.”
“Good. Live well from now on. Who cares about that so-called juren? Why should a good girl from our Li Village suffer like that over there?
Girl, live well from now on!”
…
The villagers had already heard about what happened—news had been secretly brought back by another married daughter from the same village.
So everyone supported Old Li’s actions.
Old Li was a butcher—feeding three more people wasn’t a problem. And if needed, each household could spare a bowl of grain—how could they possibly let the three of them starve?
Along the way, Li Liuye and her daughters were met with nothing but kindness and blessings.
Shen Qingli truly felt that this village was far better than Shen Village.
When they finally arrived at the Li household, the grandmother and two aunts were already waiting at the entrance with three cousins.
Seeing the ox cart approach slowly, they waved from afar.
Shen Qingyan noticed that everyone in the Li family wore smiles on their faces. They didn’t see Li Liuye’s separation as something shameful at all.
Instead, they genuinely welcomed them home.
Only then did the mother and daughters exchange glances and finally feel reassured.
After getting off the cart, Grandmother Li grabbed her daughter’s hands, her eyes filled with tears as she looked her over with heartache:
“My Liuye has suffered… you’re home now. You’re finally home.
And you two girls—come, go inside with Grandma. From now on, no one will bully you again.”
And so, they entered the Li household. In the main hall, the old lady introduced everyone one by one:
“Aping, Ali, you’ve already met your uncles, so I won’t repeat that.
This is your eldest aunt, this is your second aunt. This is your eldest uncle’s eldest son, Li Shitou; second son, Li Tietou; and your second uncle’s third son, Li Mutou.”
Hearing these names, Shen Qingli struggled hard not to laugh.
They were honestly quite amusing—Shitou (Stone), Tietou (Ironhead), Mutou (Wood). And they matched their appearances perfectly—clearly taking after their uncles, looking simple and honest.
But considering her uncles were named Dahe (Big River) and Erhe (Second River), these names actually seemed quite normal.
They were probably all named by her butcher grandfather.