When the Side Character Gets a System and Travels through Difference Worlds

Ji Li’s mother was the eldest daughter, and she had a younger brother—meaning, Ji Li had a maternal uncle. Tan You was now meeting this man, Shen Cunming. She couldn’t help but compare him to the image in Ji Li’s memory. The last time Ji Li had seen him was when her parents passed away.

Back then, Shen Cunming had been in the prime of his life, but now he had undoubtedly aged a great deal.

Shen Cunming lit a cigarette. "So you really plan on living here from now on?"

He spoke a broken Mandarin, which was just as well since Tan You couldn’t understand the local dialect. Tan You was a complete outsider. Ji Li understood the dialect, but she hadn’t woken up yet. Thus, Tan You was left without even a translator.

Tan You narrowed her eyes. "Yep. My paternal grandparents and I aren’t close, and I was thinking that since I haven’t seen Grandma in so many years, I’ll just stay here and keep her company. It’s a way of fulfilling my mother’s filial duty for her."

Shen Cunming sighed. "Having you stay here will certainly make your grandmother a bit happier. She’s missed your mother all these years. It’s a shame your mom wasn’t fortunate enough... passing away so early with your dad."

Tan You replied, "She’s not with me, but it’s good that she’s with my dad. I’ve managed just fine on my own."

Shen Cunming asked, "What are your plans for the future? What kind of work are you thinking of doing now that you’re back?"

Tan You thought for a moment. "I’m not in a hurry. I want to get familiar with the environment here first. I do have some ideas, but now’s not the right time to talk about them."

Shen Cunming sighed again. "Alright, then. You take your time and think it over. We’re just an ordinary family, so there’s a limit to how much we can help."

Tan You said, "Don’t worry about it. I’ve been on my own for so many years, there’s no reason for everyone to start worrying about me now."

Shen Cunming smiled and stubbed out his cigarette. "Well, your aunt and I will head back for now. You should come by the house tomorrow so you know where we live. Your grandmother doesn’t usually live with us; she prefers staying in the old house."

Tan You replied, "Perfect. I need to go into town tomorrow to buy some things anyway. I’ll come find you there."

She had just taken a look at the living conditions. To be honest, they were far too basic, lacking all the necessities. For instance, on a hot day like this, the guest room didn’t even have a mosquito net.

’When you really think about it, making this place comfortable to live in is going to take a lot of effort.’

After seeing Shen Cunming and his wife off, Tan You sat down across from the old woman. Her maternal grandmother looked at her, smiled, and said something, but Tan You didn’t understand.

Tan You mulled it over for a second. "How about you teach me the local dialect? ’Table’... how do you say that?"

She spent over half an hour learning the dialect from her grandmother. Seeing the old woman start to yawn, Tan You helped her to her room to rest. Before leaving, Tan You made sure to shoo all the mosquitoes out from inside the bed net. As for herself, she simply lit a couple of extra mosquito coils in her own room.

The next day, Tan You was up bright and early, before five a.m. By the time her grandmother got up, Tan You had already made breakfast. She was all too familiar with a rural earthen stove; whipping up a meal was a piece of cake.

At six-thirty, Tan You told her grandmother she was heading to town, then left the house with her phone and wallet. As luck would have it, she ran into Fifth Uncle right as she stepped out.

"Good morning, Fifth Uncle," she said, greeting him in the local dialect. Fifth Uncle blinked in surprise, then a wide smile spread across his face.

"Good morning," Fifth Uncle replied in the same dialect before switching to his clumsy Mandarin to talk to her. "Did your grandma teach you that?"

"Yeah. Otherwise it’d be a hassle for everyone to talk to me," Tan You said with a smile. "Fifth Uncle, are you busy today? If not, I’ll have to trouble you to give me a ride to town. I’m also planning to get a motorcycle, but how do I go about getting a license for it?"

"Also, I’m planning to get licensed for both three-wheeled and two-wheeled motorcycles. I have a feeling I’ll be using a three-wheeler quite a bit in the future."

Fifth Uncle was stunned by her plans. "That’s going to take some time. You can register anytime, but there’s studying involved. It’s not like you can just go and get the license right away."

Tan You replied, "That’s fine, I’m not in a rush. As long as I can get it done within three months."

Hearing that she had a plan, Fifth Uncle relaxed. "That’s good, then. I asked around for you yesterday. Qiangzi from our village runs a repair shop in town, and he also sells used vehicles on the side. He just got a used motorcycle a few days ago. Want me to take you to have a look today?"

Tan You’s face lit up. "Oh, yes! That would save me a lot of trouble."

"But will it take up too much of your time? I have a lot of errands to run today."

Fifth Uncle laughed heartily. "I have business in town today anyway. We can just go about our own things and agree to meet up at your uncle’s place later."

This relieved Tan You. She hated owing people favors. Deep down, she knew that these things were how relationships were built, but her aloof nature just couldn’t help it.

’But now that I’m in a completely new and unfamiliar place, I have no choice but to adapt. I’ll consider these favors I’m racking up as paving the way for Ji Li.’

After Tan You was dropped off at Shen Cunming’s house, her aunt accompanied her to get familiar with the town. She even negotiated the deal for the used motorcycle for her.

However, since Tan You didn’t have her license yet, she could only leave the motorcycle parked at Shen Cunming’s house.

Around noon, Fifth Uncle also arrived at Shen Cunming’s house. One look at his face and Shen Cunming knew his errands hadn’t gone smoothly.

"What’s wrong? The buyers wouldn’t budge?"

Fifth Uncle’s face was grim. "I think they all colluded. Every single one of them offered the same price. To be blunt, we can still make a little profit at this price, but it’s just too little."

Tan You suddenly asked, "Uncle, do you have broadband internet installed at your house?"

Shen Cunming replied, "Yes. Are you thinking of setting up an online store? Little Yu mentioned that before, but it’s hard for a small online shop like that to take off quickly. It won’t solve the immediate problem."

Tan You said, "Yes and no. I’ve learned a bit about shooting videos, so I’ll give that a try. Also, isn’t Little Yu about to start his vacation? I actually have a few things I need his help with. Uncle, could you let him help me out for a few days?"

"It won’t be for long, just two days is enough. I’ll give him a big red envelope for his trouble."

As soon as she heard money was involved, the aunt, who had looked a bit displeased, immediately brightened up. "You silly girl, just treating him to a meal is fine. Why talk about money?"

’If I have Shen Yu work for free this time, I won’t be able to get his help again,’ Tan You thought. ’Forget it, it’s better to talk money. At least when money is involved, there are fewer strings attached.’

Shen Cunming shot his wife a glare. "What money? Just have Little Yu go run some errands for you. His final exams end today. I’ll have him go stay at his grandmother’s place tomorrow."

"It’ll take time for you to get your motorcycle license anyway, so just have Little Yu follow you around during this period. The kid’s grades aren’t great. You’re a graduate from a top university; when you have time, you can tutor him a bit. He’ll be a high school senior in the fall."