At that time, I had just finished school and did not understand the harsh realities of society. In response to their slander, I could only silently shed tears. Because my fourth uncle had instructed me not to speak too much, he would handle it, which made it impossible for me to refute their slander on the spot.

They also said that I often quarreled with my maternal grandfather and cried a lot, affecting the rest of their younger siblings, which is why they temporarily let us stay outside. In fact, they only knew part of the story; my mother had left home early and later divorced. Every time I talked about my mother, I couldn't help but feel sad. My maternal grandfather had no choice but to say to treat her as if she didn't exist, and this negative way of handling things made me emotionally collapse.

That night, my fourth uncle took me back to their home. His home in Zibo was a shabby, low house. He came to Zibo alone to make a living, found a wife, and inherited a bit of his father-in-law's assets. The wife also gave birth to a boy for him. However, he seemed very sensitive about his current life, fearing that others would look down on him.

So, any little disturbance made him feel unbearable. But I had no intention of looking down on him because my family was also quite poor, living in a similar kind of house. However, he still couldn't get over his own psychological barrier.

Entering the house, it was just a large single room, with two beds in the corner and not much furniture. My fourth uncle probably didn't make any money that day and was in a very bad mood. Then he took out his pager and placed it on the table, which he was very proud of.

As a result, he found that I also had something that looked like a pager. I explained that it was just a watch my father bought for me, but it just looked similar. Unexpectedly, he still felt sour and insisted that it was a pager. The more he talked, the more agitated he became, and he started banging on the table, saying, "Why did you leave without saying a word? Didn't you tell your maternal grandfather before you left?"

I said I told my maternal grandfather, and he agreed. I also informed the boss, and he didn't stop me, so I left. My maternal grandfather even said that I didn't need to worry about the money; my fourth uncle would collect it for me.

But my fourth uncle, upon hearing this, thought I was lying, did not acknowledge that his father knew about this matter, and said he had asked his father, who said he didn't know I was leaving.

I don't know why my maternal grandfather didn't speak the truth, but at this point, what else could I say?

My fourth uncle said, "Do you know? Without me, your money would have gone down the drain."

Then he emphasized that their cousin was involved in the underworld, and he had a big loss because of this matter after quarreling with him. He spent half a day dealing with my problems and didn't make any money.

I expressed my gratitude for my fourth uncle's help, while also stating that I was not someone who was only after money; I could still distinguish right from wrong.

As a result, he became even more unhappy and said, "You are the one who is after money; just give me your money."

So I took out all the salary I had just received. He probably didn't expect me to do this, and in the end, he didn't take the money but asked me to pack up.

Perhaps due to drinking, he started saying some unrealistic things. He said, "You didn't do well in school. If you can become the secretary of Zibo, I will bow to you from Zibo to home. If you don't do well, don't come back."

These words were actually quite disheartening. I didn't want to stop studying, but my family was too poor to even afford the tuition for a repeating school, and no one was willing to help me. How could I continue my studies? On this road, no one provided me with information on how to get help. Was it really that difficult to just work and earn some tuition?

Then it was time to rest. The two beds in the room had no partitions, and the light was still on. My fourth uncle insisted that I take off my clothes to sleep. Since I wasn't wearing any underwear and my aunt was next to me, how could I take off my clothes? He didn't consider my feelings at all. Besides, even if I were wearing underwear, it would still be inappropriate to take off my clothes like that.

So I said I would sleep in my clothes. As a result, this made my fourth uncle furious. He thought I was planning to escape in the middle of the night. What kind of logic is that? It's really ridiculous.

He said, "If you don't want to sleep without clothes, just leave here. Go back home."

I wasn't intimidated by such expulsion and immediately picked up my luggage and left the room, preparing to leave. Unexpectedly, when he saw me carrying my luggage, he immediately chased out of the yard, snatched my luggage, and threw it far away, then started saying all sorts of nonsense.

He said, "You are just like your father, stubborn. Even your cousin and brother wouldn't dare to do this here; I've beaten them before."

He said a lot, and I can't remember it all now. In short, he thought that my refusal to take off my clothes meant I wanted to escape in the middle of the night.

I said, "Am I not leaving according to your wishes?"

He became even angrier and repeated what happened today, insisting that everything was a lie and that he didn't believe my words.

In the end, he said he was tired, and we returned to the room. This time he turned off the light as I requested, and I finally went to bed to sleep. His family slept on the other bed, and I didn't know if he slept that night. He probably kept guarding against me. What he didn't realize was that he had been immersed in so many thoughts in society, while I was just someone who had just left school, with a very simple mind, and my words were not worth misinterpreting.

The next day, my fourth uncle's family took me back to their hometown to have a look. My fourth uncle's hometown is Rende Village in Linyi City, which is very close to my home. So this plan was essentially sending me back home.

On the way to Pingyi, my fourth uncle said to go have Mengshan goat soup. So he unilaterally ordered a portion of goat soup for each person and implemented a split bill system. I had no objections to this and voluntarily handed over my share of the meal money. However, this incident became the fuse for the conflict between my eldest uncle and my fourth uncle.

After arriving in Rende Village, my fourth uncle first took me to my eldest uncle's house, then left me to talk with my eldest uncle while he took his wife and children to visit other brothers. When he returned, he saw my eldest uncle talking to me and guessed that I had said something bad about him. In fact, I hadn't said anything bad about him, not even mentioning that my maternal grandfather deliberately denied letting me go. However, he might have felt guilty, so he said, "I only collected your share of the meal money for the goat soup in Pingyi; you don't need to tell your eldest uncle."

I hadn't mentioned this matter at all, yet he directly assumed that I had said it and openly sought justification for his actions. My eldest uncle immediately became angry and scolded him for charging his nephew for a meal, saying he was simply inhumane, and added that his nephew hadn't told him about this matter; otherwise, he would have kicked him out in the morning.

However, my fourth uncle still refused to believe that I hadn't said anything, thinking that I must have stirred up trouble. As a result, this made my eldest uncle even angrier, and he directly kicked him out of the house. My eldest aunt couldn't stop my eldest uncle from doing this.

After kicking my fourth uncle out, my eldest uncle covered his face in pain and first apologized to me on behalf of his brother, saying that his brother was ignorant and that I shouldn't hold a grudge against him; he would teach him a lesson. Secondly, my eldest uncle also shared his tragic experiences, saying that both my fate and his were very tragic, both having parents who divorced when we were young and living a life full of disdain. However, my eldest uncle's way of relieving his life's frustrations was to keep drinking, and my eldest aunt probably didn't provide any correct guidance in these matters. In any case, many years later, he had to have his bladder removed due to alcohol poisoning and, fearing to burden his children, refused further surgery, ultimately leaving this world.