The uncle is a great opportunity for some world-building. What does he trade? Where were his whereabouts? Why was he to be away for so long? Could we preview Dobesq (maybe a souvenir from that?)?
Even if these details are inconsequential, they can give the reader a sense of the characters’ world and their place in it. For example, in the first scene of The Searchers, John Wanye’s character visits his brother’s house on the frontier, talks about hte Civil War, gives gifts to his brother’s children (a cheap gold necklace, a medal awarded to mercenaries) and talks to them about troubles with the Comanche.
Just something to think about.