TFS – Chapter 63 Searching for Someone

Wang Ying treated the two children, Ah Lin and Ah Sen, much better than Tang Chunming did. As soon as he arrived, he took over the responsibility of caring for Ah Sen without requiring Tang Chunming to intervene. Feeling a bit left out, Tang Chunming retreated to the kitchen to chop lamb meat for dumpling stuffing. He planned to prepare a meal of lamb dumplings once Ah Rong arrived.

When Tang Chunrong arrived, he was envious of Da Mao and Er Mao, who could attend school right at their doorstep. In their village of Zhenshan, there wasn’t yet the means to establish a proper school. Hearing that his future brother-in-law was leading people into the mountains made him even more envious. However, knowing he didn’t have the time or energy to join them, he could only look forward to enjoying a hearty meal of wild game brought back by his brother-in-law.

Seeing his younger brother looking healthy, Tang Chunming felt relieved. “Remember to eat the jam I gave you every day—it’s good for your health. You’ve grown quite a bit taller this year,” he remarked.

Since Tang Chunrong didn’t live with him, Tang Chunming couldn’t let him regularly benefit from the products of his spatial space. The jam was the best alternative. Fortunately, the jam tasted excellent, and the children, especially Ah Lin, loved it. Tang Chunming himself had tried it—it was made by crushing the fruits from his spatial space with spiritual power, then slowly simmering them into jam. As for where the fruits came from, he attributed them to Li Feng. This way, neither his stepmother nor Tang Chunrong dared to question Li Feng about it. Even Wang Ying merely expressed her gratitude for troubling Li Feng.

Hearing his brother say he had grown taller, Tang Chunrong was delighted. “Don’t worry, Brother. I’ve been eating it every day, and so has Mother. He even said his health has improved a lot this winter. Brother, are we only having dumplings today? No spicy lamb hotpot?”

Tang Chunrong was longing for the spicy lamb hotpot. Ever since Tang Chunming began butchering sheep, he would send some lamb meat to their village from time to time. Tang Chunrong had been eating so well that his cheeks were now glowing red.

“Of course, we’ll have hotpot too. I’ve been keeping you in mind. Before Ah Feng left, he even sliced the lamb and stored it for us. Plus, the tofu that Elder He made a few days ago has been frozen, so we can use it too.”

Elder He, now enjoying a leisurely life, loved to keep himself busy with various tasks, and making tofu was one of his favorites.

Feeling a bit embarrassed, Tang Chunrong scratched his head. He thought it was inappropriate for a grown man like him to be so focused on food, just like Ah Lin and the others. But his brother’s cooking was truly delicious. No wonder the shop in town was thriving—his brother was becoming more capable by the day.

After Tang Chunrong left the kitchen, Tang Chunming thought for a moment and decided to take a fish out of his spatial space. He planned to slice it into fillets and prepare a dish of sour fish soup. The homemade pickled vegetables were already ready to eat, and even Ah Lin loved the dish, let alone the adults.

In the menu Tang Chunming had once given Teng Yu, there were recipes for boiled fish and sour fish soup. As a result, Teng Yu became fixated on the pond behind their house. Thankfully, the fish in the pond weren’t large—the heaviest ones weighed no more than a pound. Frustrated, Teng Yu temporarily gave up but promised to place an order for a batch of fish at the end of the year.

When all the dishes were finally set on the table, Elder He, as per usual, brought out some wine and even poured a small cup for Tang Chunrong, who was still a half-grown boy. Naturally, Wang Ying wasn’t left out either.

As Elder He put it, Tang Chunrong was the only boy in the family and would one day have to take over as the head of the household. How could he not know how to drink? And so, they all began drinking.

Tang Chunming and Li Feng had both personally experienced the effects of drinking this wine. It didn’t cause any hangovers, and even if they drank a little too much the night before, they would wake up feeling refreshed and clear-headed the next day. Because of this, they didn’t stop Elder He from drinking it, though they did limit the amount he could have. Elder He enjoyed a small drink of it every day, and the wine became his favorite indulgence. That’s why Tang Chunming often said the wine brewed this time wouldn’t be sold—truthfully, it was because Elder He wanted to keep it for himself.

Dashan had also gone into the mountains, so naturally, Tang Chunming invited Zhang Xiu to join them for the meal. Da Mao and Er Mao, being frequent visitors, didn’t need an invitation when there were good dishes on the table—they would stay for meals on their own accord. Elder He and Tang Chunrong drank together while discussing Tang Chunrong’s studies, and Zhang Xiu chatted with Wang Ying and Tang Chunming.

“Did you hear? The younger Ge’er of Li Conggen’s family has been betrothed, and he’ll be married off next year,” Zhang Xiu said.

“The younger Ge’er from Li Conggen’s family?” Tang Chunming was momentarily stunned before realizing who he was talking about. That family, especially the younger ge’er, had stopped pestering him and Li Feng after being rebuffed several times. Initially, he hadn’t made the connection, but he later learned that the village chief and elders from the Li clan had intervened, which was why his family had been left in peace. Remembering how that younger ge’er had once targeted Yu Mu and the others, Tang Chunming became curious.

“Who did they settle on? Was it finalized so quickly? Are they really giving up this time?”

Wang Ying also perked up his ears to listen. No matter what, Li Feng’s uncle’s family was involved, and if it weren’t for the fact that many villagers now depended on Li Feng and his stepson, cutting ties with that family wouldn’t have been so easy. Given their current relationships, he didn’t want anyone dragging his stepson down.

Meanwhile, Ah Lin couldn’t have cared less about any of this. He was focused on eating fish fillets from his bowl, alternately complaining about the spiciness and insisting on eating more. His little mouth had turned completely red. At first, Tang Chunming had been reluctant to let him eat spicy food, but it turned out Ah Lin loved it. After every meal, Tang Chunming would make him drink a big glass of fruit syrup mixed with water to ease his worry.

“Li Conggen’s family has been spreading the news all over the place these past few days, as if they’re afraid people won’t know their younger ge’er has found a good match,” Zhang Xiu said with a shake of her head.

“They’re saying it’s with a wealthy family in the town, and the bride price alone is fifty taels of silver. You should’ve seen how smug they looked. If you’d been out and about, Ming Ge’er, you’d already know about it.”

Zhang Xiu’s tone was full of disdain. “That family has been hinting that Li Feng isn’t supporting them and that they won’t grovel to curry favor. Now they’re claiming their new son-in-law will take care of them, and accusing the clan of favoring Li Feng while neglecting them. It’s amazing they can say such things with a straight face. Shameless, really.”

“Another wealthy family from town? How many rich families are there in town anyway?” Tang Chunming shuddered.

“First it was the Shen family causing a mess and breaking off the engagement, then a matchmaker came to my house trying to arrange a marriage with another ‘wealthy family.’ Now, every time I hear the phrase ‘wealthy family,’ I get goosebumps.”

Zhang Xiu and Wang Ying exchanged amused glances. They fully understood Tang Chunming’s sentiments. Zhang Xiu continued, “We’re not sure which ‘wealthy family’ it actually is. According to Li Conggen’s family, the groom’s family owns countless shops and vast lands. Supposedly, they’re so rich they’ll never run out of money. Once their younger ge’er marries in, their entire family will live in luxury. Honestly, I think they’re just boasting. If this family were truly so incredible, why would they take an interest in their son? And why would they take the whole family in to share the wealth?”

Zhang Xiu scoffed at the notion.

Tang Chunming didn’t believe such talk either. He shook his head and dismissed it, thinking that no matter who that young man married, it had nothing to do with him or Li Feng. If the family left Ping Shan Village, it would actually be a good thing. After all, with that family in the village, both he and Li Feng found it bothersome. For Li Feng, they were both family and enemies. He couldn’t do anything to them, so he just ignored them, but it was uncomfortable having them always hovering in front of him.

After dinner, since Li Feng wasn’t home, Tang Chunming and his stepmother went to bed early. Tang Chunrong stayed with Elder He, while Wang Ying, Tang Chunming, Ah Lin, and Ah Sen shared a bed. Just as they had settled down, the sound of loud knocking echoed from the courtyard gate. Little Hua and the others were soon awake. Tang Chunming listened carefully and could faintly hear the sounds of dogs barking from other households in the village. Who could be knocking at the door so late at night?

“Mother, stay lying down. I’ll go see who’s knocking this late.” Reluctantly, Tang Chunming crawled out of the warm bed, threw on a thick cotton coat, opened the door, and stepped outside. The cold wind made him shiver. He couldn’t help but think how lucky he was not to have gone to the mountains, as he really wouldn’t be able to handle such cold weather. The door across the courtyard also opened, and Tang Chunrong came out. “Brother, who could it be at this hour? Let’s go see together.”

“Alright, let’s go. Little Hua, follow along. Xiao Hei, Xiao Dai, stay home.” Tang Chunming silenced the barking dogs and took Little Hua with him toward the courtyard gate.

“Who’s there? Who’s knocking at the door so late?” The door was still being pounded, and Tang Chunming shouted grumpily from outside.

“It’s me, open the door quickly…”

The voice sounded somewhat familiar. Tang Chunming couldn’t immediately recognize who it was. As he approached and opened the door, he furrowed his brow in confusion. “Sun Ge’er? And what’s going on here? What’s the matter?” No one likes being woken up from a warm bed in the middle of the night.

“Ming Ge’er, please, please give me back Goudan. Where is Goudan? Please, let him out…”

“Hey, who are you? Who’s this Goudan? Why are you coming to my brother’s house asking for someone?” Seeing a half-collapsed young Ge’er trying to rush toward his brother, Tang Chunrong quickly stepped in front of Tang Chunming and angrily glared at the visitor. What on earth was going on? He was completely confused.

Not only him, but even Tang Chunming was perplexed. He didn’t look at the young man, who seemed to be on the verge of a breakdown, and instead addressed the villagers who had come with him. “What’s going on here? Why are you coming to my house asking for someone? What do you mean by telling me to give Goudan back?”

One of the villagers who had come with them quickly grabbed Sun Ge’er, and another man, Qian Defu, who had been running over, arrived panting and said, “Goudan ran out and hasn’t been seen all day. He insists that Goudan came to your house. I’m really sorry, Ming Ge’er, did you happen to see Goudan?”

Qian Defu’s face looked extremely grim. Without waiting for Tang Chunming to respond, he turned and angrily scolded Sun Ge’er, “You go back now! I’ll go look for Goudan. What’s the meaning of you showing up at someone’s door in the middle of the night asking for someone?”

This senseless behavior made Tang Chunming very displeased. He had never owed Sun Ge’er anything, so why was he acting like this was a debt collection? “If it weren’t for the fact that you’re pregnant and have lost your son, I’d report you to the authorities for slander. What does your missing child have to do with me?”

“Ming Ge’er, don’t listen to his nonsense,” the villagers who had come along were also startled by his words. “We couldn’t stop him, so we followed. We don’t understand why he insists on coming to your house to look for someone.”

“Please…” To Tang Chunming’s surprise, Sun Ge’er acted as though he hadn’t heard the explanation. He struggled to kneel down, saying, “I know I’m at fault. I didn’t teach Goudan well, but he’s just a six-year-old child…”

Tang Chunming was furious, “What’s this supposed to mean? You’re going after a six-year-old child and bringing him here?!” He ignored Qian Defu, who was trying to pull Sun Ge’er back, and stopped Ah Rong from getting involved. It was pointless trying to reason with these people. As he looked around, he saw more people arriving, and walked toward them.

The group approaching with torches was led by the village head. When they saw Qian Defu and his son, they immediately began scolding them. Shen Fulang also followed and explained the situation to Tang Chunming, who then vaguely started to understand what was happening. Of course, this was also because Shen Fulang wasn’t sure what had happened in the Qian family to make a child not come home so late at night.

“So this child didn’t return home for dinner and hasn’t been seen since? Why then did he come running to my house looking for someone? And all he does is cry—what good is crying? Isn’t finding your son more useful than crying?” Tang Chunming scolded, annoyed, and put the blame for the lost child on them. He couldn’t understand how a mother could let a child end up like this. If a mother could raise a child like that, it was no surprise the child turned out this way.

“Get someone to take him back home and keep an eye on him!” Shen Fulang, also furious, was the village head’s husband, so his words carried weight. He called on several Ge’ers to forcefully take Sun Ge’er back home. Given the situation, they had to have someone help keep watch, so they also decided to get Hu Langzhong involved.

Seeing that there was no way to sleep for now, Tang Chunming went back inside, put on his cotton jacket, and told his stepmother and Elder He, who had also been disturbed, what had happened. Since Ah Rong didn’t want to stay home, he decided to take him along. He went with Shen Fulang and the others to see if he could help in any way. As he said, though he didn’t particularly like that child, he certainly didn’t have any intention of hurting a child. Ultimately, the child’s poor behavior was still a reflection of the parents’ responsibility.

Tang Chunrong followed his brother, watching as Tang Chunming questioned a man who seemed to be from the child’s family. Tang Chunrong was also not happy about the injustice his brother was being subjected to.

“You tell me, what happened that made your ge’er come to my house to ask for someone? How are we supposed to find anyone if you don’t explain? It’s late at night, and where are we supposed to go to look for someone? And with this cold weather, a little child running out could easily get frostbite—that’s just the least of the problems,” Tang Chunming asked Qian Defu, his tone sharp. He completely ignored the look on Qian Defu’s face, which seemed ready to devour someone.

When the village head heard Tang Chunming’s question, he turned around and sternly ordered Qian Defu to explain everything. Though the child had caused a lot of headaches for the villagers, they couldn’t just ignore his life, which was why they had come out searching at this late hour.