TIPS – Chapter 106

Song Jingwei said, “I’ll be going tomorrow.” This was clearly a Hongmen banquet (a trap disguised as a feast). If he let Shen Dongming and Shen Junxi go alone, it would seem like he was washing his hands of it. Since the idea had been his in the first place, he had to oversee it personally in case anything went wrong.

“Alright then, let your mother stay home to watch the baby, and the three of us will go give our birthday wishes,” Shen Dongming said, making the decision final.

The next morning, after finishing breakfast, the three of them didn’t head out too early. They waited until the sun was fully out before leaving with their birthday gifts.

This was Song Jingwei’s second time visiting the Shen family’s main house. The last time had been four days after his wedding with Shen Junxi. Back then, the Shen family’s main branch had treated them with cold indifference and disdain.

“You’ve arrived?” This time, it was Xu Da who opened the door, and he welcomed them in with a cheerful smile—it was obvious he had been instructed to do so by the hosts.

And so, for the first time, Song Jingwei stepped into the main Shen household. Despite being one of the more prominent families in the village, the estate was only a two-courtyard compound and not very spacious, even inferior to their own newly built house.

“Heh.” Shen Dongming saw his daughter-in-law looking around and laughed. “Back then, we thought this was the grandest place around—nothing could be more beautiful than this.” Now, he thought their own home was at least ten times better than this.

“It’s not bad,” Song Jingwei commented. In the countryside, a house like this was already quite decent. He had walked around the village before—many families just had a few rooms to get by, some didn’t even have separate courtyards.

Xu Da, the servant, said, “The old master is celebrating his birthday and has invited quite a few guests. Most of them have already arrived. Once you’re seated, the banquet should begin soon.” They weren’t early, but not late either. Xu Da led them straight to the banquet tables instead of taking them in to greet Old Master Shen.

“Alright, thanks, brother. Just hand these birthday gifts over for us,” Shen Dongming said casually. He didn’t care much about the gifts—he’d rather avoid being interrogated by Old Master Shen, especially since he was bringing his son and daughter-in-law along.

Song Jingwei shared the same sentiment. Judging from the relaxed expression on the young man’s face, he probably didn’t care much for his grandparents either.

“Well… the main seats are already full…” Xu Da said awkwardly, then led them to a regular table. “Please sit here. This spot is still open.”

“That’s fine, that’s fine,” Shen Dongming said easily as he sat down. An empty table was the best—less awkwardness that way. He called to his son and daughter-in-law, “Haha, come, sit down and have some tea.”

After Xu Da left, someone came by with a teapot and cups, and let them pour their own tea.

Shen Junxi took over the task and poured tea for his father and his wife. Shen Dongming took a sip and smacked his lips, saying, “This isn’t fresh tea—it’s old tea from last year.” And it didn’t taste great either.

The young man took a sip after hearing that, and indeed, the flavor and texture were both terrible. He looked at his wife—it was the kind of tea he might take a sip of just to quench his thirst.

Song Jingwei thought to himself, Even though it’s quiet here and no one’s around right now, it doesn’t mean no one will come later. He absentmindedly took a sip and immediately frowned. Lately, he’d only been drinking their home’s carefully roasted premium tea—it had been a long time since he’d tasted anything this bad.

“…If you don’t like it, just leave it. No need to force yourself,” Shen Junxi signed with a smile.

Song Jingwei nodded and put the cup down.

But not long after, Xu Da came over with a big group of people, clearly intending to seat them at the same table. Facing the three already seated, he said awkwardly, “All the other seats are taken. Please make a bit of room here.” Behind him were seven or eight people—so it really did get cramped.

The ten-seat table was packed tightly.

Moreover, they realized that all these new arrivals were unfamiliar faces—they hadn’t seen any of them before. Judging by appearances, they didn’t seem like Shen family relatives either.

Fortunately, since nobody knew each other, they kept to themselves. The newcomers chatted among themselves, and the Shen family stuck to their own conversation.

Eventually, the meal began. Those guests who had seemed refined and polite moments earlier turned into ravenous eaters. It was as if they had come all this way just for the food—everyone’s chopsticks flew like lightning. Any dish that was brought to the table was gone within moments, each person snatching up a piece.

The Shen family’s main branch usually ate in a calm and composed manner, so when they finally picked up their chopsticks to serve themselves, all they saw were empty plates.

By the time the second dish arrived, Shen Junxi, with swift reflexes, managed to grab a bite before anyone else. Normally, he wasn’t this aggressive—but under these circumstances, he had no choice. He gave the first bite to his wife, then, seeing that his father hadn’t managed to get anything, he tried to serve him too—but the plate was already empty. They had to wait for the third dish.

As soon as the third dish arrived, Shen Junxi stood up, rolled up his sleeves, and quickly served a large portion for his father.

“…,” Shen Dongming and Song Jingwei didn’t say anything. They just ate in silence.

Honestly, Song Jingwei didn’t care. If he couldn’t get any food, he simply wouldn’t eat. He was already put off by having to share a table with so many strangers. Still, since the young man was always the first to move and got the food untouched, Song Jingwei ended up eating a bit anyway.

“Stop fussing, you should eat too.” Since more dishes were being served now and the plates weren’t being emptied the moment they hit the table, Song Jingwei told Shen Junxi to sit and eat slowly, not to worry about serving them.

“That’s right, Xi’er, you should eat too, or all the good dishes will be gone,” Shen Dongming added, glancing at the others with clear disdain. So rude. Every time a vegetarian dish came out, no one paid it any attention. But if it was meat, they pounced on it like starving wolves—like they hadn’t eaten their fill in three years. Sometimes they even fought over a piece of meat, two people grabbing onto the same chicken leg, neither willing to let go.

“Mm.” Shen Junxi finally sat down and relaxed a bit. When he thought back to how fiercely he had fought over food earlier, his face flushed red. He wasn’t usually the kind of person to be so rude, but sitting with this group, he simply had no choice. He wasn’t just thinking about his own stomach—it was also for the sake of his father and his wife.

He was the type of man who didn’t care about pride or dignity as long as the people he cared about were well taken care of.

“Eat up,” Song Jingwei said, already full. He occasionally picked out some food for the young man.

Shen Junxi glanced at him with a smile in his eyes, then lowered his head and focused on eating, trying to get enough before the plates were wiped clean again.

Once he was finally full, the rest of the table had also eaten their fill. They wiped their mouths and leaned back with satisfied sighs. Looking around at the other tables, they awkwardly realized that everyone else had eaten with grace and decorum, and many of the dishes were still half-full. Was it really just their table… that had been so barbaric?

Song Jingwei noticed too, but he didn’t feel the slightest bit embarrassed. If this group of people had been seated at any other table, the scene would’ve been just the same. This is what they call “competition breeds motivation”—no competition and the market goes soft, everything starts to decline.

“I wonder when we can leave?” Shen Dongming said. They’d already eaten and drunk their fill, and he noticed the others at the table seemed ready to go as well.

“Let’s wait a little longer.” The Shen family’s main branch wouldn’t let them off that easily. Instead of dragging this matter out endlessly and constantly having it hang over their heads, it was better to cut the knot quickly and settle everything today.

Sure enough, a little while later, the group at their table got up and left after offering their farewells.

The three of them remained at the table for a bit until the servant Xu Da came over and said, “Looks like it’ll still be a while before the guests leave. Please head into the inner room for now. The old master has something he wants to speak to you about.”

“Alright, let’s go,” said Shen Dongming. He glanced at his son and daughter-in-law and added, “Looks like what’s meant to come still came.”

The group entered the inner room, sat down, and waited a long while with tea. After what seemed like most of the other guests had been seen off, the Shen family patriarch finally arrived, taking his time. When he saw them inside, he didn’t even greet them.

Instead, it was Shen Dongming who stood up, and naturally, Song Jingwei and Shen Junxi followed suit.

“Father,” Shen Dongming greeted.

But the old master didn’t respond right away, because at that moment, Shen Dongying arrived in a hurry, followed by Shen Dongqi, who hadn’t left the house since Qingming Festival. Shen Dongying entered and said with fake concern, “Eldest Brother, sorry to keep you waiting. Please sit, Father has something to discuss with all of us.”

Shen Dongqi entered as well and quietly found a seat after hearing this.

Seeing this, Shen Dongming also sat down. He waited until the old master took a sip of tea, then asked, “Father, what is it you want to talk to us about?” He wondered if it had to do with the tomb-sweeping matters.

“If I called you here, of course it’s because there’s something to discuss,” the old master said, glancing at his three sons seated in the hall. “I’m old now. It’s time for me to enjoy my twilight years—don’t you all agree?”

All three sons nodded in unison. “You’re right, Father.” Their father was indeed graying and had lived through most of his life.

“Hm. Your mother and I worked hard to raise you all, helped you marry and start your own families. We’ve toiled most of our lives. Now that we’re old, we can’t work anymore—we need to be taken care of,” the old master said.

“That’s only right, Father. It’s our duty as sons to provide for you,” Shen Dongying immediately chimed in, giving a subtle glance toward the eldest, Shen Dongming. “In the past, when you were younger, it was fine. But now that you’ve reached sixty, shouldn’t we brothers work together to take care of you and Mother?”

Shen Dongqi hadn’t known beforehand what this was about, but upon hearing it, he immediately said, “Of course. Haven’t we been supporting you all these years? We send money home every year.”

He sent a significant amount to the public family account annually—truth be told, he had contributed the most money overall.

“Second Brother is right. You and I have always supported Father and Mother,” Shen Dongying said, turning his gaze to Shen Dongming. “But I wonder how Eldest Brother sees it?”

Back when the main house was dirt poor, they didn’t expect anything from Shen Dongming. He could barely feed his own wife and child, and they had kept their distance from him to avoid being burdened by his troubles. But things were different now. The eldest branch of the Shen family had suddenly become the wealthiest household in the entire Chashan Village. If he didn’t contribute, who would?

Shen Dongming understood now—so this is what it’s about. Without a second thought, he said, “There’s no problem with supporting Father and Mother. We three brothers each contribute our share—I agree with that.”

The main branch of the Shen family was a bit surprised when Shen Dongming agreed so readily, but since he did, that was ideal. His third brother, Shen Dongying, said, “That’s good. The three of us brothers will each do our part to support Father and Mother together.” As for exactly how much the eldest, Shen Dongming, should contribute—that would be up to the old man to decide.

“Ahem.” Just as the old master was about to speak and ask for money, Shen Dongming quickly said, “Exactly, exactly! So let’s hurry and invite the village head over to help us divide up the support money and calculate how much each of us should contribute.”

The main branch of the Shen family was stunned. The old master asked, “This is our family’s private matter—what does the village head have to do with it?”

Shen Dongming replied with confusion, “Isn’t the amount of support based on how much land each of us received during the family division back then? At the time, our family received three mu of land, which was one-tenth of all the family’s farmland. Other than those three mu, we got nothing else. So based purely on the land, I should only be responsible for one-tenth of the support. But there were also houses and silver included in the division, which means even one-tenth might be too much.”

Looking at the stunned expressions on his father and brothers’ faces, Shen Dongming gave a simple, honest smile and scratched his head. “But of course, I’m not that stingy—I won’t fuss over this with my brothers. Whatever my brothers contribute, I’ll contribute the same.”

Only then did the main branch of the Shen family breathe a sigh of relief. This eldest son really isn’t easy to fool. But then again, for someone who’s supposedly not easy to fool, he still said something like “I’ll give as much as my brothers give,” which was just…

Incredibly naïve.

“In that case,” said Shen Dongying boldly, “Second Brother and I will each contribute five taels of silver per month to support our parents.”

“Five taels?” Not only Shen Dongming, but even Shen Dongqi’s eyes widened. He had assumed that one tael a month would be the maximum, but to his shock, his third brother opened his mouth and asked for five.

The moment he heard Shen Dongying bring this up, Shen Dongqi understood—they were teaming up to get money from the eldest. And honestly, the reasoning wasn’t bad: now that the eldest brother was wealthy, he should be contributing. But five taels? That was outrageous. That would be sixty taels a year—six hundred taels in ten years. With the three brothers together, that would be eighteen hundred taels in a decade for their parents’ private savings.

“That’s right—five taels isn’t too much, is it?” Shen Dongying felt the same way—it was a lot, which was perfect. He added, “Even though we’re giving this money to Father and Mother, in the end, won’t it go to our children and grandchildren? We shouldn’t be stingy.” He was thinking of He-ge’er from the third household. Their parents doted on him so much that the money would surely go to the third branch in the end. As for the second branch—well, unless Second Brother’s wife could manage to bear a child, they’d be out of luck.

“Five taels a month isn’t too much?” Shen Dongming muttered. “I’ve lived nearly fifty years and never heard of anyone giving five taels a month in support. Maybe five a year, sure.” In a regular village family, even five taels per year would be rare, let alone per month.

“Big Brother, just now you swore you’d give however much we give,” said Shen Dongying, leisurely. “Surely you’re not going to go back on your word already?”

“I’m not trying to go back on it. It’s just that five taels is way too much. Our family expenses are already more than our income—where are we supposed to find that much silver?” Shen Dongming said. He wasn’t stupid; he wasn’t going to just hand over whatever amount they asked for. Especially now that every part of the household was spending money—just the tea plantation and lotus pond his daughter-in-law was managing had already cost a lot. If they were going to pay support, it would be with their own earnings, not by asking his daughter-in-law for money.

“You just said you’d match whatever we gave,” Shen Dongying said, his tone darkening. He glanced sideways at their father, hinting at his support.

“Eldest,” said the old master at last, “Just speak plainly—how much are you willing to give?” His expression clearly suggested he didn’t believe the eldest would offer much.

Faced with that question, Shen Dongming paused to think. Since his son and daughter-in-law were sitting beside him, he leaned closer and quietly asked for their opinion.

Shen Junxi was well-suited to help with a matter like this, though Song Jingwei remained silent—if he spoke up, the main branch would definitely make a fuss. And it wasn’t time to start fighting just yet.

The young man subtly gestured the number one to his father. Shen Dongming hesitated. Dropping from five taels to one—would they even accept that? One tael was still a considerable sum.

“Father,” he finally said, having decided to follow his son’s advice, “I’m willing to contribute one tael of silver per month.”

That sounds about right, thought Shen Dongqi. That was exactly what he had in mind too. But the old master and Shen Dongying were clearly not satisfied. They both looked displeased with the amount.

With a heavy tone, Shen Dongying said, “Big Brother, you’re worth tens of thousands of taels, yet you’re only willing to give one tael? Seems like Father and Mother don’t mean much to you.”

“How could you say that, Third Brother?” Shen Dongming retorted. “My household doesn’t have tens of thousands of taels. That’s all my daughter-in-law’s money, not ours.” Then he asked, “Or are you saying that Third Sister-in-law’s dowry doesn’t count as her private money, but instead should be considered the collective property of your entire branch?”