TIPS – Chapter 119

Shen Junxi said that their water vat at home was full of loaches, and every day they used them to make porridge for the baby. They also had crucian carp and other fish—more than they could finish eating.

After hearing that, Song Jingwei said, “No wonder the baby is growing so fast. Good nutrition really helps. But you can’t just feed him fish and meat every day. He should also have some radishes and vegetables.” It was actually Song Jingwei who had suggested adding carrots to the porridge, because of their high nutritional value and rich vitamins.

“Mm.” Even though he didn’t know how his wife knew all this, Shen Junxi had always respected his opinions. When it came to raising the baby, they always took his suggestions into account. There were some things the Shen couple had been used to doing, but later changed after Song Jingwei’s advice. As long as it made sense, they accepted it.

After netting fish for around half an hour, Song Jingwei looked into the bamboo basket—it already held quite a harvest. Glancing up at the sky, he saw the last rays of sunlight lingering and said, “This should be enough. We can come again next time if we want more.”

“Mm.” Shen Junxi cast one last net and tossed the unfortunate shrimp into the basket.

As they walked home, the hired workers in the fields had also finished for the day. Shen Dongming spotted them and came over with a big grin. When he saw the big baby strapped to his son’s back, his smile grew even wider. “Our little Benben came too?”

“Yeah, say hello to Grandpa,” Song Jingwei said, taking Benben’s tiny hand and waving it toward Shen Dongming. Then he smiled and added, “Dad, we’re heading back. Do you want to come with us?”

“Sure! We just finished up as well,” Shen Dongming said, wiping the sweat from his forehead. Since he was covered in mud and grime, he didn’t reach out to hold his grandson. He just kept a little distance and played with Benben from afar.

“Ah—” Benben waved his little hands, joining in on the conversation.

“Hahaha, Grandpa’s little Benben wants to talk, huh?” This little rascal had been going “ah ah ah” for a while now, but no matter how hard Shen Dongming or Yang Shi tried to teach him, he just wouldn’t speak real words.

Song Jingwei gently patted his son’s head and said, “I don’t think he’ll start talking that soon—maybe by the end of the year.” He wasn’t experienced in this, so it was just an educated guess.

“Alright, let’s head back.”

The family of four walked along the field ridge in a line—Shen Dongming in front, Shen Junxi in the middle carrying the baby, and Song Jingwei at the rear. The young man in the middle would occasionally glance back to make sure his wife hadn’t fallen behind, then continue walking at ease.

When they got home, Yang Shi was already rinsing rice and preparing dinner. Seeing the loaches and shrimp they’d caught, she asked, “How do you want to cook these?”

“Let’s make the shrimp with pepper and salt. Can the loaches be fried?” Song Jingwei suggested.

Yang Shi nodded. “Of course, fried loaches taste the best.” Smiling, she took the bamboo basket and left.

“I’ll help trim the shrimp whiskers,” Song Jingwei said, grabbing a pair of scissors and enthusiastically getting to work.

As soon as Shen Dongming got home, he went to bathe and vanished from sight. Shen Junxi took the baby off his back but still had to hold him himself—everyone was busy and no one else could help with the baby. In the Shen household, he was the one who looked after Benben the most. Even Yang Shi would toss the baby to him whenever she had a free moment.

“Hurry and take Benben to pee. You two were out for quite a while—be careful or he might pee on you,” Yang Shi said as she came out with a basin of water, handing it to Song Jingwei to toss in the trimmed shrimp.

Song Jingwei was a bit slow in trimming the shrimp. Not only did he snip off the whiskers, but he also removed the visible shrimp intestines—that dark line along the back, which was actually the shrimp’s waste tract. He made a small incision with a knife and pulled the black thread out.

“We need to do all that?” Yang Shi asked in surprise. They had never cleaned shrimp like that before.

“It’s not hard to remove anyway,” Song Jingwei replied, then glanced at the loaches she was handling. “How do we deal with these?” He’d eaten a lot of fried loaches before, but never handled live ones himself.

Yang Shi sprinkled salt over them and said, “Rub them with salt to wash off the slimy coating on the outside.”

“Don’t need to gut them?”

“Nope,” Yang Shi laughed. “If we had to gut these slippery things, we wouldn’t be done before dawn.”

“Oh.” Song Jingwei nodded in understanding and continued trimming shrimp with full concentration.

By the time everything was ready, night had already fallen. Yang Shi took the prepared ingredients into the kitchen to start cooking and said to her daughter-in-law, “You go rest inside now. I’ve got this.”

“Mm.” Song Jingwei shook the water off his hands and noticed a strong fishy smell clinging to him.

Shen Junxi handed Benben to his father, Shen Dongming, to look after. Then he stepped outside and saw Song Jingwei sniffing his sleeve, and couldn’t help but laugh. Walking over, he gestured and said, “I’ll heat some water—time for your bath.”

“Good idea.” Song Jingwei quickly headed toward their courtyard to get cleaned up before the food was ready.

Inside, Shen Junxi lit the oil lamp, grabbed a leisure book, and sat at the table to wait.

“Phew, I feel so hot after that bath,” Song Jingwei muttered as he came out of the washroom, shaking out his linen underclothes that clung to his body. He was sure he’d dried himself properly—the stickiness must be from fresh sweat.

“……” Seeing him come out, Shen Junxi quickly put down the book in his hands. He gestured as he spoke, “Was the water too hot?”

“Yeah.” Song Jingwei mimicked his gesture, repeating the motion for “too hot.” Although he had been living with Shen Junxi for a long time now, it was the first time he was learning sign language.

“……” Shen Junxi pressed his lips together in a smile, gazing at him affectionately.

“It’s getting late. Let’s go out and eat,” Song Jingwei said, though he didn’t move. Instead, he picked up a big palm-leaf fan and started fanning himself vigorously.

The young man stared at him steadily—at the flawless face after his bath, at the black hair dancing in the breeze—watching as if he could never get enough, without blinking once.

As the room gradually cooled, Song Jingwei slowed down his fanning. When he noticed the youth still looking at him, he met his gaze briefly. Sitting quietly across from him, the young man looked gentle and composed, even a bit obedient. His youthful features made him seem no older than twenty-one or twenty-two. It was hard to believe he was already a father.

But that was only surprising from Song Jingwei’s modern perspective. In his time, men often married close to thirty, and even then, might not yet have children. But in ancient times, it wasn’t unusual to be a father at fifteen or sixteen—so it wasn’t really comparable.

He gradually stopped fanning and set the fan aside, his gaze still fixed on the young man.

Under that direct gaze, Shen Junxi was the first to falter. He looked away.

“You’re very introverted.”

“……” Hearing him speak, Shen Junxi turned his face back, looking at him with a bit of confusion in his eyes.

“I mean, you get shy really easily,” Song Jingwei explained.

“……” Shen Junxi’s face flushed instantly red, but his expression stayed blank, as if refusing to acknowledge the truth in those words.

Seeing him pretend like nothing happened again, Song Jingwei couldn’t help but smile. He walked over, braced one hand on the table, and leaned down to say, “No need to be nervous. I didn’t say that’s a bad thing.” He actually liked genuine reactions. A person who blushes easily couldn’t be that bad inside.

Shen Junxi’s eyelids fluttered slightly as he continued to look at him—only to realize that his wife’s face was getting closer and closer…

When they were just a couple centimeters apart, Song Jingwei stopped. He looked directly into Shen Junxi’s eyes and softly asked, “Do you want me to kiss you?”

“……” Shen Junxi didn’t even dare breathe too heavily, afraid to disturb the delicate atmosphere. In the end, he stiffly nodded and responded, “Mm.”

Then his chin was lifted, and a soft sensation pressed gently against his lips. Song Jingwei tilted his face and kissed him tenderly.

“Open your mouth…” Song Jingwei whispered, slipping his tongue gently through the parted lips, softly exploring.

As he felt Shen Junxi’s lips and tongue tremble under his touch, Song Jingwei also examined his own emotions. Was there any reluctance, any resistance in kissing this man? But he found that the kiss came entirely naturally. If he had felt even a trace of aversion or discomfort toward Shen Junxi, he would never have made such a move in the first place.

After a while, their lips parted, and the space between them grew slightly, but they were still close enough to hear each other’s breathing. Their eyelashes were just centimeters apart. Shen Junxi reached up and gently caressed the other’s face. That soft, warm touch sent a shiver through his whole body.

Song Jingwei noticed Shen Junxi’s eyelashes fluttering beneath his gaze, unsure what he was thinking.

“Let’s go out,” he said softly, straightening up and tidying his clothes in preparation to leave the room.

As the warmth beside him was suddenly withdrawn, Shen Junxi instinctively reached out to hold him back—only to meet his wife’s amused gaze. Embarrassed, he pulled his hand back quickly.

“Mm.” He responded quietly.

He stayed still for a while longer before finally stepping out with him. But after that brief kiss just now, it felt as though the distance between them had closed in an instant. A subtle, ambiguous atmosphere now lingered between them.

Shen Junxi really enjoyed that feeling—it made his heart feel sweet and full.

It was different from that kiss months ago. Back then, although his body had been stirred, his emotions hadn’t been sweet at all—if anything, it had been bittersweet. He had known why Song Jingwei suddenly kissed him—it was nothing more than a gesture of comfort. So that kiss, in the end, had brought him more sorrow than joy. He rarely thought about it.

After bringing Song Jingwei back home, Shen Junxi never dared expect that he would immediately start treating him well.

So today’s kiss was a surprise—and a very sweet one.

When they sat at the table to eat, Shen Junxi handed over Benben, whom he usually fed, to Yang Shi. He gestured to his mother and said, “Mom, please feed him tonight.”

“Sure,” Yang Shi agreed with a smile. She had fed him a few times recently and was used to it by now.

“The shrimp and fried loaches tonight are delicious,” Shen Dongming said as he ate, praising the food. Then, smacking his lips a little greedily, he added, “It’d be even better with some wine.”

Yang Shi scolded, “Stop dreaming! You’re never allowed to drink again in this lifetime.” But in truth, she knew her husband still sneaked out to drink now and then.

Of course, everyone in the family knew Shen Dongming sometimes snuck out for a drink. But no one made a fuss—they all turned a blind eye. As long as he didn’t overdo it, no one would say anything. After all, everyone needs a couple of hobbies in life. To completely cut someone off from what they enjoy—it wasn’t realistic.

Song Jingwei and Shen Junxi knew too. They simply smiled without saying a word.

“……” In the blink of an eye, Shen Junxi placed a shrimp on Song Jingwei’s plate.

“You have one too,” Song Jingwei responded, placing one back for him.

“……” The Shen couple exchanged glances at the dinner table, grinning mischievously. Watching their son and daghter-in-law get along better and better truly made them happy.

Shen Junxi was happy too. He carefully picked up the beautiful, precious shrimp and, reluctantly, ate it in one bite.

“What’s wrong with that shrimp?” Song Jingwei asked when he saw his reaction.

“Mm…” Shen Junxi shook his head and quickly popped it into his mouth. He understood one thing: if he hesitated too long to eat the shrimp, his wife wouldn’t give him a second one. But if he ate it promptly, there was a good chance another would come his way.

“Try the loach.” Song Jingwei picked up a fried loach and placed it on his plate.

“Mm.” Shen Junxi smiled with crinkled eyes, slowly eating the loach. He nodded and gestured, “Dad was right—it’s delicious.” Then he turned to Yang Shi and signed, “Mom, your cooking is amazing.”

His flattery pleased both Shen Dongming and Yang Shi, and the whole family enjoyed a warm, joyful meal together. These dishes had all come from their own hands—they had raised the ingredients, caught them, prepared them, and cooked them themselves. That kind of food brought an especially deep satisfaction and an unmatched taste. At least for Song Jingwei, no meal he’d eaten in a hotel ever tasted this fulfilling.

“Ah… ah…” Benben began calling out, banging a small spoon on the table.

“Benben’s hungry too? Want some shrimp?” Shen Dongming chuckled and tried to give his eldest grandson a shrimp.

But Yang Shi scolded him, “Don’t stir him up! He’s already playful enough! Now you’re teasing him again?” Sure enough, when she took the shrimp back, Benben pouted and was about to cry.

“Here, baby wants this.” Song Jingwei picked up a two-inch-long veggie stalk and handed it to Benben.

Benben immediately grabbed the veggie stalk and stopped crying. He gnawed on it with gusto because it had a salty flavor. He happily chewed away and finished it in no time.

“He’s got teeth!” Everyone was surprised for a moment but quickly calmed down. Benben’s little teeth were surprisingly sharp. “Give him another one.”

Seeing this, Shen Junxi also picked out a stalk for his son, but Song Jingwei chided him, “That one’s too thick and too long—it could choke him.”

“Mm…” Shen Junxi had to eat that one himself and picked a thinner, shorter piece instead.

Benben liked chewing in small bites, so there wasn’t any risk of choking.

“Alright, you all eat your own food. Stop bothering Benben,” Yang Shi said with some helplessness, watching as her grandson was so focused on chewing the stalk that he ignored the carp porridge she was feeding him.

“Okay.” Song Jingwei focused on eating and didn’t give the baby any more food. He smiled at little Benben, who looked up with eager eyes and said gently, “You stick to your porridge, okay? When you’re older, I’ll let you eat with us, alright?”

Little Benben could only gaze longingly at the dinner table while nibbling on his not-salty-enough fish porridge.

After dinner, Song Jingwei carried Benben. Shen Junxi helped Yang Shi tidy the table and brought the dishes into the kitchen to wash.

Yang Shi tied on her apron as she spoke, “Now that your wife is back, do you have any plans?”

Shen Junxi, who was just about to leave the kitchen, paused. After thinking for a moment, he shook his head and signed to his mother, “Are you asking about work in the fields, or something else?”

“You silly child.” Yang Shi gave him an annoyed look. “Of course I’m talking about your wife! Do you need to make plans for the farm work? Your father’s here for that. You just need a couple more years of learning. And even if not, you’ve got your wife now.” Yang Shi never had high expectations when it came to her scholarly son doing farm work.

Actually, Shen Junxi wasn’t bad at it, but he didn’t want to argue with his mother, so he let the topic go. Instead, he focused on the question about his wife… Was this really a “problem”? He signed, “I can’t plan. I have no plans. I’ll follow my wife’s lead.”

Yang Shi looked at him, disappointed but not surprised. She said earnestly, “Your wife… I can see he really has feelings for you. Otherwise, he wouldn’t have come back this time. But just because you were lucky this time doesn’t mean you’ll be lucky next time. What you need to do is settle this matter as soon as possible, understand?”

“……” Shen Junxi was quiet for a moment, then signed, “What does it mean to ‘settle it’?”
He felt like things between him and Song Jingwei were going quite well now. If he rushed to make a move, would it disturb the balance they’d just built?

“Obviously, you need to give Benben a younger sibling,” Yang Shi said bluntly. “You know better than I do how Benben came into this world—I won’t go digging. But if you can convince your wife to have another one for you, then he’s yours for life. He’ll never leave. But if you can’t convince him to do that, then he’s not really yours. He could leave you anytime he wants.”