TIPS – Chapter 12

The day after the wedding was bright and clear. Early in the morning, Yang Shi got up to tidy up the mess left from the previous day. There were firecracker remnants scattered on the ground, a disheveled kitchen, and a large outdoor stove that still needed to be dismantled. Cleaning it all up was no easy task.

Shen Dongming decided to take the day off from working at the tea plantation. In truth, with all the arrangements needed for his daughter-in-law’s dowry, he likely wouldn’t be able to return to work for some time.

After sweeping up the debris outside, Yang Shi returned to the courtyard and said to her husband, who was moving storage chests, “Go check if the children are awake. I’ll make breakfast.”

“Alright…” Shen Dongming glanced toward his son’s room, its windows tightly shut, still adorned with festive red wedding decorations. Thinking about how his son was now married, he chuckled to himself, put down what he was doing, and slowly made his way over.

“Knock, knock, knock…”

His father’s knocks were always recognizable.

Inside, Shen Junxi propped himself up on one elbow, turning his head slightly to gaze at the sleeping face beside him. Moving carefully, he slipped out of bed, put on his outer robe, and walked to the door.

Shen Dongming peered inside and lowered his voice, “Where’s your spouse?”

Shen Junxi gestured: Still asleep.

His father quickly covered his mouth, nodded knowingly, and sneakily walked away.

At that moment, Song Jingwei was already awake. He sat up, rubbing his face with a sleepy frown. Moving slowly, he reached for a thin outer robe and tied it around himself at an unhurried pace.

Shen Junxi glanced back at him before picking up a wooden basin and heading outside to fetch water. When he returned, he placed the basin on the washstand.

On the stand, the Shen family had prepared fresh cotton face cloths, which looked new. Song Jingwei had initially wanted to retrieve his own toiletries from his belongings, but for the sake of convenience, he decided to just use what was available.

Shen Junxi had been worried that Song Jingwei would turn his nose up at the wooden basin and simple cotton cloths. He knew that his spouse had brought many fine items from the Song family, likely far superior to what the Shen household had. But seeing that Song Jingwei only hesitated briefly before using the provided items, Shen Junxi felt a small surge of delight.

Before long, Yang Shi quietly approached the doorway and peeked inside.

Just as Song Jingwei turned his head, he caught sight of her. His cold, unintentional glance startled the woman, making her flinch in fear.

With a trace of helplessness, Song Jingwei inclined his head slightly and said, “Good morning.”

Yang Shi was momentarily stunned before she broke into a flustered smile, nervously wringing her apron between her hands. It took her a moment to react, and then she quickly responded, “G-good morning! Haha… I’ve made breakfast. You and Xi’er should come eat.”

“Alright.” Song Jingwei nodded again and noticed that the young man washing his face had lifted his head and was staring at him blankly. So, he said, “I’m heading out.”

He walked out first, with Yang Shi following behind. Before leaving, she didn’t forget to remind her son, “Hurry up too, don’t make your wife wait.”

After finishing his morning routine, Shen Junxi followed them out to the main hall, the place where meals were shared and casual conversations took place.

The head of the family, Shen Dongming, was already seated. Seeing his daughter-in-law enter, he immediately put away his tobacco pipe and grinned warmly. “Come, daughter-in-law, sit down. Time to eat.”

Song Jingwei responded with a simple “Okay” and took a seat to Shen Dongming’s left, while Yang Shi sat to his right. This left Shen Junxi with no choice but to sit directly across from his father.

The dishes on the table were leftovers from yesterday. Afraid that her daughter-in-law might mind, Yang Shi quickly explained, “These were kept in the kitchen, untouched. They’re still clean.”

Song Jingwei nodded and picked up his chopsticks to start eating.

The three members of the Shen family, however, just sat there watching him, making no move to pick up their own chopsticks. Under their collective gaze, Song Jingwei remained composed as he raised his bowl, took some food, and sipped on the millet porridge. It was likely from this year’s harvest—fragrant, smooth, and leaving a lingering sweetness. It had been a long time since he had tasted such an authentic bowl of millet porridge.

Perhaps his calmness affected them, because only then did the three Shen family members finally pick up their bowls, eating breakfast in a manner at least a hundred times more refined than usual.

Throughout the meal, Yang Shi kept throwing meaningful glances at her son, signaling him to stop focusing on his own food and serve his wife some dishes. She might not have said anything out loud, but she wasn’t blind—she could tell that nothing had happened between them last night.

How could a married couple remain so distant?

Shen Junxi, however, merely lowered his eyes, pretending not to notice. He was well aware that if he suddenly started acting overly attentive toward Song Jingwei, it would only backfire and make the other party even more averse to him.

After breakfast, Yang Shi gathered the dishes, and Shen Dongming turned to Song Jingwei, saying, “Daughter-in-law, you brought a lot of dowry with you, but we don’t have enough space to store everything for now. My suggestion is to temporarily set up a shed in the courtyard, at least to shield things from the wind and rain.”

Regarding this matter, Song Jingwei nodded and said, “That will do for now. I have a plot of land nearby, and I plan to build a house.”

Both Shen Dongming and Shen Junxi were a little surprised. Setting aside the issue of building a house, Shen Dongming first asked, “Where is this land? How big is it?”

“I’m not entirely sure,” Song Jingwei replied. “I was told it’s at the foot of Xiaoliang Mountain, about 150 mu.”

Shen Dongming took a sharp breath. 150 mu?

“Xiaoliang Mountain… that’s a good location. With that much land, even after building a house, you’d still have plenty left over.” That area was indeed prime land—nestled against Xiaoliang Mountain, surrounded by lush greenery, clear waters, and beautiful scenery. There were even rumors that some wealthy families had built summer estates there.

Many villagers owned plots in that area and often went there to work. Occasionally, people would venture further into the mountain and catch glimpses of private estates, sometimes even spotting high-ranking officials.

“We’ll see when the time comes,” Song Jingwei said. “For now, I haven’t decided what to do with it.”

A house needed to be built, and the land needed to be put to good use. However, there was no rush to decide exactly how to utilize it.

Shen Dongming glanced at his son, then back at Song Jingwei. He hesitated before asking, “You’re really going to build a house?” He knew his daughter-in-law had money, but… it didn’t sit right with him to let Song Jingwei cover all the expenses while their family just reaped the benefits.

“Yes.” Song Jingwei paused for a moment, realizing what Shen Dongming was worried about —money. He had it, while the Shen family did not. If he built a new house, would the Shen family move in too? This was something he hadn’t considered before. He furrowed his brows, thinking about it. He was willing to live together, but he didn’t know if the Shen family felt the same way.

Clearly, Shen Junxi was also considering this issue. He was well aware that his family had no money to contribute to the house. Meanwhile, Song Jingwei had both the funds and the land, so building it would be effortless for him. But when the time came, if the whole Shen family moved into the new house without contributing a single coin, how would Song Jingwei feel about it?

As for what the villagers might say, Shen Junxi didn’t care in the slightest.

“Daughter-in-law…” Shen Dongming, sharing the same thoughts as his son, spoke up again, this time with slight embarrassment. “Of course, we support building a new house, but you know that… we can’t afford to contribute much.” Their family’s savings had already been drained by the wedding expenses.

It wasn’t that Shen Dongming was overly prideful—he wasn’t. If Song Jingwei didn’t mind, he would move in and be grateful for it. He wasn’t the type to let something like this create unnecessary tension within the family. As long as everyone remained close and got along, that was all that mattered.

“I understand,” Song Jingwei said. “The house should be built properly, necessities should be bought as needed, and food and drink shouldn’t be skimped on. That’s my approach to life.” He glanced at the father and son. “But if it truly makes you uncomfortable, I won’t force you.”

The Shen men weren’t exactly uncomfortable—rather, they felt a newfound motivation. Shen Dongming grinned honestly. “We’ll leave it to you, daughter-in-law. As long as you two live well together, we won’t have anything to say.” Of course, the family would also work hard to earn money. They couldn’t just rely on their daughter-in-law’s dowry for the rest of their lives, right?

“Mm. And you?” Song Jingwei turned his gaze to Shen Junxi.

His clear, black-and-white eyes fixed on him intently. Shen Junxi’s ears slowly turned red, but his face remained calm and serious as he nodded in agreement.

When Yang Shi came out, she saw this scene and felt reassured. She thought to herself that, actually, the relationship between these two children wasn’t that bad. Looking at them like this, they seemed quite a good match, sitting together harmoniously…

After breakfast, Shen Dongming left the house to prepare materials for building the shed.

Song Jingwei went to the courtyard, opening the storage chests and taking out daily necessities he had organized earlier, moving them piece by piece into the house. Seeing this, Shen Junxi silently helped him carry the heavier items, such as embroidered stools and water basins. There were many small yet exquisite or valuable objects among them.

The last wooden box contained Song Jingwei’s usual hairpins, crowns, and various gold, silver, and jade ornaments. While placing the box down, Shen Junxi accidentally spilled the contents all over the table. He hurriedly and carefully picked them up, putting them back into the box with great caution.

It was precisely this serious and composed attitude that improved Song Jingwei’s impression of him. Though from a humble background, the young man seemed very indifferent to wealth—using it if he had it, not longing for it if he didn’t, and never showing greed when seeing another’s riches.

People with such a detached mindset might live in poverty, but Song Jingwei didn’t dislike them. A person who wasn’t blinded by money was far less likely to have a corrupt heart.

Originally, he hadn’t planned to take out his calligraphy tools—there wasn’t enough space to store them—but he changed his mind. “There’s another chest. Help me bring it out.”

When Shen Junxi went outside and saw that the chest was filled with books and writing supplies, he glanced at Song Jingwei and gave a small, faint smile. He had known that Song Jingwei could read, but he hadn’t realized he was also a book lover.

Then, recalling his own handwriting from yesterday, his face grew red, almost feverishly so. But pretending nothing had happened was what he did best, so he simply continued carrying the books, which now seemed to be his favorite items.

Song Jingwei searched around the furniture and found a carved peachwood bookshelf —beautiful and intricate, but unfortunately too large to fit in Shen Junxi’s room.

Clapping his hands, he said, “Forget it. We’ll wait until we move into the new house.” He narrowed his eyes slightly. “Do you know how to get to Xiaoliang Mountain? I want to see the land.”

Shen Junxi nodded and pointed northward, toward their house’s front. However, his expression carried a hint of worry. If they went out together, there was a chance they’d run into villagers. He wasn’t afraid of anything else—he just worried that Song Jingwei would mind the gossip from the local busybodies.

Shen Junxi knew those rumors weren’t true; they were ridiculous. But they were also terribly unpleasant to hear.

He hesitated, wanting to say something, but found himself at a loss for words. As someone who already struggled to speak, moments like this made his silence feel like an even greater flaw.