TIPS – Chapter 125

“Alright, let’s get it built today then!” Shen Dongming said as he rolled up his sleeves and got straight to work.

Seeing this, Shen Junxi and Song Jingwei also rolled up their sleeves and helped carry the stones.

Recently in Chashan Village, aside from gossiping about the Shen family’s main house and their lotus pond income, things had quieted down for a while—there just wasn’t much exciting news to talk about.

But in the past few days, the Shen family’s main branch had stirred up new curiosity. Many villagers had seen them sneaking items up into the mountains. The items seemed like ordinary household supplies. Were they moving house or something?

People speculated all sorts of things, but none of the guesses seemed to hit the mark—everyone rejected each other’s ideas.

“Aren’t they close with Chen Xianggui’s family? Why not ask Chen Xianggui and find out?” someone suggested.

And sure enough, someone went to ask him. But Chen Xianggui only shook his head, mumbling, “I don’t know anything about it. They didn’t tell me, so don’t come asking me.”

But the person wasn’t stupid. Given how suspicious Chen Xianggui was acting, how could he possibly not know? Clearly, something shady was going on that they didn’t want others to find out about.

“Fine, if you won’t say, I’ll ask someone else. Someone must know.”

Chen Xianggui’s evasive attitude only made people more curious. Everyone was scratching their heads, desperate to know what on earth the Shen family was up to. Why were they being so mysterious? Why were they hiding it from others?

After about two days of this, someone finally couldn’t take it anymore and secretly followed them. They saw the Shen family setting things up in a mountain hollow. But the more they saw, the more confused they became. When they returned and shared what they’d witnessed, no one could make sense of the Shen family’s actions.

“Everything’s fine, so why move things into the mountains? Are they planning to live there or something?” The villagers couldn’t figure it out; it just didn’t make sense.

A more perceptive person, sensing something unusual, said, “Their family wouldn’t do something foolish. That daughter-in-law of theirs is clever. There must be a reason for this.”

“Of course there’s a reason—do you even need to say that?” someone laughed. “If you’re so clever, why don’t you tell us what the reason is?”

That person said, “Think about it. Who in their right mind would leave a perfectly good house to go live in the mountains? They’re clearly trying to hide. Why would they need to hide? Did they offend someone? If it’s not to avoid enemies, then what else? Natural disaster? Man-made disaster?”

Another person, starting to get the idea, added, “Right! We can’t predict natural disasters, so it must be man-made. And if it’s not targeted at their family alone, then it must affect all of us…”

At this point, everyone looked at each other in alarm, cold sweat on their backs, wondering—what kind of man-made disaster could it be?

“Recently… isn’t there talk about the court going to war?”

“But there’s no news on who they’d be fighting.”

“It can’t be here, can it? Aren’t we allies with the Northeast?”

“Can’t say for sure.”

The more they talked, the more anxious and silent they became. A seed of suspicion had taken root in their hearts, slowly growing and spreading. Eventually, they couldn’t hold it in and started mentioning it to their relatives and friends.

People tend to trust their own suspicions and assumptions, and the more they talk about them, the more convinced they become—as if the thing they suspect is already fact.

Within just five days, a wave of panic and suspicion swept through Chashan Village. But the truth of the matter? No one had any definite information.

Finally, someone couldn’t stand it anymore and said, “This whole thing started with the Shen family’s main house. Since they’re the ones taking action, it must mean they know something. Why don’t we all go and ask them together? It’s not like we’re causing trouble—we’re just asking.”

“But… what if they refuse to tell us?” someone asked worriedly. The Shen family’s secrecy clearly showed they didn’t want others to know.

“They wouldn’t, would they? They don’t seem like that kind of people,” the person who made the suggestion replied. “That young master Song, their daughter-in-law, has been in our village for over a year now. And in that time, think about how much good he’s done for us. You all know it. Since we’ve benefited from his kindness, we should be honest people in return. Besides, other than good deeds, has he ever done anything that made us unhappy? Be honest—has he?”

That was a fair point. No one could deny it. They said, “Young Master Song really is a good person. We never said he wasn’t. He’s the most generous and unpretentious rich person we’ve ever seen.”

Though rich people often carried an air of aloofness, he had the right to. The ordinary villagers didn’t want much—just food on the table and peace in the village.

“Exactly. So let’s pick a time and a few representatives to go ask them.” The proposer struck while the iron was hot.

“Alright, but who should go? I’ve never even been to their house,” someone said, scratching his head sheepishly. They’d all heard plenty about the Shen family’s main house, but few had actually visited or interacted with them.

“What’s the big deal? I’ve only been there once or twice myself. Don’t worry, Brother Shen and Sister-in-law are both really decent people,” the person replied. In truth, he had only been there once—when he went to sell cow dung.

The group discussed it and agreed on a time, choosing to visit shortly after lunch so they wouldn’t risk finding no one at home. That afternoon, they arrived at the Shen family’s new house, and it was Shen Dongming who opened the door.

“Heh, Brother Shen, we’re here to ask you something,” the man leading the group said a little awkwardly. In the past, he and Shen Dongming had only had nodding acquaintance—neither close nor hostile—but now that the Shen family had suddenly become prosperous, it felt like they were no longer the same as before. Even just speaking face-to-face felt uneasy.

“Oh, oh, everyone come in, come in. Let’s talk inside,” Shen Dongming said quickly after his initial surprise. He recalled that Song Jingwei had mentioned some villagers might come by in the next few days, and sure enough, it was happening now. He couldn’t help but admire his daughter-in-law’s insight.

“Ah, great! You’ve already eaten, right?” They chatted as they entered the house.

“Just finished. You guys came after eating too, I assume?” Shen Dongming replied.

“Yeah, we did.”

Once inside, they sat down in the spacious and well-appointed living room, unable to resist looking around and quietly marveling at the Shen family’s affluence.

“Wow, Brother Dongming, your new house is really something,” one of the more straightforward men said in admiration.

“Heh, it’s alright. The most important thing is that it’s comfortable to live in,” Shen Dongming replied with a smile as he served them tea.

“Exactly, comfort is what matters most in a house.” Then, steering the conversation toward the real purpose of their visit, the man continued, “Actually, we came today because we wanted to ask about something.”

Shen Dongming already had an idea what it was about. He said, “Go ahead and ask. If I know the answer, I’ll definitely tell you.”

“Alright.” Feeling reassured by this, they leaned in and asked in hushed tones, “We wanted to ask… why did your family suddenly move up the mountain?”

Shen Dongming feigned surprise and said, “Oh? So you guys know about that? I thought we moved up quietly and no one noticed.” He scratched his head and chuckled, looking completely open and unconcealed—not secretive in the least.

The group thought the same—he admitted it so frankly, how could it be considered sneaky?

“Then tell us, what’s the reason? Is… is something going to happen?” The villagers looked uncertain and a little anxious.

“Well… how should I put this…” Shen Dongming lowered his voice too. “It’s not that I don’t want to tell everyone, but I’m afraid some folks will say I’m spreading rumors and causing panic.”

“What kind of rumors?” they asked quickly.

“You probably won’t believe it if I say it… and I don’t want to say it lightly, because it’s serious,” Shen Dongming said with a sigh. “Actually, this was told to us by a friend of the family—he’s a military officer.”

“…!” The villagers gasped. A military officer? So it was related to war! That meant their suspicions weren’t wrong.

“Brother Dongming, just tell us honestly—are we going to war? With whom?” The man who had suggested coming over asked urgently. “You moved so quickly and discreetly—are we going to war with the northeast? If that’s the case, it’s really dangerous!”

“Uh…” Shen Dongming didn’t respond directly, but he nodded silently, which was as good as confirmation.

“Huh?” The group was shocked. “Really? War with the northeast? But aren’t we allies with them? Why would we go to war?”

“I don’t know the details either. But as the saying goes, there are no eternal friends, only eternal interests. The information is reliable, which is why our family started preparing a few days ago.” Shen Dongming sighed. “It’s not that we didn’t want to tell the village, it’s just… nothing has happened yet. If we said something and no one believed us, that would be fine. But if people accused us of spreading false rumors, that would be bad.”

In their hearts, some of the villagers did feel a bit resentful—why didn’t the Shen family warn them earlier?

But hearing Shen Dongming’s explanation, they could accept it. After all, he wasn’t wrong. Some people in the village really were like that—more willing to believe comforting lies than harsh truths.

“You’re not wrong to be cautious, Brother Dongming. But now that this is more or less confirmed, we can’t just sit around doing nothing.” After a brief discussion among themselves, they said, “This information needs to be shared with everyone so they can prepare too.” Then they asked Shen Dongming for his thoughts: “What do you think?”

Shen Dongming nodded. “I have no objections, but it’s better if you’re the ones who spread the word. If it comes from us, people might not believe it.”

The others disagreed. “Why would you think that? Why wouldn’t people believe you?” They didn’t understand why Shen Dongming would think that way. Sure, some people might be skeptical, but most would listen. “Don’t you know, Brother Dongming? Most folks in the village really trust your family now. They say your family is honest, doesn’t lie, and never takes advantage of others.”

“Heh heh, is that true?” Hearing someone praise his family like that, Shen Dongming was quite pleased. He was a busy man and not the type to enjoy crowds. Ever since he moved here, he’d had even less contact with the other villagers. But even before that, he hadn’t interacted with them much.

“Of course it’s true! Don’t worry, if we all say it together, they’ll believe us.”

After talking for a long while, they finally reached a decision. Not long after, those few villagers started spreading news in the village about an impending war, urging everyone to start preparing early.

The news stirred up a wave of excitement in the village. Many people discussed it animatedly, though some remained skeptical and dismissed it as nonsense.

Only about half of the villagers truly believed it. These people were usually honest and obedient and tended to follow the crowd. They were more concerned about what to do next, so they began contacting others, trying to find ways to get through the tough times ahead.

When Song Jingwei heard about this group, he had someone inform them that taking refuge in the mountains was a good option.

So the first batch of villagers to move into the mountain hollow were these people. They found spots suitable for their families and, just like the Shen family’s main household, began building up the surroundings carefully to create temporary but safe shelters.

The later people arrived, the fewer good spots were left—those had already been claimed by the early comers. So the newcomers had to use more materials to construct their stone houses. Unlike the earlier arrivals, who only needed to make minor repairs to make their shelters livable, the later ones had to build from scratch.

Because the Shen family had many members, they had claimed a large area from the beginning. One spot had even been saved for Pei Hongxuan and Wu Xi—a cozy little nook suitable for their family of three.

Chen Xianggui’s family also had many members. He claimed a fairly large space and used materials to build a courtyard on a flat area at the front, topped with a thatched roof. Since his family originally worked in construction, their house ended up being the nicest one in the entire hollow.

That’s not to say the Shen family’s home wasn’t nice—it was just more natural and had fewer embellishments. In terms of comfort, it might have actually been cozier than Chen Xianggui’s place.

Looking at his brother’s thatched roof, Shen Dongming felt a little envious and said, “Why don’t we build one too?”

Yang Shi was also quite tempted, but hesitated. “Can we manage it? We haven’t even finished harvesting the lotus roots yet. Maybe we should wait.”

“Well, true…” Shen Dongming thought for a moment, then gritted his teeth and said, “If it really comes to it, we’ll ask Brother Xianggui to help us out.”

“He’s busy too.” After all, every household was preparing, and everyone was running around nonstop.

“…”

Hearing this, Song Jingwei said, “If you really want to build one, then just go for it. I’ll keep an eye on the fields. With Dad’s skills and speed, and if Shen Junxi helps, you should be able to finish it in a day, right?”

“Yes, yes, yes!” Shen Dongming quickly replied, nodding with a grin. One day was definitely enough.

So that day, before dawn even broke, Shen Dongming and Shen Junxi shouldered their tools and headed into the mountains. The road was long, and by the time they were done and ready to head back, it was already deep into the night. It was a tough day for sure.

Song Jingwei spent the day in the fields with Benben on his back. Fortunately, the hired laborers were all honest folks who didn’t slack off or steal. Even the few who were a bit sly didn’t dare cause real trouble—they might think about it, but wouldn’t act on it.

“It’s so late already. I wonder when they’ll be back,” Yang Shi said worriedly, watching the sky grow darker. The mountain paths were difficult to walk at night, and a single misstep could lead to a bad fall. Falling on a mountain was nothing like falling on flat ground—it could easily lead to serious injuries. Naturally, she was anxious.

“They’re probably almost back,” Song Jingwei comforted her. “Dad and Shen Junxi aren’t the type to take unnecessary risks. They know what they’re doing.”

“Yeah, you’re right.” Yang Shi nodded. “I’ll go heat up the food—maybe by the time it’s ready, they’ll be back.” With that, she turned and headed into the kitchen.

By the time Shen Dongming and Shen Junxi walked in, the sky was already full of stars, and the moon was high. Normally they’d be getting ready for bed at this hour, but tonight they returned under the starlight.

Yang Shi finally relaxed and said quickly, “Go wash your faces and hands so you can eat.”

“Ah, walking those mountain paths all day really wore us out…” Shen Dongming and Shen Junxi first set down their things, then went to wash up. They also swapped out their worn straw sandals for the soft-soled shoes they wore at home, since their feet were sore from the day’s trek.

Song Jingwei was sitting in the living room with Benben in his arms. When he saw Shen Junxi come in, face tired but eyes bright, he asked, “Tired?”

“Yeah.” Shen Junxi nodded and signed, “Mountain paths are exhausting—you’ve walked them before, remember?” Last time, he had taken Song Jingwei along and had walked very slowly to keep him from getting too tired.

“That’s different. So, is the thatched roof done?” Song Jingwei asked, motioning for the young man to come sit down and pouring him a cup of hot tea.

Shen Junxi drank the whole cup in one go, then signed, “It’s done. It looks great.” He was thinking of taking his wife to see it one day, but the mountain road was so tough… maybe another time.