TIPS – Chapter 129

They had thought that now that they had reunited with their family, the days ahead would be peaceful and joyful, and they could spend their twilight years together in contentment. Who would have expected that barely had they begun to enjoy the happiness of reunion when bad news started coming from the border, again and again, throwing the villagers of their small border town into a state of anxiety and fear.

Things went on like this until recently, when they finally decided to leave. The situation was becoming increasingly dangerous—it was no longer a matter of choice. If they didn’t leave now, they might not be able to leave at all later.

The Lu family took the advice of Qiao Lang and Uncle Ya and came to the home of their benefactor. Even if they weren’t hoping to be taken in, it was still only right to come and express their gratitude.

After spending five days on the boat, they disembarked at the dock. It was already the final days of November, and the cold wind blowing across the river made the thinly dressed Lu family shiver uncontrollably. The children huddled into the arms of the adults, trying to keep warm.

“This is the place. This is where Uncle and I boarded the boat before,” Qiao Lang said emotionally as he looked at the dock he hadn’t seen in months.

“All right. How much farther do we have to go? Let’s hurry, the kids are cold and hungry.”

“Follow me, I still remember the way,” Qiao Lang said, supporting Uncle Ya as they walked together.

The elders walked in front, the younger ones carrying the children at the back. The group braved the late autumn wind, heading along the main road under the foot of Little Liang Mountain toward the Shen family’s large house in Chashan Village.

When they saw the large house in the distance and the thin smoke curling from its chimney, everyone grew excited.

Pointing ahead, Qiao Lang said, “There it is. We’re almost there.”

At that moment, the Shen household was preparing lunch. Shen Dongming had just returned to the courtyard and put down his hoe when he heard the dog, Xiao Hei, barking loudly.

“What are you yapping about? Someone here?” he muttered, washing his hands before going to open the gate.

When he opened the door, he saw a group of strangers, young and old, standing at the entrance. But among them were two long-missed familiar faces!

“Uncle Dongming, it’s me, Qiao Lang!” Qiao Lang grinned broadly as he greeted Shen Dongming.

“…” Shen Dongming’s mouth fell open in surprise. He looked at Qiao Lang, then at Uncle Ya, then smacked his forehead and said, “So it’s you, kid—and Uncle Ya too!” Finally recognizing them, he hurriedly invited everyone inside. “Come, come, come! Let’s talk inside!”

Qiao Lang quickly agreed, but first introduced the man to his family: “This is Uncle Dongming, the father of the husband of Young Master Song—the one I told you about. He’s a very kind man.”

“Oh, don’t say all that! Just come inside!” Shen Dongming said, a little embarrassed by the praise. As he walked in, he shouted toward the kitchen, “Wife! We’ve got guests! Cook five more jin of rice!”

Yang Shi, who was tending the stove in the kitchen, nearly dropped her fire poker when she heard “five jin of rice.” Her eyes went wide. “What? Five jin?!” What kind of guests had arrived that they needed that much rice? She quickly set aside the fire poker—not to run out and see the excitement, but to start cooking the extra rice right away.

Shen Dongming led Qiao Lang’s entire family of eight into the house in grand fashion. Seeing that Shen Junxi and Song Jingwei were both there, he cheerfully said, “Guess who’s here!”

Song Jingwei had already heard Shen Dongming’s shouting earlier, but was still a bit surprised when he saw Qiao Lang and Uncle Ya. Holding Benben in his arms, he stood up and greeted them.

“Young Master Song,” Qiao Lang said excitedly, bowing deeply to him, then quickly introduced his family: “This is my father and my little father, my eldest brother and his wife, and my two nephews. We’ve all come together.” After saying that, he began to feel a bit embarrassed—they had come as a whole family, hoping, in truth, that the Song family might take them in.

“Good, I’m glad you’re back,” Song Jingwei said as he greeted each of them. Then he told Qiao Lang, “But the small courtyard you lived in before has already been given to someone else. I’ll find a bigger courtyard for your family.”

The Lu family was amazed. Song Jingwei didn’t hesitate for a second to arrange lodging for them, didn’t ask questions, didn’t say anything—just welcomed them. What they didn’t know was that Song Jingwei hadn’t thought much about it at all. He had promised Uncle Ya and Qiao Lang before that they could return at any time. Now they had just brought family—it wasn’t any different.

“Thank you, Young Master Song,” Qiao Lang said gratefully, smiling reassuringly at his family. Everything had gone so smoothly—it proved he hadn’t misjudged these people, and now his family could truly be at ease.

“Come, sit down and have some water. You must be exhausted from traveling,” Shen Dongming said, inviting everyone to take a seat.

Shen Junxi had been smiling the whole time. He exchanged a few gestures with Uncle Ya, then took over the task of brewing tea.

“Hehe, I’ll go to the kitchen and see if your aunt can cook something for everyone,” Shen Dongming said after chatting for a bit. He stood up and headed to the kitchen to talk to Yang Shi—there were a lot of mouths to feed today.

Shen Junxi poured tea for everyone and thoughtfully brought out all sorts of snacks and light bites, all homemade and regularly stocked in the household.

“These are all made by my mother. If you don’t mind, have a few to tide you over. Lunch might take a little while,” Song Jingwei said, personally handing some pastries to the two children.

“Quick, thank your uncle,” Qiao Lang’s sister-in-law, Lin Shi, gently instructed the three-year-old child.

The little one was shy. After taking the snack, he gave Song Jingwei a timid smile, then burrowed into his mother’s arms to nibble.

Everyone laughed, and the atmosphere relaxed, no longer so stiff and formal.

“Everyone, please have something to eat,” Qiao Lang said as he poured tea and handed out snacks to his relatives. They had barely eaten anything on the boat, and the recent days had left everyone exhausted and weary.

Lu Jingping, seeing how familiar his youngest son and brother were with this household, held the snack in his hand and was filled with emotion. He nodded to Song Jingwei and said, “Really, thank you. We’re so sorry to trouble you with so many of us coming…”

Song Jingwei quickly replied, “It’s no trouble at all. I told Uncle Ya and Qiao Lang before that they’re always welcome to come back.” Then he added, “By the way, Uncle Ya, our lotus roots have sold out. I only kept a patch for seed stock. I’ll go over the finances with you in detail when there’s time.”

Uncle Ya nodded happily and gestured, “Good, good.” Hearing that the lotus roots had sold out for a good price and that everyone praised their taste, the old man felt content.

Speaking of the lotus roots reminded Lu Jingping of how he and his younger brother had been reunited, so he quickly thanked Song Jingwei again, making the latter a bit helpless. He repeatedly told him there was no need to thank him, that it was all destined by fate.

If it were in the past, Song Jingwei would have scoffed at the idea of “destiny.” But after personally witnessing miracles, he no longer thought that way—like Uncle Ya and his family, or like himself and Shen Junxi.

One could only say that fate was both a coincidence and an inevitability. Before it happened, it seemed like chance; but once it did, it felt destined.

“By the way, I doubt your journey here was just by coincidence, was it?” Song Jingwei looked at them, recalling the recent unrest and the looming war. If he remembered correctly, Qiao Lang’s hometown lay to the east.

The Lu family all showed worried expressions. They were concerned, first, that their homeland would soon be ravaged by war, and second, that even this place might not be completely safe.

Qiao Lang said, “It wasn’t a coincidence. Our hometown is too close to the border, and it’s been frequently disturbed lately. We had no choice but to leave.”

Lu Jingping added, “That’s right. Once war breaks out on the border, it’s us small villages and towns outside the city who suffer most. We have no protection at all.” That’s why they left early—by now, most of the villagers in Tangxia had probably already fled.

“It seems war is imminent. Peace talks are no longer possible,” Song Jingwei said. “To be honest with you, our village received word early on, and people here are already getting anxious.” He hesitated, then asked, “So, what do you plan to do? Stay here or continue traveling?”

The Lu family appeared hesitant. Their head, Lu Jingping, said, “We have both the elderly and small children—not fit for long journeys. If this place is safe, we don’t want to leave.”

Qiao Lang added, “We definitely won’t be going anywhere for now. Even in the future, we’ll wait and see. I believe with the imperial army’s strength, the border won’t fall so easily.”

Everyone nodded in agreement. Of course, that optimistic outcome was what they all hoped for. It would be best if things turned out that way.

“The court certainly has military strength, but we know little about politics. Sometimes, the fall of a border city isn’t due to weak troops, but bad decisions from those in power…” The imperial court had abruptly gone to war with its ally and suddenly changed its approach, forcibly conscripting soldiers. One could boldly guess that some internal upheaval had occurred.

When a country’s upper ranks change, anything might happen.

“So, it seems we must rely on ourselves and not trust the court too much.” Everyone understood this, and sighed deeply.

“Self-reliance is essential; we can’t always depend on others,” Song Jingwei said as he patted the sleepy Benben. “Since you plan to stay, I won’t hide anything from you. Our village has already taken precautions.” He then told the Lu family about the mountain refuge plan and said he would arrange for someone to guide them there and help them settle.

“That’s great,” the Lu family all nodded. It seemed to give them a sense of relief. If such a place existed, they would no longer feel afraid.

“Yes, the mountain paths are hard to walk, with many small trails and treacherous terrain. If outsiders try to enter, they won’t succeed—unless someone from within leads them. And even then, we could set traps and ambushes.”

“As the saying goes, ‘One man guards the pass, ten thousand cannot pass!’ If there really is such a place, your village is truly blessed!” Lu Jingping exclaimed. If only Tangxia Village had a place like that, the common folk wouldn’t have to flee and live in fear.

“Hiding in the mountains is only a temporary solution. We can only pray this area doesn’t fall. If it does, we’ll face many hardships. Everything will remain uncertain until the dust settles—this will be a difficult time.”

No matter what, once war breaks out, it’s a catastrophe for ordinary people. The wealthy might escape far away, but where can the poor go? And even if they reach somewhere, will they be taken in? Haven’t many towns treated refugees like animals, even locking them out to die at the gates?

It’s all difficult anyway, so might as well take a gamble.

“Let’s just hope the court wins.” That was what everyone present was thinking.

But Song Jingwei was different. He didn’t feel a sense of belonging to the current regime—he just hoped the war would end quickly. He didn’t care who won, as long as it ended soon. Only once the war was over could people return to normal life.

As the conversation turned to the war, the mood in the room grew heavy. It wasn’t until lunch was ready and the dishes were served that everyone finally set aside their worries and happily dug in.

“Come, come, here’s one more dish.” Yang Shi brought out the last dish with a cheerful smile, urged everyone to eat more, then looked at Benben—who was about to fall asleep in Song Jingwei’s arms—and said, “Is our little Benben about to nap? He hasn’t eaten yet.”

Shen Junxi gestured to Song Jingwei: “Should we wake him up so he can eat before putting him to bed?”

“If we wake him up, he’ll cry…” Song Jingwei looked down at his sleepy baby boy and poked his soft cheek gently with a finger.

Benben blinked his long, curly eyelashes and burrowed his crumpled little face into Song Jingwei’s chest to keep sleeping. But maybe the sleepiness had already passed—he couldn’t fall back asleep and started crying in discomfort…

“Waaah…”

Everyone quickly tried to soothe him. “Alright, alright, don’t cry now. Grandma made something yummy for you.”

Yang Shi handed the fragrant bowl of minced meat porridge to Shen Junxi, who quickly blew on a spoonful to cool it and brought it to Benben’s mouth.

The little guy stopped crying as soon as he smelled the food. He opened his mouth and started eating slowly, looking aggrieved as if the “peace offering” wasn’t quite good enough and he was still upset.

“Glutton. As soon as there’s food, the crying stops,” Song Jingwei said with a hint of amused disdain.

Benben rolled his eyes and continued eating bite by bite. He was almost a year old now—could take a few steps already—but he was lazy and bundled up in thick clothes, making him look even more clumsy.

Seeing the two dads busy feeding the child and unable to eat themselves, Yang Shi said, “Why not let Xi’er feed himself? Jingwei, if you’re hungry, go ahead and eat.” The food would cool quickly in this cold weather.

“You eat, Mom. I’m not that hungry, and feeding him doesn’t take long,” Song Jingwei said as he wiped porridge from Benben’s mouth. This little guy could eat a lot—it wouldn’t take him long to finish the bowl. But once he’d eaten a certain amount, it was impossible to get him to take another bite.

If they switched it to a snack, though? He’d open his mouth right away and eat as much as you gave him.

“This child is really good-looking. Is he already over a year old?” Qiao Lang’s sister-in-law, Lin Shi, praised. Seeing such a bright and handsome child made her really fond of him.

Yang Shi beamed and said, “Not even a year yet! He was born in early January this year—a little tiger baby.”

“So strong and sturdy already…” Lin Shi was surprised to hear he wasn’t yet one. She sighed that her own two kids had never been able to put on weight and wondered how Benben was raised to be so robust.

“He’s fed very well…” Talking about her beloved grandson, Yang Shi had endless things to say. She chatted happily with Lin Shi, exchanging childcare tips, laughter flowing.

Shen Dongming also chatted with Lu Jingping and Qiao Yun about typical farming-family topics. Once they got to talking about their sons, they really found common ground. The Lu family was also a scholarly farming household, and their son was a xiucai (a licentiate). The Shen family’s eldest son, Shen Junxi, was also a xiucai.

The two families were similar in background—you could say they were well matched.

“We hit it off so well—why don’t we have the youngsters get engaged?” someone joked casually. It wasn’t said too seriously, just as part of the lively chatter.

“Hehe, nowadays the young ones like to choose for themselves. If they like each other when they’re older, we’ll let them decide,” Shen Dongming said with a smile, clearly respecting the younger generation’s wishes and not wanting to arrange a match too hastily.

Especially after what happened with Shen Junxi’s broken engagement, he was now hesitant about arranging marriages. After that, Shen Junxi met Song Jingwei—not a smooth beginning, but now things were getting better. They were happy together.

So really, it was best to let the young ones find their own way.

“That’s true. Today’s young people are different from us old folks.”

“Heh.” Shen Dongming then shared how he got married himself: “Actually, I met my wife on my own too. Later, I had my grandmother make the decision for us, and I went through a lot to marry her.” At the time, his grandmother was already in poor health, and the conflict over his choice of wife made things worse.

By the time things were settled with Yang Shi, his grandmother had passed away. Not long after he married Yang Shi, his own family forced him out. “Drove him out” might be more accurate. Part of it was because Wu was angry, and part was just genuine dislike and rejection.

It was all in the past. Looking back now, Shen Dongming only felt a faint melancholy.