TIPS – Chapter 146

“So, it seems we really have to thank Young Master Song. He’s done a lot of good things for everyone,” an old man said with emotion. He counted off the deeds one by one on his fingers for everyone to hear, as if afraid they’d forget the good and turn ungrateful.

“Exactly! If you ask me, no one in the village can compare to him. And he’s only been married into our village for less than two years. Which daughter-in-law in the village can match up to that? Even the local men aren’t as enthusiastic as he is. Sure, he might not mingle with us all the time, but when it comes to getting things done, he’s way better than those who only know how to talk big!”

“I agree completely. Without him, who knows what our situation would be like right now? I really don’t understand those still bad-mouthing him. Are your eyes covered in pig fat or are you just naturally brainless? Do your parents know they raised someone so dumb? If you’ve got the nerve to gossip behind someone’s back, then have the guts to go out and fight the enemy yourself! Don’t just sit around waiting for others to protect you. No one in our village has that kind of nerve!”

“No way, are there still people gossiping about Young Master Song?” someone asked curiously.

“Of course there are. Don’t you know what happened at Er Baozi’s house a few days ago? They even went to his house to cause trouble,” the person clicked his tongue and whispered, “They even said they were going to hang themselves at his front door. Pah! How thick-skinned can you be? The matter wasn’t even settled yet and they were already crying like someone died. What kind of people are these?”

“There was really such a thing? You’re talking about their eldest daughter-in-law, right? Hah, I know that woman. Heard she’s lazy and greedy, always pretending to be delicate and weak, never doing anything herself and pushing everything onto her mother-in-law. But her husband pampers her, so I guess she’s just lucky.”

“Tsk, tsk! I just want to know if their family still has the face to stay around here. I want to see how they’ll explain themselves. My second son was on guard duty from the very beginning. Sure, there was some silver in the beginning and not later, and they weren’t happy about it. But did they ever think about it? All the dangerous work was done by my son and the others. Even this time, he went out to kill enemies. I just asked him—he killed several!”

“Exactly, exactly. Every child is loved by their parents. My child is still so young, yet he joined in too. Going out with the others—if he wasn’t hurt, it’s good luck; if he was, then that’s fate. But if no one goes out, then what? The whole village just sits around waiting to die? That’s what some people would be satisfied with?”

With the men returning from battle, the entire village exploded with chatter. Everyone was talking about it. Families who had someone participate proudly bragged to everyone about how many enemies their men had killed. They wished the whole village knew about the contribution their families made. And the more they bragged, the more they looked down on those who only knew how to hide and rely on others for protection, showing them white eyes and cold expressions.

Normally, those who kept a low profile might have been ignored, but Er Baozi’s family had just caused a ruckus a few days ago. Naturally, the one who sticks their head out gets hit first. Their family was now the talk of the village. Whenever people praised the brave men who fought, they’d use Er Baozi’s family as the bad example and spit a few curses in passing.

“I heard they haven’t come out of the house since that day, and they’re not letting their son out either.”

“Weren’t they told to think it over for a couple of days? Now a few days have passed, and over seventy or eighty enemies have been killed already. What’s left to think about?”

Whenever Er Baozi’s family members went out, they’d hear these kinds of remarks. They were shocked and confused—why was everyone saying these things? Did they really do something wrong? Were they just overprotective of their son? It was clearly so dangerous out there—what parent would willingly send their child into harm’s way?

Er Baozi’s wife returned home crying after hearing all this and sought comfort from her husband.

But the whole family remained silent. It was as if, from the moment they started staying indoors, the laughter in their home had completely disappeared.

Yuan Guanlin returned to the Shen family’s main house with a few brothers, all looking proud and in high spirits. Everyone who saw him knew right away that the mission had gone well and quickly greeted them: “You’re back? Thank you for your hard work. All of you, please come inside and have a seat!”

Song Jingwei personally poured them tea. After a while, once everyone had finished their cup, he finally asked, “Did everything go smoothly?”

“Hey! With your brilliant plan, it was a piece of cake,” Yuan Guanlin said, gulping down a few mouthfuls of water and wiping his mouth. He added quickly, “Now that we’re done, I’m not sure what’s next. I’ve still got two brothers stationed there, and I’ll need to head back soon.”

Upon hearing that, Yang Shi immediately said, “Then I’ll hurry and bring out the food. Eat your fill before you head off again.”

After a brief conversation with Song Jingwei, Yuan Guanlin and his men ate their fill and soon set off down the mountain again.

Shen Dongming went out for a bit and came back beaming. “Everyone’s talking about the victory outside. I didn’t expect it to go so smoothly—this is a great thing!” Then he turned to look at Song Jingwei. “It’s all thanks to our Jingwei’s brilliant ideas. This time, you really earned great merit.”

After hearing so many villagers praise Song Jingwei, he finally felt some relief. Otherwise, he had been feeling quite stifled these past few days, ever since the mess with Er Baozi’s family.

“When has our Jingwei not achieved merit?” Yang Shi said while clearing the table. “This time when everyone was hiding from the disaster, wasn’t it Jingwei who took the lead? He gave money, came up with plans, even invited the Guanlin here. Who can say otherwise?” She, too, felt proud—finally able to hold her head high today.

“Yes, yes, you’re right.” Shen Dongming laughed cheerfully and decided to go out again. “Well, Jingwei, is there anything I can do now? The village is really idle these days.”

Song Jingwei had been quietly drinking tea and listening to their conversation. Only then did he speak, “Have all the wooden spikes been shaved?”

“That was done ages ago! We’ve also ground plenty of chili powder. There’s nothing left to do!”

“Then take people up the mountain to chop bamboo. Teach the idle folks to weave baskets. In the future, we can sell them for some extra income.”

Shen Dongming was stunned for a moment. He really wanted to know how Song Jingwei’s brain worked—how could he still be thinking about making money at a time like this?

“Well, if they’re idle anyway, why not?” Song Jingwei looked at him with a matter-of-fact expression.

“Yeah, right, you’re absolutely right.” Shen Dongming nodded and left excitedly.

Shen Junxi chuckled as he watched his father’s back. Then he suddenly glanced at his wife. He also wanted to know how his brain was wired. He really made a person feel ashamed.

“What are you thinking about again?” Song Jingwei occasionally paid attention to him too. Things had been hectic lately, and it seemed like they hadn’t had a proper conversation in a while.

Every time he had a free moment and looked up, Shen Junxi was always by his side. So quiet it was like he had no presence—but he was undeniably there.

“…” Shen Junxi shook his head at his wife. He wasn’t thinking about anything in particular. He just felt a little ashamed. He gestured honestly, “I can’t be of much help.” His smile was somewhat forced. Compared to the men who could do things, he knew he appeared dull and lacking.

Song Jingwei moved his chair slightly closer to him, so they were sitting side by side. He said, “You’ve helped too.”

“Hmm?” Shen Junxi tilted his head in confusion.

Song Jingwei kissed the corner of his lips and said with a smile, “Warming the bed for me every night is already a huge help.” When he was under pressure, in a bad mood, or needed comfort, only the young man in front of him could help—no one else could.

“…” Shen Junxi was stunned for a moment. Then, because of Jingwei’s thoughtfulness and comfort, a sweet, honey-like warmth welled up in his heart. He lowered his head, bit his lip, and slowly smiled. Every time this happened, he felt especially happy, because he had someone by his side who truly cared about him.

“A man can be a hero to the world, or just to one person. Being both makes him a truly successful man,” Song Jingwei said. Perhaps in everyone else’s eyes, he was a hero. But he didn’t really care about being one. What mattered to him was just this little family. As long as they saw him as a hero, that was enough.

“You’re my hero.” Shen Junxi opened Song Jingwei’s palm and wrote in it: “Then, am I your hero too?”

“Mm.” Song Jingwei leaned closer and gently bit his ear with a teasing smile, “Yes.”

“…” Under his gaze, Shen Junxi’s ears quickly turned red—bright red. The color slowly spread to his cheeks and neck.

In his palm, it tickled as the young man continued to write: “Thank you.”

Song Jingwei looked at him with a smile and said, “You can’t say thank you—that sounds like a polite rejection.”

Then, seeing Shen Junxi’s shocked expression, he grew curious. What had Junxi just thought of?

In fact, Shen Junxi suddenly realized—so, all along, Song Jingwei had been politely rejecting him? Whenever he did something for him, he would be thanked… He had thought it was just good manners and courtesy. But it turned out to be rejection?

Shen Junxi felt genuinely relieved. Thankfully, he hadn’t known that back then. Thankfully, he had thick skin and kept insisting.

“Ahem…” A cough rang out in the room, and the young man quickly let go of Jingwei’s hand and looked up toward the source of the sound.

“Hmm? It’s nothing, nothing. You two go on talking. I’m just taking this little guy out to pee,” the old master said, then walked straight out with Benben in his arms.

“Ah… ah!” Benben saw his daddy and papa and reached out his hands, wanting to play.

The old master pinched Benben’s chubby cheeks and said, “Benben, be good, don’t disturb them. If you’re naughty, you won’t get a baby brother to play with next year.”

As they passed the kitchen, Yang Shi overheard them and asked with a laugh, “What baby brother? Has Benben been good today?”

“Hehehe…” The old master winked at Yang Shi and pointed toward the living room. “He’s been very good. Looks like he’ll have a little brother to play with next year.”

Yang Shi blinked and peeked over in that direction. Sure enough, she saw her son and daughter-in-law sitting very close together, whispering about something. She smiled shyly and said, “These two kids… I’ll talk to them next time and tell them to go back to their room for that.”

“It’s fine, it’s fine. They’re young.” The old master waved it off with a smile. He liked young people like that—full of emotion and sincerity. They couldn’t go too far wrong.

That night, Shen Junxi was pulled aside by his mother Yang Shi. She tactfully reminded the couple to be mindful of where they got affectionate. It was best to go back to their room—being seen wouldn’t be good.

The young man’s face turned so red it looked like it was about to bleed. He hurriedly gestured, “We didn’t do anything intimate.”

“Aiya, don’t deny it, your mother saw everything,” Yang Shi said with a chuckle. “It’s not like I’m not letting you two be intimate. I just want you to be mindful. Once you’re back in your room, do whatever you want.”

With “intimate” on the left and “intimate” on the right, the repeated emphasis made it hard for Shen Junxi to explain. He could only nod vaguely to appease his mother.

Yang Shi kept going, “I see your relationship with your wife is better now. Don’t blame your mother for being nosy, but how often do you two get intimate now? I mean that kind of intimacy—you know what I mean.”

Shen Junxi had absolutely no way to answer such a question. Then his mother asked again, “Let me put it another way. When you’re intimate, is your wife satisfied? Has he ever said you weren’t?”

That’s right—what she was concerned about was the quality of her son and daughter-in-law’s sex life. It was said that when a couple was satisfied in that area, their relationship would naturally improve. But if not, no matter how good their relationship was before, it would slowly deteriorate.

Yang Shi wasn’t blindly guessing. In fact, she had seen plenty of women around her who had affairs—wasn’t it all because they weren’t satisfied with their husbands? As tacky and realistic as it might sound, who could deny the truth of it?

The young man nodded vaguely, regardless of what his mother said. This attitude left Yang Shi helpless, and she had to let him go. Before he left, she still reminded him, “You must pay attention, got it?”

Watching her son flee as if escaping, Yang Shi shook her head with a sigh. Her son was just too thin-skinned.

After hearing all that from his mother, Shen Junxi didn’t dare bring any of it up to Song Jingwei—especially not whether he was satisfied or anything to do with cheating. But from that day on, whenever they showed any affection in public, he became extra cautious of those around them. Of course, if the setting wasn’t suitable, he would find ways to make it suitable.

Meanwhile, after a temporary victory, the villagers’ fear of enemy attacks had diminished significantly. They gradually came to believe that, with everyone’s combined efforts, they could safely make it through this ordeal.

More and more people stepped up to help the authorities, and the Shen family’s main branch received growing praise. Conversely, criticism of Er Baozi’s family also increased. Everyone was waiting for them to make a statement—either they would continue to participate, or they should move away from where the village was actively engaged.

Er Baozi’s family was distressed over this matter. If no one pressured them and no one gossiped about them, they could have kept staying put without saying anything. But in the village, everyone had a sharp tongue, and those tongues could talk someone to death.

Er Baozi’s mother said, “They’ve all been deceived! Why else would everyone treat their own lives like they don’t matter? Taking the risk of dying just to fight the enemy, and they feel proud of it?”

Unfortunately, no one responded to her words. The entire household had been unusually quiet these days.

“Baozi, say something, will you? I’m asking you!” she said, seeing no one was paying attention to her and turning to her son.

“Mom, what’s the point of me saying anything? If I give my opinion, will you even listen?” Er Baozi replied. “Since you won’t, why even ask?”

His mother stared at him wide-eyed, then muttered, “So now you’re all blaming me? No one talks to me anymore, huh? Bringing you back was my fault now…” As she spoke, her eyes began to redden.

“Mom, can you please not be like this?” Er Baozi had a pounding headache. His mother was the type to cry at the drop of a hat, and unfortunately, his father was very susceptible to this tactic and always gave in.

Sure enough, Er Baozi’s father came over to comfort her, saying, “We’re not blaming you. We’re just thinking about what we should do. If we do move, where are we supposed to go?”

“Why should we move? What, we can’t just stay here? It’s not like they dare do anything to us!” his wife said, looking defiant.

“If we don’t move, people will keep pointing fingers at us. In the future, our family’s reputation in the village will be completely ruined,” said Er Baozi’s father. If it were just Song Jingwei putting pressure on their family, it wouldn’t matter. But now the whole village was against them—that couldn’t be ignored.

“…” Er Baozi’s mother was someone who cared a lot about appearances. After hearing that, she had nothing to say and was filled with worry. But they couldn’t move. She was terrified of dying—how could she survive outside the village? Clutching her husband’s sleeve, she said, “Why don’t we go beg that Shen family daughter-in-law to spare us? Forcing us to move out—isn’t that the same as killing us?”

Er Baozi’s father thought it wasn’t a good idea, but after his wife pestered him relentlessly, he finally agreed.

Not long after, the entire Er Baozi family showed up at the Shen family’s main house with gifts in hand.

Seeing them arrive with large bags, Yang Shi quickly went inside to notify her son and daughter-in-law. With a strange look on her face, she said to Song Jingwei, “What’s Er Baozi’s family trying to do? They brought the whole family, and all these big bags?”

Song Jingwei instantly guessed what they were up to and said to Yang Shi, “Let’s go out and have a look. They’re probably here to plead with us.” There had been so much gossip about Er Baozi’s family recently—just stepping outside, one could hear it all. So she was well aware.

“Oh, I see,” Yang Shi replied, suddenly understanding. “But absolutely not—we can’t do such a thing. And we definitely can’t accept their gifts.”