TIPS – Chapter 149

“Hey! Pack up whatever we need urgently first. The rest can wait—we’re not in a rush!”

After an entire night of organizing, the families in the mountain village had more or less finished packing. Each household had several large bundles of belongings.

The Shen family’s main house had quite a bit to sort through too, and it was clear that just a few of them couldn’t carry everything down the mountain by themselves.

“Let’s just take the essentials for now. We can bring the rest down little by little later,” Song Jingwei suggested. He didn’t have much himself—after packing, he ended up with just two bundles.

Shen Junxi didn’t have many things either, but he was in charge of packing Benben’s belongings—and those amounted to several large baskets.

“We’ve only been living here for five months, and there’s already this much stuff?” Song Jingwei remarked in surprise as he looked over the pile that belonged to Benben.

“Mm,” Shen Junxi smiled at him and continued sorting, separating the things that could wait from those they needed right away.

“Junxi, Jingwei, have you two packed everything? Do you need help from your mother?” Yang Shi had already finished tidying her room and came over to check on her son and daughter-in-law.

“Thanks, Mom. We’ve got everything under control,” Song Jingwei replied.

“Oh, is it a lot?” Yang Shi poked her head in curiously.

“Not for the two of us. It’s Benben’s stuff that’s taking up all the space,” Song Jingwei said, pointing at the various large and small boxes stacked nearby.

“Haha!” Yang Shi chuckled. “No hurry. Later, when there’s time, your father can come back up and carry the rest down.”

Early the next morning, just as the sky began to lighten, everyone was ready to go. From a distance, the whole group—young and old—stood outside their homes, wrapped in bundles and waiting for someone to give the word to set off.

That “someone” was naturally Song Jingwei. Once his family stepped out and saw that everyone else was ready, he didn’t waste time on long speeches. He simply reminded them to stay safe and orderly, then led them out, one by one.

This time, it wasn’t the Shen family at the front, but the patrol team, in case they encountered any danger on the way down.

Unlike the tense, silent journey they’d made up the mountain, this descent was filled with relief and cheer. Everyone was excited to return home, chatting and laughing as they walked.

“Ah, I forgot to mention something,” Song Jingwei suddenly muttered with a frown.

Shen Junxi moved closer, concern in his eyes.

“It’s nothing major. I just remembered that Yuan Guanlin said some of the village houses were burned down…”

Returning home was supposed to be a joyous occasion. But as always, some families rejoiced while others grieved.

When they finally reached the village after their long descent, they were met not with the warmth of homecoming, but with a landscape of devastation—collapsed walls, scorched beams, and scattered debris.

Some families burst into tears the moment they reached their doorstep.

“Such cruelty! Our house—gone!”

Several neighboring houses were burned to the ground too. Counting them up, there were easily twenty or thirty families whose homes had been destroyed—far more than anyone had expected.

The happiness of returning home didn’t even have time to settle in before being overwhelmed by the bitter reality. Even the families whose homes had been spared felt sorrow for their neighbors.

Their houses were still standing, but the interiors had been completely ransacked. To make matters worse, their fields had grown over with weeds. They’d had no harvest and no income for the entire first half of the year.

Still, compared to those whose houses were reduced to ashes, they were the lucky ones.

The Shen family’s main house also returned home, along with the Lu family. The Lu house hadn’t been locked before they left, but thankfully it was completely empty since they had moved all their belongings into the cellar before evacuating.

Now, their first task was to open the cellar and retrieve their stored goods.

The men dropped their bundles and rolled up their sleeves, ready to get to work.

“It’s already midday. How about I go cook first? We can eat before doing more,” Yang Shi said after helping Shen Dongming carry a few items up from the cellar. She wiped her hands as she spoke.

They had come down from the mountain early in the morning and were all quite hungry.

“Yes, yes—whether we’re hungry or not, Benben definitely is. Let’s eat first,” Shen Dongming agreed.

Benben was currently being looked after by Grandpa Yuan. He hadn’t gone back to the house in Xiaoliang Mountain, instead staying with the Shen family. It still wasn’t safe enough for anyone to be left alone.

Meanwhile, Shen Junxi and Song Jingwei were moving in and out of the cellar, working together to haul up the larger furniture pieces.

“Thank goodness they didn’t burn our house down,” Shen Dongming said while lifting one side of a table. It was clear someone had entered the home.

“There was nothing inside to burn. Unless they had gasoline, they couldn’t set the place on fire. The house was designed with fire prevention in mind,” Song Jingwei explained.

“Really?” Shen Dongming looked up at the roof of his home—he hadn’t realized that before.

After a full morning of work and a hearty lunch, the group resumed hauling out supplies. Essentials first; the rest could wait.

“Sigh, our home’s still intact, but it’s heartbreaking to see the others…” Someone remarked upon hearing how many families had lost their houses.

“What are they going to do tonight? They’ve got elderly and children too…” Thankfully, the weather was warm. If this had happened in the dead of winter, it would have been a real tragedy.

“Who knows? Should we squeeze in with the neighbors for now?”

Song Jingwei spoke up, “Of course we’ll have to squeeze in a bit. Everyone should help each other. Tomorrow, I’ll gather everyone to discuss rebuilding the houses.”

When the crowd heard what he said, they could already tell he had something planned. Curious, they asked, “Jingwei, what’s your idea this time?”

“You’ll find out tomorrow.”

The next day, Song Jingwei personally went to the village and called everyone together. Seeing that he had come and looked like he had something to say, the villagers naturally gathered around.

“Fellow villagers,” he began steadily as he stood in the middle of the crowd, “though our homes were destroyed in the fire, they can be rebuilt. So there’s no need to feel too sad. The fact that we all survived is already our greatest victory.”

“I know everyone is struggling—not just with housing, but also with the fields and crops. We’ve lost a lot over the past six months of fleeing and hardship.”

The villagers stayed silent, quietly waiting for what Song Jingwei would say next. Deep down, they had a feeling that Young Master Song was once again here to do something good for them.

“I can’t promise to help you all too much, because in the end, this has to rely on everyone working together. What I mean is, starting today, let’s all unite and first rebuild the houses that were burned down. As for the fields, I’ll organize a team specifically for the late-season crops.

“As for the cost of building the houses—each family will still have to come up with most of it. I’ll contribute a small portion.”

Everyone nodded in agreement. A small contribution was still helpful, especially since there were so many households in the village.

“Young Master Song, will you contribute to each household’s new house?” someone asked bravely.

“Yes. I’ll assess each situation individually to determine how much to help. And I want to make it clear—this money isn’t meant to make anyone feel grateful. I just believe that we are all united. Whether I’m in trouble or any of you are in trouble, we should treat it like our own problem and work together to solve it.”

“Well said! We’re one village. We survived the disasters together, fought the enemy side by side! We should stand as one. And those with divided hearts—if you still don’t come to your senses, you don’t deserve to be one of us!” said one of the men who had fought in battle, his voice full of belonging and honor.

Their feelings about the village were no longer the same as before, and their sense of identity had never been so clear.

“That’s right! We must stay united! Over the past months, we’ve risked our lives together, survived five harsh months, and not a single person in our village has died. Whose credit is that? I won’t say it’s all Young Master Song’s doing, but I will say it’s thanks to all of us working together!” a young man said passionately. “I hope our village stays this united forever!”

“United forever!” the young people shouted first.

As they chanted, the old and the young joined in, shouting loudly and passionately. A powerful sense of pride rose in the air. Ever since the village became more mixed with various surnames decades ago, Chashan Village had never experienced such harmony and unity.

This disaster turned out to be a blessing in disguise, bringing an unprecedented sense of cohesion.

“Good!” Song Jingwei looked on with satisfaction and began calling out familiar villagers, assigning them specific tasks. Everyone got to work efficiently.

Under this spirit, even those who weren’t particularly passionate didn’t dare raise objections or act with bad intentions. Maybe some of them would quietly change over time, or maybe they’d stay the same—it was hard to say.

For the time being, the village entered a strange but wonderful state.

Everyone worked together, regardless of whose home it was. Today they’d all work at your house to rebuild it. Tomorrow, they’d go to someone else’s house to do the same. No one fussed over how many days were spent on one house, and no one complained if they didn’t need a new house themselves.

Even women who didn’t have to watch children came out to help in the fields.

With everything needing attention, things were progressing in an orderly and hopeful manner. The villagers felt encouraged, and that motivation made the work easier. In this atmosphere, even sad things didn’t feel so sad anymore. As long as they had each other, they weren’t afraid of anything.

With so much help going around, many people often mentioned Song Jingwei’s name. They all said that if not for him, the village would have been destroyed.

Because of this, the Shen family’s main house had been very lively lately. People frequently stopped by to visit and bring little gifts. If it came from their own fields, Yang Shi accepted it. But if it was something bought with money, she sternly warned everyone not to bring it—she wouldn’t accept it even if it was gifted.

So everyone came to know that their family liked sweet potatoes and taro—but wouldn’t accept anything bought with money.

Actually, after five months of hardship, everyone had little food left at home, so they could only offer small amounts. It was just a gesture of goodwill.

Yang Shi accepted these gifts but would always return something to each household—just a simple exchange of food to vary the taste.

Still, it was mostly sweet potatoes and taro, so their family had been eating a lot of those lately, to the point of getting sick of them.

That night, after an intimate moment, Song Jingwei rubbed his stomach and said softly to Shen Junxi beside him, “I’m kind of hungry.” They had sweet taro again for dinner, and he hadn’t eaten much.

“……” Shen Junxi touched his stomach and gestured, “Wait a bit, I’ll make some noodles.”

He got up, put on his clothes, but saw Song Jingwei getting dressed too. He blinked in confusion.

“Let’s go. Aren’t you making noodles? Hurry up,” Song Jingwei said as he put on his shoes.

“Mm.” Shen Junxi chuckled softly, put on his shoes, and left with him.

“Tomorrow we’re bringing Benben over. We can’t keep… messing around like this,” Song Jingwei said quietly. His voice had a rich warmth in the night, and to Shen Junxi, it was a comforting sound.

“Okay.” Shen Junxi finished gesturing and held his husband’s hand. The couple walked slowly through the dark corridor.

At this hour, everyone in the house was asleep. Only Xiao Hui and Da Huang, the two dogs in the yard, were lazily lying there. When they heard the couple coming, they wagged their tails excitedly.

“Shh, don’t bark. I’ll feed you later,” Song Jingwei said softly, not wanting to wake the family.

The two of them quietly entered the kitchen. Shen Junxi groped around and lit the oil lamp. Then he brought over a low stool and had Song Jingwei sit.

“No need, you go ahead. I’ll see if I can help with anything,” Song Jingwei said, looking around the kitchen for something to eat.

Shen Junxi smiled, opened the wooden lid of the water jar, and scooped out a handful of shrimp with a small bamboo sieve.

“Huh? You still had these? When did you catch them?” Song Jingwei asked in surprise. He hadn’t had shrimp in a long time. Lately, they’d only been eating sweet potatoes and taro at home.

“This afternoon,” Shen Junxi gestured while preparing the shrimp at the stove. Then he rolled up his sleeves and started kneading dough to make noodles.

“I’ll take care of the shrimp,” Song Jingwei said, finding some scissors and peeling the shrimp meat.

As Shen Junxi kneaded the dough, he occasionally looked over at Song Jingwei, who was fully focused under the warm glow of the oil lamp. A gentle smile spread across his face. He would lower his head and continue kneading, then after a while look up again. That side profile was one he knew like the back of his hand, could draw with his eyes closed — yet somehow, he still couldn’t get enough of it.

Even with the person right in front of him, his longing never ceased.

“Mm, I’ll go steal a few tender greens from the vegetable garden,” Song Jingwei said. He’d finished preparing the shrimp and wanted to add something more to the noodles. He remembered the little Chinese cabbage that Yang Shi had recently planted — a fresh new crop had just sprouted.

“……” Shen Junxi smiled with his eyes as he heard the word “steal,” and watched his husband leave.

Before long, Song Jingwei really did come back with a few fresh cabbage stalks, which he washed clean in the basin.

By now, Shen Junxi had finished kneading the dough and, with a few quick motions, pulled the noodles and dropped them into the already boiling water.

“When do I add these?” Song Jingwei asked, holding both the shrimp and cabbage in his hands.

“Not yet, wait until the noodles are done,” Shen Junxi gestured, carefully watching the flame. When the time came, he smiled and nodded at Song Jingwei to let him know it was time.

Song Jingwei gave him a glance, then added the shrimp and cabbage to the pot himself.

Shen Junxi stirred it gently with a ladle, covered the pot with a lid, and counted quietly to ten or so before removing the firewood and grabbing large porcelain bowls.

“It’s done already?” Song Jingwei watched as he moved fluidly, lifting a bowl of noodles from the pot. Of course, there was still some left in the pot.

“Mm.” The young man filled the last bowl and pulled a small plate of chili peppers from the cabinet. He gestured to Song Jingwei, “Want some of this?”

“No.” Song Jingwei declined immediately, then picked up the rich, beautiful bowl of noodles and sat on the low stool to eat.

“……” Shen Junxi smiled, added a bit of chili to his own bowl, then found another low stool and sat beside Song Jingwei. The two sat shoulder to shoulder, eating noodles together.

He knew his husband loved shrimp, so whenever he found a big one in his bowl, he would pick it out and place it in Song Jingwei’s bowl.

“……” Song Jingwei glanced at his bowl, already fuller with shrimp and cabbage, and said, “You eat. I’ve got plenty.”

But when Shen Junxi still tried to give him more, he furrowed his brows and said, “I don’t eat spicy!”

“……” Shen Junxi was startled, his hand trembling — he almost dropped the shrimp. In the end, he had to eat it himself, then looked at Song Jingwei with a hurt expression, as if saying, It’s not even spicy…

“Just eat,” Song Jingwei said, poking his cheek with the tip of his chopsticks.

The two finished their big bowls of noodles, and by then it was already late. Song Jingwei, stuffed full, didn’t want to move. Shen Junxi took his bowl and went to wash it clean.

Watching Shen Junxi busying around the stove, Song Jingwei let out a soft sigh — he was so full.

“……” Shen Junxi looked back at him. Realizing he was overstuffed, he smiled, carefully dried his hands, and came over with an outstretched hand.

“……” Song Jingwei gave him his hand, letting Shen Junxi pull him up. He watched as Shen Junxi gestured, “Come on, let’s go walk it off.”

As soon as they stepped outside, they saw Xiao Hui and Da Huang waiting obediently at the door, looking quite pitiful.