TIPS – Chapter 156

“I don’t know. Should we go ask?”

One bold villager ran up and asked, “Sir, why was the notice taken down? What happened? Do we still need to move?”

The soldiers this time were clearly different from the previous batch. Their attitude was much better, and one of them replied to the villager, “This notice is void. You don’t need to move anymore.”

“Huh?” The villager stood there dumbfounded for a moment, then broke into a wide grin and turned back to shout to the others, “We don’t have to move!”

Cheers erupted from the villagers—the whole village was overjoyed.

“Hurry, go tell Young Master Song! We don’t have to move!”

Most people just naturally assumed this was something Song Jingwei had arranged. But a few dissenting voices muttered under their breath, “What does this have to do with him? This was the court’s decision.”

Someone nearby couldn’t help but interject, “How could the court treat this so lightly—posting one day, removing it the next? I think there’s more to this than meets the eye. If you don’t understand, stop talking nonsense.”

“Yeah, exactly! You don’t know anything, so stop running your mouth.”

That person was shouted down and didn’t dare say another word, though they still felt unconvinced in their heart.

When Song Jingwei heard the news, he also received a reply from Zhang Benqing. The subtle hints in the letter confirmed his suspicions. Although the full truth wasn’t exactly what he had imagined, it was close enough.

The only tangible benefit from all of this was that Lihua Town’s value was bound to increase. The surrounding land too—eventually, every inch would be worth its weight in gold. No wonder some people had been in such a rush.

While Song Jingwei was deep in thought about all this, everyone else was simply relieved that they didn’t have to move.

Yang Shi clasped her hands together and chanted a little prayer: “Heavens be praised, it was just a false alarm. Hopefully nothing this frightening ever happens again.”

Shen Dongming added, “Exactly, it scared me so much I couldn’t sleep properly.” Then he chuckled, clearly exaggerating—he’d just been a little worried, that’s all.

“In the future, we’ll be living right under the capital’s nose. If we want to settle here peacefully, we’ll need to come up with some strategies.” Song Jingwei was already thinking ahead: how could they make money in a place where every inch of land would be precious?

He wasn’t just thinking for his own family—but for the entire village.

Seeing his daughter-in-law so deep in serious thought, Shen Dongming scratched his head and said, “We don’t really know much about that stuff, but if you’ve got a plan, go for it. Our family will follow your lead.”

“Yeah,” Yang Shi chimed in. “Your father and I don’t have much of a business mind.” Living so close to the capital sounded intimidating. Without Song Jingwei, they’d be fumbling their way through and probably get taken advantage of without even realizing it.

“Let’s not talk about that,” Song Jingwei said with a smile, unwilling to continue down that line of conversation.

Shen Junxi gestured, “Father and Mother didn’t mean anything by it. They sincerely admire you.”

“Mhm,” Song Jingwei nodded.

Thus, the matter of relocating due to the capital’s move came to an end. Meanwhile, the new houses in the village had been completed, and everyone turned their attention to work in the fields.

Recently, in the Shen family’s tea garden, some nearly mature tea plants needed topping. They planned to sell the first batch of tea before late autumn. Though it wouldn’t be a huge quantity, it was still a harvest.

This year’s Lunar New Year was expected to be lean. Families had only bought some chicks in the summer, and by New Year’s they’d grow to seven or eight jin each. As for pigs—those were out of the question until next year.

So this year’s busy farming season felt rather subdued. With little to do, people wrapped up early and started looking for other ways to stay productive.

Last time they’d brought back a lot of bamboo products from the mountains, which sold pretty well in town. The money wasn’t much, but it was something. So, during this lull, some villagers picked up the craft again and began weaving useful household items.

All in all, life in Chashan Village was orderly and stable—better than many other villages.

As for Song Jingwei, he was still planning for the future capital relocation. He wanted to unite Chashan Village into a single, cohesive force, not a scattered mess. Only as a united front could they withstand external pressures.

If the capital relocation really was finalized, this place would face significant shocks. What could he do to build a protective shield?

In the end, it came down to one thing: unity.

Shen Junxi had long noticed his wife’s worries. Normally he didn’t disturb him, but whenever Song Jingwei needed someone, he was always there.

“Hmm?” Song Jingwei came out of his thoughts to see the young man gently draping a coat over his shoulders. Tugging it closer, he murmured, “It’s gotten cold again.”

“Mhm,” Shen Junxi softly responded, wrapping his arms around him from behind.

“Time really flies,” Song Jingwei said as he held his hand. “It’s been almost two years since we met, hasn’t it?”

Shen Junxi smiled and gestured, “Not quite two years—still five months to go.” Then added silently: And three days.

“You remember it that clearly?” Song Jingwei pulled his head down and kissed him on the chin.

“…!” Shen Junxi seized the moment to deepen the kiss, cupping his face and refusing to let go.

Tonight, Benben wasn’t around. Their usual signal for intimacy was when Shen Junxi sent Benben over to his parents’ place. Even though this definitely made it obvious to his parents that they were going to be intimate, there wasn’t much they could do—were they supposed to just not do it?

They were both young and full of energy. Honestly, they were already being very restrained.

Shen Junxi carried his wife to the bed, gently kissed those rosy lips, and enjoyed quietly gazing at him.

“If you’re going to do it, hurry up. Just looking at me—is that really enough for you?” Song Jingwei said. He was already reacting down there, while the young man was still dawdling.

“Mm.” Shen Junxi smiled with upturned lips. In truth, just being able to look at his wife like this was already deeply satisfying for him—but holding him close, hard, was even more satisfying.

Song Jingwei didn’t bother wasting more words. He started untying his own belt. Suddenly, the young man reached out to stop him, shaking his head.

“You want to do it?”

The young man smiled, his fingers deftly unfastening Song Jingwei’s robe, his gaze reverent as he looked at the bare skin revealed before him.

The cool air brushed across his skin.

“It’s a little cold…”

Hearing that, Shen Junxi quickly took off his own clothes and covered his beloved with his body, using his warmth to shelter him.

After a long, lingering kiss, Song Jingwei flipped over and pinned the young man beneath him.

Shen Junxi stared up at him in a daze. Being looked down on like this by his wife gave him a strange feeling.

“Let’s try it this way,” Song Jingwei said with a soft laugh. Maintaining that position, he slowly took in the young man’s heat into his own body…

Shen Junxi’s eyes widened. He was surprised, but his body gave an honest reaction—he liked this…

As Song Jingwei moved atop him, his excitement was obvious. It didn’t take long before he reached climax, leaving him flustered and embarrassed, not daring to meet his wife’s gaze.

“It’s okay,” Song Jingwei murmured as he leaned down to kiss him, stoking the flames in him again.

Shen Junxi sometimes had this issue, but he could usually go multiple rounds. The second time often made up for the first.

“Mm…” Shen Junxi’s face was flushed as he wrapped his arms tightly around his waist. Thinking about how excited he’d just been, he was aroused again in no time.

It was a very satisfying encounter. When it was over, the two lay tangled together, exhausted and lazy, unwilling to part.

Even though they’d been together for a long time and had rolled through countless bedsheets, their attraction to each other’s bodies only seemed to grow stronger.

At least Song Jingwei had to admit—he was getting more and more pleasure from Shen Junxi. Even if he was pressed down hard beneath him, forced into all sorts of shameful positions, he no longer felt humiliated—because it was him. It was Shen Junxi.

And Shen Junxi… well, that was even more so. He’d always longed to possess him. To him, Song Jingwei was like a poison—the more he consumed, the deeper he was addicted.

He truly believed that at this point, there was no cure for him.

“I like you,” Song Jingwei said softly, snapping out of the afterglow. He turned his head and kissed the young man’s forehead.

Shen Junxi’s eyes sparkled for a moment, then curved up in a joyful smile. He was very, very happy.

He clung to him, full of sweet affection, feeling like a flower named “love” was blooming right in his heart.

On this slightly chilly autumn night, everything felt so warm and wonderful. A memory that would last forever.

Mid-November, the height of autumn.

Something strange had happened in the village. At the village entrance, Liu Da was telling everyone he’d met an immortal—right in the small forest behind the village.

Naturally, no one believed him. Immortals were the stuff of legends. Everyone thought Liu Da was just talking nonsense.

But a few days later, someone else said they’d encountered something strange in the forest, too.

“I was chasing one of our chickens—guess what? It was right in front of me, and then whoosh—it vanished!”

“What do you mean vanished?”

“How should I know? It just disappeared! Poof!” The villager recalled the scene and said earnestly, “Maybe there really is an immortal—maybe the chicken got eaten by it!” How else could a perfectly fine chicken just disappear?

These two events became the village’s hot topic. Almost everyone had heard the rumors. So, quite a few people started going to the forest, hoping to try their luck. And then more mysterious things started happening.

The news didn’t reach the Shen family’s main house until several days later.

It sounded interesting. Shen Dongming laughed and said, “Why don’t you guys go check it out too?”

Song Jingwei didn’t believe any of it. He shook his head and said, “It’s probably just some rumor that started in the village.” He knew how people here loved gossip. Maybe it was just boredom that made them start spreading these stories.

“That’s not fair—everyone’s talking about it. Some people even went to see it for themselves,” Shen Dongming chuckled. “They say it’s for the immortals, and someone even offered up a pair of worn-out shoes.” He laughed. The villagers scolded the guy—what if the immortal got angry?

“That ridiculous?” Song Jingwei raised an eyebrow. A little doubt crept in—could it really be true?

Even if he was suspicious, he had no intention of going to check it out and didn’t take it seriously.

Until two days later—

a strange person appeared in the village.

This was the same person Liu Da had seen before—the one he thought was an immortal.

He was dressed very strangely. The villagers had never seen such odd clothing or heard such awkward speech. Their first reaction wasn’t to find the village chief, but to call someone to fetch Song Jingwei.

When Song Jingwei heard the villagers’ description, he was inwardly shocked like a stormy sea. But he quickly calmed down, and by the time he was walking down the road, he no longer looked so excited.

That strange man, and his strange outfit—none of it was strange to Song Jingwei at all. To him, the man was just an ordinary young man in an ordinary T-shirt and jeans.

“How did you find him?”

“Uh, he was hiding behind my house and stole one of our sweet potatoes to eat…” a villager stepped forward and said.

The young man quickly waved his hands and said, “Sorry, I’m really sorry. I didn’t mean to steal; I was just too hungry and had no choice. Please don’t blame me.” He seemed very flustered, surrounded by so many people.

“Leave this man to me,” Song Jingwei said to the villagers. “Anyone object?”

“No, no,” everyone shook their heads. Of course, they had no objections—they didn’t know how to deal with this person either.

“Alright.” Song Jingwei looked at the young man and nodded. “Come with me.”

A good-looking man in ancient attire, though he seemed a bit aloof, didn’t look like a bad person. Qin Xiaodong swallowed hard and finally walked over.

He had been here for several days, completely lost, and still didn’t know where he was. He just knew he didn’t belong. If he suddenly showed up in public, would they mistake him for a monster and beat him to death?

Qin Xiaodong shivered at the thought and quickly followed that elegant, striking figure. For some reason, he felt safe with him…

“What’s your name?”

“Huh? Me? I’m Qin Xiaodong.” Qin Xiaodong waited for the other person to introduce himself, but no matter how long he waited, the man in front never said a word.

“Where are you from?” Song Jingwei asked.

“From…” Qin Xiaodong twitched the corner of his mouth and mumbled, “Seems like I came from another world. Do you believe that?”

“Yes.”

“Huh?” Qin Xiaodong widened his eyes. He believed him?

“Mm.” Now certain that the other man had come from that world, Song Jingwei couldn’t quite say what he felt. Maybe he was excited at first, but that was it.

“I’m a graduate student at XX University. Um, we were researching a space-time travel project. But I guess you probably wouldn’t understand.” Qin Xiaodong continued talking to himself. “I wasn’t supposed to be the guinea pig. I volunteered… I must’ve been crazy, haha.”

Song Jingwei turned to glance at him. From the sound of it, this had been a planned action. “Can you go back?” he held his breath, seriously waiting for Qin Xiaodong’s answer.

“Huh?” Being stared at so intently, Qin Xiaodong broke out in goosebumps. He felt cold. Well, he was wearing little, so of course he was cold!

“Answer my question,” Song Jingwei said, narrowing his eyes and staring him down.

“Uh, yes, it’s possible. There should still be two chances left—three days from now and six days from now…” Qin Xiaodong spilled the beans without meaning to.

“Oh.” Song Jingwei’s eyes darkened. In truth, a wave of emotions surged in his heart like a stormy sea.

“What’s wrong with you?” Qin Xiaodong asked, noticing something odd about this ancient man.

“Nothing. Let’s go,” Song Jingwei replied, returning to his usual expression as he brought the unfamiliar guest home.

Shen Dongming and Yang Shi saw their daughter-in-law bring someone home and asked curiously, “Whose child is this? Why is he dressed so lightly?” The cold wind howled outside, and their first thought was that this young man must be freezing. Only afterward did they realize how strange he looked—odd clothes, short hair.

“He’s a refugee from outside. He’ll be staying here for a few days,” Song Jingwei said.

“Oh, I see.” Upon hearing this, Yang Shi quickly called Qin Xiaodong inside. “Child, come in quickly. It’s too cold outside.”

Qin Xiaodong was deeply moved by the auntie’s kindness. This was the first time since arriving in the ancient world that someone had shown him such warmth.

“Ah, thank you, Auntie!”

“No need to thank me. Come inside and have some hot tea. Daniu, go find him some thick clothes and prepare some hot water for a bath.”

Everything Yang Shi said was like a dream come true for Qin Xiaodong. He nodded so hard it looked like his head was pounding garlic—he was so happy.

“Uh…” He caught sight of Song Jingwei and immediately toned it down a little. This man gave off the same pressure as a boss… so weird.

“Go ahead. We’ll talk after you’ve had a bath,” Song Jingwei said.

“Mm-hmm, okay!” Qin Xiaodong let out a breath of relief and quickly followed Yang Shi inside.

Shen Junxi came out holding Benben and stood at the door watching him, a puzzled look in his eyes.