TIPS – Chapter 18

The atmosphere in Chashan Village was decent. Other than Sun Laizi and Sun Zheng—the two troublemakers who didn’t do honest work—there were no major cases of theft or robbery.

What worried Shen Dongming was that they were currently keeping a large sum of Song Jingwei’s dowry at home. It wasn’t about if something might happen, but when.

Song Jingwei took charge of buying the wolfdog, but when it came to purchasing the ox cart, he said, “I don’t know much about that. You can go buy it another day.”

Shen Dongming nodded in agreement and turned to remind his son, “Drive carefully. No need to rush.”

After bidding farewell to Shen Dongming and Yang Shi, Shen Junxi slowly drove the ox cart out of Chashan Village with his wife.

It was early morning, and the villagers were heading out to the fields. Everyone they passed gave them a long look, and some children even ran after the cart.

Shen Junxi turned to Song Jingwei and gestured, “Ignore them.”

These simple hand gestures were easy for Song Jingwei to understand. Not that he cared about the stares in the first place, so he simply shook his head, indicating that he wasn’t bothered.

The ox cart jolted along for an hour before they finally arrived at Lihua Town. At the gates of the Song residence, Song Jingwei got down to knock.

The gatekeeper recognized him immediately and hurried inside to inform He San. Before long, He San came out, smiling as he greeted him. He then explained, “Master Song Man took his son to his late wife’s family today for a wedding celebration. He’s not home.”

Song Jingwei replied, “Perfect. When he gets back, just tell him I came by. I won’t be going in.”

He San tried to persuade him, “That won’t do. Young Master, you rarely return—at least stay for a meal before leaving.”

Song Jingwei refused. “We’re not going in. We have other things to do.”

Since he insisted, He San couldn’t force him. He simply said, “Safe travels.”

He didn’t even bother to invite him back again in the future. After all, He San knew better than anyone that as long as Song Jinmei was around, Song Jingwei would never have a place in the Song residence.

“Let’s go to the market.” Song Jingwei climbed onto the ox cart and said to Shen Junxi. He had already planned to find an excuse to sit for a while and then leave. Now, things had worked out even better—clearly, Song Jinmei was capable. She had even managed to fool his father into leaving.

Shen Junxi responded with a soft “mm” but didn’t move. His face was full of discomfort, as he couldn’t understand why Song Man’s family didn’t like Song Jingwei.

“Weren’t we going to buy a wolfdog?” Song Jingwei disliked being pitied. Besides, he wasn’t even Song Man’s biological son—he felt no sadness about it.

“Mm.” Shen Junxi urged the ox cart forward, heading toward the market.

At the gate of the Song residence, He San watched Song Jingwei’s departing figure and sighed wistfully. A once-privileged young master had fallen so far—it was truly pitiful in his eyes.

Upon arriving at the market, the two of them got off the cart and searched for a dog vendor. Eventually, they bought a small black puppy. It didn’t quite look like a purebred wolfdog—it seemed to be a mix of a local dog and a wolfdog.

“Doesn’t matter what breed it is, as long as it’s fierce.” The dog vendor grinned, promoting his product. This was the most promising pup in his cage, so the price was a bit higher.

Fierceness made a good guard dog. Song Jingwei agreed with that, so he paid without hesitation and tossed the puppy to Shen Junxi to hold. Afterward, they bought a leash from a street vendor, tied the puppy to the ox cart, and then wandered around.

For Song Jingwei, who hadn’t gone out much since arriving here, the ancient marketplace was somewhat novel, and he observed everything with interest. For Shen Junxi, who had lived here all his life, the market itself wasn’t important—his mind was preoccupied with what had happened at the Song residence.

“You look like you just stepped in cow dung. Do you really care that much?” Song Jingwei strolled leisurely, hands behind his back, glancing at various stalls. Then, he noticed the person beside him looking dejected.

Like a wilted Starflower, usually so resilient but now lacking its usual tenacity.

“Mm…” Shen Junxi made a series of complex hand gestures. He didn’t expect Song Jingwei to understand—he just wanted to express his frustration.

Unexpectedly, Song Jingwei understood exactly what he meant. Nothing more than feeling indignant on his behalf.

He didn’t have to care about Shen Junxi’s thoughts, nor did he need to explain anything—after all, Shen Junxi was just a stranger he had met not long ago. Even if they were now living together, their relationship was nothing special.

But having someone get angry on his behalf… wasn’t so bad.

Song Jingwei said, “Everything is relative. They don’t care about me, and I don’t care about them. Would you be sad over someone who has no feelings for you?”

Shen Junxi blinked. No feelings? But they were still blood relatives, bound by flesh and bone—how could there be no emotions?

He gestured, “Why?”

With his slow, doll-like movements, he looked a little silly.

Song Jingwei rarely smiled, but now he did. He replied, “Because they don’t care about me, so I don’t care about them.”

Of course, he didn’t say that even if Song Man and Song Jinmei did care about him, he still wouldn’t be able to return those feelings so easily.

It was the same with the Shen family. They weren’t bad to him, but so what? Just because someone treated you well didn’t mean feelings would naturally develop. Besides, Song Jingwei had his own plans. He was young—there was no way he would stay in a rural village forever.

His goal was to earn a lot of money, travel the world, and enjoy the freedom of a wanderer’s life.

Shoving the mute young man out of his thoughts, Song Jingwei continued walking at his own pace, stopping to examine anything that piqued his interest.

However, after wandering around, he realized there wasn’t much to see. The initial novelty wore off quickly—ancient markets were too simple, and to a modern person like him, beyond the first impression, all that remained was inconvenience.

“It’s still early. Let’s go to the food market and buy some ingredients for lunch.”

Shen Junxi, still frowning slightly, nodded in agreement. They had left early, so if they hurried back, they might make it in time for lunch.

At the food market, they picked out some meat and preserved foods before heading home.

Back at the Shen house, Yang Shi was about to start cooking, while Shen Dongming sat at the doorstep smoking.

“The daughter-in-law said they might not eat at the Song house. Do you think they’ll come back?” Shen Dongming mused.

Yang Shi wanted to say no, but just then, her sharp-eyed husband spotted two figures approaching. He grinned, “Told you to wait before cooking. Look, they’re back.”

Yang Shi chuckled and scolded him before hurrying to greet them. “Why are you back so soon? Didn’t stay for a meal at in-laws’?”

Song Jingwei lifted his long robe and jumped down from the cart. “We bought groceries. Have you started cooking yet?”

Seeing all the food they had brought, Yang Shi quickly stepped forward to help carry things inside. “So much?” Then, spotting the little black puppy, she exclaimed, “You even bought a dog?”

Hearing the word puppy, Shen Dongming immediately came over to take a look. He petted the pup and laughed. “Not bad, not bad. Looks like a healthy one.”

In his heart, he praised his daughter-in-law’s good eye for picking a strong pup.

Once everything was unloaded, Shen Junxi gestured to everyone, indicating that he was going to return the ox cart.

Yang Shi said, “Go ahead, but come back quickly. I’ll have the food ready soon.” Then, she smiled at Song Jingwei and said, “Go wash your face and get rid of the dust.”

“Alright.” Song Jingwei returned to his room, found a clean set of clothes, and went to the washroom to freshen up. The ancient roads were made of compacted dirt, and ox carts constantly kicked up dust, leaving his face covered in a yellowish-brown layer.

After returning the ox cart, Shen Junxi came back and saw that Song Jingwei was now fresh and clean. He, too, went to the washroom to change into a clean set of clothes. When he saw the pile of dirty clothes on the wooden tray, he chuckled softly and, full of energy, picked up the basin and went out to do the laundry.

At this time, Shen Dongming was playing with the dog in the courtyard. He watched as his son washed his daughter-in-law’s clothes, but he seemed completely accepting of it and didn’t find anything unusual about it. He even commented, “Washing clothes for your wife, huh?”

His son nodded confidently. “Yes.”

Song Jingwei silently closed the window, feeling out of sync with this world’s customs. He had to admit, the one who was out of place here wasn’t the Shen family—it was him.

After lunch, he went back to his room for a nap. Not long after he lay down, someone joined him. Knowing it was Shen Junxi, he drowsily turned over and continued sleeping.

Around three in the afternoon, the sound of Shen Junxi getting up woke him, and he couldn’t fall back asleep.

Casually, Song Jingwei asked, “Where are you going this afternoon?” He recalled that there were still a few contract documents left unwritten. If Shen Junxi had no other plans, he could finish them.

After a brief moment, a piece of paper was handed to him. It read: “I’m going to the small hill to cut pig grass. Do you want to come?”

Pig grass? What on earth is that? Song Jingwei raised an eyebrow and said, “I can come, but you have to set aside tomorrow morning to write the contracts for me.”

Shen Junxi had already kept this in mind. He wrote, “I remember. I’ll help you write them tomorrow.” Then, as if to confirm, he added again, “Are you coming?” His gaze was focused and expectant.

Song Jingwei thought, Shen Junxi must have done this kind of work plenty of times before—why does he need someone to accompany him?

Still, he always reminded himself to balance work and rest, and movement was essential for life. So, he said, “Let me be clear—I don’t know how to cut pig grass. I’m just going out for a walk.”

Unexpectedly, Shen Junxi was delighted just to hear that. Smiling, he wrote, “You don’t have to cut pig grass. Just have fun.”

Song Jingwei scoffed. Have fun…

The two of them stepped out of the room together. Shen Junxi went to prepare a basket and sickle. At the doorway, he ran into Yang Shi and gestured, “Mother, my wife and I are going to cut pig grass.”

Yang Shi’s heart skipped a beat, and she hurriedly said, “How can you let your wife do that kind of work?”

Shen Junxi quickly gestured back, “He’s not working. He’s just going out for a walk.”

Hearing this, Yang Shi was relieved and said, “Alright, go ahead. Take your wife around for a stroll.” Although there weren’t any notable sights in the village, the vast tea fields were still quite beautiful.