TIPS – Chapter 20

The night passed in silence. The next day, there was still the contract to deal with. After weighing his options, Song Jingwei quietly picked up a brush after breakfast and began writing the contract stroke by stroke.

After half an hour, he looked at his finished product. There were only four words to describe it—absolutely atrocious.

Shen Junxi paced inside the room for a while, hesitating before deciding to go over and help. But just as he was about to move, his father’s voice called from outside.

“Xi’er! What are you doing?”

The courage he had finally gathered disappeared in an instant. He walked out instead, using hand gestures to ask, What is it?

“You haven’t gone to the tea fields in days. Let’s head over.” Shen Dongming said.

Shen Junxi hesitated, looking back and forth between the room and the tea fields. In the end, he shook his head and gestured, I can’t go today. I’ll go tomorrow. He pointed toward the room, looking both helpless and uncertain.

“Oh, I see.” Shen Dongming lowered his voice knowingly. So, even after a night’s sleep, they still haven’t made up? That wouldn’t do. He leaned closer to his son and whispered, “You should hurry up and make peace with him. There’s no such thing as an overnight grudge between husband and wife, understand?”

Shen Junxi nodded deeply in agreement. His lost courage seemed to return in full force, pushing him into action.

He walked into the room, came up behind Song Jingwei, and—keeping a serious expression—reached out to poke his shoulder. A fight is a fight, but Song Jingwei couldn’t possibly refuse his help, right?

“What do you want?” Song Jingwei asked without even turning around. There was only one person in the world who would poke him like this.

“Mm…” Shen Junxi silently picked up the ink stick and started grinding it. As he did, his eyes accidentally landed on Song Jingwei’s handwriting. He quickly lowered his head and quietly pressed his lips together.

“You want to help me write it?” Song Jingwei stopped his brush and looked at him. Weren’t we in a cold war? Did it really end in less than a day?

“Mm.” Shen Junxi made a low sound of acknowledgment, still refusing to look at him. He used to stare openly because his wife belonged to him, so looking was only natural. But now, it was different. If he thought too much, his heart would ache.

“…Thanks.” Song Jingwei hesitated before responding, his expression slightly awkward. If possible, he wanted to finish it himself. It wasn’t that he didn’t want Shen Junxi’s help—maybe it was just a bit of guilt. His words had hurt someone so sincere.

Maybe this young man really did see him as his wife. But unfortunately, he wasn’t into men and had never considered living as a couple with one.

Shen Junxi waved his hand dismissively, refusing the thanks. Even if Song Jingwei didn’t like him, it didn’t matter. He still rushed to help him whenever he could.

Being able to help actually made Shen Junxi happy—it proved that he was useful, not just some worthless burden.

Fortunately, the contract was almost finished, with only a few copies left to transcribe before noon.

After lunch, the tenant farmers gathered once again in the courtyard of the Shen family’s main house.

Frowning slightly, Song Jingwei did a quick headcount. The Sun family uncle and nephew, as well as the Wu brothers, were still absent. He asked, “Does anyone know their situation? Are they refusing compensation, or is there another issue?”

A villager who knew the Wu brothers shook his head. “I haven’t seen them in the past two days, so I have no idea.”

“Is that so?” Song Jingwei furrowed his brows but decided not to dwell on it for now. Instead, he addressed the tenant farmers present, explaining his thoughts and requirements for hiring long-term laborers. He began selecting suitable villagers and signing contracts with them on the spot.

Eighteen people had come, and all eighteen signed contracts. There was only one copy of each contract, which Song Jingwei kept in his possession.

“Young Master Song, my son Peng has come of age now—he’s tall and strong. Can he work for you as a laborer?” a man who had just signed the contract asked loudly.

“For now, we have enough people for house construction,” Song Jingwei replied. “However, I noticed the road at the foot of the mountain needs repairing. Wait a few days—I’ll decide soon and let you know.”

Hearing about road repairs, the villagers’ eyes lit up. They all knew that to get rich, one must first build roads. Since this young master Song was a capable person, following him might lead to a better life.

“Alright! Just be sure to let us know once you’ve made your decision,” the villagers responded eagerly. Many of them had men in their families who could work. If two members of a household became laborers, they could earn 60 taels of silver a year—something they had never dared to dream of before.

“I will,” Song Jingwei assured them, then added, “Everyone should gather at the site tomorrow morning to start work. Is that clear?”

“No problem!” the villagers replied in unison.

Song Jingwei nodded and dismissed them, reminding them to bring hoes and shovels for digging the foundation.

As the crowd dispersed, one villager lingered behind, hesitating. Once most people had left, he turned back and knocked on the courtyard door of the Shen family’s main house.

Song Jingwei, who hadn’t gone far, opened the door and was met with the sight of a dark-skinned, burly man. He looked at him curiously.

“Young Master Song…” The man hesitated before speaking. “There’s something I want to tell you—about the Wu brothers.”

“Go ahead. No need to be afraid,” Song Jingwei reassured him.

“Well… The Wu brothers actually wanted to come, but those two scoundrels, Sun Lai Zi and his nephew, threatened them and forbade them from coming.” The man was filled with resentment but didn’t dare to speak too loudly. Even though he cursed them under his breath, his voice was barely above a whisper.

But Song Jingwei heard him clearly. He replied, “Thank you for telling me. Your name is Li Tiezhu, right? I remember you.”

Li Tiezhu was taken aback, then excited. He hadn’t expected Song Jingwei to remember his name. He nodded quickly. “Yes, my name is Li Tiezhu!”

“Good. You should go home now. As for the Wu brothers, I’ll take care of it.” Now that he knew it was the Sun family causing trouble, it was easy to understand—it was nothing more than a fight over money.

After sending Li Tiezhu off, Song Jingwei turned to Shen Junxi and said, “I’m heading to town.”

Lihua Town didn’t have a county magistrate’s office—only a small administrative branch, staffed with a few clerks and a primary officer who also handled minor legal cases. For ordinary matters, there was no need to report to the county magistrate.

That afternoon, Song Jingwei’s luck was quite good. The newly appointed county magistrate happened to be visiting for an inspection.

“The young master of the Song family, the wealthiest family in Lihua Town?” Zhang Benqing, the county magistrate, hesitated when he heard someone had come to see him. He initially didn’t want to meet anyone, but considering the special status of the visitor, he reconsidered.

By the time Song Jingwei was granted an audience with Zhang Benqing, quite some time had passed. Earlier, while waiting outside, he had learned that Zhang Benqing was newly appointed. That’s good, he thought.

After a brief exchange in the main hall, Zhang Benqing fell silent and then led Song Jingwei to a private study for a confidential discussion.

They talked for nearly half an hour. By the time Song Jingwei emerged, the sky was already darkening. If he hurried, he could still make it home in time for dinner.

Shen Junxi, who had accompanied him, had no idea what this trip was about, nor did he ask. Seeing Song Jingwei come out, he greeted him with a smile.

Having just resolved a legal issue, Song Jingwei was in a good mood and returned the smile.

Shen Junxi stared at him, momentarily forgetting his earlier decision—hadn’t he decided to stop liking Song Jingwei, to avoid causing him trouble?

But as this thought crossed his mind, the brightness in his eyes dimmed.

Song Jingwei, too focused on other matters, had neither the time nor the energy to notice. He quickly climbed onto the ox cart and said, “Let’s go home.”

That short sentence lifted Shen Junxi’s spirits. At least for now, Song Jingwei was still with him.

“Mm.” He smiled again, then eagerly drove the cart home.

“Since we keep borrowing other people’s ox carts, your father really should buy one tomorrow. And some extra tools while he’s at it,” Song Jingwei mused. There were also building materials they needed to start preparing. He planned to discuss it with Shen Dongming that night.

Shen Dongming had never been involved in house construction before, so he wasn’t very knowledgeable about the specifics. When his daughter-in-law asked, he scratched his head sheepishly and laughed. “I don’t know much about that, but my old friend Brother Chen—his family is in that business.”

“Construction work?” Song Jingwei asked.

“Yeah, sort of. I’ll take you to ask about it.”

So, Shen Dongming took Song Jingwei out again, this time to visit the Chen family. Chen Xianggui was a farmer who also worked as a contractor. Most villagers looking to build houses sought him out, as his skills had been passed down through generations.

Song Jingwei spent half the night discussing blueprints with him. The results weren’t perfect, but at least they wouldn’t delay the groundbreaking the next day.

In the end, he hired Chen Xianggui as a construction consultant and site supervisor for 350 wen per day.

Hearing that his old friend’s new house was about to break ground the next day, Chen Xianggui was shocked. “You’re starting the foundation so suddenly, without saying a word?” he asked. “Isn’t this too hasty? Did you check the auspicious dates? Consult feng shui?”

Shen Dongming shook his head. “None of that.”

“Then why are you even building a house? Who does things this way?” Chen Xianggui said, half laughing, half exasperated. In all his years as a contractor, he had never seen a family this reckless. The Shen family was truly one of a kind.

But Shen Dongming simply chuckled. “It’s all being handled by Xi’er’s wife. We didn’t interfere.” Since the work hadn’t started yet, there wasn’t much he could help with anyway.

“You can’t let him make all the decisions, brother. He’s just a young master—what does he know?” Chen Xianggui felt bad for Shen Dongming. He thought Song Jingwei had taken over the Shen household. Haven’t you heard what people are saying outside? How suffocating must that be?

“Brother, I don’t like hearing that kind of talk,” Shen Dongming said, his face darkening. He defended Song Jingwei firmly, “My daughter-in-law isn’t like what people are saying outside. Don’t listen to their nonsense—it’s all rumors.”

“Really?” Chen Xianggui was skeptical, having only heard gossip from his wife.

“Of course it’s true!” Shen Dongming said seriously.

“Alright, alright, I won’t meddle in your family affairs,” Chen Xianggui relented. “But I do want to ask—about the laborers. Is it true they earn 30 taels a year?” His tone was full of disbelief. Thirty taels! That wasn’t just 30 strings of cash—it was a fortune.

His wife had heard about it somewhere and had been nagging him all afternoon, wanting to send her lazy brother-in-law to work as a long-term laborer.

“It’s true. I watched them sign… the contracts.” Shen Dongming used a word he had recently learned from his daughter-in-law, feeling quite pleased with himself. Over the past few days, he had been observing how Song Jingwei spoke and handled things, and he found himself more and more impressed by his daughter-in-law’s presence and capability.