TIPS – Chapter 21

Hearing that the wages were indeed 30 taels a year, Chen Xianggui was as shocked as everyone else. This young master from the Song family really is wealthy. He was hiring laborers mainly for farming, but could 150 acres of land really generate that much income annually?

Even if it did, after paying the workers, he wouldn’t have much left over, right?

“Brother, I have a favor to ask,” Chen Xianggui said after some thought. Regardless of whether Song Jingwei would profit or not, one thing was certain—he wouldn’t shortchange his laborers. His wife had been pressing him about it, so he thickened his skin and said, “It’s about my brother, Fugui. You know how my wife always complains that he doesn’t go out and work. But you also know what he’s like—he always thinks the jobs I find him don’t pay enough. But with your daughter-in-law offering such high wages, Fugui will definitely take this job seriously.”

Chen Xianggui’s younger brother, Chen Fugui, was someone Shen Dongming was familiar with. He wasn’t exactly lazy, but he tended to have high expectations without the skills to match.

But Shen Dongming didn’t dare to promise anything on the spot. “To be honest, my daughter-in-law is in charge of this. I can’t make that decision. But I can ask him for you.”

“That works too. Thanks, brother.” Chen Xianggui didn’t expect an immediate answer—just bringing it up was already good enough.

By the time Shen Dongming got home, it was late at night.

The next morning, after breakfast, everyone was preparing to head out. That’s when Shen Dongming asked Song Jingwei, “daughter-in-law, is there anything I can do to help with the foundation work?”

Song Jingwei knew he meant well, but digging a foundation was tough work. He figured it would be easier for Shen Dongming to help weeding and catching pests in the tea fields instead. So he said, “We have eighteen workers, which is enough. That work is too exhausting—you don’t need to go.”

“Oh,” Shen Dongming nodded, feeling pleased. It was nice to have someone looking out for him. He hesitated for a moment, then asked, “About the laborers… do we still need more?” He had overheard some talk about road construction, which might require more hands.

“Why? Do you have someone in mind?” Song Jingwei asked knowingly. He had encountered plenty of these situations before. His policy was simple: as long as the person could do the job, he didn’t care about personal connections—that way, he avoided hurting relationships while still ensuring fairness.

“Yes… I do,” Shen Dongming admitted. “My old friend has a younger brother who wants to work for our family.” He smiled brightly.

Over the past few days, he had noticed a shift in how people treated him. Even though there was gossip, no one dared look down on him anymore. Instead, they now looked at him with a mix of envy and admiration.

Shen Dongming found this new attention both annoying and exhilarating. It was hard to describe the feeling, but it was definitely satisfying.

“Alright,” Song Jingwei agreed unexpectedly. “If he’s suitable, have him report to our house tomorrow. I’ll sign a contract with him.”

Shen Dongming was pleasantly surprised—he hadn’t expected Song Jingwei to agree so easily.

“Oh, okay, okay.” Just like that, he agreed?

“Mhmm, you handle it. I need to get to the construction site.” Song Jingwei gathered all the necessary documents and headed toward the foot of Xiaoliang Mountain.

Today’s main task was to confirm the construction plan with Chen Xianggui. Although Song Jingwei had been involved in many real estate projects before, this was different. Consulting local experience and advice was crucial.

Meeting with Chen Xianggui, they spent about twenty minutes determining the exact construction site and work sequence. Once the villagers were assigned their tasks, the two of them stepped aside to observe.

Throughout the process, Song Jingwei never once mentioned Chen Xianggui’s younger brother. This was another one of his principles—he never bypassed intermediaries or ranks to speak directly with the person involved, especially when the intermediary was Shen Dongming.

“Young Master Song, you’re building such a big courtyard house? This isn’t just for yourself, is it?” Feeling a bit bored, Chen Xianggui started chatting with him.

“I didn’t think that far, but the bigger, the better, right?” Song Jingwei crossed his arms, gazing at his land while silently making plans, his mind never stopping.

“Haha, I suppose. But there’s an old saying around here—’a small house makes for close relationships.’ When people live close together, even if they don’t get along, they have to get along.” Chen Xianggui spoke with experience.

“Maybe so.” Song Jingwei smiled. In truth, he was building such a large house to create distance from the Shen family. He hadn’t expected Chen Xianggui to see right through his intentions with just one sentence—it was a bit surprising.

“Haha, don’t mind me, I was just talking.” Chen Xianggui had been skeptical about Song Jingwei at first. But seeing him smile so casually, he suddenly felt that Song Jingwei wasn’t as difficult to approach as the rumors suggested.

The first morning went smoothly—nothing unfortunate happened.

The villagers, being superstitious, took this as a good omen, believing that the house had great feng shui. Even Chen Xianggui joined in, offering several congratulatory blessings to Song Jingwei.

Though Song Jingwei didn’t believe in superstition, he still thanked everyone. At noon, he announced:

“Come to my house for a meal to celebrate the start of construction.”

This had been decided the day before—it was a modern tradition. He had asked Yang Shi to prepare the meal on short notice.

The villagers were stunned—they hadn’t expected food and drinks on the very first day of work. Their surprise quickly turned to excitement:

“That’s great! Let’s go, everyone!”

By the end of the day, news of the Shen family building a house at the foot of Xiaoliang Mountain had spread like wildfire throughout the village.

Everywhere people gathered, they were discussing:

• “The Shen family’s eldest son is building a new house!”
• “How much money does Young Master Song actually have?”

Some claimed that Song Jingwei’s dowry was enormous, and that the house was going to be massive…

Some people were envious, while others were downright jealous.

“Some people are just born lucky. When will our family’s He’er marry a rich wife?”

Wang Shi, who lived comfortably with her in-laws, sighed with genuine envy at Shen Junxi’s good fortune.

But Old Madam Shen shot her a sharp glare, making her fall silent. Then, Wang Shi said:

“Did you hear? Xi’er’s wife is paying 30 taels a year to hire laborers! Tsk tsk, our family’s laborers don’t even earn that much in two years… actually, even three years!”

Why was Wang Shi so bitter?

Because now, whenever she went outside, all the gossiping women envied her.

But ugh! Hadn’t they all badmouthed Song Jingwei before? Now they were jealous instead? Hypocrites!

“What’s the use of being jealous? Instead of complaining, why don’t you focus on finding He’er a wife?” Old Madam Shen snapped.

She had been annoyed earlier, but seeing Wang Shi looking frustrated made her feel much better—such was the dynamic between mother-in-law and daughter-in-law.

“I want to! But where am I supposed to find a wife as rich as Young Master Song?” Wang Shi blurted out.

SMACK!

Old Madam Shen jabbed her hard with a finger.

“Money, money, money! Is that all you ever think about? Have you forgotten our family’s status? We are scholars!”

Seeing Wang Shi obediently take the scolding, she continued:

“How did our third son end up with such a coarse wife like you?”

She and Old Master Shen had carefully picked Wang Shi back then… yet here she was, always talking about money.

Wang Shi didn’t dare talk back, but that night, she complained about it to her husband in private.

Her husband, Shen Dongying, flicked her forehead and said,

“What’s there to be jealous about? Isn’t your life good enough?”

“It is,” Wang Shi admitted.

Aside from her frustrating in-laws, she really had nothing to complain about—except for one thing: “What kind of wife should we find for He’er?”

No matter how she thought about it, she still wanted someone like Song Jingwei—rich.

Shen Dongying knew his wife all too well. With a helpless sigh, he said:

“Xi’er marrying this wife might seem grand now, but it might not actually be a good thing. Just wait—you’ll see in time.”

Meanwhile, in Another Part of the Village…

Two people were feeling even more bitter than Wang Shi.

Sun Laizi and his nephew, Sun Zheng, had been lying low for days.

But they never expected that Song Jingwei would completely ignore them—instead of negotiating for land, he just started construction immediately.

Sun Zheng was a straightforward and reckless man. He immediately suggested to Sun Laizi that they go to the construction site to cause trouble.

After all, that’s what they used to do—storming into people’s homes in a fit of rage. Most people were scared of them, and those who weren’t? They got beaten until they were.

But Sun Laizi said, “Not this time. Young Master Song isn’t just some nobody—do you dare hit him?”

Sun Zheng replied, “We don’t have to hit him, just cause enough trouble so he can’t start construction.”

Unlike Sun Zheng, Sun Laizi wasn’t so confident. He knew when to hold back. In the past, he had been able to act arrogantly because he was colluding with Li Zhangguang, taking advantage of rural folks who lacked connections and didn’t dare escalate things.

But Song Jingwei? He wasn’t some clueless country bumpkin—he could contact the government officials in an instant.

So, he told his nephew, “Honestly, we wouldn’t be able to squeeze much compensation out of him. Instead, why not make a deal and find a way to make money from this?”

That Night in Chashan Village

Each household had mixed emotions, but they were all talking about the same thing.

Meanwhile, at the Shen family home, things were peaceful. When Song Jingwei returned, the three Shen family members were already there.

The Shen couple greeted him first.

“How did it go? Was the afternoon smooth?”

Song Jingwei nodded and replied, “It went well, no surprises.”

Since Shen Junxi couldn’t speak, he simply observed Song Jingwei quietly, his gaze warm.

After finishing his conversation with the Shen couple, Song Jingwei was pulled aside to wash up before dinner.

Shen Junxi handed him a clean cotton cloth to wipe his hands.

“Thank you.” Song Jingwei took it, feeling slightly uncomfortable—not because he wasn’t used to being served, but because he didn’t want Shen Junxi to take care of him like this. Small tasks like these—he could handle them himself.

Shen Junxi shook his head as if to say, “It’s nothing.” Then, he nudged Song Jingwei inside—it was time for dinner.

That evening, Song Jingwei once again experienced the treatment he used to receive.

Shen Junxi had resumed heating water and washing his clothes for him.

When Song Jingwei refused, “No need, I’ll do it myself.”

Shen Junxi, of course, wouldn’t listen. He was quick with his hands and outright snatched the clothes away.

After grabbing them, he kept his head down, avoiding Song Jingwei’s expression.

Whether Song Jingwei disliked it or even despised him—it didn’t matter. He just wanted to do something for him.

At this point, what could Song Jingwei do?

Since Shen Junxi wouldn’t listen and he couldn’t stop him, he gave up.

As a man, he didn’t care to argue over such trivial things. It wasn’t a big deal anyway, was it?

“Do whatever you like.” His face remained expressionless as he spoke.

“Mm.” Shen Junxi stole a quick glance, then lowered his head and went to fetch water.

He knew Song Jingwei was unhappy with him, disliked him, maybe even hated him…