TIPS – Chapter 25

“Why only five taels?” Song Jingwei asked, puzzled.

“Well…” Wu Xi glanced cautiously at his elder brother. After everything that had happened today, his brother and sister-in-law would undoubtedly blame him. Forget about helping him repay the debt—he’d be lucky if they didn’t start resenting him for causing trouble.

Shen Dongming sneered and whispered to his daughter-in-law, “Wu Xi’s brother and sister-in-law are heartless people. They probably don’t want to give him the money.”

Song Jingwei narrowed his eyes. “They’re brothers. Wu Xi borrowed so much money—wasn’t it for something important?”

A single man without a family to support wouldn’t normally need such a large sum—unless he had bad habits. And borrowing at high interest? That was even more suspicious.

“Of course it wasn’t for himself,” Shen Dongming scoffed. Then he muttered, “The money was probably for their parents’ burial.”

There had been rumors in the village back then—it seemed they were true.

Hearing this, Song Jingwei turned to Wu Fu, Wu Xi’s elder brother, and asked,

“You are Wu Xi’s older brother. Now that he’s in trouble, are you willing to contribute your share of the money to help him?”

Wu Fu opened his mouth, struggling to make a choice.

If he said yes, his wife would definitely cause a huge scene.

If he said no, how would anyone respect him in the future?

But if he gave up five taels of silver, his wife might leave him entirely.

In just a brief moment of hesitation, Song Jingwei had already lost interest in him. He turned away and spoke directly to Wu Xi instead.

“You are a loyal and righteous person,” he said. “Unfortunately, you don’t have a worthy brother. If he’s willing to hesitate over just five taels, then your brotherly bond means nothing.”

No one had ever said such things to Wu Xi before. His eyes turned red—a mix of sorrow at his brother’s heartlessness and gratitude for this outsider’s kindness.

“Thank you, Young Master Song. I will always remember your kindness.”

Song Jingwei didn’t dwell on empty words. “If you’re willing, work for me as a long-term laborer. I’ll advance your wages now.”

Wu Xi immediately agreed. “I’m willing! I never refused before—Sun Zheng threatened me, telling me not to seek you out.”

Song Jingwei nodded knowingly. “I know. It’s fine. Here’s ten taels—go pay off your debt.”

He had brought some silver with him just in case.

Wu Xi gratefully accepted the money, thanking him repeatedly. Then he turned to Sun Zheng and said, “Here’s your silver. From now on, don’t come looking for trouble.”

Sun Zheng snorted in disgust. “Tch! Who would waste their time bothering you? Hand over the silver!” He stretched out his hand impatiently.

“Where’s the loan note?” Wu Xi asked, clenching his teeth. “No note, no repayment.”

This time, Wu Xi felt bolder than ever—he wasn’t afraid of facing Sun Zheng anymore.

“Yeah, he’s repaying you, so you’d better hand over the note.” Shen Dongming chimed in from behind Song Jingwei.

Normally, he would’ve stayed silent, but with things so heavily in Wu Xi’s favor, he also felt braver.

Even Shen Junxi, instinctively, moved closer to Song Jingwei, as if standing near him gave an extra layer of protection.

Sun Zheng gritted his teeth at the sound of Shen Dongming’s voice. He didn’t dare curse outright, but he mentally insulted the entire Shen family from top to bottom.

“It’s just a piece of paper! I’ll go home and get it!”

“Then we’ll wait.” Wu Xi tucked the silver back into his sleeve, refusing to hand it over.

“Exactly,” Song Jingwei added. “Either go get the note now, or you’ll get your money another day.”

Sun Zheng glared, thought for a moment, and then snorted angrily. “Fine! I’ll go get the damn note!”

He stormed out of the village chief’s house and headed home.

The villagers watched and thought, At least this whole mess is getting settled right here and now.

Song Jingwei then turned to Sun Laizi. “Since you’re here, let’s discuss the land lease.”

Sun Laizi coughed awkwardly and said, “Ah, about the land… We still plan to keep farming it.”

He refused to let go.

Song Jingwei didn’t argue. “Oh? Alright then. Keep farming it.”

That was it? He wasn’t going to press further?

Sun Laizi felt like he’d swallowed a toad. He had been expecting Song Jingwei to argue, hoping he could use the situation to get some benefits.

Seeing his plan fail completely, he hesitated before speaking. “Young Master Song, actually…”

“Enough.” Song Jingwei cut him off. “I know you want to keep the land. I’m not the type to force people to return it. Do whatever you want—farm it for as long as you like. Just remember to pay the rent on time.”

Sun Laizi choked on his own words. He had been waiting for Song Jingwei to negotiate so he could squeeze some profit out of the deal. But Song Jingwei’s indifference made it impossible.

Now he had no room to bargain.

Meanwhile, Village Chief Li Zhangguang had been listening carefully. When he heard Song Jingwei mention land, he saw an opportunity and cautiously asked,

“Young Master Song, how many workers do you actually need?”

He had heard the rumors—Song Jingwei paid thirty taels per worker each year.

Song Jingwei glanced at him. “I haven’t calculated the exact number. Why? Do you have someone in mind?”

Li Zhangguang grinned. “Haha, our village has plenty of strong men. If you need more workers, I can recommend a few.”

There were several families in the village eager for work. If he could arrange something, he might even get a cut of the deal.

“That’s not a problem. If you really have suitable people, tell them to come see me in the morning. As long as they meet the requirements and can do the work, I’ll take them.” Song Jingwei said easily.

“That’s great! I’ll inform them right away so they can find you.” Li Zhangguang said excitedly. He hadn’t expected things to go so smoothly. He’d heard that Song Jingwei wasn’t accepting new workers—was he making an exception for him?

Hearing their conversation, Sun Laizi grew even more anxious. Both he and Sun Zheng had secretly hoped to land a long-term laborer job. Farming? That was nothing—helping someone else farm wasn’t any harder than working their own land. Besides, it was easy money—doing minimal work but earning thirty taels a year. Of course, they wanted in.

Just then, Sun Zheng came rushing back, panting as he pulled a loan note from his pocket and slapped it into Wu Xi’s hand. “Here’s your loan note. Now hand over the silver.”

Wu Xi carefully inspected the note, confirmed it was the right one, and then exchanged it for the silver. “Sun Zheng, from now on, we owe each other nothing.”

“Hmph!” Sun Zheng didn’t even look at him. He had once thought Wu Xi was easy to bully, but now, he felt like he had been played for a fool.

“Alright, since this is settled, we’ll take our leave.” Song Jingwei said, preparing to leave with the Shen family father and son.