TIPS – Chapter 27

Sun Zheng held the rock in his hands, feeling completely at a loss. Hurting others was one thing, but this was his own uncle—he just couldn’t bring himself to do it.

“Quit stalling! Just do it!” Sun Laizi patted his own leg impatiently.

Sun Zheng gritted his teeth. All for the money…

“How bad do you want it?” he asked.

“Just enough to make it bleed! You trying to kill me or what?!” Sun Laizi huffed, his eyes glaring.

“Oh, alright then. Brace yourself.”

Sun Zheng took a deep breath, then— thud!

The rock hit Sun Laizi’s shin, instantly drawing blood.

“Aiyoooo…! Owwwww!” Sun Laizi hissed in pain, his breath sharp and ragged. He clutched Sun Zheng’s arm and scolded:

“You heartless brat! I told you to hit me, but did you really have to go all in?! It hurts like hell!”

Sun Zheng, feeling wronged, muttered: “Didn’t you ask me to do it?”

“Ugh, forget it! Just hurry up and carry me down!”

The uncle-nephew duo set off for the worksite again, Sun Laizi moaning dramatically the whole way.

As they arrived at the makeshift shelter, Sun Zheng shouted theatrically:

“Make way, make way! My uncle’s injured! He’s bleeding!”

The villagers gave them puzzled looks—who was stopping you in the first place?

Knowing exactly what kind of people the Sun family duo were, no one wanted anything to do with them. The villagers kept their distance, watching the scene unfold with mild amusement.

When Song Jingwei heard that Sun Laizi had “gotten hurt” again, he let out a mocking snort and turned to Chen Xianggui.

“That Sun Laizi never gives up, huh? Let’s go take a look.”

Chen Xianggui chuckled but muttered internally: If you know he’s a troublemaker, why did you even hire him in the first place?

When Song Jingwei entered the shelter, he saw Sun Laizi sitting on a chair, blood staining his shin—this time, the injury was real.

“Young Master Song, my uncle got hurt while carrying stones. The rock slipped and crushed his leg,” Sun Zheng explained.

“Aiyoo… my poor old leg is ruined!” Sun Laizi dramatically wailed, squeezing his face into a pained grimace.

If he had known what Song Jingwei was about to do next, he wouldn’t have dared to pull this stunt even if given a hundred chances.

“So, your leg is bleeding. Can’t walk, huh?” Song Jingwei asked.

“Exactly, Young Master Song… I’m injured! How can I walk like this?” Sun Laizi hugged his leg, looking pitiful.

“Oh. Got it.”

Song Jingwei calmly scanned the ground and soon spotted a familiar tool—a chisel.

He casually picked it up without saying a word.

Sun Laizi side-eyed the sharp chisel, and his heart dropped.

Wait… wait… is he about to do it again?!

“Y-Y-Young Master Song… what are you doing…?” His voice trembled.

“Just testing if you can walk or not.”

Without warning, Song Jingwei suddenly lunged forward with the chisel.

“AAAAHHH!”

Sun Laizi’s pupils shrank as pure terror shot through his body.

With sweat pouring down his face, he instantly leaped out of the chair, dodging the chisel with surprising agility.

“Huh. Look at that. Seems like you can walk just fine.” Song Jingwei said nonchalantly.

Sun Laizi, realizing he had exposed himself, hesitated for a second before collapsing onto the ground, wailing:

“Nooo, I’m still hurt! It’s bad, really bad!”

With his pointed nose, shifty eyes, and exaggerated cries, he looked ridiculously fake.

Song Jingwei watched him silently for a few seconds, then tossed the chisel aside.

Instead, he reached into the tool pile and pulled out a large iron hammer.

“Oh, sweet heavens!”

At the sight of the massive hammer, Sun Laizi sprang to his feet and bolted—his “injured leg” seemingly healed in an instant.

Song Jingwei chased after him, swinging the hammer menacingly.

The villagers roared with laughter, watching Sun Laizi zigzag across the site, trying to escape.

“Run faster, Sun Laizi! Didn’t you say your leg was broken?” someone teased.

After several minutes of frantic running, Sun Laizi was gasping for air, completely exhausted. He was so close to dropping to his knees in surrender.

Damn it! In all my years, I’ve never been humiliated like this!

Panting heavily, he collapsed onto the side of a field, looking utterly defeated.

“Young Master Song, please… let’s call it a truce… I surrender.” He said, his face filled with misery.

Song Jingwei, also breathing heavily, tightened his grip on the hammer and asked:

“So, will you still try to slack off?”

“No! Never again! I swear on my life!” Sun Laizi waved his hands frantically, swearing up and down.

Song Jingwei smirked. “Good. I’m giving you two days off. If you don’t come back, you won’t get paid for the work you’ve already done.”

Sun Laizi brightened up at the thought of two days off.

“Oh! Thank you, Young Master Song! I’ll be back in two days, I promise!”

Only after Song Jingwei finally lowered the hammer did Sun Laizi feel relieved.

That day’s events spread like wildfire.

By evening, everyone in the village had heard about how Sun Laizi was chased around with a hammer.

In no time, he became the village’s biggest laughingstock.

Fortunately, he stayed inside for the next two days, avoiding humiliation.

Instead, it was Sun Zheng who brought him updates from the outside world.

“Uncle… everyone’s still talking about it… and laughing at you.”

“Pah! Rotten scoundrels! Heartless bastards, all of them!” Sun Laizi grumbled from his bed, gritting his teeth.

As his “wife” carefully changed his bandages, he muttered under his breath: “Laugh all you want… I’ll get back at them one day!”

“Uncle, what do we do now? While you were gone, they kept pushing all the biggest stones onto me.” Sun Zheng grumbled, feeling wronged.

“Sigh, that does sound rough.” Sun Laizi shook his head, honestly considering quitting. But he just couldn’t bring himself to give up the wages. Is there really no way to make money without all this back-breaking labor?

“Uncle, why don’t we just rent someone else’s land tomorrow? Farming is way more worthwhile than slaving away for someone else—and having to endure their attitude on top of it.” Sun Zheng muttered. They could still support their families by renting land elsewhere—besides, it was their wives doing most of the work anyway.

“Alright, alright, let me think about it some more.” Sun Laizi replied.

A few days later, the Sun uncle-nephew duo never showed up for work again.

Hearing this, Chen Xianggui laughed and told Song Jingwei, “I told you they weren’t cut out for this. Why did you even hire them in the first place?”

“They’re restless people. If I hadn’t let them come, they would’ve obsessed over it. Better to let them try, so they can taste the hardship themselves.” Song Jingwei smirked, clearly pleased at getting rid of the troublemakers.

“Ah, so that’s why you made sure they only got the toughest jobs—to make them quit on their own.” Chen Xianggui suddenly understood.

“Not entirely. If they had actually stuck it out, I would have given them a real chance.” That had been Song Jingwei’s original plan, but unfortunately, the Sun duo had spent every day scheming to slack off instead.

Chen Xianggui nodded knowingly, feeling a newfound respect for the young master. He wasn’t as frivolous as the rumors suggested—he was actually someone admirable.

“With so many workers now, the construction is moving fast.” Chen Xianggui remarked. Over fifty men had been hired, with most of them focusing on building the house, while only a small group worked on road repairs. The structure of the main house was already visible, and it was coming together beautifully.

“Mm.” Song Jingwei gazed over the site. At this rate, they could move in within two or three months.

Just as they were preparing to wrap up for the day, Shen Dongming and his son, Shen Junxi, unexpectedly arrived to check on the progress.

As they approached the fields, they were stunned—the vast farmland was completely transformed. Amidst the green waves of crops, a spacious four-sided courtyard house now stood tall.

“Is that… our house?” Shen Dongming asked, pointing to the grand estate.

Shen Junxi tilted his head, gazing at the impressive structure. There wasn’t another house like this in all of Chashan Village.

After hesitating for a moment, he nodded. That must be it…

“Wow, our daughter-in-law is really something! This place looks just like the ones in the city!” Shen Dongming praised as they walked closer, taking in the magnificent sight. Even in town, houses like this were rare. He couldn’t quite put his finger on what made it special, but it was undeniably grander than anything else around.

From afar, Chen Xianggui spotted them and greeted them cheerfully.

“Old Shen! What brings you two here?”

“Haha, Xianggui! We came to check on the house.” Shen Dongming chuckled, his eyes still fixed on the structure. “This house is stunning! Your craftsmanship has gotten even better!”

He assumed the design was Chen Xianggui’s work.

“Oh, no, no! I can’t take credit for this.” Chen Xianggui waved his hands, quickly correcting him. “The entire design and construction plan were done by Young Master Song himself—it had nothing to do with me!”

“Really?” Shen Dongming’s eyes widened in surprise.

He turned to his son, beaming with pride. “Your wife is truly capable! You, on the other hand, are far behind.”

The more impressive Song Jingwei was, the more average Shen Junxi seemed in comparison. Shen Dongming could only hope his son would wake up and strive to improve himself.

Shen Junxi smiled wryly. He knew better than anyone how amazing his wife was.

No one in this lifetime could ever compare to him.

But the more brilliant Song Jingwei was, the more inadequate Shen Junxi felt. He had no idea what he could do to truly win that person’s heart.

Even if he stayed by his side every day, would that really be enough?

“You’re here?”

Hearing the familiar voice, Song Jingwei approached, looking at the father and son duo with a hint of surprise.

“Daughter-in-law, the house is incredible. You’ve worked so hard!” Shen Dongming said with deep appreciation, thinking of how dedicated Song Jingwei had been—leaving early, coming back late.

“It’s nothing.” Song Jingwei replied with a faint smile, his gaze shifting to Shen Junxi.

The young man’s eyes were already fixed on him, filled with an undeniable warmth.

Meeting his gaze, Song Jingwei gave him a small nod.

“We’re about to finish for the day. Let’s head back together.”

Shen Junxi’s face lit up with delight as he eagerly nodded.

“Good, good! Let’s all head home together.” Shen Dongming grinned, satisfied. They had already seen the house—no need to linger. Yang Shi was alone at home, so it was best not to be out too late. As for inspecting the inside of the house, they could do that another day.

As they left, Chen Xianggui and Shen Dongming walked ahead, casually chatting about random things.

Meanwhile, Song Jingwei and Shen Junxi walked side by side, separated by only a fist’s width.

One of them didn’t seem to notice the closeness at all.

The other was completely immersed in the warmth of the moment, silently wishing the road home were just a little longer.