TIPS – Chapter 98

Uncle Ya gestured, “Go collect it. Gather all the cow dung in the village.”

“Alright.” Song Jingwei nodded without hesitation and immediately went into action.

By the end of that day, a rumor had spread throughout the village—word was that the Shen family’s main household was offering money for cow dung? Ten wen per load? For families who farmed the land, six or seven out of ten households owned cattle. Each household could produce at least five loads of dung, which meant fifty wen—almost equivalent to a day’s wage.

Some families thought it was a good deal. After all, they didn’t need that much for themselves, so selling it made sense. Others shook their heads and didn’t plan on selling, believing it was more cost-effective to keep it for their own land.

But regardless of how people felt, Song Jingwei made it publicly known that he would be buying cow dung long-term, and it was always in demand. So that very afternoon, some villagers who were quick on their feet came over with their loads.

Song Jingwei held a notebook, registering and inspecting each load one by one. Loads that were too small didn’t count. The weight had to meet the standard, and if there was too much straw mixed in, it was rejected—they were buying cow dung, not straw. Once a load passed inspection, payment was given on the spot.

The villagers were quite pleased after receiving their money—who would’ve thought cow dung could be sold for cash?

“Spread the word to your neighbors,” Song Jingwei told those who’d received payment. “We’ll be buying it long-term. Payment is immediate—no delays.”

“Alright, we’ll go tell them,” some of them said with cheerful grins. “They wanted to come too, but weren’t sure if it was true.” Turns out, these folks had come to test the waters. Even without Song Jingwei asking, they were already planning to spread the word far and wide.

After that day, anyone in the village with surplus cow dung would bring it to sell to Song Jingwei. Under Uncle Ya’s arrangement, the dung was then distributed load by load into various lotus ponds.

Looking at the clean pond specially reserved for raising freshwater fish, Song Jingwei asked, “What do you think about fish farming?”

Uncle Ya had known he wanted to raise fish for a while and had already come up with a plan. He gestured, “Once the weather warms up, we can buy fish fry. The clean pond is for grass carp and carp. The lotus ponds will be for eels and loaches.”

Song Jingwei asked, “Can we raise shrimp in the lotus ponds?”

Uncle Ya thought for a moment, then nodded and gestured, “Yes, but they’re hard to catch.”

That wasn’t a big problem. Song Jingwei mulled it over for a moment and began planning to buy fish fry and small shrimp. Shen Dongming was keeping an eye on the tea fields, so once Song Jingwei freed up some time, there was still a ton of other work waiting for him.

This second and third month of the lunar year was a truly busy time.

The extra weight Song Jingwei had gained during pregnancy gradually began to disappear. While he hadn’t returned to his former slender figure, anyone could see at a glance that he had slimmed down.

Yang Shi felt distressed beyond words. While brewing a pot of nourishing soup, she grumbled to Shen Junxi, “Your wife is always busy, busy, busy—so busy his bones are showing. Just look at his face, there’s not even a bit of meat left!” But that wasn’t her real point. She continued, “And then look at yourself—eating more than a pig, sleeping deeper than a hibernating bear. Can’t you at least persuade your wife to take it easy and learn from you?”

From her perspective, her son had never slimmed down—he looked the same all year round.

Little did she know that Shen Junxi was silently suffering. He was already thin to begin with, so of course there was no change. As for “eating more than a pig,” how could he not eat? He had to take care of both a big one and a little one! And now that things were busy in the fields, he was constantly going back and forth between the house and the farmland. Ever since they’d come home, Benben had been brought back to sleep in their room again, and he frequently had to wake up at night to feed him or change diapers. He truly wasn’t “sleeping better than a bear.” On top of that, he had to keep an eye on the school, and with Pei Hongxuan now pregnant, he had to go over often to help out and let Pei Hongxuan take breaks.

So really, while everyone could see how busy Song Jingwei was, the one who was actually busiest was Shen Junxi.

“Here, take this and bring it to your wife,” Yang Shi said, placing the freshly ladled soup into her son’s hands. It was a nourishing bowl meant for Song Jingwei—just that one bowl.

After drinking the soup, Song Jingwei didn’t touch the meat chunks left behind—a habit formed from drinking soup regularly over the years. But tossing it felt wasteful. He knew his young man didn’t mind, so he handed it over. “Here, you eat the meat.”

The poor guy thought his wife was showing affection and immediately smiled warmly, nodding and gesturing, “You eat. You’ve lost weight—you need to make up for it.”

“Eat it quickly, or it’ll get cold.” Song Jingwei passed him the chopsticks, his tone brooking no refusal.

Seeing how insistent his wife was, Shen Junxi didn’t argue. He lowered his head and polished off the entire bowl of meat chunks.

“Is it good?” Normally, meat used in soup doesn’t taste great, but the meat in his bowl seemed to be different—he was eating it with such relish that Song Jingwei couldn’t help but ask out of curiosity.

“Mhm.” Shen Junxi nodded, eyes crinkling in a smile. Actually, this meat was a good cut—lean meat with tendons still attached, from just above the pig’s trotter. Yang Shi had simmered it over a low flame for two hours. It was richly flavorful, infused with the aroma of herbs, and had a wonderfully chewy and fragrant texture.

“It’s that good?” Song Jingwei asked skeptically. Judging by the look on the young man’s face, it was delicious—and that just didn’t seem logical.

“Mhm.” Shen Junxi picked up a piece with his chopsticks and offered it to him, his expression saying clearly: Try it for yourself and see.

“……”

Frowning slightly at the piece of meat in front of his mouth, Song Jingwei pursed his lips. But seeing the young man’s eyes full of anticipation, he figured that forcing himself to eat a piece wasn’t too hard.

When Shen Junxi saw his wife open his mouth—initially with a look of distaste as he took a bite and chewed—then gradually shift to a puzzled expression of surprise, he couldn’t help but laugh.

“It’s very tasty,” he signed again.

“It’s not bad…” It wasn’t particularly hard to eat—tender and connected with tendon, giving it a chewy texture. The flavor was well absorbed, and it didn’t feel unpleasant to eat. That was Song Jingwei’s final evaluation.

“Mm…” Shen Junxi smiled happily, simply because he was being agreed with. The joy of sharing food like this really felt nice, he thought to himself.

“I remember we have a lot of medicinal herbs at home. Why did you only stew so little?” Song Jingwei had been drinking this tonic soup for a few days, but he hadn’t seen anyone else in the family drinking it. He had been too busy recently, coming and going without paying much attention. But eating a bit of meat today with Shen Junxi suddenly made him recall this. He said, “Everyone’s been busy lately, and spring is a good time for nourishment. Ask your mother to stew a pot for everyone to share.”

Shen Junxi didn’t think much of this kind of thing. He didn’t see anything wrong with his mother Yang Shi making tonic soup just for Song Jingwei. First of all, he cared for his wife, and secondly, Song Jingwei was indeed the one in the family who had lost weight the fastest—it was obvious to everyone.

Now that Song Jingwei brought it up, he nodded in agreement and planned to tell his mother later.

Seeing his slow reaction, Song Jingwei added, “You’re their son, but you’re too thoughtless. Those are your parents. What is there to be stingy about when it comes to material things?” In his view, material things were the easiest needs to meet. If you couldn’t even do that, how could you talk about caring?

“……” The young man lowered his eyes in shame. It wasn’t that he didn’t love his parents, but he wasn’t used to a life of comfort and luxury. He never got into the habit of constantly thinking about eating well, dressing well, or nourishing at the right time.

Although Song Jingwei scolded him a bit, he later thought through it and didn’t harp on it. He just said, “Remember it for next time. Just take this as a reminder.” After all, he had done similar things in the past, like stopping Yang Shi from making meat only for him. The young man must have noticed that too.

“Mm.” Shen Junxi agreed readily this time—he’d remember it.

Carrying the empty bowl back to the kitchen, he immediately told his mother Yang Shi what Song Jingwei had said. Signing to her, he said, “Wife said we’re not short on money. If there’s something good, everyone should share it.” Pressing his lips together, he added, “Wife doesn’t like to eat alone…” Eating alone made him unhappy.

Yang Shi had thought the same, and said with a knowing look, “Your wife… he’s that kind of person. Warm-hearted.” He really did consider everyone. Whenever there was something good, he never hogged it all for himself.

“Mm.” Shen Junxi signed with guilt, “Wife is right. You and Dad should also have regular nourishment.” The two elders weren’t young anymore, and he hoped they’d live long and healthy lives.

“I know. It’s not like I’m unwilling to eat…” Yang Shi said sheepishly. In truth, she had been a bit reluctant. But every time her daughter-in-law brought it up, she felt embarrassed. “Go tell your wife I understand. And also, uh… thank him.”

Shen Junxi signed back, “I won’t say it. I’ll just tell him you got the message. I’m not going to say ‘thank you’ for you.”

Yang Shi widened her eyes, but her son just ignored her, pretending to be busy and not even glancing at her. “Aiya…” How could he be like this?

“Aren’t you always saying we’re family, no need for thanks?”

“But… doesn’t your wife keep saying thank you all the time…” Yang Shi muttered. She herself wasn’t used to expressing gratitude, but her daughter-in-law valued these things. If the daughter-in-law thought they were impolite, that wouldn’t be good.

“Don’t learn from him on this. It makes us feel distant,” Shen Junxi signed, stacking the bowls and chopsticks neatly into the cupboard.

“Forget it. I’m not talking to you anymore,” Yang Shi said after a moment, waving him away. “Go help your wife with the baby. Don’t get in the way here.”

“……” Shen Junxi was used to this kind of attitude shift. This past year or so had all been like this—he wasn’t exactly welcome anywhere.

Back in the room, Benben seemed to be awake. He saw Song Jingwei walking around holding the baby, but he didn’t hear any crying.

“Shhh…” Song Jingwei noticed him and gestured for him to be quiet. Lowering his voice, he said, “He just fell asleep. Let me hold him a little longer.”

Shen Junxi nodded, tiptoeing closer to take a look at the baby’s face. He saw teardrops still clinging to Benben’s eyelashes and signed, “Was he crying earlier?”

Song Jingwei gently patted the baby’s back and replied, “He peed. I haven’t changed him yet. You do it once he’s fully asleep.”

“Mm.”

Upon hearing that, he went to get a clean diaper first.

About the time it takes to drink a cup of tea later, once he felt the baby in his arms was sound asleep, Song Jingwei gently laid him down on the bed, moving very, very slowly, afraid the slightest mistake would wake the child. Honestly, he admired Shen Junxi for being able to change the baby’s diaper while he slept and still not wake him. That was something Song Jingwei couldn’t manage, and didn’t do often.

Turning around, he said to the young man, “You do it. Be careful.”

“Mm.”

Even without being told, Shen Junxi had always been gentle with his movements, and this time was no different—he did it smoothly. The two of them looked at the peacefully sleeping baby and breathed a sigh of relief. Raising a child really wasn’t easy—this was the most profound realization Song Jingwei had had since becoming a father.

“I’m going to rest for a bit.” Sitting beside the bed for a while, Song Jingwei said to the young man.

Shen Junxi stared as he walked to Shen’s own bed, sat down, and started taking off his shoes… He hesitated, signing: “You’re sleeping here?”

“Yeah. Is that a problem?” Song Jingwei asked as he took off his shoes, then his outerwear, and climbed into bed, pulling the covers over himself with a sigh of relief. But when he turned his head, he saw the young man still standing in the middle of the room looking dumbfounded. He asked curiously, “Something else? If you’ve got something to do, go do it.”

“……”

Shen Junxi opened his mouth, then signed pitifully, “You’re sleeping on my bed.” At this moment, he had some free time and wanted to lie down too.

“……”

Song Jingwei scooted over and said, “I thought you weren’t going to sleep.” Every day at noon lately, the young man had been busy and nowhere to be seen. And the other bed was always occupied by the baby—Song Jingwei was afraid sleeping there would wake the little siren up. If that happened, he wouldn’t get any rest at all; he’d just be stuck coaxing the baby.

“Mm…”

Shen Junxi smiled, then went into the washroom to clean his face and hands before returning to the room and lying down next to his wife.

“Things have been so busy lately.” Song Jingwei exhaled softly and said, “In a few days, I’ll need to bring in some new fish stock. I don’t know much about fish farming. Do you know if anyone in the village does?”

“……”

Shen Junxi slowly settled into bed, tucked the blanket in around the both of them, and began to seriously think. In their village, no one seemed to grow lotus roots or raise fish seriously. Some people let fish loose in ponds, but none were experts. After thinking it through, he signed, “I think Uncle Ya understands it well. Why not ask him?”

“Mm.” If there was no one else suitable in the village, then Uncle Ya would be the only choice. With his eyes closed, Song Jingwei softly said, “We’ll wait a couple more days and see.” But there was still something else to take care of: “By April, Pei Hongxuan’s belly will be much bigger. I need to hire two tutors before then.”

“Post a notice in town,” Shen Junxi signed.

“You’ll post it?” After all, you’re writing it anyway—might as well provide the full service.

“Mm.” The young man agreed without hesitation.

“Alright.” Song Jingwei turned slightly and said, “Then get some rest. You’re collecting cow dung this afternoon. I won’t be going out.”

“Mm.” Shen Junxi not only agreed, but also gently massaged his exposed shoulder and neck—he knew his wife had been utterly exhausted lately.

“……”

Song Jingwei meant to tell him it wasn’t necessary, but he was too sleepy and drifted off quickly.

Hearing his wife’s steady breathing, Shen Junxi knew he’d fallen asleep. He slowly let go and shifted to an arm-wrapping position. Resting his chin near his wife’s neck, he let his mind wander, thinking aimlessly, until he too slipped into sleep.

“Waaah…”

A loud baby cry rang through the room.

Shen Junxi immediately woke up, instinctively jumping out of bed, hurrying over to the baby’s bed to pick him up and soothe him. At the same time, he checked if he had peed or pooped. If it was neither, then he must be hungry.

The diaper felt dry, so he went to prepare some warm milk. But the baby was still crying in his arms, and he desperately hoped he could calm Benben down before waking his wife.

But with the way Benben was crying, there was no way Song Jingwei wouldn’t wake. With bleary eyes, he asked, “What’s wrong? Pee or hunger?”

Still patting the baby, Shen Junxi signed with one hand, “Hungry…”

“Oh…” Song Jingwei sat up and reached out. “Give him to me. You go prepare something for him to eat.”

“Mm.” Shen Junxi knew his son all too well—if there wasn’t food in his mouth, there’d be no peace—so he quickly handed the baby over and hurried out to get goat milk.

“You little crybaby.” Holding the loudly bawling baby, Song Jingwei had no choice but to get up and start pacing around to soothe him.

About fifteen minutes later, the young man came in with a food box containing freshly warmed goat milk. Song Jingwei sat down and held the baby while Shen Junxi held the bowl, spooning it in one mouthful at a time.

This method was much slower than using a baby bottle. If only they had a bottle now.

“He’s eating so fast. Not even afraid of burning his mouth.” Watching his son chirp like a little bird, mouth opening and closing eagerly—it was impossibly cute.

“…” Shen Junxi laughed, and even the hand feeding the milk trembled a little, because he also found their son ridiculously cute.

“How many meals has he had today?” Song Jingwei asked with a bit of disdain. Just from what he had seen, the baby had already been fed several times.

Shen Junxi had no time to answer. He was feeding the baby with great joy.

“All done.” When the bowl of goat milk was finished, Song Jingwei adjusted the baby slightly, gently patting his back to prevent spitting up.

Shen Junxi took the empty bowl and food container. Even though Song Jingwei had told him to go straight to the fields without coming back, after a trip to the kitchen, he still came back again. He gave the baby a quick cuddle, then quickly hugged his wife before heading out to the fields.

Song Jingwei watched the young man’s departing figure without saying anything, his expression unchanged. He looked down and continued coaxing Benben to sleep. The baby, now full, soon started yawning with eyes closed. This child had a habit—every time he yawned, he’d bring his tiny hand to his mouth, mimicking an adult. “Sleep now, sleep,” he softly coaxed.

The next morning, after breakfast, Shen Junxi followed his wife’s instructions and returned to the room to write a hiring notice for a teacher, then went to town. He had told Song Jingwei that he’d be back by noon for lunch.

Song Jingwei said, “Since you’re going, keep an eye out for fish fry. If it looks suitable, buy a bit.” He handed him some silver. These were things Shen Junxi needed to start learning gradually anyway—after all, he wasn’t stupid.

“Mm.” Shen Junxi nodded. Song Jingwei had mentioned buying grass carp, common carp, loaches, eels, and shrimp.

“Go on, the earlier you go, the earlier you’ll be back,” he said, staying home to watch the baby and not bothering to see Shen Junxi off.

Once in town, Shen Junxi first posted the notice, then went to the market to look for fish vendors. He asked if anyone had fish fry for sale. Unfortunately, out of ten people, all ten couldn’t understand his gestures, so the fish-buying plan fell through.

He didn’t feel disheartened about failing the task Song Jingwei gave him—there was just no helping it. Instead, he simply bought some fresh food and hurried back home to have lunch with his parents, wife, and child.

At home, Song Jingwei only remembered the communication issue after Shen Junxi had left. He’d become so accustomed to communicating with Shen Junxi that he momentarily forgot the young man couldn’t talk with others easily. Great—now the man might come home with his tail between his legs after failing the task. He waited to see a dejected look.

But what greeted him was unexpected.

“Oh, Xi’er is back?” Yang Shi smiled and quickly went up to take the things Shen Junxi brought back from town.

The youth Song Jingwei saw had no trace of dejection. His eyes were still bright, full of pure warmth—a truly gentle soul.

“So? Did you buy the fish fry?” he deliberately asked.

Shen Junxi shook his head and honestly gestured, “No fish fry. The vendors couldn’t understand me.” He looked a little innocent and wronged.

“Oh, no worries then. I’ll go check next time.”

Shen Junxi gestured, “Next time I’ll go with you.”

“We’re so busy at home.” Song Jingwei bounced the baby while pacing around the room. “A lot of tea trees still haven’t been planted, and they’re not planting them carefully enough. You need to keep an eye on that. The soil around the base of each tree needs to be firmly compacted. If not, the trees won’t survive.” That was what Zhao Yanming, a tea farmer, had said—if the soil was loose, the roots wouldn’t bond with it and couldn’t absorb nutrients.

“Mm.” Since Song Jingwei said so, Shen Junxi could only nod in agreement, even if he truly wanted to go out with his wife.

Two days passed like this. Song Jingwei still hadn’t found the time to go to town and check on the fish fry, but the notice posted two days ago had yielded results. Around noon that day, a scholar in his early thirties came to apply for the teaching position.

Song Jingwei gave the man a once-over. His first impression was that the man was very scholarly, exuding a more mature air than Shen Junxi’s delicate, bookish charm. Probably due to his age and life experience—he gave off a good vibe.

“My surname is Song. May I ask how to address you, sir?” he asked.

“Please, just call me Qiao. My name is Lang—just one character,” Qiao Lang said with a respectful cupped-hands gesture.

“Alright, Mr. Qiao.” Song Jingwei took him directly to the study hall and explained, “This is our school. Though not big, we have about eighty students. All from the village—some families even had several children attending.”

“These children are all different ages…” Qiao Lang glanced inside through the window and saw students ranging from as young as five or six to around twelve or thirteen.

“Yes, they’re all just starting to learn, so there’s no age-based division.” Song Jingwei thought it best to explain the nature of the school early on. “Actually, this school hasn’t been open long, and it wasn’t established to make money. The original idea was just to give kids a place to learn to read and write.”

“Oh?” Qiao Lang was surprised—it was the first time he’d heard of a private school not being run for profit.