Chapter 22

Chapter 22

The Ji family was a well-known merchant family in Qingyun County with their own caravan. Although not exceptionally large in scale, they had business dealings with various surrounding countries.

Each country possessed its own distinct folk customs and culture.

Ji Xingwang was friends with a member of the Ji family caravan. Every time this friend returned from the road, he would find Ji Xingwang to share a drink and recount his experiences from his travels.

To the folks in Wu Country, ghosts might be quite unfamiliar, perhaps even unheard of.

But Ji Xingwang had genuinely heard about them from that very friend.

Among the seven countries, the North Country was considered the most powerful and prosperous.

This wasn't just in terms of military strength; the North Country also possessed an extensive collection of books and scrolls.

He’d heard that over there, after people died, they held rituals and people turned into ghosts.

But in their Wu Country, there were no such customs, and no one knew how to perform the rituals or what happened after a person became a ghost.

While trading in the North Country, his friend claimed to have witnessed a funeral from a distance. He spoke of white paper money floating in the sky, and many young boys and girls, along with people dressed in fine clothes, being buried alongside the dead.

The friend said he had only heard rumors before but had never actually seen it. That time, watching from afar and hearing the eerie, strange-toned music gave him the creeps.

Ji Xingwang still remembered how scared he had been at the time, begging his friend to stop talking about it.

But at least his knowledge of "ghosts" had a source—his friend had actually been to the North Country.

So where had Shen Yuan heard about them?

"Does someone in Xiao Yuan's family come from the North Country?" Ji Xingwang asked.

Shen Yuan shook his head.

He knew what Ji Xingwang found strange and had an answer ready. "I haven't been anywhere, but my head is full of knowledge."

Ji Xingwang's eyes widened in surprise. "How so?"

Shen Yuan spoke seriously and solemnly, "Actually, I almost starved to death before. On the brink of death, in a daze, I seemed to travel to many places, seeing many people and many things. But when I opened my eyes and woke up, I found myself still lying on the old, broken door plank at home."

"Yet, my head really did have a lot more knowledge in it. The story I'm writing now is put together from all that extra stuff in my mind."

Ji Xingwang had never heard of such a thing and was totally flabbergasted. "It's actually that miraculous! Weren't you afraid?"

Shen Yuan shook his head and explained, "I was a little scared at first. But later, I remembered my family saying that when I was just born, a wandering Taoist priest came by to read my fortune. He said I would have an immortal fate in the future. I figure this is that immortal fate, so I don't feel afraid anymore."

Ji Xingwang understood. So it was an immortal fate! No wonder he knew about ghosts without having been to the North Country. The stories he came up with, and that "amnesia" thing—Ji had never imagined a person could forget things like that.

He’d also never thought stories could be made up that way.

Wu Country had many legends of deities. Although no one had seen them, everyone had experienced praying for rain in a bad drought. Even though they didn't know the exact methods of worshipping gods, the common people deeply respected the gods in their hearts.

Shen Yuan's situation indeed could only be explained by being touched by an immortal fate.

Ji Xingwang quickly believed Shen Yuan's explanation. Pointing at the rough outlines for the chapters Shen Yuan had written in messy, simplified characters on the bamboo slips, he asked mysteriously, "Are these talisman symbols from your immortal fate? Does scribbling all these dense lines help you think up the story?"

Shen Yuan: ...

Well... He couldn't exactly say these were simplified characters.

"That's right." Shen Yuan gave a wry smile and nodded. "But you could also understand them as another type of writing."

Upon hearing this, Ji Xingwang examined them carefully and tsk-tsked. "How could that be? What kind of writing looks so much like chicken scratch? It looks exactly like the talismans drawn by Taoist priests."

To prove his point to Shen Yuan, he even dragged over his own written bamboo slips for comparison. "Look, this is what proper writing looks like."

On one side were Ji Xingwang's neat, orderly characters with straight horizontal and vertical strokes. On the other were Shen Yuan's free-flowing, unrestrained cursive script that only he could read.

Shen Yuan slightly closed his eyes, refusing this public embarrassment. "Alright, Manager Ji, let's not talk about this anymore."

Cursive script flowed smoothly and naturally, its forms unconstrained with a sense of wild freedom. Its main advantage was writing speed—it was fast and didn't strain the hand. Shen Yuan thought it was perfect for writing chapter outlines: quick and easy.

However, the fact that Manager Ji would rather believe it was talisman script than accept it as writing left Shen Yuan at a loss for words, even though you had to admit, at first glance it did look a bit like talismans.

When Manager Ji wasn't around, Shen Yuan silently admired his own writing and nodded in affirmation.

Hmm, it looks good.

They had different aesthetic tastes; one couldn't force it.

In the evening, when Shen Yuan left the teahouse, Manager Ji again gave him a bunch of food to take home.

Six large cornbread buns and two bowls of millet rice were the standard. Today, there was also a small half-bowl of pickled vegetables and a small plate of pastries.

As usual, Shen Yuan slipped one bun to Wang Sanhu. Knowing he couldn't refuse Shen Yuan's offer, Wang Sanhu simply accepted it.

Thanks to Shen Yuan, he could now soak half a bun in water every morning, which gave him more energy for work.

Not only had he been carrying more bundles these past couple of days, but he also felt his body wasn't as tired as before.

"Xiao Yuan, my mother said she's coming to the county town to sell dried vegetables the day after tomorrow. If your family has any, she can bring them along to sell together."

Besides, with no land in the county town to grow vegetables, dried vegetables sold well.

It was just a bit of a long trip. Entering the county town to sell goods required paying an entry fee. If one didn't pay an additional stall fee, they had to be constantly careful not to stay in one place for too long. Otherwise, if caught by patrolling petty officials, their goods would be confiscated and they'd be fined.

But the summer tax only accepted copper coins and coarse cloth; they wouldn't take old grain, only new rice.

Even if it was farther and required paying an entry fee, villagers wanting to accumulate copper coins would still come to the county town.

His family had indeed already sun-dried a batch of vegetables. After drying, the vegetables shrank significantly. Despite the children's hard work, they only had just over half a basket.

Selling them now would be fine. Later, when more people sold them, the price would drop.

"Alright. Then, Brother Sanhu, please go back and tell Auntie Ping. Sorry to trouble her."

Shen Yuan returned home and, as usual, cooked a fresh pot of millet porridge. He had Shen Dong watch the fire while he took a bowl of millet rice and a large bun to Village Head Liu's house.

He hadn't retrieved the earthenware bowl from yesterday, so he brought it home today.

The Liu family didn't expect Shen Yuan to bring food again, but their household genuinely needed these provisions right now.

Village Head Liu straightforwardly told Shen Yuan, "We'll record all the grain. Once the fields yield a harvest, we'll repay you all together."

When Shen Yuan gave the food, he hadn't intended for the Liu family to repay him.

The life-saving grain they had given him before was far more valuable than what he was giving now.

More importantly, Shen Yuan felt that Village Head Liu’s help back then wasn't just about the grain.

But he also knew that if he didn't let the Liu family repay him, they wouldn't accept anything he offered in the future.

"Alright, let's do as you say, Uncle."

As he was about to leave, Shen Yuan noticed Niu Dan from the Liu family stealing glances at him. That look was similar to the way Xixi had looked at him when he first returned home earlier today.

It seemed like there was something the child wanted to say but couldn't bring himself to.

Niu Dan wasn't like this when he saw him yesterday; Shen Yuan guessed the two children probably had something on their minds.

He would need to ask Xixi carefully what was going on when he got back.

When Shen Yuan returned home, the millet porridge in the pot was almost ready.

Last night, Shen Yuan had told Shen Dong in advance to make less of the vegetable and bran mash today.

Eating too much bran wasn't good for the body, so they should try to consume as little as possible.

Now that the family was better off food-wise than before, they could afford to eat less bran and still feel full.

During the meal, Shen Yuan caught Shen Xi stealing glances at him five times.

He also noticed that Shen Dong would look up from time to time, though not at him, but at Shen Xi.

After the meal, Shen Yuan still couldn't snatch the dishwashing chore. Shen Dong was small but strong, handling practically all the household chores inside and out.

Even Shen Xi and Shen Nan couldn't get a hand in.

Shen Dong worked quickly and deftly. In no time, he had washed the bowls, wiped the stove clean, and neatly restacked the loose firewood.

Before Shen Yuan could scoop water to wash up, Shen Dong had already prepared it. "Come wash up, big brother."

Previously, the Shen family only washed up in the morning. If not for the fear of ruining their teeth, having no money for a doctor, and the difficulty of eating without teeth, they wouldn't have washed up daily just to save water and time.

After Shen Yuan arrived in this world, the Shen family went from washing up once a day to twice.

He could go fetch more water if they ran out. It was a bit more tiring, but their teeth couldn't be allowed to rot.

Shen Yuan stared at Shen Dong for a moment, then began washing up.

After he finished, Shen Xi, Shen Nan, and Shen Bei had also washed up. Shen Bei had his face and feet washed with Shen Dong's help.

Looking at the dirty water and then at Shen Dong, who hadn't washed up yet, Shen Yuan said to Shen Xi, "Does Xixi have something to say to big brother?"

Shen Xi instinctively nodded, then shook his head. Remembering what Shen Dong had said earlier that day, he pursed his lips, feeling upset inside.

Shen Yuan stroked his head. "Xixi, take your younger brother and sister to sleep first. Big brother will come back with Dongdong in a little while. If Xixi wants to talk then, you can tell big brother, okay?"

"Okay." Shen Xi nodded obediently and led Shen Nan and Shen Be to the main room.

Shen Dong was about to use the remaining water to wash his face and feet, but Shen Yuan was quicker. He picked up the wooden basin and poured out the water inside.

Shen Dong pulled his hand back. Watching Shen Yuan scoop fresh water, he quickly said, "Big brother, you don't need to scoop water for me. I can do it myself."

Shen Yuan didn't stop, but he didn't respond to Shen Dong either.

The silence made Shen Dong uneasy. Suddenly, he felt the kitchen had become very large and the surroundings very dark. His thin, small body dared not move; tension and fear were nearly swallowing him whole.

Shen Yuan soaked the worn cloth towel in the clear, clean well water and wrung it out.

Then he crouched down, took Shen Dong's arm, and wiped his face for him.

The fine beads of sweat were wiped away. The thin wrist under his palm and the face covered by the cloth towel were both trembling slightly.

These past few days, Shen Yuan had been constantly thinking about his story, working on the plot whenever he had time, so his attention to the children had indeed been less.

He would likely become busier and busier in the future.

Since he had noticed something was off with Shen Dong, he needed to address it early to avoid irreversible consequences.

Feeling the slight tremor under his palm, Shen Yuan finished washing Shen Dong's face, then wiped his hands gently, carefully cleaning even his knuckles.

"The well for fetching water is in the middle of the village. Carrying water with a wooden bucket is hard work, and carrying it on a shoulder pole is tiring too. Dongdong is afraid big brother will have a hard time, so you're very frugal with water every time, right?"

Shen Dong stood stiffly and nodded slightly.

Shen Yuan continued, "Dongdong manages the household very well, never letting big brother worry or handle the trivial chores. You're very good to big brother, always thinking of big brother first for anything good, then your younger siblings. Big brother eats first, the younger siblings eat next, and Dongdong eats last. Clean water is for big brother first, then the younger siblings, and Dongdong uses the dirtiest water. Even if big brother says not to, Dongdong still does it secretly, always putting himself last. Right?"

Shen Yuan had mentioned this before and had even changed the water for Shen Dong himself, but Shen Dong simply continued to be frugal the next time.

The root of the problem hadn't been solved.

Shen Dong's body grew even stiffer. He hardly dared to nod now. "Is big brother angry with me?"

"Why would big brother be angry?" Shen Yuan looked up and asked him.

Shen Dong lowered his gaze, looking dejected. "Because I didn't listen to big brother and didn't use clean water."

Shen Yuan nodded. "Yes, big brother is angry."

In that instant, Shen Dong felt as if he had fallen into an icy abyss.