Chapter 51

Chapter 51

On the way back from the Xie estate to the village, there was only one main road, which passed by the Shen family's fields.

Shen Song saw that there were many people at the edge of their land, blocking the whole road.

Not only that, he could hear his family's voices in the crowd, so he quickly had Chi Jiu stop the ox cart.

"Father, Mother!" Shen Song called out, trying to squeeze into the crowd. Just as he was about to push his way through, the villagers saw that it was Shen Song approaching and quickly parted to the sides with big smiles on their faces.

Shen Song walked right into the middle of the crowd without any trouble, while Chi Jiu drove the ox cart along behind him.

After seeing his family, Shen Song quickly asked, "Father, Mother, Fifth Brother, what's all this about?"

Shen Dashu and Liu Chunxia didn't know what to say, so they both looked at Shen Chong.

Glancing at the surrounding villagers, Shen Chong said quietly to his younger brother, "Remember how before we planted the rice seedlings, Aunt Xiahua and a few other families came to our land to worship the Earth God? These past few days when they harvested their grain, they all confirmed their harvest was bigger than in past years. They're saying our land really does have a Land God, and they're dead set on coming to fulfill their vows."

Shen Song had secretly set this up before, so he knew—it was time to wrap things up.

He looked at the people nearest to him—they were the ones who'd first worshipped the Land God.

They had little baskets hanging off their arms, with incense sticks they'd gone all the way to town to buy. They were smiling at the Shen family like they were trying to win them over, hoping the Shen family would let them go into their fields to burn incense and pay their respects.

Aunt Xiahua's family had it rough in the village.

She was a widow, raising two sons in the village. Right after her husband died, the kids were still little—those were truly tough days.

But she gritted her teeth and pushed through, hoping her two boys would grow up and help carry the family's load.

Once the boys grew up, they worked hard and did well. But they also needed to get married, and that was a whole new headache for Aunt Xiahua.

Her two sons were only a year apart, so she had to arrange marriages for both at the same time. Aunt Xiahua lay awake at night worrying about it.

It was because the family was poor that her sons couldn't find spouses.

After spring plowing, Aunt Xiahua walked past the Shen family's land every day on her way to the fields with her hoe. She looked every day, and every day she was blown away.

She had no idea what the Shen family had done to their land, but it changed day by day—the wheat shoots were growing like crazy.

The difference from everyone else's fields was so obvious that nobody could miss it.

In her spare time, Aunt Xiahua heard people guessing—some said the Shen family had a secret fertilizer recipe, others said the Land God had moved into their fields.

What actually got Aunt Xiahua thinking about worshipping at the Shen family's land was when they sold their wheat.

Nobody saw how much wheat was on the first cart they hauled away, but when they saw the second and third carts, everyone was floored.

That day, Aunt Xiahua stared for a long time, unable to snap out of it, thinking that if her family's land could produce even half as much as the Shen family's, then after saving for two or three years, her sons could get married.

Later, even though the village chief mentioned the secret recipe and told everyone to wait two or three years, Aunt Xiahua figured she couldn't just write off the Land God either. She decided to play it safe and cover both bases.

She'd wait for the secret recipe on one hand, and worship the Land God on the other.

Whichever one worked, that's what she'd believe in.

Before planting the rice seedlings, Aunt Xiahua had already gotten a few other families together to buy incense and candles from the temple and go worship the Land God in the Shen family's fields.

From then on, those families kept a close eye on the Shen family's fields, their own fields, and everyone else's.

They noticed the rice in the Shen family's fields was growing beautifully—any farmer would be jealous.

And their own fields? They weren't half bad either.

They couldn't hold a candle to the Shen family's, but having farmed for years, they could tell this year's rice was better than any other year—better than any other family's except the Shen family's.

Before the autumn harvest was confirmed, those families didn't dare say a word. Every day they'd huddle together all secretive, talking about how their rice was doing, all excited for the harvest.

In the few days before the autumn harvest, they were so worked up they couldn't sleep.

The ripe rice in the fields bent over heavy with golden, plump grains. During those harvest days, Aunt Xiahua and the others swung their sickles fast, not feeling a bit tired—they cut the rice with smiles on their faces.

And with the Shen family's even more impressive rice fields standing out, these families' fields, scattered among all the others, didn't draw much attention.

After the autumn harvest was totally done, after threshing, drying, and husking the grain, Aunt Xiahua and the others weighed their crop. Good heavens, it really was more than their usual yield—a whole lot more!

Normally, one mu of land yielded about two dan of rice. This year, all of their families got over three dan—not a single one came in under three.

How could these families not be thrilled? That very night, they got together and said they wanted to set up incense and candles at the Shen family's land again to worship the Land God and fulfill their vows.

This wasn't the first time they'd set up there that day.

Shen Dashu and the others had known for a while that people were setting up incense and candles at the edge of their land to worship the Earth God. It was part of the family's plan anyway, so they hadn't stopped them.

After all this, Aunt Xiahua and the others truly believed in the Land God. They didn't dare worship just once—they decided to do it every day.

With several families doing it at once, and burning incense on someone else's land, there was no way to keep it a secret in the village.

Families who were close to them asked what they were up to—did they think there was a Land God or something?

Afraid the Land God might be offended by clueless people, those families quickly shushed them, sincerely apologized with incense, and then told the gathered villagers the whole story.

From there, word spread like wildfire—the whole Shengou village knew.

With the mindset of "better safe than sorry," the whole village gathered that day and launched a big-time worship of the Land God.

But with so many people, a fight broke out over who got to worship at the prime spots the original families had used—first it was arguing, then it turned into actual brawling.

There was no choice. Grain was survival.

They had no choice but to fight.

What if, because they didn't get a good spot to worship, the Land God blessed other families and not theirs?

When the village chief heard about this, afraid things would get out of hand, he went to get the Shen family and came along himself, pulling people apart and trying to calm everyone down.

Only three people from the Shen family came, but those three were the ones who either made the decisions or could speak for the family.

After all, it was the Shen family's land, and they still had their big vegetable business going. Everyone hoped the Shen family would hire more workers, so once they showed up, people mostly gave them face and stopped fighting.

But the arguing kept going—all about why your family got to burn incense first and mine second, why your family got the good spot and mine got the crappy one.

For the sake of a good harvest, the villagers wouldn't give an inch.

Never mind whether they were related or not—when words failed, they went straight to cursing.

They cursed out each other's ancestors all the way back eighteen generations. Shen Chong listened with his head down, trying not to laugh—when you counted it up, they were all cursing themselves.

And his own family got dragged into it as well.

Up in Shen Family Gully, if you trace it back far enough, everyone shares the same ancestor.

Shen Song's shout got everyone to back off, and before another argument could kick off, Village Chief Shen Gaoshan quickly said, "Enough bickering! What's all this 'Land God' nonsense? Didn't Dashu's family say they're testing out some fertilizer recipe, and it's not even clear yet if it'll work or hurt the soil? With all this racket, how's Dashu's family supposed to farm their land at all?"

Aunt Xiahua and the others weren't having any of it—they were dead sure the Land God had blessed them, and they'd gotten real, solid results.

"Village Chief, how can you say that! Apologize to the Land God right now—how can you not believe in him!" Aunt Xiahua said, clearly displeased, and the other families immediately chimed in, urging Shen Gaoshan to offer incense and make amends to the Land God.

What if they pissed off the Land God and he stopped blessing them? What would they do then?

Shen Gaoshan said helplessly, "My family didn't worship the Land God ahead of time this year, but we still got a better harvest than usual. Not by a lot, but it did go up. So see, your families' good harvests must be from something else, not just from worshipping the Land God.

Now stop blocking the entrance to Dashu's fields, and from now on, no more burning incense or candles at the edge of their land. With all these people crowding around and stuff laid out, aren't you just making it impossible for Dashu's family to work their fields?"

Aunt Xiahua let out a "hey!" and put her hands on her hips. "I tell you, Village Chief, why won't you listen to reason! Your family didn't worship the Land God beforehand, and you still had a good harvest this year—doesn't that just prove the Land God is living in the Shen family's fields?"

Shen Gaoshan looked bewildered. "Huh? What kind of nonsense logic is that?"

Aunt Xiahua shot back, "How's that twisted? Look, Village Chief—your family didn't worship the Land God, but you still got a good harvest. That's because you've been good to Uncle Dashu's family. Our Land God lives in Uncle Dashu's fields, so of course he blesses Uncle Dashu's family. And since your family's been kind to them, even without worshipping, he gave you some benefits too."

Aunt Xiahua pulled three sticks of incense out of her little woven basket and shoved them into Shen Gaoshan's hands, urging him anxiously, "Quick, offer incense and apologize to the Land God. We've finally got a real deity who actually cares about us common folks—don't go and offend him."

The villagers heard Aunt Xiahua's reasoning and thought back to how Shen Gaoshan's family had treated Shen Dashu's family in the past.

That precious ox—loaned out at the drop of a hat, and every single day at that. When something happened to the Shen family's vegetable fields, he was the first one to call for help. Not to mention even earlier, when a few families in the village had bullied Shen Dashu's family pretty badly, the village chief was the one who stepped in to stop it.

The villagers had forgotten that aside from lending the ox cart, everything else Shen Gaoshan did was just what a village chief was supposed to do.

They mulled over every detail, using them over and over to confirm that Shen Family Gully really did have a Land God watching over them.

Shen Gaoshan, hearing Aunt Xiahua's analysis, could only think: That's actually true!

He instinctively tightened his grip on the incense sticks, silently praying the Land God wouldn't be offended.

Shen Chong spoke up then: "My family's fertilizer recipe wasn't actually used this time—we were too worried it might hurt the soil."

At that, quite a few people in the crowd nodded.

Everyone knew the Shen family had a fertilizer recipe, so of course they'd been keeping a close eye on what they did.

But no matter how much they watched, they hadn't seen the Shens do anything out of the ordinary besides farming diligently.

Shen Chong went on, "Before this, I didn't know if there really was a deity blessing our family, but this time, I think there must be. My family's been poor for years, and we've never done anything wrong. Even now, we just farm honestly and live right.

So if the Land God has chosen to bless my family, we have nothing to be ashamed of—we're not afraid of being judged. Today, learning that several other families have also been blessed with a bountiful rice harvest this season, I believe the Land God isn't blessing just my family, but the whole of Shen Family Gully."

With that, Shen Chong paused, letting the villagers chew on his words.

After a moment, he went on, "The family's fields can't be disturbed. Right now, with nothing planted, walking into the fields is fine. But to keep people from sneaking in later to worship and ruining our land, and to give the Land God a proper place to stay, my family will pay to build a small shrine for him at the foot of the mountain."

The villagers had nothing more to say after that.

The Shen family had already planned this out. The next day, Shen Chong went to find someone to build the shrine.

It was at the foot of the mountain near the vegetable fields, with a direct path leading to it, so it wouldn't damage the crops.

With more people coming and going, it would also help scare off the little animals that tried to steal the seedlings.

And now that everyone knew the Land God actually showed his power and the shrine was right there, people would think twice before stealing vegetables.

-

After a night's rest, Shen Song had completely forgotten about yesterday's quarrel with Xie Zhiyu.

Thinking back, he couldn't even figure out why he and Xie Zhiyu had argued yesterday, or why he'd gotten so mad at him.

Today, after delivering the vegetables, Shen Song went straight into the Xie residence, planning to practice his calligraphy, have lunch with Xie Zhiyu, and head home to work in the afternoon.

In the lakeside pavilion, everything they needed was already set up.

You An led Shen Song there, but Xie Zhiyu wasn't there. Only when he asked did he find out Xie Zhiyu was still practicing his swordplay in the small garden nearby.

Shen Song's eyes lit up. Sword practice!

Was it that legendary sword?

He'd never seen one before, and he was dying of curiosity. He really wanted to watch, so he asked You An if he could take him there.

You An had been waiting for Shen Song to ask. He nodded right away and led him to the small garden where Xie Zhiyu practiced swordplay and archery.

Because of the sword practice, Xie Zhiyu was dressed very differently than usual today.

A dark martial robe hugged his frame, embroidered with intricate gold patterns. Leather wrist guards wrapped both wrists, and his belt was trimmed with gold—noble yet valiant.

His hair was pulled up into a high ponytail, secured with a black-and-gold crown, and a black leather headband inlaid with gold wrapped around his forehead. The long sword was sharp, and with a sudden thrust, his slender waist twisted with agile force as he spun his whole body around with the blade.

Shen Song's mouth hung open, his eyes completely glued to Xie Zhiyu.

He couldn't move a muscle.

He stood frozen, watching Xie Zhiyu practice, his eyes darting back and forth—from the beautifully crafted long sword in his hand to Xie Zhiyu's totally different look from usual.

His heart, his gaze, everything was completely captivated by Xie Zhiyu.

A faint smile curled at the corner of the swordsman's lips, and in the eyes of the one watching so entranced, he finished with a graceful flourish of his blade.

Xie Zhiyu held the sword in one hand, resting it behind his back, while his other hand took the tea a servant had brought. The temperature was just right, and he took a small sip. His long lashes lowered, his gaze shifting sideways to catch the approaching figure, and the corner of his mouth curved up slightly.

"Xie Zhiyu!"

Shen Song trotted over, circling around Xie Zhiyu to look at him from every angle, his round, bright eyes full of admiration. "How are you so amazing? You can even do sword dancing! You looked just like a butterfly just now—flying up, the prettiest butterfly."

Xie Zhiyu set down his teacup, lifted his chin, and looked down at him through half-lidded eyes. "Didn't you say yesterday you were mad at me and didn't want to look at me?"

Shen Song answered without a second thought, "When I was mad yesterday, I didn't want to look. Now I'm not mad, so I want to look at you."

"Cough—"

Xie Zhiyu let out a small cough, his ears visibly turning red. He glanced around and frowned. "Watch what you say. There are people around."

"Huh?" Shen Song tilted his head in confusion. "What do I need to watch out for in what I say?"

Xie Zhiyu listened to Shen Song's words and saw his innocent, bewildered expression. He found the boy both clingy and utterly adorable at the same time.

His hand gripping the sword tightened without him meaning to, his fingertips turning white.

Xie Zhiyu turned his head away, not looking at Shen Song, his brow furrowed as if he were facing a thorny problem. He said coolly, "I can't explain it to you. Go to the lakeside pavilion—I'll teach you your letters."

The servant put the sword away in its case, and Xie Zhiyu entered the pavilion, where Shen Song was already sitting obediently.

Xie Zhiyu picked up the brush and dipped it in ink, saying to Shen Song, "First, watch how I hold the brush."

Shen Song scooted in closer, staring at Xie Zhiyu's hand.

His breath hit Xie Zhiyu's hand, and Xie Zhiyu moved it further away, using his other hand to push Shen Song's shoulder. "You don't need to get that close."

Shen Song went "oh" and sat back obediently at the distance Xie Zhiyu had marked out.

Xie Zhiyu took a beat, then picked up his brush to write.

The pine-soot ink slid across the paper, his wrist working with deft precision, and three characters soon appeared on the smooth paper, giving off a faint ink scent.

"What are these three characters?" Shen Song thought they looked great and asked Xie Zhiyu.

Xie Zhiyu kept his eyes down. "Xie, Zhi, Yu."

At that, Shen Song snorted. "Nah, it's clearly, big, dummy."

Remembering how he'd tricked Shen Song by reading his name as "fool," Shen Song had no clue why, but Xie Zhiyu knew exactly what he was up to, and his ears got hot again. "You're still mad?"

Shen Song grinned. "I'm not mad about yesterday anymore. But you called my name 'fool,' so I gotta call you that once too."

Xie Zhiyu glanced at his grinning face, then quickly looked away. "Then it should be 'dummy,' not 'big dummy.'"

"Well, your name's got three characters." Shen Song said, like it was obvious.

Xie Zhiyu still wouldn't look at him, voice cold, ears red. "Suit yourself."

Shen Song watched for a bit, then wanted to try it himself.

He copied Xie Zhiyu's grip on the brush, but it wasn't quite right, so he stuck his hand out in front of Xie Zhiyu. "Check if this is right, and if not, fix it for me."

Xie Zhiyu's ears, which had just stopped burning, went red again, but his face stayed all cold and proud. He even shot Shen Song a glare and said, all proper, "This is improper."

Shen Song remembered how Qi Yuanjing had mimicked Xie Zhiyu's whole vibe in front of him, saying those four words, "This is improper."

It really was just like him.

He couldn't help but laugh, eyes crinkling, mouth curling up, looking ridiculously cute.

Xie Zhiyu just closed his eyes.

When he opened them again, there were five crooked, chicken-scratch characters on a fresh sheet of paper.

Shen Song Xie Zhiyu

Shen Song leaned into Xie Zhiyu's space, grinning, fishing for praise. "I can only write these five characters. So? Pretty fast learner, right?"

Xie Zhiyu stared at the two names side by side, quiet for a long moment. "Your handwriting is so ugly I regret ever opening my eyes."

"Huh? Is it really that bad?" Shen Song squinted, compared it to Xie Zhiyu's, and scratched his head, embarrassed. Yeah, it kinda was.

"But this is my first time learning, and I think I'm doing pretty great. You sure you don't wanna give me a little praise?"

Xie Zhiyu didn't say anything, and Shen Song didn't push it. He happily grabbed a new sheet and started practicing single characters when Xie Zhiyu let out a soft "hm."

Whether that was a yes to anything Shen Song said, nobody knew.

After eating, Shen Song took a big box of pastries and rode the carriage home.

Xie Zhiyu had the servant collect all the scrap paper Shen Song had practiced on, and he kept the first sheet for himself, putting it in his study.

Shen Song studied characters with Xie Zhiyu for over two weeks, picking up more than thirty characters.

Writing was still a pain; he couldn't do small characters. On one sheet of letter paper, ten characters was him squeezing them in as small as he could.

Xie Zhiyu tried to get Shen Song to work on his wrist control, but Shen Song had endless brute strength, and Xie Zhiyu couldn't talk him out of it.

He was picking up characters fast, but his writing was stuck in place.

Shen Song was a hardworking, eager learner.

Knowing his handwriting was bad, he'd use his free time at home to squat on the ground with a little stick, practicing.

Shen Chong had watched him a few times and always gave him a tip or two.

"Xiao Ba, your wrist needs to bend, let the strength come from your wrist." Shen Chong reached over, pressing on Shen Song's wrist, guiding him to feel the motion.

Once Shen Song got it, his eyes lit up. He tried again, and sure enough, that stiff, stuck feeling was way better.

He said happily, "Fifth Brother, you're awesome. I think I kinda get it now."

"Good. Keep practicing from now on, and you'll get there eventually."

"Fifth Brother, you can read and write. Do you wanna keep studying?" Shen Song thought for a second. "I mean, like, studying with a teacher, learning stuff, not just reading books by yourself."

Shen Chong was stunned. Did he want to study? It felt like after Teacher Li died, he'd never thought about it again.

Shen Song went on, "The family's got plenty of money now. If Fifth Brother wants to study, just go for it."

"Why's Xiao Ba bringing this up all of a sudden?" Shen Chong asked, soft.

Shen Song kept writing on the ground with the stick. He said, "I've seen how Fifth Brother and Third Brother-in-law look when they read, and it's totally different from usual. I couldn't figure out why, so I kept thinking about it. Then I finally got it: when Fifth Brother and Third Brother-in-law see books, it's like when I see food. It's a real love, something they can't give up.

If you love it and can't let it go, why not do it? When I want to eat something, I keep thinking about it until I can get it, and then I go for it without a second thought."

"But Xiao Ba, Fifth Brother's already way too old."

He was already twenty-one, not five or six, not even a teenager. At twenty-one, with two kids already, going back to the basics was just too much.

Shen Song said, "Fifth Brother, everyone here lives such short lives. Right now, you're at the youngest you'll ever be to start studying again. The longer you wait, the fewer days you'll have. If you wanna study, then study."

Shen Chong said he'd think about it.

Shen Chong hadn't decided yet; he needed time to think. Paying for someone's schooling wasn't a simple thing—it was a decision the whole family had to be part of.

He was still mulling it over when it came time for the Shen family to pay the two hired helpers their monthly wages.

Shen Yuan and Shen He got paid the same, and they did the same amount of equally hard work. By now, each had earned five hundred wen.

The second that string of copper coins was put in his hands, Shen He's eyes welled up.

He'd earned money all by himself!

When he first started going out, Shen He was actually scared. But he was even more scared of not having a future.

Luckily, with the daily rush of delivering veggies, counting amounts and money, and hurrying to the next place, the restaurant staff didn't have time to stare at Shen He's face, and Shen He didn't have the energy to worry about whether people were looking at him.

Gradually, he fully adapted to this kind of life. Every day, he woke up and started working busily, had a meal at noon provided by the employer [Boss], and returned home from work in the evening.

During the autumn harvest, the Shen family's meals were eaten out in the fields, but once the harvest was done, they ate at the Shen house.

The donkey cart couldn't possibly deliver to all those restaurants in one trip. For deliveries to nearby towns, they'd head out in the morning, come back at noon to eat and prep the afternoon orders, and by the time they finished the afternoon rounds, it was evening—just as Shen Yuan and Shen He were getting off work and heading home.

The uncle and nephew each took their five hundred wen and went home, making Old Madam Shen and Shen Yuan's mother grin from ear to ear.

Maybe it was because the two of them were so pleased to have some income, Shen Yuan's mother saw everything in a rosy light, and when she looked at Shen He, she even thought the birthmark on his face looked a little lighter.