Chapter 53

Chapter 53

The matchmaker looked at Shen Song and smiled for a moment, then her gaze shifted to the carriage outside the wicker fence, its horses already turning to leave.

She was inwardly astonished—such an ornate carriage, such sturdy and tall fine horses. This Shen lad had actually gotten out of a carriage like that?

But why did that carriage look somewhat familiar?

Shen Song noticed the matchmaker's gaze lingering on the carriage and, in that moment of her distraction, quickly hid the food box he was holding behind his back.

Liu Chunxia noticed his movement and helped cover for him.

She called out to the matchmaker, "Come on in and sit. Standing out there's gotta be tiring."

The matchmaker withdrew her gaze from the carriage, set aside other thoughts, and followed them inside to sit.

Soon, Shen Song was tugged over to sit on a long bench.

His second brother-in-law sat to his left, and his fifth brother-in-law to his right.

Across from him sat his mother and the matchmaker.

The matchmaker stared at Shen Song with a face full of delight, speaking in a loud, hearty voice, "Oh, Aunt Chunxia, look how handsome this lad of yours is. Especially those big eyes—aiyo, the way he stares at me, it's just so adorable."

Zhou Gu picked up the thread and said, "Sun Fulang, not to brag. Our Xiao Ba used to be scrawny, hadn't filled out yet. But now, which lad in these parts is as handsome as our Xiao Ba? Never mind the countryside—even in the county seat, you'd be hard-pressed to find a lad as handsome as ours."

The matchmaker, Sun Fulang, took a good look and nodded in genuine agreement, not just being polite.

"Who says otherwise? Your lad's a real looker." Sun Fulang's smile deepened, and the conversation shifted smoothly, "And your Song Geer isn't just handsome—he's real capable too. That Qin family in the county is absolutely delighted with him. They figure the lad's of age to be matched, so they went out of their way to pay a hefty sum to hire an official matchmaker to come talk. Aren't small things a window into the big picture? The Qin family at least doesn't skimp on money—they're not the tightfisted sort."

Shen Song racked his brain trying to figure out which Qin family in the county.

He thought and thought, but could only come up with the Qin Family Restaurant.

He delivered vegetables there every day.

But every time he went to deliver, he only ever saw the workers. Could one of the Qin Family Restaurant's workers have asked to arrange a match?

Shen Song thought about that person's looks—tall, skinny, with a red birthmark between his brows just like his own.

If a lad married another lad, then which one would have the babies?

Shen Song's mind wandered off again.

Sun Fulang was still over there, talking up a storm, praising the Qin family as if they were the best thing since sliced bread.

Liu Chunxia listened to the Qin family's terms and was pretty satisfied too.

She wanted to ask her child what he thought, but when she turned her head, she saw Shen Song staring off into space, and knew the boy had long since zoned out, lost in a daze.

Matchmaking wasn't something that got settled in a single visit from the matchmaker.

Today, Sun Fulang had just come to pass along the message—to let the Shen family know there was a family interested in their lad and wanted to seek a marriage.

The next visit would be when things got formal.

If they were interested, then the next talk could go deeper.

If not, then they'd get their answer on the next visit.

Liu Chunxia saw Sun Fulang off, and when she came back inside, she saw Shen Song already digging into the pastries.

Zhou Gu and Li Maizi each had one too, cheeks puffed out as they chewed.

Liu Chunxia saw her child only had eating on his mind, and after sitting down, she tapped the table. Shen Song looked up, still chewing.

Looking at the food box on the table, she knew it had been brought back from the Xie estate.

Every day, Xiao Ba brought back pastries from the Xie estate—treats even the Shen family, as they were now, couldn't afford to buy.

The child was good in every way, except he was a bit possessive over food.

Earlier, when he saw Sun Fulang there, he hid the food box behind his back. Now that she was gone, he brought it out to share.

But even his possessiveness was only for outsiders.

When the child had something good to eat, he always thought of his family and wanted to share.

Liu Chunxia looked at the food box Shen Song pushed toward her, filled with exquisite pastries.

Colorful, shaped like all sorts of flowers—they didn't even look like something meant to be eaten, but rather precious objects meant to be displayed and admired.

She drew a deep breath and said to Shen Song, "Xiao Ba, that Qin family—your mother thinks they sound quite good. The one seeking to marry you is the Qin family's fourth son. He has an older brother who's an official, serving as a county magistrate somewhere. His second and third sisters also married well—one married an escort chief, and the other married a scholar who'd passed the imperial exams. Qin Silang himself is also quite accomplished—he's currently studying and has already passed the tongsheng exam."

Shen Song paused in his eating for a moment. Huh, so the one seeking the match wasn't that worker lad? This Qin Silang—he'd never met him. Why would he come seeking a match?

Before he could think further, Shen Song's attention was pulled away by the new pastry he'd just bitten into. Oh, this pastry was really good—tomorrow he'd have Xie Zhiyu make more for him.

Liu Chunxia thought Shen Song was interested in Qin Silang, so she went on, "The old Qin couple only had four kids, and Qin Silang's the youngest. The Qin Family Restaurant does good business—in the county, aside from the Chen family, the Qins are the most prominent. If you really agree to marry into that family, life would certainly be..."

Liu Chunxia's gaze fell back on the precious pastries in the box, and the word "wealthy" just wouldn't leave her mouth.

Even a family as wealthy as the Qins probably couldn't let her Xiao Ba eat pastries like these every day.

Zhou Gu noticed his mother's expression and the helpless look on her face. He grabbed a piece of pastry and said between bites, "Mother, you might as well quit. Xiao Ba's paying more attention to this box of pastries than to that Qin Silang."

Liu Chunxia glanced at Shen Song, saw him eating with gusto, and couldn't bear to look.

But looking more closely, her Song Geer really was much better-looking than before.

His skin was smooth and soft, not particularly fair, but not dark either. Big eyes, a high nose bridge, lips that curved up slightly even when not smiling, red and moist. His cheeks had filled out a bit more than before, making him pleasant to look at.

Sun Fulang said that half a month ago, Qin Silang had caught a glimpse of her Song Geer in the restaurant's back kitchen, been smitten ever since, and begged his elders to hire an official matchmaker to come propose.

In Liu Chunxia's eyes, her child had always been good-looking, no matter how you looked at him.

But she had to admit, Song Geer had been so well taken care of that he was completely different from before.

He'd gained a certain—nobility.

That wasn't something their family could manage now.

Liu Chunxia thought of the two distinguished folks Shen Song had come to know, and couldn't help but sigh again.

"Xiao Ba, why don't we go take a look at this Qin Silang?" Liu Chunxia thought, they hadn't seen him in person—what if seeing him once, knowing what he looked like, he happened to be just right?

Shen Song nodded casually. If his mother wanted him to meet, then he'd meet.

When a woman or a lad was being considered for marriage, even among common folk, it wasn't proper for the young people to sit face to face before the engagement was settled.

Liu Chunxia spent three days getting it done and even went to see Sun Fulang before the matter was settled.

That day, Shen Song went to the Xie residence to practice calligraphy.

When he arrived at the study, Shen Song said to Xie Zhiyu, "I can't have lunch here today, Xie Zhiyu."

Xie Zhiyu paused briefly in flipping through the documents. "Well, that saves me some food."

Shen Song felt a little awkward. He really did eat a lot here every day. Not only did he eat a ton, but he also took a bunch of food home.

Now, the little pouch at his waist wasn't packed with the buns his family made, but with all kinds of snacks Xie Zhiyu had given him.

And the pouch wasn't homemade either—Xie Zhiyu's people had made it.

He had two of them.

Every day when he showed up, You An would swap his empty pouch for one that was completely stuffed.

Each pastry was wrapped separately in oil paper, so they were easy to grab and didn't make a mess.

With that in mind, he pulled out a sticky rice and sesame cake wrapped in oil paper and took a bite. It had a nice chewy bite.

Shen Song's eyes lit up like he'd just found something incredible. "Xie Zhiyu, this cake is delicious!"

Xie Zhiyu glanced at the sticky rice and sesame cake in Shen Song's hand. "Is there anything you eat that you don't like?"

Shen Song actually thought for a second. "Nope, nothing."

Xie Zhiyu chuckled softly. "Once you're done eating, wash your hands and come practice your writing."

After writing for a bit, Shen Song remembered the first poem he'd ever learned and asked Xie Zhiyu, "Are you seriously not going to tell me what that poem means?"

Xie Zhiyu said, "Nothing to teach. Stop spacing out and focus on your writing."

Shen Song had no choice but to drop it and obediently keep writing.

When it was almost mealtime, Shen Song put down his brush and said he needed to leave.

Xie Zhiyu looked down at the characters Shen Song had written and said calmly, "Have the driver take you back."

Shen Song waved his hand and said, "No need, I can walk. I'm not eating at home today—I'm heading to the Qin family restaurant."

"The Qin family restaurant?" Xie Zhiyu looked up at Shen Song. "My chef's cooking is famous even in the palace. Are you sure you want to skip this and go to that crappy restaurant?"

He thought about the great lunches he had here every day. He ate breakfast and dinner at home, and all those meals used veggies from their own garden.

But he had to admit, Xie Zhiyu's chef was seriously good.

Still, the food his family worked hard to make tasted great to him too.

He wasn't picky—if it was food, he'd eat it.

Shen Song said, "I've never eaten at a restaurant before. Mom said she'd take me to try it, you know, see the world a bit."

Xie Zhiyu didn't say anything more. "The Qin family restaurant is pretty far. Have the driver take you."

Shen Song remembered what his mom had drilled into him and shook his head right away. "No, I've gotta walk there myself."

"What's this about?" Xie Zhiyu frowned and put down the paper, sounding annoyed.

Seeing Xie Zhiyu was upset, Shen Song scooted closer and whispered, "Don't be mad. It's not like I'm trying to defy you. It's just that I've got a marriage meeting today. Mom said your carriage is way too fancy, and showing up in it would draw too much attention. That's no good. Oh, and don't tell anyone I'm going to meet a potential match. Mom said stuff like this is best kept hush-hush. I'm only telling you 'cause you're my best friend."

"What did you just say?" Xie Zhiyu's voice turned icy cold.

Shen Song went, "Huh? I said all that and you didn't catch any of it? Were you daydreaming?"

Xie Zhiyu stared hard at Shen Song. After a short pause, he said, "Have the driver take you. Shen Song, don't be so stubborn."

Shen Song refused. "I already promised Mom. This time I've gotta listen to her. I can't keep chatting—I'm gonna be late. Gotta go!"

And with that, Shen Song dashed out of the study.

Xie Zhiyu stayed put in his chair.

After a long moment, he slowly got up, put all of Shen Song's writing into a box, and sat back down.

A little while later, he rubbed his forehead, hiding the rage inside, and called for his shadow guard.

Shen Song jogged all the way to the Qin family restaurant and made it just in time.

Liu Chunxia, Zhou Gu, and Shen Chong were waiting for Shen Song at the entrance.

Shen Chong had come along not just to keep them company but also to check out private schools in town.

In the morning, Shen Chong had gone to handle that matter.

The family walked inside, and Shen Song asked, "Fifth Brother, did you find a suitable private school?"

Shen Chong said he had.

The two years of reading he had done as a child were just for literacy and didn't count for much. Shen Chong starting to study at a private school at twenty-one was indeed very late.

Some teachers wanted students who could pass the imperial examinations, and someone like Shen Chong was far behind those who had been studying continuously since age seven or eight.

With limited energy, teachers would politely decline him.

But now that the family had the vegetable plot business, tuition wasn't a problem, and he had managed to find a suitable one.

The group entered the Qin family restaurant and was led by a waiter to a table by the window.

Shen Song's seat gave him an easy view of the outside.

The waiter ran through the menu, and the Shens ordered three dishes—two meat, one veggie.

The family now had no shortage of money for food, and they had never eaten at a restaurant before. Since they had finally come, they might as well eat something good.

Lotus leaf chicken, boiled fish slices, and stir-fried crispy lotus root, with a bowl of white rice each.

Other than the lotus root, Shen Song had never tried the other two dishes.

Liu Chunxia gave the chicken legs to Zhou Gu and Shen Song, divided the two chicken wings between Shen Chong and herself, and ate the breast part. After a bite, she nodded. "This restaurant's chicken is pretty good—not too tough."

After saying that, Liu Chunxia smiled again.

She never expected those words to come out of her own mouth. In the past, even tough chicken meat was out of reach, let alone lard.

Now life really was better, and the food was better too.

Shen Song ate until his lips were shiny with grease, then wiped them with a handkerchief.

The family finished their meal, but still no one showed up.

Zhou Gu asked in a low voice, "Ma, did you and Sun Fulang get it right? He's supposed to stand in front of this window?"

To avoid any gossip, Liu Chunxia had arranged with Sun Fulang that Qin Silang would stand in front of the window where they were eating, so they could see each other without actually making contact.

But by the time they finished their meal, there wasn't a soul in sight in front of the window, let alone a person.

"Ma, when are we heading back?" Shen Song had been sitting there a while after eating, and he was itching to get home and work.

There was still so much to do.

Liu Chunxia was puzzled, but she had no choice but to head out.

Liu Chunxia was disappointed not to see Qin Silang. Shen Song didn't give it much thought—he just wished he'd eaten with Xie Zhiyu if he'd known no one was going to show.

Xie Zhiyu was right—the food at the Qin Family Restaurant was good, but not as good as what his own cook made.

The Shen family walked out of the restaurant, ready to catch an ox cart home.

Just then, a carriage pulled up right in front of them—and it looked mighty familiar.

The driver hopped down, set out the footstool, and grinned as he clasped his hands in greeting to Liu Chunxia and the others, then said to Shen Song, "The master heard you were eating here and told me to wait around and make sure you and your family got home safe. There's snacks and fruit in the carriage. Please, young master, get your family on board and help yourselves."

Shen Song said yes right away. "Ma, Second Brother-in-law, Fifth Brother, let's hurry and get on the carriage."

Shen Song was carefree and simple—all he could think about was the good food waiting for him in that carriage.

Liu Chunxia and the other two exchanged looks, glancing from the carriage to Shen Song.

In the end, the whole family got on the carriage.

The first thing Shen Song did once he sat down was crack open the food box.

There were two food boxes. Shen Song opened the one with fruit first.

Sliced peaches and pears, pitted dates, shelled pomegranate seeds, washed grapes, and figs—something Shen Chong had only ever read about in books.

The other box was packed full of sticky rice sesame cakes.

Shen Song let out a "wow!" He'd been bummed about not getting more sticky rice sesame cakes, but Xie Zhiyu had gone and packed him a whole bunch.

Liu Chunxia and the other two ate without tasting a thing—especially Liu Chunxia.

Only Shen Song ate with real relish.

Back home, Shen Song carried out the leftover fruit and cakes to share with the family.

The kids clung to the food boxes, practically beside themselves with joy.

They'd never seen so much fruit in their lives!

That night, Liu Chunxia couldn't get to sleep no matter what.

Shen Dashu asked what was wrong, and Liu Chunxia fretted, "I'm starting to think a regular family can't afford to raise our Xiao Ba anymore."

Shen Dashu was thinking the same thing—just the stuff Shen Song brought home every day was already more than most families could afford.

And the fruit he brought today was on another level entirely.

There was one kind he'd never even seen before. Fifth Brother said it was called a fig—something Li Fuzi had mentioned back when he was studying. It was a tribute fruit sent to the palace from Li Fuzi's hometown.

It was crazy expensive and hard to come by.

And yet his Xiao Ba was eating fruit like that and handing it out to the family.

Shen Dashu couldn't sleep after that either.

The Shens paid their autumn taxes just as easily, and even handed the tax collector a few pieces of cake.

Back when they couldn't pay up, the tax collectors had helped them ask their superiors for extensions.

Good thing too—that gave them some breathing room to send the men out to work and scrape the tax money together.

The collectors took the cakes but didn't eat them—they wrapped them in oil paper, tucked them carefully into their clothes, and carried them home.

After the autumn taxes were paid, the Shens got to planting vegetables.

Cabbage, radishes, spinach, lettuce, chrysanthemum greens, cilantro, garlic, peas, and scallions.

The winter melon had already gone in after the greens were harvested, and it'd be ready to sell in about two weeks.

The second crop of chives had come back up too, and tomatoes were the only thing fully done for the season.

The Shens busted their backs for over two weeks and finally got all thirty-eight acres of vegetable fields squared away.

Come October, Sun Fulang still hadn't come by the Shen house again.

Shen Song kept delivering vegetables to the Qin Family Restaurant every day, and the staff didn't act any different—same as always.

Lately, the family's veggies were growing great, and business was going smooth as butter.

Everyone in the family was doing alright. Li Geng's back was mostly healed, and he'd come back from the Qi family's place to Wangjia Village, now able to work the fields again.

Shen Chong was doing fine at the private school too. He was older and just starting his basics, but he picked things up fast.

By late October, the weather was turning cold.

The Shens were out in the vegetable fields when they heard a shout. They looked up and saw Zhao Lu.

Shen Bing was about to have her baby—but she wasn't full term.

She'd slipped and fallen in the mountains. Her belly was so big, her water broke, and the baby was coming early.

There wasn't a doctor up in the mountains. Zhao Lu got some other hunters to help carry Shen Bing down on a door plank.

When the Shens heard Shen Bing was in a bad way, they all hightailed it home.

Shen Sanqiu had already gone to the next village to fetch a doctor, and had sent word for Shen Ning to come to the Shen house too.

When Shen Ning heard, she panicked too—this could easily end with both mother and baby dead!

She forced herself to stay calm and told the equally rattled Shen Sanqiu, "Third Aunt, you go to the county and get another doctor. Take Doctor Wang on ahead first."

Shen Sanqiu said fast, "Mother said to have Third Aunt head back. If it's really that bad, we've got the ox cart to take Fourth Aunt straight to Pingshun Medical Hall in the county."

Knowing her family had things handled, Shen Ning hurried back with Shen Sanqiu.

The three of them tore home in a panic. Doctor Wang checked Shen Bing and saw her face was white as a sheet, breathing out more than in. He said fast, "Get a cart ready to take her to the county. I'll stick some needles in her first to keep her going. Move quick, but don't bounce her around too much, or the mother's in even worse trouble."

Doctor Wang could do nothing more than give Shen Bing a needle to buy more time.

The Shen family's ox cart was already prepared, just in case.

After Doctor Wang administered the needle, Shen Bing was wrapped snugly in a quilt and placed on the ox cart, which had been padded with the softest bedding.

Shen Ning, Liu Chunxia, and Xu Hongmei sat on the cart, watching over Shen Bing the whole way. Shen Song drove the cart, while Zhao Lu and Shen Zhun, two burly men, followed on foot.

On the way, Shen Bing was drenched in sweat but kept crying that she was cold. Liu Chunxia's heart felt like it was being twisted with a knife; she pulled the quilt up tighter around her daughter and wiped the sweat from her face with a handkerchief.

Shen Song kept using his spiritual energy to sense his fourth sister's life force—it was so faint.

He forced himself to focus on driving, guiding the ox, Eight and a Half Taels, quickly and steadily, so Shen Bing wouldn't suffer any more on that front.

They finally made it to Pingshun Medical Hall. Shen Zhun and Zhao Lu carried Shen Bing in on a door plank into the clinic.

Doctor Zhao saw them and got up right away, told them to take her to the room in the back courtyard, and followed them in to treat her.

Shen Song, being a guy, couldn't just go in, so only Liu Chunxia, Shen Ning, and Xu Hongmei went inside.

Ye Guan saw the laboring woman arrive and could tell things weren't looking good, so he went right away to fetch a midwife he knew.

The midwife came in half an hour later. Before she arrived, cries and Shen Bing's agonized screams kept coming from inside.

After the midwife arrived, basins of bloody water were carried out, and fresh hot water was brought in.

Shen Song and the others stood in the courtyard, unable to go in and help.

Shen Song listened to the agonizing cries and smelled the blood getting stronger, thinking of the huge belly he'd seen on his fourth sister. His face went pale—he was scared out of his mind.

He... he'd have to go through this too?

As they waited anxiously, Shen Bing's voice got weaker.

Her life force was fading too.

Shen Song focused his energy but could barely sense anything.

By then, it had gotten dark.

Zhao Lu's heart sank.

Shen Zhun's brow stayed furrowed, his eyes glued to the door of the small room.

Shen Song couldn't even feel that faint life force anymore.

After another basin of bloody water was carried out, a baby's cry suddenly broke the deathly silence of the small courtyard.

In that instant, Shen Song felt a faint new life force appear out of nowhere.

His heart shook at the feeling of that life pulsing.

"She's given birth! She's given birth!" Zhao Lu finally snapped back to life, rushing toward the small room, shouting, "How's my wife? How is she? Ma! Is my wife okay?"

Zhao Lu's booming voice carried through the door, loud and clear to everyone inside.

Liu Chunxia's weary, helpless voice came from inside, "Stop shouting! She had a little boy! Mother and baby are fine!"

"Alright! I-I'll stop!" Zhao Lu replied, the big guy so happy he didn't know which way was up, grabbing Shen Zhun and rambling, "We've got a little boy too! Hahaha, I've got another kid!"

Shen Zhun was the quiet type, but he breathed a sigh of relief that his sister was safe and was happy for the new addition to the family.

Shen Song and the others spent the night at an inn in the county. The next morning, they bought wontons and porridge and took them to the medical hall for Liu Chunxia and the others.

That day, Shen Song got to hold the soft, wrinkly baby.

He looked down at the little one in his arms—eyes squeezed shut, tiny hands up by its ears, a tiny red mole between its eyebrows, lips pouting like it was sleeping.

Shen Song could feel the baby's faint life force and even hear its tiny heartbeat.

He'd never held a kid this small.

So tiny. So light.

Shen Song didn't dare move his hands.

When the baby was put in Zhao Lu's arms, he held it like it was a big sticky rice ball.

He was tall and burly, with bulging arm muscles, and he was bigger than the baby in his arms.

Shen Song didn't dare move his hands holding the baby; Zhao Lu didn't dare move a single muscle.

That made Shen Bing laugh at him, "You big goof."

Around the usual time for the vegetable delivery, Shen Song got up and said he was heading to the Xie house.

Liu Chunxia didn't stop him, since it had been promised before.

Chi Jiu was waiting for Shen Song at the back door of the Xie house, "How is your fourth sister?"

Shen Song smiled, "Mother and baby are fine!"

Chi Jiu let out a relieved sigh, "I'll tell the family the good news when I get home."

Zhou Gu and the others back home had been worried all night and hadn't slept well.

In the study.

Shen Song bounced over to Xie Zhiyu, looking all mysterious, "Xie Zhiyu, you'll never guess what happened!"

Xie Zhiyu glanced at him, seeing how happy he looked, "Did you find some new food you're into again?"

Shen Song raised his index finger, wagged it, and shook his head, "Nope."

So it's not about food?

Xie Zhiyu's face turned serious, "Did you take a fancy to someone from another family?"

Shen Song was caught off guard, "Taken a fancy to who?"

"Nothing." Xie Zhiyu asked, "So what's got you so happy?"

"Hehe, you'll never guess."

"Can't be bothered to guess."

Shen Song raised an eyebrow, "I've got a new little nephew! I held him before I came. Xie Zhiyu, you know what? He's so tiny and so light. He's a bit wrinkly, but he's so cute when he sleeps. He sleeps like this—"

Shen Song put his hands up by his ears, closed his eyes, and showed Xie Zhiyu.

He wished Xie Zhiyu could see his adorable little nephew with his own eyes.

Shen Song opened his eyes and asked, his eyes sparkling, "Isn't he especially cute!"

Xie Zhiyu lowered his gaze, his eyes lingering on Shen Song's face, taking in Shen Song's smile, and his hand clenched beneath his wide sleeve.

"Yeah, cute."

Receiving the approval, Shen Song nodded vigorously.

See? I told you my little nephew is super cute!