Chapter 74

Chapter 74

After returning from the Shen family, the things sent from the capital also arrived at the Xie residence.

There were not only gifts for him, but also for Shen Song.

The portion for Shen Song was sent directly to Shen Family Hollow, with a note explaining it was a thank-you gift from the family.

When it was delivered, Shen Song accepted it.

He shared the rare treasures with his family, though he was a bit disappointed there was nothing tasty.

Nothing to his liking.

Xie Zhiyu, meanwhile, set off with Fang Zheng three days later to return to the capital.

Qi Yuanjing was not surprised by Xie Zhiyu's decision and prepared emergency life-saving medicine for him.

Knowing Xie Zhiyu would be gone for a long time, Shen Song felt really down.

But when Xie Zhiyu said he wanted to go home to see his mother and younger brother, Shen Song could tell that Xie Zhiyu was happy, and his own mood brightened up a lot.

"Bring me as much good food from the capital as you can carry."

Xie Zhiyu smiled and said, "I'll bring you any tasty stuff I find on the way too."

Shen Song was even happier, cupping Xie Zhiyu's face and giving him a loud kiss.

Xie Zhiyu's ears went a little red. He slid an arm around Shen Song's waist and said in a low voice, "The main reason I'm going back is to tell them about us in person. Once I do, we can set a wedding date."

Shen Song hesitated slightly. Xie Zhiyu frowned, reached out and pinched Shen Song's cheek, saying grumpily, "You don't wanna marry me? Then who do you wanna marry?"

"That's not—"

Before Shen Song could finish, Xie Zhiyu interrupted, "After we get married, we don't have to have kids right away. Whenever you want, we can have them, okay?"

This time Shen Song didn't hesitate. He nodded and said yes.

"Then hurry back. My mom said getting married takes a long time to prepare for. I want us to get married before New Year's this year, so we can have meals together during New Year's." Shen Song looked up at Xie Zhiyu, smiling as he emphasized again, "You gotta come back early, okay?"

Xie Zhiyu's heart was pounding hard. He dipped his head and kissed Shen Song.

Not only did he make Shen Song cry, but he also left Shen Song's mouth and tongue sore when he ate.

Shen Song could only nibble at his pastries slowly, turning away in a huff, refusing to let Xie Zhiyu look at him anymore.

"Shen Song, turn around."

"I don't want to."

"Be good now."

"I can't do what you say."

"Why not?"

"If I do what you say, my mouth and tongue will hurt even more." At that, Shen Song couldn't help but scold him, "When you kiss me, you never do what I say. Xie Zhiyu, do you know that's really bad? It's wrong. I always do what you say."

Xie Zhiyu's ears were burning red. "When did you ever listen to me? You don't even know how to breathe."

Shen Song got mad at Xie Zhiyu's words—how could he twist things like that!

He turned his head, his round eyes glaring at Xie Zhiyu with zero menace, "That's because I don't know how! You told me to open my mouth, so I opened it!"

Xie Zhiyu saw his eyes were still red, all dewy and tearful while saying something so scandalous, and his breath caught. He couldn't take it, turning his head away, Adam's apple bobbing, fists clenched, face flushed and heart racing. He felt like Shen Song was trying to kill him with seduction, and it took him a long while to calm down.

-

Xie Zhiyu was going to be away from Yunxi County for a while. He had assigned people to handle all the county office affairs, and the deputy magistrate was one of his own. He also beefed up the hidden guards protecting the Shen family. Only once everything was arranged did he leave.

Everything was fine in Yunxi County, and everything was fine with the Shen family.

Around the New Year, the pigs the Shen family had raised earlier, which hadn't been ready for slaughter, were finally butchered on the fifteenth of the first month.

Geese were also put on sale at the same time.

As soon as the news got out, major restaurants and eateries swarmed in, first surrounding the pigpen, then the goose pen.

Pork could be used in way more dishes, so everyone wanted it, while only the few restaurants with signature goose dishes needed the geese.

The Shen family's pig farm had twenty full-grown pigs, only fifteen of which were for sale. Of the remaining five, one was a boar and four were sows, kept to breed.

The sows were all already pregnant, expected to give birth in about a month. Zhao Lu, worried something might happen to the pigs, had been staying in a small wooden cabin near the pigpen.

Fifteen pigs were nowhere near enough to split among over thirty restaurants and eateries.

The rest hadn't fully grown yet, and the Shen family didn't plan on selling them.

Still, selling the pork, with chickens and ducks coming later, wasn't bad.

The pigs weren't sold whole—they were cut up into parts.

Worried the meat would spoil, the Shen family delivered each restaurant's pork order along with their daily vegetable deliveries.

The Shen family had specially hired a butcher, who stayed on the mountain until all fifteen pigs were slaughtered, for quite generous pay.

The butcher happily took the job, getting up early every day to boil water and butcher pigs.

The Shen family's pork finally made it to the table. The diners had known pork was coming and had waited a long time—now it was finally here.

There were so many pork dishes. Every restaurant and eatery had its own signature pork dish.

Braised pork belly, Meicai pork (preserved vegetable pork), boiled pork slices, char siu, garlic white-cut pork, Guobao pork, lotus-leaf steamed pork with rice flour, braised lion's head meatballs...

With all kinds of pork dishes, you could walk into any restaurant and eat until your mouth was slick with grease, wishing you could scarf down another huge bowl.

The Shen family only sold fifteen pigs. The restaurants took the cuts they wanted, leaving the less popular spare ribs.

But the Shen family's pork was good quality, so even the ribs had buyers.

At worst, they'd go back and figure out how to make good ribs.

Lin Yue bought the ribs from three whole pigs. Others didn't really want them, which was the only reason he could grab so many.

Besides the ribs, he also bought five pig heads.

The cook at the Lin family restaurant, who had started as a young lad, had a signature dish—braised pig head.

Because they'd been so busy, the braised pig head was only made once in a while.

On the first day the pig heads arrived, the Lin family restaurant was filled with the mouthwatering smell of braised goods.

Now that Lin Yue had enough money, he spared no expense on ingredients, and the cook didn't have to hold back either—the braised flavor was absolutely fragrant.

The female cook and the other male cook experimented with how to make pork ribs. At first, they didn't dare test their recipes on the Shen family's pork ribs, so they used ribs from other farms instead.

Those were cheaper, so they wouldn't feel as bad if they messed up.

The female cook originally knew how to make sweet and sour tenderloin. Since Lin Yue had only managed to snag the pig's head, not any other cuts, the restaurant made braised pig head instead.

The cook lady figured the sweet and sour sauce from the tenderloin dish was tangy and tasty—wouldn't it work great on ribs too?

So she went for it.

Following the cook lady's lead, the other male cook applied the same steamed pork method to the ribs.

When they finished, they were surprised—the ribs had little meat, but the flavor came out surprisingly great.

Still, it needed a few tweaks. They were seasoned cooks who lived by their craft, so after a few tries, they knew exactly how to tweak it for the best result.

That day, the Lin family restaurant had so many ribs that people got sick of eating them. As the batches got better and better, they handed them out to nearby shops to taste and get feedback.

Everyone who tried them said they were great—they couldn't believe ribs could taste this good. They asked when the restaurant would start selling them, saying they'd come back to grab some.

Lin Yue said they'd be on the menu tomorrow, with two options: Shen family pork ribs or regular pork ribs.

The nearby shop owners knew exactly what that was about.

Back when they sold chicken and duck, they'd done the same—separating Shen-raised from others. Dishes made with Shen family chicken and duck cost twice as much, but the flavor was more than twice as good. One bite was unforgettable—so rich and fragrant.

Everyone knew the drill. Those who'd truly fallen for ribs and loved Shen family dishes eagerly said they'd come tomorrow and asked Lin Yue to save them a seat.

The next day, the Lin family restaurant put new meat dishes on the menu.

Braised pig head, sweet and sour ribs, and steamed ribs with rice flour.

Braised pig head wasn't new—there were regulars who loved it. When they heard the pig was from the Shen family, the higher price didn't stop them from wanting a slice to try.

Sweet and sour ribs and steamed ribs with rice flour, though, were completely new.

But those who'd eaten there yesterday and reserved spots showed up on time and ordered the ribs without hesitation.

Everyone knew ribs—mostly bone, hardly any meat, not much to them.

Even if they came from Shen family pigs, people weren't too interested. They'd rather go for the braised pig head.

That had spices and meat, and it smelled incredible!

Especially with the cook's skill—it was braised just right. Paired with some rice wine, it was absolutely heavenly.

But why did the people eating ribs next to them look so delighted?

And why did those ribs smell that good?

Weren't ribs just for flavoring soup?

The few people eating ribs were enjoying them so much it whetted everyone's appetite. Plus, the aroma wafted over so temptingly that people couldn't resist—they ordered ribs too.

They had to see what the hype was about!

People back then loved sweets.

Almost everyone went with the sweet and sour ribs.

The ribs had been pan-fried in lard first, giving the meat a slightly crispy golden crust with rich texture and flavor. The tangy-sweet sauce coated the juicy, tender ribs. As they bit the meat off, it was incredibly tasty, and diners sucked the bones with loud, satisfied smacks.

So good!

Every day, plenty of people came to the Lin family restaurant just for the ribs. Once Lin Yue had perfected the regular ribs in the kitchen, he went straight to Zhao Lu, found out no one had claimed the ribs yet, and booked them all at once.

The Lin family restaurant's rib recipe inspired other cooks too.

So they took their own meat dishes and swapped the meat out for ribs.

They couldn't buy ribs from the Shen family, but the meat market had plenty to go around.

Within half a month, restaurants and taverns across Yunxi County rolled out a bunch of new dishes.

Braised ribs, spicy cumin grilled ribs, salt-and-pepper ribs, crispy fried ribs, oil-braised ribs...

The diners of Yunxi County ate like royalty.

Shen Song was no exception.

He didn't need to go to the Xie estate anymore. After delivering vegetables, he'd wander around restaurants and taverns in the county or town hunting for good food.

The owners all knew him. No matter how packed it was, there was always a seat for him and food on the table.

If he craved pastries, he'd go to the Xie estate to find You An, who'd have the imperial chef there make them.

Shen Song spent his days happily eating and drinking. It was only late at night, in the quiet hours, that he'd start thinking about Xie Zhiyu.

He missed him so much he couldn't sleep.

But he didn't dare go out to look at the stars or the moon.

As long as it wasn't raining, his Seventh Brother would be outside with Zhao Feiyin.

Sigh, when would Xie Zhiyu come back?

He missed him.

After a month of hunting for good food, Shen Song lost the desire to go out.

He used to be alone all the time, but then he got family and friends, and he realized how good it was to have people around.

But being in such lively places, without his family or friends, and without Xie Zhiyu, Shen Song felt a deep emptiness in his heart.

Even emptier than when he'd been alone before.

The food didn't taste as good either, so he stopped going.

After that, he'd either bring some meat dishes to Qi Yuanjing's place and chat with Shan Yue, or help out at the vegetable shop, or lend a hand at the mountain fields.

Every day, he'd go ask You An if Xie Zhiyu had come back that day.

If not, then he'd just wait a little longer.

The pork sold even better than expected.

The Shen family's pig farm needed to expand.

The piglets they'd raised themselves weren't enough, so they'd have to buy more. Which meant they needed to hire more help.

Pig farming was something of a skilled trade. Just like when they'd hired folks to tend the vegetable garden and look after the poultry, the Shen family figured they'd look for someone who'd raised and sold pigs before.

Shen Song instantly thought of Li Gu'an and Seventh Elder Zhou.

Since they had to buy piglets anyway, they figured they'd ask if they were up for helping out at the Shen family pig farm.

Everyone else at home was too swamped to get away. The veggie shop was slammed too—nobody could take the time off except Chi Jiu.

So this time, Shen Song and Chi Jiu went.

The two of them headed to Zhou Family Village first. Shen Song knew the way, but he still swung by Zhou Gu's parents' place first.

They also brought along some veggies and meat.

This was the social savvy Shen Song had picked up over the past three-plus years.

The old Zhou couple was home. When they heard the two needed their help to find Seventh Elder Zhou, the old couple was quick to agree.

When they got to Seventh Elder Zhou's place, Shen Song first brought up buying piglets, then asked if Seventh Elder Zhou would be willing to come help out at the Shen family pig farm.

He spelled out the pay—for a skilled gig like this, the monthly wage was pretty good: one tael and five mace of silver a month, plus two meals a day covered. If he didn't want the meals, he could take two hundred coppers instead.

The second Seventh Elder Zhou heard one tael five mace a month, paid every month, he didn't hesitate for a second and nodded right away. "When do we start, Song Ge'er?"

Shen Song said to come tomorrow—first sign the contract, then take a day to get settled in.

Seventh Elder Zhou quickly said yes.

"Seventh Grandpa, Little Jiu and I have to head to another place, so we'll take off. Just come by our place before 7 a.m. tomorrow." With that, he thanked Zhou Gu's folks and left.

The three Zhous watched Shen Song and Chi Jiu ride off on the ox cart. The old couple looked at Seventh Elder Zhou with relieved, happy smiles.

"Seventh Uncle, looks like your hard times are finally over. We used to worry about what you'd do later on, but now we don't have to worry about you anymore."

Seventh Elder Zhou had lost his wife and kids. The clan folks usually looked out for him, but they had their own families, and no matter how much they wanted to help, sometimes they just couldn't do enough.

Now that Seventh Elder Zhou had this gig and money in his pocket, even when he got too old to move around, he could pay his nephews and nieces to look after him.

With so many clan folks watching, nobody would dare try anything shady.

Seventh Elder Zhou never thought he'd get such a chance. He thanked the old couple a whole lot—if they hadn't introduced him, he wouldn't have landed such a good job.

Meanwhile, Shen Song took Chi Jiu to the riverbank where they'd sat before to eat, while Eight and a Half grazed with its head down.

Shen Song ate a steamed bun stuffed with boneless, spicy cumin-roasted pork ribs, eating it up with gusto.

As he chewed, it finally hit him—his slow brain catching up. "Little Jiu, seems like we haven't sat alone together in ages."

Back then, they used to be alone together all the time.

Chi Jiu had a steamed bun stuffed with sweet-and-sour pork ribs. He chewed his food and gave a soft chuckle. "The family's doing well now, so everyone's busy, I guess."

Shen Song nodded, finished his meat bun, then pulled out some pastries from his bag—You An had given them to him yesterday. He passed one to Chi Jiu. Halfway through his pastry, he suddenly asked, "So why'd you swap sleeping spots with San Qiu? You used to sleep right up against me."

Chi Jiu couldn't swallow the food in his mouth for a good long while, as if not swallowing would let him dodge this awkward question.

He knew Shen Song wasn't trying to pry, and hadn't noticed a thing.

It was just that they happened to be together today, the thought popped up, and he asked offhand.

Maybe Shen Song didn't even want an answer—he was just asking.

Ever since Shen Song had shown his feelings for Xie Zhiyu in front of him, Chi Jiu had deliberately kept his distance from Shen Song. And once Shen Song had fully come to terms with his love for Xie Zhiyu, he knew he had to snuff out the feelings budding in his heart.

Lately, Chi Jiu had been handling his emotions pretty well.

But he couldn't tell Shen Song the actual reason.

Saying it would only make Shen Song feel worse—no point in that.

"One night San Qiu got up to pee and accidentally fell on me. So I swapped spots with him so he'd have an easier time."

Shen Song let the words go in one ear and out the other, nodded, and kept eating his pastry.

Once they finished eating, they headed off to Li Family Village.

For whatever reason, last time Shen Song came to Li Family Village to see Li Gu'an, Li Gu'an had something going on.

This time, before they even got to the door, they saw a crowd gathered around the Li place, with a racket going on—clearly something was up.

Shen Song quickly tied the ox to a tree and squeezed into the crowd with Chi Jiu.

In the middle of the crowd, more than one person was crying and yelling.

Shen Song and Chi Jiu couldn't push their way to the front. He was a bit short, and the guys in front were all big and tall. He could only hear the noise but couldn't see what was going on inside.

He really couldn't squeeze in, and Shen Song didn't want to shove everyone out of the way. Chi Jiu could tell something was wrong and pulled Shen Song back, stopping him from pushing any more. He leaned close and said, "Let's listen first and figure out what's happening."

Shen Song took Chi Jiu's advice. The two listened to the voices inside and the gossip of the people around them.

After listening for a bit, Shen Song and Chi Jiu mostly figured out what was going on.

It turned out Li Gu'an didn't want his family's property to be taken over by relatives, so he'd gone to the prefectural orphanage and brought back an abandoned boy.

Village families had lots of kids, and boys weren't special—if they couldn't afford to raise them, they'd abandon them too.

Li Gu'an had heard of some trick from who knows where. He took the kid and the family registry papers straight to the county office and registered the boy.

Originally, he wanted to register the boy under his step-dad's name, but it turned out his dad's registration hadn't been canceled yet, so the boy got registered under his dead father's name, named Li Fu'an.

If the boy had been registered under Li Fuerlang's name, then if Li Fuerlang remarried or left the Li family for any reason, the kid would have to go with him and have nothing to do with the Li family.

This was a bit different from what Li Gu'an had first heard, but luckily heaven had eyes and gave him a hand.

And because the kid was registered under Li Gu'an's dad's name, it left the Li family members—who'd wanted to use the excuse that the kid wasn't in the Li registry to kick the three of them out—totally stuck.

With the wedding date coming up and no place to live yet, Li Gu'an was way too stubborn, dead set on going his own way, refusing to be told what to do, and not caring about the whole Li family's interests at all.

So the old Fuerlang they'd seen before—Li Gu'an's grandpa, Liu Fuerlang—filed a lawsuit against Li Gu'an for being unfilial.

The authorities arrested Li Gu'an, along with the neighbors, the village head, and the li-zheng (local official), throwing them all in jail until the investigation was done and they'd be let go.

After Li Gu'an got taken away, the little brother he'd just brought home and Li Fuerlang were no match for the Li family.

The two were chased into the pigpen, and the Li family took over the house.

Later, the families of the neighbors, village head, and li-zheng who'd been arrested for questioning came to raise hell at the Li house. They even broke up the Li family's wedding and forced Liu Fuerlang to drop the lawsuit, saying it was a false accusation.

Under the law, even if it is a false accusation, Old Man Liu would not face any punishment. It would only be seen as an elder falsely accusing a junior of unfilial conduct, a case of having grievances that are hard to voice.

As long as it is a false accusation, all those who were arrested and interrogated would be released.

Otherwise, the yamen would not know how much longer they would hold people, investigating whether the neighbors, the village head, and the lijia had deliberately shielded anyone or were truly unaware.

Torture might even be involved in the process.

Unexpectedly, that Old Man Liu refused to budge, and the Li family members were also unwilling to yield.

Unless Li Gu'an took his father and that bastard child picked up from who knows where and got out of Li Family Village, and be removed from the Li family genealogy.

In a village where everyone shares the same surname, most people are related in some way.

The Li family's attitude and their disregard for fellow clansmen and neighbors angered others in the village.

People had seen families with no heirs get taken advantage of, but never this ruthlessly, going after everyone.

Everyone was afraid of reporting matters to the authorities, fearing that neighbors and fellow clansmen would be implicated. What could be resolved within the clan would never be taken to the yamen.

But the Li family bypassed all that, harming their own grandson and dragging the whole clan into it.

The matter was at a standstill when, during the New Year, the weather was freezing cold, and the prison cells were damp and chilly, with poor food and poor lodging.

Moreover, being truly wronged weighed heavily on their hearts, and with all this turmoil, they all fell ill.

One was on the verge of death; when his family went to see him, he had only a breath left. The others were also sick, and Li Gu'an was not much better off.

At that point, the families involved made a huge scene at the Li household, putting knives to the Li family's throats, forcing them to go to the yamen and admit it was a false accusation.

The prisoners were released, and thankfully no one died, but they were left with chronic health issues.

After returning home, each family was busy nursing their wronged members back to health and had no mind to deal with the Li family.

Li Gu'an was brought back by his father, along with Li Fu'an.

They had nowhere else to go, so they had to keep living in the pigpen. Fortunately, his father had hidden some silver, and when Li Gu'an's fever wouldn't go down, he secretly bought him medicine.

The pigpen stank so bad that the smell of the medicine his father boiled went unnoticed.

But yesterday, when he got caught dumping the leftover medicine, the Li family figured he still had money stashed away, and today they forced him to hand it over.

Li Gu'an had gotten a lot better and got into a fight with the Li family.

Li Fu'an was five years old, skinny as a little sapling, so frail that one push could send him flying, but he still recognized Li Gu'an as his brother, and he recognized the young father who held him at night in the pigpen and wiped his tears.

He couldn't win a fight, but he still bit them, and got beaten black and blue.

Even black and blue, he went back to biting.

The ruckus was so loud it brought the villagers over.

The families caught up in this had also recovered a bit. Seeing the fight on Li Gu'an's side and recalling the Li family's past deeds, anger flared up, and they grabbed their farm tools and came running.

A few words were said, and then it turned into a brawl.

Other villagers didn't like how the Li family did things, but if someone got killed, that'd be real trouble.

So they tried to break it up and pull people apart.

At least make sure nobody got beaten to death.

Back and forth, it turned into a total mess.

Shen Song knew some of the backstory, plus what he was hearing from the fights and the peacemaking now, he had a clearer picture than Chi Jiu.

From within the crowd, Old Man Liu's roar came again, though he barely had any strength left, "Li Gu'an, take your father and that bastard and get the hell out! The Li family doesn't claim you!"

Li Gu'an's voice was weak, his face all bruised up, and he stuck his neck out stubbornly and shot back, "Even if I leave, I'll tear this house down before I go! None of you will get a damn thing!"

"You unfilial son!" The Li family members pointed at Li Gu'an and cursed.

The neighbors couldn't stand hearing the word "unfilial" anymore—it made them want to beat the Li family.

The village head's family also had dark looks on their faces, glaring at the Li family like they wanted to eat them alive.

In the jail, the village head and the lijia hadn't suffered much; they got better quarters than the others, otherwise they'd have jumped in the fight long ago instead of just pulling people apart.

Just then, a villager yelled out, "Oh no! That Li Fu'an—he got beaten to death by Old Li Si's oldest boy!"

Li Gu'an and his father quickly looked over and saw Li Fu'an's little body on the ground, blood leaking from the back of his head into the dirt.

"Fu'an!"

His father's leg was hurt, and he sat on the ground, unable to get up.

Li Gu'an, forgetting to help his father, rushed straight to Li Fu'an, wanting to pick him up but too scared to.

The Li family started panicking too.

"I didn't kill him! I didn't kill him!" Old Li Si's oldest son waved his hands around frantically, scared by everyone staring at him, and pointed at Li Fu'an lying on the ground, shouting, "He kept biting me! I just shoved him, and he fell and cracked his head!"

Someone yelled, "Get the doctor, quick! Stop yelling!"

"Yes, hurry and call the doctor!"

Li Family Village had a doctor, and he got there in time.

The crowd split to let the doctor through, and Shen Song and Chi Jiu used the chance to squeeze out of the crowd and approach Li Gu'an.

Chi Jiu was a step ahead of Shen Song and gave Li Gu'an a light pat on the shoulder.

Li Gu'an frowned and turned around, his face a mess of stubbornness, resentment, anger, and heartache. Chi Jiu saw all those complicated feelings in his eyes, like he was looking at a younger version of himself.

Seeing strangers, Li Gu'an's expression loosened up a bit, but the next second, when he saw Shen Song, his brow smoothed out, and he was surprised and confused, "Song Geer, what are you doing here?"

Shen Song thought Li Gu'an was really good at raising pigs—if he worked at his pig farm, his pigs would definitely turn out better.

The doctor was treating Li Fu'an's injuries, and the rest of the Li family, scared of being blamed, had all snuck off.

A few villagers stayed, but not many.

Shen Song quietly asked Li Gu'an if he wanted to come work at his pig farm.

He laid out the pay, same as Seventh Master Zhou's. But at the end, Shen Song added, "There are wooden cabins by my pigpen, a few of them. If you come, I can give you two to live in for now."

Li Gu'an thought his fever hadn't broken and had cooked his brain, making him hallucinate.

How could something this good ever happen to him, Li Gu'an?

Seeing that Li Guan remained silent for a long time, Shen Song asked, "Are you going or not? If you are, you need to be at my place before the start of the Chen hour—7 AM sharp—tomorrow. My fifth brother has the day off, and he'll be the one to sign the contract with you."

Li Guan was certain he hadn't lost his mind from the fever.

It was a divine miracle.

Li Guan wanted to go—desperately.

If he went, he could live like a decent person, not get pushed around, not sleep in a pigsty, and even earn money to support his family.

But it was too good—too good to accept.

The Li family would never just let him go. Li Guan forced the words out, rejecting Shen Song, "Given my family's situation, I'm afraid I'd only cause you trouble. Song Geer, I appreciate your kindness, but you should find someone else."

Shen Song wasn't worried—he'd dealt with this kind of trouble before.

"If you're talking about your grandpa and the rest, that's no problem. You're lucky—they want to kick you out of the clan, so it's easy to fix. All you have to do is agree to the removal."

Li Guan didn't get it, so Shen Song explained the clan removal and the severance papers.

Li Guan had no idea that once removed, they couldn't be accused of being unfilial anymore. Before, he'd worried that since his brother was still young, they couldn't set up their own home or even rent a place. But Shen Song had given him a place to go! No more worrying about being homeless after the severance!

Just then, the doctor said, "The boy will live. Once I've bandaged the wound, he'll need proper care. If you can, give him better food and a better place to rest. The head's not like other parts—if he's not cared for well, the boy could end up simple-minded."

The doctor knew Li Guan's situation and figured the advice would probably fall on deaf ears. He didn't charge for the visit and even left an extra dose of medicine. "If you want your brother to fully recover, you should take him to see a county doctor. You can pay me back for the visit and medicine later. I'm heading off now."

With that, the doctor shook his head, sighed, and hauled his medicine box off.

Li Guan suddenly felt hope in his bleak, hopeless life.

He looked at Shen Song and smiled, "Song Geer, you're a bodhisattva sent to save the suffering. Ever since I met you, the bad things have all gone away."

Chi Jiu saw the look in Li Guan's eyes as he stared at Shen Song—it was all too familiar. His heart skipped a beat; something was off.

He immediately stepped between them, cutting off their view of each other, "Go handle the severance fast. The quicker you do it, the less the Li family will suspect."

Li Guan snapped out of it. He told Shen Song and Chi Jiu to head back, promising he'd be there on time tomorrow.

After they left, Li Guan carried his little father and Li Fuan back to the bed.

The bed in the room had been used by the Li family and was in good shape—much better than where they'd been staying.

At least the bed had a mattress.

Li Fulang hadn't heard the conversation, and he hadn't seen Shen Song when he'd come before either.

He didn't know what had happened, but he could tell his son's mood had lifted a lot.

Li Guan said, "Little father, watch Fuan for me. I'll be right back, don't worry."

Li Guan needed to get the severance papers fast. Without time to explain, he headed straight to the Li house.

When they saw him, the Li family had mixed expressions, but they were all a bit scared.

Not scared of Li Guan, but scared that Li Fuan had actually been beaten to death.

If Li Fuan had died, Li Guan would've definitely reported them to the authorities. Murder meant execution, and with so many villagers watching, they couldn't cover for the fourth branch's eldest son.

The whole family stared at Li Guan, waiting for him to say something.

Li Guan said coldly, "Write the severance papers and give me ten taels of silver. I'll take Fuan and my little father and go."

So the kid wasn't dead.

The Li family let out a sigh of relief.

Old Fulang then said, "I can write the severance papers right now, but ten taels of silver—don't even think about it."

"I'm taking them with me. We can't set up our own home, and food and shelter will be tough. Not to mention Fuan's head still needs a doctor. If anything happens to him, I won't forgive you."

The Li family exchanged looks. Old Fulang thought it over and said, "Five taels."

Li Guan got impatient, "Eight taels. Say another word, and the deal's off. If my little father and Fuan can't survive, I'll go down fighting with you."

In their situation, without money in hand, they really couldn't survive out there.

If Li Fulang and Li Fuan really got hurt, Li Guan would definitely go after them.

The Li family had no choice but to agree.

Li Guan's family's dozen or so mu of land, the house, and the pigs in the sty were worth way more than eight taels.

The Li family and Li Guan found the clan elders. The elders initially wanted to speak up for Li Guan, worried about how he'd survive after leaving.

But both sides were set on severing ties, so the elders had no choice but to go along.

Soon, Li Guan had the severance papers, watched his name get crossed out in the family registry with the reason written next to it. After getting the eight taels from the Li family, they told him to take his little father and Li Fuan and get out right away.

It was already evening. Li Guan said nothing, went back to pack, found nothing worth taking, so he took nothing.

Li Guan carried Li Fuan on his back in a basket, helped Li Fulang along, and led them to the doctor's house.

The doctor checked Li Fulang's leg, confirmed it wasn't serious, and they all felt a lot better.

The doctor's family knew about the severance—news travels fast in a village.

They let them stay the night, knowing that if they left now, something bad would definitely happen.

Li Guan thanked them, paid all the bills, and covered the lodging and meals.

The next day at daybreak, Li Guan left Li Family Village with his family.

He arrived at the Shen house at the agreed time.

When Li Fuan woke up, he found himself in a bed.

He looked around, confused, and before fear and panic could hit, he saw his brother and little father come in.

Everything had happened so fast that Li Fulang was still in a daze.

From the kid suddenly agreeing to sever ties, to leaving Li Family Village at dawn, arriving at Shen Family Gully, signing some contract, and then heading up the mountain to a wooden cabin.

Li Fulang had a vague idea, but he didn't dare hope for anything that good.

Seeing his brother awake, Li Guan told his family the whole story.

Li Fulang hadn't expected things to turn out even better than he'd imagined.

From Li Guan being taken by the officials, to them living in a pigsty, to Li Guan coming back at death's door, to the big fight, Li Fuan nearly dying, and then the severance and leaving Li Family Village for good.

Li Fulang truly felt as if each step led him deeper into a darker abyss.

Who would have thought they weren't going down, but going up instead?

Li Fuan needed to get his head examined in the county town.

Li Guan rode the Shen family's donkey cart, taking him to Pingshun Medical Hall in the county town to have his head checked. Doctor Zhao prescribed stronger medicine and instructed them to return every three to five days for a follow-up.

Shen Song gave them a ride back with the medicine.

Li Guan and Seventh Master Zhou began helping the Shen family raise pigs. They were truly great at raising pigs—each one could do the work of three people.

Li Fulang also helped clean the pigsty every day, keeping the log cabin spotlessly clean.

-

After the first month of spring, in early March, Xie Zhiyu came back.

He immediately sent a carriage to pick up Shen Song, and they talked for a long time.

Shen Song could sense that Xie Zhiyu was very happy after coming back from his trip. He seemed so much more alive than before. Shen Song watched him and couldn't help leaning in to kiss him.

"Xie Zhiyu, I'm so happy."

Xie Zhiyu looked down at him. "Happy about what?"

"You're happy, and that makes me happy."

Xie Zhiyu looked at Shen Song, coaxing him to say something sweet. "Is it because your heart yearns for me?"

"Yes!" Shen Song's eyes sparkled, and he said with a bright, clear smile, "I love you, Xie Zhiyu!"

Xie Zhiyu hugged Shen Song tightly, burying his face in Shen Song's neck.

So cute it was killing him.

During the meal, Xie Zhiyu told Shen Song that he had told his family about their relationship, and they said they would consider it carefully. Xie Zhiyu told Shen Song not to worry. "Even if they don't agree, it doesn't matter. I don't need their approval."

Shen Song remembered the story Xie Zhiyu had told him before. "Are you going to elope with me?"

Xie Zhiyu smiled. "Would you want to?"

"You can elope to my home. My family is very kind and won't treat you badly," Shen Song said seriously.

Xie Zhiyu kissed Shen Song's cheek. "Don't you want to ask me about my family?"

Shen Song nodded, saying he wanted to. "But do you want to tell me right now?"

Xie Zhiyu shook his head. He didn't want to.

Until he married Shen Song, he didn't want to say anything.

He was afraid the Shen family wouldn't approve of their marriage, afraid Shen Song would leave him.

He didn't want that at all.