W Chapter 71

Chapter 71 Chapter 71 Missing You

After a few pleasantries, Granny Zhao could tell that the Shen family elders were here to discuss something important.

Not wanting to make things difficult for the Shen family, she took the initiative to speak, “In-laws, is there anything you need from our family this time?”

Xu Youfang took a sip of water and followed up, “There is something.”

After saying that, she fell silent.

Granny Zhao understood and told the younger members of the family to leave. Soon, only the two elders from the Zhao family and the two elders from the Shen family were left in the room.

Liu Qihua walked outside, curiously muttering, “What’s so important that we can’t hear it?”

She tried to eavesdrop by the wall, but Zhao Changyuan dragged her away.

Inside the room, Xu Youfang glanced outside, and only when everyone had dispersed did she speak.

“Yan’s brother-in-law is going to the county, and the shop in town is going to be managed by Yan and her husband.”

The Zhao family elders were slightly stunned and exchanged glances. They were naturally happy, but also conflicted.

Happy that the fifth son could live a good life down the mountain, but conflicted because only the fifth son would be living a good life.

The family hadn’t split up, and they feared inequality more than scarcity.

If one family earned a lot while the others earned little, the family would have problems over time.

But they couldn’t bring themselves to refuse the opportunity outright.

Who would turn down money?

Xu Youfang had lived in wealthy families and knew that, regardless of whether people were rich or poor, life was the same.

For money and power, even father and son could become enemies.

Such an opportunity, and the money that could be earned, could indeed stir up trouble in an ordinary family.

If not handled well, things could really go wrong.

She knew that the Zhao family elders were in a difficult position. To them, all their children were their own, and they wanted the family to live well together.

After thinking for a while, Xu Youfang suggested, “Changyuan’s wife and Changan’s ge’er can help in the shop during the off-season.”

Zhao Qilang Changyuan and Zhao Jiulang Changan had previously helped the Shen family and caught troublemakers.

Before the New Year, they went down the mountain to collect pickled vegetables, and the two children worked hard. When they were free, they would help build houses, never idle.

The two were a few years apart, separated by the eighth son, Zhao Changping, but their wives and ge’er were married in roughly the same year.

The Zhao family didn’t have much money later, and they found a ge’er for the youngest, Zhao Changan.

Fortunately, Zhao Changan liked him. This ge’er was honest, hardworking, and Xu Youfang liked him after meeting him twice.

Zhao Changyuan’s wife wasn’t very old either, only seventeen this year. Because her older brother was in a hurry to get married and needed money, they hurriedly married the younger sister off.

Zhao Changyuan was the seventh child, but he got married later than the eighth child, Zhao Changping. The girl was originally supposed to be his wife, but the eighth son snatched her away.

It couldn’t be said to be snatching, it was just that the two liked each other when the families were looking at potential spouses.

Zhao Changping made a fuss at home, and the girl cried and insisted on marrying the younger brother instead of the older brother.

Forced melons are not sweet, and in the end, there was no choice but to let Zhao Changping get married first.

By the time Zhao Changyuan wanted to get married, the Zhao family was even poorer.

With two sons still single, Grandpa Zhao thought this wasn’t right, so he simply led the whole family, old and young, into the mountains for several days and worked together to hunt a deer.

After selling it, they had just enough money to marry wives and ge’ers for the seventh and ninth sons.

Granny Zhao was delighted to hear this, because this way, one family wouldn’t be too prominent while the other brothers lagged behind.

She thought that the wives and ge’ers of the sons who went down the mountain before the New Year would all go. She didn’t hear Xu Youfang mention Liu Qihua and thought she might have forgotten, so she reminded her.

She also intended to ease the relationship between the two sisters-in-law, speaking nicely, “Qihua is strong. If she goes to help, she can do the heavy work. Yan can order her around as she pleases.”

Xu Youfang chuckled softly.

She watched Zhao Changyuan go over before the New Year and didn’t say anything.

Later, her son-in-law told her the reason in private, knowing that Liu Qihua had been used. She also knew that Zhao Changyuan wasn’t a bad person and worked very hard, more diligently than his younger brothers.

After all, they were brothers, and her son-in-law remembered his older brother’s difficulties, turning a blind eye, not wanting his third brother’s family to be in turmoil.

But she wasn’t a member of the Zhao family and didn’t have that much brotherly affection.

In her opinion, even if she was used, it couldn’t cover up the fact that Liu Qihua had bullied her daughter.

She just didn’t like Liu Qihua.

More importantly, it was easy to be incited to do those things, so her brain probably wasn’t very useful.

If she really went down the mountain to help, something bad would happen in the shop sooner or later.

“In-law, I’m going to speak bluntly, please don’t be offended. I won’t want Liu Qihua. She’ll be used as a knife by others after a few words. If she goes to work in the shop and gets used again, who will bear the losses of the shop?”

“If this shop were my own, that would be fine. But the key is that this shop belongs to Ling Xing. He’s also having a hard time, widowed at a young age, guarding the widowhood for my eldest son. I can’t let him suffer.”

Granny Zhao sighed after hearing this. What the in-law said was right, the third daughter-in-law was shortsighted and really wasn’t suitable.

No wonder people didn’t want to help.

After all, Shen Yan was still the Zhao family’s daughter-in-law, and Xu Youfang couldn’t make the relationship too stiff.

She said, “But I have no objection to your Changyuan following my fourth son to make pickled vegetables. If he does it well, he will definitely be able to save money.”

The Zhao family elders smiled with relief again. Yes, it was enough that the third son could follow along to make pickled vegetables.

Before the New Year, each of their brothers brought back one tael of silver, and their faces were visibly fatter.

The Shen family had been good enough to their family. If they wanted to continue this marriage, they had to be content.

After weighing the pros and cons, the Zhao family elders readily agreed to what Xu Youfang said.

They didn’t mention a word about the sons and daughters-in-law who weren’t mentioned by Xu Youfang.

It was still the same sentence, if they wanted this marriage to last, they couldn’t be too greedy. People had already helped enough, and after all, the Zhao family’s life was their own and needed to be lived by themselves.

If they still couldn’t live well after the Shen family had helped so much, then it was the Zhao family’s problem.

However, they definitely had to talk to the eldest son, the sixth son, the eighth son, and their wives.

But in the end, it was also because these few didn’t want to live a good life, acting like troublemakers, not wanting to live a good life and making trouble all day long. They deserved to be taught a lesson to use their brains.

As for what happened in the Zhao family afterward, how the Zhao family elders handled it, Shen Chengshan and Xu Youfang didn’t ask.

They only knew that Liu Qihua’s face turned red and she said sorry to Shen Yan, promising not to complain about Shen Yan next time.

Although the eldest sister-in-law, sixth sister-in-law, and eighth sister-in-law weren’t happy on their faces, they also came over to apologize to Shen Yan.

Xu Youfang didn’t care whether they were happy or not, she only needed the attitude of the Zhao family’s head to be good.

Because Shen Yan wanted to continue learning skills from Ling Xing, she went down the mountain with her parents.

The child was too young to leave her mother, and Shen Yan didn’t want to leave the child on the mountain either, so she also brought her down.

This time, she didn’t mind the trouble of coming up, but also to reassure her parents-in-law and to reassure her husband.

Zhao Changming didn’t go down the mountain with them. He would go down again before Ling Xing went to the county.

There were a lot of chores to do at home, so he would take advantage of this time to do a little more.

Otherwise, he always felt uneasy, because he was the only one among his brothers who was enjoying the good life.

With the Zhao family’s affairs resolved, Xu Youfang slept soundly.

Although the big knife of Shen Hui was still hanging over her head, not knowing when it would fall.

But she was really too tired from climbing the mountain today, so when she could sleep well, she should hurry up and sleep…

In the following days, Ling Xing would bring Shen Yan with him every day when he opened the shop.

Shen Yan was very diligent, had an eye for work, and was serious about learning. She even learned seven or eight out of ten of how Ling Xing talked to people.

In the future, she would be more than capable of standing on her own.

Before, because Shen Hui was staying in town for the first time, Ling Xing was a little uncomfortable all of a sudden.

This time, Shen Hui wasn’t even there, and Ling Xing was still uncomfortable.

But this time, he hid it very well, keeping himself busy every day so he had no time to be dazed.

This time, even Shen Lai didn’t notice anything, only knowing that although the third sister was also making food together, his ge’er-husband was busier than before.

And the business in the shop was better than before.

Ling Xing was always very energetic during the day, making a booming business, very tired, but he earned a lot of money.

But when the night was quiet, Ling Xing would always suddenly wake up, and then open his eyes and stare at the dark room.

He wasn’t used to it.

He wasn’t adapting.

He actually missed Shen Hui very much.

Especially when he was doing business with Shen Yan, it was simply reminding him all the time that Shen Hui wasn’t there.

Shen Yan also took care of him very considerately when doing business, but Ling Xing just felt that it was different from Shen Hui.

Shen Yan wouldn’t always pay attention to him, not letting him get close to the steam. She also wouldn’t hand him a bowl of water at just the right temperature when he stopped. She wouldn’t have the water ready before he wanted to wash his hands, or clean up the bedding before he wanted to take a nap…

Ling Xing knew that it wasn’t that Shen Yan wasn’t good, but that Shen Hui was too good.

From the first time he went out to set up a stall, he had been taken care of meticulously. He had been living like this for more than a year, and it had become a habit.

If it weren’t for this separation, he might have realized this terrible habit very late.

In the future…

Ling Xing sobbed.

What should he do in the future if Shen Hui married a wife?

He was so afraid that he wouldn’t be able to change this habit.

Ling Xing closed his eyes, the corners of his eyes wet, stained with tears.

He didn’t like the night.

It was too quiet, and he always thought of Shen Hui.

But his family didn’t seem to miss Shen Hui particularly. Everyone rarely mentioned Shen Hui.

This made Ling Xing not dare to show it, afraid that his performance was abnormal.

…

The county exam started on March 18th and lasted for three days.

The results would be released five days later, and the journey from the prefecture city to Xiao Liucun would take seven days.

If Shen Hui went home, the earliest it would be April 2nd.

But on the last night of March, there was a knock on the Shen family’s courtyard door.

Wu Xue, who was lying outside, twitched her ears, then got up and barked at the door, wagging her tail non-stop. The whole dog was very excited.

The family was eating when Shen Gui, who was closest to the stove, put down his bowl and chopsticks and got up to open the door.

“Who is it?”

“It’s me.”

A low, tired response came from outside. Shen Gui heard the familiar voice and was overjoyed, opening the door even faster.

He didn’t forget to turn his head and shout at the stove, “Second brother is back!”

The moment the courtyard door opened, Wu Xue rushed out, straightened up and clung to Shen Hui, whimpering non-stop, her tail sweeping the ground very clean.

Shen Hui was stuck by Wu Xue, hindering his steps, so he simply grabbed Wu Xue by the back of her neck.

The clingy dog Wu Xue instantly became obedient, sticking out her tongue and acting cute. Shen Hui chuckled and let go, and Wu Xue obediently stuck to Shen Hui’s side.

Finally, he was able to walk.

“Second brother!”

As soon as he entered the door, another person ran out, rushing straight towards Shen Hui.

Behind him came Xu Youfang’s angry roar, “Shen Little Five! What are you running for at night! You’ll fall again!”

Shen Lai didn’t listen, just like Wu Xue, and pounced directly on Shen Hui.

Before, they saw each other every day, and Shen Lai didn’t think much of it, even being a little afraid of Shen Hui. But after the person suddenly disappeared for so many days, he really missed him.

His emotions were outward, and his joy and anger were expressed in his face. When he was happy, he had to express it.

No one could stop him.

Shen Hui raised his hand when the person approached, turned his wrist nimbly, and then Shen Lai was also grabbed by the back of his collar by Shen Hui, just like he was holding Wu Xue.

Shen Lai, who was controlled, let out a “ga” sound and looked at Shen Hui blankly, “Second brother, what are you doing?”

He couldn’t move anymore.

Shen Hui put the person at a safe distance, “I’ve been traveling in the open air all the way, I’m dirty, don’t get close to me.”

Only then did Shen Lai see the person clearly in the moonlight.

His tied-up hair was a little messy, his expression was slightly tired, and there were obvious dark circles under his eyes.

But it couldn’t be said that he was dirty.

There was some stubble on his face, it was obvious that he had just taken care of it, and there were no obvious stains on his clothes. He could even smell the fragrance of soap pods when he got closer.

Shen Lai scratched his head.

Why was his second brother so demanding of his cleanliness after going out?

He actually thought he was dirty even though he was so clean?

Could it be that he was driven crazy by the exam!

He had heard before that many people went crazy after the imperial examination.

Shen Hui knew what he was thinking from the way his little brother, who he had raised since he was a child, rolled his eyes.

“Get rid of those weird ideas in your head.”

Shen Lai looked away, unwilling, “Oh.”

The Shen family all came out of the stove to greet Shen Hui, even Xu Youfang came out.

This was the first time Shen Hui had been away from home for so long, it was impossible not to miss him.

Ling Xing was sitting inside when they were eating, so he came out slowly, and couldn’t squeeze past Shen Chengshan and Xu Youfang in front, so he just stood in the last row, looking forward on tiptoes.

After not seeing him for a long time, Ling Xing wanted to see him quickly.

He didn’t want to do anything after seeing him, he just wanted to take a look.

Shen Hui’s gaze fell on the person who kept moving in the back of the crowd, and he couldn’t take it back.

After realizing who Shen Hui was looking at, Xu Youfang gritted her teeth angrily, all the missing was gone, and snorted coldly, “Why are you all blowing the cold wind outside? Come in and eat.”

Because Xu Youfang was angry, the Shen family’s attention all shifted from Shen Hui to her, and Shen Chengshan lowered his head and said softly, “What’s wrong with you? You’re unhappy when the child just came back?”

“If you know I’m unhappy, why don’t you hurry into the house!”

Xu Youfang left a sentence and went back to the stove to continue eating without looking back.

Cao Manyue and Shen Yan looked at each other, then glanced at Shen Hui, shook their heads helplessly, and followed in to take their seats.

Ling Yue was dragged into the house by Shen Lai, and Shen Gui also shook his head and sighed as he walked towards the stove.

But Shen Chengshan still had some paternal love, barely supporting himself and asking, “How was the exam? Why are you back so soon? Have you eaten?”

But before Shen Hui could speak, his legs had already stepped over the threshold, afraid that if he was any later, he would make Xu Youfang angry at him.

Ling Xing was the only one left outside to dawdle. He looked at Shen Hui without moving his eyes, and after a long time, he couldn’t help but smile.

“Why did you make yourself so decadent? Didn’t you sleep?”

Shen Hui was silent, choosing between speaking and not speaking.

“You’ve lost weight.” Ling Xing continued, “I’m preparing to make new food, do you want to try it?”

Shen Hui nodded seriously, “Okay.”

Only then did he answer Ling Xing’s previous question.

He looked at Ling Xing, his voice tired, but inexplicably attractive, “I didn’t sleep. After the county exam results came out, I finished what I needed to do, and rushed back non-stop.”

After a moment, Shen Hui’s Adam’s apple bobbed, his dark eyes locking onto Ling Xing’s figure, “Traveling day and night, because I wanted to get home quickly.”

Ling Xing was inexplicably flustered by the sight, and Shen Hui was just expressing his desire to get home quickly, but his gaze seemed to have changed.

“…Second Master, Second Master, you’ve worked hard.”

Ling Xing took the lead in looking away, feeling that his heart was beating a little fast, turned around and hurriedly entered the house, not daring to stay outside any longer.

After taking a seat, Ling Xing touched his face, it was a little hot.

He hadn’t seen him for a month, how did he feel that Shen Hui was different…

Xu Youfang took Ling Xing’s reaction into her eyes, she frowned slightly, and continued to eat in silence.

After Shen Hui entered the house, Shen Chengshan moved, wanting to serve Shen Hui rice.

Seeing that Xu Youfang didn’t react, he let go and moved.

Shen Hui said, “There’s also a coachman outside who needs to be settled.”

In order to hurry, he and the coachman took turns driving the carriage.

Except for the time the horses rested, they were on their way all the time.

He was anxious to come back to see people, his heart ached from missing him, and if he didn’t see him again, he would go crazy.

Although he let the horses rest and graze every day, the horses were still exhausted when they arrived at the prefectural city, and refused to go any further.

The carriage and coachman were arranged by Lin Yu