W Chapter 16

Chapter 16: The Back

Chapter 16: The Back

By the time Ling Xing returned, Shen Hui had already packed up his belongings and was ready to leave.

Ling Xing wasn’t very good with directions, having only walked the route once, so he hurried to catch up, afraid of getting lost.

Perhaps not in a rush to get back, Shen Hui walked much slower than before.

Ling Xing even had the leisure to look around, but the more he walked, the stranger the surroundings seemed. He didn’t recognize anything.

“Second Brother, are we going to the city gate? The road seems a bit different from when we came.”

Shen Hui said, “We’re going to the stall management’s warehouse to store things. It’s inconvenient to carry them back and forth every day. The warehouse is run by the county magistrate. If things stored inside are damaged or lost due to improper storage, the warehouse will compensate accordingly.”

Ling Xing didn’t expect there to be such a place, thinking that the management was quite reliable.

“Okay, I’ll listen to Second Brother.”

Shen Hui glanced at Ling Xing upon hearing this, but didn’t say anything, and continued walking.

The warehouse wasn’t far, just a small courtyard.

All four sides were buildings, and even the side rooms on either side of the gate were used for storing goods.

Stepping inside, there was a small table to the right, where a thin young man in coarse linen clothing was holding a writing brush, seemingly writing something on paper.

He was engrossed in writing until Shen Hui approached, when he reacted, somewhat flustered, and stuffed the paper underneath.

“Are you here to store things? Storing in the straw shed is ten coins a day, storing inside the building is twenty coins a day.”

Shen Hui didn’t pay attention to the other’s small movements. “Straw shed.”

“Okay, what’s your name, where do you live, and what are you storing?”

Shen Hui reported everything one by one. “Shen Hui, Xiao Liucun, storing one large clay stove and one ceramic pot.”

After the thin young man carefully noted everything down, he took out two bamboo slips from a small drawer under the table.

They had the number “Ding, Twenty” written on them.

He gave one to Shen Hui and tossed the other into the ceramic pot.

“Follow me.”

The young man led them inside, and Ling Xing then noticed that there were many straw sheds built in the courtyard, already filled with things.

Only a passage was left between the straw sheds for people to walk through; large goods couldn’t be stored inside. But the stall vendors didn’t have large goods.

Reaching the straw shed with the wooden sign that read “Ding,” the young man stopped.

“Put the things inside.”

The straw shed wasn’t particularly short, but Shen Hui was too tall, so he had to bend over to enter. He found a suitable corner and put the stove and ceramic pot together.

When leaving the warehouse, Shen Hui only had the bamboo basket on his back.

Inside were two ceramic basins and the buns and steamed buns for Xu Qi, with five steamer baskets strung together with hemp rope on top.

At the city gate, Shen Hui gave the buns and steamed buns to Xu Qi.

Xu Qi didn’t want to accept the money. Shen Hui then said he wanted Xu Qi to do him a favor.

Then he told Xu Qi what Ling Xing and Wang Youmai had said, more or less.

Ling Xing’s eyes widened as he listened. He hadn’t told Shen Hui anything! How did Shen Hui know?

After hearing the reason, Xu Qi glanced at Ling Xing, then said to Shen Hui, “Don’t worry, it’s rare for Second Brother to ask, so I, Seventh Brother, will definitely treat it like my own business.”

“Thank you, Seventh Brother. I appreciate it.”

Not far from the city gate, Ling Xing couldn’t help but ask Shen Hui, “Second Brother, how did you know those words?”

The noodle stall and the bun stall were quite a distance apart, and he hadn’t spoken very loudly. Shen Hui had been busy packing things up and hadn’t approached the noodle stall to hear them talking.

Ling Xing couldn’t figure it out. Shen Hui said lightly, “I can read lips.”

Hearing this, Ling Xing’s eyes lit up. He said to Shen Hui, “You can read lips? That’s amazing! No wonder you knew what Wang Brother and I were talking about.”

Shen Hui was silent for a moment. “Big Brother taught me. Does Brother-in-law want to learn?”

Ling Xing nodded frantically. “I want to learn!”

“I’ll teach Brother-in-law when I have time.”

Ling Xing was really looking forward to it, always thinking that knowing how to read lips was cool and amazing.

He smiled, his eyes crinkling. “Okay, thank you, Second Brother!”

Shen Hui responded after a while, “It’s nothing.”

There were fewer and fewer people on the official road. The villagers from the surrounding villages rarely went to town unless it was market day.

Matching Ling Xing’s speed, Shen Hui, who was walking slowly, suddenly stopped. “Brother-in-law, carry the bamboo basket and steamer baskets on your back.”

Ling Xing didn’t ask why, just nodded and said okay.

While he was lowering his head to adjust the straps of the bamboo basket, something was draped over his head. He glanced to see that it was the jacket Shen Hui was wearing.

“Why did you take off your clothes? Aren’t you cold?”

Ling Xing reached out to take the jacket off his head, but Shen Hui stopped him, crouching down.

“I’ll carry Brother-in-law the rest of the way. There’s a wild path that only I know about. There aren’t many people there, so we don’t have to worry about being seen. There will be branches along the way, so be careful not to get scratched.”

Ling Xing wiggled his feet. His heels were chafing painfully, but he was embarrassed to be carried all the way.

Shen Hui thought Ling Xing was hesitant because of his “ge’er” identity. “I can also call for an ox cart for Brother-in-law, but there won’t be any ox carts to ride to the town market in the morning. If Brother-in-law wants to get to town to open shop sooner and spare your legs, it’s better to let me carry you.”

Ling Xing knew his own limitations. They had to hurry in the morning, and his stamina was purely a hindrance. He was already panting and gasping, feeling like he was about to collapse.

Shen Hui thought he would have to persuade him a bit more, but then he felt a weight on his back. The next moment, his neck was embraced.

Ling Xing leaned on Shen Hui with the jacket over his head, embarrassed, and said, “Sorry for the trouble, Second Brother. Remember to put me down when you’re tired. Don’t exhaust yourself, okay?”

Shen Hui’s hands clenched into fists, not touching Ling Xing’s legs too much.

“Yes, I know.”

Ling Xing kept paying attention to Shen Hui’s breathing, judging whether the other was tired. But he found that Shen Hui’s breathing remained steady.

With his vision blocked, Ling Xing lost track of time and didn’t know how far or how long they had walked.

He gently rested his head against Shen Hui’s neck, carefully adjusting his posture to make himself more comfortable.

In his ears were Shen Hui’s even breathing, the sound of birds chirping, the sound of branches being broken, the sound of wind blowing through the leaves.

Ling Xing felt a bit sleepy, but he didn’t think it was right to just fall asleep like this, so he found a topic to chat with Shen Hui about.

He thought for a long time and didn’t know what to talk to Shen Hui about, so he simply asked his guess.

“Second Brother, you wanted to store the stove and ceramic pot in the warehouse to make it easier to carry me, right?”

Shen Hui’s breathing stuttered slightly. “What makes Brother-in-law say that?”

Ling Xing replied, “Because I suddenly realized that those weights in the morning didn’t seem to be anything to Second Brother. It’s the same now, carrying me for so long, and Second Brother’s breathing hasn’t even become uneven.”

“Brother-in-law’s observation is indeed keen.”

“It’s not that I’m observant, it’s that Second Brother is a good person. You’re really amazing, strong, and considerate. You’re a very good person.”

Ling Xing waited for a while but didn’t get a response from Shen Hui. He slightly lifted the jacket and inadvertently caught a glimpse of a smile on Shen Hui’s lips.

Looking at the curve of Shen Hui’s lips, Ling Xing was a little stunned. He had never seen Shen Hui like this before.

“Second Brother, you look really handsome when you smile. You should smile more often.”

Ling Xing was speaking from his heart. Even that faint smile on Shen Hui’s face, even in profile, was incredibly handsome.

This time, Shen Hui finally spoke, his voice low and magnetic, and if you listened carefully, there seemed to be a hook at the end. “Brother-in-law shouldn’t praise people so easily in the future.”

Ling Xing touched his ear. Sincerely praising someone who showed him kindness was a habit he’d had since he was a child. If he had to change, Ling Xing found it a bit difficult, but he didn’t want to refuse Shen Hui at this time.

So he said softly, “I’ll try.”