Chapter 20

No matter how much Zhou Jing cared for Shen Mo, such a family would likely struggle financially.

Doctor Zhong, guided by a physician’s compassion, said, “Right now, your wife has a weak constitution, so I wouldn’t recommend giving her strong tonics. I’m afraid he might not be able to handle it. It would be better to start with nourishing food. Once his health improves a bit, we can then consider using medicine to help him recover.”

Doctor Zhong didn’t take advantage of the situation but instead offered the most reasonable advice for the moment, and this character earned Zhou Jing’s admiration.

He politely thanked him and then pointed to Shen Lin: “He’s also injured; please take a look at him as well!”

Doctor Zhong was once again astonished. The farmers would endure their illnesses if they could; the men in the household were always reluctant to spend money on a doctor. It was already a sign that a wife had married a good man when the man had spent money on you.

However, Zhou Jing was actually willing to spend what the villagers considered “wasted money” for his wife’s brother.

Doctor Zhong reflected on Zhou Jing’s character. It seemed that without seeing or experiencing it firsthand, it was better not to follow the crowd blindly.

Everyone claimed Zhou Jing was a fool, but now it appeared that such a “foolish” person would be a welcome addition to the village.

Shen Lin’s injuries were not severe; most of the blows had been blocked by Shen Mo. Therefore, Doctor Zhong prescribed some topical medicine and advised Shen Lin to apply it on time, assuring him that he would recover in a few days.

With just these few items, the total medical fee amounted to 580 copper coins, which left Shen Lin feeling quite anxious as he watched Zhou Jing make the payment.

After seeing off Doctor Zhong, Zhou Jing hurried back.

“Shen Lin, you go outside first. I need to apply medicine to your brother!” he said.

Shen Lin was puzzled and replied, “What do I have to avoid it? You are applying medicine to my brother.”

Zhou Jing scoffed coldly, “You don’t have a husband, but your brother does. He is my wife now, and naturally, only I can tend to him!”

Shen Lin：“……”

Shen Lin stormed out in anger, and Shen Mo helplessly said, “Why do you always tease him?”

Zhou Jing wore a serious expression and replied earnestly, “I am not teasing him; I am speaking very seriously!”

Shen Mo：“……”

Although Shen Mo’s injuries had not reached the bone, they were deep. As Zhou Jing applied the medicine, his hands trembled uncontrollably.

He was unsure of the emotions he felt while treating Shen Mo; his clenched jaw seemed to hurt even more than Shen Mo’s wounds.

“Xiao Mo, it’s my fault for being useless and not protecting you. But don’t worry, it won’t happen again. I swear I will never let you get hurt! I will make sure that even a single hair on your head won’t be missing! I will definitely take revenge for this!”

Shen Mo said, “Brother Jing, it’s not worth it. It’s not worth putting yourself in danger for taking revenge on my father. Don’t do anything foolish. I got hurt, but Xiao Di has escaped. If I just avoid him from now on, everything will be fine!”

It was not just during this era of father-son relationships; even in later generations, how many people would resort to violence against unkind parents? At most, they would sever ties with a heavy heart and never see each other again.

However, Zhou Jing was different from Shen Mo. After all, Father Shen was not Zhou Jing’s biological father; he only held the title of father-in-law.

This debt that Shen Mo could not seek repayment did not mean that Zhou Jing could not.

Zhou Jing said coldly, “Xiao Mo, don’t worry. Your husband may not have been able to protect you last time because it happened so suddenly, but it doesn’t mean I lack the ability to keep you safe. Just wait and see; I have a way to teach him a lesson without putting myself at risk!”

—o—o—o—

The events that had transpired in the Zhou family were unknown to the craftsmen who had been scheduled to come to town the day before. They arrived as agreed.

The Zhou family’s bed was not large; it was just enough for two people to sleep on.

They could only set up a few small stools by the bed and, without worrying about avoiding suspicion, they all lay down fully clothed.

Shen Lin and Shen Mo both had injuries, so it was naturally impossible for them to sleep on the stools, leaving Zhou Jing to take that spot.

He tossed and turned throughout the night, feeling quite uncomfortable. With matters weighing on his mind, he finally dozed off in the latter half of the night, forgetting about the craftsmen coming to the town to build the house tomorrow.

It wasn’t until the grass door was knocked on that Zhou Jing hurriedly got up in panic.

Zhou Jing came out, and it was indeed Master Cao, the carpenter.

Zhou Jing apologized, saying, “Something big happened yesterday at home yesterday. I was so exhausted that I forgot you all were coming. I hope you can forgive me.”

Master Cao noticed that Zhou Jing’s complexion was indeed not good, indicating that something significant had happened at home. He asked, “So, are we still starting work today?”

“Of course, we’ll start. I can’t let you carpenters come here for nothing. Besides, as you’ve seen, this grass hut offers no protection from the wind or rain. By the time summer arrives and the rains become heavy, it will be uninhabitable,”

Zhou Jing said as he stepped aside to let him into the house. Shen Mo and Shen Lin came forward to greet him and exchanged a few words, which counted as their introduction.

Master Cao felt relieved. When he had initially discussed the terms with Zhou Jing, it wasn’t about a daily wage; instead, they had agreed on a total payment for the entire completion of the house. So, any delays would be a loss for them.

At that time, they had agreed that both parties would provide eight workers each. Zhou Jing’s workers were all local relatives and friends, who would fully follow the carpenters’ arrangements.

Master Cao understood this point well. For farmers, it was common to rely on family members to help build a house, as very few could afford to hire outside help from the town.

However, it was because Zhou Jing’s construction plans were quite unusual that they worried the local farmers wouldn’t be able to figure it out without professional craftsmen.

Master Cao looked around and asked, “Haven’t your helpers arrived yet?”

Zhou Jing replied, “There was a major incident at home yesterday that kept us up quite late, so they couldn’t come today. Here’s the plan: we’ll start with the few of us for now, and I’ll pay you separately for today’s work, not counting it as part of the contract.”

Master Cao had not expected this employer to be so fair; even when working for wealthy families, they often had to do extra work without pay.

Zhou Jing had purchased the land beneath the grass house where he currently lived.

In order to build a new house with better lighting, it was necessary to tear down the existing grass hut and construct a new one. To avoid being left without a place to stay, the few of them decided to select a safe spot to temporarily set up a small grass hut.

Zhou Jing did not know how to build houses; he simply communicated his requirements to the carpenters, supervised the work, and lent a helping hand.

After a while, realizing that the carpenters were diligent and not the type to cut corners, he went back inside to check on Shen Mo.

“Does it still hurt? I’ll apply some medicine on you in a bit. What do you want to eat? How about some lean meat porridge?” Zhou Jing sat on the edge of the bed, gently looking through Shen Mo’s clothes as he asked softly.

Before Shen Mo could reply, Shen Lin clapped his hands and exclaimed, “Sounds good! Sounds good!”

Zhou Jing seemed deaf, as he only stared at Shen Mo, waiting for his answer.

Shen Mo found the two of them interesting and smiled lightly.

“Alright, let’s have lean meat porridge!”

Zhou Jing nodded in agreement. After he sent Shen Lin away again, he finally applied the medicine to Shen Mo.

Zhou Jing cooked shredded meat porridge with fine rice for Shen Mo and steamed a bowl of egg custard.

The three of them finally finished eating their breakfast.

Zhou Jing’s cooking skills were truly impressive, and Shen Mo and Shen Lin appreciated every dish he cooked.

Especially after hearing Doctor Zhong’s words, Zhou Jing specifically added a lot of shredded meat to the porridge he served Shen Mo, making Shen Mo feel embarrassed, his cheeks turning bright red.

“By the way, Xiao Di, later you should go to the village and find a few reliable and capable people to ask if they would be willing to help us build our house.”

Shen Lin asked curiously, “Didn’t you hire people from the town? Why do you still need to ask people in the village?”

Zhou Jing explained, “Since we are going to live in this village in the future, we need to find a way to integrate into it. This is a perfect opportunity. At this time, every family is not busy with farming, and the men at home are idle. They would be willing to come out and earn a little money. By hiring them, we are also helping them, and they will be grateful to us. This will help build relationships. Later, when we face big or small matters, they will be inclined to lend a hand because of this connection.”

“Oh, I see!” Shen Lin was fully focused on eating, gulping down a bowl of porridge, and he didn’t seem to have taken Zhou Jing’s words seriously.

On the other hand, Shen Mo looked at Zhou Jing with admiration.

He knew that the house Zhou Jing wanted to build couldn’t be constructed by the villagers; that’s why they needed to hire people from the town. But in order for the two brothers to have a better life in the village, Zhou Jing had come up with such a thoughtful plan.

Shen Mo looked at Zhou Jing with admiration, feeling that he was incredibly thorough in his actions.

Any man would feel proud to be looked at that way by his lover.

Zhou Jing held his head high like a peacock displaying its feathers, feeling quite pleased with himself.

Unfortunately, he overdid it and accidentally poked a chopstick up his nostril.

“Haha…” Shen Lin laughed loudly, showing no regard for Zhou Jing’s dignity.

Zhou Jing felt embarrassed and shot a fierce glare at Shen Lin, his intense gaze making Shen Lin swallow the rest of his laughter.

Glancing at his wife, whose face was flushed red, Zhou Jing pretended to clear his throat.

“Well… Xiao Mo, you know the character of the villagers better than any of us. Take a look and see which family has a good reputation and works efficiently. The most important thing is that they understand the nature of the work we’ll hire them for and can appreciate our goodwill, so we can become friends in the future.”

Shen Mo held back a laugh and said, “Alright, I actually thought of a few people. Let’s set the pay at 30 copper coins a day, just like usual. How does that sound?”

“Fine, but you have to tell them clearly, that once they arrive, they must listen to Master Cao. They should do as instructed, and if they don’t do well or dare to slack off, they shouldn’t blame me for being rude.”

“Sure, I will convey that,” Shen Lin replied.

—o—o—o—

After finishing their meal, Zhou Jing wandered into the yard to see how the workers were doing, while Shen Lin followed Zhou Jing’s suggestions and went door to door to ask. Shen Mo, on the other hand, had nothing to manage at home and only needed to rest.

Considering Zhou Jing’s reputation in the village, Shen Mo worried that some people might refuse the work, so he suggested a few more people and specifically instructed Shen Lin on the order in which to ask. He emphasized that he shouldn’t force them if they were unwilling to come.

Sure enough, a few families were unwilling to help, and Shen Lin, following Shen Mo’s advice, did not persuade them further but moved on to the next house.

Those who had refused Zhou Jing’s offer did not think much of it at the time, but later, when the Zhou family became successful and began to flourish, they nearly regretted their decision.

The most unexpected response came from Wang Ren. He knew that Zhou Jing’s family needed hands for their construction, and not only did he agree immediately, but he also joined Shen Lin in asking the remaining families.

Thus, the Zhou family’s house began to be constructed.

Zhou Jing was not wealthy, but he was not a stingy person either.

The workers’ meals were provided, covering both lunch and dinner.

The staple food consisted of brown rice porridge and cornmeal buns. Although it wasn’t considered high-quality, it was filling.

As for the vegetables, they were cooked in lard made from fatty meat, ensuring there was plenty of oil. Not only were the villagers satisfied with the meals, but even the workers from the town remarked that the food was comparable to what they would get while working in wealthier households.

Zhou Jing was smooth in his dealings and paid the workers promptly, settling accounts on the same day.

Within a few days, even those villagers who had some opinions about him had a significantly changed perspective after spending time together with him.

In fact, a few had even begun to call Zhou Jing “brother” and formed a camaraderie with him.

Gradually, while walking through the village, there were men who worked at the Zhou family greeting Zhou Jing, Shen Mo, and Shen Lin on their own.

At this point, with his relationships with the other villagers improving, Zhou Jing felt it was the right time to settle some accounts.

He thought it was better to address them now rather than wait until the New Year.