Chapter 26 There is a secret, the mouse goes to bed

Song Fu grabbed his younger brother with one hand and his sister with the other, grinning as he said, “Don’t worry, Third Uncle. The side room’s big enough for the three of us. It’s getting late—you two should rest early. We’re off to bed now.”

With that, he led the younger siblings off to the side room, even thoughtfully closing the door behind them on the way out.

Wang Huimin guessed that this sudden shift in Song Fu’s attitude must have come from something Song Jianjun had said to him in private. But wasn’t he being too cooperative? He didn’t seem at all like the scumbag he used to be.

Seeing Wang Huimin standing there without saying anything, Song Jianjun felt even more awkward and felt he had to explain.

“Xiao Min, don’t overthink it. I don’t know what’s gotten into Xiao Fu. I didn’t mean anything by this. It’s just that it’s cooler sleeping in the inner room. You should sleep there,” he said. “From now on, that room will be yours. I’ll have Xiaolong and Xiaoxue sleep with me in the outer room—it’s more convenient that way.”

Wang Huimin glanced at him and silently nodded. She knew for certain that Song Jianjun had no improper thoughts, but she did. Still, the timing wasn’t right, and she needed to take things slowly.

But there was something else she hadn’t said yet.

“I did go to my grandma’s place today and sat with her for a bit. She already knows about us and supports it. She told me to live well with you—and she gave me a lot of money. Now we don’t have to worry about the bride price for Zhang Chunyan.”

As she spoke, Wang Huimin pulled a handkerchief from her pocket. Inside were twenty 10-yuan bills, a total of 200 yuan—no small change.

Seeing the surprise in Song Jianjun’s eyes, Wang Huimin handed the money to him. “Now we’ve got the clothes and the money. We can go to the Zhang family with the bride price whenever there’s time.”

Song Jianjun didn’t think she was lying, but looking at the money, he still couldn’t accept it. He pushed it back toward her.

“Xiao Min, actually, I’ve already prepared the bride price. I didn’t plan on needing your help. This money is your dowry from your grandma—you should keep it for yourself.”

Wang Huimin looked at him and insisted, “But you promised me earlier today. You said if my grandma gave me money, we’d use it for the Zhang family’s bride price.”

“You said this morning you didn’t have any money—so what changed? Did you go borrow it from someone?”

Song Jianjun nodded. “Yes, money’s just a bit tight right now. Things will get better in a little while. I borrowed it, and I’ll pay it back slowly. You don’t need to worry—just put your money away and go rest.”

There was no way Wang Huimin was going to just listen. She thought for a moment and said, “It’s not just the bride price. Even if we don’t hold a wedding ceremony, we’ll at least have to invite family and friends for a meal, right? And we need to buy some things for the house—bedding and quilts are barely enough. When you add up all the odds and ends, it’s a lot. Are you sure what you borrowed is enough?”

Seeing how the girl just wouldn’t drop the topic, Song Jianjun was starting to feel helpless.

That afternoon, aside from picking up the clothes, he’d borrowed 200 yuan from two neighboring relatives. Combined with the little he already had, it would just about cover everything—though it’d be tight. But clearly, if he didn’t use Wang Huimin’s money, she wouldn’t be happy. He wouldn’t be able to talk her out of it.

Seeing that he still hadn’t responded, Wang Huimin added, “I still owe you money, remember? If you really don’t want to take it, just think of it as me repaying my debt. We’re family now—we shouldn’t draw such strict lines between us.”

With that, she firmly stuffed the money into his hands. Song Jianjun had no choice but to accept it.

Money doesn’t fall from the sky, and that 1,000-yuan bride price wasn’t a small amount. He truly didn’t want to lose it. That was why he agreed to Wang Huimin’s last-minute plan to switch the groom.

But he hadn’t expected to get the money this way. Since she was so insistent, he didn’t say anything else.

“Alright, I’ll accept it—just treat it as you paying me back. I’ll remember it,” he said.

Only then did Wang Huimin smile. “That’s more like it. We’re family—we should face hard times together. Things will definitely get better from here.”

This time, Song Jianjun didn’t reply—he just looked at the girl’s radiant smile.

In the inner room, he had already prepared bedding for her. It wasn’t brand new, but it was clean—clearly washed ahead of time. There was still a faint scent of pig pancreas soap, which was totally acceptable.

Ever since she got the spiritual spring, Wang Huimin had been drinking that water every night before bed. But tonight, she thought of Song Jianjun.

The spring water had health benefits, and she wanted to find a way to get him to drink some and help improve his body.

Thinking this, she got out of bed and left the inner room. Song Jianjun was sitting by the kang (heated bed) soaking his feet. He figured she had just gotten up to use the toilet.

Without saying a word, Wang Huimin went to the kitchen, poured a bowl of spiritual spring water, and mixed in some water from the water vat to dilute the taste.

She took a sip—it still tasted faintly sweet, like good well water. Satisfied, she brought the bowl over and handed it to Song Jianjun.

Even though he wasn’t thirsty, he accepted it politely and thanked her for her kindness.

But the moment he drank it, he noticed something was off. The water tasted different—better than usual, slightly sweet. Without even realizing it, he finished the whole bowl.

Seeing him drink all the water, Wang Huimin felt pleased. She took the empty bowl and said, “I’ll get you another one.”

She returned to the kitchen and brought him a second bowl. Song Jianjun glanced at her but didn’t say anything, accepting it and drinking it again.

After finishing the second bowl, he was even more certain—this water was different. After drinking it, he felt noticeably less tired.

This girl had a secret, but he didn’t pry.

After seeing him finish the water, Wang Huimin said goodnight and returned to the inner room. She sat on the kang, filled her own mug twice, and drank.

After drinking, she felt totally refreshed. Even in the heat of summer, she didn’t feel hot. The inner room wasn’t stuffy or damp either—much more comfortable than the cramped back room she used to stay in at the Wang house.

Lying on the soft bedding, she soon got sleepy.

Just as she was drifting off, she heard Song Jianjun dump out his foot-washing water and come back to lie down on the kang. Then she fell asleep.

But what Wang Huimin didn’t expect was that on her first night in this house, she’d get a scare.

She was sleeping soundly when she felt something furry rubbing back and forth against her thigh. It tickled a little.

Half-asleep, she swatted it and scratched at the spot.

The thing she hit let out a few squeaky chirps—not loud, but sharp and piercing.

Startled awake, Wang Huimin saw, under the moonlight, a gray rat about the size of her palm, sitting on the bedding, baring its teeth at her.

Rural rats were big and fierce-looking—she was scared out of her wits.

“AHHH!” she screamed, jumping off the kang and running blindly into the outer room in panic.