Chapter 29

Zhou Jing reached the door and saw Wang Baichuan, a man from the village, pacing back and forth in front of his house without knocking.

“Wang Baichuan, do you need something?” Zhou Jing asked.

Wang Baichuan turned around and, upon seeing Zhou Jing, appeared somewhat nervous.

“Ah, no, I… I came here to find Shen Lin,” Wang Baichuan replied.

“Oh, that’s fine. I’ll go inside and call him for you.” Zhou Jing said, unwilling to let villagers he wasn’t close to enter his home, fearing it would lead to gossip and trouble.

As Zhou Jing entered the house, Shen Mo felt that the big fat duck in his hands looked strangely familiar.

Zhou Jing did not shy away from the topic and directly said, “Yes, this is the one that pecked you. It’s from Aunt Shen’s house. I bought it for 60 copper coins. I’ll make you braised duck for lunch.”

“……”

Shen Mo did not know what to say.

Normally, Zhou Jing was not a person who held grudges, but whenever it came to him, Zhou Jing became very particular about things.

After thinking of this, he did not feel that Zhou Jing was petty; rather, it made him feel quite pleased.

“By the way, Xiao Di, I saw Wang Baichuan when I returned. He said he had something to discuss with you. He looked like he had been waiting outside for quite a while.”

Shen Lin nodded and then went outside, while Shen Mo watched his figure with a worried expression.

“What’s wrong?” Zhou Jing inquired.

“That Wang Baichuan seems to have an interest in Xiao Di!” Shen Mo said anxiously.

“This is a good thing, what are you worried about?” Zhou Jing asked.

“You don’t understand. Wang Baichuan is fine, but his mother is not an easy person to deal with. He himself is a ger, but he has no regard for other gers. He thinks gers can’t give birth to sons and are worse than an old sow!” Shen Mo said with concern.

This kind of preference for sons over daughters persisted even in later generations. Even in later times, if a woman couldn’t give birth to a son, there were plenty who would make her keep trying or simply divorce her.

“He himself is a ger, and having given birth to a son, he always feels superior. He looks down on any family with a ger. With a mother-in-law like that, Xiao Lin would surely suffer a lot after marrying into their family! He’s only been living a good life with us for a few days!” Shen Mo expressed his worries.

Thinking of someone, Zhou Jing smiled.

“You don’t need to worry about that. I think Xiao Di has plenty of choices!”

“Regardless, Xiao Di is still a ger, and whether he marries into a family where he can give birth to sons is always a concern. Even if the head of the household doesn’t care, the in-laws will always mind. Over time, with the in-laws nudging him, it’s inevitable that the men in the family might develop other thoughts,” Shen Mo said, still troubled.

“That is true, but if our family’s situation improved and Xiao Lin had some property, many things would be different. You don’t need to think so much about it. If it really comes to it, we can have Xiao Di find a husband who is willing to marry into the family. At worst, we can just give him a bit more property.”

Shen Mo felt very touched; he knew that Zhou Jing was willing to do this for Shen Lin solely because of him.

—o—o—o—

As Shen Lin stepped out of the door, he saw Wang Baichuan and directly asked, “What’s the matter?”

Shen Lin had recently been following Zhou Jing in doing business and had not even been to the village, so he truly could not think of what Wang Baichuan wanted to discuss with him.

Wang Baichuan carefully observed Shen Lin’s expression and said, “Um… I came here to apologize. Last time, when Zhou Jing was building his house and you came to find me for help, it wasn’t that I didn’t want to come; it was just that I had some issues at home that I couldn’t get away from.”

At that time, Shen Lin had approached many people in the order suggested by Shen Mo and had faced refusals not only from Wang Baichuan’s family but also from several other families.

Most of them were wary of Zhou Jing’s bad reputation and were unwilling to work for the Zhou family. Some did not even believe that Zhou Jing would pay wages and were not willing to try even for a day.

Among these people, Wang Baichuan’s family did not have the worst attitude, but it can’t be considered good either.

Shen Lin still remembered that at the time, Wang Baichuan’s mother had said a few particularly irritating things, and those words stuck with him.

“That’s nothing. You said it was a favor, but my brother paid quite a bit for it, so it doesn’t count as a favor; it was just hiring someone to do the work. Since it’s hiring, it’s a straightforward transaction, and whether someone comes or not is entirely up to the person involved. There’s no need to apologize.”

Wang Baichuan knew that Shen Lin understood his true meaning and was intentionally misinterpreting him out of anger.

“I…” Wang Baichuan was about to explain when Li Momo’s sharp voice rang out again.

“You’re being called by your mother; I’ll head back first,” Shen Lin said, and without any hesitation, he opened the door and stepped inside.

Wang Baichuan stood dazedly at the entrance of the Zhou family’s house, staring blankly at the bright red door.

It was not until Mother Li approached, sounding annoyed, that he snapped out of it. “Baichuan, you’re talking to Shen Lin again! I’ve told you that Shen Lin is not a good person! Haven’t you heard the gossip from Shenjia Village? They say that Shen Lin’s body is being used by Zhou Jing. Otherwise, how could someone like Zhou Jing, with his shameless character, possibly be willing to raise another lowly ger?”

“Shen Lin is a good person; he would never do such a thing. You shouldn’t believe those rumors. The Zhou family is now living in a house made of blue bricks and tiles; maybe they just have spare money to feed Shen Lin.”

“What do you mean by ‘spare money to feed Shen Lin.’? Do you know anything? This is a piece of news I heard directly from Shen Lin’s father’s neighbor; it’s not just an unfounded rumor. Besides, as for the Zhou family’s house, even though it’s made of blue bricks and tiles, just look at how many families in the village envy them. Who doesn’t know that Zhou Jing couldn’t afford to buy a piece of land? That’s why he built a house on this plot first. When someone else wants to buy the land he’s living on, how could they if there’s a house already built on it? This is clearly a shameless act, just a way to avoid paying for the land. If you ask me, the village chief has become muddle-headed; how could he encourage such bad behavior? Doesn’t he worry that the newlywed couples in the village will follow this example?”

In Wangjia Village, there were benefits. It was stipulated that newly separated couples who had not been assigned a place to live could claim a piece of land, about four to five square meters, in areas of the village that no one wanted. They could build a house there and pay for the land within fifteen years.

The Zhou family’s land measured around twenty-seven to twenty-eight square meters and required more than twenty silver coins. No one in the village believed that Zhou Jing could afford such an amount. They all thought he had secretly built the house by taking advantage of his relationship with the village chief.

All of them believe that he did not actually hold a land deed for that land.

“Anyway, I believe Shen Lin; he absolutely wouldn’t be that kind of person!”

—o—o—o—

That evening, the Zhou family’s dining table featured duck, braised in a rich sauce.

Zhou Jing, concerned that eating only duck meat would be too greasy, also prepared a cold dish: spinach tossed with peanuts, which included slices of carrot and segments of celery.

Zhou Jing served Shen Mo some duck meat and said to him, “Eat more; it’s this duck that pecked you. Let’s see if it can still hop around now!”

Shen Lin nearly spit out the duck meat he had in his mouth.

Shen Mo felt quite embarrassed by the situation. While blushing, he served Zhou Jing a piece of duck meat in return.

“You should eat too; you worked hard to make this…”

The two of them were sweet and affectionate, while Shen Lin felt a pang of discomfort in his throat.

“By the way, Brother Jing, we buy our vegetables from the market every day. They’re expensive and not fresh. It would be better to make an arrangement with a family in the village to pick vegetables from their place. We could give them some money each month; it would also strengthen our ties with the neighbors.”

“Sure, you can decide!”

Shen Mo began to think about which family would be suitable, one that could appreciate their kindness and also grow good vegetables.

At that moment, Zhou Jing interrupted Shen Mo’s thoughts and suddenly said, “I thought of a way to take revenge!”

“Revenge?” Shen Mo replied, confused.

What kind of revenge was needed to be done? Recently, no one had bothered their family!

He realized he had unintentionally revealed his inner thoughts! Zhou Jing quickly corrected himself and said: “I meant… A way to earn money!”

“Earn money? What kind of method?” Both Shen Mo and Shen Lin put down their chopsticks and stared intently at Zhou Jing.

“Duck products! We can make duck products!”

“Duck products?” Shen Mo asked in surprise. “What are those?”

“It’s duck meat products cooked in spicy broth. You break down the whole duck into parts, like the duck head, neck, feet, legs, intestines, and gizzard. Every part of the duck can be used. It’s simmered in a special broth made with prickly ash and other ingredients. One bite is both numbing and spicy, making you crave a second bite; it’s an addictive flavor.”

In later years, duck products became a popular snack found everywhere, seemingly springing up overnight like bamboo shoots after the rain.

Shen Mo listened intently, finding the idea good, and nodded repeatedly.

After the success of the sausages, he had completely trusted Zhou Jing.

Shen Lin, however, muttered softly, “Isn’t this still your way to take your revenge?”

Zhou Jing smiled and replied, “It is indeed my way of taking revenge!”

Shen Lin scoffed, “You can eat one or two ducks, but can you eat all the ducks in the world?”

Zhou Jing replied, “But I can make everyone in the world eat ducks!”

“…”

Shen Mo felt as if his heart had been coated in honey, sweet and gentle, like a stream flowing slowly.

He thought that if he were a good wife, he should advise his husband at that moment, but he couldn’t bear to.

After all these years, he had finally tasted the feeling of being cherished, and it was addictive; so, he didn’t want to let it go.

—o—o—o—

The next day, the three members of the Zhou family got up early to make sausages, set up the stall, and were busy all morning.

As they were about to leave, Shen Mo suddenly crouched down, clutching his stomach.

“Brother Jing, my stomach hurts suddenly. I think I won’t go today,” he said.

“What? Your stomach hurts?” Zhou Jing tossed aside what he was holding and turned around to see Shen Mo squatting on the ground, his brows furrowed and eyes squeezed shut, putting on an expression of experiencing extreme pain.

Shen Mo was a very reserved person who preferred to bear everything alone. Even when he was ill or in pain, he would only show a fraction of what he felt.

Yet this time was completely different; he was in so much pain that he couldn’t care to hide it.

Just how much was he suffering?

Zhou Jing immediately panicked, his mind racing with thoughts of what Doctor Zhong had said about the impact on one’s lifespan.

He then recalled that Shen Mo had been pecked by the duck the day before and wondered if it could be related.

In no time, he spun countless wild thoughts in his head, connecting things that had no relation at all.

“Xiao Di, go call Doctor Zhong and tell him your brother’s stomach suddenly hurts really badly. Ask him to come take a look. If possible, could he help us take a trip to the town’s medical clinic?” Zhou Jing spoke urgently, sweat dripping from his forehead.

His hands, which were holding Shen Mo, trembled noticeably.

What should he do? Shen Lin couldn’t move or argue; he just stood in the courtyard, staring fixedly at his brother.