Chapter 50

After coming out from Captain Yang’s office, Zhou Jing had a grim expression. Shen Mo hurriedly asked, “Brother Jing, did Captain Yang refuse to help?”

Zhou Jing shook his head and said, “No, it’s not that. Is it true that there’s a problem with our shop?”

Shen Mo immediately became anxious; that was one hundred seventy silver coins, almost all of his family’s possessions.

“Brother Jing, what happened to the shop?”

“Captain Yang said our shop is haunted!”

“Haunted?”

Zhou Jing repeated the story that Captain Yang had told him to Shen Mo. After hearing it, Shen Mo indignantly said, “That Zhou Da is really despicable. Madame Zhou’s retaliation against him is well-deserved.”

At the same time, he worried about his family’s shop. “If everyone in town knows that it’s a haunted shop, how are we supposed to keep doing business? Will strange occurrences keep happening?”

Zhou Jing thought for a moment and then said, “No matter what, our business must continue. After all, we have invested almost all of our wealth in it. Moreover, I believe that although this matter seems eerie, it shouldn’t be without a solution.

If Mrs. Zhou is as Captain Yang described, her anger should only be directed at Zhou Da. Now that she has caused him to transfer the shop to us, she should have achieved her purpose and wouldn’t continue to cause trouble. However…”

“What do you mean, however? Do you have other thoughts?”

Zhou Jing said, “Actually, I lean more toward the idea that it’s man-made. But in any case, it’s already too late today. Whether there are ghosts or not, it’s not suitable to go to the shop now, to avoid frightening you. We can discuss everything tomorrow at noon—when the sun is at its strongest.”

“Alright.” Shen Mo nodded in agreement. After hearing the story, he wouldn’t dare to go even if he were told to—even a mere mouse could scare him.

—o—o—o—

Wang Ren had previously been unaware that Shen Lin still held the Zhou family business’s dividends.

Shen Lin had only mentioned to him that Zhou Jing planned to have him marry into the family, offering a house, land, and an additional twenty silver coins as a bride price.

However, those were fixed and certain. But dividends were different; although they were only 30%, that 30% still surpassed what he earned in sales in an entire year.

Wang Ren felt a strange feeling in his heart, something he couldn’t quite explain. It was somewhat oppressive; for a man, having a partner who could earn more money than him was supposed to be a source of pride.

“You never mentioned this to me before.” Wang Ren said in an odd tone.

Shen Lin suddenly looked up at him, his eyes exceptionally bright, filled with many complex and unpredictable emotions flickering within.

“Isn’t that good? If you marry me, you’d at least save 20 years of struggle. You wouldn’t have to marry into the family; I could buy a house and land on my own.”

Wang Ren didn’t know which of Shen Lin’s words had provoked him, but for the first time, he felt anger towards Shen Lin.

His voice was particularly low, yet it was easy to discern its hoarseness. Although he wasn’t shouting, it was even more shocking than a shout.

“That’s not good.” After saying this, Wang Ren sullenly turned and walked away.

He went to the makeshift duck pen and randomly pulled out a duck to slaughter. With a swift motion of the knife, he struck with both ferocity and precision, startling Cheng Yu, who was helping nearby.

“Cousin, if you have any displeasure with my brother-in-law, you can speak about it directly. There’s no need to take it out on the duck. Seeing a knife go from white to red is quite terrifying; I’m afraid I’ll have nightmares tonight.”

Wang Ren didn’t say a word, as if he hadn’t heard him.

Wang Ren continued to slaughter the duck.

Cheng Yu glanced at him and moved to a farther spot to continue plucking the duck feathers.

Shen Lin circled around Wang Ren several times, hoping to find a chance to talk to him, but Wang Ren consistently ignored him and avoided him.

After a few attempts, Shen Lin felt a mix of embarrassment and frustration, and he even felt like crying.

“Wang Ren.” Just as Wang Ren was about to dodge him again, Shen Lin called out from behind him. “What do you mean by acting like this? Are you having second thoughts and want to break off the engagement? That’s fine; I, Shen Lin, am not the type to cling to a man. If you want to back out, you can talk to my brother-in-law, and we can call off the engagement!”

“I didn’t have second thoughts.” Although Wang Ren finally replied, he didn’t turn around and continued to face away from Shen Lin. “I like you.”

Those short four words made Shen Lin, who was already feeling wronged, burst into tears.

“What does this mean then? Why are you ignoring me?” Shen Lin’s muffled, crying voice flustered Wang Ren, causing him to forget everything else. He quickly turned around and rushed over to embrace Shen Lin tightly.

“Don’t cry. Why are you crying? It’s all my fault, okay? Why are you crying?” Wang Ren panicked and tried to wipe away Shen Lin’s tears, but the more he wiped, the more they flowed.

“Why are you ignoring me?” Shen Lin stubbornly repeated this question, determined to get an answer.

Wang Ren wore a bitter smile on his face.

“I’m sorry, Xiao Lin. It was my fault. I just felt that I, as a man, couldn’t earn as much as my partner; it made me feel useless and unworthy of you,” Wang Ren suppressed his feelings. “I don’t even have a house or land. What right do I have…”

Shen Lin reached out and covered Wang Ren’s mouth. “Brother Ren, I’m sorry. I’m the one who should apologize. I shouldn’t have spoken like that; it was too hurtful. Actually, I regretted it right after I said it.

When I said that, I suddenly thought of Wang Dali. He probably agreed to marry me because of the financial situation of my brother-in-law’s family.

Knowing that my brother treated me well, I figured that when I married into their family, my brother-in-law wouldn’t let me live a hard life. It was only with that thought that he was willing to give me a chance.”

“I didn’t know why I blurted out that sentence when I thought of this,” Shen Lin lamented. “I actually regretted it right after I said it. I couldn’t bring myself to apologize to you, and you wouldn’t even acknowledge me. I was really scared; you are the one in charge. No matter what I did wrong, you can scold me, but please don’t ignore me, okay? It makes me feel really bad.”

“I’m sorry, Xiao Lin. It’s because I’m useless…”

Shen Lin gently punched Wang Ren’s chest, feigning anger as he said, “You’re not allowed to say my partner is useless; he is a capable man. He can work as a salesman and does very well at it. In just a few days, he signed several contracts and received dividends every month. No one in this village can compare to him.”

Wang Ren smiled gently. “Do you really think so? But I’m still far behind your brother-in-law.”

Shen Lin initially nodded, feeling a bit embarrassed, and then slightly furrowed his brows.

“Don’t compare yourself to my brother-in-law,” Shen Lin quickly clarified after realizing the ambiguity in his words. “I’m not saying you’re inferior to him; it’s just that you and my brother-in-law are fundamentally different. You are already great; I never thought I could find such a capable and sharp man.

As for my brother-in-law, he… he’s just not like us. It’s not about saying we can’t measure up to him or anything; it’s just an indescribable feeling. But no matter what, he is genuinely good to my brother, and that’s all that matters.”

Although Shen Lin’s words were somewhat vague, Wang Ren understood. For reasons that Shen Lin himself couldn’t quite clarify, he felt that Zhou Jing was different from them in many ways, differences that allowed him to earn a lot of money.

However, Shen Lin didn’t seem to mind; on the contrary, he appeared to think that Wang Ren was the one who was hardworking. Listening to Shen Lin was almost like hearing a naive confession, causing Wang Ren to unconsciously smile.

“Actually, these dividends I have are nothing significant. If it were up to me, I wouldn’t be able to hold onto them at all; it would be like holding a golden chicken without knowing how to make it lay eggs.

You can help me; together we can turn these dividends even bigger, and ultimately, we can own a shop that belongs to us. That is your ability—the ability a man should have.

It’s not about being knotted in whether your partner earns more than you, but about finding ways to work hard and make money generate more money. How much can be earned—that is the measure of a man’s capability.”

Wang Ren felt enlightened and laughed. “I was narrow-minded. Don’t worry; your few dozen silver coins can somehow be turned into a hundred. I will work hard to secure more contracts, so the dividends you receive will keep increasing.” He joked, “I suddenly realized that I’m not a laborer, but a boss. After all this time, I’ve been working for myself.”

—o—o—o—

A little later, Shen Mo returned and discussed the matter of buying the haunted shop with Shen Lin, without hiding it from Wang Ren.

After all, it was Shen Lin. Despite usually being bold and carefree, he still felt a bit scared.

“Um, big brother, how can we handle this? Are we really going to do business in a haunted shop?”

Wang Ren comforted Shen Lin: “Don’t be afraid. Tomorrow, I’ll let my cousin go promote by himself, and I’ll go with you to the shop to take a look.”

Zhou Jing added, “There’s no need to overthink it. Let’s assess the situation properly tomorrow. By the way, I didn’t tell Uncle Wang that we didn’t need his mule cart because I wanted to leave a way out, in case we couldn’t buy an ox cart today. Since we’ve managed to buy one now, we should go to Uncle Wang’s house and inform him.”

By this time, it turned out that Wang Gui was at home, while his wife had not returned.

Shen Mo did not say much more; he simply stated, “Uncle Wang, my family bought an ox cart, so we won’t need to borrow yours anymore. Thank you for letting us use it these past few months.”

Wang Gui was taken aback and said, “You two little kids are quite capable. In just a few months, you’ve already bought an ox cart. This is a good thing, and your uncle is happy for you. As for using my cart, there’s no need to thank me; you didn’t owe me a single coin. On the contrary, I should be thanking you for taking care of my business.”

After leaving Wang Gui’s house, Shen Mo sighed and remarked, “Uncle Wang is a really good person. He knows the ins and outs, but what a pity, his wife is…”

Zhou Jing replied, “Everyone has their reasons. I just hope Aunt Wang won’t drag him down.”

But some people seemed to be born with a talent for dragging others down. Aunt Wang had long forgotten the time Shen Mo had instructed her when he sent her home.

By the time it got dark and Shen Mo still hadn’t come with the mule cart to pick her up, she reluctantly made her way to the market.

Her older sister advised her that the market had likely closed early at this hour, and maybe Shen Mo had already returned to the village.

Aunt Wang was full of confidence and arrogance, saying, “He wouldn’t dare! His family still relies on our mule cart. If he dares not wait for me, I’ll have my husband refuse to lend them our cart. The losses they would incur then would leave them crying without a way to make it right.”

When Aunt Wang arrived at the market, she saw that the crowd had mostly dispersed, and there was no sign of Shen Mo. Instantly, she felt a surge of anger, wishing she could teach Shen Mo a good lesson right then and there.

The villagers were reluctant to part with even 2 copper coins for the mule cart, as they earned every penny with sweat broken down into eight pieces while farming.

Fuming, Aunt Wang walked back home, exhausted and dripping with sweat, her throat dry. It was so late that she decided not to return home first to inform her family, fearing that they would worry and instead rush to the Zhou family to confront them.

Aunt Wang placed her hands on her hips and scolded Shen Mo furiously, “Didn’t I tell you to come pick me up? Not only did you not come, but you also dared not to wait for me! Do you know how exhausted my legs are? I’m telling you, if you don’t make amends by preparing me some catties of sausage today, don’t even think about using my cart tomorrow!”

Shen Mo furrowed his brows in annoyance and replied disdainfully, “Then we won’t use it.” Without caring about Aunt Wang’s stiff expression, he slammed the door shut right in front of her.

At first, Aunt Wang didn’t react; she hadn’t expected Shen Mo to dare give her the cold shoulder.

Once she realized what had happened, she knocked on the door again, but the Zhou family simply refused to open it.

Aunt Wang returned home, seething with anger.

“Why did you come back so late today? I thought you were going to stay at your sister’s house,” someone at home asked.

“Don’t you know what kind of place my sister’s is? There’s no way I could stay there. It’s all that Shen Mo’s fault; he infuriated me! He promised to pick me up, but he didn’t come at all. When I got to the market, they had already left! I had to turn back and ended up taking a long detour for nothing.”

“What? Did you go with the Zhou family? Didn’t I give you money to take someone else’s mule cart so you wouldn’t trouble them? They’re busy doing business in town and can’t afford any delays. How could you go and bother them? Isn’t it shameless of you to insist on being driven around?”

Aunt Wang muttered, “It was just a ride; what’s the trouble? Besides, that cart belongs to our family. If we don’t lend it to them, they won’t be able to do their business.”

“What? It was truly you! You, this woman, only know how to take advantage of others! Now look at this; because of a mere 4 copper coins, we’ve lost 400 copper coins or even 4 silver coins! If you keep this up, our family will surely be ruined because of you!”

“It’s just a trivial matter; how could our family be ruined because of it? The Zhou family will still have to use our mule cart. Tell me, which of the other families in the village would be willing to lend them theirs? They’ve made so much money using our cart; what’s wrong with me putting up with a little pressure?”

“Foolish, foolish! After all the effort I, Wang Gui, put into maintaining my dignity, how did I end up marrying a woman who doesn’t even understand the basic principles of being a decent human being?” Wang Gui trembled with anger, feeling the urge to slap Aunt Wang awake.

“I knew something was off; how could the Zhou family suddenly buy an ox cart without even giving us a heads-up? It turns out it’s all because of you! They were originally planning to wait a while before buying one, but to avoid your disgrace, they rushed to buy it a few days early. Now they’ve bought the ox cart directly, and they won’t need our family’s useless mule cart anymore.”

“It’s impossible! His family had only been in business for a couple of days. How could they afford a cart, especially an ox cart?”

“Why is it impossible? Don’t you know how much our family earned because of our cooperation with the Zhou family? Let’s not even mention it. Just think about our mule cart.

Before we bought it, only during busy farming seasons would a few families rent it out. It could only be rented out for about ten days a year, and even then, it was only for 30 copper coins a day.

The rest of the time, I just drive around, helping people in the village get to town. But if anyone had a cart, it wasn’t just our family; others also did the same thing, charging the same price.

People would ride with whoever had the cart. Besides, where do villagers get the money to keep going to town? Even if someone worked well, they would only go two or three times a month at most, and during the months when there was no business, it was even less.”

“But think about it. Since the Zhou family rented our mule cart, it has been 30 copper coins a day.

Except for rainy days when it can’t be used, it has been in constant use. At the end of the month, that’s 900 copper coins, nearly 1 silver coin.

If they used it for three months, that’s 2700 copper coins. How could you make such a large sum of silver otherwise? A mule is only worth that much.

That’s the small part; the big part is the ducks we raised to make a with their family. That batch of ducks cost 6 silver coins. If you add it all up, how much could we earn from the fields in a year?

Now look what’s happened. Because of this ruckus, we might lose everything—so many silvers are gone!

And you still argue that you aren’t a spendthrift? Without you around, our family will never have a decent life.

Even the God of Wealth would be offended and run away.

What’s in that head of yours? You look like you were born just to scare people! Think about it: if it weren’t for the Zhou family, how would we have any fabric scraps to give to your sister’s family this year?

Which family would part with their fabric scraps? They cherish those things and make something out of them for themselves.”

After Wang Gui analyzed the situation, Aunt Wang was stunned. She finally realized that it wasn’t the Zhou family relying on them; on the contrary, they were the ones dependent on the Zhou family.

Next door, hearing the entire argument between their parents, their son, and daughter-in-law were shocked.

They couldn’t believe their mother was so confused that she insisted on offending the God of Wealth from the Zhou family. They were so angry that scolding her wasn’t enough.

“What are we going to do now, Dad? Zhou Jing is famous for protecting his husband. Now that his husband has suffered such great grievances in front of Mom, how could Zhou Jing still be willing to do business with our family?”

Wang Gui sighed heavily, feeling helpless.

But Aunt Wang suddenly slapped her thigh and glared with wide eyes.

“It’s not a big of a deal! At most, I’ll just go apologize. If he dares not to continue doing business with our family, I’ll just go to his doorstep and cry every day!”

“Mom…” A few of the sons were so frightened that they hurried to hold her back.

Wang Gui was so furious he could hardly catch his breath.

“Don’t stop her; let her go. With her in this family, we won’t be living well anyway. Just let the Zhou family deal with her properly; then she’ll behave.

She’s too stubborn, that old woman from the Shen family is no less stubborn than her, yet she still manages to get the Zhou family to stop relying on her.

She used to be so proud, but now she has to sneak around, digging holes to plead for favors. But everyone knows Zhou Jing’s temper. Who would dare to mediate for him when it comes to their own interests?”

After Aunt Wang was scolded harshly by Wang Gui, she couldn’t think of any other way to resolve the situation.

She gathered her own savings and bought some eggs from the neighbors—she managed to collect a total of 50 chicken eggs and 50 duck eggs to apologize to the Zhou family.

Because Aunt Wang approached the situation so casually, Wang Gui and his sons had to bow and scrape, apologizing nonstop.

In the end, Shen Mo, who had a kind heart, accepted the 100 eggs, and the matter was settled.

In truth, the Zhou family had already come to regard 100 eggs with indifference. However, for a farming family, it was still a significant amount.

Shen Mo’s acceptance of the eggs demonstrated his generosity, but it was mainly intended to give Wang Gui’s family and others in the village a warning—to let them know that if they wanted to do business with the Zhou family, they should be honest and not pull any tricks.

—o—o—o—

That night, as Shen Mo lay in bed, the more he thought about it, the more frightened he became. His mind was filled with the ghost stories Zhou Jing had told him earlier, and he tossed and turned, unable to fall asleep.

He stole a glance to the side, he noticed Zhou Jing with his eyes closed, unsure if he was asleep.

Shen Mo cautiously lifted a small corner of the blanket and slipped his little hand inside. He had planned to gently tug at the hem of Zhou Jing’s clothing for comfort, but before his hand could reach the edge, it was caught by Zhou Jing’s hand, which turned over to hold him tightly.

In the darkness, Zhou Jing opened his eyes, gazing intently at him with a mischievous smile tugging at the corners of his mouth.

“Xiao Mo, what are you trying to do?”

Zhou Jing slowly moved closer, pressing against Shen Mo’s face, their lips almost brushing as he spoke.

His deep voice tinged with a seductive, half-asleep tone—it was filled with a uniquely masculine charm.

The warmth of his breath brushed against Shen Mo’s nose, quickly mingling with his own, creating a heady mix of sensations that filled their chests.

Zhou Jing playfully teased, “Or is it that my little husband wants me?” As he spoke those teasing words, he reached out with one hand to caress Shen Mo’s cheek, gently stroking it before trailing his hand downward, disappearing beneath the covers with his little husband.

Shen Mo’s face turned red as if he had a fever.

He didn’t know whether it was from embarrassment or some other reason.

“You… you weren’t asleep? I thought you were,” he stammered. “I’m a bit scared. Every time I close my eyes, I keep thinking about what you told me earlier…”

Zhou Jing seemed not to have heard the latter part of Shen Mo’s words. He possessed a unique talent when it came to being in his little husband’s bed—a skill that no one else could imitate. He could only hear what he wanted to hear, while everything else could fade into a who knows where.

“Little husband, if you want to be with me next time, you can just say so. You don’t have to wait until I’m asleep to take advantage of me; that’s not right.”

“You… you’re being rogue! Why are you always like this?”

“There’s no need to be shy or embarrassed; it’s your right, and it’s my responsibility. I’m more than willing to serve you.”

With that, Zhou Jing rolled over and tumbled from his own blanket into Shen Mo’s, pinning his little husband beneath him.

With a teasing smile, he said: “I told you, we should have bought a double blanket for convenience.”

As the blankets rustled, it sounded as if a pair of mice were having a fierce scuffle. Just then, there was a knock on the door—two sharp taps that interrupted the moment.

“Big Brother, brother-in-law, can I come inside to stay for a night? I am scared. Every time I close my eyes, I think of what you told me about Mrs. Zhou.” Shen Lin shouted from outside.

He, too, was frightened and couldn’t sleep. Although he appeared carefree and unafraid of anything, even the bravest of men could tremble at the thought of ghosts and spirits.

With a loud bang, Shen Lin metered in surprise.

He didn’t hear a response; instead, he heard a loud noise.

‘Was it possible that his Big Brother was also scared and had been startled by his sudden knocking?’

He pressed his ear against the door to listen closely and caught a rustling sound from within.

After a long while, Shen Mo finally pressed his voice down and said: “Come in; the door isn’t locked.”

Then came a clearly rude and furious shout, “No, you can’t come in! What are you afraid of? There are no ghosts in this world. Hurry up and go back to sleep on your own. You’re so old but you’re still looking for your Big Brother? Aren’t you ashamed?”

Shen Lin ignored him and pushed the door open to enter.

In the bedroom, Zhou Jing sat on the bed wearing a loose fur coat that seemed ready to slip off, wrapped tightly in a thick quilt around his waist, concealing his lower half completely. Shen Mo had bundled himself up in the quilt like a silkworm cocoon, leaving no gaps, and he buried his face in the blanket, refusing to lift it.

Shen Lin found it strange and asked, “Big Brother, aren’t you hot covering yourself so tightly in the middle of summer?”

Shen Mo’s voice came muffled from under the blanket, sounding grumpy as he replied, “Not hot.”

“Oh.” Shen Lin thought his brother was really odd; how could it not be hot in this weather? He felt like he would break out in heat rash if he covered himself that way. “Well, I can sleep on the floor for one night, so you don’t need to worry about me. It’s just that I feel a bit scared sleeping alone in the room.”

Zhou Jing looked as if he could be a statue, his dark face almost appearing tangible, filled with growing resentment.

“Didn’t you hear what I just said? I said it’s not convenient, very inconvenient. Shen Lin, you are already an engaged young ger, soon to be married. You can’t just rush into your brother-in-law’s room like this. You—”

Zhou Jing’s words were cut off when Shen Mo kicked him sharply with a leg that emerged from the blanket.

Shen Mo nodded and said, “Brother Jing, I think what you said makes a lot of sense. Although the three of us have slept on the same bed before, back then, our family didn’t have the conditions for it. We couldn’t sleep outside, so it was unavoidable and didn’t count for much. But now, it’s different. With so many rooms in the house, we shouldn’t have to squeeze you and your younger brother-in-law into one room. Given that, you should just take the blanket and go sleep outside!”

“What! You want me to give up my own bed and my husband for another man?” Zhou Jing exclaimed.

Shen Mo frowned and replied, “Your younger brother-in-law is engaged. And you shouldn’t talk like that; I can’t understand you at all.”

After saying that, he ignored Zhou Jing and turned directly to Shen Lin. “You come up here; your brother-in-law can go sleep in the outer room.”

Shen Lin climbed onto the bed, clutching the blanket and blinking his innocent big eyes.

“Brother-in-law, why aren’t you leaving yet? I want to sleep; I’m so tired. I haven’t slept a wink all night,” he complained.

Zhou Jing: “……”