“Sister-in-law Xing, what’s wrong today? Why aren’t you coming inside?” After entering the house, Song Xia poured a cup of tea for Sister-in-law Xing and looked at her with some confusion.
Song Xia’s intuition told her that Sister-in-law Xing definitely had something she wanted to talk about!
Sister-in-law Xing could be considered the very first friend she made here. For so long, the other woman had constantly been helping her out, and the relationship between their two families could be described as very good.
Therefore, visiting each other casually was quite frequent, especially given Sister-in-law Xing’s straightforward and bold personality. Every time she came to find her, she would start shouting her name from far away, and her laughter could be heard from right outside the door. Yet today, she was acting completely out of character—standing by the door without coming in and wearing a worried expression.
Hearing Song Xia’s question, Sister-in-law Xing’s complexion looked rather unpleasant. She picked up her cup of tea, only to put it right back down, her brows tightly knitted as she glanced at the table and the floor, refusing to lift her eyes to look at Song Xia. She looked like someone who had something on her mind but didn’t know how to start.
Song Xia simply watched Sister-in-law Xing’s movements quietly. After asking her initial question, she didn’t push any further. Although she didn’t rush her, her silent presence exerted quite a bit of invisible pressure on Sister-in-law Xing.
After a short while, realizing she couldn’t drag it out any longer, Sister-in-law Xing steeled her heart and suddenly raised her head to look at Song Xia.
Faced with Sister-in-law Xing’s gaze filled with anxiety, Song Xia neither dodged nor avoided it, her almond-shaped eyes clear and earnest as she looked back.
“Sister-in-law Xing, is there anything between us that can’t be said?” Song Xia offered a gentle word of comfort.
Seeing Song Xia’s pretty, albeit slightly sunburned and flushed face from working in the fields all day, the somewhat aggressive edge in Sister-in-law Xing’s gaze suddenly deflated, and her slumped shoulders collapsed further.
“Xiaxia, Sister-in-law Xing isn’t doubting you, but…” Sister-in-law Xing’s voice sounded rather exhausted, “it’s just that they’ve been talking about it repeatedly these past two days. I figured we couldn’t let a misunderstanding like this exist between us, right? After all, gossip like this is bad news for both of us.”
Hearing Sister-in-law Xing phrase it that way, alarm bells began ringing wildly in Song Xia’s mind: With wording like this, could it be some sort of romantic scandal?!
Yet apart from going to the fields or staying at home, she spent all her time with Ah-Ming and Shen Huaijing. She barely even knew a few men in the village—who on earth could she possibly be rumored to have an outrageous scandal with?
Suddenly, Song Xia shifted her gaze to Sister-in-law Xing’s anxious face. Sister-in-law Xing coming to find her… could it be?
Song Xia looked at Sister-in-law Xing in sheer disbelief.
This is getting completely ridiculous!
As expected, Xiaxia is still smart, Sister-in-law Xing thought to herself, watching the change in Song Xia’s expression.
“That’s right, some people in the village are gossiping behind your back, saying that you’ve been getting too close to Daniu. They claim things like Daniu sneaking things back for you from the county town, and even helping you plow your land.” In truth, Sister-in-law Xing didn’t believe a single word of it from the bottom of her heart. Just look at how gorgeous Song Xia was! Furthermore, the girl’s husband was exceptionally handsome and came from a powerful background. In a household like that, how could Xiaxia possibly cast a second glance at her own family’s mud-legged peasant husband?
However, she couldn’t help it; quite a few people had secretly run over to her house these past two days to whisper gossip, and even a close friend who had married into the village alongside her had quietly slipped over to tell her to “watch out for that little vixen next door.”
Facing these “kind-hearted” or “feigned” warnings, Sister-in-law Xing had simply smiled and brushed them off, telling them Xiaxia wasn’t that kind of person. Yet deep down, a drum of doubt kept beating: What if…?
Actually, Sister-in-law Xing had dropped veiled hints to Shen Daniu the previous night, but Shen Daniu hadn’t understood what she was trying to ask. He had rambled on and on about nonsense—how great Song Xia’s family plot was, how capable Song Xia seemed, and how good-hearted she was—before dozing off from exhaustion.
Without getting the answer she wanted, and coupled with her easily swayed nature and the endless stream of advice from one person after another, Sister-in-law Xing had spent a day of inner torment before finally making up her mind to come and question Song Xia face-to-face today.
Hearing Sister-in-law Xing’s words, Song Xia understood instantly. She jumped straight to her feet, furrowed her brows, and said to Sister-in-law Xing, “Sister-in-law Xing! They are completely slandering me! You know what kind of person I am.”
Song Xia was rendered utterly speechless. She knew that in rural villages, there were always lazy loafers, unreliable troublemakers, and various gossiping aunties chewing their tongues all day long. But she genuinely hadn’t expected that only a few days after arriving here, she would already be embroiled in a scandal with another man! And even more unexpected was that the man was none other than Shen Daniu! Brother Shen had only helped her plow the fields for two days, and the gossip had already reached Sister-in-law Xing’s ears. If she let it go unchecked, within a month the scandal would probably travel all the way back to the Shen estate in the county town!
“What’s going on?” Hearing the commotion in the front hall, Shen Huaijing walked out from the inner room and asked.
Simply draped in a light cyan outer robe and leaning against the door frame, he cut the figure of a frail, delicate young scholar.
The moment Sister-in-law Xing caught sight of Shen Huaijing, her own momentum deflated completely, and she began cursing herself inwardly: Just look at her husband! What kind of prize is your own Shen Daniu compared to this?!
With that thought, she felt a sudden wave of awkwardness and made to stand up to leave.
For reasons unknown, in front of this sickly-looking Shen Huaijing, she always felt a bit uneasy.
“Oh, it’s nothing, Sister-in-law Xing was just asking me about today’s work in the fields. You should hurry back inside, don’t catch a draft.” Seeing Shen Huaijing emerge, Song Xia hurried forward and unceremoniously pushed him back toward the room.
The weather was growing colder by the day, and Shen Huaijing must not catch a cold! There was no need to drag him into this kind of trashy gossip.
Just like that, when Song Xia turned back around, she saw Sister-in-law Xing looking at her with an apologetic expression as she bid farewell.
“Hey! I’ve thought about it—it’s all just them talking nonsense! They have nothing better to do all day! It’s fine, Xiaxia, then I’ll be heading back first.”
“Sister-in-law Xing, don’t leave just yet.” Seeing Sister-in-law Xing trying to make an exit, Song Xia quickly pulled her back.
This matter had to be made completely clear to Sister-in-law Xing! Human trust couldn’t withstand such lingering suspicions; otherwise, even if it was fake, over time it would fester into a thorn in the heart.
She still wanted to remain long-term neighbors and friends with Sister-in-law Xing!
“Sister-in-law Xing, I know you trust me, which is why you came to ask me directly. Since that’s the case, I can’t let this thorn stay in your heart. Let’s lay everything out in the open,” Song Xia said earnestly, looking straight into Sister-in-law Xing’s eyes.
“Brother Shen really has been helping me plow the fields these past two days, and he just finished plowing my plot today.”
As soon as Song Xia stated this, Sister-in-law Xing immediately grew restless again, her fingers twisting anxiously at the hem of her tunic.
“However!” Seeing Sister-in-law Xing’s complexion souring, Song Xia quickly added, “There’s a reason for all of this.”
Hearing that, Sister-in-law Xing quieted down once more to listen to Song Xia’s explanation.
“You know I went to the county town to have a plow made. Didn’t Brother Shen help me haul that plow to the fields yesterday? Afterwards, Brother Shen naturally took a look to see how my plow differed from the ones you usually use, and even tried it out himself.”
“Once he tried it out, Brother Shen realized firsthand just how good the plow I made really was. Seeing that Brother Shen liked it, I told him that once I finished plowing this plot of land, I would lend the curved-beam plow to him to use. Because of that promise, Brother Shen agreed to help me plow the land.”
After hearing Song Xia’s explanation, Sister-in-law Xing’s heart instantly felt much lighter.
She wasn’t an excessively petty woman, either—after all, she was the one who had told Shen Daniu to haul the plow to the fields for Song Xia in the first place! If the plow was genuinely that good, and Shen Daniu helped plow Song Xia’s land in exchange for borrowing it, that wasn’t an unreasonable arrangement.
Seeing the somewhat relaxed expression on Sister-in-law Xing’s face, Song Xia continued, “And so, we only managed to plow a small section yesterday before I ran out of stamina and couldn’t continue, so Brother Shen went back home. Later, when Ah-Li got sick, I helped out, and today the village chief lent his family’s ox to me to use. But because the village chief was worried I didn’t know how to handle an ox and might cause an accident, he made a special trip to ask Brother Shen to help out, telling him he could also use the ox as compensation after helping me. That’s why Brother Shen used the ox to pull the plow today and finished plowing the rest of the land for me.”
“Sister-in-law Xing, Brother Shen hasn’t headed back yet today, so you probably didn’t know about this part. When Brother Shen comes back tonight, you can always ask him yourself.”
“Oh my, no need to ask him, no need to ask him! Hehe, that ox… the village chief really has a good heart…” Hearing that the ox could also be borrowed for use on their own family’s land, Sister-in-law Xing could no longer suppress the blooming smile on her face.
Seeing Sister-in-law Xing’s expression shift from relaxed to delighted, Song Xia finally let out a long breath of relief.
It’s finally explained clearly! I won’t dare ask anyone else for help ever again! This time it was Sister-in-law Xing, and she was willing to listen things through. If it had been some other sister-in-law next time, and things couldn’t be cleared up, a dirty bucket of slop would’ve been dumped straight onto my head!
Though a clear conscience fears no accusations, it was always best to steer as far away from trouble as possible.
“Xiaxia, this… to think I actually went and… sigh!” Hearing halfway through Song Xia’s explanation, Sister-in-law Xing had believed every word—she knew very well what kind of man her Shen Daniu was.
A wave of embarrassment washed over Sister-in-law Xing for her actions today, and she stood up to grab Song Xia’s hands.
“Just look at me, old as I am, still capable of doing a thing like this! It really is…” Halfway through, Sister-in-law Xing didn’t even know how to finish her sentence.
Reaching out, Song Xia clasped Sister-in-law Xing’s hands in return. Sister-in-law Xing’s palms felt extremely rough, her ten fingers thick and deformed—this was the pair of hardworking hands that maintained an entire household.
“Sister-in-law Xing, the fact that you were willing to come find me and talk about this today already touches me deeply. It shows that you trust me, and that’s what matters most,” Song Xia said, gazing at Sister-in-law Xing with a sincere expression.
“Sigh, exactly!” Sister-in-law Xing squeezed Song Xia’s hands tightly in return.
“What’s this? Did Sister-in-law Xing leave?” Hearing the front gate click shut, Shen Huaijing walked out again, just in time to see Song Xia locking the main gate and walking back toward the room.
“Why did you come out again? It’s freezing out here, hurry back inside.” Seeing Shen Huaijing, Song Xia immediately fretted over his health. Frowning, she tried to herd him back toward the room.
“It’s no trouble. What happened just now? I heard someone mention you and Shen Daniu?” Dismissing it as nothing, Shen Huaijing looked at Song Xia with a serious expression, asking about the incident.
Sighing softly, Song Xia walked back inside while giving Shen Huaijing a general summary of what had happened.
“How can they be so hateful!” Hearing only half the story, Shen Chunming grew so angry he started bouncing up and down on the bed.
“Hey now, stop jumping around! If you collapse the bed, I’ll have to go ask Brother Shen to build you a new one! And I’m already feeling a bit too embarrassed to face him right now,” seeing Shen Chunming bouncing on the mattress, Song Xia rushed forward, grabbed him by the shoulders, forced him down onto the bed, and made him sit properly.
“Do us all a favor and cause fewer troubles!” Song Xia poked Shen Chunming on the forehead. Holding his forehead, Shen Chunming glared back with an expression of utter defiance.
“If I ever find out who started spreading that, I’ll tear their mouth apart!”
“Who on earth did you learn that from? When you follow me to the fields, you don’t pick up a single bit of farm work, but you pick up trash talk like this instantly. Stop learning language like that!” Hearing Shen Chunming’s words, Song Xia gave his head another sharp poke.
As expected of a kid—dirty language is always what they pick up the fastest!
“Most villagers are ignorant; don’t lower yourself to their level.” Though Shen Huaijing said this, his own expression carried a deep trace of displeasure.
He didn’t believe for a single second that Song Xia would have any improper entanglements with that Shen Daniu, but hearing other people spread such gossip still made him intensely unhappy.
“It’s fine, I couldn’t care less about lowering myself to their level. There are always people in the village with too much time on their hands, and I can’t control what comes out of their mouths, can I? All I can do is try my absolute best to mind my own business and keep their attention off me. If worse comes to worst and they still keep at it, let them do whatever they want—I’m not going to stop living my life just because of them.”
Song Xia sighed. Everyone loved a bit of gossip; there was simply no helping it.