Chapter 158 He's Your Real Father

On the narrow edge of the field.

Magistrate Shen stood with his hands behind his back, his face somewhat dark.

Master Yuan and Village Head Zhao stood at a distance, heads bowed, not daring to utter a sound.

Cheng Wanwan walked up to Magistrate Shen, gave a slight curtsy, and said, "After Magistrate Shen abandoned Young Master Shen that day, Young Master Shen has been throwing a tantrum ever since..."

Magistrate Shen, his face full of remorse, said, "Zhao Chengshi, this matter was due to my lack of foresight. I was too hasty. I shouldn't have left my rebellious son in Dahe Village, and even more so..."

"My lord, please let me finish speaking."

Cheng Wanwan disregarded the distinction between superiors and inferiors and directly interrupted Magistrate Shen.

"When Young Master Shen first arrived, he was unwilling to work and was not satisfied with the food. He even ran away with Afu. However, the mountain roads were too complicated, and Young Master Shen and Afu wandered into the deep mountains in the middle of the night. They rolled down the hillside and were covered in injuries..."

Anxiety flashed across Magistrate Shen's face.

Cheng Wanwan continued, "On the first night, he was wounded and exhausted, and hadn't eaten yet, so he slept hungry on the ground all night. The next day, he put on the patched clothes of the woman's son and worked with them. Although he complained, he was really working hard. That day, the scholars from the Nanfu Academy in town came. Do you know what interesting thing happened?"

"Young Master Shen actually managed to persuade those scholars to help with the work, and even used the wheels of the carriage as tools to thresh the rice. This gave Young Master Shen an idea, and he asked Young Master Qian to make a stone roller and send it to Dahe Village... A stone roller is a tool made of stone that resembles a wheel. Oxen pull the stone roller to grind the rice, which can replace manpower for threshing and save a lot of time and effort..."

"I think Young Master Shen is very clever, so I rewarded him with a boiled egg. However, he couldn't bear to eat it and kept it hidden in his clothes. A few days ago, my mother-in-law smelled the stench and threw the rotten egg away. Sir, do you know why Young Master Shen doesn't eat eggs?"

Magistrate Shen's mood fluctuated with Cheng Wanwan's words. Hearing this, he tugged at the corner of his lips and said, "He has never eaten eggs since he was a child. Even if he does eat them, he only eats the egg whites. He would rather let them rot than give them to others. What a waste of food."

“Sir, you are prejudiced against Young Master Shen.” Cheng Wanwan spoke gently. “Young Master Shen said that he wanted to take this egg back to town for you to eat. Of course, the county government has eggs, but this egg is a prize he earned through his own efforts. It is a one-of-a-kind egg in the world, and he wants to give this unique thing to his most beloved father.”

Magistrate Shen was stunned.

He could hardly believe it. This son had always been against him. If he said east, the boy would go west. Only when he got angry would the boy obediently listen to him.

He always felt that once Zheng'er had grown up, the first thing he would do was escape the Shen family and leave his father's control.

He always felt that Zheng'er disliked his father the most.

However, Zhao Chengshi told him that Zheng'er was going to bring back the world's only egg to him in town to eat.

In other words, although Zheng'er was unruly and mischievous, he still cared about his father.

“Your Excellency, Young Master Shen is truly a kind man.” The village headman dared to speak up. “Last time Young Master Shen went to town, I thought he was going home. I never expected that he would bring so many writing brushes, ink, paper and inkstones with him, saying that he wanted to give them to the children of Dahe Village.”

At this moment, the little girl who was crying loudly was led by her father to the edge of the field.

The father and daughter knelt before Magistrate Shen.

"My lord, my daughter suddenly started crying, and it really has nothing to do with Young Master Shen." The man spoke tremblingly, "The child is ignorant and said that when people die, they become stars in the sky. Young Master Shen told my daughter that this is wrong. When people die, they sleep in a coffin, turn into dust, and that's it... My daughter couldn't accept this, so she started crying. What does it have to do with Young Master Shen? If you want to blame someone, blame me. It's my fault for not teaching my child properly..."

Magistrate Shen looked displeased and said slowly, "It has nothing to do with the little girl. Get up."

He wanted to go find his son, but he was unfamiliar with Dahe Village and didn't know where to look.

Aunt Wang from the neighboring field, who had been crawling in the field pulling weeds and eating melons in silence, reminded him, "Sir, I saw Young Master Shen go home; he must have gone back to his mother's house in the mountains."

Cheng Wanwan led the way, and Magistrate Shen quickly followed.

Her yard was bustling with activity: mixing mud, chopping straw, and making adobe bricks. The finished bricks were then transported to the vicinity of her newly chosen house site to be spread out and dried. People were constantly coming and going, busy with their tasks.

Shen Zheng was also among them, helping Zhang Daqiang chop straw.

He was dressed in patched clothes and blended into the crowd, inconspicuous at all, but Magistrate Shen spotted his son at a glance.

He stepped into the courtyard.

The people working inside immediately knelt on the ground in unison: "Greetings, Your Excellency!"

Magistrate Shen waved his hand: "Get up, all of you. Continue with your work."

With the county magistrate here, these people walked with their hands and feet in unison, not daring to lift their heads. How could they continue working? Cheng Wanwan told them to go back and rest first, and come back later.

The twenty or thirty-odd people hurriedly retreated, and the courtyard was instantly empty.

Magistrate Shen approached step by step: "Zheng'er..."

Shen Zheng, who was holding a wood-chopping knife, threw it down and stood up as soon as he heard the voice: "If you want to curse me, then keep cursing. I don't want to hear it!"

He turned and ran into the house, through the main room to the backyard, and sat angrily on the low stool at the back.

Magistrate Shen took a step to follow.

"My lord," Cheng Wanwan said softly, "Young Master Shen is in a bad mood. I'd like to go and say a few words to him."

Magistrate Shen really didn't know how to get along with his son. In the past, when Shen Zheng lost his temper, he would scold him without saying a word.

But now, he has done something wrong, he has misunderstood his son, and it seems particularly difficult for him to apologize.

It would be good to have someone in the middle to ease the tension.

Cheng Wanwan stepped over the threshold and went into the backyard. This used to be a temporary workshop for making ice jelly, but now that they no longer make ice jelly, it has been converted into a woodshed, where a lot of dry firewood is piled up.

She sat down next to Shen Zheng, stared at his face, and laughed: "Your eyes are all red. Tell your aunt, did you hide and cry?"

"Who's crying? I'm not crying!" Shen Zheng said in a muffled voice. "You want me to apologize to him, right? I didn't do anything wrong, so I'm not apologizing. Let him beat me to death!"

"Stop talking like a child." Cheng Wanwan said helplessly, "He's your father, your real father. He would never kill you, no matter what. Besides, your father came here specifically to apologize to you."

"How could that be? He's never apologized to me!" Shen Zheng said stubbornly. "He just wants to find an excuse to scold me again. He's never liked me since I was a child. He always thinks I'm shameful and immature. He even wants to find me a stepmother to discipline me. I won't let him have his way. I'll ruin his plans!"

As he spoke, his eyes reddened, but he stubbornly refused to let the tears fall.

Cheng Wanwan sighed.

She reached out and touched Shen Zheng's hair: "If you want to cry, then cry. We can talk about it after you've finished crying."

If no one had comforted him, Shen Zheng would have swallowed his tears, but with someone speaking to him in such a gentle voice, he could no longer hold back, and tears streamed down his face.

He looked at Cheng Wanwan through teary eyes.

At this moment, he envied Zhao Ergou and the others, envying them for having such a gentle mother.