Chapter 374 I Believe

Senior Brother left with Lord Xie, and they didn't allow Song Chunxue to see him off.

Watching their upright figures disappear into the distance, she felt a strange and indescribable feeling.

Unable to figure it out, he simply turned around, went into the yard, and closed the gate.

She sat down at the stone table, crossed her arms, and calmly glanced at the third child and the fourth child.

They both avoided looking directly into her eyes.

"You two aren't young anymore. What's wrong with arguing in front of the guests? Tell us. There's no one else around. If you're not satisfied with just arguing, then fight it out. Let's see who's better at fighting."

Sanwa pursed his lips and remained silent.

The fourth brother turned his head, his face full of resentment, "It's nothing, I just can't stand his condescending attitude. Just because he's studying doesn't make him any better."

Sanwa laughed, "I've wanted to say this for years, and now you're saying it to me in return. Who's to blame?"

The fourth brother clenched his fists and glared at him.

Sanwa smirked, "What, you want to hit me? What kind of people have you been hanging out with lately? Those street thugs are a bunch of disgraceful bastards. You might as well stick with Old Man Zhang and drink tea in a can every day on the street."

"What nonsense are you spouting? Which eye of yours saw me with those people? Instead of studying, you're meddling in other people's business. My affairs are none of your concern. If you don't know, don't talk nonsense. What do you know?!"

Song Chunxue frowned.

"Sanwa, what exactly happened?"

The fourth brother loves to associate with a bunch of shady friends. He's still young and easily misled by appearances.

"Have you figured out how to spend that money? Don't get sold out and still be counting the money for the seller. If you know your shortcomings, find someone you know to work with you and let them lead the way. It's better than you running into walls everywhere and getting hurt."

After a moment's thought, Song Chunxue said, "How about this, you go see Mei Yang tomorrow and talk to him about what you need. By the way, don't go empty-handed when you ask for help."

The fourth brother pouted, unappreciative. "I don't like associating with older people. Don't underestimate young people; we're not that weak."

Okay, upon hearing this, Song Chunxue could almost picture the day when the fourth brother would come home crying, asking her to clean up his mess.

She used to advise many young people in the village, relying on her experience.

But having been given a second chance at life, she knew very well that experience was something you had to accumulate yourself. If you tried to force the experience you had worked so hard to gain onto others, you would not only be ignored, but you would also be scorned.

Most people won't turn back until they hit a wall, so why should she waste her breath?

To stop someone from doing something stupid, you either have to watch them fall harder or subdue them with force.

You have to eat and drink your own food and water.

But she needed to know if the water and food contained poison, or if it would kill her.

"Sanwa, come with me," Song Chunxue turned and walked towards her room, leaving Lao Si with the words, "Lao Si, go cook."

Although the fourth brother was unconvinced, he stomped his foot and went to the kitchen anyway.

"Sanwa, tell me what happened."

After hesitating for a moment, Sanwa still told him everything he knew.

It turns out that these days, whenever the fourth brother had free time, he would hang out with a group of playful young men on the street. The third brother also overheard that the leader wanted to raise money to start a caravan, and the fourth brother got involved without thinking.

Most of the people in this county who had traveled with caravans were from the Zhang family.

Sanwa suspected that Lao Si had not only been cheated out of money, but had also offended someone.

"Mother, if all else fails, let the fourth son go to school," Sanwa whispered. "If that doesn't work, find him a wife so he can get married early and put away his playful nature."

Song Chunxue shook her head. "You don't understand the fourth brother. If he regretted not studying for a couple more years, he would have begged and pleaded to go to school long ago."

“He is obsessed with fame and fortune, and now his mind is full of dreams of getting rich. Sending him to school is just torturing someone.”

"Don't worry about this. I'll have someone keep an eye on things," Song Chunxue sneered. "If they dare to cheat me out of my money, I'll make them cough it up another day."

Sanwa's tense expression relaxed, and he said with a smile, "Oh right, I almost forgot that Mother is quite skilled now. She's not even afraid of bandits, so why would she be afraid of a few street thugs?"

Song Chunxue smiled without saying a word; in any case, she would definitely not dare to take the initiative to fight bandits next time.

After thinking it over and over that night, Song Chunxue realized that among the connections she had built up over the years, it seemed that Mei Yang was the most suitable and reliable person to ask for help with this matter.

Although he used to make Song Chunxue want to avoid him, now that he's married, he's become more stable and reliable.

Moreover, Mei Yang was a local strongman, and he was better informed about many things than the government.

Offering wine to a new father would surely invite complaints from his family, so Song Chunxue baked a few crispy white flatbreads and went to Mei Yang's house for the first time.

But she hesitated before knocking.

She almost forgot that she was a widow, and it seemed inappropriate to go to someone's house like this.

If only I knew where Black Rabbit lived, I could have Black Rabbit relay the message next time.

She turned to go to the clinic, having heard that medicinal herbs had recently become quite expensive. She decided to ask Lei Yun if she could sell the astragalus she hadn't been able to sell last year.

You might run into Meiyang if you pass by there.

"Why wouldn't you dare go in? My wife wouldn't eat me alive, would she?" Mei Yang carried a shovel into the alley. "Come on in, have a bowl of tea. You're my lucky charm now."

"I thought I was a widow, wouldn't your wife have any second thoughts?"

Mei Yang smiled, a hint of wickedness in her eyes, "I was worried before, but now that I know you're rolling in money and can throw around a hundred taels at a time, she feels she can tolerate anything."

"..." Song Chunxue frowned. "Have you explained it clearly? I'm not that kind of person. Even if she says yes, she'll probably hate me to death in her heart."

"Don't worry, I told her that even if you're lonely and need someone, you won't come to me. I heard that Lord Xie..."

"Keep your voice down, or I'll kill you if you keep talking nonsense!" Song Chunxue gritted her teeth. "Be careful what you say outside."

“I believe you. I heard that you killed bandits with a sickle and rescued a woman who was kidnapped by them,” Mei Yang said earnestly. “You are a true gentleman, and I am ashamed to admit my inferiority.”

“If you’re afraid of being overheard, go to my house and talk to me. The woman and child you saved before is my wife’s cousin. She came to my house yesterday to ask what she should bring to your house to repay your life-saving grace.”

Song Chunxue waved her hand, "I was tricked by the Taoist priest and went without thinking much about it. Please don't come to my house. We've thrown away all our sickles recently. The fewer people who know about this, the better. Let's just let it go."

Mei Yang was puzzled. "Why don't you let people know this is a good thing? Before, everyone misunderstood you and the Taoist priest. Now everyone knows that you have learned real skills and that you and the Taoist priest have a completely innocent relationship. What a great opportunity!"

“Besides, that bandit was worse than an animal. Just think of it as killing a melon. Why take it to heart?” Mei Yang earnestly suggested. “If you really feel bad, you can go to a temple to burn incense and pray to Buddha, and have a monk perform a ritual to help his soul pass on.”

"That won't do. If you're going to worship someone, worship my family's ancestor. Have my senior brother perform the ritual to send that bandit's soul to the eighteenth level and help him pass on. Ha! Why bother with that? You might as well help me pass on."

Song Chunxue was filled with righteous indignation, "It's already a great deed to prevent his soul from being scattered."