Otherworldly Space: A Tale of Love and Growth - Chapter 12

The braised pork noodles truly lived up to their reputation and high praise. The taste was, without a doubt, exceptional. The generous portions of meat and the soup, which was simmered with pork bones, were particularly delicious. Paired with the pork and green onion buns, Sheng and Tongsheng enjoyed their meal immensely.

Their family was large, and when they were younger, they relied entirely on the support of their father, elder brother, and their uncle’s family. Except during the New Year, they rarely had the opportunity to indulge in such a feast.

The large bowls of noodles were satisfying enough on their own, and Song Ci, having filled up on just the noodles, shared his meat buns with the two brothers, giving each half.

“What are you looking at me for?” Song Sheng asked irritably as he finished the last sip of his soup, noticing Song Ci’s gaze. He was a bit embarrassed and annoyed that Song Ci was making a fuss over him eating a bit more than usual.

“Nothing, nothing,” Song Ci replied, refraining from teasing him this time. He knew how difficult it was for his uncle to support such a large family.

The meal had been enjoyable, but when it came time to pay the bill, all three of them felt a pang of regret. The total came to thirty-five coins. The braised pork noodles were priced at ten coins per bowl due to the generous portions of meat and noodles, and the meat buns were two coins each.

The shop owner kindly waived one coin from their total, but it still amounted to a significant portion of Song Ci’s earnings for the day.

Indeed, you get what you pay for, Song Sheng thought to himself, immediately discarding any thoughts of coming back in the future. He decided it was better to stick to the meals at home; a few more outings like this, and the family would be financially strained.

“Alright, let’s go buy some pastries and head back to the village. If we hurry, we can catch the donkey cart,” Song Ci suggested.

“Again? Brother Ergou, you seem determined to spend all the money we earned today,” Song Sheng said in surprise. He had never seen anyone so extravagant. The money had barely warmed their hands before it was spent.

However, there was something undeniably exciting about spending money like this. When would he ever have such a day again?

“You’ve got me all figured out, kid. You really know what your brother is thinking,” Song Ci replied, quickening his pace towards the nearby grocery store. In his previous life, when he had first received his salary from a part-time job, he had also treated others to a meal. This was the first time he had earned money in this life, and he wanted to share his joy by buying something for those around him.

After their hearty meal, they couldn’t neglect the family back home.

“Here, take these home,” Song Ci said as he emerged from the grocery store, carrying five packs of pastries. He handed three of them to Song Sheng. “Give two packs to everyone at home, and you two can split the remaining one.”

Seeing the appetite of these two, Song Ci thought that one pack of pastries might not even be enough for them to enjoy properly. But with the limited money they had left today, after buying a few skewers of tanghulu (candied hawthorn) for Dabao and Erbao at Song Tiesheng’s house, there wouldn’t be much left.

“Brother Ergou, your heart is getting better and better,” Song Sheng’s comment interrupted Song Ci’s calculations.

Song Ci’s face turned awkward. He kept reassuring himself that this was a compliment, a compliment indeed. He was truly grateful to the entire family. In his previous life, he had been a well-behaved young man. Although the original Song Ergou had been a bit of a troublemaker, wasteful, and had caused some problems, he hadn’t committed any heinous crimes that would be universally condemned. The first major wrong he had ever done was bullying Lin Xiaohe, and he hadn’t even succeeded before he died. Was there really such a bias against him?

Yes, just a few days ago, Song Ci had been willing to take some blame for what Song Ergou had done, but now he was starting to feel reluctant and was even looking for evidence in his mind to vindicate Song Ergou.

Song Tongsheng also couldn’t help but feel the urge to teach his younger brother a lesson. Couldn’t he speak more politely? He had been quite articulate when selling their goods. In private, however, his speech deteriorated. If he couldn’t speak nicely, he should keep quiet. Song Tongsheng thought that Song Ergou’s good temper these past few days was a bit unusual and was always on guard for the return of the old, unruly Song Ergou.

He had witnessed how Song Ergou had once left their elder brother, Song Tiesheng, at a loss. At that time, he had been relieved that he was still young and that Song Ergou couldn’t bring himself to ask him, the younger brother, to clean up his mess.

When the three of them reached the outskirts of the city, they were fortunate to find that the donkey cart was about to return to the village in just fifteen minutes. The cart was already filled with people, all chatting lively. Before Song Ci arrived, he had been the center of their conversation. Once he came, the topic naturally shifted to other matters.

“Uncle, have you sold all your vegetables?” Song Ci greeted the family of Tian Dafu, recalling the kind man who had initiated a conversation with him that morning. Although both families sold vegetables, they were not in the same location at the East Market.

“All sold out. I was lucky today; they sold quickly. Your business wasn’t bad either,” the man from Tian Dafu’s family remarked, glancing at the pastries in Song Ergou’s hand and taking a closer look at him. This former wastrel now seemed to know how to buy things for his family.

If Song Ergou was genuinely determined to improve himself, with the Song family’s good conditions and the support of Uncle Ergou’s family, their future would only get better. Even if it wasn’t as prosperous as when Song the carpenter was alive, it wouldn’t be far off. Moreover, the Song family still had ten acres of land, which would ensure they wouldn’t go hungry. He had a brother and nephew on his mother’s side, who could potentially arrange a marriage.

“I didn’t make much money, just bought these pastries to make my mother happy,” Song Ci replied.

“Your mother has a sharp tongue but a soft heart. Now that you’re so filial, she must be overjoyed,” the man from Tian Dafu’s family said.

“I think so too,” Song Ci casually chatted with the man from Tian Dafu’s family, maintaining a good attitude and not showing any dissatisfaction with the trivial matters of family life. This further satisfied the man, who kept nodding in approval.

Song Ci, on the other hand, was completely unaware that he was being considered as a potential match.

The young Sheng, on the other hand, was somewhat displeased. A loquacious young man who was already married kept asking him how much money he had made that day. After being questioned repeatedly, Sheng became agitated, “It’s just that much vegetable. You often come to sell them too. Don’t you have a rough idea of whether you can make money and how much you can earn?”

“Young man, your sister-in-law just saw that you brought home so many things and wanted to find out if the price of the vegetables has gone up,” Liu’s young man replied somewhat awkwardly. He had noticed that Song Ergou and Song Sheng were both holding pastries and had become curious whether Song Ergou had struck it rich. He didn’t ask Song Ergou because the latter hadn’t been polite to them that morning. He thought that the third son of the Song family, being young and less experienced, would be easier to talk to.

Unexpectedly, this one was even more difficult to deal with than Song Ergou.

The onlookers who had been silent were also curious about how much money Song Ci had made. Five game animals should fetch at least sixty to seventy coins, right?

Now that someone had started the questioning, they were about to join in when they saw the third son of the Song family begin to retort. So, they decided not to invite trouble. This young man was the worst at socializing. If things got ugly, it would be no fun at all. Moreover, even if Song Ergou did have money, they wouldn’t benefit from it.

“The price remains the same. How could it change? Rotten vegetable leaves can never turn into delicacies like dragon liver or phoenix marrow. If you want to get rich, selling vegetables is not the way,” Sheng keenly sensed their thoughts and felt bored. Their family’s Song Ergou had barely reformed, yet these people buzzed around like flies, gossiping and talking nonsense, tarnishing his reputation. He had heard from the older men in his family that they were trying to follow the example of the fool from Qingmiao Village and trick someone into marrying into their family.

Although Song Ergou wasn’t a great person, Sheng had recently interacted with him and found that he wasn’t as bad as that. He even taught Sheng how to set traps.

Indeed, the young Song Sheng, in order to eat meat, verbally submitted and called Song Ci “Brother Ergou,” but in his heart, he still called him “Song Ergou.”

“Why are you speaking like that, young man? I just wanted to ask you something. Is it necessary to be so rude?” Liu’s young man’s face couldn’t hide his embarrassment. Song Sheng really didn’t know how to speak properly. In this village, men, whether married or not, should show some courtesy to women.

Song Tongsheng held back Sheng, who wanted to continue retorting, “Sister Liu, Sheng is still young and gets annoyed with such matters. The vegetable prices are still the same, without much change.”

Tongsheng was also impatient with these gossiping women and young men, but his nature made it hard for him to quarrel with them. Moreover, it would be laughable for a grown man to argue with women or young men.

To prevent his troublesome younger brother from becoming a joke and making enemies, he had to step in and smooth things over.

“Alright, I understand now. Tongsheng is the one who knows how to speak. It’s time for you to get married. I wonder who’s so fortunate to marry you,” Sister Liu, having found a way out, teased Song Tongsheng and didn’t want to tangle with the ill-mannered Sheng, whose sharp tongue could turn on a dime.

As for the good-for-nothing Song Ci, he wasn’t particularly aware of the gossip behind his back, so he had no idea that Song Sheng was defending him. He just thought that the person was envious of Sheng’s pastries and that a few verbal spats were nothing serious, so he chose to stand by and watch the fun.

Then, he was glared at fiercely several times by Song Sheng.

Song Ci felt bewildered. He hadn’t done anything, so why had he offended his cousin again?

When it was time, Old Donkey Head drove the donkey cart back. The creaking cart on the country road gave a feeling of being in another world. Song Ci had never felt so clearly that he was really going to bid farewell to his previous worry-free, affluent life and live in this ancient time as a farmer’s son.

He would toil alongside them, pass on offspring, haggle over a few coins, and rejoice at a bumper harvest. From an outsider, he would become an ordinary toiling member of the masses and then gradually turn into a complete commoner, all for the sake of supporting his family, husband, and children.

And Song Ci felt that he wasn’t really averse to such a life.

Generally, people who fall from a high position to the bottom might find it hard to accept. But in his previous life, due to his family’s indifference and dislike, he had never been on a pedestal. With the spatial storage, he had always been preparing for the future, more like a hardworking little bee, without time to be haughty. Moreover, he understood the principle of contentment and happiness, so he accepted his fate honestly.

Old Lady Song was indeed pleased to see what Song Ci had brought back, and her face showed a few unnatural smiles, which were hard to notice if one wasn’t observant.

As long as Song Ci was ambitious, Old Lady Song didn’t care about the money he had earned this time and naturally had no intention of confiscating any of it or saving it.

After all, there were only the two of them in the family. When she was gone, wouldn’t everything belong to Ergou anyway?

Moreover, Old Lady Song had a concern. If she couldn’t spend the money she earned, wouldn’t that force her Ergou back to his previous idle ways? If it were Tiesheng, he certainly wouldn’t do that, but their Ergou was not an easy person to deal with.