Otherworldly Space: A Tale of Love and Growth - Chapter 15

Song Sheng came early in the morning to give Song Ci the money from the sale of the game animals from yesterday. They had agreed to split the profits fifty-fifty, and the young Sheng was true to his word.

“Sold so quickly,” Song Ci said in surprise. There was actually a big spender in the village who could afford ten game animals. “Who did you sell them to?”

“I sold them to Zheng Fang. He came to my house and said that a rich master he knew was holding a celebration and needed more game. He wanted to buy all that I had. The price he offered was eighteen coins for a rabbit and fifteen coins for a wild chicken. I thought it was reasonable, so I sold them all to him. In total, it was one hundred and sixty coins. Here’s your half, Brother Ergou,” Sheng said, holding out the heavy money bag to Song Ci.

“You keep the money. I was just joking when I said that. A brother shouldn’t take money from his younger brother,” Song Ci said, feeling embarrassed to accept the money. He had only meant to tease the young boy, not expecting him to take it seriously.

“No, Brother Ergou, we’re partners. We agreed to split the money. If I take all of it, it wouldn’t be right. It would damage our credibility and make it hard for us to work together in the future,” Sheng frowned.

“Alright, I taught you how to set traps so you could earn some pocket money and occasionally have some meat to eat. It’s not enough to support a family or get married. You should keep it,” Song Ci said.

“Then I’ll really keep it. Brother Ergou, you can’t be so generous with outsiders in the future. You have to be realistic, or you’ll get taken advantage of,” Sheng said, showing concern for Song Ergou’s character and also boasting a bit. “Mother said that since I can earn money now, I should contribute to the family like my elder brother. I gave half of my share to the family, so I only have forty coins left. Now, with these eighty coins, I have a small amount of private savings.”

“Now that you have your own money, it will be easier to buy things for young ladies and boys without having to ask the family for it,” Song Ci teased.

Sheng didn’t seem embarrassed and agreed with Song Ci. “It’s still early for me. It will be a few years before my turn comes after my second brother gets married. I’m not in a hurry.”

“When Zheng Fang came to you, didn’t you ask him to introduce you to some channels for selling game in the future?” Song Ci asked.

Restaurants and inns all had their own purchasing channels and partners. For beginners like them who had just started hunting, it would be easy to get taken advantage of if they tried to sell directly to those places. That was why Song Ci had gone to the market with his two cousins to sell their game last time. Zheng Fang, who had been hunting for years, naturally had his own connections. It would be very beneficial to have someone like him help in the future. It was a good opportunity to make connections, and it would be a pity to miss it.

“Our traps can only catch wild chickens and rabbits. If we’re lucky, we might catch a silly roe deer or something. There are plenty of people in the market who want them. Why owe someone a favor? I told Zheng Fang that we’ll ask for his help when we catch something big in the future,” Sheng said with a sly smile.

“You’re really clever. You have the makings of a businessman,” Song Ci said, tapping his forehead.

Sheng put away the copper coins. “Of course. I plan to become a peddler who travels from village to village when I’m older. It’s much more profitable than farming. Oh, I have to go. I promised to buy a pearl flower for A Mei with the money I earned,” Sheng said, then left.

Pearl flower?

Do young men here also wear makeup and flowers?

After Sheng left, Song Ci suddenly thought of this issue he had overlooked. Here, young men were similar to women in many ways, and their love for beauty seemed to be the same in both worlds. A Mei liked pearl flowers, and Lin Xiaohe probably would too.

But the thought of men wearing rouge and tea flowers was unsettling. He couldn’t shake the image from his mind, and it felt somewhat horrifying.

No, no, he couldn’t let Lin Xiaohe degrade himself like that. In their future household, there would definitely be no rouge or powder.

If Lin Xiaohe wanted to look good, he could compensate in other ways, like buying more beautiful cloth and jewelry. Yes, jewelry would also be limited, and he would avoid anything too feminine.

In the afternoon, when Song Ci saw Lin Xiaohe, he first observed him. He looked clean and very pleasant. There was no makeup on his face, and his hair was tied up with a wooden hairpin, which was a bit plain. The hidden red string on his wrist could be sold for a few more silver bracelets.

Lin Xiaohe, on the other hand, felt a bit uneasy when he saw that Song Ci was using a porcelain bowl for his meal today. There was probably only one of those boxes. He wondered if Song Ergou had used it before.

The thought of eating from the same box as Song Ergou felt strange to him. He even felt like hitting someone. It wasn’t the same as sharing a bowl with family members. He was unmarried, and so was Lin Xiaohe. What would people think?

But he couldn’t bring himself to ask. If he did, Song Ergou would surely tease him. But he couldn’t stop thinking about it either.

He was becoming more and more confused about himself.

Forget it, he decided. It was better to just focus on eating.

“What is this brown stuff? It seems like noodles, but it’s much more refreshing and doesn’t stick together easily,” Lin Xiaohe asked Song Ci, picking up a few strands with his chopsticks.

After knowing each other for so long, whenever Lin Xiaohe encountered an unfamiliar ingredient, he would directly ask Song Ergou.

“These are glass noodles, made from sweet potatoes and potato starch. How about that, didn’t recognize it, did you?” Song Ci said, knowing full well that Lin Xiaohe wouldn’t be familiar with pork stewed with glass noodles.

“No,” Lin Xiaohe shook his head. “Song Ergou, you’re such a good cook. If you opened a small restaurant, it would definitely do well.”

“Let’s talk about that later,” Song Ci replied. When he was down on his luck, he could consider being a chef, but for now, life was good, and there were many ways to make money. Why bother toiling away at the stove all day long? Song Ci didn’t look down on the profession of a chef; he just found it tiring. Moreover, he couldn’t explain how he suddenly knew so many dishes. Making up a story about being enlightened by an old immortal in a dream wouldn’t even convince himself, and if it got out, it would surely bring trouble. Just think, what would the county magistrate do if he heard that a villager under his jurisdiction had been enlightened by a deity? And what would an emperor, who himself had never seen a deity, do upon hearing such news? It was unimaginable. Besides, how could he explain that the deity only taught him cooking and hunting, but nothing else? What if he claimed to be the God of Cooking and was asked to prepare a Manhan Quanxi (a grand feast)? Of course, Song Ci wouldn’t use divine intervention as an excuse for skills that Song Ergou wouldn’t have. However, he was plotting to use a dream as a cover for something else, but that’s a story for another time.

“Xiaohe, is there anything else you need?” Usually, after Lin Xiaohe finished eating and rested for a while, he would leave, but today he kept lingering, unwilling to go. It seemed he had something to ask.

“Song Ergou, could you, um, teach me how to dig traps? Don’t get me wrong, I’m not planning to sell the game. I just want to occasionally add some meat to my family’s meals. My parents have worked so hard all their lives, always scrimping and saving,” Lin Xiaohe said, lowering his head, feeling anxious and not daring to look at Song Ergou. It was up to the other person to decide whether to teach him; it was a matter of kindness, not obligation.

Seeing Lin Xiaohe’s cautious demeanor, Song Ci found it somewhat amusing. “I thought it was something serious. If you want to eat meat, I’ll just give you my game. You don’t need to learn this yourself.”

“I can’t do that. My parents would be suspicious if I just took your things without reason.”

“What would you tell your parents if they asked who taught you to set traps?”

Lin Xiaohe was taken aback. It seemed there was no way to explain. In the village, only Zheng Fang and Song Ergou knew how to set traps, and both were men.

Lin Xiaohe felt a bit disappointed, thinking he wouldn’t be able to add more dishes for his parents.

Unable to bear seeing him look so down, Song Ci rummaged through his pockets and took out two throwing darts. “Alright, don’t be upset. I’ll teach you something fun. If you really want to learn about traps, I can teach you that too.”

“What are these?” Lin Xiaohe felt like a wild man from the mountains in front of Song Ci, lacking in experience. Song Ci had many things he had never seen before.

Seeing Lin Xiaohe curiously touching the dart with his hand, Song Ci quickly stopped him. “My dear, be careful not to cut yourself.”

“Why do you keep them in your pocket then?”

“Are you talking back to me?” I didn’t keep them in my pocket; I kept them in my spatial storage. I gave you my means of self-defense; what more could you want?

“Why are you so domineering? You can say whatever you want about me, but I can’t say anything about you?” Lin Xiaohe pointed at Song Ci, feeling angry. He was clearly concerned about Song Ergou, ugh, why did he have to care about Song Ergou?

“Only the officials are allowed to set fires, while the common people are not allowed to light lamps,” Song Ci summarized what Lin Xiaohe wanted to say with a proverb.

“Humph, just because you’ve been to school for a few years, showing off what?” Lin Xiaohe huffed.

“Alright, don’t be angry. This is called a dart. If you use it well, you can catch rabbits and wild chickens with it in the future. It can also be used for self-defense when encountering bad people.”

“Really? Then teach me, please.” Lin Xiaohe was delighted. This was a dart. Once he learned it, Song Ergou wouldn’t be able to bully him at will anymore.

“The technique of throwing this dart is particular. Let me demonstrate it for you first.”

Song Ci stood in front of a willow tree, his posture upright. In an instant, the dart flew out and hit the trunk of the willow tree. Lin Xiaohe didn’t see how he did it at all.

“How about that, impressive, right?” Seeing Lin Xiaohe’s excited, flushed face, Song Ci said with pride.

“Mm-hmm.” Lin Xiaohe nodded. “It was just too fast. I didn’t see how it flew out.”

“There’s no rush. We’ll learn it slowly. Throwing a dart requires wrist strength. You can practice that more in your daily life.”

“Mm-hmm.” Lin Xiaohe nodded like a little squirrel, fondling the dart Song Ci had given him.

Seeing Lin Xiaohe’s trusting demeanor, Song Ci was overjoyed and quietly made a victory sign. His plan to pursue his love was going well. Soon, he would be able to hold the handsome man he desired.

His Xiaohe didn’t disappoint him. He preferred weapons over fancy clothes.

There was no need to worry. In the future, when he woke up, there would be a beautiful sight before his eyes.