Travel Through The countryside

Chapter 3

The daughter of the Xue family and the county magistrate's family's proposal for marriage has spread in the village. When talking about the Xue family girl, it's impossible not to mention Shen Junxi, the eldest son of the Shen family's main room. Some people knew about their engagement from before.

Perhaps Chen Shi said something outside, and when some people discussed it, they said, "The Shen family and the Xue family only talked about it verbally. At that time, the girl was still so young, there was no need to rush into it. The girl is not without suitors, especially considering how good the conditions of the Xue family are. Are they worried that the girl won't marry well?"

Little did they know, the Xue family was afraid of missing out on Shen Junxi, a good student, which is why they arranged it early. Now, with such remarks, it seems like everyone can accept it. After all, Shen Junxi has fallen on hard times. What can he use to marry the girl from the Xue family?

It's not that no one stood up to defend the Shen family, saying that the Xue family is superficial and inconsistent.

Others immediately laughed and said, "Then ask yourself, if your daughter was engaged to the Shen family, would you be willing to let her marry into it?"

The person awkwardly said, "At the time of the engagement, it was just to benefit from the other family. Now that they're in trouble, they immediately abandon them. In the end, it's all self-inflicted. What does it have to do with the Shen family?"

Now it's different. No one criticizes the Xue family, but everyone is making fun of the Shen family's downfall.

The old lady from the Shen family heard about this from the younger generation. Now, she's with Shen Dongying, the third son of the Shen family, and Shen Dongying's wife, Wang Shi, asked her if the matter regarding the eldest son's family needed intervention. The Xue family is a bit too much. Although the eldest son has left the family, he still has the Shen surname.

The old lady was not as agitated anymore. When she was a daughter-in-law in the Shen family, her mother-in-law raised her first child, which was Shen Dongming. Later, she had her own second and third children, and she didn't have the energy to think about Shen Dongming, who was raised by someone else. It's never the same as raising a child oneself. The old lady and her deceased mother-in-law didn't have a good relationship, so she didn't look favorably upon Shen Dongming. After her mother-in-law, Wu Shi, passed away, Shen Dongming reached the age to marry, and he married the daughter Yang Shi arranged for him, Yang Shi being the deceased Wu Shi's name.

After becoming the head of the family, the old lady was indifferent to Shen Dongming's family. She couldn't stand her eldest son, who was taught by her mother-in-law and was neither smart nor capable. Shen Lao Ye spent his whole life as a scholar, and he, like his wife, didn't like his eldest son, who was honest and dull, but instead favored the one who could study, the third son.

As for the second son of the Shen family, Shen Dongqi, although he couldn't read, he could manage. His family's tea garden was the largest in the entire Tea Mountain Village, and he made the most money in the village. Ten years ago, the second son of the Shen family, in collaboration with the third son, opened a private school in the village, solidifying the Shen family's position in Tea Mountain Village.

It was during those years that Shen Junxi showed his talent for studying. Those years were the best years of their relationship with their main family because Shen Lao Ye valued him to some extent. However, all of this was ruined five years ago, and their relationship with the main family returned to what it was before overnight.

Life is like this, nothing more. Even when Shen Dongming was in the most difficult times, he never asked for money from the main family. He gritted his teeth and carried goods at the dock, saving every penny to cure his wife and son's illnesses. No matter how hard he tried, their son Xixi still had the root of his speechlessness, which was the most regrettable thing for Shen Dongming.

After this incident, he completely gave up on the main family. Whatever parents or siblings, none of them were reliable. He stopped thinking about them.

Shen's mother, Yang Shi, came back from the vegetable field with a hoe on her shoulder and a bunch of vegetables in her hand. She saw her husband sitting on the doorstep smoking, and she gently advised, "Smoke less. Your old cough is acting up again." She had been hearing her husband coughing at night these past few days, so she wanted to pick some loquat leaves to boil water for him.

"It's okay." Shen Dong Ming waved his hand and took a few puffs of smoke before putting out the cigarette and heading into the house.

The moment he walked in, he saw his son Xixi reading a book on the small table, and he called out, "What book is that?"

Xixi answered without lifting his head, "The Eighteen Martial Arts of Wulin."

Shen Dongming was amused and said, "Why are you reading this kind of book? You're still so young."

Xixi said, "I want to be a hero."

Shen Dongming laughed and shook his head. "The world is not as simple as the books describe it."

Xixi raised his head and looked at his father, his eyes sparkling with curiosity. "Dad, were you a hero before?"

Shen Dongming's expression froze for a moment before he turned away and said, "Go read your book."