The battered Shen Yi and Shen Ruxu returned with their heads hanging low, just in time to hear the booming voice of the grandmother next door ringing out from the kitchen and carrying across the entire courtyard.
“Xiaoya! How did you end up with a man who can’t do a lick of work?!”
Wen Ya, who had just arrived home, instinctively hunched her shoulders.
But Grandma’s fury was far from over. She thumped her cane against the ground with a series of heavy bangs.
“And your sons, too! How come not one of them looks capable of doing any work? They’re all so soft and delicate—each one wobbles like a drunkard just carrying a bucket of water!”
Wen Ya: “…”
She forced a dry laugh. “They don’t usually do this kind of work.”
“That won’t do. Spoiling children ruins them. Get them over here and make them chop firewood.”
Shen Xun stood at the entrance to the woodshed and stared at the mountain of firewood piled inside. He bent over, frowning, then took a step back.
“We’re not doing manual labor.”
The next second, the old woman swung a fire poker taller than a person straight at his head.
Shen Xun nimbly dodged to the side, twisting his body away.
The poker grazed past his ear, stirring the loose strands of hair over his forehead.
“What strength,” Shen Ruxu praised.
Seeing his younger brother being singled out, Shen Wenta frowned. He actually dared to taunt the old woman who was clearly not to be trifled with.
“You’re getting on in years. Be careful not to throw out your back.”
The old woman instantly changed direction, bringing the fire poker down toward his face. It was moving more than twice as fast as before.
Wen Ya hurriedly pulled her back, speaking in a frantic rush. “Oh, Second Grandma, please calm down. They’ve been living in the city for too long, so there’s something wrong with their heads. Don’t hold it against these kids.”
It was only when Shen Zhizhao saw that things were getting out of hand that he acted. Without another word, he grabbed one brother with each hand and hauled the two addlebrained boys toward the woodshed.
“I don’t want to…” Shen Yi dragged her feet, trying to stall. She lowered her head, scuffing her toes against the ground.
Then she looked up and saw the old grandmother reaching for her cane.
She jolted in fright and instantly snapped upright.
“I’m sorry! I’ll go work right now.”
Her attempt to slack off had failed. How hateful.
…
Outside the woodshed was a mountain of firewood, stacked layer upon layer—enough to keep them chopping until nightfall.
Shen Ruxu gloomily swung his ax. “Why do we have to work when we come back to the village?”
Several village girls happened to walk by and stopped to watch.
They were dressed in thick padded jackets, their hands tucked into their sleeves as they huddled together and chattered.
“Hey, that guy’s pretty good. He looks like he can really work.”
“Yeah, but he’s a little skinny. I wonder how much he eats. If he eats too much, that won’t do—we couldn’t afford to raise him.”
“But they’re Aunt Wen Ya’s sons. They must be just as capable as Aunt Wen Ya, right?”
As they spoke, the girls turned their attention elsewhere.
“That one’s handsome, but he isn’t working. What a lazybones.”
They were talking about Shen Wenta.
He was leaning against one of the woodshed’s pillars with his arms crossed, showing absolutely no intention of picking up an ax.
When Shen Wenta heard that assessment, he turned his head and swept his cold black eyes over them.
A chill ran down the girls’ backs, and they hurried away.
As they left, they continued muttering among themselves.
“Forget it, forget it. A man who looks lazy at first glance, has a bad temper, and doesn’t have a dependable look about him is no good.”
Shen Wenta: “…”
Shen Zhizhao was slacking off too. He chopped at the wood now and then, moving as slowly as if he were practicing tai chi.
He would raise his ax, pause for a moment, and then bring it down. The split logs tumbled crookedly to the ground.
In a low voice, he said, “I always thought there was something strange about Mom’s village. I just didn’t expect the old people here to be hiding their abilities too.”
As soon as he finished speaking, an old woman who looked to be at least seventy or eighty walked past them carrying several huge bundles of firewood in one hand. She moved as easily as if they were empty.
Her back was slightly bent, but the muscles in her arms were clearly defined. She looked considerably stronger than these boys.
This place truly embodied a certain saying—
The elderly were bursting with vitality, while the young were lifeless.
The Shen siblings: “…”
Shen Yi felt a deep sense of kinship with the sentiment. “Is our value here comparable to that of a single ciliate?”
Shen Zhizhao closed his eyes.
“For now, there’s no risk of that.”
Shen Xun had realized for the first time that he was less useful than a ciliate. He was deeply discouraged. Crouching in a corner, he muttered gloomily, “There are twenty-seven households in this village. Most of the people are better-looking than the average person on Earth, and every one of them has a hidden story.”
No wonder Mom was always so irritable.
Growing up in a village like this and having to face all these bizarre people every day would make anyone irritable.
Shen Ruxu was scribbling and drawing on the ground when a sudden idea struck him. The corners of his mouth curled upward.
“So this village is basically a collection of stories, right? Like, ‘The War God Returns, Only to Discover His Daughter Sleeping in a Doghouse?!’ Then, in an instant, his hundred-thousand-strong army tramples the village flat.”
“Or,” Shen Yi added, “The three-year term is up. The Dragon King gives a crooked smile and is about to reclaim his throne.”
There might even be some protagonists from a tragic romance novel lurking around.
This place was way too interesting.
Shen Wenta had not said a word. He listened to their nonsense with lowered eyes.
His face held the calm of someone who had lost all hope.
“I want to go home…”
There was no emotion in his voice. He had truly reached the depths of despair.
…
While the children were miserably chopping firewood, Shen Sixing was having a difficult time too.
He had originally planned to find somewhere quiet and catch up on his sleep. But the moment he slipped out the door, the husband of his Third Aunt grabbed him by the arm with a beaming smile and ushered him all the way into the main room.
It seemed that all the village’s sons-in-law had returned to visit their families.
Shen Sixing was pressed into a chair, with a cup of scalding tea placed in front of him.
For most of the time that followed, he sat there numbly, listening to a group of overbearing CEOs and “don’t bully a young man for being poor” prodigies discuss investments, markets, and the state of the country with great authority.
The key point was that he had actually heard of some of their names before.
“Little Shen, what do you do?” someone asked, directing the conversation toward the silent Shen Sixing.
Shen Sixing looked exactly like an ordinary person who had wandered onto the set of a story full of protagonists.
So he answered, “I’m a background character.”
“A background character?” someone cut in. “We don’t believe that. If you’re just a background character, how did you end up here?”
“What?” Shen Sixing leaned back listlessly, sitting with no regard for proper posture. “Is this some village where ordinary people aren’t allowed, a place guarded by laser towers that shoot anyone who comes near?”
“Not exactly.” The man laughed. “But surely you’ve had some kind of extraordinary experience?”
“What kind of experience counts as extraordinary?” Shen Sixing rubbed his face.
“For example, have you ever stopped a plane that was about to take off for someone? Or knelt in the rain and gone mad trying to win back your wife? Or been dumped by your fiancée, only to return years later and humiliate everyone?”
“No.”
Shen Sixing denied all of the above.
“Then what have you done?”
In an instant, eyes from every direction converged on him, staring intently.
Seeing everyone looking at him, Shen Sixing could not help covering his face as well. His dark eyes peered out through the gaps between his fingers.
After thinking it over, his eyes shifted slightly, and he revealed a relatively gentle smile. “…I once destroyed an entire world?”
…
The bonus story will wrap up tomorrow. There are still a few everyday-life chapters left, mostly to briefly explain what everyone is up to, and then it will be over.
Also, the novel has officially been signed for print publication. There will be 2,000 personally signed copies, available to the first 2,000 buyers on a first-come, first-served basis. The exact schedule hasn’t been announced yet, but there may be updates posted on this book when the time comes. If you’re interested in getting a physical copy, you can keep an eye out for those—I’m not even sure where it will be sold yet. The publishing process is very slow and could take several months, half a year, or even a full year. If you’re patient and would like one, feel free to stay tuned.
