Could he have hooked up with some wealthy woman?

Su Mao and Su De lived at the far end of the village, and it took about three to five minutes to walk from their house to the old homestead. Along the way, Liu Chunhua asked, "A-chen, you've been working hard all day. If you go lie down now, you'll be dozing off until dawn. Wouldn't it be better not to go to the city tomorrow?"

Old Man Su chimed in to persuade him as well.

Su Chen shook his head. "Mom, Dad, I still have to go. But I won't be setting up a stall in the city; I promised someone I would make a trip to Dragon Mountain."

"Dragon Mountain?" Old Man Su asked with a puzzled look. "That place is miles away from the city. Would it even take a whole day just walking there?"

Liu Chunhua had never left Liangshan in all her years, let alone visited Dragon Mountain. Hearing Old Man Su's words, she immediately grew anxious. "It's so far away! A-chen, you'd better not go."

"I have to go. The things in that mountain are rather vicious. If they aren't dealt with, quite a few people will probably die."

In his past life, when the ghostly aura revived, as a disciple of the Celestial Master Mansion, Su Chen felt it was his unshirkable duty to eliminate any fierce ghost he encountered. The world was so wonderful, naturally, he couldn't let such entities ruin it again.

Therefore, even without a hefty reward, Su Chen still wanted to make a trip to Dragon Mountain.

Old Man Su opened his mouth, but said nothing, while Liu Chunhua stamped her foot in frustration. "Are you a fool, A-chen? You know those things are vicious and you still go? Aren't you just asking for a death wish? No way, I'm not letting you go."

"Mom~" Su Chen gave a wry smile. "Vicious as they may be, your son isn't entirely useless. If I can't beat them, can't I run?"

"There are so many children in this family to support, I value my life dearly."

Liu Chunhua still kept a stern face, clearly displeased.

Su Chen didn't try to persuade her further. He went home, took off his clothes, lay down, and fell asleep shortly after.

Early the next morning, as Su Chen opened the door, he saw Liu Chunhua already busy in the kitchen, while Old Man Su wasn't idle either, tending to the stove.

Seeing him awake, Liu Chunhua brought over a small plate of stir-fried radishes and scooped a bowl of sweet potato porridge, setting them down heavily on the table with a dark expression. "Eat up quickly, and take a few boiled eggs with you before you leave. With such a long journey, how can you go on an empty stomach?"

"Thanks, Mom."

Liu Chunhua cast a side-long glance at him. "Don't give me that cheeky smile. If you really run into danger, run for your life, understand?"

Seeing Su Chen nod, Liu Chunhua sighed. "It's not that, A-chen. Before, I just wanted you to change for the better, but actually, you didn't have to become this good. Those things... oh, forget it."

Su Chen walked out with five boiled eggs tucked away. In the distance, right at the entrance of the village, he spotted a figure. Taking a closer look, it was Su De.

"Fourth Brother? What's wrong?"

Su De was waiting at the village entrance, intending to head down the mountain together with someone.

Last night, he had genuinely been frightened. When he got home and the sleepiness hit, he had barely dozed off before being jolted awake by a nightmare. Now, there were dark circles under his eyes. He thought about going to work early, but when he reached the village entrance and looked down the pitch-black path, cowardice took over. Terrified that another dark shadow might drop from the sky if he entered, he could only pace back and forth at the entrance, hoping that if villagers were heading down early to buy New Year goods, he might tag along.

He just hadn't expected the first person he waited for to be Su Chen.

Facing his confusion, Su De dryly laughed twice. "Nothing much. A-chen, are you heading to the township so early, or going all the way to the city?"

"Yeah, Fourth Brother, let's walk together."

"Eh, good, good."

Su De felt a quiet surge of relief.

Walking with ordinary villagers certainly couldn't compare to walking with his youngest brother. After all, his younger brother possessed genuine skills; even if they truly encountered something on the road, it wouldn't be able to harm him.

With that thought, he heard Su Chen ask, "Fourth Brother, whose house are you working at lately?"

Su Chen wasn't really good at making small talk.

Mostly because this wasn't actually his real fourth brother.

However, from Niuxin Village to the township, walking briskly still took over half an hour. To just walk silently without a word? That would be too strange.

Driven by necessity, he had to find a topic of conversation.

"Old Cui's place in Liangshan. His son is getting married, and they need a whole new set of cabinets, tables, chairs, and a bed. My master and I have been busy for five days now, and we'll probably finish in another ten days or so."

"Old Cui..." Su Chen rummaged through the original owner's memories. He was a grocery store owner in the township. "Isn't his son around A-liang's age?"

"Yeah, about the same. Speaking of which, A-liang will turn 20 this Chinese New Year. That's a bit old; if he doesn't get married soon, it'll be too late. I mentioned this to Eldest Brother before, and oh, the worry he has. You have no idea, A-chen—when we got married years ago, the betrothal gift was only one or two hundred. Do you know how much it is now? Two to three thousand!"

"Eldest Brother has been saving for so many years, and he probably can't even scrape together a fraction of that."

Su Chen asked, "Does A-liang have anyone he fancies?"

Su De shook his head blankly. "I don't think so?"

"You know how A-liang is—he has such a gloomy temperament. Ever since he graduated from primary school, he's just been following Eldest Brother digging in the dirt all day long. He doesn't even like going to the township, so how could he possibly meet any girls?"

"Then there's no need to rush."

"...Huh?"

Su Chen smiled. "Marriage is a lifelong matter. Only when you can choose a girl you truly like will life have any flavor, right?"

"That may be so, but didn't it turn out just fine when our marriages were arranged for us back then? As the old saying goes, first establish a family, then build a career. It's better to settle down with a family before trying to build a career."

"But I heard Eldest Sister-in-law say she wants A-liang to go to the city to find a job after the New Year..."

"Eldest Sister-in-law's words are just talk. Haven't Eldest Brother and the others tried to find work for A-liang in the township these past couple of years? They looked, but couldn't find any, let alone the city. If Eldest Brother goes to the city, he'll probably just buzz around like a headless fly. It'll be a miracle if he doesn't get lost. Sigh, I originally thought about asking my master if I could bring A-liang along to work, but my master went and cast fortune-telling numbers, and flat-out refused..."

"Education is still what matters most. I heard that university graduates nowadays get assigned jobs—they're all iron rice bowls. Little Yu and Little Xuan have good grades, so there's hope for them. Our family's A-tao won't do; he's always at the bottom of the class."

Su Chen had originally thought that talking with this fourth brother would be quite awkward, but he turned out to be genuinely talkative, chattering away endlessly. With Su Chen occasionally guiding the conversation, the two of them walked all the way laughing and chatting without a single dull moment.

Upon reaching the township, Su Chen parted ways with Su De. As soon as he arrived at the bus station, someone called out to him. The person calling him was none other than Zhao Dongsheng.

"Brother Zhao, could it be that Boss Zhang's household had another incident?"

Zhao Dongsheng waved his hands repeatedly. "No, no. Boss Zhang said it's too exhausting for you, Master, to commute back and forth to the city every day, so he asked me to pick you up and drop you off from now on."

"No need—"

"It is needed, it is needed! Boss Zhang said that this great kindness of yours is something he can never repay in a lifetime. If I don't drive you, he'll fire me. Look, Master, I still have a whole family of old and young to support..."

As soon as Su Chen heard this, he knew it was just an excuse, but he couldn't resist when a big, burly man like Zhao Dongsheng squeezed out a pitiful expression. He shivered all over and waved his hand. "Alright, alright, I'll ride. Riding in the car is fine, right?"

"Yes, yes, yes! Please get in the car, Master."

Beaming with joy, Zhao Dongsheng hurried forward and bent down to open the car door for Su Chen.

Zhang Yugui's Santana had actually been quietly surrounded by onlookers parked by the station. After all, even though households earning ten thousand yuan had started appearing in the township, not a single person could afford a car.

A car was a rare luxury in the township.

Seeing Su Chen arrive and Zhao Dongsheng practically fawning over him to open the door, someone immediately began to mutter.

"Who is that guy? He looks kind of familiar."

"He looks familiar to me too. I think I saw him at a card table before."

"You guys don't even know him? That's Su Chen from Niuxin Village! His wife just died!"

"His wife just died and he's already riding in a car? Did he hook up with some rich woman?"

"Who knows? But the kid does have the look of a pretty boy."

Just then, Jiang Wanwei, who was hurrying home to move the remaining half of a pig to the vegetable market, paused his steps and slowly edged closer.

"What are you guys talking about? What's wrong with my brother-in-law?"