The Country Maiden: Fields and Leisure
Chapter 151 Reluctant to Give Up?

Chapter 151: Chapter 151 Reluctant to Give Up?

She still didn’t know about Old Granny Zhang giving Jindou and his brothers the cold shoulder.

Old Granny Zhang muttered, "How would I know that sticky candy from the Lin Family went to town—"

"The Lin Family’s what? Sticky candy?" Wang Yongzhu caught the tone; Old Granny Zhang really didn’t seem to have any warmth for the Lin Family. Yet it was to be expected, given that they were not only her mother-in-law’s family but also Lady Lin’s maternal family. It would be strange if she actually liked them.

"Humph, the Lin Family is the sort that sticks to whoever smells of fortune, and now they’ve rushed to town to visit the Eldest Brother, who knows what they’re plotting in their hearts?" Old Granny Zhang scoffed.

Wang Yongzhu had intended to ask further but then heard Wang Laozhu returning outside.

She hurriedly went out with Old Granny Zhang to meet him.

When Wang Laozhu saw his eldest grandson had returned, even though he had developed a grudge against the eldest branch of the family, at the end of the day it was still his son. He’d been too busy these past days to visit and was indeed worried.

Without asking anything else, he first inquired about Wang Yongfu’s condition.

Upon hearing that the Lin Family had sent someone, his brow wrinkled, but he said nothing.

He only instructed Lady Jiang, "Prepare dinner early today; Jindou and the others have been on the road for half a day and must be hungry."

Lady Jiang glanced at Old Granny Zhang, and upon seeing her nod, agreed and went to the kitchen to get busy.

Wang Yongping knew his father would definitely want to explain today’s events to his mother, and such matters were best kept unknown to children, so he took his nephews to chat in the courtyard.

Jinhua was still so frightened by Wang Yongzhu’s earlier show of strength that now, upon seeing her aunt, her calves were shaking. Following Lady Jiang, she had already gone into the kitchen.

Nowadays, Wang Laozhu didn’t keep any matters from his eldest daughter and, without any intention of avoiding her, let her follow him into the room. After settling down, he took out a deed from his bosom and handed it to Old Granny Zhang, "Keep this safe. In a few days, we’ll go to the county town and have Laosan help us, then get it recorded at the Government Office."

Although Old Granny Zhang was illiterate, she still recognized the importance of a deed and asked in a surprised and hushed voice, "It’s been settled?"

Wang Laozhu nodded, and then gestured with his fingers: two, then three.

Old Granny Zhang was overjoyed. This prime quality paddy field would cost six to seven taels of silver per mu, and it was not something you could just buy anywhere.

Dry fields were cheaper, but she knew the Li Family’s dry fields were meticulously maintained by Li Jinhu and his brother; even those were good lands that would fetch at least three to four taels of silver. By her calculations, her family had gotten an amazing bargain.

Chuffed, she placed the deed at the very bottom of the trunk and locked it before remembering something, "What about the crops in the field? Who do they belong to?"

Currently, there were crops planted in the fields. Without clear division, who would tend to the crops and to whom would the harvest belong?

Wang Laozhu tapped his pipe and said, "We’ve already agreed on that. Whoever the land is divided to will take care of it, and when it’s time to harvest, Jinhu and Jingou will get their share of fifty percent of the produce."

Old Granny Zhang counted it out; this meant her own family was getting the better end of the deal. Her heart grew even warmer. Owning farmland guaranteed a yield, and as long as one had land, there was no fear of starvation.

How could she secure a couple of mu of good land for her own daughter? Lands were scarce in Qilidun and nobody would sell unless absolutely necessary; selling land was equivalent to selling one’s ancestors, an action that would leave one scorned by others.

The opportunity presented by Li Dagui’s House was a rarity that only occurred every several years. Otherwise, why would the Li Family Patriarch have later agreed so readily? One reason was that he knew that Li Jinlong from Li Dagui’s family was already disabled and couldn’t stir up any more trouble. Of course, the other reason was that he coveted the farmland of Li Dagui’s house, willing to ignore a few gossipy remarks behind his back for the sake of the land.

Old Granny Zhang could only think how unfortunate it was that just when a few mu of land had come up, someone else had already set their sights on it.

Her heart was filled with regret.

Then, she heard Wang Laozhu speaking slowly and deliberately, "My girl, the young man from the Song Family really did our Wang Family a big favor this time. Your mother and I have been thinking that we ought to prepare a generous gift to thank them. What we’ve discussed is to transfer those two mu of dry land from the Li Family to the Song Family at a bargain—"

Wang Yongzhu was taken aback upon hearing this. How generous? Two acres of dry farmland, even if it was sold cheap to Song Chongjin, would still be worth several taels of silver. Even if father was willing, would mother be?

She looked toward Old Granny Zhang.

Old Granny Zhang was visibly pained. Seeing her daughter look her way, she said irritably, "Do you think your father and I want to do this? Nowadays, even with silver, you can’t buy land, and even if it’s dry land, it’s difficult to acquire! But that Song Family Boy really helped us out this time, how can we not give something good in return? Besides, it’s all for you, our precious child! Even if the Song Family Boy has been kind to us, after all, there was once a marriage proposal between our families that was called off. If we don’t return this favor promptly, it will only become more troublesome to clarify later. You still have to get married in the future; you can’t get entangled with the Song Family! From now on, you should have nothing to do with that Song Family Boy—don’t even show your face or speak to him, do you hear me?"

Wang Yongzhu really wanted to say that her biggest mission still relied on him—avoiding him or not speaking to him, she probably couldn’t do it!

But she was afraid of upsetting Old Granny Zhang, and after all, there was no deadline for this romantic mission, so she decided to drag it out.

Therefore, with no guilt, she nodded obediently, "I’ll listen to mother!"

Only then did Old Granny Zhang feel a bit consoled for her loss.

On the other side, Wang Laozhu spoke up, "The Song Family lad didn’t want it!"

What? Both Wang Yongzhu and Old Granny Zhang doubted they had heard correctly.

"He didn’t take it! He said that even if he did, it would be too favorable for the Song Family, better not to take it at all!" Wang Laozhu repeated.

"He didn’t take it?" Old Granny Zhang jumped three feet high in shock!

"Keep your voice down, keep your voice down—" Wang Laozhu quickly grabbed Old Granny Zhang; with that shout, half the village might have heard.

Sure enough, Wang Yongping in the yard got up and asked, "Mother, what happened?"

"Nothing, nothing, your mother just pulled a muscle—" Wang Laozhu made up an excuse to fob him off.

Turning back, Old Granny Zhang sat on the kang (a traditional heated bed), huffing angrily, "I’ve always felt something off about that Song Family Boy. Tell me, could it be that he’s regretted it, realizing how good our Zhuzhu is, and wants to use this favor to force us into agreeing to their marriage proposal later? Otherwise, why would he not want the land if it’s available? Could he be a fool?"

Wang Yongzhu thought Old Granny Zhang really had a wild imagination; in later times, she would definitely be a good novelist.

Initially, Song Chongjin had said that he would rather die than marry Wang Yongzhu. It was a relief to call off the engagement and escape the cesspit. How masochistic would he have to be to want to jump back in? The world wasn’t just made of one girl!

Looking at Song Chongjin, he didn’t seem like someone whose brain had been jammed in a door.

"Mother, you’re overthinking it! Maybe it’s just as he said, owning the land would be too favorable for the Song Family people. With his mother there, what’s the difference between the land being his or the Song Family’s? If I were him, I wouldn’t want the land either. It’d be better to take some silver and stash it away for my own benefit!" Wang Yongzhu advised.

Her words reminded Wang Laozhu and Old Granny Zhang.

They exchanged glances, "Could it be that the Song Family Boy thinks the same, and is just too embarrassed to say it outright?"

Old Granny Zhang perked up, "Head of the household, why don’t we offer some silver and see how it goes?"

Wang Laozhu took a heavy drag on his cigarette, "You make it sound so easy. If we give too little, it’s inappropriate; and we can’t afford to give too much right now—"

This was indeed a problem. The little silver they had on hand was compensation from the Li Family, about twenty or so taels. Of that, five taels had gone to medicine, ten taels had been given to Wang Yongzhu, saved as her future dowry.

After doing the math, they were left with only five taels.

They needed to save for Wang Yongfu’s future medicine, and they needed some money at home in case anything happened. Indeed, that silver couldn’t be touched.