The Country Maiden: Fields and Leisure
Chapter 158 Initially

Chapter 158: Chapter 158 Initially

Jindou, being older, felt ashamed and somewhat fearful and reverent upon seeing Old Granny Zhang and Wang Yongzhu. He hesitated before stepping forward and informed them that Wang Laozhu and Wang Yongping had followed the Clan Leader away, instructing that everyone at home should go to bed early and not wait for them. They were told to sleep with the door bolted securely.

The Li Family Patriarch also assured that he would definitely send someone to watch over Li Dagui, Li Jinlong, and Wang Daxiu all night long, ensuring they had no chance to leave the house.

Old Granny Zhang nodded her head without any further comment, casting a disdainful glance toward the wing room of the third branch of the family.

Everyone was still shaken and no one had much to say. They quietly tidied up the courtyard before returning to their rooms to lie down.

Seeing that Wang Laozhu was not at home and uncertain of his return time, Old Granny Zhang decisively pulled Wang Yongzhu along, "I get goosebumps just thinking about what happened today. Zhuzhu, stay with me tonight and sleep together!"

Wang Yongzhu knew that the moment of truth, life or death, had arrived. Without any refusal, she nodded and agreed.

The two of them washed up briefly and climbed onto the kang.

In the unlit room, it was pitch-black, save for the torch in the courtyard that had not yet been extinguished, casting a red glow through the window.

Lying flat on the bed, Wang Yongzhu turned on her side, facing Old Granny Zhang. The faint light from the outside torch only provided a dim glow in the room, insufficient to clearly see Old Granny Zhang’s face.

She wanted to say something, opened her mouth, but then realized she had nothing to say.

Tentatively, she reached out her hand to touch Old Granny Zhang but hesitated mid-way, thinking of retracting it.

"Slap—" A hand landed on Wang Yongzhu’s shoulder, and Old Granny Zhang chided, "It’s late at night, why aren’t you sleeping? Stop fussing. Be careful, or you’ll wake up with red eyes tomorrow."

Wang Yongzhu, for some reason, felt her eyes well up with tears and she clung to Old Granny Zhang’s arm, softly calling out, "Mother—"

Old Granny Zhang’s face, hidden in the darkness, once again showed a trace of resentment. She sighed, attempting to embrace Wang Yongzhu, but realizing it was a tall order, she settled for a lesser gesture by stroking her daughter’s head to comfort her, "Mother knows you were scared today, weren’t you? Don’t be afraid! With me here, who dares to gossip? Rest assured, today you saved the lives of Laosan’s House and Jinshao. She’s too timid to talk, and as for the other brats, I’ll warn them first thing tomorrow. If they dare to spread rumors, watch me break their legs—"

What?

Does this mean Old Granny Zhang knows about her great strength, doesn’t suspect her, and even wants to help keep it a secret?

Wang Yongzhu felt an unexpected rush of happiness, so much so that she began to doubt her own life.

She tentatively probed, "Mother, you’re not afraid of me—"

"What nonsense! You are my own flesh and blood, what is there for me to fear? In fact, it’s me who has wronged you!" Old Granny Zhang’s tone turned melancholic.

"Mother?" Wang Yongzhu looked up trying to see Old Granny Zhang’s face, but she was held tightly, restricting any movement.

It felt like a long time before Wang Yongzhu sensed a hint of dampness seeping into her hair. She didn’t dare to move, lying obediently close to Old Granny Zhang, not daring to speak for a long time.

After a while, Old Granny Zhang got her emotions under control and finally spoke up.

Originally, when Old Granny Zhang was pregnant with Wang Yongzhu, she was a bit older, and having already birthed four sons, her body was somewhat weakened. Although the pregnancy was going well—she could eat and drink without vomiting or feeling restless—

she would get hungry easily; it was as if there was a claw inside her belly, causing her heart-wrenching discomfort if she didn’t eat regularly.

At that time, with many children at home, Eldest Brother and Second Brother were both in their hungry teenage years, the former on the cusp of marriage and the latter needing to study. To save money for them, life was lived on a tight budget.

Just having enough coarse grains and pickles to fill their stomachs was considered good enough, and with so many children, she did not receive the special treatment she had during her first pregnancy—no privileges at all.

Old Granny Zhang, feeling hungry, had mentioned to Wang Laozhu a couple of times that she wanted to add something like sweet potatoes or potatoes to her three daily meals.

But she was chastised by her mother-in-law, who accused her of being shameless. "With children so grown and having given birth before, how can you still be so delicate? You should be grateful for the meals you get. Yearning for more food means you’re just gluttonous and greedy. Aren’t you embarrassed? At your age, with a son about to arrange a marriage, and yet you’re still competing with the children for food," her mother-in-law scolded, suggesting people would laugh at her if they knew.

At that time, Wang Laozhu, with many sons, no longer prioritized the unborn child as he used to and, given the financial stringency of those years, he told her to endure it, reasoning that going without wouldn’t kill her. "Why are you suddenly acting so finicky now you’re older?" he’d ask.

Old Granny Zhang cared about her dignity, so after toiling in the fields each day, she would go up into the mountains to forage, seeking wild fruits to relieve her hunger.

Sometimes when she found something edible, she’d nibble to fend off her cravings, yet she always brought some back to let the children taste something fresh.

On one such foray into the mountains, after searching in vain for wild fruits, she rested under a tree. As luck would have it, a bird’s nest was dislodged by the wind and fell into the brush below.

She discovered an egg in the nest the size of a fist.

Overwhelmed by hunger, she couldn’t resist cracking the egg and gulping it down raw.

Strangely enough, after eating that egg, she never felt that heart-wrenching hunger again.

Initially afraid, she grew calm after several days passed with no ill effects and then placed the incident out of her mind, that is, until Wang Yongzhu was born. At first, she didn’t notice anything amiss, but after Wang Yongzhu’s hundredth day when she was caring for her daily, she realized that her daughter seemed different from other children, possessing extraordinary strength.

Later, when her daughter was over a year old, Old Granny Zhang became certain that her daughter indeed had an uncanny amount of strength, and the damage she could do was alarming; household items began to break much more frequently.

Grandma Lin suspected something for a long time, mistakenly thinking her grandsons were responsible, and gave Old Granny Zhang a severe scolding for not watching the children properly.

Old Granny Zhang had no choice but to keep her daughter close at all times to avoid raising her mother-in-law’s suspicions.

Old Granny Zhang couldn’t understand why out of her five children, it was her daughter who was this way. She didn’t dare tell anyone, not even her husband.

At that time, Eldest Brother was insistent on marrying Lady Lin. She had to ensure her eldest daughter wasn’t found to be unusual; she knew her mother-in-law well enough to fear that, in order to spite her, her mother-in-law might claim the child was a demonic reincarnation, which could be a death sentence for her daughter.

On the one hand, she needed to worry about her daughter; on the other hand, she had to deal with Eldest Brother’s marriage affairs—it truly wore her out.

Later, she grew indifferent towards her sons, focusing all her attention on her eldest daughter. She feared others would discover the secret, so she fed her daughter the best food possible and kept her from doing much work, thinking that as long as she was well-fed and chubby, if anyone did notice her strength, it could be passed off as the result of her robust build.