The Country Maiden: Fields and Leisure
Chapter 180 Mockery

Chapter 180: Chapter 180 Mockery

Wang Yongping could only retract his leg dejectedly, "Mom, second brother—"

"I never gave birth to this son, you don’t have a second brother either!" Old Granny Zhang snapped fiercely.

Wang Yongzhu steadied Old Granny Zhang with one hand and then gestured towards the door, signaling Wang Yongping to chase after him.

Old Granny Zhang had no way to discipline her old maid of a daughter, so she pretended not to see it. Once Wang Yongping had left, she complained, "Good riddance, why chase after him? If he looks down on the Wang Family, looks down on this home, then don’t come back!"

The ruckus woke Wang Laozhu up.

Wang Laozhu had been happy yesterday, drank a bit too much, and was woken up by the noise. He sat up from his bed and heard the commotion outside.

His head was buzzing with pain, and he got down from the bed, grabbed a bowl of herbal tea from the table, and poured it into his stomach before he started to sober up.

It took some effort to hear clearly that it was his wife and his second son arguing. The second son was leaving?

Wang Laozhu hurriedly rushed out, but who would have expected, with a dizzy head from his drunkenness and weak legs, that by the time he managed to chase after him, the second son had already dropped a harsh line and left.

Wang Laozhu felt a wave of darkness before his eyes, furious with his wife!

But fortunately, he saw his old maid of a daughter had sent Wang Yongping out after the second son, and that’s when he steadied himself against the doorframe and coughed.

Everyone turned their heads and saw Wang Laozhu’s face, which had turned green.

Old Granny Zhang, seeing Wang Laozhu’s complexion, couldn’t help but feel a pang of uneasiness, but she immediately puffed herself up with righteous indignation, "What’s wrong? Can’t I even scold my own son that I gave birth to?"

Wang Laozhu stomped his feet in frustration and didn’t bother dealing with Old Granny Zhang, only staring anxiously at the doorway, waiting.

After a long time, he saw Wang Yongping return alone with a sunken demeanor, where it became obvious that the second son really left, apparently quite angered.

"Where is your second brother? Is he really angry?" Wang Laozhu held on to a sliver of hope.

Wang Yongping was not one to mince words, and said directly, "Second brother said that since the family despises him, he won’t come back to be a bother! He told dad and mom to pretend they never had a son like him, just not to regret it later! When he makes it big, don’t even think about cozying up to him. He will consider his ties to our family severed!"

Wang Yongzhu almost laughed in anger, having seen twisting of truth and falsehood before but never like Wang Yongan’s outright defiance.

Seeing Wang Laozhu about to pass out in anger, Wang Yongzhu gestured to Wang Yongping to help Wang Laozhu into the house.

She then spoke, "What’s there for dad to be angry about? Listening to second brother’s words, who knows how long he’s harbored resentment towards our family. Thank goodness mom stopped you yesterday from agreeing to compile one hundred taels of silver for second brother. Dad, you should drink less from now on. If you drink too much again next time, it won’t just be about shouting to sell the house and land, it could be about selling us brothers and sisters off!"

Wang Laozhu’s face flushed with embarrassment, and he slapped the table, "What nonsense are you talking about? Who am I doing this for? Isn’t it for the Wang family, for you all? Do you know, if the second brother becomes an official, our family’s good days would be here? From then on in Qilidun, who would dare speak ill of the Wang family? Look, Laosi could get a good wife, and you could marry into a good family, right?"

"Didn’t dad want me to find a suitor to marry into our family just a while ago? How come you are talking about me getting married off now? I know what you mean. Is it not because, a few days ago, you couldn’t count on second brother, so you wanted to keep me at home to attract a suitor and thus keep an eye on Jindou and the others as they start their own families? How come, as soon as second brother returns and says a few nice things, you immediately change your tune and want to sell off all our family land to support second brother? Dad, acting like this, what do you expect us, your children, to think?" Wang Yongzhu had an indescribable smile on her face as she looked at Wang Laozhu.

"That’s the thing, you’re just a girl," what do you know? "Just like your mother—long hair but short on sense!" Not to mention other things, just look at Eldest Brother. You see, after Laosi passed the examination and became a Scholar, he got in touch with the County Officials Master’s Master, and thus could meet a Divine Doctor. If it were us, where could we find such a Divine Doctor? And when Laosi himself becomes a close Master to a high official, the real benefits are still to come, aren’t they? This is our Wang Family ancestors blessing us. It’s such a joyous occasion that even if we have to break the pot and sell iron, we must support it! Our future descendants will all reap the benefits, and you all are ruining it," Wang Laozhu said, smacking the table hard at the end.

"Since Dad is so keen on selling land to support Second Brother, why don’t you chase after him? Given Second Brother’s pace, he can’t have gone far! Dad, if you hurry you can still catch up. Go and tell Second Brother that we’re willing to sell lands and houses to buy him an official position. If selling land isn’t enough, we can even sell our brothers and sisters, nieces and nephews in a bundle! We’re sure to raise the needed sum! Beg him to come back. After all, our Wang Family has produced a Scholar Master once in eight hundred years; we must buy him an official title, even if it means selling sons, daughters, and grandchildren! Such a glorious and ancestral-honoring matter! In the future, when you meet our ancestors in the afterlife you can praise yourself to them! You really are breaking your heart for the Wang Family!" Wang Yongzhu said as she leaned casually against the door frame, very, very obviously pinching her fingers and then moving her feet.

Wang Laozhu did want to chase after him, but with his disobedient daughter blocking the door, her hands, her feet, the threat was so apparent, did he dare?

"You—you unfilial daughter—" Wang Laozhu, taunted by his daughter’s tone, was hopping mad.

Little Bean and Jinshao, overhearing the talk of being sold, rushed over in a panic and clung to Wang Yongzhu’s legs, crying, "Don’t—don’t sell Jinshao—"

Jinpan and Jinhua also looked at Wang Laozhu in horror.

Even Jindou and Jinhoo grew unsettled.

Wang Laozhu was so angry he could only huff and puff, slamming down onto a chair, staring at his disobedient daughter.

How come he’d never noticed before, how sharp this disobedient daughter’s tongue was?

And wasn’t there a warning sign that time with Li Jinlong?

Wang Laozhu did think about asserting his authority as a father, but as soon as he opened his mouth to speak, he was choked into speechlessness by his daughter’s retorts.

Considering using force, but then thinking about his daughter’s martial abilities, he chose not to hand over his head on a platter.

Behind the girl, Old Granny Zhang was almost moved to tears.

She had been preparing to defend herself to the head of the household, but her girl pulled her behind and spoke up for her.

With just a few words, she had frustrated the head of the household massively.

This maid! She had not doted on her in vain!

Ever since last night, Old Granny Zhang felt as though the suffocating distress in her chest had dissipated with a whoosh.

The other members of the Wang Family were too afraid to even breathe loudly, clinging to the walls, fearing they might be dragged out by Wang Laozhu and Wang Yongzhu to serve as cannon fodder.

It took Wang Laozhu some time to catch his breath and calm down. Seeing his unfilial daughter still standing there, unafraid, not offering an apology or giving him a way out, he felt enraged all over again. It was a while before he managed to say, "You don’t approve?"

"Dad saying that is really laughable! Do you really not know what kind of person Second Brother is? You were just momentarily blinded by the sweet talk he gave yesterday! I’m afraid his return this time and offering to introduce Eldest Brother to a Divine Doctor is just a pretext. It’s likely he’s running short on silver, or perhaps someone whispered in his ear, thinking the Li Family should compensate us since he put in the effort, wanting a share of the pie, using this an excuse!" Wang Yongzhu scoffed coldly, her laughter making Wang Laozhu’s face turn red.