The Country Maiden: Fields and Leisure
Chapter 189: Disappeared

Chapter 189: Chapter 189: Disappeared

"Shut up! Cry out one more time and see what happens!" Jindou said with a cold face.

Jinguan was frightened, swallowing his sobs back into his stomach, daring only to whimper softly.

"Such a serious matter has happened at home, and you were still able to sleep until noon? Jinguan, do you even have a conscience? Mom always said you were young and spoiled you. We, as your brothers, indulged you, and now have we just raised you to be so heartless? Don’t you know the situation at home now? Mom doesn’t want us anymore! Whether Dad lives or dies is still up to fate! Don’t you care at all? Have you ever thought about it, if something happens to Dad, we three brothers will be left without parents! Huh? Have a little heart!"

After beating Jinguan and dropping these words, Jindou wiped away his tears, left the room, and tried to act as if nothing had happened, carrying an ax to chop firewood.

He channeled all the helplessness, fear, and rage into splitting the firewood.

Lady Jiang heard the brothers’ conversation from the courtyard with a heavy heart, realizing that among the siblings in the main Wang Family house, these three brothers, excluding their younger sister, were the most outstanding.

With Lady Lin and Wang Yongfu supporting them, the three brothers, despite being older, really didn’t know how to read others’ expressions, and sometimes they spoke and acted without considering others.

But now that Lady Lin was considering remarriage and with the Eldest Brother being injured, it was as if Jindou and Jinhu had grown up overnight, realizing that life is not easy.

In the courtyard, Lady Lin was reflecting, but inside the house, Old Granny Zhang had no mind to care about these things.

Seeing her daughter come back safe and sound, and in good spirits, she was extremely distressed and urged her daughter to rest on the kang bed: "Go rest, you didn’t sleep all night yesterday, right? Get some sleep first, and Mom will make you something delicious to eat!"

Wang Yongzhu, at this moment, was not in the mood to sleep at all and held onto Old Granny Zhang: "Mom, I’m not sleeping! I have something to discuss with you."

Old Granny Zhang, noticing the serious expression on Wang Yongzhu’s face, was stunned for a moment and sat at the edge of the kang: "What happened? Is your Eldest Brother not doing well?"

Wang Yongzhu was at a loss for words. Oh, Mother, couldn’t you hope for something good for your eldest son?

She told Old Granny Zhang everything that had happened after visiting the Doctor in town.

Old Granny Zhang leaped up before even hearing the whole story: "Heartless, inhuman beasts! How could I have borne such a dog, worse than a brutal animal! This damned brute, why hasn’t heaven struck him dead with a thunderbolt! What is he trying to do? The Eldest Brother never wronged him, why would he harm the Eldest Brother?"

How would Wang Yongzhu know? Who could understand what was going through Wang Yongan’s mind?

And hearing that Wang Laozhu had been rendered unconscious from anger, and had symptoms of a mild stroke, felt as if the sky had fallen.

"What did you say? Your dad was also rendered unconscious from anger? What should we do? Is it serious?" Old Granny Zhang could no longer care about cursing.

For Old Granny Zhang, although she had had some conflicts and fights with the head of the family, and she had even been beaten in her youth, which couple never fights or argues?

They’ve had their share of stumbling through the years, and suddenly hearing that he wasn’t well definitely weighed on her heart.

Especially since Old Granny Zhang knew that her authority in the Wang Family was because of the head of the family.

In their younger years, the couple had fought physically, but in their later years, the head of the family rarely even raised his voice against her.

Occasionally, he would tell her not to be too biased, but she never really took it seriously.

If it weren’t for the head of the family’s indulgence, she wouldn’t have been able to have the whole family under her thumb.

If anything were to happen to the head of the household, wouldn’t the Wang Family fall apart?

Old Granny Zhang’s heart lurched in panic. "What did the doctor say?"

"The doctor said to take good care, not to get agitated anymore, to rest and recuperate for some days, and gradually, he will recover! Just be careful not to get angry or lose temper in the future!" Wang Yongzhu had also inquired, and Wang Laozhu’s condition, though critical, was still mild, as long as he recuperated properly, it shouldn’t be a big problem. However, if he were to lose his temper again and have another stroke, that would be troublesome.

Old Granny Zhang’s anxiousness eased for the moment. She walked around the room twice and decisively said, "I’m not reassured, I need to go to the town to watch over your father!"

"That’s what I’m thinking too, I’m back to take you, Mom, to care for Dad! Then, I’ll go with Fourth Brother to the county city to find Eldest Brother and get to the bottom of this!" Wang Yongzhu finally revealed her plan.

Old Granny Zhang initially didn’t want to agree. The county city was so far away, and the young lady and Laosi had never traveled so far before. It’s not like going to the town; should anything go wrong, it would be as if screaming to the heavens in vain and begging the earth for help that won’t come.

But she knew all too well that under the current circumstances at home, there really was no one else.

She needed to care for the head of the household, while Lady Jiang had to stay home to look after the children.

Jindou and Jinhoo, the two brothers, were still young. Sending Laosi out alone with his simplemindedness would likely result in him being sold by someone.

Old Granny Zhang was conflicted. Although the head of the household’s health was important, it wasn’t necessary for her to be the one attending to him, but she could only feel at ease if she watched over her daughter on a long journey out of town: "How about this, I’ll accompany you! No matter what, I am his mother. For the sake of that Scholar Master’s face alone, he wouldn’t dare treat me, his mother, with disrespect. You’re his siblings; you can’t control him!" The more she spoke, the more she felt she should go herself.

Wang Yongzhu couldn’t possibly let Old Granny Zhang undertake such a long journey.

The county city was over a hundred miles away from Shiqiao Town, and with Old Granny Zhang’s advanced age, despite her apparent vitality when scolding people, how could she endure such a long journey?

Moreover, she had noticed that Wang Yongan seemed to deeply resent Old Granny Zhang. If she went, she would surely start berating, provoking Wang Yongan’s violent nature. What if something irreparable happened?

In his eyes, she was always the silly little sister, and Fourth Brother was the one who lacked common sense. The two of them going to Wang Yongan would not make him feel nearly as defensive.

After much persuasion, Wang Yongzhu finally managed to dissuade Old Granny Zhang from the idea.

It was only then that the conversation turned to the matter of the money needed for medical treatment. With these two falling ill and both needing care, it would probably cost quite a sum.

Old Granny Zhang, although reluctant, would have just let it be if it were only Eldest Brother. But there was also the head of the household’s health to consider. She wasn’t someone who couldn’t prioritize; unhappy as she was, she still went to unlock the chest to get the silver.

Upon unlocking the chest, Old Granny Zhang felt around the bottom for a while, and her face suddenly turned pale as she stood there, stunned.

Seeing Old Granny Zhang’s expression change, Wang Yongzhu hurriedly asked, "Mom, what’s wrong?"

Without answering, Old Granny Zhang tried to upset the chest onto the kang bed, struggling with its weight. Wang Yongzhu quickly stepped forward to take the chest from her, emptying the contents onto the kang in one fell swoop.

Clothes, fabrics, and an array of needles and threads tumbled out, covering the kang.

Old Granny Zhang’s face turned ghostly pale as she tossed and shook the clothes and fabrics onto the floor without a care.

"Mom, what are you looking for? Is something missing?" The sight of Old Granny Zhang’s actions gave Wang Yongzhu a foreboding feeling.

After searching through everything on the kang, Old Granny Zhang collapsed onto the floor, large beads of cold sweat rolling down her forehead, "My daughter! Our house has been burglarized! Our land deeds and all the silver are gone!"