The Country Maiden: Fields and Leisure
Chapter 198 Academy

Chapter 198: Chapter 198 Academy

Song Chongjin took the rabbit and twisted off a leg to pass to Wang Yongzhu.

It had been a long time since Wang Yongzhu had tasted such pure meat. Staring at the golden brown and shiny rabbit leg with oil sizzling on top, and a layer of sauce applied by a great chef, the fragrance drilled straight into her nose.

Unable to resist the temptation, she took the rabbit leg and bit into it. Under the crispy outer skin, the juice from the tender meat burst out, filling her entire mouth.

It was so delicious it could bring tears to her eyes! Wang Yongzhu had never realized so clearly that she was a meat-eating animal. To have a bite of such pure meat was truly not easy.

Steward Lu was very good at reading people’s expressions, and seeing that Song Chongjin seemed to be hinting at parting, he tactfully smiled and walked away.

Wang Yongzhu felt like she had been shortened by eating Song Chongjin’s meat—no, the rabbit meat he had offered. Her mouth was short!

She only got two rabbit legs, front and back, and the rest was split in half between Song Chongjin and Wang Yongping. Seeing how naturally her Fourth Brother ate and how coolly he accepted it, she knew that rascal must have had his fair share of meals with Song Chongjin.

Well, a mouth fed by others is short, and a hand that takes is soft. After benefiting from Song Chongjin’s favor, she had to repay it somehow.

After gnawing the rabbit leg clean, Wang Yongzhu sidled up to Song Chongjin and whispered, "Aren’t you going to the county town to find someone? How about I ask Steward Lu to see if he can help you out?"

With nothing else to offer in return, Wang Yongzhu could only think of this, which might be what Song Chongjin needed the most.

Who would have expected Song Chongjin to shake his head and say, "No need," as he got up to wash his hands.

Wang Yongzhu, too, felt the greasiness on her hands unpleasant and followed behind, thinking Song Chongjin was being shy, "It’s nothing. They owe me favors anyway and are probably looking for a chance to repay them. Since we’ve agreed to stay at the Escort Agency, helping to find someone shouldn’t be an issue, right? It’s better than you groping blindly in the county town! Don’t be embarrassed! Just consider it as me repaying the rabbit meat and the massage favor from before."

Song Chongjin just scowled and ignored her.

Wang Yongzhu felt this man was simply insane with his hot-and-cold attitude, one moment good, the next bad! If he weren’t so handsome, with such a temperament, he’d be doomed to stay alone forever! Only a masochist would fancy someone like him.

The original owner of this body and those girls from the village, how could they have been so blind?

But Wang Yongzhu herself had no interest in warming up to someone cold. Seeing Song Chongjin ignore her, she simply washed her hands and left quickly, not wanting to linger around such an unpredictable person.

Wang Yongping could only think how his good brother had come back from washing his hands with such a dark face that it seemed water could drip from it. He wanted to ask, but Song Chongjin’s stern look instantly intimidated him.

Asking Wang Yongzhu, she was bewildered, "Why ask me? How should I know? Besides, isn’t his face always dark? I can’t tell it’s particularly black now, you must be overthinking!"

And with that, she brushed Wang Yongping off.

The rest of the journey went smoothly, and they finally arrived at Jing County before dark.

Thanks to Steward Lu’s instructions, Wang Yongzhu and the others received VIP treatment and were specially accommodated in a guesthouse at the Escort Agency.

Wang Yongzhu enjoyed her first bubble bath since crossing over, thoroughly cleaning herself and changing into her own clothes.

The dinner was lavish, with rice, fish, and meat.

Although it wasn’t particularly tasty, the portions were generous.

Everyone ate until their bellies were round.

After resting for the night, the next morning Steward Lu was to arrange for the shipping, and he didn’t forget them. Worried that Wang Yongzhu and the others wouldn’t know the way, he had Laoliu guide them.

Wang Yongzhu mentioned the name of Baiyun Academy, and Laoliu was stunned for a moment before immediately saying, "That place is a bit far; I’ll drive you there in a horse carriage."

As he spoke, he rushed out a black canopy horse carriage, loaded up the three of them, and set off slowly towards Baiyun Academy.

Baiyun Academy was located outside the city, to get there, one had to pass through the entire Jing County.

Sitting in the horse carriage and looking outside, Wang Yongping felt his eyes were not enough to take it all in.

Wang Yongzhu also glanced outside a few times, observing that this county city was indeed a hundred times more prosperous than the town.

It must be because of the students from different places coming here to study that the county city had gathered specialties from all over, and many merchants from other places had also followed the business opportunities and come here. From the inside of the carriage, one could hear accents from various places.

To Wang Yongzhu, who had once seen much of the world, these sights were not surprising; she was, however, astonished by the strong scholarly atmosphere of Jing County.

On the busiest and most bustling streets of Jing County, the most numerous stores turned out to be bookshops, where scholars in long robes often came and went. Even other shops seemed to carry a hint of scholarly fragrance.

Moreover, Wang Yongzhu noticed that the women of Jing County, perhaps influenced by this scholarly and bookish atmosphere, generally dressed in elegant and light-colored attire, with few seen in lavish or brightly colored outfits.

This prompted an idea in Wang Yongzhu’s mind; she developed a vague plan, which she would ponder in detail after she had taken care of the matter concerning Wang Yongan.

After passing through the county city and directly exiting the west city gate, the liveliness did not decrease; the roadside was also lined with houses, and the stream of pedestrians was endless.

Laoliu, seeing the puzzlement of the three passengers, began to explain with an air of showing off.

It turned out that this was a distinctive feature of Jing County. Because the academies were mostly set up here in the suburbs to the west, surrounding Changqing Academy at the center in a moon-encircling satellite formation.

Thus, this area had become a gathering place for students from various places seeking education, along with teachers’ families, and some businessmen who had spotted the opportunity to cater to the students’ needs.

However, out of respect for Changqing Academy, even though it was lively here, the area carried a hint of the scholars’ refined spirit.

Many outsiders said that the small business owners operating outside Changqing Academy had a bit more of a bookish air than businessmen in other places.

Wang Yongzhu smiled and dismissed it; wasn’t this the same principle as the school district housing in her past life, as well as the commercial circles that prospered because of the school district housing?

As for Wang Yongping, he was full of envy; looking outside, he saw that even the businessmen, all dressed in long robes and speaking softly and gently, had more style than the country scholars.

Baiyun Academy could barely be considered a mid-range academy in this area, with a location that was not bad, established on the side of a small hill.

Now it had a history of several decades. It was said that it was founded by a scholar who had been rejected by Changqing Academy but later succeeded in becoming a Scholar and retired to his hometown in his old age, still bearing a grudge against the earlier rejection. He simply established an academy on the mountain opposite Changqing Academy, specifically admitting those who were rejected by Changqing Academy or who couldn’t afford to study there.

Over the decades, some of the students who went out from Baiyun Academy had also become Scholars, Graduates, and even higher-degree Scholars.

Therefore, the reputation of this academy in Jing County was not bad either.

The horse carriage stopped in front of Baiyun Academy.

In front of Baiyun Academy was a stone archway, very imposing.

After entering the archway, one had to walk a little further to get to the main gate.

The main gate was painted vermilion and was tightly closed.

A small side door, used by the students on a daily basis, was next to it.