The Country Maiden: Fields and Leisure
Chapter 205: Thank You Gift

Chapter 205: Chapter 205: Thank You Gift

Song Chongjin glanced around the room and saw that he hadn’t disturbed Wang Yongzhu. Then, without leaving any trace, he surveyed Wang Yongzhu’s entire body. Indeed, he remembered the corpulent figure of Wang Yongzhu from two months ago.

Now, Wang Yongzhu had slimmed down by almost half, her whole figure curving gracefully. Her face, which had been round, now clearly revealed the contours of her facial features, with distinct eyebrows and eyes.

At that moment, Wang Yongzhu was sitting at the table, resting her chin in one hand, lost in thought.

Looking at those plump fingers, Song Chongjin felt a faint warmth in his fingertips; the dazzling white of yesterday, warm, soft, and doughy to the touch, forming a little dimple at each press, was irresistibly on his mind.

It was only after Wang Yongping nudged him that he snapped back to reality, "Brother Song, what do you think of what I just said?"

Song Chongjin hadn’t listened to a word that Wang Yongping said and was thoroughly confused at the moment.

But luckily, he had a stern poker face that was intimidating enough to say with composure, "I think it might still not be enough. Say it again, and I’ll listen—"

Without any suspicion, Wang Yongping immediately reiterated his resolve.

Song Chongjin’s narrow eyes glanced at Wang Yongping, and he really wanted to tell him, brother, you’re overthinking it. With your sister being this fierce now, you have no choice but to listen to her, right?

Just in the past couple of days he had observed, Wang Yongzhu’s aura was nearly 2.8 meters wide, utterly overshadowing Wang Yongping.

Wang Yongping had no chance to object, okay?

And what was most important was that even if Wang Yongping had objections, Wang Yongzhu simply didn’t listen!

Thus, making a statement or not was pretty much irrelevant to Wang Yongzhu!

However, upon reflection, Song Chongjin decided not to say it and kept it to himself.

He patted Wang Yongping on the shoulder, "As long as you think it’s good, that’s what matters!" What matters is that you are happy!

Before it got dark, Steward Lu came to pick them up.

The best restaurant in Jing County was called Jing County Restaurant.

It was two stories high, with private rooms upstairs.

When night fell, lanterns were hung under the eaves of both floors, illuminating the place almost as if it were daylight.

As the carriage arrived at the entrance of the restaurant, a shop assistant came to greet them, and someone naturally led the carriage to a designated spot, while Old Liu, the driver, was taken to a place specially arranged for attendants.

Inside the restaurant, it was brightly lit; at this dinner hour, the main hall was about half full. The aroma of food and the shouts of the assistants hit them all at once as they entered.

Steward Lu walked in the middle, observing discreetly.

Wang Yongzhu, in her past life, had seen far grander scenes than this and regarded it as nothing special, only giving the lantern hanging in the middle of the main hall a second glance before immediately moving on.

As for Song Chongjin, not the slightest hint of impression could be discerned from his face.

Out of the trio, it was only Wang Yongping who was trying hard to act natural, not to look around nervously, almost tying himself up in knots.

Upon climbing the stairs, Zhang Yinbao was already at the door of the private room to receive them.

After some pleasantries were exchanged, they took their seats as host and guests.

Zhang Yinbao began by expressing his utmost gratitude and then offered a toast to the three of them.

Wang Yongzhu naturally wouldn’t drink, and Wang Yongping still sat there dazed, so Song Chongjin took the wine cup in front of Wang Yongzhu and downed it in one gulp, "Boss Zhang is too polite. Miss Wang from the Wang family does not drink much, so I’ll drink this cup for her!"

Having said that, he then lifted his own cup to signal Boss Zhang and emptied it with the same clean efficiency.

Wang Yongping finally came to his senses, managing to squeeze out a strained smile. Without saying a word, he simply drained his cup of liquor.

Although Zhang Yinbao was a businessman, he appreciated straightforward people. Seeing how heartily Song Chongjin and Wang Yongping drank, he also grew interested.

He clapped his hands to have the shop assistant bring over another jar of wine, pulled Steward Lu into the mix, and the four of them started a drinking contest.

Wang Yongzhu sat to the side. With Song Chongjin’s interference, naturally, no one urged her to drink, and Zhang Yinbao, knowing how to please people, had the shop assistant bring Wang Yongzhu a pot of fruit wine, usually drunk by children and women.

Wang Yongzhu took a sip. It was mild with a little hint of alcohol and sweet without being intoxicating.

At the banquet, Zhang Yinbao was adept at handling the occasion, not neglecting anyone, and even Wang Yongping was made to relax considerably after just two or three sentences.

Wang Yongzhu couldn’t help but regard Zhang Yinbao more highly because of this.

As Wang Yongzhu was there, and considering they had to travel overnight, everyone only drank a few cups and then stopped.

After the meal, the shop assistants cleaned up the table and served tea to sober them up.

The group sat around the table, sipping the clear tea and chatting idly.

Wang Yongping took a taste and found it too bitter, so he pushed it aside and didn’t touch it again.

Once they finished their tea, Zhang Yinbao stood up and clapped his hands. A shop assistant pushed the door open and entered, carrying a tray covered with a red cloth.

Wang Yongzhu knew the highlight of the day had arrived.

Indeed, under the cloth were Zhang Yinbao’s gifts of gratitude: ten adorable, round, five-tael silver ingots lying on the tray, dazzling under the light.

Zhang Yinbao placed the tray on the table and slid it in front of Wang Yongzhu, "This is a small token of my goodwill; it’s quite insignificant. I hope you won’t disdain it, Miss Wang!"

Wang Yongping’s mouth fell open, fifty taels!

He had never seen so much silver in his life; he almost felt suffocated!

If he hadn’t retained his reason, he would have urged Wang Yongzhu to accept it right away.

With this silver in hand, the cost of his father and elder brother’s medicine would be covered, and they might even recover some of the family fields. At least, the family wouldn’t starve!

Wang Yongzhu smiled, glanced at the tray, and pushed it back toward Zhang Yinbao.

Zhang Yinbao’s gaze flickered for a moment, then he said, "Is my sincerity insufficient? Someone—"

This was an indication that he was upping the ante!

Wang Yongzhu waved her hand, "Boss Zhang has misunderstood. Please set this gift aside for now. I would like to discuss a business proposal with you, Boss Zhang. If you’re interested after I’ve finished, I cannot accept this gift. If you’re not interested, there’ll be no harm in accepting the silver afterward!"

Upon hearing this, Zhang Yinbao’s shrewd eyes flashed and he sat back down, "Please speak!"

Wang Yongzhu slowly laid out the well-rehearsed business proposal, all the while subtly observing Zhang Yinbao’s expression.

Zhang Yinbao, who had been all smiles till then, still smiled, but his face now wore the shrewdness of a businessman.

After hearing Wang Yongzhu’s words, Zhang Yinbao was silent for a moment before he spoke, "Miss Wang, I understand the business proposal, but in terms of business, what’s in it for me?"

Wang Yongzhu was not annoyed. If Zhang Yinbao had outright rejected her after listening, it would have been hopeless. But since he had asked, it meant he was intrigued.

She then elaborated on the benefits in greater detail, such as assuring the highest quality of mountain goods for Zhang Yinbao, and since there would be no middlemen, the prices would also be lower.

More importantly, she threw in an almost irresistible offer: she could provide Zhang Yinbao with at least three jin of Yellow Pine Mushrooms each year.