The Country Maiden: Fields and Leisure
Chapter 236 Opportunity

Chapter 236: Chapter 236 Opportunity

Jinhua now admired her aunt the most. Seeing that the matter troubled her aunt so much, she couldn’t help feeling itchy with curiosity. She wolfed down her meal in just a few bites, eager to follow along and see for herself.

But Old Granny Zhang fixed her with a look that stopped her in her tracks.

Old Granny Zhang leisurely ate her meal, "Your aunt is busy with serious matters. From now on, none of you are allowed to crowd around her! If I find out you’re hindering your aunt’s work, I’ll break your legs! Do you hear me?"

The children’s curiosity vanished into thin air.

"And what about all the work to be done at home? With the weather so hot, if you don’t hurry up and dry the meat, what will we do if it spoils? Our family can’t afford to waste anything right now. Everyone needs to tighten their belts! Finish your meal and get to work!" Old Granny Zhang was still skeptical about whether her daughter could successfully dye the cloth.

However, she also felt that her daughter had always been lucky. What if, by chance, she actually managed to produce something special?

Old Granny Zhang barely knew a few characters, but she was aware that such recipes were treasured secrets in any household.

If her daughter did manage to come up with a recipe, with so many kids around the house, always chatting away, what if someone accidentally let the recipe slip out?

As a result, she simply wouldn’t allow anyone in the family to watch. That way, if her daughter didn’t succeed, she wouldn’t lose face.

But if she did, whatever she created would belong to her daughter, and she wouldn’t let the rest of the family take advantage for free!

After Wang Yongzhu finished eating, she looked again at the piece of cloth. The color it had been dyed seemed somewhat different from what she had imagined.

After rinsing it with warm water and then cold, and allowing it to dry, the color faded a bit.

Wang Yongzhu wasn’t sure, but she was certain this wasn’t the madder red she had seen before.

"Xiao Tiantian, do you think this color is a success?"

"Host, the color is too light and the fastness is not high. After a few washes, it will fade! It’s not up to standard. However, the dye on this cloth is even. I suggest that the host tries soaking the fabric in a mordant before dyeing it!" Xiao Tiantian paused after reviewing and then tentatively suggested.

Wang Yongzhu didn’t dwell on it, since Xiao Tiantian had already made a suggestion. She would just follow this advice tomorrow.

First, she needed to buy lime, and she also had to see if alum was available.

With that thought, Wang Yongzhu decided to make a trip to town the next day.

Old Granny Zhang didn’t stop her and even packed two pounds of dried meat for her to thank Doctor Ma with.

The illness of the head of the family and the eldest brother was slowly improving, thanks in large part to Doctor Ma.

Wang Yongzhu asked if there was anything else the family needed, so she could buy it all in one go.

Wang Yongping thought for a moment and then said that the wolf skin they got last time needed saltpeter for the tanning process. The Wang Family didn’t hunt, so they didn’t have any, and it was Song Chongjin who provided it.

Hearing that more was needed, he suggested she bring some back with her this time.

As soon as Wang Yongzhu heard this, it reminded her of the matter she discussed with Song Chongjin last time; now seemed like a good opportunity.

"Why don’t you ask Brother Song where he bought it from, so I can go directly there tomorrow?" Wang Yongzhu suggested to Yongping, wary of Old Granny Zhang misunderstanding.

Wang Yongping promptly agreed, and he was off before he could be stopped.

Old Granny Zhang rolled her eyes watching him scamper away. What was the rush? Couldn’t he see that his sister still carried a torch for that Song Family youngster? Didn’t he realize he should defer and let his sister go instead?

After packing up everything at home, Wang Yongping returned, "I’ve asked the Song Brothers. He said he also happens to be going to town tomorrow. He mentioned he’ll go with you and show you where to buy it!"

Wang Yongzhu then had a hunch that Song Chongjin probably also wanted to get this matter resolved quickly.

Old Granny Zhang, standing nearby, listened and felt truly conflicted.

Unlike the naive Wang Yongping, she was too shrewd to believe it was just a simple message being relayed.

It was obvious that her daughter and the Song Family Boy were up to something, but she didn’t know when they had arranged it.

While she understood in her heart, she had to pretend to be confused. Old Granny Zhang felt a pang in her heart and clutched at her chest as she went to the kitchen to roast some meat.

She had to silently chant to herself, "My daughter likes him! My daughter likes him! My daughter likes him!" to suppress the sour feeling inside.

The next day, early in the morning, Old Granny Zhang prepared some white flour buns and minced meat sauce for her daughter, along with a bamboo tube of brown sugar water, steaming hot and wrapped in a clean cloth to be handed to Wang Yongzhu: "Take this to eat on the way, go early and come back early!"

Wang Yongzhu took the cloth-wrapped bundle without thinking too much, feeling it was a bit much, but assuming Old Granny Zhang might have included lunch as well, she hugged her mother with a cheery smile: "Mom, I’m off! I’ll bring something tasty back for you!"

"Off you go—do I still seem like a three-year-old to you!" Old Granny Zhang waved her hand and pretended to be reluctant as she pushed her daughter out of the door.

Sighing, she repeated to herself three more times: "I didn’t see it! I didn’t see it! I didn’t see it!" until she dispelled the bit of unrest in her heart.

At the entrance to the village, as expected, Song Chongjin was waiting under the big locust tree.

Only when he saw Wang Yongzhu’s figure did he heave an inaudible sigh of relief. Hearing Wang Yongping inquire about the saltpeter last night, his first thought was that Wang Yongzhu was sending a message asking for his help.

Without a second thought, and even before his brain could catch up, he blurted out that he was going to the market that day and they could go together.

After saying that, he shocked even himself, but fortunately, the person in front of him was Wang Yongping who couldn’t read facial expressions, and he simply went back happily.

Left alone, Song Chongjin started to feel a bit absent-minded, unsure what kind of favor Wang Yongzhu actually wanted from him.

Could it be that she would ask him to be their family’s live-in son-in-law?

The gossip he overheard in the kitchen that day revealed that the Wang Family intended to keep Wang Yongzhu at home to attract a live-in son-in-law.

And in their eyes, was he really the most suitable candidate?

Song Chongjin felt a bit irritated, somewhat melancholic, and also an indescribable sense of bewilderment.

He had to admit, everything that happened at the Wang’s that night shook him deeply.

Old Granny Zhang, who had always found him utterly displeasing, would complain with her words but then turn around and order pancakes to be made, worried that they might not have eaten enough.

Seeing his wounds and the unpleasant look on her face, she nonetheless instructed Wang Yongping to get him some fresh clothes and let him rest at the Wang’s.

Although her tone was harsh and her face was stern, it gave him a sense of stability and comfort that he couldn’t express.

He began to understand that this might be what it felt like to have a mother: harsh with words, but worried about you being hungry or cold.

This feeling was completely foreign and intriguing to him, as he had never experienced it from Mother Song.

Maybe, just maybe...

"Chongjin, is it someone from the Wang Family again?" Mother Song’s voice interrupted Song Chongjin’s train of thought.

He responded with a cold ’hmm’, which sufficed as an answer.

Upon hearing this, tears started streaming down Mother Song’s face: "Chongjin, what on earth are you thinking? Your great aunt and I had arranged a match with the Wang Family’s daughter for you, but you caused such a fuss and refused, offending your grandfather’s whole family, insisting on calling off the engagement!"