The Country Maiden: Fields and Leisure
Chapter 243 Grinding Away

Chapter 243: Chapter 243 Grinding Away

When Song Chongjin arrived home, it had just gotten dark.

The yard gate was open; as he walked in, he saw Mother Song sitting inside the house with furrowed brows, lost in thought.

Hearing the noise, she looked up to see her son had returned and quickly stood up. She carefully examined Song Chongjin’s expression before asking, "Have you eaten dinner yet?"

"No, I haven’t!" Song Chongjin went to pour himself some tea, only to find the teapot completely empty, not a drop of water could be poured out.

In the countryside, tea is not a sophisticated affair; it is merely local leaves that can brew a large pot of crimson tea with just two or three leaves.

Drinking it in summer is particularly refreshing and thirst-quenching; it is a staple tea in peasant households.

Especially in summer, every family would boil a large pot of water in the morning, brew a large jar, and that would be enough for the whole day.

Although Mother Song couldn’t do much else, she always made sure the tea was plentiful every day.

Song Chongjin glanced at the teapot, then at the several uncollected terracotta bowls on the table. Without a word, he slammed the teapot on the table and turned to the kitchen.

Inside the kitchen, the pot had not been washed, and several bowls and chopsticks were scattered haphazardly, in complete disarray.

Following behind, Mother Song appeared somewhat embarrassed, "I’ve just finished eating and was thinking of resting a bit before cleaning up. I’ll wash them right away."

As she spoke she went to scoop water from the water tank, only to find that it had long since dried up.

Song Chongjin didn’t say anything; he grabbed a carrying pole and buckets and went to the river to fetch water.

By the time he had carried the water back home, Mother Song hurriedly washed the pots and bowls, ready to start cooking.

Song Chongjin stopped her, "There’s no need, Mother. You go rest in the room. I can just whip something up for myself."

Mother Song, preoccupied with her thoughts, refused to return to her room. She insisted on adding firewood for Song Chongjin and stubbornly stayed in the kitchen.

Song Chongjin said no more, returned to his own room, scooped out a ladle of flour, and recalled the white bread and fragrant meat sauce he had eaten that morning. He hesitated for a moment, then fished out a palm-sized piece of meat.

In the kitchen, he first kneaded the dough and set it aside, then quickly cleaned and sliced the meat, and stepped out into the yard to pick a few scallions and some green vegetables.

These he had managed to plant in the yard when he had some spare time, and now they were ready to be eaten.

He stir-fried the meat until fragrant, then added water to boil, rolled out the kneaded dough, cut it into noodles with a knife, and dropped them into the pot. Once the noodles were cooked, he added the green vegetables and scallion leaves.

Lifted out, the aroma was overwhelming.

Mother Song swallowed saliva. She had made pot-roasted rice that evening and, because guests from her own family had come, she had specially added a few slices of meat to stew together. The rice wasn’t even served on the table before it was almost completely snatched up.

In the end, she only managed to eat a little bit of the crispy rice that was left behind in the pot.

At that moment, smelling the meat, he felt a touch of hunger.

Yet, as he looked at Song Chongjin who had prepared a portion only for himself, she was tempted to speak up and suggest that her son share some with her. However, remembering the instructions from her parental home, she held back.

After pondering for a while, she finally spoke hesitantly, "Son, you... today... went... to the Wang Family—" Though she didn’t finish her sentence, the implication was clear.

Song Chongjin, his head buried in eating noodles, took a while before he responded, "I went to the Wang Family, so what?"

Mother Song bit her lip and asked, "When you went to the Wang Family, how did the talks go? Did they agree?"

Before Song Chongjin could answer, as if explaining to him yet seemingly convincing herself, said, "I didn’t sleep at all last night, thinking it over carefully. The idea you mentioned about becoming the Wang Family’s live-in son-in-law, at first, it made me angry, but thinking it over again today, I realized we had no choice."

"I’m of no use, and our family is indeed not living well. It’s all because I’ve failed, unable to provide money for you to get a wife! But no matter what, you’re getting older, and it’s time to find a woman who can share the warmth and cold. I also know that, around here, the families with daughters, given our situation, wouldn’t want to connect with our family."

"After thinking it over, there’s only the Wang Family left. Although the Wang girl is not so good-looking and not worthy of you, they’ve also fallen on hard times recently. Everything is gone, except for the old house they live in. Even though they now say they want to start a business, business isn’t so easy to handle, is it? Now, it seems like a match with our family’s status!"

"Their daughter probably can’t get married off, and with the old and the sick in their household, it seems they lack someone to take charge. If you become a live-in son-in-law, there is a benefit. Once you are in the Wang Household, if you sweet-talk the Wang girl and work hard, lowering yourself and being more proactive..."

"Given the Wang Family’s current situation, once you marry into their family, even as a live-in son-in-law, as long as you keep their family happy, by the time you and the Wang girl have a child, you will naturally become one of their family. Then, when the girl is pregnant and needs to take care of herself, you can help get the business going. As long as you manage it well, the Wang Family will depend on you. Once the child is born, you’ll have the leverage to suggest having the child take your surname, right? Just ignore the criticisms for the first couple of years. Once you make money and the child takes your surname, who will still call you a live-in son-in-law? Moreover, when you run a business, you can’t just rely on the Wang Family people..."

"Bang—" Song Chongjin finished slurping his noodles and slammed his basin onto the stove with a thud, startling Mother Song into silence.

Looking at Song Chongjin, she asked, "Chongjin, what’s wrong?"

The fury in Song Chongjin’s chest was about to burst!

How splendid! Mother Song’s words weren’t finished, but he had already guessed what came next.

It was nothing but the shallow-minded advice of those in the Song Family, greedy bloodsuckers, that Mother Song had put forth.

They figured they could use his becoming the Wang Family’s live-in son-in-law as an opportunity to take over the Wang Family’s mountain goods business and then support the Song Family.

Such shamelessness, taking his sacrifice for granted. As his mother, why couldn’t she defend him even once?

Taking a deep breath, Song Chongjin looked at Mother Song coldly. The last vestiges of warmth had been ground away by her countless acts of abandonment.

"I went to the Wang Family today and had a talk with them! But the Wang Family said they don’t care for a son-in-law like me! They’re about to do business and expect good days ahead. Once they have money, how many better sons-in-law can’t they find? Why should they settle for me, especially when I’m asking for seven or eight wolf pelts, dozens of pounds of wolf meat? Do you really think they are fools, to be such big-headed fools? It’s the Wang Family that looks down on me! So you can just forget about those dreams of getting rich!"

Mother Song was stunned. Her mouth hung open for ages before she managed to say, "How can the Wang Family be like this? Didn’t their daughter want to marry me desperately before? How could it change so suddenly? What if you go and negotiate with the Wang Family again tomorrow, asking for less?"

Song Chongjin scoffed, "Mother, are you so eager to sell your son off?"

Mother Song looked down, her eyes flustered, "Nonsense! Am I not just worried about your lifelong matter? With such good conditions at the Wang Family, it wouldn’t be a loss for you to be their son-in-law! I’m doing all this for your good—"