The Country Maiden: Fields and Leisure
Chapter 245: Died Outside

Chapter 245: Chapter 245: Died Outside

Early in the morning, the two siblings hurried to the town.

By the time they reached the tavern in town, Shopkeeper Wu was already eagerly waiting.

Upon seeing Wang Yongzhu, he immediately smiled and came forward to greet her, "I’ve been longing for your arrival! Just last night, I introduced the dried meat you brought to some of our regular customers, and they absolutely loved it! It was all gone by the end of the night! If you hadn’t brought more today, I wouldn’t have been able to keep the tavern running—"

His words were exaggerated, but they did suggest that the dried meat was indeed popular.

Wang Yongzhu also smiled, "That’s why we siblings came early. It’s not even noon yet, so it won’t disrupt Shopkeeper Wu’s business!"

She gestured for Wang Yongping to put the dried meat on the table for Shopkeeper Wu to inspect.

Shopkeeper Wu carefully examined the dried meat. It was indeed of good quality, with a red and shiny color and a savory taste, the same as the batch from yesterday.

He immediately gave Wang Yongzhu a thumbs up. This girl did her job reliably! He could tell with his keen eye that these several dozen pounds of dried meat were all consistent, baked dry and fragrant, with no half-dried, moist meat mixed in.

Worthy of a partnership!

Wang Yongzhu was not foolish either; now that her family’s business was just getting started, it was essential to build a good reputation if they wanted to continue in the long term.

Starting with deceit would be smashing their own reputation and brand, wouldn’t it?

Shopkeeper Wu had a shop assistant bring a scale, and the dried meat weighed just under forty-two pounds.

"Let’s call it forty-two pounds then!" Shopkeeper Wu was decisive. He took out two large ingots worth ten taels each and then some silver pieces.

Wang Yongzhu, without any hesitation, accepted the silver and was about to take her leave.

Shopkeeper Wu escorted the siblings to the door, "In the future, if your family has such good products, don’t forget this old man! We’ve had a few exchanges by now, and we both know each other well, I assure you of fair pricing!"

Wang Yongzhu nodded, "Rest assured, Shopkeeper Wu, if our family has any rare goods in the future, we will certainly not forget you."

She took the opportunity to introduce him, "If I am unable to come in the future, I will send my brother here. Him coming is the same as if I came myself!"

Shopkeeper Wu stroked his beard, nodded with a slight smile, and after praising Wang Yongping a couple of times, they parted ways.

After leaving the tavern and walking a good distance, Wang Yongping finally let out a long breath, "Little sister, you’re really bold, talking so casually with Shopkeeper Wu!"

Wang Yongzhu was puzzled, "What are you talking about, Fourth Brother? I was just negotiating a deal with Shopkeeper Wu; I sell him goods, and he pays me! Is there any need to be overly cautious? Besides, Shopkeeper Wu is a friendly man. Isn’t it strange to be too formal and distant with him?"

Wang Yongping then leaned in and whispered, "Little sister, do you not know? Shopkeeper Wu has backup! It’s said that when the tavern first opened, a bunch of riffraff and thugs came to trouble him, and he drove them away. Later, those people wouldn’t accept it and tried to burn down the tavern in the middle of the night. Thankfully, the tavern’s staff were alert, so it didn’t catch fire! Guess what happened next?"

Wang Yongzhu showed some interest, "What happened?"

"After that, those thugs supposedly had their legs broken and all ended up kneeling in front of the tavern for three days before they were dragged away. Since then, everyone in town knows not to be fooled by Shopkeeper Wu’s smile—he’s actually a tough character!" Wang Yongping felt a chill run down his spine just thinking about it.

"Where did you hear all this?" Wang Yongzhu squinted her eyes.

"Um, didn’t Third Brother used to hang around town and was quite close to those types? He heard some rumors! After he came back, he specifically warned me, telling me never to mess with Shopkeeper Wu. We should even walk around the tavern rather than past it..." Wang Yongping rubbed the back of his head, and couldn’t help muttering to himself, "I wonder where Third Brother is now, whether he’s run out of money again—"

Wang Yongzhu snorted coldly, "Father fell ill, eldest brother was injured, so many things happened at home, and we didn’t see him return. Stop assuming the worst. Think positively; maybe he’s already died out there!"

Wang Yongping was startled, glanced at Wang Yongzhu’s cooled expression, and dared not utter a word. He touched the sweat on his forehead and silently said a prayer for his Third Brother, who was still probably gallivanting somewhere.

Upon returning to Qilidun, at the entrance of the village, they actually saw Song Chongjin.

He must have been waiting there all this time. As soon as he saw the two figures, he immediately came forward to greet them.

Wang Yongping also hurriedly walked a few steps to meet him, "Song Brother, you’ve been waiting here for us? Is there something wrong?" Having promoted the family’s mountain goods business from village to village over the past few days, Wang Yongping had become a bit more astute.

Song Chongjin looked up, glanced at Wang Yongzhu who was still walking at a leisurely pace behind him, and nodded, "I have something to discuss with you, could we speak at your place?"

Wang Yongping was puzzled, "What’s the matter?"

"It concerns Brother Yongfu!" Song Chongjin uttered just these few words.

Wang Yongping became agitated, "What happened to my elder brother? Let’s go, hurry to my house!"

He dragged Song Chongjin along with him.

Wang Yongzhu, trailing behind, couldn’t help but roll her eyes unceremoniously and quickened her pace to follow.

She hadn’t expected Song Chongjin to be so proactive. After giving him the medicine yesterday, he had come to deliver it today; she was curious to see how he would explain himself.

Upon entering the Wang Family’s home, everyone had already returned. Lady Jiang was busy preparing dinner in the kitchen.

The children had also worked hard these past few days, and now that the dried meat was all smoked, Old Granny Zhang, thinking of the imminent income, had finally relaxed a bit and let them rest in the courtyard.

Wang Laozhu and Wang Yongfu were also brought out to rest and enjoy the cool air in the courtyard.

Seeing the three people enter the courtyard, the children gathered around, "Old Aunt, Old Aunt, you’re back?"

Since leaving Lady Lin, Jinguan had been schooled daily by his two elder brothers. Plus, with the Wang Family’s land recently sold, he had heard plenty of gossip while outside and had been shunned by his playmates, which eventually led him to understand some harsh realities.

He had become much more well-behaved now.

After tasting the sugar cake yesterday, the glutton inside him had been awakened, and today, upon hearing that his Old Aunt and Fourth Uncle had gone to town again, he hoped they would bring back something tasty.

Apart from Jindou and Jinhu, who were older and could withstand the anticipation, the other little Beans were all secretly hoping for the same.

True to their hopes, Wang Yongzhu did not disappoint them; she had brought each a small sesame cake, the size of an egg. She handed them to Jinguan and instructed him to distribute one to each family member before he could eat his own.

Jinguan’s eyes lit up as he carefully accepted the cloth bag, first handing a cake to Old Wang, then to Old Granny Zhang, and passing them out in turn, even giving one to Song Chongjin, before finally taking one for himself. He placed the remaining cakes neatly on the table, not daring to touch them.

Wang Yongzhu smiled at this, seeing that Jinguan was indeed still teachable.

Old Granny Zhang originally planned to take all the cakes back, but seeing that Song Chongjin, a guest, was present, she barely managed to hold back, only giving Wang Yongzhu a glare.

This girl, always wasting money. Such fine sesame cakes—why not buy a few less and savor them herself as a snack in her room?

Wang Yongzhu winked at her, what more could Old Granny Zhang do?

Since she had noticed a change in Song Chongjin’s attitude last time, Old Granny Zhang had managed to stay composed. She took a bite of the cake before asking, "Young man from the Song Family, what brings you to our house today?"