The Country Maiden: Fields and Leisure
Chapter 291 The Gold Bracelet

Chapter 291: Chapter 291 The Gold Bracelet

Wang Yongzhu glanced at the sky; she hadn’t noticed earlier due to her nerves, but it was already past noon, and indeed, she was quite hungry, and thus did not stand on ceremony.

They were discussing important matters behind the dye workshop, with Wang Yongping guarding the pile of rewards, hardly daring to blink or even breathe too loudly.

These were gifts bestowed by Her Highness from the palace!

For Wang Yongping, even the County Magistrate had always seemed unattainably distant, let alone Her Highness from the palace, a figure he had never even contemplated, opening a whole new world in his life.

To avoid suspicion, Song Chongjin waited outside the house.

When Wang Yongzhu and Shopkeeper Wu came out, they saw Song Chongjin standing there, staring blankly at the great doors of the dye workshop.

Only then did Shopkeeper Wu laugh and say, "That explains it! I always wondered why the usually aloof Song family brothers would take a special interest in helping you! Dear niece, forgive me for being nosy, but the fact that these brothers did not judge you based on your appearance indicates they are not lecherous—"

Wang Yongzhu gave a slight smile toward Shopkeeper Wu, "Does Shopkeeper Wu know what relation I have with the ’not lecherous’ Brother Song you speak of?"

Shopkeeper Wu stopped short.

"Over three months ago, the two of us were engaged, but he later broke off the engagement, finding me too fat and plump."

...

No matter how smooth-tongued or worldly Shopkeeper Wu was, at that moment, he could only shut his mouth.

He silently looked toward Song Chongjin, lighting a mountain of candles for him in his mind.

Hearing some noise, Song Chongjin turned back and saw Shopkeeper Wu and Wang Yongzhu; he nodded his head without speaking.

When Wang Yongping heard the commotion outside, his hands trembled; he didn’t dare to touch the plateful of rewards and clenched his teeth: "Sis, come inside."

Wang Yongzhu went in, looked at Wang Yongping with a shake of her head, asked Shopkeeper Wu for a case, and placed both the gold ingots and the jewelry inside.

As they left the dye workshop, although some people had dispersed, many still lingered, unwilling to leave. On seeing Shopkeeper Wu and the others come out, they immediately crowded around, eager to find out more.

"Old Wu, your dye workshop is quite something, eh! Was that person who spoke earlier from the royal palace?"

"Those rewards on the plate must be worth a lot, right? All that glimmering gold."

"Shopkeeper Wu, when will your dye workshop be opening?"

...

Shopkeeper Wu was instantly surrounded in the center.

Some people wanted to question Wang Yongzhu, but she was shielded by Song Chongjin and Wang Yongping on either side. Together, they managed to squeeze their way out of the crowd and slipped off to the side.

Seeing Shopkeeper Wu and the assistant still being bombarded with incessant queries, Wang Yongzhu couldn’t help but feel a sense of aftershock and touched her nose: "I think we better head back home!"

"What about Shopkeeper Wu?" Wang Yongping worried, seeing Shopkeeper Wu’s plump figure almost submerged by the crowd.

At this point, it was every man for himself.

Wang Yongzhu blatantly lied with eyes open: "Shopkeeper Wu can take this opportunity to promote our dye workshop to everyone. Let’s not delay him any longer. We left in such a hurry this morning, who knows how worried mother must be at home."

Song Chongjin took a look at Wang Yongzhu, his lips curling up ever so slightly, and he offered no objection.

They returned to the Wang family home.

There was a mix of joy and concern at home; it was bustling and chaotic.

It turned out that when Wang Yongzhu was taken away by Shopkeeper Wu’s men in the morning, nothing had been made clear.

Old Granny Zhang sensed something amiss. Although her daughter was naturally strong, in this world, one must guard against the unpredictability of human hearts.

Fortuitously, Jinhu was quick-witted and suggested that he and the fourth uncle should hurry to the town to find out what was happening.

As soon as Old Granny Zhang heard, she urged Jinhu and Wang Yongping to make haste and go.

Just as they were about to leave, Jinguan, for reasons unknown, accidentally bumped into Wang Yongfu, who was seated on a chair.

Everyone thought Wang Yongfu would fall, but to their surprise, he actually managed to stand up by leaning on the table in desperation.

The entire Wang family was instantly dumbstruck.

Tears streamed down Wang Laozhu’s face.

Jindou and Jinhu couldn’t believe it either; they supported Wang Yongfu as he took a few shaky steps. Although his legs still hurt, this pain proved that they were almost healed.

Old Granny Zhang noticed that the whole family was only focusing on Wang Yongfu, temporarily forgetting about Wang Yongzhu.

Feeling both angry and anxious, she happened to see Song Chongjin walking by. Without thinking twice, she stopped him and asked him to go to the town to find out what Shopkeeper Wu wanted with Wang Yongzhu.

Song Chongjin had come for this purpose, and seeing a hint of embarrassment on Old Granny Zhang’s face, he readily agreed.

Only then did Old Granny Zhang feel somewhat relieved. Not wanting to count on Song Chongjin alone, she also grabbed Wang Yongping by the ear and kicked him out, telling him to accompany Song Chongjin to town.

As a result, Wang Yongping’s thoughts were entirely captured by the reward from the palace; he was stunned by the visions of gold, completely forgetting the fact that Wang Yongfu could stand up and walk now.

When Wang Yongzhu came home, she saw Old Granny Zhang waiting at the door, while Jinhua occasionally also looked toward the doorway.

Meanwhile, Wang Laozhu was still hugging Wang Yongfu and his family, crying on and off.

"Girl, you’re back! Are you okay?" Old Granny Zhang asked, her tense body finally relaxing upon seeing Wang Yongzhu return.

"Mom, I’m fine! Really fine! This time Shopkeeper Wu called me over for a very good reason!" Wang Yongzhu hurriedly comforted her.

"What good reason?" Old Granny Zhang’s eyes reddened with tears, worried all day long; it was enough that her daughter was safe, but to be called away without a word for any reason... that was unacceptable.

"Mom, we haven’t eaten yet, let’s make something to eat first! Don’t worry, it’s definitely a very good thing!" Wang Yongzhu hugged Old Granny Zhang, acting spoiled.

Hearing that her daughter hadn’t eaten yet, Old Granny Zhang couldn’t care about anything else and kept urging Lady Jiang to make food.

Meanwhile, she pulled her daughter into the yard to have a heart-to-heart conversation.

Jinhua hurriedly poured a bowl of cool tea for each of the three to quench their thirst.

And then they listened as Wang Yongzhu explained slowly.

"What? A noble lady from the palace? And... she gave you a gift?" Old Granny Zhang wondered if she was dreaming.

What did her daughter just say? The noble lady was impressed with the cloth she dyed and sent someone to give her a reward?

She pinched her own thigh fiercely – it hurt!

So, it wasn’t a dream! Was what her daughter said true?

Old Granny Zhang’s exclamation startled everyone in the house.

"What noble lady from the palace? What reward?" Wang Laozhu was in a very good mood; with his eldest son able to stand, there was hope for a full recovery – this was the real great news for the Wang family.

Then he heard his wife’s shocked and anxious voice from outside, talking about some noble lady and some reward... What did this have to do with the Wang family?

Despite this, he couldn’t help but go out to see what was going on.

He saw Wang Yongzhu taking out a small box from her sleeve, slowly opening it, and then he was stunned.

Not just Wang Laozhu, but everyone there, except for Wang Yongzhu and Song Chongjin, was astonished.

It took a moment for Old Granny Zhang to swallow and muster her words, "Girl... is this the reward given by the noble lady?"

My goodness! Gold!

Old Granny Zhang, who had never seen gold in her life, reached out to touch it, then hesitated and drew her hand back.

Wang Yongzhu’s eyes welled up with tears; she lowered her head and picked up a heavy bracelet studded with gemstones from the jewelry, took Old Granny Zhang’s hand, and slid it onto her wrist.

Then she looked up and smiled, "Mom, I said I would buy you a gold bracelet to wear. Do you like how it looks?"