The Country Maiden: Fields and Leisure
Chapter 312: Of Course Not

Chapter 312: Chapter 312: Of Course Not

Old Granny Zhang first picked out about ten buns and wrapped them in a clean cloth, put them in a basket, filled a tile jar with green bean soup, then sliced half a bowl of pickles, covered two bowls, and placed two pairs of chopsticks, all neatly packed. Only then did she casually eat a bit before carrying the basket and heading out the door.

Before leaving, she warned Jinhua, "Send breakfast to your Fourth Uncle and Jindou later."

Jinhua crisply agreed, mirroring Old Granny Zhang’s actions as she started to prepare as well.

Old Granny Zhang couldn’t be bothered anymore; she had to deliver food to her precious daughter who had been starving all night and had to feed the mosquitoes outside, which truly upset her.

Hurrying along, she arrived at the riverside of Jinquan Bay. From a distance, Old Granny Zhang saw on a rock by the riverbank, a person lying down and another sitting underneath it.

Looking carefully, the person lying on the rock was none other than her own daughter, covered with a man’s garment, sleeping soundly.

And leaning against the rock, Song Chongjin also had his eyes closed.

Old Granny Zhang’s heart immediately settled. Her daughter and the young man from the Song Family still had a sense of propriety and knew to avoid suspicion.

Taking two more steps forward, she saw Song Chongjin suddenly open his eyes alertly.

His eyes were bloodshot, and when he saw it was Old Granny Zhang, he paused for a moment, then surprisingly spoke first, "Auntie, keep your voice down, Yongzhu is exhausted and just fell asleep; don’t wake her up."

Old Granny Zhang had a bellyful of questions to ask, but forcibly held them back. Looking at her daughter, who was sound asleep with closed eyes, her hair damp with dew, her face showing a bit of tiredness and her brows slightly furrowed.

She took a closer look at her daughter’s complexion and the expression in her eyes and then discreetly examined the clothes on her daughter’s body, which were all tidy and in order; there was nothing untoward on her face or body.

Only then did she completely relax.

Wanting to say something but fearful of waking her daughter, she ultimately lowered her voice, "Did Zhuzhu have a tough night? Is her arm okay?"

It must feel weak; when she wakes up this morning, it’s sure to be sore.

Song Chongjin stood up and took the basket from Old Granny Zhang’s back, replying in a low voice, "I’ve already massaged Yongzhu’s arm. She should be fine when she wakes up. I will stay with Yongzhu here for the next few days, to prevent people from Jinquan Bay from causing more trouble. If there are any idle rumors in the village, Auntie, you tell me, I’ll deal with it!"

Old Granny Zhang snorted, "And how are you going to solve it?"

"Auntie, as long as Yongzhu agrees, I... I will treat her well!" Song Chongjin hesitated for a moment, unable to suppress the desire in his heart, he whispered.

"What?" Old Granny Zhang was shocked and sized up Song Chongjin for a long while before huffing, "This matter, I, an old woman, cannot settle by myself. Initially, I had decided, but didn’t you disdain our Zhuzhu, insistently wanting to break off the engagement to the point of death? Now, even if you want to be a live-in son-in-law at our house, it still depends on whether Zhuzhu is willing!"

Hmph, don’t think just because he’d been behaving well lately, she would forgive him for hitting Zhuzhu’s face back then.

At that time, the pressure to break off the engagement had pushed Zhuzhu to attempt suicide, thankfully a life was saved. Although now Zhuzhu had become more sensible and considerate because of this, it could not erase Song Chongjin’s past despicable and unfeeling actions.

Not to mention Zhuzhu, even for herself, to accept Song Chongjin as a son-in-law, it would probably take a while for her heart to not feel repulsed.

Anyway, the daughter had her own ideas; as a mother, she might not be able to help her much, but she must let Zhuzhu decide for herself when it comes to this crucial life event.

Song Chongjin hung his head, the veins on his clenched fists prominent. He had no regrets about the past engagement breakup. The former Wang Yongzhu was worthless, lazy, and gluttonous; he couldn’t lie to his conscience and say he liked her.

But the Wang Yongzhu now, clearly the same person, seemed as if she had shed her dull and ugly exterior, revealing the true nature of a jade, irresistibly evoking joy in one’s heart and the desire to possess her.

He didn’t defend his actions from before, merely standing silently without speaking.

Old Granny Zhang aired the slight discomfort she felt towards Song Chongjin. She felt relieved after expressing her dissatisfaction, not bothering with how Song Chongjin might feel. She even thought she had been quite restrained towards him, given her gratitude for the favors she owed his family. Had it been the old days, if Song Chongjin dared to speak like that,

she would definitely have lunged at him, scratching his face bloody before grabbing a chair, taking a cutting board and a kitchen knife, and blocking the door of the Song Family to curse him for three days and three nights.

Old Granny Zhang, considering herself very generous, glanced at her daughter, who was still asleep and clueless. With a houseful of chores waiting, she simply couldn’t stay long and instructed, "Let Zhuzhu eat when she wakes up."

Song Chongjin nodded in acknowledgment.

With that, Old Granny Zhang left, repeatedly looking back uneasily as she went.

Wang Yongzhu, as dawn approached, couldn’t take it any longer, mainly because her arm was sore and limp, and she was feeling dizzy and dozy, nearly collapsing onto Shitou.

Later, she didn’t know which acupoint Song Chongjin had pressed or what, but she lost consciousness of everything.

In a confused haze, it seemed like she heard someone talking, but she just couldn’t wake up fully.

Song Chongjin watched Wang Yongzhu’s troubled expression in her sleep and, after some thought, pressed down on another spot on her arm. Wang Yongzhu finally woke up groggily.

When Wang Yongzhu finally came to, she paused for a moment to clear her mind, looked at the clothes draped over her body, then at Song Chongjin standing under Shitou, and the basket beside him, knowing someone had visited. "Who from my family brought this?"

Without pondering, she knew better than to expect Mother Song.

While asking, she hurriedly took off the clothes she was wearing and handed them back to Song Chongjin.

Song Chongjin clenched the clothes, still warm from Wang Yongzhu’s body heat, and squeezed his palm tightly, "It was Auntie who brought them. She saw you were still asleep and didn’t wake you!"

As he spoke, he effortlessly put on the clothes and felt as if he was enveloped in Wang Yongzhu’s scent. Unable to help himself, his ears reddened. He went to the river to wash his hands and face and then took out the food, item by item.

Wang Yongzhu washed her face with the river water and drank a sip of the warm mung bean soup, immediately feeling refreshed.

Song Chongjin also took a sip. The mung bean soup had a faint sweetness to it, presumably from added sugar, almost able to sweeten one’s heart.

"Yongzhu, if the me from before was dark, fat, ugly, and short and had a face full of pockmarks and a mother like that, would you still have liked me and insisted on getting engaged to me?" Just as Wang Yongzhu drank the mung bean soup, Song Chongjin suddenly asked.

"Pfft—" Wang Yongzhu spewed out the mung bean soup, looking at Song Chongjin in shock. What kind of mischief was this?

Song Chongjin remained unmoved, maintaining his gaze on Wang Yongzhu, wanting an answer.

Wang Yongzhu’s mind raced, realizing why Song Chongjin was asking this question. It must have been Old Granny Zhang’s visit, where she mentioned the annulment, right?

Looking at Song Chongjin’s insistent eyes wanting an answer, Wang Yongzhu put down the bowl, pondered for a moment, and answered assertively, "Of course not!"