The Country Maiden: Fields and Leisure
Chapter 324 Laosan Returns

Chapter 324: Chapter 324 Laosan Returns

Upon hearing this, not only Old Granny Zhang was stunned, but Lady Lin and Lady Jiang also couldn’t help but widen their eyes in surprise.

Building a new house? A big-tiled bluebrick house?

"What’s with this house, huh? Why build a new one? Aren’t we living pretty well in this one? Does building a new house not cost money? Besides, if we build a new house, what do we do with the old one?" Old Granny Zhang furrowed her brows. Could a house be built just by talking about it?

Doesn’t it cost a good deal of silver?

The silver hadn’t even been secured yet, and her daughter had already thought of a use for it; Old Granny Zhang felt reluctant to spend it.

Besides, it was one thing to use the silver from the mountain goods business, build more if the money was plentiful, and less if it wasn’t, but why take out the share of profits from the dye workshop as well?

That was her daughter’s private stash, not a single penny should be touched! She couldn’t let them benefit from her daughter’s money!

"Mom, think about it, this old house has been around for many years. It’s just barely adequate for us now, but aren’t we going to take in mountain goods? Right now, the quantity is small and can be stored, but what about during the peak season? We won’t have anywhere to put the goods if we receive too much. Besides, Fourth Brother isn’t getting any younger, and having a new house will make it easier to find him a wife. Jindou and Jinhu are also growing up, and one after another they’ll be getting married. Where will we all live in this old house then?"

That was indeed the truth. The children at home were growing up day by day. If Laosi didn’t find a wife soon, people would start talking, and it was time for the family to start making preparations. However, building a new house was a big affair, and it mainly required a lot of money, which made Old Granny Zhang still hesitant.

During this dilemma, she heard from outside that the hill men who had taken their silver were already leaving, and things had quieted down in the shed, only for it to become lively once again.

"Look, there’s a horse carriage coming. Could it be a big business deal?"

"I don’t think so. That’s not a freight carriage; it’s clearly for carrying passengers. Maybe someone’s relative has come?"

"Could it be the boss who deals in mountain goods from the Old Wang Family we were talking about?"

The villagers outside were speculating.

And inside the yard, Old Granny Zhang and the others also became interested.

In this village, aside from the locals or people from the neighboring villages, outsiders were rare. A horse carriage arriving was something unusual, and everyone watched from afar.

Wang Yongzhu had just carried a basketful of mountain goods and was climbing the ladder to the roof to dry them, when she heard the discussion and looked in the distance.

Indeed, a light chariot with hanging curtains was heading towards the Old Wang Family’s home.

The carriage was unfamiliar; it was neither like the ones from the town’s carriage house nor was it Shopkeeper Wu’s cart from the restaurant, which Wang Yongzhu recognized. She narrowed her eyes.

Who could it be?

Was it someone from Boss Zhang’s side? Or?

As Wang Yongzhu was analyzing in her mind, the light chariot had already stopped at the gate of the Old Wang Family.

The coachman "whoa"ed the horses to a stop.

Raising a soft cloud of dust.

The curtains of the carriage were lifted, and a tall man stepped down, dressed in brand-new indigo cloth robes and thick-soled boots, his face radiating satisfaction and success.

Still not quite steady on his feet, someone with sharp eyes had already recognized who it was.

"Eh? Isn’t that the Wang Family’s Third Child? Wang Yonggui?"

"Ah, indeed! Laosan, haven’t seen you for more than a year, where have you made your fortune and come back from?"

...

Wang Laozhu was lounging under the awning, drawing on his pipe, listening to relatives idle talk when he heard someone mention Laosan. Glancing over, he also froze in shock.

Wasn’t that his no-good, always roaming son, who hadn’t been home for a year and a half?

Speaking of this third son, Wang Laozhu truly had a headache. He didn’t understand how he and his wife, who were nothing like that, had managed to have such a son.

Since he was fifteen or sixteen, he had been out gallivanting day and night. They had thought that getting married might settle him down a bit with a wife to look after him.

But no, two months into his marriage, he tricked money out of Lady Jiang and went off to play.

Wang Laozhu thought, perhaps having a child, having a family, would change things?

But after Jinhua was born, Lady Jiang was set on raising the child. This left Laosan even less supervised. To make matters worse, he started to sell off Lady Jiang’s dowry for money to squander, becoming even more of a scoundrel than before.

After he had sold off all of Lady Jiang’s dowry through deceit, theft, and force, his nature became completely untamed. He would leave as soon as he had some money, and when he was completely destitute with nowhere else to go, he would return home in utter disarray.

The family had gotten used to this. Not long ago, Wang Laozhu had been counting the days, figuring that this good-for-nothing would be near to returning after being away for almost a year.

He had expected to see his beggarly son again, but to his surprise, this time the son returned looking decent in new clothes, even hiring a carriage to come back?

Where had he struck it rich?

Wang Laozhu took a draw from his pipe, only to see Wang Laosan lift his brand-new indigo robe and kowtow before him with a thud.

"Dad! I’ve come back! Dad, are you alright? Is everything at home okay?"

At this moment, Wang Laozhu was glowing with health, eating well every day, wearing new clothes, watching the family business prosper, and the crops in the fields growing nicely. Though there was the imperfection of not being the head of the household, life was incredibly comfortable.

Seeing Wang Laosan made him angry, "Thanks to your blessings, I’m not dead yet. You, who wander all year round, still know how to come back? With all the trouble at home, not a trace of you to be found. I thought you had died out there. What kind of wind blew to bring you back?"

Even being scolded by his own father, Wang Laosan wasn’t angry. Instead, he scooted forward on his knees with a smile, drawing near to Wang Laozhu’s legs, and said with a grin, "Dad, don’t wrong your son! I heard that you fell sick in bed because of Wang Laoer’s nonsense, and I’ve been worried sick, unable to eat or sleep properly. I wished I could have flown back immediately. Now that I’m back and see you’re alright, my heart has finally settled! Dad, don’t worry, your Laosan is back. If that dog Wang Laoer dares to step foot in Qilidun or the Old Wang Family again, watch me break his dog legs..."

Originally, upon seeing Laosan return home, Wang Laozhu felt a bit of pleasure amidst his verbal disdain—after all, this was his own flesh and blood. Being out of touch for over a year, how could he not worry?

Seeing him come back in fine form did bring joy to a father’s heart.

But Laosan’s return wasn’t all pleasant, mentioning the unmentionable right away. Within a few words and in front of everyone, he brought up Wang Laoer, that beast, and Wang Laozhu’s face soured again.

"Don’t talk about that scoundrel."

Family scandals shouldn’t be publicized, nor did he wish to discuss it in front of others.

Wang Laosan, who could rove around for over a year, had definitely mastered the art of reading the room. He immediately shut up about it.

Laughing it off, he turned his gaze to Wang Yongfu who was standing aside, too excited to pay attention to Wang Laozhu any longer. He shot to his feet and rushed to Wang Yongfu’s side, looking him up and down. "Big brother, big brother, I heard about your leg and I was so worried. On my way, I was inquiring if there was a good doctor or miracle cure, but found none, I was still upset about it. Now I see you standing? That’s great! Big brother, you are the pillar of our Wang Family, it’s a relief you’re fine. I’m so happy for you!"

He said, dabbing at the corners of his eyes with his sleeve.