The Country Maiden: Fields and Leisure
Chapter 346 Disdain

Chapter 346: Chapter 346 Disdain

Jindou and Jinhoo were ordered to go back into the house to bring out the luggage that had been moved in the day before. There were four or five large bundles piled up under the eaves.

Wang Yonggui’s eyes immediately became fixed on them—these were Ahfu’s belongings.

At the time he had gone to hire a carriage, these items had all been packed by Ahfu herself, so he reckoned that the valuable things must be inside these bundles.

The more he thought about it, the more Wang Yonggui licked his lips, and he hurriedly urged, "Mother, there are also gifts that I and Ahfu brought for the family inside—"

While he was speaking, Sun Ahfu slowly shuffled in from the back door, leaning against the wall as she made her way into the courtyard.

Her hair was carelessly tied with a strip of cloth she must have found somewhere, her face was flushed, and it was smeared with some black substance that was difficult to identify. The face, which normally drew people in, now appeared somewhat grotesque.

Especially the mosquito bites that seemed to have gotten the better of Ahfu’s self-control—she scratched at them a few times. Her skin was fairly delicate, and such scratching left streaks of blood marks on her face.

Yesterday’s fingernails, stained with Phoenix Fairy Flower Juice, had been forcibly snipped off with scissors.

She was dressed in wide, patched clothes that piled on more patches, hanging loosely on Sun Ahfu’s body, completely concealing her figure.

Wang Yonggui’s eyes widened—was this the same Ahfu from yesterday, so elegant and charming, fair-skinned and seductive?

Not to mention, as soon as Sun Ahfu entered the yard, the stench of the latrine that clung to her immediately spread in all directions.

Wang Yonggui’s face was as if he had been struck by lightning.

Old Granny Zhang hummed with satisfaction—having offended her, even the freshest radish in her hands could become pickled and shriveled.

In front of everyone, Old Granny Zhang slowly opened the bundles—one contained several packets of pastries wrapped in butcher paper, along with a few silk flowers and several cuts of clothing fabric.

The other bundles, however, were filled with brightly colored clothes, daily necessities like quilts, and a few pieces of jewelry made of silver, such as bracelets and hairpins.

The most valuable were, indeed, the outfit that had been taken from Sun Ahfu’s body yesterday and the two hairpins from her head.

Before Old Granny Zhang could say anything, Wang Yonggui couldn’t help but interrupt, "Is this all?" his eyes full of suspicion as he looked towards her.

Old Granny Zhang picked up a broom and threw it at him, "What’s the matter? You still suspect your old mother of hiding something on the sly? Just this little bit of stuff, and only someone as shallow as you would care about it. Do you think I’d covet this?"

As she spoke, she casually picked up the packets of pastries, "A few dry pieces of cake, and you dare call it a gift for the family? Who are you trying to fool? Is this the kind of thing they sell in the county city?"

"And this hair flower, costing a Large Coin each—do you take me for a beggar?"

"This, this, this fabric for clothes, it’s also from Jing County? Even our town can’t compare. You casually buy a few worthless items, and you think you can deceive your old mother? Pah!"

As she berated him, she went through the gifts in the bundles, cursing each item in turn.

"You even sold the house, gave up all your possessions to you, to be your concubine? These words are just to cajole you fools whose heads have been smeared with dog feces..."

Wang Yonggui didn’t take these words to heart; all his thoughts were on where Sun Ahfu might have hidden her private savings.

Not to mention anything else, according to the state of Wang Yonggui’s eating and drinking at Sun Ahfu’s place those days, the little courtyard alone was worth at least dozens of taels of silver.

So much silver, and it’s actually not in this package, then?

Wang Yonggui suddenly turned his head to look at Sun Ahfu.

Sun Ahfu had spent the whole day picking out manure to water the vegetable garden. She was both tired and hungry, not to mention the aches all over her body, but what she found most unbearable was the stench clinging to her. As she moved, the stench would creep up her nose.

The smell was so strong that it gave her a headache.

She had barely finished her work haphazardly and was preparing to find some water to wash up with, fearing she’d be suffocated by her own stench otherwise.

Upon seeing Old Granny Zhang unpacking the package, Sun Ahfu couldn’t help but sneer. She knew it was just a bunch of country bumpkins. Even if they had made a fortune from the dye formula, they had never seen anything of real value.

Look, they were even trying to snatch a concubine’s, pah pah pah, even her own brought package.

In a moment, when they saw the items she had prepared, these country bumpkins would probably be astounded.

But she hadn’t expected that Old Granny Zhang would not take a fancy to any of the gifts she had prepared, disdainfully dismissing them left and right.

This made Sun Ahfu’s face burn red with embarrassment, and she lowered her head, not daring to speak.

Wang Yonggui was not stupid, quite the contrary, he was very shrewd. Otherwise, how could he be ranked third, stay away from home for over a year, and still manage to get Wang Laozhu to willingly support his family, with no objections from others?

With just a thought, he realized that Sun Ahfu was probably still guarding against him and that the significant amount of silver was still hidden away securely.

With this thought, Wang Yonggui immediately defended Sun Ahfu, "Mother, regardless of the cost, it is the sentiment from both Ahfu and me! Besides, this pastry is Jing County’s famous Shorty Cake, which costs several large coins a pack. I specifically queued up to buy it for father, mother, sister, and the kids to try something new. And these cloth materials for clothing were specially prepared for you and father. This head ornament was bought especially for my sister; look at the vibrant color, it’s perfect for my sister to wear."

With his words, he praised all of Sun Ahfu’s preparations to the skies.

Old Granny Zhang was now someone who had seen the world. Her own daughter had received rewards from the palace’s noble ladies, including large gold bracelets, and she wore clothes from the Auspicious Dye Workshop. Whenever her daughter went to the market, she would bring back treats for herself and the children at home.

How could she be impressed by these things? Yesterday, it was to intimidate Lady Sun by moving the package to her own room; but now, upon inspection, there wasn’t much of value, mainly Lady Sun’s personal and daily items. Keeping these things was disgusting, who wouldn’t despise them as dirty?

Therefore, she didn’t say much and just told Lady Sun, "Our Wang Family is not greedy for a concubine’s personal belongings. All these are your belongings, move them to your own room. But let me say this beforehand: now that you are part of the Wang family, you must conduct yourself properly. If I see you dressed up gaudily again, don’t blame this old mother for getting fired up and selling you off. Hear me?"

Sun Ahfu’s complexion changed, and she hurriedly nodded in agreement.

Old Granny Zhang led Wang Yongzhu into the house, and outside, Wang Yonggui picked out the cakes first, unwrapped them, and ate two to keep the hunger in his stomach at bay.

He then called for Jinpan, "Take this, share it with the others, and remember to first offer it to your grandparents and old aunt."

Jinpan twisted his hands, not daring to take them.

Wang Yonggui grabbed him, stuffed the cakes into Jinpan’s hands, ruffled his hair, and chided with a laugh, "You little rascal!"

He then turned around and haphazardly packed the opened package, ready to move it to the room in the third house.