The Country Maiden: Fields and Leisure
Chapter 348: Put on the Agenda

Chapter 348: Chapter 348: Put on the Agenda

Sun Ahfu almost crushed all her teeth in frustration as she was supervised by Old Granny Zhang, having spent the entire day carrying manure until her bones almost fell apart. And now, as evening came, not only was she not allowed to eat at the table, she was actually given just two pieces of burnt rice crust?

Wasn’t this bullying to the extreme?

Old Granny Zhang snorted coldly, "What? You don’t like it? Well, if you don’t like it, don’t eat it! A concubine daring to throw a tantrum? Let me tell you, in the Wang Family, everyone must follow the rules. Even Laosan’s House used to get only rice soup when they couldn’t finish their work. Do you think you are more noble than them? Get lost, don’t bother me—"

With red-rimmed eyes, Sun Ahfu covered her face and ran into the house, tripping after just a few steps. In the moment her hands touched the ground, she quickly picked up the pastry that Jinhua had dropped and held it tight in her arms as she entered the small house.

Wang Yongzhu witnessed everything and silently lowered her head, recalling the bizarre pranking props she had exchanged for points from the System before dinner—items like itching powder and laxatives...

As she passed by the pastry whose outer package had been broken, she seemed to casually sprinkle something on it, still considering how to make Sun Ahfu and Wang Gonggui take and eat it.

She hadn’t expected the newly arrived Lady Sun to be such a divine assist, dispelling her need to think further.

Considering the consequences Lady Sun would face after eating the pastry, Wang Yongzhu allowed herself a slight smile, using her rice bowl to conceal the rising corners of her lips, deeply hiding her capabilities and intentions.

That night, Lady Sun and Wang Yongfu, who had run to her room, were in distress the entire night, running to the toilet countless times.

The next morning, both of them were sallow, with weak legs from the constant trips.

Suspicious of nothing else, they simply speculated that the pastry might have spoiled from the heat, causing their upset stomachs.

The next morning, with their stomachs empty and fearful of eating anything, the horror of nearly becoming permanent residents of the toilet the previous night was simply too terrifying to forget.

Since they were all at home, Old Granny Zhang unapologetically arranged their tasks. Wang Yonggui followed Wang Laozhu to the fields to work.

It was a critical time, with water needing to be released in the fields to dig trenches for drainage. Laosi was usually the one skilled in this task, but he had gone to the mountain village to collect goods and hadn’t returned yet.

Having come back, who else would go but Laosan?

As for Lady Sun, her task for the day was to clean the pigsty.

Their faces instantly darkened at the assignment, but an arm was no match for a thigh. No matter how much Wang Yonggui played sick and made a fuss, he was directly dragged out the door by Wang Yongzhu and carried off to the fields by the two brothers, Jindou and Jinhu.

Without Wang Yonggui, Lady Sun immediately became obedient, changing her clothes and diligently cleaning the pigsty.

The stench almost suffocated her as she was already close to collapse from diarrhea.

For a moment, grief welled up within her heart.

Ever since her husband died, she had never suffered such indignities. She used to eat whatever she wanted, wear whatever she desired, and sleep with whomever she pleased. How carefree she had been.

Why on earth had she thoughtlessly decided to become a concubine in this mud-legged family of the Wangs?

Thinking about the large sum of silver promised to her once the matter was settled, she gritted her teeth; once the silver was in hand, the promise was to immediately send her elsewhere, even to buy her an estate and hire maids to serve her, ensuring no worries for the rest of her life.

Lady Sun was aware that as long as she retained her looks, she could captivate men and live comfortably. But in a few years, when her beauty faded, she feared life would become unbearable.

Having grown accustomed to such a lifestyle, she would rather die than return to her former ways.

In light of that manor, and in order to have an easier life in old age with meals and clothes provided for her, Lady Sun wiped away her tears and bore it.

Deep in her heart, though, she made a silent vow: once that one’s matter was settled, she would certainly make a demand of her own, to curse the Wang Family to never die a good death for putting her through such hardships. They should not blame her in the future for showing no mercy.

No one cared about what Lady Sun thought. Now, if Lady Sun wanted to complete her task, she had to swallow her pride and let Old Granny Zhang manipulate her however she wished.

Wang Yongzhu was discussing important matters with Old Granny Zhang and Wang Yongfu: "I went to the town yesterday and got news that Boss Zhang is going to send someone over. It’s likely he wants to inspect us. These next few days, when collecting mountain goods, we must be particularly careful. We’d better be detailed and slow, even if we collect less, but the quality must be guaranteed. Otherwise, if they find that the goods we collect are subpar when they visit, I fear we won’t have a future in this."

Wang Yongfu was not a man who failed to grasp the gravity of a situation; the family’s livelihood now depended on the mountain goods trade, and his own expertise was being put to use. His children would also have a skill to stand on in the future, and he valued this more than anyone else.

He patted his chest in assurance, promising that there would definitely be no problems.

He also instructed Lady Lin, Lady Jiang, and a few children to be careful when drying the mountain goods.

He then checked the storeroom again. The room, which used to belong to the second brother, had been tidied up, and several wooden racks had been set up. The mountain goods were placed on these racks to avoid moisture.

Quicklime was scattered in the corners of the room for disinfection and moisture control.

Only Old Granny Zhang and Wang Yongzhu had the keys to this storeroom. Once the goods were stored, it would be locked, and no one was allowed to enter or exit without permission.

After the inspection was done, everyone resumed their respective duties.

Wang Yongzhu also took the opportunity to take stock of the mountain goods the family had collected, the silver spent, and estimated the resale prices, gaining a rough idea of the financial situation.

Moreover, using Wang Yongan’s old room as a warehouse was only a temporary measure. If they intended to continue with the mountain goods trade in the long term, this room would definitely be inadequate.

At the very least, they needed a big storeroom, or more to the point, the Wang Family had to build a new courtyard and houses.

Actually, the current courtyard of the Wang Family was already becoming too cramped for comfort.

The eldest room’s Jindou and Jinhu were grown up and needed to prepare for marriage. The third room was once just enough for Lady Jiang and her three children to sleep on one kang, but now that Wang Laosan had returned, and with Jinhua growing up, it was no longer appropriate.

Building new houses had to be put on the schedule.

It’s just a pity that there wasn’t enough silver at hand right now: originally, there were thirty-some taels left, and after spending five taels yesterday, there were two ingots of gold left, each ingot worth ten taels. She had inquired about it, and one ingot of gold could be exchanged for one hundred taels of silver, amounting to two hundred taels in total.

Unfortunately, the gold and jewelry were imperial gifts from the palace with distinct marks, and they were not easy to liquidate.

Furthermore, possession of these items was honorific for the Wang Family and could also serve as a good sign for future business endeavors. These two gold ingots couldn’t be exchanged for silver; they needed to be treasured and displayed properly.

The remaining little bit of silver was definitely not enough to build a house.

At this moment, in her heart, she roughly calculated that once the person sent by Boss Zhang had inspected their mountain goods and found no problems, they could earn about twenty-some taels from the transaction.

Adding the proceeds from the wolf pelts she had initially hunted and sold, she should be able to gather enough money to build new houses.

Just as she contemplated this in her mind, the Xiao Tiantian System immediately popped up: "Host, congratulations on triggering the main quest of the Farming System. As someone poised to reach the pinnacle of farming, you’ve already improved your food and clothing situation. Have you realized that your current living conditions are unsatisfactory and not suitable for future development?"