The Country Maiden: Fields and Leisure
Chapter 351: Extorted

Chapter 351: Chapter 351: Extorted

Wang Yongzhu finally felt completely relieved.

She was now in the mood to thank the person who had brought Fourth Brother back and also wanted to ask what exactly had happened.

But before she could speak, Wang Yonggui was already giving the people who carried Wang Yongping back a hostile look.

"Are you guys from Xiatian Chongzi Gully? What happened? Our Fourth Brother left home in good health, so how did he end up like this?"

The mountain girl holding the torch frowned upon hearing this.

The two young men behind her bore a resemblance to her, clearly from the same family, probably siblings.

Their faces couldn’t hide embarrassment as they listened to this question laden with blame and suspicion, showing a touch of anger.

The slightly older one, with better composure, was still short of breath, his forehead glistening with large beads of sweat that rolled down, soaking his clothes in sweat.

As he lifted the hem of his shirt to wipe off his sweat, he started to explain, "We three siblings are from Xiatian Chongzi Gully. Today we went up the mountain to hunt, and on our way, we found that a landslide had blocked the path. Unable to pass, we had to head back home, and that’s when we found a person buried under the landslide."

"Upon closer look, he was still breathing, though barely conscious. Clutching at my sister’s leg, he didn’t let go, saying he was Wang Yongping from Qilidun Old Wang Family and begging us to bring him back. As he said this, he passed out. We couldn’t just leave him there to die, so we had no choice but to carry him here..."

After hearing the full story, Wang Yonggui’s expression softened somewhat, though his tone still carried a hint of defensiveness and suspicion, "Thank you for bringing my Fourth Brother back. Once he wakes up, I’ll definitely have him thank you for saving his life."

The older man, with a hearty gesture of his hand, said, "It’s nothing, nothing at all. In the end, it’s a human life; there is no way we would not help."

"May I know your esteemed surnames?" asked Wang Yonggui, looking over the three siblings.

"We are the Liu Family. Ask around in Xiatian Chongzi Gully; they will know," said the Liu Family Big Brother with a carefree tone.

Wang Yongzhu, seeing that Wang Yonggui was talking with the people who brought Wang Yongping, didn’t rush to come forward, estimating in her heart that these three siblings must be exhausted after carrying a person all this way, evident by their clothes drenched in sweat. They must be hungry too.

The people who saved her Fourth Brother’s life surely couldn’t be left hungry, could they?

So she turned to instruct Lady Jiang to prepare some food, and to make extra.

At the same time, she sent Jinhua to fetch three big bowls of sweet soup.

As she turned around, she heard Wang Yonggui asking, "Liu brothers, when you found our Fourth Brother, did you see a pile of mountain goods near him?"

This Fourth Brother had gone to collect mountain products, and now the person was back, but the goods were missing.

People are unpredictable; who knew if these Liu Family siblings had pocketed them?

As soon as these words came out, the girl holding the torch could barely keep face.

Another brother by her side scoffed coldly, "Sister, didn’t I say we shouldn’t have gotten involved? We haven’t had a drop to drink since this morning, and now we’ve brought the person back. We weren’t expecting thanks, but it also shouldn’t be like this. Are they suspecting us siblings of taking their family’s mountain goods and not returning them? What are they implying?"

"Let’s get out of here quickly. If we don’t, we might even be falsely accused. They’ll say we harmed their brother and demand compensation in money and goods from us!"

With that, he made a move to pull his siblings out the door.

These words made everyone in the Old Wang Family who had any sense of shame blush with embarrassment.

Wang Yongzhu had never felt so awkward before, as he glared fiercely at Wang Yonggui. At a time like this, as long as the person is okay, who cares about any mountain goods?

And to ask in such a way, was he suspecting them?

Wasn’t this just biting the hand that feeds you?

Just because you’re shady, don’t assume everyone else is just as bad, okay?

Seeing Wang Yonggui still wanted to say something, Wang Yongzhu stepped forward, grabbed Wang Yonggui to one side, and said, "Third Brother, shut up! If you can’t speak properly, then get out of the way. If Liu Family Big Brother and Sister had ill intentions, would they have brought our Fourth Brother back, with no connection to us at all? Don’t bring that nonsense you pull outside back home. If you really have nothing better to do, go and hurry Doctor Liu along, will you? How come he’s not here yet?"

"Right, Third Brother, you’re quick on your feet, go out and meet him on the way, maybe Jindou got lost in the dark..." Wang Yongfu also felt that his brother’s comments were extremely inappropriate. Worried about his Fourth Brother’s injury, he hurriedly followed his sister’s suggestion.

Wang Yonggui looked wrongly accused and said, "Did I do anything more than ask a few questions? Besides, our Fourth Brother has been used to walking mountain paths since he was young. Such a small path for him is nothing, so how could he be caught in a landslide? Isn’t that strange? I’m his Third Brother, am I not thinking of his best interest? Do you not know that you can see a person’s face but not their heart?"

"If you don’t go outside to hurry Doctor Liu right now, I can guarantee that when Doctor Liu arrives, there will be two people lying here instead of one, believe it or not?" Wang Yongzhu had really run out of energy to deal with her Third Brother.

He opens his mouth, and for every one thing you say, he can come up with eighteen or nineteen sentences to bamboozle you.

If it could be solved by force, she wouldn’t want to bicker.

Wang Yonggui paused, his face unable to hide the embarrassment, and dropped a sentence, "Hmph, you’re going to regret not trusting me!" then he went out to meet Doctor Liu.

Meanwhile, Jinhua and Jinguan came over with big bowls of sugar water.

Wang Yongzhu hastily made room for the Liu Family Siblings and Song Chongjin, "I’m really sorry, my Third Brother is a troublemaker and doesn’t know how to speak properly. Please don’t take it to heart. You three have shown a great kindness to my Fourth Brother that our Wang Family acknowledges and appreciates. We would never be ungrateful. If it weren’t for you today, my Fourth Brother could have lost his life in the mountains!"

"You all must be tired and hungry after the journey. I’m so sorry for only caring about my Fourth Brother’s injury earlier and neglecting you benefactors. Please, have some sugar water to moisten your throats. We are preparing a meal, and we invite you kindly to take a break and join us for dinner shortly."

The Liu siblings were originally angered by Wang Yonggui, feeling that they had saved someone only to be repaid with frustration, and held a very bad impression of the Wang Family members.

Now, hearing Wang Yongzhu’s sensible and considerate words, their anger subsided somewhat.

However, it was odd to them that in such a situation, a young lady was the one addressing the matter, while the parents and what seemed to be older siblings said nothing. Having encountered Wang Laosan, the Liu siblings also feared that staying for dinner might bring further complications from the Wang Family.

They reluctantly accepted the sugar water and drank it all in one go.

They hadn’t stopped to rest all the way and their throats were parched. The sugar water was sweet and cooling, providing some much-needed comfort.

Such sweet sugar water, generously sweetened, did not come from a stingy household.

That’s what the Liu siblings thought.

Still, they politely declined, "No need, it was just a matter of us lending a hand, not something that necessitates such a fuss. It’s getting late, we need to hurry back home. Today’s events were unavoidable, we don’t have a doctor in Xiatian Chongzi Gully. For minor ailments like a headache or cold, we usually climb up the mountain to gather some herbs ourselves."

"As for this injured young man, we’ve checked him over, and the external wounds aren’t serious. The problem is his continuous unconsciousness. We were mainly worried about serious internal injuries. Any delay could mean a life lost, that’s why we rushed him here in a hurry. We didn’t expect to be misunderstood."

Though still feeling a bit miffed, their explanation carried a hint of sharpness.

Wang Yongzhu naturally responded with full understanding and gratitude.