The Country Maiden: Fields and Leisure
Chapter 353: Recompense

Chapter 353: Chapter 353: Recompense

The Wang Family was so solemn about it that it made us siblings feel a bit embarrassed.

It seemed they had misunderstood; the Wang Family actually were reasonable people. That Third Child must be the odd one out in their family.

The two young brothers, after hearing the elders of the Wang Family’s sincere thanks, didn’t quite know what to say. It was the young lady who slightly stood out, "Uncle, you are too kind. We just lent a hand where we could, it wouldn’t be right for us as the younger generation to accept what you’re suggesting. If Uncle doesn’t mind, we’ll go home and discuss it with our parents, and then get back to you with an answer, is that all right?"

"Yes, yes, yes... It’s getting late today, and the mountain roads are dangerous. Stay with us at Old Wang’s house overnight, and we’ll talk tomorrow."

After declining a couple of times and seeing that it was indeed unsafe to travel through the mountains so late, they noticed that the Wangs were genuine in their invitation, so they agreed to stay.

Busy with arrangements, Laosi remained unconscious and was left in the main room for the night, watched over by Wang Laozhu and Old Granny Zhang.

Wang Yongping’s room was given to the two Liu brothers.

The Liu family’s young lady shared a room with Wang Yongzhu.

Seeing that Wang Yongping was alright, and that the Liu siblings were settled in, Song Chongjin also excused himself to go home.

As he left, Wang Yongzhu saw him off but didn’t say anything more than necessary about thanks, just told him to go home and get some rest.

A smile tugged at the corners of Song Chongjin’s mouth involuntarily, and after a long moment, he managed to squeeze out a few words, "Fourth Brother has good fortune on his side, you don’t need to worry, if there’s anything, just come find me."

"Mm, I know," nodded Wang Yongzhu, uncharacteristically gentle.

Song Chongjin’s heart skipped a beat, gathered his courage, and reached out to touch Wang Yongzhu’s hair before hastily throwing out, "And don’t worry about the autumn harvest, I’ll come help when the time comes—"

Without waiting for Wang Yongzhu to refuse, he quickly disappeared into the darkness.

Wang Yongzhu couldn’t help but curve the corners of her mouth upward.

Her heavy heart felt somewhat lighter.

...

In the middle of the night, Wang Yongping, who had been unconscious, finally came to.

The light was kept burning in the main room, and when Wang Yongping woke up, he realized he was back home and that he had truly escaped death.

He couldn’t help but move slightly, feeling pain all over his body, he groaned, startling Wang Laozhu and Old Granny Zhang awake.

They hurriedly got up to check on him and, seeing that Laosi was awake and his mind was clear, even asking about his saviors, the two elders were thoroughly relieved.

Wang Laozhu answered all of Wang Yongping’s questions, and only then did Wang Yongping’s heart settle.

He then felt hungry.

Seeing her son awake and hungry, Old Granny Zhang had no choice but to get up and stoke the stove to make some food.

All this commotion, except for the exhausted Liu siblings who were sleeping soundly, meant that the rest of the Wang family didn’t have a good rest.

Dawn arrived.

During the previous night, Wang Yongzhu had chatted with Miss Liu for a bit and inquired about their family.

She learned that their parents were both alive; they were just three siblings. The two elder brothers were named Liu Dasheng and Liu Daming.

The younger sister was called Liu Xiaoqiao.

Their whole family lived on hunting and even Liu Xiaoqiao was an excellent hunter.

In the morning, the Wang Family had already prepared a lavish breakfast, and Old Granny Zhang had Jindou go to the village head to buy tofu and fish.

Someone’s pig had just fallen and broken its leg, and seeing that it wouldn’t survive, they had no choice but to slaughter it to sell for some money. Old Granny Zhang bought a large chunk of meat and brought back some bones as well.

She cooked tofu stew with fish and stir-fried pork belly with chili peppers, and fried a big basin of eggs with green onions.

They entertained the Liu Family siblings.

Wang Yongzhu originally wanted to give them ten taels of silver as a reward for saving Wang Yongping’s life.

The Liu Family siblings absolutely refused to accept it, the two older brothers were especially upright.

They said that in the mountain’s customs, the Old Wang Family had shown them the greatest sincerity by treating them as honored guests; such treatment was satisfaction enough and they steadfastly refused any form of payment.

Wang Yongzhu had no choice but to let the matter rest, pondering in her heart that she must find an opportunity to repay this debt of gratitude.

Wang Yongping’s return in the middle of the night caused quite a stir, compounded by Wang Yonggui being kicked out to fetch Doctor Liu. Halfway there, he saw Jindou carrying Doctor Liu back home.

He figured returning home would yield no good results for him, so he dawdled behind, and when the neighbors from all around asked him, he spilled the beans.

That night, all the neighbors knew about it; Wang Yongping had a reasonably good reputation in the village, and given the Wang Family’s current situation, a succession of visitors had come to see him during the day.

One household brought a few eggs, another brought a handful of chives.

It was quite lively in the Old Wang Family courtyard.

Who would have imagined that not long ago, when the Wang Family faced a sudden calamity, it was a scene of deserted silence, with the gates tightly shut and the family hiding inside?

Wang Yongfu and Wang Yonggui were outside receiving the neighbors who came to visit Wang Yongping, while the courtyard was bustling with people coming and going. The Liu Family siblings, being very considerate, bid farewell after breakfast.

Before leaving, they even went into the room to see Wang Yongping.

After the ordeal of the previous night, Wang Yongping had eaten his fill and, for the moment, was in good spirits. Although he couldn’t move, he was now able to talk.

He sincerely thanked the Liu Family siblings.

The Liu siblings were too preoccupied with the rescue the day before to take a proper look at him, but today, Wang Yongping had been cleaned and changed into fresh clothes. At first glance, he seemed dignified with an open and straightforward expression between his brows.

He didn’t have the slick look of Wang Family’s Third Child.

The Liu siblings, being mountain folk themselves, naturally preferred candid individuals. Seeing that the person they saved was someone they took a liking to and spoke their language, they happily welcomed Wang Yongping’s promise to visit them to express his gratitude once he was recovered, and even made plans with the Liu brothers to have a proper drink when he came over.

Although the Liu siblings refused to accept any silver, the Wang Family couldn’t let them leave empty-handed. Mountain goods didn’t interest them, but fortunately, there were two slightly flawed rolls of fabric given by Shopkeeper Wu—one indigo and one water pink.

Wang Yongzhu insisted on stuffing them into their carry basket, along with half a bag of flour.

In Xiatian Chongzi Gully, where people lived off the mountain, nearly everyone relied on hunting; meat was plentiful, but grain was a rarity they valued.

At first, the Liu siblings were reluctant to accept the gifts, but Wang Yongzhu’s smooth talk convinced them, and they left somewhat dazed with their basket full.

The three siblings carried a full basket a good distance away before Liu Daming and Liu Dasheng realized something wasn’t right. They’d made it clear they didn’t want anything in return, so how did that Wang Family Young Lady persuade them with just a few words to take home such a large basket full of goods?

The straightforward Liu Dasheng was about to return it, but Liu Xiaoqiao stopped him.

"Brother, I think the Wang Family’s young lady is sincerely thanking us. She isn’t about putting on airs. Since we’ve accepted the gifts, let’s just keep them. If we go back now, wouldn’t that be slapping the Wang Family Young Lady’s face? If we feel embarrassed, I think since the Wang Family buys mountain goods, we could just sell ours to them at a good price, couldn’t we?"

"That’s true; we’re going to sell our mountain goods to someone regardless. The Wang Family seems pretty decent, apart from that Third Brother who seems a bit odd..."

"What’s that got to do with us? It seems like that Wang Family Young Lady is in charge, and she seems to have the right ideas. She’s also considerate. Last night when we stayed at their place, she even found me a set of clean clothes that had never been worn, and she speaks kindly. She might just be someone worth befriending..."

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