The Country Maiden: Fields and Leisure
Chapter 376: Please, Doctor

Chapter 376: Chapter 376: Please, Doctor

Lady Sun had never hated Wang Yonggui so much, but she still needed him at this moment, and thus she spoke in a pleading tone, "Sanlang, I truly can’t feel at ease! I am so afraid, if I don’t see a doctor I won’t be able to rest! Now at home, the only one I can rely on is Sanlang..."

Seeing that Wang Yonggui was unmoved, she gritted her teeth, "Is Sanlang worried about not having the money for medical treatment? Don’t worry, I will pay for the diagnosis. Sanlang, if you help me back, I will give you the silver pieces. Could you please fetch the doctor to take a look at me? As long as the doctor says it’s nothing serious, I will come right back to work! I won’t cause trouble for Sanlang."

As she spoke, she looked at Wang Yonggui with tearful eyes.

Setting everything else aside, Lady Sun took the most pride in her eyes, which were both big and captivating.

Although now unable to exert the overwhelming effect they once had due to her faded beauty, just the act of staring a bit longer at Wang Yonggui was enough to elicit a flicker of sympathy in him.

After thinking it over, sending Lady Sun back home would mean he could slack off and rest, and he could also get his hands on her silver.

Look, Lady Sun has learned her lesson, hasn’t she? Now she knows she has to rely on a man and willingly hand over her silver, doesn’t she?

Such were the thoughts in Wang Yonggui’s mind, his blood boiling with excitement, and courage rose in him at the thought of the imminent silver.

He nudged his way to Old Granny Zhang’s side, "Mother, I think Ahfu’s wound is quite severe, shouldn’t we get a doctor to have a look? If he ends up lame or something else happens, we wouldn’t be able to explain it, right? After all, he’s not our family member!"

Old Granny Zhang spat, "Nonsense! You think I don’t know the rules of the city folk? Even if she’s a maid bought by our family, her life and death belong to us, who else is there to explain to? To you? Or to myself?"

Wang Yonggui, desperate for the silver, argued, "Mother, she is, after all, my woman. We can’t just watch her suffer, right? I’ll take her back to see a doctor. It won’t cost our family a penny; she will pay for it herself!"

Old Granny Zhang saw Lady Sun’s condition and knew she would be of no use in the fields and would just be an eyesore.

Out of sight, out of mind, she waved her hand, "Go on, get that ill-fated broom of a vixen spirit out of my sight! I’m warning you, I’m counting every item in the house, don’t even think of using anything from here to settle the debt, hear me?"

That was exactly what Wang Yonggui had been waiting to hear.

He happily dropped his sickle, and, supporting Lady Sun, slowly made his way towards the Wang Family’s house.

Seeing their figures from behind, Old Granny Zhang cursed fiercely, "Disgraceful wretches!"

Then she bent down to her work and said no more.

By the time Wang Yonggui, helping Lady Sun, finally arrived at the Wang Family’s doorstep, Wang Yongping was guarding a pile of rice grains, with the courtyard door half-closed.

Upon seeing his Third Brother coming back supporting that woman, Wang Yongping acted as if he saw nothing.

Wang Yonggui led Lady Sun into her small room and dumped her onto a pile of straw.

He then spoke bluntly, "Give me the silver, I’ll go fetch a doctor for you."

Lady Sun, having no choice and drawing in a breath, reached into her cosmetic box and pressed something. A small compartment popped open, containing a few silver pieces and some silver notes.

Wang Yonggui’s gaze ignited with greed at the sight of the silver and silver notes, and if not for the last bit of reason he still possessed, he would have grabbed it all right there and then.

Lady Sun knew he wouldn’t fetch a Doctor unless she gave enough. Gritting her teeth, she picked up the silver pieces and handed them to Wang Yonggui, "Sanlang, take this silver and hurry to find a doctor. The pain is terrible."

Though somewhat dissatisfied, Wang Yongping weighed the silver pieces in his hand, tallying three to four taels. To hire a doctor would cost only dozens or hundreds of large coins; he stood to profit handsomely.

Therefore, his expression changed, from impatience to tender concern.

"Ahfu, don’t worry, Sanlang is on his way! You rest at home, everything is in Sanlang’s care!" He even caressed Lady Sun’s face before eagely running off.

At the doorway, not being able to resist, he warned Wang Yongping, "Ahfu’s leg is cut, she can’t move. If she needs water or anything, listen for her!" With that, he ran towards the next village.

In the hut, Lady Sun waited for a long while and heard Wang Yonggui’s footsteps running away.

She also heard Wang Yongping’s coughing.

She dared not move, her palms sweating and heating intermittently.

Just now, in order to be able to come back, she deliberately cut her own leg, and, fearing Old Granny Zhang and the others would notice, she even did it harshly.

Thinking back on it now, she still felt frightened.

Lady Sun gritted her teeth, she could take it no more. Originally, her plan was to use her connection with Wang Yonggui to first get into the Wang Family’s door.

Then, once she got familiar with the Wang Family, especially Wang Yongzhu, she would coax the recipe away from them.

At the time, she thought, what kind of big world could a village girl have seen? Buy her some fancy hair accessories, clothes, rouge, face powder, talk up the various benefits of city life, and make a few empty promises.

Wouldn’t she be easily coaxed into compliance, and the recipe be easily obtained?

She had not expected the Wang Family to be utterly mad!

Logically speaking, as a woman as beautiful as a flower, bringing her dowry to be a concubine for the Wang Family’s son, wouldn’t any family happily welcome her in?

Especially for these rural fellows, with her looks and wealth, she could even be the main wife without any problem.

She was prepared for Wang Yonggui’s wife and children to hate and reject her.

But for the entire Wang Family to repulse and loathe her, that was beyond her expectations.

Especially Old Granny Zhang, that old woman was simply insane—aren’t mothers-in-law and daughters-in-law always at odds? In large households, mothers-in-law even put concubines in their sons’ rooms for no reason, afraid their sons would get too close to their wives.

Lady Sun thought that once she got into the Wang Family, she’d first win over this affordable mother-in-law, then Wang Yongzhu, and life would be easy.

What could a rural old lady understand? If she flattered a little more, bought some pastries from the county town, made a set of clothes, sweetened her mouth a bit more, and if this old lady was greedy for money, wouldn’t she stand by Lady Sun’s side easily if given a few copper plates in the future?

But what she heard and saw was that these cheap in-laws were the most fiercely opposed.

With no choice, she used some tactics to stay, and to complete her task, she sold herself to the Wang Family without taking a single penny.

She thought she might as well endure it for a while, keep a low profile, and wait until the Wang Family let down their guard before making any new plans.

Or, she could simply learn by stealth. As long as Wang Yongzhu was dyeing cloth at home, she could watch and pay attention, and she ought to learn it eventually.

It had never crossed her mind that since her arrival at the Wang Family, Wang Yongzhu would announce that it was time for the autumn harvest, and cloth dyeing would be put on hold.

Lady Sun almost died of anger.

Later, she also realized that the Wang Family was guarding against her.

All her previous plans were unusable, leaving only one last option—steal!

There were several versions of Wang Yongzhu’s dye recipe on the market, and she knew it was probably unrealistic to steal them all.

She pondered stealing just one or two, which would not be too conspicuous, could be taken away covertly, and would at least fulfill the expectations of Boss Tian, her patron.

Boss Tian, her generous patron, had promised that as long as she could get her hands on one dye recipe, she would get a small courtyard in the neighboring county town, plus a small manor.