The Country Maiden: Fields and Leisure
Chapter 377 What are you doing?

Chapter 377: Chapter 377 What are you doing?

If she could get a hold of the recipe that won the empress’s praise, Boss Tian would take her to the provincial city, give her a large courtyard, and fifty mu of the finest farmland.

Lady Sun had spent half her life serving men and was thoroughly sick of it, if she could secure enough silver for her next life, she’d become a lady of leisure and no longer need to engage in such vile and demeaning work.

Thinking about the promised conditions, Lady Sun’s eyes reddened.

She had endured for so many days, and finally, she had grasped this opportunity.

Wang Yongzhu had gone to town, Wang Laosan she had sent to call the doctor, Wang Yongping was outside, as long she was careful, she wouldn’t be discovered by anyone.

This was her best chance, if she didn’t seize it, she feared she wouldn’t survive much longer in the Old Wang Family.

Old Granny Zhang was too formidable, too grinding, Wang Laosan was unreliable, and then there was that young girl Wang Yongzhu, who appeared indifferent, yet Lady Sun feared her the most.

Not because of her unusual strength, but because she felt that the girl had seen right through her, all her performances, in Wang Yongzhu’s eyes, seemed like a joke.

Otherwise, whenever Wang Yongzhu was home, she would never dare to make her move, but now that Wang Yongzhu had gone to town, she knew this opportunity was not to be missed, for it might never come again; if she hesitated, she might truly lose her chance forever.

While thinking, Lady Sun limped stealthily along the wall and snuck into Wang Yongzhu’s room.

It was also fortunate that this was the countryside, except for the main room, the rest had no locks, at most they could only be bolted from the inside.

Wang Yongzhu’s room was sparsely furnished, with just a kang bed, a five-drawer tall cupboard, and on top of it sat two chests. A long table, a chair, and a small stool.

On the windowsill, a small bunch of wildflowers was placed.

Lady Sun began to search everything meticulously.

Such a precious dye recipe would likely be locked in a small box and well hidden, not something she would carry with her when out.

It was inconvenient and too easily stolen.

Valuables were usually stored in lockable furniture like cupboards.

Lady Sun moved lightly, searching quickly and carefully.

Soon, she had searched most of the room without finding anything.

Only the tall cupboard in the corner with a brass lock remained.

It was a small, delicate brass lock, and Lady Sun sneered. One of her former clients had been a locksmith, and out of curiosity, he had amused her by teaching her a few tricks.

This most common brass lock required only a bit of finesse to open.

When Lady Sun left her room, she had taken a brass hairpin with her, and with the sharp end, she inserted it into the keyhole and gently prodded and pulled...

With a click, the brass lock opened.

Lady Sun’s heart raced with tension and excitement.

Her hands started to tremble.

It was as if she was about to behold mountains of gold and silver.

If she managed to steal the dye recipe, she wouldn’t want to stay a moment longer and would immediately flee the Old Wang Family. She couldn’t stand another day there.

She was treated like an ox or horse every day, carrying manure and dumping excrement, and now she was also toiled for free for the autumn harvest.

She had had more than enough.

Lady Sun removed the lock, opened the cupboard, and indeed, hidden inside the cupboard was a small box covered with clothes. Opening the box, she found a few sheets of paper with some characters written on them.

Lady Sun was originally a rural maid who couldn’t recognize many characters, having memorized only a few key characters related to the dye shop scheme after concocting the plan with Boss Tian.

As she unfolded the paper, some characters seemed familiar, and she guessed this must be the secret recipe.

Especially after opening the paper, she found that each sheet had a piece of fabric of a different color attached to it.

Not to mention others, the blue fabric with white patterns, and a red fabric she had never seen before were particularly attractive.

If it weren’t for the pressing time, Lady Sun would have loved to take a longer look.

Having confirmed it was the dye recipe, Lady Sun couldn’t afford to think more; she carefully selected the recipe for the blue and white fabric, as well as the red fabric, folded them neatly, twisted open her brass hairpin, stuffed the folded papers into the hollow hairpin, and then inserted the hairpin back into her hair.

She then carefully put the box back in its original place, covered it with clothing, had just closed the wardrobe door, restored the lock, and was about to lower her hand when she heard a voice from behind her, "What are you doing?"

Lady Sun’s heart trembled, she had been discovered.

However, she has been prepared for this moment; thus, she maintained a calm demeanor as she turned around.

With two parts confusion and eight parts composure, she said, "Big Brother? You came back too?"

Wang Yongfu entered the room with a stern face, his tone very serious, "I’m asking you what you’re doing in my sister’s room?"

He knew that Lady Sun had been injured and had gone home to call a doctor.

He had originally been cutting wheat in the field, and somehow his sickle hit an protruding stone, which caused a big chip in the sickle blade and even detached the handle.

Wang Yongfu had intended to swap sickles with Wang Laozhu and have Wang Laozhu get a new one; it would also give him a chance to rest.

Feeling sorry for his eldest son, Wang Laozhu had let him come back to exchange it himself.

Not wanting to delay his work, he hurried back, only to find that Laosi was nowhere to be seen, not at the doorway.

The main door was ajar, so he pushed it open and walked in, only to find the rooms where Lady Sun stayed were open, void of people.

Upon hearing some noise from his little sister’s room and seeing it, he wondered why Lady Sun, who had a cut on her leg, was not resting in her room but sneaking into his little sister’s?

There must be something fishy!

Wang Yongfu was honest, not foolish.

"My leg hurts terribly, and the blood wouldn’t stop, so Sanlang told me to find some medicine in my little sister’s room and apply it first. He went to find a doctor for me!" Lady Sun lied without blushing or panting. Standing beside the wardrobe, she inadvertently scraped her leg hard against it.

The paste of medicine on her leg was mostly scraped off, and blood seeped out once again.

Then with tears in her eyes and a pitiable look, she added, "Big Brother, if you don’t believe me, look, my leg is like this, it really hurts too much..."

She trailed off, looking at Wang Yongfu expectantly.

Wang Yongfu looked at Lady Sun skeptically, glancing down to see the blood flowing from her leg, but then wondered about the missing medicine paste.

"Didn’t you have medicine applied to your leg? Where did it go?"

"It accidentally got scraped off when Sanlang helped me back," answered Lady Sun.

Still distrustful, Wang Yongfu took a couple of steps forward, scrutinizing the room and noticing that Wang Yongzhu’s wardrobe was still locked. Just to be sure, he tugged at the brass lock, which was indeed locked.

Only then did he sigh in relief. His sister knew how to earn money, and there could be valuable possessions in her room which outsiders shouldn’t know about.

With his sister not at home, it was his duty as the eldest brother to keep an eye on things.