The Country Maiden: Fields and Leisure
Chapter 392 Selling Myself to You for a Lifetime, Do You Want It?

Chapter 392: Chapter 392 Selling Myself to You for a Lifetime, Do You Want It?

But it was difficult to broach the subject. Mother Song had originally planned to talk about this with Song Chongjin after the autumn harvest, thinking she would cry and plead, and no matter what, at least secure her brother’s life first.

She didn’t expect to run into Hong Hua’s mother and also hear the news that Song Chongjin was helping out at the Wang Family.

Once Mother Song mentioned it to the Song Family, Song Tiedan immediately saw it as an opportunity, and that’s why he rounded up a crowd and caused a scene at the Wang Family’s place.

Song Chongjin had returned to the village long ago, and he only showed up when the commotion was almost over.

Then he took the opportunity to settle things with Mother Song, and the rest followed naturally.

Wang Yongzhu didn’t know what to say. Earlier, she had thought that if Song Chongjin failed to handle the Song Family’s affairs properly, she would not settle for less.

Before she even expressed this sentiment, Song Chongjin had already resolved the issues with Mother Song and the Song Family.

Of course, there might still be some troubles to follow, but with the Letter of Severance in hand, as long as they ensured Mother Song was well-fed and clothed, everything else was a minor issue.

However, thinking of the moment when Mother Song completely gave up on Song Chongjin, Wang Yongzhu impulsively asked, "Do you really want to give up on your mother?"

Song Chongjin’s lips curled up with an indescribable smile, "That’s how cold-hearted I am, what can I do? If I don’t sever ties with her and the Song Family, I’ll be dragged into their quagmire and never be able to turn my life around. Maybe I was born unwilling to be inferior, not content to spend my life serving the Song Family like an ox or a horse. I want to escape this quagmire, I want to live as a respected person, I want to be selfish for once and live for myself. To achieve that, I must use every means to carve out a path of survival for myself!"

"Me, like this! Such a Song Chongjin! Am I terrifying?" Song Chongjin stared intently at Wang Yongzhu, not missing any flicker of expression on her face.

Then, he crouched down to meet Wang Yongzhu, who was seated on the kang, and extended the Letter of Severance to her, "Yongzhu, such a man is selling his entire life to you; do you want it?"

Wang Yongzhu cast her eyes down.

Song Chongjin stubbornly held the Letter of Severance in front of Wang Yongzhu as if he could keep holding it there if she didn’t accept it.

After a long silence, Wang Yongzhu finally spoke, "I have no money! I can’t afford it!"

There was a brightness in Song Chongjin’s eyes, deep and unfathomable before, now shimmering with tender waves, "I’ll pay for it, selling myself to you!"

Only then did Wang Yongzhu take the Letter of Severance, carefully storing it away, glaring at Song Chongjin but unable to hold back a smile.

The anxiety that Song Chongjin had been holding tightly finally eased, his heart swelling with joy that made him involuntarily grasp Wang Yongzhu’s hand, "Yongzhu, Yongzhu..."

He didn’t know what else to say, just knowing that calling out Yongzhu’s name brought great comfort to his heart.

Wang Yongzhu coughed and prodded Song Chongjin, "Alright, give me the silver! One hundred taels!" That was the money the household needed to do business with.

She had thought about, if worse came to worst, exchanging the gold jewelry, but hearing Song Chongjin’s words, why should she be polite? Naturally, she wanted to get her silver back.

Song Chongjin, still holding Wang Yongzhu’s hand, pulled out several silver notes from his bosom with the other and handed them to her.

Wang Yongzhu accepted the silver notes, which were in various denominations that added up to more than one hundred taels, seeming to be all of Song Chongjin’s worldly possessions.

Still, Song Chongjin was penniless when he broke off the engagement with the Wang Family, and in the months that followed, to provide for his family, he managed to save this much money, which was quite impressive.

Song Chongjin watched Wang Yongzhu carefully counting all his worldly possessions, and he found her miserly behavior endearing, no matter how he looked at it.

Wang Yongzhu finished counting Song Chongjin’s possessions, picked out a silver note worth one hundred taels, and intended to return the rest to Song Chongjin.

Song Chongjin firmly refused, "I’ve sold myself to you, so all of my belongings naturally belong to you!"

Wang Yongzhu didn’t care about the remaining twenty-something taels of silver and tossed them onto the table, "Take it, you need to have some silver on you when you go out in the future, don’t you?"

After speaking, he couldn’t help but mutter, "You should at least put these silver notes and silver in a purse, keeping them loose like this, aren’t you afraid of losing them?"

Song Chongjin’s eyes lit up, and he pounced on the opportunity, "Yongzhu, then you can embroider a purse for me—"

Wang Yongzhu wished he could slap himself for his thoughtless words!

However, seeing Song Chongjin’s eager look, there was no helping it, "Fine, once the autumn harvest is over and I have some free time, I’ll embroider one for you."

Song Chongjin knew when to quit while he was ahead. The Letter of Severance had already been stubbornly given, he was promised a purse, and he had even touched her small hand; the rest had to be plotted out slowly.

Moreover, although Wang Yongzhu had agreed, there was still the most difficult hurdle to overcome at the Wang Family, Old Granny Zhang.

As Wang Yongzhu packed up the items, Song Chongjin stubbornly refused to take the silver, insisting on receiving both silver and purse together. With no other choice, Wang Yongzhu had to keep them.

Looking at the sky, it was getting late, and it was time to cook.

Song Chongjin, eager to show his worth, drove the horse cart to the fields to haul the grain back.

No sooner had Song Chongjin left than Wang Yongping came over, "Little sister, you and Brother Chongjin? Is he going to be our brother-in-law?"

Wang Yongzhu gave him a look but didn’t deny it.

Wang Yongping was overjoyed, "That’s wonderful news! After this, Brother Chongjin will be a part of our Wang Family, right? He’s going to be our son-in-law through marriage, isn’t he?"

"Get lost, go stand guard outside," Wang Yongzhu, partly annoyed and embarrassed, chased Wang Yongping out.

At dinner, the atmosphere at the table was quite strange.

This time, Song Chongjin sat next to Wang Yongzhu openly and confidently, unfazed by the various looks from the Wang family members, as if he were in his own house.

Wang Laozhu was hesitant to speak, again and again.

Wang Yonggui wanted to say something but was intimidated into quietly eating his meal by a stern look from Old Granny Zhang.

After everyone had finished eating with their own thoughts, Wang Laozhu called Song Chongjin and Wang Yongzhu to the main room.

The rest of the family followed them in as well.

Wang Laozhu tapped on his pipe bowl and spoke first, "Chongjin, about what happened today, what are you really thinking? I’m not an unreasonable man, your Uncle Wang. The previous talk about having you ’bought’ by our Wang Family to become either a son-in-law or a long-term laborer, that was all the Song Family’s idea, not to be taken seriously."

"Leaving that aside, just the fact that you saved our Eldest Brother’s life and provided the blood-restoring medicine for Laosi and our eldest’s family, you’ve done great favors for our Wang Family. It’s only right and proper for us to help you with money."

"Uncle can see that you’re a child destined for great things, and I just want to know your plans. If you currently have nowhere to go, you can stay with us. When you find a suitable place, you can leave then, and in the future, consider the Wang Family as relatives, come and go as you please; but if you truly have the heart to become our family’s son-in-law, let’s settle this matter today, and from then on, there’s no turning back!"