The Country Maiden: Fields and Leisure
Chapter 424: The Stance of the Prospective Son-in-law

Chapter 424: Chapter 424: The Stance of the Prospective Son-in-law

"Having such a capable younger sister who helps run the household well is always better than those who cause trouble. Besides, the Wang Family Young Lady isn’t getting any younger, and her marriage has already been arranged; how many more years can she stay at home?"

"Furthermore, Wang Family’s Fourth Child is the youngest son, with three elder brothers above him. Even if the Wang Family Young Lady gets married, as long as the parents are there and the household isn’t divided, it won’t be our girl’s turn. It’s better to earnestly and honestly earn money by following the Wang Family Young Lady."

"I actually find this match quite good. Otherwise, we don’t know much about people outside the mountain; can we even find someone better? Or else, you might as well give up the idea and let Xiao Qiao marry someone from our Chongzi Gou, becoming a hunter’s wife isn’t so bad either."

This comment truly struck a nerve in Mother Liu; she immediately stood up, "That won’t do, my daughter will absolutely not marry a hunter! I’ve had enough of the life of a hunter’s wife, and I can’t let my daughter suffer the same hardships. The Wang Family it is, it’s still better than marrying someone from the village."

Father Liu took a drag of his cigarette, rolled his eyes, and thought, with this determination, what’s the point of being picky about this and that?

It was simply making oneself miserable for no reason.

The matter was settled then, but Father Liu still gave a couple of words of advice: "We just need to know this in our hearts for now, let’s not talk about it yet, just wait and see. In the next few days, the two of you brothers should spend more time with Yongping and inquire more about the Wang Family so we can have a better understanding."

The Liu brothers readily agreed.

"That’s settled then. Since our mother’s household has this intention, we should get closer to them. You two brothers go help the Wang Family and be watchful; make sure no one deceives them."

The Liu brothers complied and left.

Leaving just Father Liu and Mother Liu, they exchanged a glance, seeing Mother Liu’s still conflicted expression, Father Liu consoled her, "We haven’t spoken directly yet, let’s just watch first. If the Wang Family really isn’t suitable, we can look elsewhere. Xiao Qiao is still young; looking around for another two years is also fine."

Mother Liu wiped away her tears, what more could she say?

With the help of the Liu Family Siblings, in just one day, they gathered a whole cart of mountain goods, including an unexpected half-pound of dried Yellow Pine Mushrooms, which was the biggest harvest.

After spending the night, they packed up early the next day and bid farewell to the Liu Family.

Having been away from home for three or four days, they were unsure of the situation back home.

The two families said their goodbyes, and Wang Yongping escorted Wang Yongzhu and the group out of the village.

Seeing Wang Yongping’s obliviousness, Wang Yongzhu kept her mouth shut, thinking that even though Liu Xiaoqiao was a good girl, it still depended on whether Fourth Brother had any destiny with her.

If she revealed it too early, it would only make their interactions awkward. It was better to leave things ambiguous for now; if Wang Yongping took a genuine liking to Liu Xiaoqiao, then the marriage could be happily arranged.

Old Granny Zhang knew her son very well; the boy was straightforward through and through. He still seemed oblivious, and if she told him about the thoughts of connecting with the Liu Family, he would either be scared off from staying at the Liu’s or he would be so dazed that he wouldn’t know how to act, doing everything wrong and saying all the wrong things.

So she didn’t spell it out for him; she just vaguely instructed Wang Yongping to be diligent and attentive at the Liu’s and to take the initiative in every task.

As for the Liu Family’s difficulties and all that, Old Granny Zhang couldn’t care less. Want to take a wife, and you can’t even take this bit of suffering? Still expecting it to be handed to you on a silver platter? Don’t even think about it; it’s your own wife to find, so make your own way. If you’re out of options, just stay a bachelor for life. It might be just as well to have you help your sister and mom, rather than getting married and forgetting about them with a new wife.

Therefore, after laying out these two points, Old Granny Zhang washed her hands of the matter.

Wang Yongping just figured his mother was telling him to be perceptive when visiting the Liu Family as a guest, to do more work and be diligent. He readily agreed.

But Wang Laozhu hesitated several times, wanting to speak but stopping himself when Granny Zhang glared at him, and he backed down.

It wasn’t until Song Chongjin had driven the carriage a good distance away that Wang Laozhu finally spoke up, "Old woman, about this marriage with the Liu Family, aren’t we a bit mismatched now? Our family’s living much better than most people now. The Liu Family are reasonable folks, but they are after all hunters from the mountains. If this marriage really happens, wouldn’t people laugh at us for taking a wife from the hills?"

It was an old issue. Wang Laozhu cared about face. Forming a nominal kinship with the Liu Family was fine, as long as they had good character. But taking a daughter from the Liu Family as a daughter-in-law—that raised problems.

In these times, most people outside the mountains looked down on those who lived in them, thinking they were poor and barbaric. Only families that truly couldn’t afford to find a wife would look for one from the mountains.

With the conditions of our family, without mentioning anything else, couldn’t we find a fitting daughter-in-law within the neighboring counties and villages, instead of searching in the mountains?

Wouldn’t we become the talk of the town if the word got out?

Old Granny Zhang snorted without lowering her voice. Before the family in the carriage and with no one else around, she said, "What’s wrong with our family? Are we some kind of grand household or not? Just because our days are a bit better now, have you forgotten your surname?"

"What’s wrong with a wife from the mountains? I see Miss Liu is decisive and honest, not the fussy type, the kind of girl who will bring peace to a household if married into it. Or would you rather have one like Eldest Brother’s wife, always thinking of taking advantage, trying to siphon public funds into her own quarters?"

"Or someone like Laosan’s wife, who is useless as a wet rag, unable to stand even with my support? A butler that can’t manage the household, a man that can’t control his own wife, and when trouble comes, she only knows how to cry. What use is that?"

"Marry someone from the nearby counties and villages, and with relatives all over the place, would you help them or not with every little issue? Wouldn’t that drag our family backwards? My daughter has worked hard for our assets; do you expect me to squander it on distant relatives just because we share some blood?"

"I think the Liu Family is quite good. Taking Miss Liu as our daughter-in-law is also beneficial for our mountain goods business. Her family is far away and won’t bother us easily. There’s wisdom in the saying ’judge a pig by its pen’—a trouble-free in-law’s family and a straightforward girl are much more valuable than some dogshit reputation."

"I’m telling you, don’t let your obsession with face bring disaster to our household. Besides, this is women’s business, sizing up a future daughter-in-law. And you, a full-grown man, shouldn’t be meddling. Why are you so concerned with the Fourth Brother’s prospective wife?"

With these words, Wang Laozhu puffed out his cheeks and glared, but what could he say?

Upfront, Song Chongjin couldn’t help but feel a wave of sympathy for his future father-in-law. He had long seen that ever since his own Yongzhu took charge, his future father-in-law had been losing status by the day.

Of course, as a prospective son-in-law, he had to take a firm stance and absolutely support his future mother-in-law and Yongzhu.

So, Song Chongjin pretended not to hear anything and silently drove the carriage towards Qilidun.