The Country Maiden: Fields and Leisure
Chapter 430: What Can’t Be Said?

Chapter 430: Chapter 430: What Can’t Be Said?

After eating breakfast, they loaded the mountain goods onto the horse-drawn cart.

Wang Yongzhu and Song Chongjin were going to town today to deliver the goods and instructed Wang Yongfu to pay extra attention when receiving the goods today. They also told Wang Yonggui to start from today, every day, to receive mountain goods with Wang Yongfu. When no one was around, they were to bring along the children from home and teach them how to identify counterfeit mountain goods.

After getting all their house affairs in order, the two of them drove the horse-drawn cart toward town.

Because the cart was fully loaded with mountain goods, the mule walked slowly. Now, in the refreshingly cool autumn, the morning breeze carried a hint of chill, which felt somewhat cold against the skin.

Wang Yongzhu was wrapped in a thin cloak, and inside the bamboo tube she held was hot rice wine whipped with two eggs, stirred until silky. One sip, sweet to the taste, warmed her all over.

This was prepared by Old Granny Zhang early in the morning, with plenty of brown sugar added—perfect for a young girl to drink.

Song Chongjin seldom had such moments, alone with Yongzhu without any disturbance. Even in silence, she felt content, and the corners of her mouth remained slightly upturned.

Wang Yongzhu drank a few mouthfuls of the eggy rice wine and felt warm. She then held the bamboo tube to warm her hands and chatted idly with Song Chongjin.

"First, we’ll deliver the mountain goods, then go to the dye house to buy some cloth. It’ll be good to bring with us next time we go to Chongzi Gou. Afterwards, we can visit your two mentors. You don’t have any objections, do you?"

Song Chongjin naturally had no objections, "You may decide. Let’s take care of the important matters first. I suppose those two mentors don’t have anything serious, so let them wait."

From the tone of Song Chongjin’s voice, it seemed that her relationship with those two mentors wasn’t too great.

Wang Yongzhu thought about it. Initially, she hadn’t planned to ask about Song Chongjin’s past, those memories that maybe Song Chongjin wouldn’t want others to know.

However, since they were going to meet Song Chongjin’s two mentors, she couldn’t avoid it. Without any clue, she would be unable to help if needed.

After hesitating for a moment, Wang Yongzhu spoke up, "If it’s convenient for you, could you tell me about your two mentors? What’s your relationship with them? How do they usually treat you? And the Noble Patron who mistook someone else for his son, how did he treat you?"

Having said that, fearing that Song Chongjin might misunderstand, she hastily added an explanation, "It’s fine if you don’t want to talk about it. I was just thinking, when we meet your two mentors later, I don’t know what their attitude towards you will be. If they’re not good to you, there’s no need for me to show them any kindness. At least let me have an idea, to know how to deal with them. We shouldn’t be rude, but there’s no need to be overzealous and lose face for you, right?"

Song Chongjin would never misunderstand. Hearing Wang Yongzhu’s words, every sentence showed concern for her, without any suspicion. Although she was naturally cold and indifferent to those she did not care about, to the extent that she found even an extra glance to be a waste,

Once someone caught her eye and heart, she treasured them like a pearl, holding them dearly, without a shred of doubt.

Turning and gently touching Wang Yongzhu’s hair, Song Chongjin’s mouth curved with a hint of a smile, "Am I such an ungrateful person? Between you and me, what can’t be shared?"

With that said, he raised the horsewhip in his hand and made a whistling sound in the air before he began to recount his initial circumstances to Wang Yongzhu.

Back when Song Chongjin and Song Chunhua were driven out by the Song Family, life became unbearable, and Song Chongjin, driven to desperation, had to make a move. A child barely into his teens, what could he do?

He had heard that the mountains contained treasures and that with skill and luck, one could enter the mountains to find mountain goods or hunt game to trade for money.

At that time, Song Chongjin had no skills or craftsmanship to rely on. Gritting his teeth, he ventured into the mountains.

He was young and usually just followed others around Qili Slope, not very often at that.

What could there be left at Qili Slope? The villagers had long harvested everything; how could there be a share for a teenager like him?

In the struggle to survive, Song Chongjin resolutely entered Dahei Mountain.

Dahei Mountain was a place where even seasoned hunters seldom dared to venture alone, so for a child like him, it was a case of the naive being fearless. Relying solely on foolish courage, he ventured in.

Before long, he lost his way and found himself tired, thirsty, and hungry, and to make matters worse, his bad luck led him to a drove of wild boars.

Wild boars were considered a scourge in the mountains, and even wolves and tigers would not provoke them easily.

Song Chongjin’s luck was poor, and ill-fated as he was, he ran into them, got chased for a distance, and in desperation, climbed up a tree thinking he was safe.

But when wild boars go mad, they lack all reason. Their hides were covered in mud and grease from the mountain, making them both hard and thick, with tusks that were both coarse and long, taking turns to ram against the tree Song Chongjin had climbed.

It didn’t take many hits before Song Chongjin was clinging on for dear life. Just when he believed his end was near, a man came out of nowhere, first taking down the two leading boars with his arrows.

Then, using some method, he managed to draw away the remaining wild boars.

Only then did Song Chongjin breathe a sigh of relief, but he was so stiff he couldn’t even climb down from the tree.

It was the man who came back, lifted Song Chongjin down, then bound the wild boars with rope, and with Song Chongjin’s help, dragged the boars to a cave.

Inside the cave, the man told Song Chongjin that he was a hunter from the mountains, surnamed Qin. Seeing that Song Chongjin was a promising youngster, he asked if he wanted to learn hunting.

Song Chongjin couldn’t ask for anything better and immediately accepted Hunter Qin as his master. According to village customs, becoming an apprentice was akin to becoming a son, serving as an unpaid long-term laborer.

He had to personally attend to the needs of the master; only when the master was well-serviced, might he teach the apprentice a few tricks, depending on his mood.

Song Chongjin, bearing the heavy responsibility of providing for his family, had endured hardships before and knew the feeling of hunger, which made him treat his savior as his own father.

He was brave with a keen eye and was willing to learn, which actually impressed Hunter Qin. Although the latter was never warm towards him, he didn’t withhold secrets and slowly taught Song Chongjin all he knew.

However, Song Chongjin gradually started to sense something was amiss. Following Hunter Qin into the mountain, he was initially accompanied, but as he learned some skills, Qin stopped overseeing him and instead began to give orders, demanding deer from the mountains one day and roe deer the next.

The majority of Song Chongjin’s skills were honed from such trials, often barely surviving alone in the mountain.

If it had been any other master, they might have offered some comfort, regardless of the need to save face, but Hunter Qin always started by finding faults, scolding Song Chongjin, and then tossing him a bottle of medicine before leaving him be.

As soon as Song Chongjin’s injuries healed, he was immediately sent back into the mountain.

After several such instances, when Song Chongjin saw how other masters treated their apprentices in the mountains, doubts began to form in his mind.

And looking at Hunter Qin, the flaws were visible everywhere.