The Country Maiden: Fields and Leisure
Chapter 431

Chapter 431: 431

He might be a hunter, but he lived in the town, rarely venturing into the mountains, yet his life was nonetheless comfortable. His daily meat supply was provided by Song Chongjin, and not a single meal went by without alcohol.

In particular, though Hunter Qin was indeed a hunter, he seldom interacted with his neighbors. Instead, he had quite a friendship with the owner of the neighboring bookstore. The two households were neighbors with interconnected yards, practically like one big family.

The bookstore owner often carried himself with an air of superiority. When he first met Song Chongjin, he mocked him for being a stubborn, uncultivated country bumpkin who couldn’t even recognize characters.

After seeing more of him, the owner disdained Song Chongjin for being illiterate and embarrassing Hunter Qin. He threw a few books his way, like "Hundred Family Surnames" and "Thousand Character Classic," and taught Song Chongjin to read.

Whatever he was taught on one day would be reviewed the next. If Song Chongjin couldn’t answer correctly, he’d be scolded—without a single curse word, yet in a way that made one wish to die of humiliation and anger.

In the beginning, without any foundation, Song Chongjin would be so embarrassed by the owner’s scolding that he summoned the courage to tell Hunter Qin that he’d just learned hunting and was barely making ends meet.

As for studying, even if he wanted to, he had neither the time, energy, nor money. He feared he would let down the bookstore owner’s good intentions.

Instead, Hunter Qin berated Song Chongjin for failing to recognize a good opportunity. Having someone teach him to read for free was a huge favor. So what if he got scolded a bit? In other households, people would clamor for the chance to be taught without cost.

Already proud at heart, Song Chongjin’s resolve was stoked by Hunter Qin’s words. No matter how unpleasant or nasty the bookstore owner was, thinking of the characters recognized and the knowledge gained, which were his alone to keep, he could endure.

He began to learn characters, reading, and writing with the bookstore owner.

The bookstore owner claimed his surname was Zhang. Song Chongjin began to appreciate his kindness in teaching him to read and write, and wanted to kowtow to him as his teacher, but Shopkeeper Zhang flatly refused.

However, in his heart, Song Chongjin regarded both Shopkeeper Zhang and Hunter Qin as his masters. Whenever he bagged good game, he never forgot to share with both, and during festivals, he always presented gifts to them following proper etiquette.

As time passed, Song Chongjin noticed something peculiar about Shopkeeper Zhang of the bookstore.

Keeping a watchful eye day after day, he inadvertently overheard Hunter Qin and Shopkeeper Zhang let something slip while they were drunk.

It turned out that Hunter Qin was a subordinate of the Noble Patron who had taken in Song Chunhua. Once a trusted confidant with a promising future by the Patron’s side, he was tasked with protecting the Patron’s son after Song Chunhua gave birth to a boy.

Ever since then, he’d been cooped up in this secluded valley, his prospects all but dashed.

Harboring resentment, Hunter Qin couldn’t defy his master’s orders and vented his frustration on Song Chongjin.

He would still teach him what was necessary, but his attitude was not that of someone dealing with a young master, but rather like how one would treat servants, ordering Song Chongjin around as if he were his young servant or underling.

As long as Song Chongjin didn’t die, Hunter Qin would absolutely not intervene in any injuries or other troubles that befell him.

And Shopkeeper Zhang from the bookstore was also one of the Patron’s retainers, rumored to be a Graduate who stood a good chance of scoring high in the exams. But after his family faced a crisis and offended someone, he had to protect his life by seeking refuge under the Patron.

Marginalized, he was assigned to teach Song Chongjin to read and write.

He felt no teacher-student affection for Song Chongjin, nor did he think much of his identity—just another common son by a concubine, raised in the countryside. What could such a person amount to in the future?

Song Chongjin was now well into his teens, and only then did the Patron send them to tutor him, making it seem as though they were just keeping him as a plaything. After all, he was still their flesh and blood, but it seemed there were no plans to bring him back to the main family.

Even if, one day, the Patron suddenly decided to take Song Chongjin back, his rural upbringing, lack of esteemed guidance, and hunter lineage would undoubtedly block any pathways for Song Chongjin’s progress.

At best, going back would only mean being kept by the family, a pawn responsible for continuing the lineage.

Thinking about how most of their lives would have to be spent under an identity like Song Chongjin’s, how could they not feel resentful?

After all, their master only occasionally remembered to ask about the situation here. As long as Song Chongjin wasn’t dead, they naturally wouldn’t take it to heart.

After hearing all this, Song Chongjin finally understood his own origins and circumstances.

From then on, he became silent and reticent, no longer willing to trust anyone and diligently stealing hunting skills and martial arts from Hunter Qin.

Towards Shopkeeper Zhang, he was still respectful, and studied even more earnestly, but any bit of gratitude in his heart had long since vanished.

Until a few days ago, when Song Chongjin was confirmed to not be Song Chunhua’s son, he personally went to explain the situation to Hunter Qin and Shopkeeper Zhang, severing the thin mentor-apprentice bond between them completely.

After hearing all this, Wang Yongzhu’s eyes filled with sympathy as she looked at Song Chongjin.

She only knew that Song Chongjin had a hard life, not expecting that he had been enduring it in such a manner.

Step by step, everything relied solely on himself, with no one to lend him a helping hand.

With this thought, her gaze softened as she looked at Song Chongjin, "Alright, I have a clear understanding now. You’ve had a hard time these years."

Those words touched a chord in Song Chongjin’s heart, and looking at Wang Yongzhu’s concerned expression, all the suppressed emotions in his chest were suddenly forgotten.

When they finally reached the town, wobbling along, they first visited Guan Yifei, who had already rented a warehouse and hired two young servants who cleaned and guarded it daily.

Upon seeing Wang Yongzhu and Song Chongjin arrived, the two young servants hurried forward to welcome them, then went to the yard to inform Guan Yifei.

Guan Yifei had been told by Song Chongjin the day before that Wang Yongzhu would be bringing goods today and had been waiting.

Upon hearing the report, he immediately came out and, seeing the cart full of mountain goods, nodded in satisfaction.

It was the season for buying mountain goods, and this year’s business in the town’s shops was not as good as in previous years. Guan Yifei had heard some talk indicating that nowadays in Qilidun, the Wang Family’s store purchasing mountain goods offered fair prices that were much more advantageous than selling to local townspeople.

Guan Yifei knew what this meant—it referred to the Wang Family that was cooperating with the big boss.

He had not expected them to build up their reputation so quickly; it seemed they truly had some skill.

After some polite conversation between the three, they drove the horse cart into the yard and unloaded the goods, while Guan Yifei checked them carefully.

He had been in this line of work for a long time, and even he was momentarily stunned by the mountain goods that Wang Yongzhu had brought this time.

There was a great quantity and high quality of goods, especially the Yellow Pine Mushrooms that weighed less than half a pound each, which Guan Yifei handled so gently in his hands, afraid of damaging them.

This was pure silver right there.

After inspecting the goods and settling the payment in silver, Guan Yifei saw that Wang Yongzhu and her party seemed in a hurry to leave. He quickly stopped her, "Wang Family Young Lady, there’s still too little of the Yellow Pine Mushrooms. You can’t short the quantity agreed upon in the contract you signed with our big boss!"