The Country Maiden: Fields and Leisure
Chapter 449 - 447 Sincerity

Chapter 449: Chapter 447 Sincerity

"Sincerity? Today, I’ll show you our sincerity!" Wang Yongzhu, without any warning, delivered a flying kick, sending Hunter Qin flying into the courtyard gate with a loud crash, then rolling down into the yard.

Hunter Qin didn’t even have a chance to grunt before he passed out cold.

Shopkeeper Zhang’s legs went weak, and he collapsed to the ground: "You... you..." He couldn’t finish his sentence, trembling all over.

Good heavens! Where did this female scourge come from?

The onlookers couldn’t help but step back, their backs starting to sweat.

Damn, I thought this Wang Family young lady was a poor little white flower.

Who knew she’s actually a tyrannical thorny rose!

Wang Yongzhu grabbed Shopkeeper Zhang by the scruff and headed into the yard, reaching the unconscious Hunter Qin, she found him sprawled in her way, an annoyance for sure. Another kick and Hunter Qin was sent flying into the middle of the yard.

With a muffled thump, the faces of those outside couldn’t help but twitch.

The stone table in the yard that she had smashed the day before had been cleared away, leaving only a few stone stools.

Wang Yongzhu walked up to a stone stool, dumped Shopkeeper Zhang on the ground, and then leisurely straightened her dress. "Shopkeeper Zhang, do you find this price acceptable? If not, we can discuss it further?"

How could Shopkeeper Zhang dare to negotiate further? Would he not just get kicked himself?

Old Qin, with his thick skin and sturdy build, could take it, but Shopkeeper Zhang’s smaller physique feared he’d soon be on his way to meet Yama Raja.

At that moment, he was filled with regret. If only they had known that the Wang Family young lady was such an untouchable bane, why would they have done something as disloyal as this?

Obeying their master, loyally staying here, supposedly to instruct Song Chongjin, but in reality just coasting by—the current Song Chongjin didn’t really need any instruction.

Apart from the loneliness and boredom, life had been peaceful; there was nothing bad about it.

They should not have been greedy, should not have let their long-standing yearning to return to the Capital City cloud their judgment, leading them to betray their master and poison his disciple.

Shopkeeper Zhang, cowering, backed down: "Miss Wang, the price is very reasonable, very..."

"Since it’s reasonable, why haven’t you brought the silver?" Wang Yongzhu’s voice turned cold.

The moment Shopkeeper Zhang heard that, he scrambled into the house. Over the years, the silver coins Song Chongjin had respectfully given, along with the silver and allowances the master had given them to take care of Song Chongjin, had filled their purses considerably.

But if they had to pay out everything according to Wang Yongzhu’s demand for compensation, they would likely be left penniless.

But at this moment, their own lives were more important, and they couldn’t care less about the money.

While Shopkeeper Zhang went to fetch the silver, Wang Yongzhu signaled Jindou to fetch a bucket of water from the well in the yard. She also had Jinhoo close the Qin Family’s courtyard door, cutting off the prying eyes of the people outside.

When the water was fetched, Wang Yongzhu put on gloves and took out a small amount of the exchanged plant neurotoxin powder, poured it into her palm, and mixed it with the water. After thinking for a moment, she grabbed a couple of handfuls of ash from the corner of the wall and mixed it into the powder, turning it into a thin, muddy paste.

Then, squatting down, she meticulously painted a mud-caked white-eyed turtle on the face of the unconscious Hunter Qin, incredibly lifelike, especially the two white eyes, which she drew quite skillfully.

Wang Yongzhu finished her drawing and admired her work, nodding with great satisfaction.

Over there, Old Granny Zhang saw that after her daughter had shown her talent, Shopkeeper Zhang obediently went inside to fetch the silver. Suddenly, her legs weren’t weak anymore.

She turned her head to see her Laosan still looking as if he was in a dream and slapped him irritably, "Look at yourself. Be a bit more ambitious, and don’t embarrass your younger sister!"

Wang Yonggui grabbed Old Granny Zhang’s sleeve, "Mother, are we really going to compensate four thousand eight hundred taels? Aren’t we going to be rich?"

Old Granny Zhang spat, "Keep dreaming! Even if it were forty-eight thousand taels, what’s that got to do with you? It belongs to your brother-in-law! Don’t you even think about it, or watch your mother cut off your dog legs!"

When it came to her daughter’s interests, Old Granny Zhang was very clear-headed.

If the silver went to Song Chongjin, then it belonged to her daughter.

If it went to the Wang Family, a share would have to be given to them. Why should they? It was her son-in-law’s silver, and nobody else was going to touch it!

Wang Yonggui really wanted to say that there were also fifty taels of his medical expenses in there, but upon seeing Hunter Qin with a mud turtle on his face on the ground, he smartly swallowed his words.

It wasn’t long before Shopkeeper Zhang came out haphazardly with a chest, immediately spotting Old Qin lying on the ground with a turtle on his face, his eye twitched, and he solemnly placed the chest in front of Wang Yongzhu.

"All my life’s earnings are in here. There are one thousand and five hundred taels in the silver notes, along with dozens of taels of silver coins, the deed to the courtyard house where I live, which cost one hundred and fifty taels when I bought it and is now worth about two hundred taels, some gold bars, and some jade pendants which are also worth some money. If all this is still not enough, I have also several calligraphy and paintings that I have cherished for many years..."

By the end, Shopkeeper Zhang was nearly crying; his life’s savings were all stowed in there, especially those calligraphy and paintings. Rural folks wouldn’t understand—the right connoisseur would value a single piece at a few thousand taels!

These were his prized treasures, yet now they had to be pawned off, undervalued, to this country girl, Wang Yongzhu.

Wang Yongzhu riffled through the contents carelessly and roughly knew their worth. She nodded and said, "Alright, your silver seems to be enough. Come here, as long as you let me draw a turtle on your face, this matter will be considered settled!"

"You! Didn’t you say that as long as the money was given... how can you go back on your word!" Shopkeeper Zhang, being a scholar, was outraged to be made such an offer—it was infuriating.

For a scholar, it’s all about integrity and face. Silver is an external possession; by giving it away, one can comfort oneself with not being bound by material wealth.

But to allow someone to paint a turtle on one’s face is a slap in the face—where is the scholar’s integrity then? What about face? How can he mix in his circles afterward?

"Are you really not allowing it?" Wang Yongzhu smiled and asked again.

"A head can be broken, blood can flow, but a scholar’s integrity must not be lost! As a learned man, oh—" His remaining words were cut off by a slap.

Shopkeeper Zhang only felt a sharp pain on his cheek, followed by a sweet taste of blood in his mouth. He opened his mouth and spat out a mouthful of bloody saliva, mixed with a molar.

"You... you..." Shopkeeper Zhang clutched his cheek, looking at Wang Yongzhu in horror.

This woman was completely unreasonable, ready to strike at the slightest disagreement.

Wang Yongzhu held up the mud in her hand and asked again with a smile, "Draw or not?"

Like a chicken pecking at rice, Shopkeeper Zhang nodded vigorously, fearing another slap if he nodded too slowly.

"If you had agreed earlier, it would have been better; you’ve wasted my time!" Wang Yongzhu snorted coldly, carelessly drew a couple of strokes with the mud on Shopkeeper Zhang’s face, and then ordered, "Wear this turtle on your face until evening before washing it off, or else..."