The Country Maiden: Fields and Leisure
Chapter 463 - 461

Chapter 463: 461

Old Granny Zhang, taken aback by her daughter’s sudden embrace, paused for a moment before patting Wang Yongzhu on the back, "Zhuzhu, what’s the matter? Did things not go well in the mountains? Or are you worried that Song Chongjin will come back and blame you?"

Wang Yongzhu didn’t speak, only shaking her head.

"Silly girl, our family has lived through those hard days for decades, and we raised you all, didn’t we? Even if things don’t go well in the mountains, there’s no need to fear. We still have a few months, and if it really comes down to it, our whole family can go into the mountains to look for Yellow Pine Mushrooms. We’ll surely gather enough."

"If we really can’t gather enough, we’ll have a good talk with Boss Zhang and give him what we owe next year. If all else fails, our family will compensate him with silver. This is a matter for the whole family; why should you, a young lady, worry about it all by yourself?"

Wang Yongzhu felt a warmth and a sourness in her heart and her eyes reddened. She hugged Old Granny Zhang tighter around the waist, "Mom, it’s so good to have you!"

Old Granny Zhang appeared to slap Wang Yongzhu hard, but the force was so light it wouldn’t even kill a mosquito, and she purposely put on a stern face, "Such a big girl and still acting spoiled with Mom..."

Though she spoke this way, she was actually quite pleased, happiness shining in her eyes.

After a moment of mock scolding, she became worried again, "Or are you worried Chongjin will come back and blame you for not stopping Song Chunhua from becoming a concubine? Rest assured, if he’s foolish enough to blame you, just watch how your mom will deal with him!"

Saying this, Old Granny Zhang remembered something serious and hit Wang Yongzhu, "Speaking of this, there was something off about that medicine business with Song Chongjin. I had a bad feeling when I heard about it, but at the time, I was too busy going to town to vent for him because he couldn’t see clearly and completely forgot about it. Let me tell you, Song Chongjin didn’t handle this matter properly at all!"

"He already has someone now; he can’t just think of himself alone. Not for his sake, he should consider yours. Poison isn’t something to be taken lightly. What if the antidote didn’t work? Mom was thinking these past days that, if the big house is set up and your Fourth Brother and Miss Liu manage to make it work, we could arrange both your affairs at the same time. But with this incident, I think we should wait another two years before deciding on your issue."

"Chongjin is a good kid, but he doesn’t have foresight and doesn’t put you first. That kind of attitude needs to be corrected, otherwise, after you’re married, it will make things difficult for you. Remember, men will say anything before they have you, but once you’re wed, they’ll stop taking you seriously. Your mom wouldn’t harm you..." Old Granny Zhang earnestly advised.

Wang Yongzhu indeed harbored some unease about this matter in her heart, and knowing Old Granny Zhang’s kindness all the more because of Song Chunhua’s issue, she nodded without hesitation, "Mom, I know all you do is for my good, I’ll listen to Mom!"

Old Granny Zhang beamed with joy, not blaming her daughter for being the apple of her eye—such an obedient and considerate girl—who wouldn’t cherish her? Quite unlike those ungrateful sons, thinking their own mother was out to harm them when all she did was for their good!

Arm in arm, the mother and daughter went back into the house feeling warm and close.

Lady Lin, who had kept her distance, only dared to approach after seeing Old Granny Zhang enter the house. She wanted to grumble, but recalling Old Granny Zhang’s words and thinking of the Song Family, she swallowed her complaints.

From then on, Lady Lin behaved much better. She noticed that when she complained less in front of Wang Yongfu, he and the children became more affectionate towards her.

Lady Lin wasn’t foolish; she understood that, whether genuinely or not, her reduced complaints resulted in much more peace in the Wang Family.

Every other day, Wang Yongzhu would go to the cave to check on the growth of the Yellow Pine Mushrooms.

On this day, she sensed something amiss as soon as she reached the valley; it seemed someone had been there.

She hadn’t walked two steps very cautiously when she saw Song Chongjin coming out of the cave. His eyes lit up upon seeing Wang Yongzhu, and he hurried over to greet her.

"Yongzhu, you’re here!" he said, attempting to take Wang Yongzhu’s hand.

Wang Yongzhu reflexively pulled her hand back, and Song Chongjin grasped at empty air.

Song Chongjin’s expression dimmed, though what he truly thought remained unknown, he pretended as if nothing had happened, "I noticed you spread some loose soil in the cave; what are you planting?"

Wang Yongzhu saw no need to keep it secret, as sooner or later he would learn about the Yellow Pine Mushrooms she was cultivating.

I answered openly, "When I made the contract with Boss Zhang, the most important part was the yellow pine mushrooms. Since yellow pine mushrooms are rare and difficult to find, I decided to try my hand at cultivating them."

As Song Chongjin recalled the time when Wang Yongzhu sold yellow pine mushrooms to Shopkeeper Wu, he suddenly had a realization.

Moreover, after he took the medicine provided by Wang Yongzhu, his eyesight not only recovered in a few days as if nothing had happened, but he even felt that his vision was somewhat better than before; these past nights, he was able to see clearly.

Considering all of the past events, how could Song Chongjin not know that Wang Yongzhu had a secret? It was just that they both unspokenly understood each other.

After entering the cave, Wang Yongzhu checked on the yellow pine mushrooms, and everything was fine.

On the other side, Song Chongjin had already roasted a wild rabbit and stewed a pot of soup, calling her over to eat.

While enjoying the delicious roasted rabbit, Song Chongjin slowly began to narrate the events of the past few days.

After he had returned the silver notes to Shopkeeper Zhang, the next day he had someone spread the word out.

Plus, after Hunter Qin and Shopkeeper Zhang stepped out and heard the town buzzing with rumors, they were both angry and anxious, yet had nowhere to argue their case.

Now, when the two of them went out, they would be pointed at and whispered about, losing all face, and on top of that, they worried about their master’s punishment.

After much thought, they finally made up their minds and escaped in the middle of the night.

Gathering their gold, silver, and valuable possessions, Shopkeeper Zhang hesitated as he looked around the courtyard, "Anyway, we are leaving, and the house can’t be taken with us; it would be better to leave it to him. In the end, we were the ones who wronged him, so giving him these things can clear our debt."

Hunter Qin snorted coldly, but tacitly agreed, taking out the property deed from his bosom and dropping it on the table.

Shopkeeper Zhang also took out the property deed, then found the contract for the bookstore and weighed it down with an inkstone.

He then wrote a letter, essentially stating that the two of them voluntarily gifted both courtyards and the bookstore to Song Chongjin, signed and sealed it, and left it with the property deeds.

The two of them shouldered their bags, and listening for the quiet of the deep night outside without any disturbance, they quietly opened the door a crack and slipped out, quickly disappearing into the night...

What they didn’t see was that they had not gone far before several groups of people followed them from a distance.

When Song Chongjin reached this point in his story, he glanced at Wang Yongzhu.

Wang Yongzhu was nibbling on rabbit meat in an elegant manner, took a sip of soup, and then spoke, "Have you finished handling your business?"

Song Chongjin felt a sudden chill down his back for some reason and quickly said, "Not yet, I received a message and rushed back to tell you about it."

Wang Yongzhu spoke slowly and deliberately, "It’s good that you’re back, I also have a message to tell you."

Song Chongjin earnestly added another bowl of soup for Wang Yongzhu, "What message?"

Wang Yongzhu began to speak, "The day after you left, the Song Family found her a foreign merchant, surnamed Zhao, over fifty, and sold her to him to be his concubine. She was unwilling and cried, begging for you to save her..."