The Country Maiden: Fields and Leisure
Chapter 464 - 462

Chapter 464: Chapter 462

He had not finished speaking when Song Chongjin interrupted him, "I know."

"You... you know?" Wang Yongzhu was taken aback.

"Ever since I returned from the Liu Family, I had heard rumors about it," said Song Chongjin with a detached expression, as if discussing something unrelated to himself.

"Now that the relationship has already been severed, what does the Song Family’s matters have to do with me? If I had truly believed and helped her this once, why would I have bothered going to great lengths to cut ties with her in the first place? This is for the better. As long as she doesn’t act up, she could still get by her days, instead of staying in the village to be bought and sold by the Song Family..."

Wang Yongzhu’s mind raced, hearing Song Chongjin’s words, it seemed as if he had had a hand in the affair?

However, Wang Yongzhu couldn’t be bothered to ask; she had relayed the message, and how Song Chongjin dealt with it was his business, not hers.

So she changed the subject, "You mentioned you had news to tell me, what news?"

Song Chongjin seemed neither disappointed nor anything else, and followed Wang Yongzhu’s lead to change the topic, "Do you remember that Boss Tian?"

It took Wang Yongzhu a moment to recall who Boss Tian was, and her eyes suddenly lit up, "Is there news from Boss Tian?"

She had set that trap just to witness Boss Tian’s fate.

Song Chongjin nodded, "The day before yesterday, word came from Jing County."

That day, Boss Tian had waited near the entrance of the village, created a small incident, and rejoiced at obtaining the hairpin that Sun Ahfu had dropped.

With the hairpin in hand, he went back and had his trusted shop assistant verify the formula.

The assistant, also a seasoned worker in dyeing fabrics, was astounded by the dye formula.

He promptly tested a batch according to the formula, and the fabric that came out indeed had a pure and vivid color.

Boss Tian was still not reassured, so he sent people to purchase fabric of the same color from the Auspicious Fabric Store to compare, and they were exactly alike.

He was overjoyed at the prospect, the Tian Family was going to prosper.

He immediately took this newly dyed fabric and rushed to the provincial city with great joy, as the Noble Patron was currently residing in the provincial city.

Boss Tian hastened to the provincial city as fast as possible, spending a copious amount of silver to have the Noble Patron’s confidant mention his name.

The Noble Patron eventually granted him an audience.

Naturally, Boss Tian did not reveal that he had stolen the formula to dye the fabric, claiming instead that he and his assistants had experimented and come up with the formula themselves, specially to present to the Noble Patron.

When the Noble Patron saw the fabric, his eyes brightened at first, as that color was the most fashionable crimson in the Capital City.

This particular color was exclusively sold by the Auspicious Fabric Store, in limited quantities, making it highly sought after.

Countless fabric stores had purchased this material to study, but they couldn’t reproduce the color.

They could only watch as Auspicious Fabric Store made a fortune.

Now, unexpectedly, someone else had managed to dye it, and the Noble Patron was both surprised and delighted, asking for the fabric to be presented to him.

With numerous capable people at the Noble Patron’s side, they certainly knew fabrics, and they took the fabric and carefully compared it with the Auspicious Dye Workshop’s fabric for a long while.

Only after some time did they nod to the Noble Patron, indicating there was no issue.

Overjoyed, the Noble Patron asked for the fabric to be brought before him for personal inspection, and in his excitement, he unintentionally spilled tea over the fabric.

A maid rushed forward to wipe it with a handkerchief, and as soon as she wiped it, the snow-white handkerchief immediately became stained with red.

As the maid wiped more in a panic, the color smeared even more, not to mention that it seemed as if the color from the fabric itself was being absorbed by the handkerchief, the wet patch turning duller and duller.

The maid trembled with fear and knelt on the ground to admit her fault, and that was when the Noble Patrons realized something was wrong.

With a stern face, they ordered their subordinates to take the whole piece of fabric to be tested in water. Not long after, they reported back that the fabric lost its color as soon as it touched water, turning into a patchy and unsightly mess with varying depths of shade.

Right then, the Noble Patron’s face darkened, and he demanded an explanation from Boss Tian.

"Auspicious Dye Workshop’s fabric shouldn’t fade after being immersed in water."

Boss Tian felt his legs give way instantly, clearly understanding that he had likely been duped.

He wanted to explain but had no idea where to start, and the Noble Patron had no patience for the grievances of a small dye shop owner. He had held such high hopes, only to feel cheated, which was a blow to his pride.

He immediately had Boss Tian thrown out and ordered that none of his shops should have any dealings with Boss Tian ever again.

Upon hearing this, Boss Tian felt as if the sky had collapsed on him.

Being shunned by the Noble Patron, and having instructed his own dye workshop to focus on dyeing bright red fabric before his visit, he had invested all his capital.

Now with a problem in the fabric, he saw half a lifetime’s worth of efforts going to waste.

Boss Tian returned to Jing County in a daze, thinking of Sun Ahfu.

Anger rose from his heart. It was all because of this woman’s incompetence, ruining everything and not even being able to handle such a simple task.

Since his family’s fortune had been destroyed by her, he thought, Sun Ahfu shouldn’t expect to have any good days ahead either.

He spent Silver to have Sun Ahfu fished out of jail, and then sold her to the lowest, most sordid place he could find. Seeing Sun Ahfu wailing towards heaven and earth finally vented his spite.

Having offended a Noble Patron, and with all his Silver turned into fabric that faded upon contact with water, Boss Tian had no choice but to give up his business. He planned to sell the fabric store and the dye workshop.

He coldly decided to cut his losses, return to his hometown, and buy some land to retire on.

When Wang Yongzhu heard this, she immediately understood, "But Boss Tian couldn’t sell his shop, could he?"

Song Chongjin raised an eyebrow, "Now that everyone knows he has offended a Noble Patron, and he insists any buyer must take on that defective fabric as well, who would foolishly take on such a hot potato? Therefore, even though the price has been lowered again and again, no one shows any interest."

Wang Yongzhu couldn’t help but laugh. From the moment she set this trap, she had been waiting for this outcome. It was indeed very satisfying.

Seeing Wang Yongzhu’s smile, Song Chongjin’s mood also improved, and he carefully suggested, "Given the current situation of his shop, if we push a bit more, we could get it even cheaper. Why don’t we buy it..."

Wang Yongzhu’s mind stirred, considering it a good suggestion. Even if the shop wasn’t immediately useful, buying it to rent out, or eventually turning it into a branch of the Auspicious Dye Workshop, would be beneficial.

Moreover, what others saw as hopelessly ruined fabric was just a one-step process away from being restored for her; this was indeed a very profitable opportunity.

After hesitating for a while, "How much Silver would it take to take over that dye workshop and the store now?"

She still needed operating funds to continue the mountain goods business, and all she had was the gold bestowed by the ladies of the palace.

The dividend from the dye workshop had not yet been paid out. If the amount of Silver needed was too high, she would have to painfully let go of the opportunity.

"The current price is fifteen hundred taels, but if we wait a few more days, I reckon we could get it for one thousand taels," Song Chongjin analyzed.

"One thousand taels... that’s too much. I can’t come up with that much Silver. Forget it..." Wang Yongzhu pondered for a moment and then, with a heavy heart, gave up on the idea.

"Yongzhu..." Song Chongjin suddenly felt a pang of guilt. A few days earlier, Yongzhu had fifteen hundred taels, as well as land deeds and paintings worth a fortune.

But all because of his unspoken plan, she was now about to give up over one thousand taels.

Seeing Wang Yongzhu’s usually bright eyes dim, and the heartbreaking way she resigned herself to giving up, Song Chongjin felt as if his heart was being pierced.