The Country Maiden: Fields and Leisure
Chapter 466 - 464

Chapter 466: 464

Song Chongjin immediately became tense and looked at Wang Yongzhu, her ability to speak clearly seemingly gone, "What... what do you mean by ’clarify’?"

Wang Yongzhu spoke seriously, "About the medication you took, it indeed bothered me when I remembered it later. But then, I realized that everyone has their secrets and difficulties. I, myself, have been keeping things from you, so what right do I have to blame you for keeping secrets from me..."

"Yongzhu, I was wrong in this matter, you should blame and resent me, and I would actually be happy if you did. If you didn’t care about me, you wouldn’t be upset! The things you are keeping from me, I understand them; the fewer people know about them, the better. If it were leaked, it would bring disaster, and I understand that."

"Even though you didn’t tell me, you didn’t hide it from me either. I might be confused, but I know how you feel about me. Yongzhu, this thing I’m planning is related to my background. Now, I am also suspecting what the result will be; I don’t even know it myself."

"That’s why I don’t know how to tell you about it. I was thinking of waiting until I find some solid evidence..." Song Chongjin grew anxious, keenly aware that this was his opportunity. If he didn’t seize it now, there might always be a barrier between himself and Yongzhu.

Wang Yongzhu let out a sigh of relief inwardly; Song Chongjin was indeed on the right track.

He knew where he’d gone wrong and was willing to face it honestly, without shirking responsibility, without forcefully preventing her from getting involved, and without insincerely deceiving her.

Seeing one’s own efforts being recognized and remembered by the other party was always a pleasing thing.

Since Song Chongjin had made his stance clear, it was time for her to accept the good will presented.

She didn’t need to know all of Song Chongjin’s affairs and secrets; what she needed was Song Chongjin’s attitude and setting a tone for their future interactions.

Having achieved her goal, Wang Yongzhu smiled slightly, "I understand your intentions now. Today, we’ve spoken openly, and the knot in my heart has been untied. In the future, if we have any issues, let’s not keep them bottled up. It’s better to speak early."

Seeing Wang Yongzhu finally smile, Song Chongjin also felt a weight lift off him and astutely pushed the deed in front of her, "Then, Yongzhu, what do you think should be done with this deed?"

Wang Yongzhu picked up the deed and flipped through it, "Since they dared to offer it, why shouldn’t we dare to accept it? Let’s keep it for now; you never know when it might come in handy."

"I’ll listen to you," seeing that Wang Yongzhu was willing to take charge, Song Chongjin happily handed her all the gift letters left by Hunter Qin and Shopkeeper Zhang, as well as the receipt written by Shopkeeper Zhang, stuffing them all to Wang Yongzhu, "Keep these as well."

Wang Yongzhu looked through them briefly and put them away.

The two of them had now completely moved past this matter.

After spending a night, they both headed to the Escort Agency early in the morning, just as Steward Lu was getting ready to lead a team.

Being well acquainted, Steward Lu was also aware of Song Chongjin’s eye condition.

He urgently inquired with concern, and Song Chongjin vaguely mentioned, he’d found a remarkable person in the mountains who prescribed a few medications. After taking them for a few days, he was barely able to see things with his eyes again.

They wanted to go to the county town to see if there were any good doctors.

Steward Lu didn’t press for details, only offered comfort and confidently promised that the Escort Agency’s men would also help inquire around; if they found a good doctor, they would notify them at once.

Wang Yongzhu and Song Chongjin thanked Steward Lu and, upon arriving in Jing County, took their leave.

This left Steward Lu looking after the backs of the two, sighing in contemplation.

Song Chongjin found an inn, and the two settled in.

In the middle of the night, Wang Yongzhu noticed activity in the room next to Song Chongjin’s; several groups of people had come.

Faintly overhearing bits and pieces of talk about Boss Tian and bargaining.

Wang Yongzhu knew that Song Chongjin also had influence in Jing County, so these people must be his subordinates, reporting back on the situation.

She pretended not to hear and soon fell asleep.

As soon as day broke, Song Chongjin came knocking on the door, saying he had already sent a mediator to talk with Boss Tian.

After eating breakfast at a leisurely pace, they saw a middle-aged man approaching. When he saw Song Chongjin, a smile instantly spread across his face, and he leaned in, "Master Song, the matter you entrusted me with is accomplished. Boss Tian has agreed, his two cloth storefronts, a dyeing workshop, and a small courtyard house are all to be sold for a combined one thousand taels of Patterned Silver."

Wang Yongzhu’s eyes lit up, "There’s also a courtyard house?"

How shrewd must the mediator be? Originally, when he saw an additional young and beautiful woman beside his employer, he was already curious. Now he heard this woman asking questions, and the employer exhibited no reaction, making it clear that the relationship between the two was no ordinary one.

If it weren’t for Wang Yongzhu still wearing the hairstyle of an unmarried girl, he would have thought she was the employer’s wife.

Even so, the mediator’s attitude was extremely respectful, "May I know how to address this young lady?"

"This is my fiancée, who has not yet stepped through our door. She has always been in charge of household affairs; you can speak with her. Yongzhu, this is Brother Yan, the most fair and well-known mediator in Jing County," Song Chongjin introduced.

Yan Zhongren barely managed to conceal his surprise.

In his many years in this profession, he had seen husbands and wives working together, but had never encountered such a setup where family business was entrusted to a fiancée before marriage.

This employer didn’t seem like someone who would be henpecked, right?

Nevertheless, being experienced, Yan Zhongren’s surprise lasted but a moment before he regained his composure and meticulously explained to Wang Yongzhu where the shops and dyeing workshop were located, what their strengths were,

where the dyeing workshop was situated, how much land it occupied, and how many sections the small courtyard house had and on which street it was located.

He was clear and concise without exaggerating or hiding any flaws.

Finally, he said, "Logically speaking, this storefront and dyeing workshop are worth more than the offered price, but the seller has offended a Noble Patron and can no longer conduct business here in Jing County, leaving him no choice but to sell them off cheaply to take the silver coins home for buying some farmland to retire on."

"Several people have looked at the place, but none could make a deal – firstly, the seller insists on a one-time payment in Silver Coin, and secondly, he wants to include his stock of faulty dyed cloth in the sale. It’s said that it was the cloth that caused the offense with the Noble Patron; who would dare to take it on? Therefore, the price has been pressed down over and over again. It is truly at rock bottom now. Originally it was one thousand taels without the courtyard house, but now the seller, out of desperation, has agreed to include the house, and won’t go any lower, otherwise he would rather not sell at all," Yan Zhongren elaborated in detail.

Wang Yongzhu listened carefully as he spoke.

After Yan Zhongren finished, Wang Yongzhu pondered for a moment, "One thousand taels of silver is no problem, but it’s not suitable for me to appear in the negotiation. I must trouble Brother Yan to take care of these matters for us. I hope it’s not too much of an inconvenience?"

Obviously, neither she nor Song Chongjin could show their faces, for fear that upon seeing the two of them, Boss Tian would refuse to sell to them at any cost.

Yan Zhongren readily agreed, as his line of work specialized in handling such transactions, capable of ensuring perfection whether or not there was direct involvement from the employer.

"That’s settled then, if the deal goes through, we’ll be sure to reward Brother Yan handsomely," Wang Yongzhu said as she took out several hundred-tael silver notes from her purse given to her by Song Chongjin the previous night, handing two of them to Yan Zhongren.

"This is the deposit, and after the property transfer formalities are completed, the rest of the silver will be paid in full."

Yan Zhongren saw that his employer’s fiancée was a sensible person and without further ado, he took the silver notes and left...