The Country Maiden: Fields and Leisure
Chapter 503 - 501: Almost Led to a Tragedy

Chapter 503: Chapter 501: Almost Led to a Tragedy

As soon as they bit into the steamed buns, the aroma of the meat became even more intense. Everyone at the table, except for Wang Yongzhu and Song Chongjin, couldn’t help but swallow their saliva.

No one was in the mood to eat; they were all staring at Wang Laozhu and Old Granny Zhang—and the steamed buns in their hands.

Wang Yonggui could no longer restrain himself, shamelessly saying, "Dad, Mom, since the buns smell so good, why not let your son share in the delight?" As he spoke, he reached out to grab one.

He was knocked on the hand by Wang Laozhu’s chopstick.

Wang Laozhu, holding a steamed bun in one hand, quickly put it down after knocking his son’s hand, and dragged the plate of buns in front of himself, guarding it with his hand, and mumbled, "These are a token of respect from my son-in-law—"

The message was clear—don’t even think about it!

Wang Yonggui and the rest of the Wang family were stunned.

In their memory, Wang Laozhu, the patriarch of the family, although problematic in various aspects, had one redeeming quality—like most elders, he adored his younger relatives.

The freshest and tastiest food, he would never eat it himself first, always insisting that the children try it.

If it had been before, Wang Laozhu would certainly have tasted one and then divided the rest for everyone to try.

Why hadn’t he done so today?

Old Granny Zhang, with a steamed bun in her mouth, saw the remaining buns being swept away by the old man and suddenly got anxious.

The son-in-law was hers too; why should the buns he offered as a token of respect go to only one person?

She reached out to snatch the plate.

After a standoff, Wang Laozhu gave in a bit and handed another bun to Old Granny Zhang, "Here’s another one for you, no more after this!"

Old Granny Zhang, initially displeased, sat down holding the bun after Wang Yongzhu, seeing them close to fighting over it, quickly stood up and said, "Mom, it’s fine. If you like it, I’ll take you to town tomorrow to have more. We won’t argue with Dad for them—"

Old Granny Zhang sat down with her steamed bun, giving face to her daughter.

Wang Yongzhu rolled her eyes speechlessly at Song Chongjin. Five steamed buns almost caused a bloodbath!

Was this a lack of humanity or a decline in morality?

Jinguan knew there was no share for her in these buns, looking at her grandfather who had selfishly claimed three buns, Jinguan felt indignantly that her grandfather was no longer the same grandfather!

Overhearing the conversation about being taken to town for steamed buns, Jinguan’s eyes lit up and she eagerly moved closer, "Old Cousin, take us with you? We want to eat steamed buns too!"

This reminder prompted other Little Beans to crowd around with pitiful faces.

Even Wang Yonggui shamelessly put on a pitiful act, "Little sister, take our whole family to try them, will you?"

Although grandfather was no longer the grandfather of the past, Old Cousin was still the generous Old Cousin.

Wang Yongzhu, both amused and annoyed, nodded and agreed, "Hurry up and eat. Rest early. We’ve been busy these past days. Tomorrow, the whole family will take a break, and we’ll all go to town to stroll around and eat steamed buns from Lady Tang’s place."

As soon as the little ones heard Old Cousin agree, they all screamed with excitement.

Lady Lin and Lady Jiang couldn’t help but smile as well; they rarely had the opportunity to go out and stroll around on the streets, especially for something as enjoyable as this, where they could eat and browse around leisurely.

Now that everyone had something to look forward to, they were able to endure the tantalizing aroma of the buns and finished their flavorless dinner amidst the scent.

They all busily started to clean up.

Old Granny Zhang, seeing how disgracefully the family was behaving over steamed buns, initially wanted to scold them but, recalling the taste of those buns, she uncharacteristically kept silent.

When Wang Yongzhu woke up after a nap, before she even got out of bed, the children were already up early, chattering away in the courtyard.

As she got up and came out, she was surrounded by the children, "Old Cousin, when are we going?"

"Eat breakfast and then go wash up," Wang Yongzhu scooped up Little Jinshao. These days the food at home had improved, and Little Jinshao had put on some weight too.

Her cheeks and limbs had fleshed out, feeling especially nice to touch.

He gave Little Jinshao’s cheek a squeeze.

Little Jinshao showed a smile, "Auntie—"

It was so adorable that it could melt anyone’s heart.

After eating breakfast, they let Jindou hang a sign on the door saying the shop was closed for the day due to family affairs, and the whole family piled into the carriage excitedly, heading to town.

They encountered villagers on the road who saw the Wang family, all dressed neat and tidy. Were they all going out to visit relatives?

One quick-to-speak villager asked, but before the adults could reply, the children couldn’t hold back and boasted, "Auntie is taking us to town to eat buns!"

The village kids, upon hearing this, were green with envy.

Some were envious on the inside but too proud to admit it, and couldn’t help saying, "It’s just buns, right? Why go all the way to town for that?"

Jinguan, as a foodie, earnestly explained, "The buns in town are delicious!"

Jinhua, Jinpan, and Jinshao all nodded in agreement.

They were so tasty that Grandpa would hog them all to himself!

Those who had been to town and saw the Wang family’s passing carriage murmured, "Aren’t the buns in town just so-so? Are they so delicious that the whole family needs to go to town for them?"

Some sourpusses snarked, "You all know, the Wang family used to live better than us, but didn’t that Silver have to be spent on the Scholar Master? You know Lady Jiang, aside from her own daughter, would she buy things for the kids to eat? No, but now that they have money, naturally they want to show off in town..."

The Wang family, of course, didn’t hear any of this idle chatter.

They arrived in town in good spirits, with Song Chongjin expertly driving the carriage straight to Old Man Tang’s bun shop.

There was a queue at the door, and that familiar aroma wafted from a distance.

The bun shop wasn’t large but it was clean, with just two or three tables inside.

As soon as the Wang family arrived, they filled up all the tables in a flurry.

Song Chongjin ordered three huge steamer baskets, almost monopolizing the buns set aside for regular customers.

Old Man Tang couldn’t help but take a couple extra glances; this family dressed plainly but ordered so much? Would they have enough to pay the bill?

But when he saw Song Chongjin, Old Man Tang remembered that he had just bought a basket of buns the day before and immediately felt at ease.

Soon, the three gigantic baskets of buns were on the table; no one cared about the scalding heat as they grabbed buns and stuffed them into their mouths.

The piping hot and aromatic meat juice numbed their tongues, but no one wanted to spit them out.

In the blink of an eye, half the buns had disappeared.

Wang Yongzhu, seeing that the three baskets might not be enough, ran to the kitchen to ask if there were any left.

Old Man Tang brought out the remaining basket, then that was it—no more.

With four baskets gone, the Wang family enjoyed their buns, greasy mouths and all, thoroughly satisfied.

When it was time to pay, the total was eighty buns for four hundred Large Coins, close to half a tael of Silver, which gave the Wang family quite a shock.

Old Granny Zhang’s voice quivered, "Daughter? How much was it again?"

Wang Yongzhu smiled, "Not much, as long as mom is happy, it’s worth the expense!"

"But, just for these few baskets of buns, almost half a tael of Silver? These aren’t buns, they must be gold!" Old Granny Zhang was not pleased.