The Country Maiden: Fields and Leisure
Chapter 504 - 502: Made Money

Chapter 504: Chapter 502: Made Money

Lady Lin echoed from the side, her heart aching. She had eaten a good seven or eight of them in one go, all the way down her throat. Didn’t that mean she had just eaten forty coins’ worth?

What kind of bun could be so expensive? Had she known earlier, she wouldn’t have come to eat and would have rather kept the money for herself.

Old Man Tang had grown accustomed to the reactions of newcomers and didn’t say much, just pointed to the sign at the door that read, "Buns five coins each, no credit!"

Old Granny Zhang still wanted to say something, but Wang Yongzhu persuaded her otherwise. The buns had already been eaten; they couldn’t very well be spit out and returned, could they?

Moreover, Zhang was somewhat of a celebrity in town, so Old Granny Zhang couldn’t lose face over half a tael of silver and just had to bear it.

Her face never looked good on the way home. Wang Yongzhu signaled for her sisters-in-law and their children to go for a stroll while she took Old Granny Zhang shopping, patiently explaining why Tang’s buns were so expensive.

Only then did Old Granny Zhang’s temper cool down, and she even showed a smile.

That evening, when they got home, Old Granny Zhang found an opportunity to explode, saying that they were not to be so wasteful again. They were about to start building a new house, and every large coin counted.

She nagged until Wang Yongzhu promised not to be so generous and carefree with money anymore, only then she let it go.

At night, worrying that her daughter might be upset about what she had said earlier in the day, Old Granny Zhang went to Wang Yongzhu’s room to comfort her properly.

She added finally, "Mother is just afraid you’re too generous, and you’ll end up spoiling them; then whenever they see something tasty or fun, they’ll come to you. As a young woman, you can’t refuse without losing face, and wouldn’t that just benefit them unnecessarily?"

"Haven’t you seen how your Fourth Brother, Eldest Brother’s family, and Laosan’s family behave? They’re all thankless. Mother tells you, just keep up appearances with them, but don’t get too close! And those kids, I’ve told you before, don’t be too nice! You’ll only spoil them! They’ll really think they can rely on you in the future? It’s all an illusion!"

"In the future, whenever you find something nice to eat or play with, just enjoy it with Chongjin outside. Don’t worry about your father and me! We’re old now, what does it matter what we eat? No matter how good things are, it’s a waste on us! As long as you’re happy, I wouldn’t mind even if it costs five taels of silver, but don’t let those ingrates take advantage of you, understand?"

...

Wang Yongzhu nodded again and again, "Mother, rest assured, I won’t do it again! If I get something good in the future, I’ll secretly bring it back to honor you!"

Only then did Old Granny Zhang go back to her room satisfied and went to sleep.

※※※

Time flies in the mountains.

Before they knew it, deep autumn had arrived, and the crops in the fields had been touched by frost several times.

The mountain goods gradually diminished, and snow had already fallen in the deeper parts of the mountains, causing even the traders who bought up the goods to leave Shiqiao Town slowly, one by one.

The town gradually quieted down.

After picking the Yellow Pine Mushrooms for the last time, Wang Yongzhu destroyed all the mycelium in the cave and tidied up the pine needles and rotten soil until there were no traces left before she felt at ease.

Wang Yongping also came down from Chongzi Gou with the last batch of mountain goods.

Following the time agreed upon by the matchmaker, Wang Laozhu, Old Granny Zhang, along with the matchmaker, and Wang Yongping together with a cart of betrothal gifts, went up to Chongzi Gou to formally engage.

They also settled on a wedding date.

Before the last batch of mountain goods was transported away, Boss Zhang arrived in Shiqiao Town.

Seeing Wang Yongzhu, he smiled just like Maitreya Buddha. If it weren’t for the propriety between men and women, and without Song Chongjin standing guard by her side, he would have wished to come up and embrace her like a brother.

Wang Yongzhu had supplied him with two batches of Yellow Pine Mushrooms that were of excellent quality and appearance, especially since they still retained eighty to ninety percent of their freshness upon arriving in the Capital City.

It was an unexpected pleasure for Boss Zhang.

One must understand that in the past, even when fresh Yellow Pine Mushrooms were delivered to the Capital City using the fastest method with ice, having half left intact was already a blessing from the heavens.

He didn’t know how Wang Yongzhu had done it, but he knew that he was determined not to let go of this connection, this person.

The benefits that these two top-quality batches of Yellow Pine Mushrooms had brought him were incalculable.

Therefore, he had personally made a point of coming, and for the slightly more than three jin of Yellow Pine Mushrooms, he placed five silver notes of one hundred taels each in the box.

In addition to this, he had his family prepare some specialty gifts from the Capital City.

After some pleasantries, Boss Zhang pushed the box and the gifts together to Wang Yongzhu.

Only then did he bring up whether it would be possible to continue supplying such high-quality Yellow Pine Mushrooms next year, and if the quantity could be increased, that would be even better.

Wang Yongzhu had already decided to stop cultivating Yellow Pine Mushrooms, but after all, there was a contract signed at the beginning. Without these Yellow Pine Mushrooms, who else would Boss Zhang cooperate with if not the Wang Family? Was it really necessary to insist on finding them?

Wasn’t it all for the Yellow Pine Mushrooms?

After hesitating for a moment, Wang Yongzhu tactfully said that she had managed to provide so many good-quality Yellow Pine Mushrooms this year because the weather had been favorable, and she had the luck of finding two areas with a higher density of them.

No one could guarantee anything for the next year. These Yellow Pine Mushrooms, once picked in the wild, would definitely not be found in the same place the following year.

Since the climate varies each year, she could not ensure the same quality of Yellow Pine Mushrooms for the next year; it all depended on whether fortune would smile upon them.

As for the amount of three jin, that truly was the limit of her ability. Whether they could even gather three jin next year remained to be seen, so she really couldn’t make any promises.

Boss Zhang felt it was a great pity and tried to persuade her for a long time, even offering a higher price, but Wang Yongzhu remained unmoved, so he eventually gave up.

After discussing these matters, Wang Yongzhu took out the account book and settled all the accounts with Boss Zhang, including the initial loan of one hundred taels of silver, which was repaid with interest according to the rate of the money exchange.

Although Boss Zhang hadn’t managed to convince Wang Yongzhu to increase the supply of Yellow Pine Mushrooms for next year, business was still business. This year, all the mountain goods collected by the Wang Family and sold by him fetched good prices.

Such a reliable source of supply was naturally irreplaceable.

Moreover, Boss Zhang believed his judgment was sound, seeing that both Wang Yongzhu and Song Chongjin were no ordinary people. Surely they had great fortune waiting for them, and establishing an early good relationship could be advantageous in the future.

Therefore, it turned out to be a happy resolution for all.

After seeing off Boss Zhang, Wang Yongzhu opened the box and was startled, feeling increasingly glad about the decision she had made.

Such high profits—if people knew she was capable of cultivating a large quantity of Yellow Pine Mushrooms, she feared...

She dared not test human nature.

She just worried that next year she might need to rely on Xiao Tiantian to search the mountains for Yellow Pine Mushrooms painstakingly, filling the hole she had dug for herself, even if it meant doing so on her knees!

But there was also the consolation of five hundred taels of silver.

Apart from these five hundred taels, Wang Yongzhu also did a final check of the accounts and discovered that over the past six months, until today, the Wang Family’s mountain goods business, after deducting expenses, had made a profit of over five hundred and forty taels.