The Country Maiden: Fields and Leisure
Chapter 510 - 508 Jealousy

Chapter 510: Chapter 508 Jealousy

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Setting aside that everyone is from the same village, some are even relatives, mutual assistance is naturally expected, and on top of that, the Wang Family is offering wages, so those men helping out are getting fifteen coins a day, including three meals.

This Wang Family house, after nearly a month of construction, would allow the workers to earn several hundred coins by the end.

During the slack farming season, the men of peasant families can’t stay idle; they typically go to the town to look for odd jobs, while the women head up the mountains to gather wild products.

In this way, they could earn some money for the New Year in just a few months.

Now they didn’t need to look elsewhere for work, facing intermittent bouts of hunger and fullness, and with decent wages, who wouldn’t be happy? Everyone agreed delightedly.

Some even asked if there were enough hands, and if not, they offered to help find more people.

Wang Yongfu and Wang Yongping simply said they would ask around and give them news the next day to see if more people were needed.

However, they hadn’t anticipated that overnight, the news that the Wang Family was building a new house and looking for help with very enticing terms would spread far and wide.

Relatives of the Wang Family in the same village, as well as other families, as long as they had idle labor at home, arrived early the next morning at the gate of the Wang Family asking if help was needed.

Wang Yongzhu, after reviewing the list drawn up by Master Chiang, knew that when it came to such odd jobs exerting strength, naturally the more people the better. They had to dig the foundation and then later move stones and such; more people meant a faster completion.

She planned to finish the new house in a month and then let it dry and be arranged, so at least one and a half months before moving in, leaving just half a month before the New Year.

In that half-month, there was still Wang Yongping’s wedding and New Year preparations to be done, so time was tight.

Plus, as time went on, the weather would only get colder, which would be detrimental to house construction.

After some thought, Wang Yongzhu agreed. What was most important now was to have the necessary mud bricks made and dried; once the foundation was ready, they would need them.

After discussing with Wang Laozhu and Old Granny Zhang, Wang Yongfu and Wang Yongping picked out some honest, strong, and straightforward men from those who came asking, to stay.

Men who were selected by the Wang Family, naturally, were overjoyed.

The ones who were not chosen, of course, felt disgruntled, and upon returning home, their grumbling led to their wives getting angry, breaking pots and beating children, among other excesses.

Then there were those with sour grapes who, with their men not chosen, began spreading bitterness in the village the very next day.

The Song Family was among them.

Ever since the Song Family had sold Song Chunhua, they enjoyed a few good days with the silver, even fantasizing that Chunhua, having married the wealthy Boss Zhao, was living in town. If they ever ran out of money, they thought they could simply ask Chunhua or Boss Zhao for help—a mere leak from their fingertips would be enough for the Song Family to live comfortably.

But Boss Zhao turned out to be quite cunning. Initially, when the Song Family visited, he would give them a little bit but never let them see Chunhua.

After frequent visits, Boss Zhao grew weary of the Song Family, which clung to him like leeches. If it weren’t for the fact that Chunhua was still young and beautiful, and he hadn’t fully had his fill of her, he would have even considered getting rid of her.

With the wild goods season coming to an end, Boss Zhao decided to pack up his belongings, along with Chunhua, and leave.

By the time the Song Family went looking for them again, both Boss Zhao and Chunhua were gone.

After a long time of inquiries, the Song Family vaguely heard that Boss Zhao had taken Chunhua back to his hometown, thousands of miles away; who had the money to go searching?

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The Song Family was now thoroughly out of hope and kept their heads down, behaving with a modicum of propriety for some days.

Without any income coming into the household, they struggled to get by. They truly needed to work, but they lacked the strength and the tolerance for hardship.

It just so happened that they heard the Wang Family was hiring workers to build a house, offering three meals a day and wages, so the Song Family members became interested.

To work for the Wang Family meant getting full meals every day, plus money. As for the work, with so many people around, they could just go through the motions and easily coast through the day.

So, with this in mind, they specifically came over to offer their help.

Not to mention that Wang Yongping and Wang Yongfu already looked down on the Song Family’s character—Song Chunhua’s eldest and second brothers were simply not cut out for labor. Who would dare hire them?

They were promptly rejected.

The two Song brothers refused to take no for an answer and kept on insisting, playing on the sympathy due to Song Chongjin. They argued that, after all, Chongjin had once called them ’uncle,’ and now that ’uncle’ had come to help, how could they be sent away?

They shouldn’t have mentioned that. Bringing this up, Wang Yongping immediately became indignant on behalf of Song Chongjin. Everyone knew these "uncles" were not really uncles, but leeches—did they still have the face to mention Chongjin?

He simply raised his fist and asked whether they preferred to leave or to be beaten up?

The two Song brothers scurried home, scared out of their wits, feeling that they had lost face. They cursed up a storm at home, bashing the Wang Family and Song Chongjin thoroughly.

Song Chunhua especially bore the brunt of their wrath. They accused her of forgetting her roots, that she threw her parents, brothers, and sisters-in-law to the back of her mind for an old man, calling her unchaste, fit only to be someone’s concubine. They said that now she disregarded her natal family, but wait until she got old, got cast aside by that old man, she’d reap what she sowed—all sorts of spiteful words...

The next day, still feeling aggrieved, they listened eagerly to others speak ill of the Wang Family, finding people who shared their sentiments. They went around the village, exaggerating the flaws of the Wang Family.

Indeed, they stirred up some thoughts in others, prompting more gossip.

Some remarked that the Wang Family was now arrogant, building a house taller even than Lizheng’s, worrying that soon all of Qilidun would belong to the Wangs...

Others complained that the Wang Family was now rich and ignored old acquaintances. When their own men offered to help, the Wangs were picky and haughty—what kind of attitude was that?

Luckily, Wang Yongzhu was well aware that now, with the Wang Family prospering in business and building a big house, there would surely be envious people. He had told Old Wang Laozhu to take the specialty goods from the Capital City, a jar of fine liquor, a box of pastries, and a packet of tea leaves sent by Boss Zhang, and deliver them to Lizheng’s house.

The wife of Lizheng cherished the box of pastries from the Capital City, and Lizheng himself, upon just smelling the liquor, treated it as a treasure.

Lizheng’s son, who was studying under a Scholar in town, had better foresight than his parents. Recognizing the quality of the items the Wangs had sent, he knew they were of great value.

He had also heard of the Wang Family in the town, and particularly of Wang Yongzhu’s reputation. He understood the Wang Family’s connections even better than his parents did and reasoned that there might be a need for these connections in the future. Thus, he had specifically instructed his parents: when it came to the Wang Family’s affairs, offer them convenience if possible, for building goodwill with them was far more valuable than anything else.

Not to mention the tea leaves he took to his mentor. After tasting it, his mentor reminisced fondly that once, in the Capital City, he had drunk this tea called Jade Dew only once, during a visit to a low-ranking official’s home.

He had not expected that, years later, through the good fortune of his disciple, he would be able to enjoy this Jade Dew tea again.

After savoring his tea, the old Scholar patted Lizheng’s son on the shoulder, remarking that compared to himself, Lizheng’s son might just have better luck.

With these words, Lizheng’s son became even more circumspect in his attitude towards the Wang Family.