The Country Maiden: Fields and Leisure
Chapter 532 - 530

Chapter 532: 530

But that piece of pork had to be properly cured. The pork bones were also placed into a pot to boil, the scum skimmed off. A separate pot was found, simmered on a low heat. The next morning, they would throw in some radishes and it would taste incredibly fresh.

Old Granny Zhang said what she would do and did what she said. When she saw there were still two slices of liver left, her eyes sparkled, "Girl, your mom will fry some liver for you tonight, make it tender and put just a pinch of chili, it’s the most appetizing. I’ll also stew you an egg. After you’re done, just go rest. You’ve been tired all day. I’ll bring your dinner to your room."

With that, she picked up the liver and went into the kitchen to get busy.

Wang Yongzhu was also not idle. She brought the good liquor into her room and placed it there, then started doing the accounts. The helpers would soon be finishing up for the day, and she had to settle their wages. She was far from free.

Jinhua saw her chance and sneaked into Wang Yongzhu’s room. The little girl had improved her diet over the past few months, growing rapidly and her hair had gained luster; she no longer looked like before, with straw-like, dull hair. She now had some of the grace of a young girl.

Once inside, she dared not disturb Wang Yongzhu, who was busy with the accounts. After she finished, Jinhua spoke up, "Old cousin, that Sun Family Old Granny is so annoying. Today she saw the earrings I was wearing. She thinks I’m a three-year-old child, pulling me aside, cooing that she wanted to take a look. I just stood there and let her look, but she claimed she couldn’t see clearly and insisted on taking them off to have a look."

"She was actually trying to pull on my ears. Luckily, I ran fast, or my ears might have been torn off. I know she wasn’t just wanting to look; she wanted to snatch my earrings away! Saying that a young girl my age shouldn’t wear silver, as it would suppress good fortune, and that these things should be worn by older people."

"And how did you respond to her?" Wang Yongzhu asked.

"I told the old hag that our Wang family is full of good fortune. We’re not afraid to wear silver! Only those without good fortune can’t handle it! Even if they’re older, they can’t handle it!" Jinhua had grown bolder now, and her mouth was less forgiving.

The retort she fired back almost made Old Lady Sun pass out from anger on the spot.

Although the young girl had felt great retorting in the moment, she was still a little scared and did not dare to tell her parents but came to her old cousin first.

As she talked about it, she was still fuming and her eyes even reddened.

The silver earrings were given by her grandmother and were her first piece of jewelry – she’d almost lost them.

Wang Yongzhu’s expression darkened. These people from the Sun family were too audacious; stealing a little food was one thing, but to actually try openly robbing?

Seeing Jinhua’s aggrieved face, she patted her head. Her earlobes were still red, "Old cousin understands. You did well in responding to Jinhua! If you encounter such shameless people again, you retort just like that! If she dares to lay a hand on you, shout for help! I won’t go out tomorrow, I want to see if Old Lady Sun dares to cause any trouble!"

With her old cousin’s support, Jinhua was no longer afraid and wiped her eyes, "Hmm! If Sun Family’s Old Granny comes again tomorrow, I’ll reply the same way! And I’ll say she’s shameless for stealing from our house!"

Wang Yongzhu laughed and nodded, letting Jinhua go out.

Because of what Jinhua had said, Wang Yongzhu was somewhat distracted all evening. After dinner, everyone was tired from the day’s work and wanted to hurriedly lie down to rest in their rooms.

Before long, the Wang Family Courtyard fell quiet as everyone fell deeply asleep.

Only then did Wang Yongzhu quietly open the door, checking that there was no movement in the courtyard, and tiptoed to the corner of the wall. With a couple of boosts, she easily climbed over the courtyard wall.

Before she even touched the ground, she was caught in a warm embrace from the air.

Wang Yongzhu stiffened, her elbow aiming for the embrace behind her, but halfway through she caught the familiar scent and a low chuckle and stopped immediately.

It was Song Chongjin.

Annoyed, she slapped him on the shoulder, "What are you doing hiding out here in the middle of the night?"

Song Chongjin, still holding Wang Yongzhu, kissed her forehead, "Waiting for you."

...

It was quite a while before Wang Yongzhu admitted defeat, "How did you know I was going to come out in the middle of the night?"

Song Chongjin smiled without saying a word.

Wang Yongzhu was so distracted during the meal, he knew she must be preoccupied. Then, he didn’t sleep either and listened to the noises in her room, and just before Yongzhu opened the door, he made a snap decision to climb out of the Wang Family Courtyard and wait outside. Sure enough, he waited for her.

Seeing that Song Chongjin didn’t answer, Wang Yongzhu didn’t bother to ask further and went straight to the point, "Today, Jinhua told me that Old Lady Sun is trying to snatch her silver earrings, but fortunately, she was smart enough to escape. There’s a saying ’You can’t be a thief for a thousand days, but you can’t guard against one forever.’ If this continues, in a month, our family’s things might all end up in the Sun Family’s hands—"

Seeing Wang Yongzhu pouting with dissatisfaction, Song Chongjin couldn’t help but peck her on the lips before he started speaking, "Don’t worry, starting tomorrow, that old hag from the Sun Family won’t come anymore."

Wang Yongzhu was taken aback, "What did you do to her?"

Song Chongjin smiled, "Nothing much, I just told Sun Laoer if he could keep his mother away tomorrow, I’d give him privately what should be given to Old Lady Sun as her day’s wages."

Sun Laoer naturally agreed because it wasn’t about him not coming; he could still skimp on his work, eat meat, drink wine, and get five large coins for nothing. Why wouldn’t he do it?

You should know that Old Lady Sun kept her money very tight, even if she doted on him the most, it’s hard to get five large coins from her in a month.

Now, just by sweet-talking a little, he could make over a hundred large coins, and with that, he could afford to eat well in town. He wouldn’t mind having such good deals happen more often.

Wang Yongzhu also breathed a sigh of relief. With so little money, they could keep the Sun family women away; that was more than great.

With a smirk, she feigned dissatisfaction, "Where do you get the money to give to Sun Laoer? Don’t tell me you’ve been hiding some private funds from me?"

Song Chongjin hugged Wang Yongzhu even tighter, making a pitiable face, "I’m broke, so please have mercy on me, Yongzhu. Be generous, and give me some pocket silver..."

Wang Yongzhu couldn’t help but burst into laughter but quickly covered her mouth, afraid of waking the people in the courtyard.

Ever since their last kiss and heartfelt mutual understanding, they had not had the chance even to talk much, always surrounded by others. They treasured the rare moment together, though the issue was resolved, neither of them mentioned heading back indoors.

They flirted for a while, and the night wind of deep autumn was chilly. Song Chongjin, who practiced martial arts, had a strong physique and didn’t mind the cold, but he was still worried that Yongzhu might catch a chill.

Making a tough decision, he picked Wang Yongzhu up and hopped into the courtyard, touching her head with reluctance, "Get inside quickly, be careful not to catch a chill."

Only after seeing Wang Yongzhu enter her room did he return to his room to sleep, without mentioning anything else.

With Song Chongjin’s intervention, no one knew how Sun Laoer managed back home, but the next day, neither women from the Sun family showed up.

Finally, everyone’s ears got some peace.

Though the three Sun family men didn’t do much work, they weren’t too annoying, just their eating manners were unpleasant. The other men were too lazy to bother with them.

They got used to arriving every morning, having a full lunch, and then sneaking behind rocks or under other family’s courtyard walls for a nap, checking the sun’s position before returning to Wang Laozhu at the Wang Family Courtyard to settle up and go home, living without incident.