The Country Maiden: Fields and Leisure
Chapter 546 - 544 No need to explain

Chapter 546: Chapter 544 No need to explain

Wang Yongzhu was well aware of the situation, but in that instant when she saw Wang Laozhu’s disheartened look, she couldn’t help but feel a twinge of compassion.

However, now that the Sun Family matter was resolved, she didn’t bother dwelling on the past.

At this moment, Wang Yongzhu’s sole focus was to return home and search for the silver note, to count it thoroughly once again.

With nearly three thousand taels of private savings in hand, Wang Yongzhu finally felt a sense of security and solidity.

Even if the Wang Family faced any troubles again, with this silver in her possession, she would never have to experience the despair of being driven to a dead end, risking everything as she had before.

As soon as she entered the courtyard, she heard Lady Lin rushing in, "Mother, the eldest sister-in-law is still kneeling at the door refusing to leave! Lots of people outside are watching; what should we do?"

Before Old Granny Zhang could speak, Lady Lin couldn’t help but complain, "What bad luck! On our good day, to encounter such an event, the eldest sister-in-law must be begrudging our family’s well-being, right? Father has already chased her away, and she still shamelessly clings on!"

Old Granny Zhang’s face also turned grim, as this was a situation where nobody from their end would be suitable to intervene, and the only person who could, Wang Laozhu, was already so drunk that he didn’t even know who he was.

Noticing Old Granny Zhang’s dilemma, Wang Yongzhu quickly offered, "I’ll go and persuade eldest sister!"

Old Granny Zhang grabbed her arm, "Zhuzhu, don’t go! Your father made it clear today that he wanted them all gone, it wouldn’t be right for anyone but him to step in at this point. What if your eldest sister causes a scene, saying nonsensical things in front of outsiders? You as a young lady must be mindful of your reputation! Forget it, I’ll go. What do I, an old woman, care about reputation! Whether I go or not, it’s always the stepmother’s fault!"

With that, she rolled up her sleeves, ready to head to the front gate.

Wang Yongzhu stopped her, "Mother, don’t worry about this! I’ll handle it! I know exactly what my eldest sister wants. You have been tired all day, go and lie down in your room!" She then signaled to Song Chongjin with her eyes.

Song Chongjin, speechless, gave her a look and stepped forward, pretending to support Old Granny Zhang, "Auntie, leave this matter to Yongzhu. If you’re really worried, I’m here too! You go back to rest, and I’ll accompany Yongzhu to the front?"

What could Old Granny Zhang say? She glanced at the son-in-law who always did as her daughter wished, unsure whether to be happy or angry at the moment.

In the end, she waved her hand dismissively, "Go on then!" Out of sight, out of mind, she headed back to her room.

Wang Yongzhu walked to the front yard, signaling Jinguan, who had been peering through the crack of the door watching the situation outside, to open the gates.

Jinguan rolled her eyes, "Old cousin, don’t go out, be careful the eldest sister-in-law might try to extort you!"

This little rascal, where did she learn such nonsense?

Jinhua also ran over, tugging at Wang Yongzhu’s hand, "Old cousin, old cousin, even uncle doesn’t want the eldest sister-in-law anymore, why bother with her? She’s not good at all, always bringing people from the Sun Family to our home demanding money and things. Just now, Sun Family’s hoe and pillow even tried to pry flowers off our new window."

"Jinguan and I couldn’t stand it, so we beat up Hoe and Pillow, but then our cousin Shitou, the son of our eldest sister-in-law, actually tried to hit us! Thankfully, big brother and second brother dragged him out."

Her little mouth chattered away with the complaint.

Wang Yongzhu suppressed a laugh, feigning surprise, "Really? So who won the fight?"

Jinguan puffed out her chest proudly, "Of course, it was big brother and second brother! Cousin Shitou left clutching his stomach! We won too! We made Hoe and Pillow cry! If they ever come back to our house, we’ll beat them again!"

Jinpan followed closely, nodding vigorously in agreement, "Made them cry! It’s just that they’re too dirty; Mum had to drag me to wash my hands so many times because of them."

"Yes, so dirty! And they eat with their hands without any manners! Mum once taught us that only children without home training eat like that!" Jinhua added.

Wang Yongzhu nodded. "That’s right, you are all well-bred children; such behavior is not acceptable! You all behaved very well today, so tomorrow your auntie will give you some sweets to eat."

Jinguan and the others’ eyes immediately lit up. Although the family’s circumstances had improved, sweets were still a rare treat that auntie would only occasionally bring home, and they held an irresistible allure for the children.

"Alright, open the door," Wang Yongzhu gestured.

Jinguan hesitated for a moment, then while opening the door, said, "Auntie, I’ll go out with you too. If big aunt scolds you, I’ll call my mom to scold her!"

Jinhua was not to be outdone. "Auntie, I’ll also follow you out! If big aunt tries to scare you by crying, I can cry too, and I guarantee my cries will be louder than hers a hundredfold..."

Wang Yongzhu...

Song Chongjin strode forward with a dark expression and scooped up Jinguan and Jinhua in one move. "Go and play over there!" he commanded.

Jinguan and Jinhua stuck out their tongues. Song Chongjin usually didn’t talk much and often had a stern face, so the children were all somewhat afraid of him.

Seeing him approach, they immediately forgot their bold declarations and took off running.

As Wang Yongzhu opened the door, she saw Wang Yongzhen kneeling at the doorway, her face as white as paper, seemingly in a daze.

Upon hearing the noise, Wang Yongzhen dully lifted her head, and her eyes brightened when she saw Wang Yongzhu, suddenly lunging forward.

Midway through her lunge, she was stopped by a force.

Looking closely, she saw Song Chongjin holding the door bar, pressing it against her shoulder, preventing her from moving any closer.

Seeing her lower her head to look at the door bar, Song Chongjin said coldly, "Just stand there, do not come any closer."

Wang Yongzhen lowered her head and saw that just one more step forward would be onto the stone steps of the Wang Family home.

Her heart immediately sank, and that glimmer of hope quickly extinguished.

"Big sister, the people from the Sun Family have all gone back. Why haven’t you left yet?" Wang Yongzhu asked straightforwardly, not wanting to beat around the bush.

Swallowing hard, Wang Yongzhen looked past Wang Yongzhu and Song Chongjin into the courtyard, but seeing no one there, her gaze dimmed further. "Is... is father still well?" she asked.

Sitting outside the Wang Family home, she had thought of many things, her mind constantly replaying Wang Laozhu’s words and those eyes brimming with utmost disappointment.

She felt panicked and frightened, yet she did not know how to make amends.

It seemed, it seemed she had done something wrong, but they were all blood relatives of the same family—could it be they truly couldn’t forgive her?

Wang Yongzhu scoffed. "Thanks to big sister, he’s not been pissed to death! He overdrank a few cups and is now lying down inside. If big sister wishes to see father, I’m afraid it’s not possible today. Whether it will ever be possible in the future remains unclear."

"I... I truly didn’t mean to upset father, I came today with genuine intentions to congratulate you on the housewarming, I..." Wang Yongzhen struggled to explain.

"Big sister, no need to explain anymore. It doesn’t matter how nice your words are when they amount to nothing, when you never gave them a thought. But the things you’ve done, every single action, are the complete opposite of what you’ve said. Why bother justifying yourself? We did not expose you before, merely out of consideration for father’s reputation, but now that father has seen through you, what’s the point of saying these things, other than to become a laughingstock?" Wang Yongzhu looked indifferently at Wang Yongzhen.