The Country Maiden: Fields and Leisure
Chapter 549 - 547 Severe

Chapter 549: Chapter 547 Severe

Old Lady Sun jumped up and slapped her the moment she heard the words, "Say that to your mother again? What did your mother tell you? If you can’t borrow the silver, don’t bother coming back! Other women get sent back to their parents’ homes by their in-laws, but look at you, even your own family doesn’t want you! Our Sun Family is truly cursed to have married such a woman—"

"Mother, I borrowed the silver!" Wang Yongzhen said, covering her face.

"You borrowed silver and— You actually borrowed it? Where is it? What, your mother has to beat you before you’ll hand it over? Give it here now!" Old Lady Sun’s palm swiveled in the air and turned to grab at Wang Yongzhen’s clothes.

Wang Yongzhen hurriedly pulled out the pouch, which Old Lady Sun snatched away immediately.

Old Lady Sun opened up the pouch, saw the two silver ingots, and huffed in dissatisfaction, "Only ten taels of silver?"

Wang Yongzhen, holding back tears, said, "Mother, this is the last thing I begged my sister for. I’ve promised her I’ll never return to the Wang Family even if it kills me! This silver was for Mutou’s marriage fund. Mother, let’s find a wife for Mutou before the New Year, so they can marry after the spring..."

Old Lady Sun spat in her face, "If it’s the last time you’re asking for money, and it’s for Mutou’s marriage, why didn’t you ask for more? What’s ten taels of silver good for?"

"Mother, ten taels of silver is enough to find a wife for Mutou. We don’t need someone pretty; ugly would do..." Wang Yongzhen stammered.

"Enough, I know what to do!" Old Lady Sun said, her mood improving slightly as she clutched the silver.

Sun Daming and Sun Laoer were still asleep. After everyone had eaten, they all returned to their rooms.

Sun Laoer’s Wife saw that no one was around, slipped into Old Lady Sun’s room and saw Shitou’s Wife there. They exchanged glances and rolled their eyes at each other.

Licking her lips and smiling, Sun Laoer’s Wife sidled up to Old Lady Sun, "Mother, about finding a wife for Mutou, I happen to have someone in mind. There’s a girl at my parents’ place, a bit older and not that pretty, but why do country girls need to be beautiful? As long as she can bear children. Their dowry demands are quite low, six to seven taels of silver will do."

Shitou’s Wife also hurriedly added, "Gran, do you remember my maternal cousin? She’s sixteen or seventeen this year, looks quite blessed, and her family adores her. They’re not asking for much dowry either and will even provide a dowry. I think she’d be a perfect match for Second Brother."

Old Lady Sun was intrigued and considered for a moment, "Fine, let’s go take a look these next few days. If the dowry isn’t too high, we’ll settle it, especially if there’s a dowry. A maximum of five taels of silver for the bride price, we’ll need the rest for the wedding feast."

Sun Laoer’s Wife and Shitou’s Wife eagerly nodded, both pondering how they might profit from the arrangement.

The whole family went to sleep, each with their own thoughts.

When dawn broke the next day, Sun Laoer, having slept through the night, woke up complaining of a headache.

Wang Yongzhen, looking at her husband still weakly lying on the kang, with an off complexion and irregular breathing, instantly became anxious.

She ran out shouting, "Mother, mother come quick, something’s wrong with the head of the house!"

The whole family came into the room and felt something was amiss.

Sun Laoer’s Wife couldn’t help but say, "Did Eldest Brother get hurt from that fall?"

She immediately received a glare from Old Lady Sun and hastily withdrew to a corner.

Wang Yongzhen quickly added, "Mother, should we get a doctor to have a look? See what’s really going on?"

After thinking it over, Old Lady Sun finally said with a pained expression, "Shitou, go and fetch the village doctor to take a look."

Wang Yongzhen wanted to speak. The local doctor in this village could only treat minor ailments like headaches or fevers, but seeing the severity of the family head’s injury, she feared the local doctor wouldn’t be able to handle it. She thought about looking for a doctor in town but hesitated.

It was not long before Sun Shitou brought the doctor. After examining and questioning, the doctor shook his head, "I’m afraid he’s hit his head. I can’t treat these symptoms. You should go to town and see Doctor Ma; he specializes in injuries from falls and blows."

Upon hearing this, wasn’t that the doctor who had treated her younger brother and father in her own family?

Her heart sank immediately. For peasant families, consulting with Doctor Ma meant the condition was nearly hopeless. What did this imply?

The Sun Family was at a loss, looking at each other. It was just a fall; how could it be so serious?

Wang Yongzhen looked at Old Lady Sun, "Mother, shall we take the family head to town for a doctor’s visit?"

Old Lady Sun spat, "Don’t listen to that quack rambling nonsense. It’s just a fall, how serious could it be?"

The doctor, upon hearing this, left in a huff.

Wang Yongzhen still wanted to beg.

Old Lady Sun curtly said, "Don’t bother speaking. We peasants are tough; I see no external injuries on Eldest Brother, not even a scratch. He’ll be fine. He just needs to rest at home for a few days and might well recover."

With that, she headed outside.

The Sun Family members followed her out, and Sun Shitou hesitated before looking at his father’s pale face on the bed, then at Wang Yongzhen, stomped his foot in frustration, and left as well.

Wang Yongzhen was completely at a loss, torn between thinking that Sun Daming’s injury was severe and thinking that maybe it truly was as the old lady said, possibly better after a few days of rest.

Outside, Sun Shitou followed Old Lady Sun into the main room. After some hesitation, he finally spoke up, "Granny, about my father’s injury—"

Old Lady Sun lowered her voice, "Shut up! Your father just took a fall, how could anything serious happen?"

Left without options, Sun Shitou retreated.

Inside the room, with her hand over her chest, Old Lady Sun took a long while before she started mumbling in front of the ancestral tablets, "Old man, Daming will surely be fine. It was just a fall, nothing can happen! If something really does happen, that’s just his bad luck! It’s not that I don’t want to save him, but Doctor Ma’s place is not for families like us, right?"

"The Wang Family, with all their wealth, nearly couldn’t bear the cost, let alone us. Wouldn’t the ten taels of silver vanish without a trace? If Eldest Brother were conscious, he would surely not agree to us sending him. After spending such money, how would our entire family survive?"

"The new year is approaching, and Mutou needs to take a wife. As soon as we open our door, there are eight or nine mouths to feed. What can an old woman like me do? Old man, if you have a spirit down there, please protect Eldest Brother and keep him safe! And if he’s really out of luck and goes down to keep you company, say a good word for me..."

Wang Yongzhen kept watch over Sun Daming. By mid-afternoon, Sun Daming suddenly opened his eyes and said just one thing, "My head hurts."

Then, his mouth opened and the undigested food and drink from yesterday sprayed out, covering Wang Yongzhen.

Wang Yongzhen didn’t care about the mess; she called for help while trying to support Sun Daming.

After Sun Daming vomited, he once again fell into unconsciousness.

While Wang Yongzhen was busy cleaning up, she still wasn’t finished when Sun Daming started to vomit again.