The Country Maiden: Fields and Leisure
Chapter 576 - 574: They’ve Set Their Sights on Us Right After the Separation

Chapter 576: Chapter 574: They’ve Set Their Sights on Us Right After the Separation

Wang Yongzhu had not expected Wang Yonggui to have such insight, actually considering sending the children to study.

If they weren’t going to divide the family, she had also planned, once the New Year had passed, to send Jinpan and Jinguan to study, and then they would come back to teach Jinhua.

The Wang brothers, including Wang Yongzhu as well as Jindou and Jinhoo, because of Wang Yongan, all had a cursory recognition of a few characters; Jinhoo was even smarter and could write and calculate as well.

If the Wang Family had been in better circumstances back then, Jinhoo might have followed and spent a few years in school, but regrettably, at the time, the Wang Family’s circumstances only allowed for Wang Yongan alone to be supported.

Even so, Jinhoo had secretly put in the effort to learn to read and write, or else all the writing for everyday things around the house now would not be in his handwriting.

Wang Yongzhu had been pampered at home before, and in order to please Old Granny Zhang, Wang Yongan had indeed given her some rudimentary education, at the very least teaching her a few hundred characters and a little writing—although it wasn’t very good looking, for a peasant family, this was already quite extraordinary.

Because of laziness, the former Wang Yongzhu did not want to do any work, which suited her just fine, as she could learn how to recognize characters while relaxing and maintaining her dignity, indeed memorizing a few hundred characters.

However, starting from Jinguan, Wang Yongan was no longer at home, having become a Scholar, so there was no one to teach them.

Jinhoo was indeed willing to teach his little brother, but Jinguan felt that learning this could hardly compare to running around the hills with his playmates, and was adamantly against it.

There was also Lady Lin, a doting and shortsighted mother, so it amounted to nothing.

In the third branch of the family, it was because Wang Yonggui was not at home that Jinpan and Jinhua learned to recognize their own names following Jinhoo.

Later on, as Wang Laozhu aged and considering the exemplary precedent set by Wang Yongan, none of the grandchildren came even close to surpassing him, and given the family’s circumstances, the matter was dropped.

Not to mention other things, what Wang Yongzhu had in mind was that, whether the family business continued or not, it was always better for the children to be literate.

She had not expected that before she could even bring it up, they were about to split the family.

Wang Yonggui, the seemingly carefree Third Brother, unexpectedly had such vision, which was truly impressive.

This was a serious matter, and Wang Yongzhu nodded her approval straightforwardly.

Lady Lin couldn’t sit still when she heard this; initially, upon hearing her father-in-law’s demand, she was against the idea of caring for the eldest daughter-in-law, naturally unwilling.

But who could have guessed that Laosan, the slippery one, could actually use the children’s education to coax the father-in-law into voluntarily offering up half of the money and future dividends.

That was a substantial amount.

She immediately nudged Wang Yongfu, "Head of the family, it should be our Eldest Brother’s responsibility to provide for Dad—that’s only right, isn’t it? Otherwise, won’t others mock our backbone?"

Wang Yongfu gave her a glare; knowing people would mock their spine, why did she desperately prevent him from speaking to offer support earlier?

He had been a bit hesitant at the moment too, afraid of having to support the eldest sister. To be honest, with the eldest sister’s temperamental nature, often crying at the slightest provocation, and with their dad’s partiality, he feared he might end up at a disadvantage and still not receive gratitude in return.

He had not expected his moment of hesitance to let Laosan speak first, which now put Wang Yongfu in an awkward position.

No matter what, he was the eldest son; in most families, parents typically followed their eldest son.

But in their family, it was odd—the mother followed the youngest daughter, the father followed the third son, which made the main branch seem unfilial!

Feeling like his heart was scratch like by a cat, Lady Lin added to the confusion as if he didn’t know that, seeing the father relent and offer half of the dividends, she became envious.

Earlier she didn’t open her mouth to demand to support the parents, but now that she knew there was a benefit to be had, she was eagerly pressing the issue; if Lady Lin had no shame, he still wanted to keep his dignity.

With a flushed face, he said, "Dad, even if we have divided the family, you are still our dad! In each of our sons’ households, you can choose to live wherever you want—who would dare to say a word against it? Besides, now that we are in charge of our own households, there are many things we don’t understand, and we will still need to ask for Dad’s and our sister’s advice."

That somewhat smoothed things over.

After half a year in business, Wang Yongfu, this honest man, had become a bit more astute; he knew that from now on, business had to be a joint effort. Since the division was already done, it was best to be straightforward and not let the little bit of money ruin the harmony between brothers.

In the past, with their sister holding the fort, everything was handled by her, and they just followed her lead. The money earned was put into the public fund, and they were paid a monthly allowance.

From now on, the money made would be distributed among the families, so they had to be extremely cautious.

His words made Wang Laozhu’s expression soften somewhat.

Lady Lin, however, could no longer hold back her frustration. Laosan had reaped such a great advantage, hadn’t he? It was only about sending the children off to study. Jindou and Jinhoo were grown, but Jinguan could still go to school.

Thereupon, she also said, "Dad, next year we will also send Jinguan to school. What do you think—"

Wang Yongfu’s face darkened, and he went to pull Lady Lin back.

Wang Laozhu was also displeased. They had just separated the family, and one after another, they had their eyes on his nest egg for old age?

"I—" Before he could finish speaking, Lady Lin interrupted him.

"Dad, Jinguan is also your grandson! You place such importance on Eldest Brother’s and Mutou’s grandchild, giving both money and goods, yet why are you like this with your own flesh and blood?" Lady Lin thought that she didn’t need much, just half of what was given to Laosan for Eldest Brother’s family. Hmm, they won’t take care of the elderly, so half of that half should be about right.

After all, if it stayed in Father’s hands, wouldn’t it still end up with Eldest Sister and that grandson?

Why should outsiders benefit?

"Dad, our Jinpan and Jinhoo will need to discuss marriage next year. It’s just not manageable without a helping hand. As their grandfather, you can’t just stand by and watch, right?"

Jinhoo couldn’t bear listening any longer and suddenly stood up, "I don’t need you to arrange a marriage for me! Keep the silver to provide for Eldest Brother’s wife and Jinguan’s education! I will earn my own money to get married!"

Having said that, he left with a fling of his hands.

Lady Lin was momentarily stunned and after a while started stamping her feet, "What nonsense are you spouting? You’re going to earn money yourself? Do you have any idea how much it costs to get married? You make it sound so easy! By the time you’ve earned enough to marry, it’s likely Jinguan will be the one getting married!"

Outside, Jinhoo’s voice drifted in, "Then I simply won’t get married! I can’t bear to take Grandpa’s money for my old age!"

Lady Lin was left speechless.

Wang Yongfu, with a grim expression, turned around and bellowed, "Shut your mouth for Christ’s sake! Why so much talk? Have I starved you following me, or am I unable to provide for you? Are you that ungrateful? If you think the Wang Family’s house is too small to accommodate a deity like you, take your severance letter and leave while you can!"

Lady Lin was struck dumb, as if she had been slapped in public, especially in front of her sisters-in-law.

This was the first time Wang Yongfu had not shown her face in front of others since she had returned.

Before, it was always back in the room where he would scold her.

When she looked up again at Wang Yongfu’s livid face and the bulging veins on his neck, fear instantly overtook her. She covered her face and, without making a sound, ran out.

An awkward silence filled the room.

Wang Yongzhu gracefully stood up, about to call Old Granny Zhang to return to the room, when Sun Mutou’s voice came from outside, "Good day, Auntie!"