The Country Maiden: Fields and Leisure
Chapter 578 - 576: Wang Laosan’s Cherished Wish

Chapter 578: Chapter 576: Wang Laosan’s Cherished Wish

"Besides, the New Year is quickly approaching, and from ancient times to now, I’ve never heard of a married daughter spending the New Year at her parents’ home! But don’t worry, elder sister, I’ll have Xiao Lian and the others clear out a room for you in the next few days, ensuring you’ll have a comfortable place to stay!"

Wang Yonggui didn’t give Wang Yongzhen or Wang Laozhu a chance to speak, decisively deciding the matter as he spoke.

Wang Yongzhen looked at Wang Yonggui, then at Wang Laozhu, "Dad, what is this all about?"

Wang Laozhu remained silent.

Seeing this, Wang Yongzhu took Old Granny Zhang and left, and naturally, the other people also withdrew.

Inside the room, only Wang Laozhu, Wang Yongzhen, and Mutou were left.

"Dad, what exactly is going on? From the way my younger brother spoke, it sounds like the division of the family somehow favored me?" Wang Yongzhen was still a little confused.

Wang Laozhu saw that he couldn’t keep it hidden anymore, as his eldest daughter would now be living more permanently at the old house—how could rumors not spread? So he vaguely explained the situation, including the arrangements he had made for Wang Yongzhen and Sun Mutou.

Wang Yongzhen’s face turned red and then pale—in her surprise, Mutou hadn’t mentioned anything about the dowry. She had assumed that her dowry had all been used up by her mother-in-law.

Who could have expected that Old Lady Sun, finding those silver ingots cute and easily portable, would selfishly have kept them for herself?

It was then that the Wang Family had rummaged through and found them.

If her stepmother and siblings had been present, she might have wanted to crawl into a hole.

Even so, she felt her face burning, and remembering Old Granny Zhang’s earlier attitude, she understood.

"Dad, now that the family is divided, it’s just you alone. Mom is with my sister, and she’s still angry with you, with no one to take care of you. What will you do?" Wang Yongzhen took some time to come to terms with it all.

In front of his daughter, Wang Laozhu naturally wanted to save face, and stubbornly said, "Your dad doesn’t need anyone to take care of him. In any case, your siblings will take turns cooking the meals, and there’s someone to wash the clothes. Without someone always nagging in my ear, life is actually more peaceful! It’ll be good to have nothing to do, so I can teach Mutou carpentry."

Wang Yongzhen felt a wave of sorrow hit her, "Dad, it’s all my fault. I’m the one who’s let you down, letting you end up alone at such an old age..."

Sun Mutou, feeling this was not right, quickly interjected, "Mom, what are you talking about? Granddad will be staying with Uncle Laosan, right? With Uncle Laosan and his wife’s filial piety, as well as my cousins around, he won’t be alone."

Oh mom, your mind must be muddled! Why are you standing on the Wang Family’s ground, making such misleading statements?

Now they, mother and son, had nowhere else to go and were reliant on the Wang Family’s shelter. Why couldn’t they keep their heads down and be humble instead of bringing up such irrelevant matters with Granddad?

Upon hearing Wang Yongzhen’s words, Wang Laozhu’s mood dropped even further. After a moment of thought, he took out the bundle that Lady Lin had returned the day before and handed it to Wang Yongzhen, "This is the dowry that your siblings found at the Sun Family home, which was originally yours. You’d better take it."

Wang Yongzhen, looking at the familiar silver ingots and silver hairpin, as well as the recognizable fabrics within the bundle, shakily received it, "Dad—"

"That’s enough. It’s getting late. You should go back and rest!" Wang Laozhu waved his hand, having no more desire to talk at that moment.

Wang Yongzhen wanted to speak but was half carried, half dragged out by Sun Mutou.

Once they reached the room where they were temporarily staying, Wang Yongzhen sat on the kang bed, fumbling with the silver ingots and asking, "Mutou, why did you stop Mom from talking more with Granddad? Seeing Granddad all alone like that, it just breaks my heart..."

"Mom, I’ll go to the old house tomorrow and tidy up. Let’s move over there in the next couple of days," Mutou said after a moment of silence.

"Why? I just want to spend more time with your grandpa. He must be heartbroken over the family split this time. I’ve never been able to fulfill my filial duties all these years, and now it’s a good opportunity to show my filial respect!" Wang Yongzhen asked, puzzled.

"Mom, let’s move out first; we’ll have plenty of time to pay our respects to grandpa later! Don’t worry, we still have some money on hand, and Third Uncle has lent us the old house to live in for the time being, so there’s no need to fret. After the New Year, I’ll go do some odd jobs. I have the strength; I can definitely make money. When spring comes, I’ll also go up the mountain to collect wild goods to sell. Then I’ll help out the uncles, and there will surely be no problem supporting the two of us!" Sun Mutou urged.

It was clear now that aside from grandpa, the rest of the Wang Family didn’t welcome her or her son.

The Wang Family had fulfilled their obligations to their married daughter to the utmost.

If one knew better, one should move out early to avoid causing more trouble for the Wang Family.

Now, she and her son had only the Wang Family to rely on. If they offended this pillar of support, how would they live in the future?

Wang Yongzhen fell silent...

In the third room.

Lady Jiang mustered her courage for a long while before asking, "Husband, why are you thinking of wanting to..."

"Wanting to have dad divided into our care, right?" Wang Yonggui asked.

Lady Jiang nodded.

Truthfully, her first preference was not to split up the family, but even if they were to divide, she never thought it would fall on her own household to take care of the father.

No matter how one looked at it, it just wasn’t their turn.

Not to mention, would her husband really want the father-in-law to dictate things around here?

Lady Jiang was full of doubts.

Wang Yonggui chuckled, "So, what do you think of your man’s plan? Not only will we get a good reputation for being filial in the future, but we’ll also get more silver. The money for our children’s education is all sorted!"

"Husband, are you really going to send Jinpan and Jinshao to school?" Lady Jiang knew that education was valuable, and those who were educated were held in higher regard.

But she hadn’t expected her husband to let Jinpan and the others study.

"Hm! Initially, the family only supported that bastard Wang Laoer in his studies, and we could only pick up his discarded books, grateful if he deigned to teach us a couple of characters! That Wang Laoer, merely passing the Scholar exam, acted so high and mighty, looking down on everyone. He said I, Wang Laosan, wasn’t material for studying and went as far as to claim my children would only be destined to scratch a living from the soil, suggesting they’d end up like me, a good-for-nothing ruffian!"

"Tut! Now that I’ve got money, I’ll definitely make sure Jinpan and Jinshao are educated. They will not only pass the Scholar exam but even become Graduates! Let that bastard Wang Laoer see, even if Wang Laosan isn’t cut out for studying, my sons are better than him! That will infuriate him!"

Speaking of this, Wang Yonggui got angry.

Back then, the family had supported Wang Yongan in his studies, and he was not only ungrateful but also acted entitled.

When asked to teach his brothers a few characters, he would get impatient, acting as if they were all bumpkins destined to scratch a living from the soil, while he was meant to be an official lord in the future!

Wasn’t Wang Laozhu biased towards Wang Yongan simply because he could study and had become a Scholar? What was so great about that! Wang Laosan could still support a Scholar Graduate within his own sons.

Anyway, he had two sons, both of whom looked very bright, certainly capable of surpassing Wang Yongan.

In time, he would show everyone that although Wang Laosan might never be a Scholar himself, he could be the father of Scholar Graduates!