The Country Maiden: Fields and Leisure
Chapter 580 - 578 Wang Yongan is Coming Back

Chapter 580: Chapter 578 Wang Yongan is Coming Back

Speaking of Song Chongjin, Old Granny Zhang then asked, "Chongjin left early in the morning, will she be able to return today?"

Wang Yongzhu shook her head; Song Chongjin had left in such a hurry that morning that she hadn’t managed to ask.

As Wang Yongzhu reached out for a small box to organize some trivial items, an idea struck Old Granny Zhang.

Ever since Wang Yongan sneaked away with the deed and sold it, Old Granny Zhang had become even more cautious about hiding things.

Now that she had moved into Wang Yongzhu’s room, she no longer had to hide things here and there, as she used to.

She busily directed Wang Yongzhu to bring down a certain trunk, then reached into a corner of it to pull out a small cloth bag.

She also took out a few silver pieces from that same bundle.

There was money hidden in all sorts of places you could think of and couldn’t think of: inside clothes, between layers of a trunk, even inside shoes – all of Old Granny Zhang’s secret stash.

It eventually piled up into a small mound on the kang bed.

Wang Yongzhu truly had to admire her; with so many hiding spots, someone with even a slightly poorer memory would probably forget where they’d stashed things.

In the dead of winter, just to find all this hidden money, Old Granny Zhang had broken into a sweat.

The mother and daughter sat on the kang bed, beginning to count it all.

In the end, aside from some gold jewelry, and the silver note for one hundred taels that Wang Yongzhu had given before, they counted the allowance for the three of them, amounting to a considerable sum. There were also savings eked out from day-to-day expenses and the occasional silver pieces Wang Yongzhu would give Old Granny Zhang for her personal use, which she hadn’t spent a single penny of.

Altogether, it surprisingly came to about twenty taels.

After counting the money, Old Granny Zhang pushed it all towards Wang Yongzhu, "Take it all! From now on, you’ll be supporting me, and there’s no need for us, mother and daughter, to keep any secret stashes. What’s mine is yours!"

Wang Yongzhu wouldn’t accept it, "What are you saying, mother? You raised me when I was young, now it’s my turn to support you in your old age! Keep your money for yourself. I will give you a monthly allowance of one tael for your personal expenses. You can spend it without worry, your daughter can afford to support you!"

Old Granny Zhang was still reluctant to take it back, "Now that I am old and decrepit, what need have I for money? Take it, your father, that old fool, is partial to his own daughters, and I too am partial to mine. Even though I haven’t divided any assets to you, take this money to buy a few acres of land; it could help supplement you a bit each year..."

"Mother, who says you haven’t divided assets? Everything that was mother’s share will be yours!" Wang Yongzhu quickly interjected.

She thought for a moment, then explained, "The share of profits I give to father is firstly to make the three brothers and their wives eager to support him so that they won’t compete with me to care for you!"

"Moreover, it’s uncertain whether father will be able to hold on to those profits. Haven’t you seen that Third Brother has already taken half? I doubt my eldest sister-in-law will be content; there could well be trouble. And with our eldest sister so unfortunate, won’t father have to support her? By then, that share of profits will be like a chunk of fat in everyone’s eyes, with each wanting to take a bite."

The rest doesn’t need to be said.

Wang Yongzhu is no saint. Having endured for so long, whatever her reasons, the efforts she has put into this family are tangible.

Yet when it came time to divide the family assets, everyone took her contributions for granted; she cannot be blamed for feeling the way she does.

No matter if she has money or not, if she wants or doesn’t need the family to provide her with a dowry, if they can’t even offer her consideration, what more is there to say?

At that moment, she had resolved that if even one person spoke up for her, she would have another way to divide the inheritance and still give the Wang Family a helping hand.

Regrettably, there was no one.

Except for Old Granny Zhang, her own mother.

Upon hearing this, Old Granny Zhang paused, then gave Wang Yongzhu a pat on the shoulder, "You sneaky girl, always have a trick up your sleeve! It’s enough that just the two of us know about this, don’t let it slip! Tell everyone that you’re doing it out of concern for your father, understand?"

She thought to herself, how could her own daughter be so generous in the division of family assets, obviously at a loss!

So, that’s where the trick was!

The slight discomfort in her heart immediately dissipated.

By late afternoon, as it was getting dark, Song Chongjin finally returned in a horse-drawn carriage.

Without any pleasantries, he said he had something to discuss.

Old Granny Zhang hurriedly asked Wang Yongzhu to accompany him to the courtyard on their side, while she personally went to the kitchen to prepare some hot soup noodles for her son-in-law.

Wang Yongzhu, seeing that Song Chongjin’s expression was still relatively calm, followed him to the courtyard on the Song Family’s side.

The kang bed in the room was still warm, and Song Chongjin asked Wang Yongzhu to sit on it. The room was too cold, so he went to reheat the kang.

Only then did he sit beside Wang Yongzhu and asked first, "How did the division of the family assets go today?"

He had gone to town today firstly for business, and secondly, he had deliberately avoided being present for the division. After all, though he was almost an official son-in-law, it was still better to avoid the appearance of impropriety at such a time.

Wang Yongzhu briefly described the situation.

Song Chongjin showed a hint of a smile in his eyes, "You’ve posed yet another difficult question for your uncle. You really don’t allow yourself to suffer any losses, do you?"

Though his words seemed reproachful, his tone was full of indulgence.

Wang Yongzhu pouted, "As if this red envelope of Silver Pieces is so easy to obtain! If all the brothers were sincerely filial to him and he treated everyone equally, with the red envelope of Silver Pieces, who wouldn’t serve him well and let him live like an old master, better than anyone in the village? But if he is foolish himself, deciding to whom he gives and withholds the Silver, he will have a hard time in the days to come!"

Song Chongjin stroked Wang Yongzhu’s hair and nodded, "Yongzhu is right! The uncle surely deserves to learn a lesson!"

Then, changing the subject, "It’s best to get the family division settled before the end of the year, don’t wait until after. Wang Yongan is coming back!"

"When? Is this the news you got from your trip?" Wang Yongzhu immediately became alert.

Song Chongjin nodded, "On my trip to town, the word outside is that if nothing unexpected happens, Wang Yongan will be back before the end of the year. He has already reached the provincial capital. By taking the water route to Jing County, it won’t take many days, and then from Jing County to Qilidun, he should arrive by December 20 at the latest."

Song Chongjin had previously instructed his men to collect information on Wang Yongan.

When he heard the news from Steward Lu a few days ago, he immediately found a way to signal his men to quickly compile all information on Wang Yongan and report back to him.

His outing today was, firstly, for this matter, and secondly, concerning the bandits who made trouble the last time; last they were not willing to be subdued under him, so he conveniently handed them over to Lady Yu, who was then available to take charge.

Lady Yu was already known as a tough woman, and in only a few months, she had managed to suppress Qian Dahao.

After taking over these bandits, she promptly sold them to private mines, where every year, dozens or even hundreds of lives are lost, isn’t it?

The bandits only understood the severity after a few days there, with no escape to heaven nor doors to hell, enduring torture that almost took half their lives, until Song Chongjin’s men bought them back.

Since then, these bandits had truly sold their lives to Song Chongjin.

This trip of Song Chongjin’s was to arrange new assignments for this group of bandits who had recovered.

It happened that the person reporting the news arrived today, and after hearing it, Song Chongjin hurried back home.