The Country Maiden: Fields and Leisure
Chapter 585 - 583: Move Away

Chapter 585: Chapter 583: Move Away

Although Wang Yongfu didn’t fully understand Wang Yonggui’s thoughts, seeing that his sister didn’t object, he also advised, "That’s right, Dad, now that the family has been divided, we should act like it’s divided..."

Even Jinhoo joined in to persuade a bit, and Wang Laozhu, who was dazed, agreed as well.

Once Wang Laozhu agreed, Wang Yonggui immediately asked Lady Jiang to help clean up, and at the same time, he hurried Wang Yongzhen to vacate the room quickly.

He was anyway known for his indifference, and he wasn’t afraid that Wang Yongzhen would accuse him of being unkind or of trying to drive her away.

He just wanted to quickly get rid of his big sister, the crybaby. Ever since she moved into his courtyard, her crying in the middle of the night was like having a ghost at home.

The sobbing was soft, intermingled with the sound of the wind, intermittent and eerie.

It scared the children so much that they couldn’t sleep at night, and he had had enough.

A perfectly good new house had the eerie atmosphere of a haunted mansion. It’s only because she was his blood sister—otherwise, he would have taken a knife to someone by now.

Wang Yongzhen, sobbing and whimpering, finally left. Before she left, she clung to Wang Laozhu and cried as if it were a life-or-death farewell.

Not until Jinhoo really couldn’t tolerate it anymore, she said, "Eldest Aunt, you’re just moving to the old house, it’s not like you’re going to the execution grounds never to be seen again. Why cry like this, who are you trying to impress?"

Only then did she, wiping away tears, leaning on Sun Mutou, with both Jindou and Jinhu carrying large and small packages, followed behind to send them to the old house.

They didn’t return for quite a while.

When Jinhoo came back, she complained, "I’ve never seen Eldest Aunt so shameless. We lent them our old house to live in, and we’re still going to keep it for storage and the like. But she just went straight to the room where Grandpa and Grandma used to live, and even had Mutou move into the room that you, Wicked Uncle, used to occupy."

"Since we’re not living in that house anyway, and since we’ve lent it to them, let them live in whichever room they want!" Wang Yongzhu, having settled the matter of the family division, imagined the sight of Wang Yongan coming with great hope and leaving in disappointment, and for once, felt surprisingly good.

"Not me, I just said I didn’t bring the keys to Grandpa and Grandma’s and your Wicked Uncle’s old rooms, and gave them the room Laosan’s family used to live in instead," Jinhu said with a sly smile.

Wang Yongzhu flicked Jinhu’s forehead.

There was something else Jinhu didn’t say. As soon as Eldest Aunt got to the old house, she cried nonstop. It was they, the brothers and Mutou, who had cleaned up the house.

Seeing how pitiable Mutou was, with a mother who only knew how to cry and did nothing else, they helped clean up the house and explained where things like the family well and the kitchen were.

Fortunately, when they moved out, they left behind a pot and a few bowls in the kitchen, barely enough for them to get by.

With Wang Yongzhen gone, Wang Yonggui took advantage of the situation and moved all of Wang Laozhu’s belongings over to his courtyard.

Looking at the empty front room, Wang Laozhu felt an indescribable discomfort in his heart.

Looking at his daughter’s room with the door closed, Old Granny Zhang had found an excuse to go to Song Chongjin’s place for the afternoon, saying it was warmer there. When she saw that Wang Yongzhu had made only half of Song Chongjin’s clothes, she decided to grab her basket of needles and thread, and simply went to her son-in-law’s place to make clothes for him.

Little did Wang Laozhu know that he had stood in the courtyard for a long time before giving up and walking away, dejected, upon not seeing Old Granny Zhang open the door.

In the following days, Wang Yongzhu spent each day chatting with Old Granny Zhang and meanwhile, she mostly stayed at Song Chongjin’s place to make the new clothes for the New Year.

Sometimes, when she was too lazy to go over, the three of them would simply make something to eat right there in the Song Family Courtyard.

After feeling down for one night, Wang Laozhu was back to his usual self by the next day, at least, it wasn’t apparent on his face anymore.

Every morning, he would stroll around the courtyard and then head to the old house, where Wang Yongzhen would keep him company and talk to him, and he’d spend half the day teaching Mutou carpentry skills.

Even though Sun Mutou was a bit slow, he was earnest and obedient, and willing to learn. After two or three days, at the very least, his planing started to look pretty professional.

Jindou and Jinhu, now that business in mountain goods at their home had completely tapered off, didn’t sit idle either and would go to town every day, up to who knows what; they’d leave in the morning and return in the evening.

After splitting from the family, Liu Xiaoqiao went back to Chongzi Gou with Wang Yongping. Once Father Liu learned about the separation, his face darkened instantly.

He made Liu Daming and his other brother take Wang Yongping hunting and found an excuse to keep Liu Xiaoqiao at home.

After asking in detail and hearing Liu Xiaoqiao explain the situation, Father Liu burst into anger, "How could you be so foolish? What did I tell you initially? Did I not instruct you to obey your sister-in-law in all things? Is this how you’ve done it?"

"Why didn’t you oppose the way your sister-in-law listed things for the separation? Let’s not talk about anything else, why didn’t you even ask one more question on behalf of your sister-in-law?"

Liu Xiaoqiao’s face turned red, and she bit her lip, not daring to speak.

Mother Liu hurriedly tried to mediate, "Head of the family, please speak kindly, don’t distress yourself! The child is still young, she just doesn’t understand things yet, we can teach her slowly!"

"She’s already part of someone else’s family, what teaching can we do now? Didn’t I tell you on the day you left our door, to respect your parents-in-law and to be kind to your sister-in-law? You promised so earnestly, and what has come of it?"

"Do you think your sister-in-law and your mother-in-law can’t see through your intentions? Let me tell you, they see right through you! They just don’t say anything out of respect for Fourth Brother’s face," Father Liu said, hitting his chest in frustration.

"I, Laosan, have lived an honest life, and I never thought my reputation would be tarnished because of you!"

Liu Xiaoqiao finally couldn’t hold back her tears and knelt before Father Liu, "Dad! I was wrong! I truly realize my mistake now! At the time, I just lost my mind! I did, I was just jealous of my sister-in-law, she is so capable, so good at making money, and her future brother-in-law also treats her well. I just thought, since she has so much private money, she wouldn’t care about a little bit more or less... I regretted it later, Dad, I really do!"

"My sister-in-law has been genuinely good to me, out of fear that I’d lose face, she specially arranged things on the day of the wedding to prevent me from having to hear idle chatter in the village. After the marriage, she took care of everything, and was considerate. She always had a word with Fourth Brother to be good to me. But I couldn’t help it, Fourth Brother listens to everything my sister-in-law says and puts her before me in everything, I..."

With that, she couldn’t help but cover her face.

"You silly child, you need to understand, if Fourth Brother has what he has today, if he can be with you, it’s all thanks to your sister-in-law! Without her, would Fourth Brother have his current life? Fourth Brother is someone who recognizes favors and knows gratitude, that’s why he listens to everything your sister-in-law says. This is his way of showing a brother’s affection for his sister. You should be glad that your husband is grateful, not an ingrate. It’s better to have a man with a conscience than one without," Father Liu said.

"And besides, how many more years will your sister-in-law be at home? I think, regarding her and the Song family’s young man, it’s a matter of the next two years or so. Once she’s married, her thoughts will be on her own small family, and naturally, she will drift apart from Fourth Brother. Can’t you even wait that long?" Mother Liu, both annoyed and heartbroken, slapped Liu Xiaoqiao a few times, regretting that she was not living up to expectations.