The Country Maiden: Fields and Leisure
Chapter 603 - 601

Chapter 603: 601

Lady Qian hated Old Granny Zhang, hated her so much it made her heart bleed, yet she had to appear as if nothing was wrong on the surface.

Packing up to leave Qilidun was not only a joy for Jinchai, but Lady Qian also breathed a sigh of relief.

It was easy to say they’d go, but once they stepped out the door, they remembered this wasn’t the county city; it wasn’t easy to hire a carriage. Were they supposed to rely on their legs to walk all the way to the town?

Wang Yongan thought of this problem as well, and his face immediately turned pale.

His wounds had not yet healed; how could he walk all the way to the town? Wasn’t this asking for his life?

"Dad, do we have any horse carts or something in our village? Let’s hire a horse cart to go to the town. In this freezing weather, your body can’t withstand it," Wang Yongan looked to Wang Laozhu.

Wang Laozhu waved his hand: "Your father is in good health! There are only ox carts in the village, and I have already arranged for one to come later. Your family is frail, so later move the blankets from the kang in the house onto the cart to avoid catching a cold."

Wang Yongan’s face darkened; they had to ride in an ox cart? With the mountain wind blowing over those dozens of miles of mountain roads, what state would they be in when they arrived at the town?

As he was entangled in these thoughts, Song Chongjin drove up to the old house’s doorway with a horse cart. He didn’t even get down from the cart, just sat on the shaft and shouted, "Uncle, come out, Yongzhu asked me to take you to the town."

Wang Laozhu came out and saw the setup, unable to hide a trace of satisfaction in his eyes; his little girl still had a filial heart.

He hurriedly called for Wang Yongan’s family to get on the cart quickly.

Seeing that it was a horse cart, Wang Yongan’s family scrambled aboard; noticing the carriage was also tidy, they immediately relaxed.

Wang Yongzhen was actually reluctant to part with them. As she watched Wang Laozhu leave, her tears began to fall one after another, until Sun Mutou dragged her back into the house by force.

The horse cart slowly left Qilidun, and only then did Wang Yongan completely relax.

Looking at the arrangement of the horse cart, he couldn’t help but ask Wang Laozhu in a low voice, "Dad, is this horse cart Song Chongjin’s?"

If one could afford to own such a horse cart, plus the mules and horses, it would probably cost several dozen silver pieces.

It seems that Song Chongjin could afford a horse cart, indicating that his fortune must be quite decent among the peasants.

Wang Laozhu shook his head: "This is our family’s horse cart; your sister bought it back when she made money to make transporting goods from the mountains easier."

Wang Yongan’s eyes grew even more fervent.

This return home had not gone according to his plans; he thought that after apologizing, his family should accept him.

He didn’t expect to be beaten before he even entered the door, followed by the news that the Wang Family had divided, and he had nothing to do with it.

Later, he was nearly hacked by his own mother with a knife and had no choice but to leave first,

This trip back home actually cost him some silver pieces, and he hadn’t touched even a hair of the family’s property.

Now, learning that the family had even bought a horse cart, he couldn’t help but inquire about the Wang Family’s current wealth in a low voice.

He had Lady Qian coax some words out of Wang Yongzhen, but unfortunately, Wang Yongzhen was useless too, only saying that she wasn’t present during the division and didn’t know the details.

Of course, he couldn’t just ask directly; instead, he spoke in an especially cheerful tone: "Coming back this time and seeing the family’s circumstances improved, my guilty heart has also eased somewhat. Now the family has a new courtyard and even a horse cart, all thanks to the little sister!"

No matter his numerous thoughts, Wang Laozhu couldn’t fault his little girl’s ability to earn money.

Moreover, he had a bit of a selfish motive. Now that he was going to the county town to stay, he would have to live with his relatives by marriage, who looked down upon the Wang Family.

Nowadays, the Wang Family was much stronger than the Qian Family. He had to flaunt a bit and elevate his own status to avoid having to watch the faces of his relatives by marriage.

So he couldn’t help but show a bit of pride, "The family business we have now, most of it was earned by your younger sister! Even the mountain goods business got off the ground thanks to your sister. Just this year, the mountain goods business alone has made several hundred silver pieces, or where else would the money have come from to build a new courtyard!"

Several hundred silver pieces! Not only Wang Yongan, but Lady Qian’s eyes also lit up.

For the past six months, they had been doing work for the County Magistrate, and all the silver they had obtained added up to only a couple hundred silver pieces, which was enough for them to live comfortably in the county town.

But for the Wang Family’s business to make several hundred silver pieces in just half a year, wouldn’t that mean...

Wang Yongan steadied his mind and discreetly tried to get more details from Wang Laozhu.

Outside, Song Chongjin, who was listening to the conversation inside the carriage, his eyes chilling over, flicked the whip in his hand. Whenever Wang Laozhu was about to answer, he intentionally drove the mules over rocks or into potholes.

The carriage jolted so much that it nearly shook the intestines out of the passengers, leaving them with no energy to speak.

Wang Laozhu couldn’t help but ask, "Chongjin, why is the road so bumpy today?"

Song Chongjin replied very seriously, "Uncle, the wind has blown a lot of small stones onto the road up the mountain, I can’t help it. Just bear with it a little longer, I’ll make the carriage go faster, and it’ll be better once we get to the town!"

Without waiting for Wang Laozhu to answer, he raised the whip high and urged the mules to speed up, trotting towards the town.

Upon reaching the town, the Wang Yongan family was so pale and listless that they almost rolled out of the carriage.

This journey had shaken them so much they questioned their own existence where there was no room left for conversation. Their legs were numb, and their brains felt scrambled.

Although Wang Laozhu was older, he was more resistant and still looked relatively composed.

Song Chongjin dropped them off at the entrance of the town’s carriage station.

Wang Yongan got off the carriage and ran to the side to throw up his breakfast until he felt a bit better.

He wasn’t foolish; by now, he understood perfectly that Song Chongjin might have done it on purpose, literally shaking him to sickness with the carriage ride.

As he vomited, he felt fierce inside, a country bumpkin daring to use such underhanded tactics behind his back; he wouldn’t blame himself for being ruthless in return!

Lady Qian and Jinchai also ran off to the side and vomited until they were dizzy and confused, it took them a long time to recover.

They propped themselves up and went into the carriage station to hire a carriage.

Wang Yongan, not liking the breeze at the entrance, also went inside to sit down, leaving only Wang Laozhu standing at the entrance, looking at Song Chongjin, wanting but hesitating to speak.

Wang Laozhu had lived long enough to see through Song Chongjin’s deliberate torment.

Although he was upset, such matters couldn’t be openly discussed, he simply shook his head internally. Chongjin was good in every other way except for one flaw, he always listened to that maid Yongzhu, wasn’t this clearly taking out his frustration for Yongzhu and the old woman?

Song Chongjin didn’t care what Wang Laozhu and Wang Yongan thought.

Having seen that the people were delivered, he was ready to drive off. Thinking for a moment, he took a chunk of silver pieces from his pocket and gave it to Wang Laozhu, "Uncle, you’ll need money for everything when you’re outside. Keep this for yourself just in case. Also, Uncle, if Wang Yongan asks about the Wang Family and Yongzhu again, you’d better say nothing!"

With that, he flicked his whip, turned the carriage around, and quickly disappeared down the street.