The Country Maiden: Fields and Leisure
Chapter 610 - 608 Acquaintance

Chapter 610: Chapter 608 Acquaintance

Song Chongjin thought for a moment, "Tomorrow I will go to the county town with you all first, then I will head to Qi City overnight to see what the situation is like, so I can have a better understanding. Wang Yongan is cruel and vicious, having gone for over half a month now, there might be some trap waiting, and after all, he has lived in Qi City for a while. As we are new to the place, we might fall into his trap, so it’s best to be cautious."

"You bring mother and the others along slowly from behind, safety first. If father is indeed ill, I will find a way."

Wang Yongzhu nodded, "Do you have contacts in Qi City?"

It was then that Song Chongjin said, "There has always been a contact point in Qi City, and after the last incident, I deliberately added some manpower there. Do you still remember Boss Ma and his brothers?"

Wang Yongzhu naturally remembered. She had originally planned to talk to Song Chongjin about Boss Ma, but after Song Chongjin gave her two hairpins, they were sweet with each other for a while, and she forgot about it.

Then came the house-building and Wang Yongping’s wedding, and with Song Chongjin being well and staying by her side, she didn’t bring it up again.

Now that she heard about it, she looked at Song Chongjin with perplexity, "How did you arrange for Boss Ma and his group last time? Didn’t Madam Yu come to you to take them back?"

Song Chongjin shook his head, "Later I asked Boss Ma and them if they wanted to follow me, but they still had their wild nature, accustomed to a life without constraints, who would want to be restricted by others? Since they were unwilling to follow me, it didn’t take long for Madam Yu to take them back."

"What happened afterwards?" Wang Yongzhu knew that Song Chongjin wouldn’t mention Boss Ma’s group for no reason.

"At that time, I told Boss Ma and the others that if they ever regretted their decision, they simply needed to find a shop with this symbol and contact me." Song Chongjin took out a wooden token from his bosom and handed it to Wang Yongzhu.

Wang Yongzhu took the wooden token, heavy in her hand like metal yet wooden. She couldn’t make out what material it was made from, with the character ’Chong’ carved on it.

"Then, about two months ago, a message came from the contact point in Qi City, saying someone had found the contact point and asked me to rescue Boss Ma and his group, who were sold to a private mine in Qi City. After delivering this message, that person died."

"The contact point’s people secretly buried him and, following the clues he left behind, found out that Boss Ma and his group had been sold to a private mine by Madam Yu. Barely ten days passed before they were tormented beyond endurance, and two of them were beaten to death for trying to escape."

"Boss Ma and his group knew that if they stayed any longer, they would only face death, so they came up with a plan. They knew ways to induce an appearance of death through choking, putting one of themselves in a state of apparent death. The mine’s people carried the ’body’ out and threw it into the pit for the dead, from which he climbed out and sneaked to Qi City County."

"Injured and without money for treatment and fearing discovery, he had no choice but to beg for a living. He just happened to arrive at our contact point, afraid to enter during the day, only venturing in at night to relay everything before he succumbed to his injuries."

"My people there sent a message to me while confirming Boss Ma’s location; they managed to bribe a leader there, claiming the need for labor at another mine and bought several of them, which is how we got them out."

Only then did Wang Yongzhu learn of all the events that had transpired behind the scenes.

"So, you’re telling me, you have people in Qi City?"

Song Chongjin nodded, "When sending father to Qi City, I instructed them to follow Wang Yongan and his group, to send word back immediately with any news. But despite Wang Yongan having sent messages back, there’s still no news from that side. Something may have happened, and I must go check."

Wang Yongzhu had nothing more to say and tried to return the token to Song Chongjin, "Alright, we’ll do as you said, but you also be careful! If anything happens, unless my father’s life is in danger, don’t show your hand!"

Song Chongjin nodded but refused to take the token back, "Keep this token. If something happens to me in Qi City and I can’t see you in time, you just take this token..."

He then lowered his voice and, leaning close to Wang Yongzhu’s ear, quietly explained the contacts in Qi City and other locations, one by one.

"Remember all this! With this token, seeing it is as seeing me!" Song Chongjin had now completely handed over all his power to Wang Yongzhu’s hands.

Wang Yongzhu had wanted to refuse, but seeing Song Chongjin’s serious expression, she nodded and tucked the token away.

Only then did Song Chongjin breathe a sigh of relief.

After the two had discussed serious matters, Song Chongjin went back to pack his belongings, and Wang Yongzhu finally had the time to find Old Granny Zhang.

Old Granny Zhang would verbally deride Wang Laozhu as a stubborn old fool, feeling he was biased and muddle-headed, but upon hearing that he had fallen ill, though unsure if it was true, she still felt genuinely unhappy.

She hastily packed her luggage and then sat on the kang bed in a daze.

Upon seeing Wang Yongzhu come in, she perked up, "Is everything packed? Your dad, that old fool, always having grand plans, never stays at home, and just had to go to the city. Look what happened, even before the New Year’s over, he’s caused such unrest in the family! When I get to the county town, see how I’ll scold him! Always following the second one, that beast, when will he stop tormenting his old bones...

Wang Yongzhu hurriedly comforted her, "Mom, don’t be angry! We won’t know what the actual situation is until we get to the county town. If dad isn’t sick, we definitely can’t let him stay in the city any longer. If he is, we need to bring him back for treatment. Haven’t you heard that people usually recover when they return home to familiar water and soil?"

Old Granny Zhang angrily cursed Wang Laozhu for a while, which somewhat alleviated her anger.

Early the next morning, Wang Yongfu drove the carriage that took the family to the town.

Wang Yongzhu naturally sought out an old acquaintance, Steward Lu.

Upon arriving at the Escort Agency, Steward Lu smiled when he saw Wang Yongzhu but then saw her family with their bags, all set for travel, and immediately sensed there must be some story behind it.

He quickly invited them inside, "Miss Wang, Song Brothers, where are you off to?"

Generally speaking, very few would travel far from home before the end of the New Year period.

In a few words, Wang Yongzhu explained the situation to Steward Lu and asked if the Escort Agency had any assignments to Jing County that day. If so, her family could join them, and if not, she would directly request the Escort Agency’s carriage service to escort them to Jing County.

Steward Lu nodded, "Today you’re in luck. There’s an escort task to Jing County this afternoon. It’s perfect since you know the party; you can accompany them on the trip."

Just as Wang Yongzhu was about to ask who it was, she heard a familiar voice, "Old Song? Miss Wang of the Wang Family? What are you doing here too?"

Turning around, who else could it be but Wu Zhongbao?

Behind him, a crowd followed, men and women alike, all busy loading boxes large and small onto the carts.

"Brother Wu? You’re going to Jing County too? What’s this all about?" Wang Yongzhu wondered. Just before the New Year, Benefactor Wu had considered waiting until spring to let Wu Zhongbao run wild in the mountains.

But why was he sending Wu Zhongbao to Jing County now?