The Country Maiden: Fields and Leisure
Chapter 614 - 612: Taking the Boat

Chapter 614: Chapter 612: Taking the Boat

Having arranged all these matters, Wang Yongzhu finally returned to the inn.

Jinhoo had never been to Jing County before, and Wang Yongping had only been there once.

Now that the New Year wasn’t over yet, everyone was still wearing new clothes, smiles of satisfaction on their faces, and the shops on the street had reopened.

Even though many students and out-of-town businessmen were gone, the streets remained bustling, with young girls and brides in their New Year’s clothes looking forward to going out together.

However, none of them dared to leave the inn, just yearningly gazing at the outside world.

Seeing Wang Yongzhu coming back, they all came up to greet her.

Wang Yongzhu, finding it boring to stay in the inn, asked Old Granny Zhang, "Mother, shall we also go and stroll around Jing County?"

Old Granny Zhang’s eyes lit up, but she immediately said, "Let’s forget it, strolling around costs money! Doesn’t everything we need cost money when we go out? Let’s save and spend carefully!"

Jinhoo’s spirits instantly deflated.

Wang Yongzhu hurriedly said, "That’s not necessarily the case. We’re getting on the ship tomorrow, and we need to buy some food and seasickness pills to prepare. Mother, if you come with us, you can help us look out and avoid being overcharged, right?"

These words struck a chord with Old Granny Zhang, who immediately perked up, "You’re absolutely right. You young ones look so tender, the businessmen will definitely charge you more. I, an old woman, need to keep an eye on you to prevent you from being taken advantage of!"

With that, she took care of wrapping up the clothes, locked the door, and the family slowly started their shopping.

Indeed, Old Granny Zhang haggled from one end of the street to the other, at the pharmacy buying seasickness pills, forcing the shop to drop the price and throwing in two hawthorn digestive pills for good measure.

When buying snacks, she managed to negotiate for more than one tael worth of free sweets to be added for every jin purchased.

When tired from walking, they stopped at a street stand for a bowl of sweet osmanthus rice dumplings, insisting the owner add more sweet osmanthus syrup three times.

She perfectly accomplished the feat of spending the least money to get the most things done.

After a full round of shopping and eating their fill, Old Granny Zhang returned to the inn content, nodding approvingly, "The things in this county town are really good, with a variety of styles, and even cheaper than in our town. It’s just that everyone has their noses in the air, treating us as bumpkins coming into the city."

Wang Yongzhu quickly hugged Old Granny Zhang to comfort her, "We are no bumpkins! Have you forgotten? I bought a house in the county town. I’ve already met with the agent, and our little courtyard house can be rented out for more than one tael of silver a month. I’ve asked the agent to clean it up in a few days. After I marry Brother Song, we’ll move you to the county town to live!"

"Then, you can carry around the private money your daughter gives you every day, eat whatever you want, buy whatever you want, and see who dares to look down on you!"

Old Granny Zhang laughed, "That’s wonderful! I’ll get to live in a house in the county town and become a city old lady."

The mother and daughter joked and chuckled for a while, and after casually washing up, they went to bed fully clothed.

The next day, after having breakfast, someone from the Escort Agency informed them that the ship had arrived at the dock and they could board it now to avoid the inconvenience of moving cargo later on.

The Wang Family settled their bill and headed for the docks.

Early in the morning, the docks were already exceptionally lively.

Along the wide riverbank, about a dozen large boats were moored, with numerous smaller boats shuttling between them.

Along the riverbank, shops were lined up, bustling with crowds of people.

On the docks, the scene was bustling as the laborers shuttled between the ships and the shore, loading and unloading goods.

Wang Yongping couldn’t help but stare in amazement, "This is indeed a job that can earn a good sum of money in a day, right? Back when I was doing odd jobs in the town, the work was so inconsistent. If I had known earlier, I would’ve run to the county city; with strength, one wouldn’t starve. And I could’ve saved up some money, so my little sister wouldn’t have had to struggle so much."

Thinking back on those days at home, he couldn’t help but sigh deeply.

Wang Yonggui dared not speak too much on this topic, fearing that speaking too much might lead to a scolding.

He quickly changed the subject, "Let’s get on the ship!"

The Escort Agency had arranged two cabins for them in the middle of the ship. The rooms were clean, though not large, only furnished with simple fixed beds and two cupboards; even the washstand was nailed down.

The bedding on the beds was fairly clean, but Wang Yongzhu knew that one couldn’t be too picky when away from home.

It wasn’t long before the ship’s kitchen maid came knocking on the door, delivering lunch. Lunch was fresh braised fish, served with a bowl of dried shrimps that had been rehydrated and fried, and the main dish was rice.

The kitchen maid’s cooking skills were average, but the fish was likely freshly caught from the river, and it had a natural, sweet flavor while the salty dried shrimps were savory and complemented the rice well.

Once the cargo was all loaded, with the sound of the horn, the large ship slowly left the docks, sailing downstream along the river.

After leaving Jing County, both banks were lined with forests, and it was only then that Wang Yongzhu and Old Granny Zhang came out onto the deck for some fresh air.

The river was wide, and the current gentle. Many ships were nearby in front and behind the large boat. It didn’t seem like they had been traveling long when night fell, and the nearby ships all anchored near a calm river beach to spend the night.

Lanterns were lit on the ships, sparkling here and there, casting a shimmering light upon the surface of the river, as if the stars in the sky had fallen into the water.

Wang Yonggui was articulate, and by the afternoon, he had already become familiar with the armed escorts on the ship.

Now, he approached Old Granny Zhang and her companions, whispering, "Be vigilant tonight while sleeping. I heard from the armed escorts that the river has not been very peaceful these past years. That’s why the large ships stick together on their journeys, so they can help each other out, just in case..."

When Old Granny Zhang heard this, she was startled at first, "Our ship won’t run into any trouble, will it?"

Wang Yongzhu quickly glared at Wang Yonggui and turned to reassure her, "Mother, don’t worry, I’ve asked Steward Lu. Although the river has had occasional unrest these past two years, it’s only been small bands of water bandits, nothing serious. People in business and those from the Escort Agency naturally have to be cautious. Spending the night together like this is based on the experience of those who sail; this is the only area nearby where the water is calm and suitable for anchoring to rest."

"Brother probably heard those armed escorts deliberately trying to scare us and came to frighten us."

Wang Yonggui immediately understood and nodded repeatedly, "Exactly, I was just joking, Mother—"

He was promptly met with Old Granny Zhang’s shoe coming down on his head twice, causing him to run out while holding his head.

With Wang Yongzhu’s explanation, Old Granny Zhang was finally able to feel at ease.

The journey was smooth, with a breeze and not much of a current; the ship traveled very steadily. At one point, they stopped for a few hours at a small dock, and by the morning of the third day, they finally reached the docks of Qi City.

As usual, Wang Yongzhu went to settle the account. Wang Yongping watched, and after struggling internally for a while, he took out the five taels of silver and handed them to Wang Yongzhu, "Little sister, use this to settle the account."

Wang Yongzhu was taken aback.

"All the expenses of the journey were borne by you, and since we’ve already separated our households, we can’t take advantage of you anymore! I didn’t know how much this trip would cost, so I only brought this much. You can take it for now, little sister. If it’s not enough, I’ll pay you back when we get home!" Wang Yongping’s face turned red.