The Country Maiden: Fields and Leisure
Chapter 615 - 613: You’re Finally Here—

Chapter 615: Chapter 613: You’re Finally Here—

Jinhoo also felt embarrassed and took out a few silver pieces from his pocket to hand over, "Auntie, this is my contribution, too. I’ll give it to you. When we get to Qi City, we’ll certainly need to spend money. If it’s not enough, you can cover for me first, and when we get back home, I’ll have my dad give to you!"

These silver pieces were his private stash. Before the new year, he and Jindou had run to the town with a little more than one silver coin each and bought some goods for the New Year that the family needed, then sold them in the nearby villages.

Their goods were fairly priced, and they had sweet tongues, offering to bring specific items if someone mentioned a need, hinting at the life of itinerant peddlers.

If customers did not have cash on hand, they could also offer goods as collateral, which the brothers then dragged to town to sell. After half a month, they actually each earned a little more than one silver coin.

This time, Jindou had given all the money to Jinhoo, also hoping that he would see something cheap, attractive, and fashionable in the county town to bring back and sell.

When Jinhoo left, his parents had not given him any money, and he hadn’t thought of it at that moment. Now, seeing Wang Yongping giving money, he felt both ashamed and guilty and hurriedly took out all his capital silver intended for business.

Wang Yongzhu laughed and did not refuse; she accepted the silver coins.

Wang Yonggui, after hesitating for a long time, finally took out a piece of silver with reluctance. He had secretly exchanged it in the county town.

He handed it to Wang Yongzhu.

Qi City, though not far from Jing County, was a completely different county town.

Jing County thrived on the Changqing Academy and various mountain goods peddlers.

Qi City, on the other hand, was famous for its mineral resources.

The mountains around Qi City were not high, and the trees were not very lush. Initially, it was a rather poor small town.

However, when copper mines were discovered there, the place suddenly became lively.

Copper was a metal regulated by the Imperial Court; private mining was not allowed.

After the discovery of the copper mines, the Imperial Court recruited many commoners and craftsmen to mine and smelt for the court.

These commoners brought their families, and soon the small town became insufficient to accommodate everyone.

With the presence of stationed soldiers as well, the town became busier and within a few years, it was upgraded to a county town.

Due to the mineral resources, Qi City was quite secluded but still considered wealthy.

Even the houses on the streets seemed to exude a sense of nouveau riche, more so than in Jing County.

Having disembarked from the boat, Wang Yongzhu saw Song Chongjin sitting on the second floor of the teahouse beside the dock, discreetly nodding at her.

Wang Yongzhu felt a sigh of relief in her heart.

Old Granny Zhang massaged her waist, "Now that we’ve arrived in Qi City, I have no idea where that beast Laosan is living, how are we going to find him?"

Wang Yonggui said carelessly, "Didn’t he say he was working for the County Magistrate as a Master? Why don’t we just go to the County Yamen to find him?"

Wang Yongping had never been to a County Yamen in his life and felt somewhat afraid at the thought, "Won’t we be thrown out if we go to the County Yamen?"

As they were talking, a familiar voice was heard, "Mom, little sis, Laosan, Jinhoo, you’ve all come!"

Everyone turned their heads and saw, a short distance from the dock at a tea stall, a person standing up—it was none other than Wang Yongan.

Wang Yongan was dressed in a simple blue cloth robe, standing out among the laborers who frequented the tea stall, him among them out of place.

Seeing the Wang Family members, a sincere smile brightened Wang Yongan’s face as he quickly stepped up to greet them.

Old Granny Zhang didn’t bother with small talk, "What’s wrong with your father? How did he fall ill? And he can’t get out of bed now?"

When Wang Yongan heard Old Granny Zhang ask this question, he immediately displayed a look of self-reproach, "It’s all my fault! Everything was fine on the way; even on the boat, he didn’t get seasick. But after we got home, he began to vomit and suffer from diarrhea the next day. We called the doctor, who said it was acclimatization sickness. He prescribed medicine, but it hasn’t helped."

"At first, Father could still get out of bed and walk around, but it just got worse. Now he’s bedridden, and is barely hanging on with broths and medications. I’m truly panicked. I haven’t even gone to the County Yamen these past few days, doing nothing but summoning the doctor and waiting here for you. If you hadn’t come, I wouldn’t know what to do..."

He spoke with reddened eyes, a clear sign of his distress and worry.

Old Granny Zhang snorted through her nose and didn’t play along with Wang Yongan’s words, "Alright, let’s first go take a look at your home."

Wang Yongan quickly nodded and hired a horse carriage on the side, inviting everyone to get on.

When Wang Yongzhu helped Old Granny Zhang onto the horse carriage, she took another look at the teahouse; Song Chongjin had already left.

The carriage didn’t travel far before it stopped at the entrance of an ordinary-looking small courtyard.

After getting out of the carriage, Wang Yonggui looked around suspiciously, "Laosan, haven’t you become the Master for the County Magistrate? Why are you still living in a place like this?"

The place clearly looked like an ordinary private residence, with narrow alleys that weren’t very clean, with children playing and laughing in front of each home.

Every so often, women in plain clothes would come out of their homes and dump water at the base of the walls.

Seeing people from the Wang Family, these women glanced over several times with stiff gazes before returning to their homes.

Wang Yongan’s expression remained unchanged as he calmly spoke, "Let’s talk inside."

Pushing open the gate of the courtyard, they entered a small yard with three main rooms and two side rooms that were both small and low.

The courtyard wasn’t large, with a tiny flower bed in the middle.

Upon hearing the noise, Lady Qian and Jinchai walked out from the main room, and the window of the left side room stirred slightly as if someone was behind it, but no one came out.

Lady Qian, seeing Old Granny Zhang and the group that included Wang Yongzhu, immediately squeezed out a couple of tears, "Mother, Little Sister, you’ve finally come! If you hadn’t—"

"Get out of my way—you think your father is dead, wailing like that?" Old Granny Zhang was irritated upon seeing Lady Qian, and pushed her aside to barge into the main room.

Entering the main room, she didn’t see Wang Laozhu’s figure; turning back, Lady Qian twisted her handkerchief and forced a smile, "Mother, father is resting in the side room."

She pointed toward the right side room.

Old Granny Zhang and others hurriedly came out again, and Wang Yongan had already opened the door to the side room, standing at the entrance.

Old Granny Zhang and her party did not think much else and entered the room to find that not only was the side room small, but the lighting was also poor.

Upon entering, they were met with a foul smell. The room was stuffy, and with Wang Laozhu having suffered from vomiting and diarrhea, and the mess not promptly cleaned, the indescribable odor was overpowering.

Wang Yonggui covered his nose and quickly darted back outside.

Old Granny Zhang’s face contorted with discomfort, and it seemed as if she could hardly bear it any longer.

Wang Yongzhu was nearly in tears; her heightened senses made her more sensitive than others to the odor, and it affected her far more severely than everyone else.

She had no choice but to hold her breath, opened the window, and leaned out to take a few breaths of fresh air, barely managing to pull herself together.

After some effort, the odor in the room finally dispersed somewhat.

Old Granny Zhang and Wang Yongzhu approached the bed and saw Wang Laozhu lying on it, eyes closed as if in a deep sleep, the commotion not having woken him.