The Country Maiden: Fields and Leisure
Chapter 618 - 616 Too Black-hearted

Chapter 618: Chapter 616 Too Black-hearted

Jinchai watched, wide-eyed, as Wang Yongping and Jindou wrapped Old Wang Laozhu in a quilt and lifted him to the main room, then tossed out the soiled bedding.

Old Granny Zhang then asked for the direction to the kitchen, ran in, boiled a pot of hot water, wiped down Old Wang Laozhu, changed him into a set of clothes Wang Yongping had brought, and finally got him comfortably settled in bed.

Jinhoo was also very considerate, while Wang Yongping and Old Granny Zhang were inside wiping down Old Wang Laozhu and changing his clothes, he busily ran out to the kitchen, lit the fire, boiled the remaining water in the pot, found some rice in the kitchen, threw it into the pot, and cooked up a thick bowl of rice soup to bring to the room.

Jinchai’s eyes nearly popped out of her head, but Lady Qian held her back firmly.

The family, like strangers, watched the Wang family take care of their own as if they were at home. They hardly spoke, and in no time, they had taken good care of Old Wang Laozhu.

Lady Qian actually wanted to go in several times, but was stopped by Wang Yongzhu at the door. A cold glance from her was enough to deter any further approach.

It was Wang Yongan, though, who seemed nonchalant as he complimented Wang Yongzhu, "I owe it all to mother and younger sister. Otherwise, I, as a man, wouldn’t know how to care for father! Thankfully, you’ve come—father doesn’t have to suffer and I don’t have to worry!"

Nearby, Lady Qian, holding back her shame, said, "Younger sister, it’s my fault this time! I shouldn’t have listened to my mother and neglected father! When father wakes up, I’ll apologize to him!"

"Apologies aren’t enough. If you really have the heart, here, this bedding is dirty, take it apart and wash it!" Wang Yongzhu scoffed.

Lady Qian gritted her teeth, still hesitating. She was naturally neat, and aside from her and her Official, and Jinchai, she had never even washed her parents’ clothes.

Having her wash bedding stained with filth was worse than killing her.

But now, she dared not refuse to wash, and instead turned her head to look at Wang Yongping out of habit.

Wang Yongping nodded at her, signaling her to accept the task quickly.

In Wang Yongping’s view, although the bedding was dirty, he didn’t have to wash it himself, so naturally, he didn’t care and was even slightly disgusted by Lady Qian’s hesitation.

Mother Qian knew her daughter’s little temper and quickly stepped forward, "It’s my fault. I should apologize to the kin, I’ll wash the bedding!"

With that, she picked up the bedding with gritted teeth, pulled them aside with Father Qian to take the sheets off, and hung the cotton quilt under the eaves to get some air.

Mother Qian went to the kitchen to boil hot water to wash the bedding, and Wang Yongzhu looked towards the wing where Old Wang Laozhu had stayed, "Shouldn’t we clean up the room my father has lived in?"

Her eyes fixed on Lady Qian, it was clear she meant her to do it.

Now with no one to help her, Lady Qian had no choice but to grit her teeth and go in. Soon after, she was holding her mouth, running to the corner, retching and vomiting until only clear water was left, dizzy and faint, her whole body limp.

Wang Yongzhu watched coldly, without a hint of pity.

If they had a shred of conscience, for the sake of the many years Old Wang Laozhu had taken care of Wang Yongping or for taking advantage of him to coax their family into coming, they should have treated Old Wang Laozhu a bit better.

Not to mention other things, she found it acceptable if they took issue with changing dirty clothes and bedding. If their own son didn’t care, what right did they have to expect a daughter-in-law to do so?

But they didn’t even warm the brick bed. Had they not arrived in time, Old Wang Laozhu, being so ill and then left to freeze for a few more days, might have died.

Too heartless!

Jinchai glared at Wang Yongzhu furiously. If looks could kill, Wang Yongzhu would have been dead several times over by now.

Wang Yongzhu couldn’t care less about Jinchai, and followed into the wing to tidy up Old Wang Laozhu’s belongings.

Old Wang Laozhu’s bundle was a mess, just a few clothes haphazardly stuffed inside, and no trace of the silver note he had given or the Silver Pieces Chongjin had given.

With a stern face, he stepped out the door just as Wang Yonggui had brought the doctor over.

Without minding anything else, he first invited the doctor into the master bedroom for a brief rest before asking him to take Wang Laozhu’s pulse.

Wang Yongzhu pulled Wang Yonggui into the courtyard and asked in a low voice, "Where did you find the doctor? Why did it take so long?"

Wang Yonggui wiped his sweat, "The place where the second brother and his family live is such a poor area, there isn’t even a pharmacy nearby, not to mention a doctor. I asked around in the alley for a long time. When they heard it was for the Wang Family, they all shook their heads and said they didn’t know. I had to go quite far before I found someone, and this was the nearest doctor, so I brought him back."

Wang Yongzhu’s brow twitched, suppressing his anger, "Third Brother, you’ve had a hard time. Let’s go in and see what the doctor says."

In the inner room, the doctor had already finished taking the pulse, and Old Granny Zhang and Wang Yongping were looking on eagerly.

The doctor spoke calmly, "The elderly gentleman probably ate something unclean. If he had just fasted quietly for a couple of days at the onset, cleaning out his system, he would have been fine. But I presume he didn’t take it to heart and ate something greasy, which only made it worse. Given his old age, he can’t withstand such a turmoil all at once. I will prescribe two doses of medicine. Let him drink it for two days, and then we’ll see."

Wang Yongzhu asked doubtfully, "Wasn’t it said to be a bout of indigestion due to a new environment? How did it turn into eating unclean food?"

The doctor showed a surprised look, "Has the elderly gentleman just arrived in our Qi City?"

Old Granny Zhang nodded.

"No wonder, the indigestion due to a new environment, compounded by eating unfitting food, has upset the spleen and stomach," the doctor nodded.

"Then, Doctor, when can my father get better?" Wang Yongping asked cautiously.

"Let’s start with the two doses of medicine and see from there," the doctor said thoughtfully after a moment’s pause.

Wang Yongzhu’s heart skipped a beat. After the doctor wrote the prescription, he hurriedly saw the doctor out, "Doctor, shall we follow you to get the medicine?"

The doctor nodded.

Wang Yongzhu whispered something to Wang Yonggui’s ear and then handed him a silver note, asking him to see the doctor off and to bring the medicine back on the way.

When he came in, Wang Laozhu had just woken up in a daze again, being propped up by Wang Yongping, who was feeding him rice soup.

The rice soup was thick and fragrant, now at just the right temperature. Wang Laozhu, still groggy, drank half a bowl before falling asleep again.

Seeing that Wang Laozhu was sleeping soundly and his complexion looked a little better, they left Jinhoo beside him to watch and everyone else stepped out.

The courtyard was cold. Wang Yongan, stumbling and rubbing his hands for warmth, saw everyone come out and hurriedly invited them into an adjacent room.

Lady Qian was tidying up the room. Wang Yongan gestured to Jinchai to pour tea, "Hurry and pour some tea for your grandma and your old aunt, and the two uncles. They’ve been in the room for half a day without a sip of water."

Jinchai rolled her eyes, reluctant to move. After a stern look from Wang Yongan, she begrudgingly and slowly went out.

The room grew somewhat awkwardly silent for a moment.

Wang Yongan coughed to break the silence and was about to speak when Old Granny Zhang directly pulled something out of her bosom and slapped it onto the table, "Tell me, what is this all about?"

Wang Yongan and everyone else looked over to see that it was the cancelled two-hundred silver note on the table.

Wang Yongan’s facial muscles twitched, but his expression remained calm, "Mother, what is this about?"