The Country Maiden: Fields and Leisure
Chapter 695 - 694: Can’t Bear to Leave

Chapter 695: Chapter 694: Can’t Bear to Leave

Lady Jiang was startled by Wang Yonggui’s sudden agreement, but since he had consented, she didn’t think much about it and started to ponder what gift to give her younger sister-in-law.

Not to mention, since the marriage was taking place elsewhere, they, as her in-laws, hadn’t even provided a dowry, which would sound bad if word got out. They had to make up for it this time.

While Lady Jiang was considering gifts in the room, Jinhua, being older and more sensible, overheard the conversation and knew her aunt would live in the county town from now on, not at home, and felt a deep sense of loss.

She secretly pulled on Lady Jiang’s sleeve and asked, "Mother, is aunt really not going to live with us anymore? Isn’t she part of our family anymore?"

Lady Jiang sighed, pulling Jinhua closer, "Yes, your aunt will belong to the Song Family from now on, and our home will just be her maiden home. There’s a saying, ’A married daughter is like spilled water.’ We women, in the second half of our lives, have to rely on our husband’s family for a living..."

Tears flowed down Jinhua’s face, "Mother, but I don’t want to part with aunt. Didn’t you say before that she would find a husband to live with us at home? Didn’t uncle build his house right next to ours? Why is she going to the county town now? Does that mean we won’t see aunt again in the future?"

"Silly girl, your aunt is just going to the county town to accompany your uncle while he studies; she isn’t leaving forever. How could you not see her again? Dry those tears and don’t you dare cry in front of your aunt, do you hear me?" Lady Jiang was torn between laughter and tears. She knew all her children were fond of their little aunt.

Now that they knew the little aunt was leaving, even she, an adult, felt reluctant to part with her, let alone the children.

Without the little aunt, where would the Wang Family, and themselves, have gotten the good life they have today?

The gifts for the dowry had to be even more generous.

In the main room, the atmosphere was tense.

Wang Yongfu’s face was dark with anger, "No more talking, hand over the keys quickly. Otherwise, at worst, I’ll just smash the chest open!"

Lady Lin threw herself on top of the chest, "I won’t hand them over! Absolutely not! This is what I’ve been saving for Jindou and the others to get married! If you take it away, what will happen to Jindou and the others? The girl’s family has money, and they don’t need this little bit from us! Besides, would she really have the heart to watch her own nephew struggle to marry a wife?"

"Will you move or not—" Wang Yongfu rolled up his sleeves.

"No, I won’t! Unless I’m dead, you won’t get anything—Ah, what are you doing?" Lady Lin screamed as Wang Yongfu dragged her aside and pushed her off the bed.

While Lady Lin was still on the ground, Wang Yongfu grabbed an axe and smashed the lock on the chest. He quickly twisted the lock off and pulled out a wooden box.

Opening it, his eyes met with a pair of silver bracelets, several silver hairpins, and some silver pieces.

Seeing Wang Yongfu about to leave with the box, Lady Lin let out a pitiful scream and clung to his legs, "Head of the family, please, you really can’t take this! I have worked so hard to save this. At least leave me a couple of things—"

Jindou, who was standing on the side, couldn’t stand it anymore and said softly, "Dad, why not return everything to Mother? Look at Mother, she’s so distressed; she might secretly ask for it back from aunt, which would be even worse. Jinhoo and I earned some silver before the New Year. We can use our earnings to buy something for aunt; it can also represent a little bit of our own good will."

Wang Yongfu watched as Lady Lin cried until her face was covered with snot and tears, looking pitiful. He glanced again at the box in his hand, sighed, and tossed the box into Lady Lin’s arms before hanging his head and walking out.

Clutching the dearly regained box, Lady Lin immediately cheered up, holding onto it without letting go.

Jindou and Jinhoo exchanged glances, then both left the house.

Inside the Song Family Courtyard, Old Granny Zhang and Wang Yongzhu were packing up belongings, and Song Chongjin went to the village. They were preparing for a long stay in the county seat, so they needed to settle the road guidance in the village and, by the way, transfer their household registration out to the county seat, which was exactly what they had intended.

Having packed half of their belongings, Old Granny Zhang couldn’t help but complain, "Just look, only a few good days have passed, and they have been spoiled to the point of forgetting their own names. I’ve realized that ever since you took charge, the minds of each one of them have become mere decorations. They don’t think anymore, just rely on you for food."

"Pity my daughter, you, so young and already burdened with supporting such a large family. It’s fortunate that your good-for-nothing father instructed you to marry into the Song family before he died. That was truly a meritorious act; otherwise, your life would have been dragged down by them."

With a smile, Wang Yongzhu reassured her, "Mom, no matter what, I think your fourth daughter-in-law is not bad. She thinks clearly and has a decent public image, and that’s good enough. Who doesn’t have a little self-interest? Your self-interest is me, wanting me to have a good life, and my self-interest is you, wishing you a peaceful retirement."

"Besides, we are about to move to the county seat. You’ll be a county lady soon, and as for my brothers’ affairs, let them worry about those themselves!"

If any of the Wang brothers, including Wang Yongfu, had even a slightly functioning brain, they should feel relieved at this moment that he was leaving and would no longer be involved in the mountain goods business.

Otherwise, with Boss Zhang’s line of goods procurement always in his control, he could have the whole family at his mercy, working for him for life, should he ever harbor ill intentions.

Now that he was stepping back, if they were smart, they would cling to the connection with Boss Zhang tightly, which would pave their way for better business in the future.

Yet, these words couldn’t come from him. Otherwise, he feared that it would stir suspicions. He had already given enough hints; if they still couldn’t catch on, there was nothing he could do.

Old Granny Zhang first rejoiced, then looked around the house and felt somewhat reluctant to leave, "Such a waste for these newly built houses to remain empty! If I had known that we would move to the city, I would never have agreed to build new ones. We could have just squeezed into the old houses. Why worry? We would have had more silver pieces to divide. Now, look what’s happened, all the silver has gone into these houses, and they stand empty – a sheer sin!"

Wang Yongzhu, while efficiently sorting the necessary items, replied, "When we come back for the New Year and stay for a few days, wouldn’t it be better to be in our own house? Otherwise, if it were the old house, once we moved out, how could we ever get used to living there again?"

Considering this, Old Granny Zhang sighed, feeling somewhat reluctant, "To tell you the truth, now that we’re really moving to the county seat, part of me is struggling to leave."

No matter how reluctant they were, once the seventh day after Old Wang Laozhu’s death had passed, Song Chongjin hired workers to move furniture made from good quality wood, along with clothing, luggage, food grain, dried vegetables, mountain goods, and the likes, onto several large carts. They said their goodbyes to the Wang Family Brothers and left Qilidun behind.

The plan was to send them off, but Wang Yongzhu stopped them, urging them to focus on tidying up the warehouse back home. With spring plowing around the corner and each family having their own fields, Wang Yongzhu gave the task of farming his fields to Wang Yongping, requiring only half of the harvest in return.

Initially, Wang Yongping disagreed, feeling as if he were taking advantage, and only agreed to farm the land for Wang Yongzhu, suggesting they keep half the grain for consumption and convert the other half into silver pieces for Wang Yongzhu.