The Country Maiden: Fields and Leisure
Chapter 743 - 742

Chapter 743: 742

When they reached the Wang Family ancestral grave, in the days before and after, more people had come to worship and tend to the graves. Many grave mounds were already adorned with fresh green branches, signifying that the ancestors had been honored.

Wang Laozhu’s was a new grave, with a mound tall and prominent; the scraps of firecracker paper from the burial still lingering on it.

In order of the main branch, the third, the fourth, and finally, the youngest, Wang Yongzhu, the Wang family members laid out the offerings and performed their bows in worship. It was only after this that the main branch picked a branch and placed it atop the mound.

After the memorial rites were done, the children became restless. The spring day was warm and bright, and the area around the ancestral graves, where visitors were sparse on ordinary days, was seldom approached by children as the adults would often scare them by saying it was unclean.

Having dutifully bowed, they were now itching to run off.

Jinhoo had already planned to head up the mountain once the worship was finished, but before he could take a step, he was surrounded by his younger brothers and sisters.

"Brother, are you heading to the mountain? I want to go too!"

"Second Brother, we want to go too! Take us with you!"

...

Jinhoo said helplessly, "I’m not going up the mountain for fun, I’m going for real business. You all go play!"

How could Jinpan and the others accept that? They were usually only allowed to wander around Qili Slope. If anyone dared venture to Dahei Mountain, they’d be in for a whipping upon return.

They had heard just yesterday that Jinhoo was going to Dahei Mountain to look for Yellow Pine Mushrooms. Naturally, the younger ones saw this as an opportunity to go and explore the mountain.

Badgered relentlessly, Jinhoo found himself at his wit’s end. Each of his younger brothers had a clear role—some grabbed his legs, some tugged at his pants, and some clung to his hands, almost as if they were going to pull his trousers off if he didn’t agree.

But, if he did agree, he wouldn’t be able to take care of three or four little ones on his own.

So, he had no choice but to turn to Jindou.

Jindou had been feeling a bit guilty since yesterday, noticing Jinhoo’s reddened eyes when he turned away. Although Jinhoo had returned to his usual self afterward, Jindou still couldn’t shake off his concern.

Seeing his plea for help, especially at a difficult time, Jindou promptly nodded in agreement, planning to take the chance to further persuade Jinhoo on the way.

One should be down-to-earth in life, not chasing after things that float in the sky, invisible and intangible.

Wang Yongzhu was reminded of a similar time last year when she had just arrived in this era and encountered Song Chongjin on the mountain. She couldn’t help but smile.

She turned and pulled Song Chongjin along. "Why don’t we go up the mountain to have a look too?"

Song Chongjin, of course, had no objections.

Old Granny Zhang, having returned, had not yet had the chance to chat and boast to her friends in the village, which left her feeling quite stifled.

Without showing any worry, she simply instructed them not to miss mealtime and then confidently went back to the village to gossip.

Today was Qingming, the perfect day for a spring outing. Seeing that her younger sister and brother-in-law actually had the leisure for such a trip, Wang Yongfu couldn’t understand it. With this time, they could be gathering mountain goods at home. Even without mountain goods, they should take advantage of the good weather to air things out or dry them.

There were countless chores to be done—why go mountain climbing?

Had they not grown tired of Qili Slope and Dahei Mountain yet?

Wang Yongfu felt that these scholars were just being overly sentimental. His good brother-in-law Song Chongjin was starting to behave like the old second of the family had before.

Shaking his head, Wang Yongfu, accompanied by Lady Lin, also returned home.

Wang Yonggui was the type who, if he could lie down, would never stand; climbing mountains was definitely not for him—he was better suited to lying down at home for a nap!

Picking up his youngest son Jinshao, he didn’t bother with Jinhua and Jinpan and just headed home.

Liu Xiaoqiao glanced at Wang Yongping. Since marrying Wang Yongping, the two of them no longer had the frequent opportunities to go into the mountains together like they used to in Xia Chongzi Gully.

Having a rare day off today, she saw Song Chongjin accompanying Wang Yongzhu into the mountains and looked expectantly at her own man.

Wang Yongping, who was naturally a bit slow, saw Liu Xiaoqiao looking at him and hurriedly said, "Wife, you go back and start preparing, aren’t we eating at our place today? I’ll go up the mountain to have a look and see if I can find some wild game to bring back, and add a dish!"

Having said that, he dashed off after Wang Yongzhu and the others.

Liu Xiaoqiao was so angry she almost ground her teeth to bits! She felt that not chasing after Wang Yongping and beating him up right then was truly an act of love!

Fuming, she glared at Wang Yongping’s retreating figure and went home to cook.

Wang Yongping, completely oblivious, cheerfully caught up with the main group.

Children who grew up by the mountains naturally knew how to find mountain goods. Going to the mountains was called playing, but in truth, it was about finding food and things to sell for money.

Ever since the Wang Family started collecting mountain goods, it had encouraged Qilidun’s children and the young women to visit the mountains when they had nothing else to do, almost always returning with something.

Even bringing back a small amount could earn them a couple of large coins at the Wang Family’s place.

Or they could exchange it for a piece or two of broken sugar to sweeten their mouths, or a couple of packets of needles and thread.

These were ideas that Jinhoo had come up with. He used the little bit of bonus silver Yongfu had given him and his brothers to trade these items in town and made some money before and after the New Year.

During the spring ploughing season, overhearing Liu Xiaoqiao’s brothers talk about Wang Yongzhu bringing up fabrics the previous year gave him new ideas.

He persuaded Jindou to take out all his silver, and they went to town together to buy broken pieces of sugar, needles, threads, and some inexpensive hair accessories at cheap prices—quite a variety.

They stored them at home and told the village children that they could sell any mountain goods they found to the Wang Family. It didn’t matter if the quantity was small; instead of money, they could exchange it for pieces of broken sugar.

Poor children have to take on responsibilities early; those who could go to the mountains were basically all capable of picking mountain goods. Besides, it wasn’t difficult; during their free time or when going up to gather firewood, they would bring down some mountain goods.

While they wouldn’t sell for much, the prospect of sweetening their mouths with some sugar was quite alluring to the kids.

When one child picked half a basket of mushrooms and exchanged it for a small packet of broken sugar, it caused a sensation among the other children, stirring even the women.

After that, villagers hardly ever returned empty-handed from the mountains, as they could always exchange even a small amount for something, so there was no loss.

Initially, Wang Yongfu accused Jindou of being frivolous, but after seeing the various bits and pieces they collected—which didn’t look impressive at first glance—sorted and dried properly, and calculating the profits based on the Wang Family’s purchase price minus the cost, he saw that they nearly doubled the profit.

Now that Qilidun’s mountain goods had been almost completely picked over, why did a few children want to go into Dahei Mountain? It was because they couldn’t find mountain goods on Qili Slope anymore and wanted to get some from Dahei Mountain in exchange for sugar from Jinhoo.

Therefore, once they went up the mountain, no one lingered for long; they headed straight for Dahei Mountain.

Even the youngest in the group, Jinpan, with his short legs and small stature, found it especially tough, but he endured without making a sound.

It was Wang Yongping who took pity on him, trailing far behind his older brothers and sisters. He simply scooped Jinpan onto his shoulder so he could ride, and in a few strides, he caught up,

Song Chongjin and Wang Yongzhu, however, maintained a steady pace, following the children at a distance, mindful of any accidents.

Seeing Wang Yongping catching up, they both relaxed a little.

Noticing the kids ahead were not looking back, they quietly reached for each other’s hands and exchanged sweet looks.