The Country Maiden: Fields and Leisure -
Chapter 757 - 756 Yingzi Gully
Chapter 757: Chapter 756 Yingzi Gully
When asked about Yingzi Gully, Jinhoo, having dealt with mountain goods before, was really quite intimate with the nearby villages.
Yingzi Gully, after all, is closer to Yang Family Village than others, and it is also deep within the mountains.
This so-called Yingzi Gully is a long and deep river valley in the mountains, winding and twisting like an eagle’s beak. It was initially called Eagle’s Beak Gully, but as time passed, it came to be known as Yingzi Gully.
This valley has a natural cave that’s ventilated and temperate, providing warmth in winter and coolness in summer, with many natural little caverns twisting inside it.
It had always been a resting spot for nearby hunters at night.
At first, there was only one hunter’s family who, due to a flash flood, lost all their belongings and had nowhere to go. After much thought, they temporarily settled in the cave at Yingzi Gully.
However, after living there for a while, they discovered that the cave had its benefits; it was warm in winter and cool in summer.
Moreover, no one knew how the cave was formed, but it had light filtering from above, and rain didn’t seep in.
Eventually, they decided to settle down in the cave.
Later on, more and more hunters settled in the cave, and over time, about a dozen hunter families lived there, forming a small village.
They couldn’t afford to build houses and would rather live in the caves, hence the hunters in Yingzi Gully found it even more difficult to find wives.
Which girl from down the mountain would be accustomed to living in a cave? And to spend years living together with a dozen or so families?
Thus, the hunters in Yingzi Gully saved money primarily to find wives, or rather, to buy wives.
Once they bought wives, they were left penniless and even less able to afford houses.
It was quite the vicious cycle.
After listening to Jinhoo’s explanation, Wang Yongzhu roughly formed an impression in her mind.
After Jinhoo finished speaking, he looked at Wang Yongzhu cautiously and mustered his courage after a long time to ask, "Old Miss, are you planning to go to Yingzi Gully? Is it to buy that wild tea again? Is this wild tea really a good thing?"
Along the way, he wondered about the good deal Wang Yongzhu mentioned, even saying that if he could get the information, it would be a great achievement. He kept pondering what exactly that good thing was?
After speculating for half a day, he vaguely guessed that the wild tea he had casually collected might truly be a treasure, one worthy of Chief Steward Guan’s attention – it must be quite rare.
If it indeed was a good thing, then...
Jinhoo felt a surge of excitement.
Even though his reason told him not to ask, that he should wait for Old Miss to tell him, he couldn’t help himself.
If he really made a significant contribution, would Chief Steward Guan offer a reward?
Jinhoo quickly calculated in his heart; if he could get a reward from Chief Steward Guan, could he then start his own business independently? And once he grew his business as big as Boss Zhang’s, when he returned, perhaps then his father would finally understand him?
When Wang Yongzhu saw Jinhoo looking at her with faint ambitions flickering in his eyes, she was moved and remembered Old Granny Zhang’s words.
However, she believed in not using suspect people, but trusting those she employed!
The primary contributor to this issue was Jinhoo, and naturally, she had to explain things clearly to him.
She forthrightly relayed Chief Steward Guan’s request and added, "Regarding this matter of eating wild tea, the credit goes to you! Chief Steward Guan will definitely not shortchange you! Rest assured!"
Jinhoo nodded again and again.
"Then Old Miss, when we find the person who processes the tea, do we need to buy up all the tea leaves he has?" Jinhoo asked.
"That’s not certain yet, we’ll only know after we get there! Besides, who knows if those tea leaves are still there? You go back and get a good rest, and first thing tomorrow morning, we’ll head into the mountains," Wang Yongzhu made the decision.
Old Granny Zhang upon hearing this said, "The two of you going is too few; Jinhoo is so small, really, if something happens, he won’t be of any use. Call for Laosi! If anything goes wrong, he can still hold his own!"
Jinhoo’s mouth twitched as he overheard, feeling that his granny was practically saying he wasn’t even fit to be cannon fodder.
Wang Yongzhu originally wanted to refuse, but then she remembered that Wang Yongping was able to mingle with everyone in Chongzi Gou. He was always simple-minded, so he might actually be needed.
After some thought, she nodded in agreement.
She instructed Jinhoo, "Go and tell your Uncle Si that we’re going into the mountain early tomorrow! This matter isn’t certain yet, so don’t let a word slip, not even to your parents, got it? Otherwise, if we mess this up, not only will we miss out on Boss Zhang’s generous reward, we might even make Chief Steward Guan hold a grudge against us! Understand?"
Jinhoo knew the matter was serious, so he nodded repeatedly.
Only then did Wang Yongzhu feel relieved, seeing Jinhoo regain his usual shrewdness also set her mind at ease.
Jinhoo almost dizzily left the backyard, never having expected such an opportunity and luck to come his way.
Hearing his aunt Wang Yongzhu speak, it seemed there might be even bigger matters at hand. The excitement of being involved now surpassed Jinhoo’s longing for Boss Zhang’s generous reward.
Jinhoo passed by Wang Yongping’s yard and called him out, whispering a couple of instructions.
As soon as Wang Yongping heard it was a task from his own sister, he agreed without any question.
Only then did Jinhoo return to his room; too excited to eat much, he lay down again, but this time his mind wasn’t idle; he reviewed the whole situation again from start to finish.
Feeling more agitated than ever, he couldn’t sleep all night; like flipping a pancake, he tossed and turned, leaving Jindou without a choice but to put up with it.
Since the two brothers now shared a room, with Jinhoo tossing about like this, how could Jindou sleep?
Finally, he sat up and grumbled, "What’s all this racket in the middle of the night? Did something happen in the backyard today, or did the aunt scold you?"
Jinhoo was already wide awake and, once questioned by Jindou, became even more alert. He sat up in bed, about to say something, but then he remembered Wang Yongzhu’s final warning and swallowed his words.
He vaguely said, "It’s nothing; I’m just too happy to sleep!"
Jindou asked a few more questions, but seeing Jinhoo wasn’t forthcoming, he gave up asking and turned over to sleep.
Jinhoo spent the whole night with his eyes open, watching the paper stuck to the windows gradually becoming lighter as the sky brightened.
Getting up slowly, he went to the kitchen to cook a couple of sorghum flour pancakes for the journey and prepared a few things before heading to the backyard to call for Wang Yongping.
It was rare for Wang Yongping to receive a request from his sister, and he hadn’t slept well either; he had woken up before dawn.
Liu Xiaoqiao made breakfast, cooking pancakes for her man and packing a small jar of sauerkraut, along with Egg, it was quite a feast.
Hearing Jinhoo calling outside, the couple came out one after the other and, seeing the pancakes in Jinhoo’s hand, Wang Yongping simply couldn’t stand it.
Going to Yingzi Gully was at most a day’s round trip, probably returning around midnight.
How could such a big lad subsist on two sorghum pancakes for a whole day? Jinhoo had grown up under his watch; they had played together as kids, and their relationship had always been good. He just couldn’t stand to see Jinhoo eat just this—and so little of it.
Back when conditions at home weren’t as good as they were now, their mother scrimped and saved to keep the family fed, with no one starving.
Especially the men who had to work the fields needed to eat well to maintain their strength.
How had it come to this after they split the family? His sister-in-law was becoming more and more unreasonable. Back then, she would always complain about their mother, claiming she was stingy, but now it seemed his mother was nothing like his sister-in-law in being penny-pinching.
Not pleased in his heart, he still turned and asked Liu Xiaoqiao to pack up the remaining pancakes.
Liu Xiaoqiao also felt pity for the boy, hurried back to pack them, and then handed them to Jinhoo, "Your aunt made too much, so eat without worry, don’t go hungry!"
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