The Country Maiden: Fields and Leisure
Chapter 764 - 763: Is There a Problem With the Title?

Chapter 764: Chapter 763: Is There a Problem With the Title?

"Here are some Silver Pieces that are a bit over a liang, put them there! But let me make it clear up front, I only want the tenderest buds from the very top of the tea plant, not the leaves below! The buds must be kept whole, not torn into tiny pieces! Those that don’t meet the requirements, I don’t want them!"

Seeing the Silver, then looking at the example of the buds picked by Wang Yongzhu herself, the women immediately became energized. With a clear idea of what to do, they didn’t say much else, scattering to delve into the wild tea bushes to begin picking.

They were used to moving through the thickets on the mountainside all year round, naturally developing their own methods. For them, the thorns were an everyday sight, and they had long since secured their trouser legs and sleeves tightly.

Seven or eight women and two or three older girls, each with a basket on her back, dispersed into the wild tea forest as naturally as fish slip into the sea.

Only the sounds of conversation could be heard between them.

The women thought their voices were soft enough not to be overheard by others.

Yet, they didn’t realize that Wang Yongzhu’s senses were sharp, and the women’s words were carried to her ears by the wind.

"I say, sister-in-law, do you think that Scholar’s Lady is for real? Will she actually pay us? My heart just doesn’t feel settled. Twenty Large Coins for one jin, that’s something!"

"Who cares! Now she’s alone on our turf; if she doesn’t pay, are we afraid she’ll deny the debt?"

"Right, you’re worrying over nothing! Didn’t you see that chunk of Silver? I’m not worried about the Scholar’s Lady going back on her word! I’m just curious, what does the Scholar’s Lady want these tea leaf buds for?"

"Who knows? You must understand, people from outside the mountains are all strange and eccentric! I heard that city folk like these kinds of bizarre things!"

"Alright, let’s all talk less and pick faster! The sun is setting, and if we don’t have a jin, there won’t be Twenty Large Coins!"

...

The final words reminded the women, who then promptly shut their mouths and focused on picking the tea leaves.

As the sun slowly sank, Wang Yongzhu jumped atop a large rock and called toward the tea forest, "It’s getting late, everyone come back!"

Then someone from the tea forest shouted, "Let us pick a little longer, it won’t hurt!"

Wang Yongzhu hurriedly said, "Everyone, come back! We’ll continue early tomorrow morning; I’m still buying! It’s getting dark, and if you can’t see clearly, wouldn’t that mean wasted effort?"

Hearing that Wang Yongzhu would still be buying the next day, the women reluctantly ceased their work,

And one by one, emerged from the tea forest!

These women of the mountains were nimble with their hands and feet, and each of their baskets contained a good amount; some had a jin, others at least half a jin or eight liang.

Wang Yongzhu clapped her hands, "Does anyone have a scale?"

Immediately, a woman stepped forward, "I have one at my place! Let’s go weigh them there!"

No one objected; they were all eager to know how much they had picked and hurriedly made their way toward the cottage.

Wang Yongzhu and Yang Zhaodi lingered behind. Yang Zhaodi sidled up to Wang Yongzhu and whispered, "Scholar’s Lady, will you still be buying these tomorrow?"

Wang Yongzhu nodded, reassuring Yang Zhaodi, "Elder Sister Yang, rest assured, this wild tea forest is so large, I at least have to nearly finish picking these tender buds before I leave!"

Yang Zhaodi was taken aback but soon showed a hint of joy.

This expanse of wild tea forest would take at least three or four days to be fully picked.

She had also heard from the men of her family that there were similar tea trees elsewhere; when the time came... when the time came...

She couldn’t help but feel a surge of excitement. Regardless of anything else, being able to pick these tea buds for a few more days could well contribute to the family’s needs.

She hadn’t changed her clothes for two months, which likely meant she was pregnant.

Life in these mountains was hard, and without earning a bit more money, what would she do when the child was born?

Therefore, she looked at Wang Yongzhu with eagerness in her eyes.

Back in the cave, the woman whose family owned a scale ran to her own cave, took out the scale, and handed it to Wang Yongzhu.

Wang Yongzhu weighed the scale in her hand; ever since she had started dealing in mountain goods for the Wang Family, she had learned how to read scales and how to tamper with them.

The moment she held the scale, Wang Yongzhu felt something was off.

Looking at the woman with suspicion, she asked, "Elder sister, where did this scale come from?"

The woman looked confused, "My man brought it back from outside the mountain. It was traded for a fox skin two years ago when we were selling mountain goods! It’s precious! Scholar’s Lady, do you know how to use it? If you don’t know how, don’t mess with it; you might break it and that would be trouble for our family!"

Wang Yongzhu couldn’t help but laugh and shake her head, holding the scale, "Elder sister, there’s a problem with this scale of yours."

"A problem? What problem? I’m saying, Scholar’s Lady, do you even know how to read a scale? If you don’t, give it here! Or are you just trying to back out?" The woman’s face immediately darkened, and she rolled up her sleeves, ready to start a fight at any disagreement.

Wang Yongzhu said nothing, skillfully picked up the scale, then grabbed the woman’s carrying basket to weigh it; "Five jin and two liang."

She then turned and had Yang Zhaodi clear out an empty bamboo basket, poured the tea leaves into it, and weighed the carrying basket again, "Four jin and three liang."

This brisk and professional performance stunned the group of women.

After Wang Yongzhu finished weighing the woman’s carrying basket, she adjusted the scale a bit and weighed the basket again, speaking slowly and deliberately, "Four jin and five liang."

"How can this be? What did you do to my scale?" The woman was shocked.

It was only then that Wang Yongzhu said, "Elder sister, did you see that? Someone has tampered with your scale. If you use this to sell goods, something that weighs three jin would only show as two jin and eight liang. You surely weigh your goods at home before you sell them to have a rough idea, right?"

The woman was dumbstruck, and the surrounding women were in an uproar.

In Yingzi Gully, among these dozen or so households, only this family owned a scale. Borrowing it was not only a hassle, as one had to endure idle gossip and put on a smiling face but also required bringing a little something extra.

But from the sound of it, everyone had been at a disadvantage because of this family’s scale!

Anything else was one thing, but for the precious animal pelts brought back by their menfolk through arduous hunting, that was bad enough.

But for the meat that was sold by weight, the loss was enormous.

Not to mention the dried mountain goods, where even a liang or two was quite valuable.

Suddenly, people started asking, "Scholar’s Lady, are you telling the truth? Is there really a problem with this scale?"

Wang Yongzhu nodded, "You don’t know, but my family also deals in mountain goods. I can tell if there’s an issue with a scale the moment I handle it."

The women instantly flew into a rage, stomping their feet, "Those heartless scoundrels, to give us such a scale! They’ve lost all decency!"

"It’s all that leopard family’s fault, couldn’t you check the scale when you bought it? This has caused us all to suffer for several years!"

...

The woman was indeed from the leopard family, and upon hearing this, she panicked, "How... how could this be?"

Wang Yongzhu saw her chance to promote her own business, "Next time you sell mountain goods, come to my place. Not only is our pricing fair when we buy mountain goods, but we absolutely do not tamper with the scales! Ask around when you go down the mountain, and you’ll know. Wang Family mountain goods, guaranteed fair dealings with old and young alike!"