The Country Maiden: Fields and Leisure
Chapter 785 - 784 Rules

Chapter 785: Chapter 784 Rules

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Wang Yongzhu didn’t know Song Chongjin was packing to come back.

Upon waking early, everyone had already begun to bustle about; the women went to pick tea leaves, and the men were busy as well. A large quantity of firewood was needed for roasting the tea, and someone had to carry it back from the mountains.

With so many people to feed and drink, the residents of Yingzi Gully were quite frugal. Their diet mainly consisted of coarse grains. Zhang Yinbao did not say anything when he ate yesterday, but early in the morning, he had his shop assistant go with the hunters from Yingzi Gully to purchase food supplies in Shiqiao Town.

Wang Yongzhu thought Zhang Yinbao would also be going down the mountain and wait in the town until all the tea leaves were processed, after which he would transport them directly.

Unexpectedly, Zhang Yinbao insisted on staying in Yingzi Gully, claiming that the tea leaves were of great importance and he would only feel at ease if he kept a close eye on them.

Sure enough, with him watching, Master Qi and the other two tea roasters indeed did not dare to relax in the slightest.

Wang Yongzhu greeted them and merely said she was going to look at the tea plantation.

Zhang Yinbao was not at ease and wanted to send a shop assistant to follow her, but Wang Yongzhu refused. Zhang Yinbao thought about how he initially got to know Wang Yongzhu and laughed it off, waving his hand and thinking nothing more of it.

Wang Yongping and Jinhoo followed the men from Yingzi Gully up the mountain to chop wood and, incidentally, to hunt.

Wang Yongzhu walked quietly on the mountain path alone, with Xiao Tiantian mentally pointing out the route, planning the nearest and safest path.

She avoided the busy tea plantations, taking a seldom-trodden path that only the occasional hunter from Yingzi Gully would pass through, slipping through silently.

After climbing over half a mountainside, the slope was covered with shrubs and thorns as tall as a person, making it very difficult to traverse.

Because Wang Yongzhu was wearing a body-shaping garment, she wasn’t concerned, just careful of her hands and face that were exposed. Despite the difficulty, she finally reached the two Tea Mother Trees.

The Tea Mother Trees were not as tall as she had imagined, only a little taller than a person, but they were lush and flourishing, each occupying a significant patch of land.

Wang Yongzhu’s eyes lit up. These were genuinely living Tea Mother Trees, treasures beyond price!

After admiring them for a while, Wang Yongzhu began to pick tea leaves. After a while of scrambling up and down, she looked behind her to see that she had already picked half a basketful.

This basket could hold about ten kilograms of fresh tea leaves. By her estimate, she had about five kilograms.

Now, with about seven or eight days left until Gu Yu, she figured she could harvest another batch.

Thinking this, Wang Yongzhu felt satisfied.

Indeed, only the top tea roasting machine was worthy of the tea leaves from the Tea Mother Tree.

Wang Yongzhu put the tea leaves into the roasting machine and walked around the Tea Mother Tree for a while longer before she selected two fine branches from the outermost part and cut them down, then placed them in the Seed Selection and Cultivation Room.

Although this was called the Seed Selection and Cultivation Room, it also included the propagation of cuttings like branches.

Wang Yongzhu estimated and decided to first cultivate a hundred tea trees of the same kind.

She entered the number of copies she needed and selected the desired cultivation grade; the Seed Selection and Cultivation Room unceremoniously deducted 270 Points.

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Wang Yongzhu didn’t have the time to worry about those Points, since she never intended to use them anyway.

After setting things up, she just left it at that.

On one hand, she hurried back; on the other, she waited for the top-notch tea roasting machine to produce the tea leaves.

Barely making it to the wild tea forest, the women had almost finished picking and were packing up to head home. Seeing Wang Yongzhu, they quickly waved at her.

Wang Yongzhu walked over nonchalantly, greeting the women with a smile, "Are you all going back? How was the harvest today? Tired or not?"

The women already appreciated Wang Yongzhu, and seeing her so friendly, they all enthusiastically engaged in conversation.

One sharp-eyed young woman noticed several tears in Wang Yongzhu’s clothing and some leaves in her hair, and she asked with concern, "Scholar’s Lady, what happened to your clothes?"

Everyone’s gaze turned to Wang Yongzhu.

Wang Yongzhu replied with an embarrassed smile, "I was planning to come to the tea forest and took a shortcut halfway. I didn’t expect the path to be so difficult, with branches everywhere. My clothes got torn and my hair’s a mess now, don’t I look terrible?"

The women laughed upon hearing this, "Scholar’s Lady, you’re from outside the mountains, so you don’t know that you should never go into those dense woods around here. There are thorns everywhere, and a few scratches or a bit of blood is fine—skin heals in no time. But torn clothes, that’s really a waste!"

Then a particularly shrewd woman offered, "Scholar’s Lady, why don’t you come to my house later? I have needles and thread, so I can mend your clothes for you!"

Others, who weren’t on good terms with her, mocked her, "Look at you, Da Niu’s wife, always saying you don’t have any needles or thread to lend when we ask, but suddenly you’re so generous today?"

Unoffended, Da Niu’s wife retorted with a spit, "Tch! Lending my needles and thread to you lot means not only getting my needles used up for nothing, but also losing a couple of threads in the process. Why should I let you benefit? The Scholar’s Lady has done great favors for everyone in Yingzi Gully. Not to mention some little needle and thread, if the Scholar’s Lady doesn’t mind, my house also has a couple of clean clothes for changing. They’ve mostly been worn only during New Year’s—she can change into them first."

Her words reminded the other women, who began offering one after another, "The clothes from Da Niu’s wife have been made for five or six years already, and the colors look old-fashioned and dim, not fresh at all. You’d better wear my daughter’s, made just last year, and set aside to wear when we visit the Door Attendant next year—"

"Tiedan’s Mother, aren’t you being too stingy? You dare use the fabric you bought last year that got soaked and dyed unevenly for your daughter’s Door Attendant visit outfit? Wearing such clothes out, aren’t you afraid of people gossiping about you?"

...

It was as noisy as a few thousand ducks.

Wang Yongzhu knew she should not get involved at this moment, as any intervention might only make things more unmanageable. She tried to edge away discreetly.

Accidentally bumping into someone, she turned her head and saw that it was Yang Zhaodi.

Yang Zhaodi gave Wang Yongzhu a slight smile, pulled her aside, and shielded her with a basket, whispering, "Scholar’s Lady doesn’t need to mind them. Their hearts aren’t bad; they’re just gossipy! They’ll quiet down once no one pays them any attention."

Indeed, the group of women, each vying for the last word, eventually stopped arguing and exposing each other’s shortcomings as they noisily made their way back to the cave.

As soon as they entered the cave, the women who had been arguing with flushed faces and raised voices immediately fell silent.

Wang Yongzhu felt curious and looked to Yang Zhaodi.

With a slight smile, Yang Zhaodi leaned close to Wang Yongzhu and whispered, "This is a rule set down by several generations in Yingzi Gully. Living in the same cave is like being one family. Any displeasure should be settled outside the cave; once inside, everyone must be harmonious. An occasional sour comment is fine, but a real argument—both sides would be punished!"