The Country Maiden: Fields and Leisure-Chapter 821 - 820: A Heart Full of Worries

The clerk wore a smile on his face, trying hard to maintain a reserved demeanor, but couldn’t help revealing his four front teeth. Dissatisfied, he asked, "Brother Song, which line of my poem do you think is the best?"

Song Chongjin’s dark face almost couldn’t hold it anymore. He wanted to say, "I don’t think any of them are good." But the words turned reluctantly into, "I think the last line is the best. It has a certain rustic charm..."

Upon hearing this, the clerk felt understood, "Brother Song, you’re right. I’ll ponder over the first three lines." Saying this, he walked off, muttering his new poem to himself.

Wang Yongping couldn’t hold it in any longer. He leaned in close to Song Chongjin and whispered, "Brother-in-law, what’s this dry and wet stuff about?"

Song Chongjin twitched his mouth, utterly speechless, "This poem doesn’t talk about anything. It just says the weather is nice and the scenery is good today."

Wang Yongping was stunned. After a while, he finally spoke, "Then why don’t I understand a single line? Brother-in-law, you praised his last line, what’s good about it?"

Song Chongjin lowered his voice a few degrees, so only he, Wang Yongping, Wang Yonggui, and the Lizheng beside them could hear, "The last line is good because it speaks human language. I can understand it."

"Pfft—" The Lizheng was drinking water and couldn’t hold it in, spraying it all out. freewёbn૦νeɭ.com

Wang Yonggui stumbled, almost falling to the ground. He barely managed to hold onto a tree trunk. Looking back at Song Chongjin, his gaze was beyond words.

Wang Yongping’s mouth hung open. He looked at Song Chongjin, then at the clerk, and finally understood. Covering his mouth, he turned away, laughing so hard that he trembled all over.

The clerk noticed the commotion behind him. Turning his head, he saw Song Chongjin’s solemn and unaffected dark face. Looking at the other three, one was spraying water, the other could barely walk properly, truly showing their countryside nature.

Shaking his head, the clerk went back to pondering his new poem.

Just an hour into the mountain, the clerk could still recite a poem. After two hours, the clerk didn’t even have the strength to breathe.

Like a dead dog, he was almost dragged uphill by Wang Yonggui and Wang Yongping.

Finally, they crossed Qili Slope. The clerk rested for a long time, thinking they had reached the destination and believing he might survive today.

Little did he know that upon asking, he found out they hadn’t even walked halfway yet.

He almost fainted.

Looking at Dahei Mountain, it seemed endless. One could hardly see the path.

The wild grass was half a person high, with thorns and shrubs growing thick, blocking the path completely. Who knows what lies deep in the grass?

Fear crept in, and he repeatedly waved his hand, indicating he couldn’t walk any further.

No matter how much the Lizheng tried to persuade him, the clerk refused to take another step.

Wang Yongping was impatient. If the clerk didn’t go to survey and measure, wouldn’t his sister’s tea plantation fall through?

That wouldn’t do! The whole family had been busy for half the day, serving good food and drink. How could they leave it halfway? No reason under heaven could justify that.

He was straightforward. He immediately ran in front of the clerk and said, "What’s the big deal? At worst, I’ll carry you over, I’m Wang Laosi."

The clerk looked at Wang Yongping’s burly figure, feeling a bit tempted. But then, he thought no, it’s improper for men and women to touch each other!

He shook his head like a rattle drum.

Wang Yonggui rolled his eyes, pushed Wang Yongping aside, and smiled, "Sir, please don’t mind! This younger brother of mine is blunt and straightforward, and he doesn’t speak well. A person as esteemed as you, coming with us into the mountains, is already a condescension. Not to mention following us along this long mountain road, truly exhausting you, sir..."

Hearing this, the clerk felt quite comforted, and his gaze towards Wang Yonggui softened a bit.

Seizing the moment, Wang Yonggui showered the clerk with compliments. Although they were rural people, their words were crude but sincere, and his praises came from the heart.

The clerk was just a minor official, usually doing negligible tasks like copying books and filing documents, insignificant work.

Otherwise, he wouldn’t have been pushed out yesterday; wasn’t it because he had the least seniority?

He had never received such praise before and felt so elated that he almost forgot his own name.

He no longer looked down on Wang Yonggui as a peasant and grabbed his hand, almost wanting to call him brother.

In the end, with Wang Yonggui’s coaxing, he agreed not to do the survey himself. The Lizheng would accompany them, while the Wang Family brothers and Song Chongjin would survey the location and then report back to the clerk.

It was only after the Wang Family brothers and Song Chongjin had entered Dahei Mountain for a while that the clerk realized and regretted it immensely.

He anxiously looked into the mountains, afraid for his life if he went in.

But if he didn’t go in and they measured on their own and added a few more mountain tops, what could he do?

The Lizheng knew exactly what the clerk was thinking. He immediately comforted him, "Sir, please rest well. Don’t worry! The Wang Family Brothers are honest people, not to mention Scholar Song and his wife, both of whom are righteous people."

"Not to mention, Scholar Song’s wife bought this mountain with the intention of planting tea leaves and sharing the technology with the people of Qilidun, so that the villagers can live better lives. She bought the mountain to experiment. With such vision and broad-mindedness, you can rest assured she won’t waste your time, sir!"

The clerk was pleasantly surprised to hear that.

His worry eased a bit.

Thinking about it, besides Scholar Song’s devotion to his wife, who else would spend such money on this pointless venture? It was clearly a losing deal. But Scholar Song was willing, showing his genuine love for his wife.

A man who loves his wife that much and is a scholar, concerned about his reputation, wouldn’t do anything improper, right?

Moreover, they had already gone, and he didn’t dare enter the mountain himself. He could only let things take their course. What else could he do?

Besides, he had heard about the Wang Family Young Lady, who had taken up the family’s duties before marriage, bringing prosperity to them and even connecting with a noble in the Capital City. She was remarkable.

If what the Lizheng said was true, buying the mountain to plant tea leaves for the villagers’ sake, it was indeed a good deed.

If they added a bit more land, he could turn a blind eye. It seemed no one else would come to Dahei Mountain anyway.

He relaxed and started inquiring with the Lizheng.

The Lizheng only knew what Song Chongjin had mentioned. He said Wang Yongzhu had found tea saplings and would wait until October to transplant.

They would first trial plant on the purchased land. If successful, in two to three years, they could sell them at a low price to the villagers to plant on Qili Slope.

By then, with tea income, the villagers of Qili Slope would have better lives.

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