The Country Maiden: Fields and Leisure-Chapter 910 - 909: Looks Good but Useless

"Our neighbor, Madam Gu, has been very considerate to our family since we moved in. Her children smelled the aroma and wanted to try the sauce. Given the relationship between our two families, it would have been fine to give it for free! But Madam Gu picked half a basket of eggs to exchange for just that one small bowl, and she still felt embarrassed, thinking she’d taken advantage of us!"

"We didn’t expect this to be seen by the kids outside. We don’t know what they said when they went back, but seven or eight ladies came banging on our door. Our maid was so scared her legs were shaking, and she didn’t dare open the door."

"It wasn’t until my mother heard and figured it was our neighbors that she asked to open the door. The ladies barged into our yard without even a greeting, holding giant bowls, and charged straight to the kitchen! If Aunt Wu hadn’t stopped them, I’m afraid we’d not only lose the sauce but even the pot!"

"Because of this, my mother couldn’t help but say a few words, and those ladies scolded her, saying she’s a country bumpkin with no manners! You tell me, what child can stand outsiders talking like that about their parents? And how could we let bygones be bygones and share the sauce with them? Madam Gu next door, upon hearing the commotion at our house, came over to speak for us, but she too was chased and scolded by those ladies."

At this point, who doesn’t understand?

Some families, who had also been taken advantage of by those few ladies before, couldn’t help but speak up: "Scholar Song’s Wife, you don’t need to say more! Don’t all the neighbors know what they’re like? They’re the kind who would even take a feather from a passing bird! Who among us hasn’t been shamelessly exploited by them? Today they borrow vinegar from one house, tomorrow salt from another, and they never return it!"

"Relying on the fact that we’re all longtime neighbors on the same street, they treat everyone else’s home like their own vegetable garden! Not long ago, we made egg pancakes and they lived next door, smelled the aroma, and without a word used a ladder to climb over and ate most of the pot! They were meant for my elderly mother-in-law, who can’t digest food easily, but most of it ended up in their stomachs! I was so angry - if my husband hadn’t stopped me, I would have gone over to their house and scolded them myself!"

"Exactly! Every few days they come over, borrowing this or that, and never returning anything! My youngest son, who just recovered from illness, was given a candy figurine to cheer him up, and he was sitting outside to eat it. I went to fetch something, and in the blink of an eye, the boy next door had snatched it and shoved my son over! My little boy cried until his face turned white..."

...

Once the topic started, everyone had their own experiences of being taken advantage of, and they couldn’t help but start complaining.

Those wives had thought the scholar might side with them, maybe even get the sauce out for everyone to share.

Little did they expect that the scholar was useless, only saying incomprehensible nonsense, and instead, the Scholar’s Lady, with just a few words, stirred up everyone’s disgust and anger against them, turning them into the target of the crowd’s criticism.

Now they wanted to leave, but with so many people watching, there was no escape.

The wives exchanged glances and turned to blame the scholars: "It’s all your fault! We were just complaining a bit, and that’s that! But you refused to let it go and insisted on finding some resolution! It would’ve been fine if it was helpful, but instead, we made fools of ourselves! Ugh, no wonder my husband says scholars are all flash and no substance!"

"Exactly! This matter was originally just about the kids being naughty; we could have just scolded them and gone home! But each of you scholars just had to get involved, and for what? Now we’re stuck here being laughed at! If we had known, we wouldn’t have bothered with you at all! You’re wasting our time! Now it’s getting dark, and we still need to go home and make dinner!"

"That’s right! Today we not only didn’t get any meat but also ended up like a fish out of water, losing face, spanking the kids, and benefiting nothing! Now we’re stuck here, and this isn’t right! Whatever issue there is, it’s because of these scholars, they’re the ones egging us on! We originally planned to scold the kids and go back——"

The wives looked at each other, blaming the scholars with one excuse after another.

The scholars’ faces turned pale. They didn’t expect their intention to stand up for the bullied would end up being the source of blame!

"Oh wow! We finally see it clearly. Aren’t you ladies just bullying us because we’re outsiders? We were obviously standing up for you, yet now it’s our fault? Unbelievable! Absolutely unbelievable! Everyone says that Jing County folk are polite, but this is how they are! Truly an eye-opener for us outsiders!"

"No wonder Changqing Academy in Jing County has been declining year after year! As the saying goes, the land produces great people! If all Jing County folk are like these ladies, making up stories and being ungrateful, no wonder Changqing Academy can’t compare to our Baiyun Academy! We can expect that this year’s autumn examinations will see Changqing Academy fall below us again..."

...

The scholars became more spirited the more they spoke, all their gazes towards the people of Jing County were now filled with contempt.

Everyone there was from Jing County, and for them, Changqing Academy was a symbol, a flagship of Jing County.

And these outsiders from Baiyun Academy dared to stand on Jing County’s turf and bad-mouth Changqing Academy?

They must be tired of living!

"You talking nonsense! Earlier, I warned you not to get involved in this, but you wouldn’t listen, and now you’re bad-mouthing Jing County? Today, I’ll show you just how Jing County folk are not to be messed with!" The man speaking was hot-tempered; he clenched his fist, ready to charge.

The scholars turned pale but held their ground, starting to shout, "We’re being attacked—being bullied as outsiders—"

The hot-tempered man didn’t know whether to throw a punch or not.

Wang Yongzhu sneered, having long seen the scholars’ ill intentions.

As if any decent scholar would band together to meddle in street squabbles about disciplining kids? It didn’t make sense.

Especially since their initial remarks were clearly targeting Changqing Academy.

Hearing them mention Baiyun Academy—it did ring a bell, as it surpassed Changqing Academy last year, right?

What were they doing in Jing County? Wang Yongzhu’s heart skipped a beat.

There was no time to ponder further; he stepped forward, standing between the hot-tempered man and the scholars.

"Brother, hold on! They’re probably waiting for you to strike! We can’t fall into their trap!" Wang Yongzhu said, reaching out to restrain the hot-tempered man while advising him.

Visit freewe𝑏no(v)el.𝘤𝑜𝓂 for the best novel reading experi𝒆nce