Accompanied by Wang Yongping and the two brothers Jindou and Jinhoo, I headed for the mountain intent on gathering more supplies to avoid frequent trips.
Whether someone had tipped him off or not, upon reaching the foot of the mountain, I saw Song Chongjin hurrying toward us.
Wang Yongzhu cast a suspicious glance at Wang Yongping, who was still surprised, "Is that the Song Brothers? Why has he also come?"
What Song Chongjin had been busy with these past few days was a mystery; certainly, it had been quite a while since Wang Yongzhu last saw him.
Upon reunion, Song Chongjin seemed to have gotten thinner, his facial contours more angular and lips pursed, eyebrows slightly furrowed. He didn’t pretend to have coincidentally met Wang Yongzhu but instead nodded, "Have you sold the dyed fabrics?"
Wang Yongzhu nodded and expressed his gratitude, "I heard from my Fourth Brother that it was you who suggested he go to the coachman, and you even helped to find out about Li Jinzhi buying the dye materials. Thank you very much!"
I merely thanked him, asking not a bit about how Song Chongjin had acquired his information.
Song Chongjin shook his head, "It was just a trivial matter—" Then he hesitated, glancing at the three Wang Family men looming behind Wang Yongzhu.
Wang Yongzhu sensed that Song Chongjin might have something to say?
"You go ahead and search in front; I’ll follow slowly from behind."
With that, Wang Yongping, whisking away his two nephews, sped off ahead.
"What do you want to talk about?" Wang Yongzhu cut to the chase.
Song Chongjin nodded, "I heard you’re planning to redeem your old land; do you have enough silver?" It was a question, but his tone was affirmative.
Wang Yongzhu nodded, "I’ve already entrusted Shopkeeper Wu to inquire around and see if someone will speak for us, to see whether they’d sell it or not. If not, we’ll have no choice but to find a broker to look into it further."
Shiqiao Town, being remote, was nevertheless tranquil, hence the lands handed down through the ages. Unless a major family crisis arose, these lands seldom changed hands. To find suitable and good land would be tough.
Song Chongjin looked at Wang Yongzhu, his eyes filled with undisguised inquiry and hesitation.
Wang Yongzhu said nothing, simply standing there, allowing Song Chongjin to observe while discreetly communicating with Xiao Tiantian System in his mind, "Xiao Tiantian, has Song Chongjin’s favorability toward me reached ’friendly’ yet?"
Xiao Tiantian System’s voice carried an unmistakable gloom, "No!"
After a pause, and seeing that Wang Yongzhu had been treating it increasingly better, much like his original demeanor, Xiao Tiantian couldn’t resist complaining cautiously, "Host, why is your romantic interest so difficult? I’ve heard from other systems that their hosts, as long as they accept the mission, can achieve ’friendly’ in a month, and in three months, they’d be ’intimate! There’s even a really incredible host who formed a deep connection with their love interest within three months, and they even ended up with a bun in the oven!"
The rest of its words were swallowed by a strong instinct for self-preservation: How unlike its own pitiful host, who hadn’t even reached ’friendly’ favorability yet! Surely, even with a stranger, one could at least make it to ’friendly’ in three months, right? Its host was such an oddity, and even the love interest was just as peculiar!
Wang Yongzhu just chuckled...
"Thinking of switching hosts?"
"No! Host! In life, I am your Xiao Tiantian, and in death I remain your Xiao Tiantian! You must never abandon me! Host, in my heart, those who easily become intimate and close as if they share a special bond with affinity, those people are simply too unreserved! How can they compare to you! You are so unique, one of a kind, not following the beaten path! You are truly the host whom I wholeheartedly cherish and follow! I beg for your care, no, not that, I seek adoption..." Xiao Tiantian was desperate, as it had the worst performance in this batch of systems! If it were returned by the host, wouldn’t it become the laughingstock of the Farming System community?
Absolutely not! It was a system that strived to climb to the top! It knew that after the last incident, the host had developed a grudge against it.
But it was a system that wouldn’t give up, and it was determined to stick with the host until the end! To reach the summit of Farming Pinnacle!
Otherwise, the consequence would be recycling!
Xiao Tiantian, on the verge of crying.
Wang Yongzhu, who was struggling to hold back all energies, felt like veins were about to pop on her forehead.
Observing this, Song Chongjin thought she was enduring to her limits under his gaze, so he lowered his eyes, "I already had someone inquire about it. The person who bought your family’s land is named Wu Zhongbao. He had a conflict with Wang Yongan in the private school before, reportedly being like fire and water. It’s said when Wang Yongan was selling the land to Wu Zhongbao, he suffered a lot of mockery. It was only after Wang Yongan admitted on the spot that he was inferior to Wu Zhongbao in every way, that he was able to sell the land."
"Why would Wang Yongan insist on selling the land to Wu Zhongbao, with whom he has always been at odds?" Wang Yongzhu couldn’t understand.
"I guess, first, Wang Yongan urgently needed money and couldn’t find anyone who could take off all the Wang Family’s lands at once. If he had to sell them separately, he wouldn’t have the time. Second, Wu Zhongbao is the largest landlord in town, the only son of Old Man Wu, and only he had the financial power to buy it all, and that also left almost no chance for your family to buy the land back!" said Song Chongjin, his lips pursing slightly and a flicker of disgust in his eyes.
Someone like Wang Yongan, who could sever the way back for his own family, was truly terrifying.
However, Wang Yongzhu was very composed, as such a choice made by Wang Yongan, given her understanding of him, was perfectly normal.
Moreover, she had a vague hunch that Wang Yongan sold the land to Wu Zhongbao with the plan to have an excuse to deal with Wu Zhongbao when he came back after getting a promotion and making a fortune.
But this was just her speculation, not to be taken as fact.
"What is the reputation of the Wu Family like?" Since Song Chongjin could find out all this and even tell her about it, she might as well get a clear understanding to figure out a way to possibly redeem the land.
"The Wu Family’s reputation has always been good, although they are the largest landlords, their combined fields only amount to more than two hundred acres. It is said that the Wu Family ancestors also held official positions, which is the glory of the Wu Family. So even though Wu Zhongbao has liked martial arts since he was young, he was still forced by Old Man Wu to study."
"Wang Yongan and Wu Zhongbao were classmates. Wu Zhongbao looked down on Wang Yongan, calling him a hypocrite and not a good person. Wang Yongan said that Wu Zhongbao was a brute. Since Wang Yongan’s grades were always at the top, Old Man Wu often praised Wang Yongan, which made Wu Zhongbao dislike Wang Yongan even more."
"After the incident about your land being sold because Wang Yongan stole the deed got out, Wu Zhongbao once cursed Wang Yongan as a beast!"
Song Chongjin told Wang Yongzhu everything he knew without mincing words, but Wang Yongzhu understood it all clearly.
She expressed her gratitude to Song Chongjin seriously, "This information is very important to our family! I really can’t thank you enough!"
"If you want to thank me, invite me to your house for dinner tonight! Just a simple family meal," Song Chongjin said lightly.
Wang Yongzhu was taken aback for a moment, watching Song Chongjin’s turning back, then asked Xiao Tiantian once again, "Xiao Tiantian, has Song Chongjin’s favorability reached ’Friendly’ yet?"