After the family finished their meal, they reorganized the items in the house and, looking at the sky, decided to go out to buy the daily necessities they were lacking, such as pots, pans, ladles, and basins.
Upon stepping out the door, they saw that across the street the gates of the neighboring courtyard were open, and two children around three or four years old, with runny noses, squatted in the corner of the wall playing. The children curiously looked up when they saw Wang Yongzhu and her group come out. The younger one, sucking on a finger, had a pair of eyes filled with bewilderment.
Wang Yongzhu smiled at the two children and fished out two pine nut candies from her bag, popping one into each of their mouths.
The kids were hesitant to accept the treats. The younger one looked to the older, who after hesitating for a moment, turned and shouted into the courtyard, "Mom, the auntie from across the street is giving us candy—"
"What?" they heard Madam Gu’s loud voice as she made her way to the door.
With wet hands, she wiped them on her apron as she walked, "Who’s giving you candy?"
Upon seeing Wang Yongzhu, her face immediately brightened into a smile, "Oh, it’s you, sister. We owe you one again. Where are you headed?"
She gestured to the two children to take the candies and thank Wang Yongzhu.
As she spoke, she turned her gaze towards Old Granny Zhang and Song Chongjin.
She paused abruptly. Although this family dressed plainly due to mourning, the quality of their cloth was good, and their clothes were mostly seven or eight parts new. It seemed they were quite well-off.
Not to mention the aloof demeanor Song Chongjin exuded, which made Madam Gu regard her even more highly.
"We’re going to buy some pots and pans. We’ll be leaving now," they said, ready to take their leave.
Madam Gu replied enthusiastically, "Don’t be in such a hurry, let me take you. I know a place that sells the best iron pots. Their goods are plentiful and cheap—"
Before Wang Yongzhu and the others could refuse, Madam Gu took off her apron and tossed it to the two children, "Look after the house well, mommy will be back soon, got it?"
The children, with the sweet candies in their mouths, had nothing to refuse with.
Madam Gu led the way, chatting with Old Granny Zhang about the local specialties, which shop had the cheapest prices, which had the best quality, and which ones put on airs just to deceive people. She seemed to know every detail.
Old Granny Zhang, being new to the place, had boasted strongly but still felt a bit uncertain inside.
She hadn’t expected Madam Gu to be so talkative, but soon they hit it off, chatting merrily as if they had known each other for years and were kindred spirits.
Wang Yongzhu was happy to be free of the bother, trailing behind with Song Chongjin. The last time they had come in a hurry and had not really explored Jing County. Now, they were in the mood to do so.
The shops on both sides of the street were numerous, carrying items from all over the world that could be found here.
There were shop assistants shouting at the doorways, others dozing off inside, getting caught and scolded furiously by the shopkeepers.
On this short walk, they saw shops selling mountain produce, cosmetics, ready-made clothes, the Cloth Store, general stores, the Silver Building...
Though Jing County was not large, it was more prosperous than the surrounding counties due to Changqing Academy, and it showed.
Merchants from all directions gathered here, and goods from all over could be found. As Wang Yongzhu browsed, she couldn’t resist buying some novel trinkets she came across.
It wasn’t until they went to buy pots and pans that they realized Song Chongjin had already accumulated a large pile of items.
Old Granny Zhang jabbed Wang Yongzhu’s forehead disapprovingly, "You didn’t buy the essential things, and these useless purchases will just take up space, not to mention the wasted money."
Wang Yongzhu just grinned without disputing, knowing it was just Old Granny Zhang’s way of nagging. If she actually went out and didn’t buy anything at all, Granny Zhang would probably fuss about why she didn’t pick up some items when out—wondering why she was being so frugal.
It was Madam Gu who thought they were a family of three, a mother-in-law, a son, and a daughter-in-law.
Hearing Old Granny Zhang scolding her daughter-in-law so rudely, she was about to make peace, but Wang Yongzhu didn’t take it to heart at all and still happily held up the items she had bought to show Old Granny Zhang.
Old Granny Zhang had also forgotten the remarks she made about recklessly spending money and discussed the purchases with Wang Yongzhu with great enthusiasm.
Madam Gu was stunned, and after a long while, she said, "Your mother-in-law and daughter-in-law relationship isn’t like that of actual mother and daughter, but you are even closer than many other families!"
Old Granny Zhang was taken aback, "Of course we are mother and daughter! This is my daughter, and this is my son-in-law!"
Poor Madam Gu, who prided herself on being well-informed, was also momentarily dumbfounded.
It took her a while to stammer out, "Sorry... sorry... I misunderstood, I thought... I thought..."
She couldn’t finish her thought, and Madam Gu felt extremely embarrassed.
"There’s nothing to apologize for, this proves that Brother Song is kind to his mother and I am filial to her, we are a happy family, aren’t we!" Wang Yongzhu didn’t mind at all, and, in fact, she was pleased.
Being mistaken by others that Old Granny Zhang and Song Chongjin were mother and son was enough to prove their harmonious relationship; as the two most beloved people in her world, and the two who loved her the most, she naturally wished for them to get along well.
You see, many families are discordant because mother-in-law and daughter-in-law don’t get along, but the relationship between this mother-in-law and son-in-law always seems to be rather good.
Once she said this, not only did Old Granny Zhang feel content inside, but even the corners of Song Chongjin’s mouth curled up slightly.
Madam Gu, seeing that Wang Yongzhu didn’t really mind, finally relaxed.
She then subtly began inquiring about the origins of Old Granny Zhang’s family and casually brought up the matter about there seeming to be someone else in the courtyard in the previous days.
As a qualified neighbor, it was natural for her to fully understand the situation of the new neighbors before being at ease.
Old Granny Zhang could tell what Madam Gu was getting at and revealed only tidbits, mentioning that her family’s master had passed away after the new year and they had stayed two nights in this courtyard when bringing back his spirit.
However, in the future, her son-in-law was planning to take the imperial examination, so they would be living there regularly from now on.
She didn’t mention anything else.
Hearing this, Madam Gu interpreted that this family was from out of town; probably, these old folks had only one daughter, and after the head of the family passed away, the widow decided to simply live with her daughter and son-in-law.
Upon looking at Song Chongjin, most of her fear dissipated, reasoning that a man who could provide for his mother-in-law and who seemed to have a genuinely good relationship with her couldn’t be bad, even if his face was dark and his demeanor cold.
She immediately said, "Big brother is preparing for the imperial examination? Then you really chosen the right place. The courtyard you rented out in the front, it’s occupied by students from Changqing Academy. You’ve heard of Changqing Academy, right?"
Song Chongjin nodded, neither agreeing nor disagreeing.
Wang Yongzhu and Old Granny Zhang were very interested; they had only heard from Yan Zhongren that the front courtyard had been rented to a Scholar, but they didn’t realize it was a student from Changqing Academy.
To Wang Yongzhu’s understanding, Changqing Academy was equivalent to a prestigious school of her former era with an excellent record of academic advancement. If Song Chongjin could enter Changqing Academy, wouldn’t it mean twice the results with half the effort?
Thinking this, Wang Yongzhu became even more interested.
Before Wang Yongzhu could ask, Madam Gu rattled off everything she had found out about the Scholar, spilling all the information she had gathered.