At this moment, Song Chongjin and Wang Yongzhu, along with another person, had left the city quite some time ago.
Now, with spring in full bloom and hundreds of flowers blossoming, the scenic beauty along the way was dazzling, and the spring breeze caressing their faces made one’s mood inevitably cheerful.
Occasionally, birds lightly skimmed across the sky, emitting a few crisp chirps.
Taking a deep breath, it was all the fresh fragrance of grass and trees.
Wang Yongzhu simply rolled up the carriage curtain to enjoy the roadside scenery, while engaging in idle chatter with Old Granny Zhang.
Because they always cooperated with Changfeng Escort Agency, these armed escorts were quite familiar with them, and with instructions from Steward Lu, they were especially affectionate toward the family of three.
Those who hired the escort agency for this trip or tagged along with them were mostly traders of mountain goods.
Taking advantage of the time around Qingming Festival to collect a batch of spring goods.
Along the way, Wang Yongzhu listened to these traders talk about interesting events from all over, which made the journey not boring at all.
Moreover, he gleaned from their casual remarks that this year’s mountain goods business seemed quite good.
If the prices for just the spring goods had already risen several times higher than in previous years,
then logically, the quality of spring goods would definitely be inferior to the batch in autumn.
In past years, not many traders came to Shiqiao Town to collect mountain goods at this time, and it did not span many days in succession.
The armed escorts from the escort agency said that these days, they were busy every day, back and forth with these traders of mountain goods.
Some of these traders had already collected a batch of mountain goods in Shiqiao Town, transported them to Jing County, sold them directly to the traders on the docks, and then returned.
They went on to discuss this year’s market trends and the situation of mountain goods in Shiqiao Town.
Although Wang Yongzhu didn’t say anything, he was somewhat worried about the Wang Family’s mountain goods business in his heart.
Upon hearing this, he naturally perked up his ears.
The traders didn’t say much, after all, their competitors were all around—how could they reveal everything? The general sentiment leaked was that this year’s situation in Shiqiao Town was still quite decent.
The quality had improved, and the prices were almost the same, still considered fair.
Wang Yongzhu felt somewhat relieved upon hearing this.
While she had insisted on letting her brothers handle the business on their own and vowed not to interfere, when it actually came down to it, she still found it hard to let go completely.
She feared that only when they truly became independent could she fully let go.
After overhearing those bits of conversation, her originally not-so-urgent mood began to feel a strong desire to return home.
After a bumpy journey, they arrived at Shiqiao Town and were just about to hire a horse carriage back to Qilidun.
But Steward Lu said, "You don’t need to worry about this. A few days ago, your Fourth Brother came here with a horse carriage and said, estimating that you would be returning these days. He told you not to worry; they would deliver mountain goods to town every day and check here daily to see if you had come back. Just wait a moment, looking at the time, they should be arriving soon!"
While they were talking, a familiar voice came from outside, "Big Brother Lu, have my sister and mother returned?" It was Wang Yongping’s voice.
Upon hearing this voice, Wang Yongzhu couldn’t help but stand up and look toward the courtyard.
Even Old Granny Zhang, though her face showed a look of disdain, couldn’t help but glance towards the courtyard.
Wang Yongping strode into the courtyard, and as soon as he looked up, his gaze met Song Chongjin, who had come to greet him at the doorway, and he froze on the spot.
It took him a moment to break into a smile, "Song—brother-in-law, you’re back! Where are my mom and my sister? We’ve been saying that you should be arriving home these past few days! Your rooms have been tidied up nicely too, ready for you to move straight in, I guarantee you’ll be comfortable!"
"Your sister-in-law found some great fresh mushrooms up the mountain, along with all kinds of wild greens, just waiting for your return! She’s been longing day and night, and now, finally, we’ve longed you back home!"
"Are my sister and mom doing all right? How come I haven’t seen them yet?" Wang Yongping stepped forward, hugged Song Chongjin, and patted him twice before bombarding him with questions.
Before Song Chongjin could even open his mouth, Old Granny Zhang and Wang Yongzhu had already come out from the inner room.
The mother-son and brother-sister reunion wasn’t overly dramatic, despite being separated for more than half a month, they didn’t enact the tearful, embracing scene one might have expected.
Old Granny Zhang took an extra moment to look her son over. This big lug of hers—Laosi—did he seem a bit less of a lug these past half months?
His clothes were clean and neatly ironed, the indigo blue garment he wore made him look exceptionally sturdy.
There was an air of stability about his brow now, although this was completely undermined the moment he opened his mouth.
"Mom, you’re back! Your son has missed you to death!" Seeing Old Granny Zhang, Wang Yongping’s eyes reddened, and suddenly he was on his knees, knocking his head against the ground multiple times in greeting.
Old Granny Zhang rolled her eyes; she took back her earlier judgment. He was exactly the same big lug as before!
"That’s enough, get up!" she said.
Wiping away a tear, Wang Yongping, seeing Wang Yongzhu standing to the side, cracked a smile, "Little sister, it’s so good you’re back! But little sister, why do you look thinner? Did your brother-in-law bully you? Or didn’t he feed you well... Ouch ouch ouch..."
He couldn’t finish his sentence before he started crying out in pain.
Turning his head, he saw Old Granny Zhang putting on her shoes, and the familiar feeling came flooding back, "Mom, why do you hit me the moment you see me?"
Old Granny Zhang couldn’t help but laugh in frustration. This fool, to think that he was still in mourning now. How could she have not lost weight?
If she had gained weight, wouldn’t people back home poke holes in her spine talking about how she must’ve hidden away in the city gorging on delicacies?
She didn’t want to talk with such a lug. Otherwise, by the end, she would start to wonder how on Earth she could have given birth to such a lug!
Out of her sons, Eldest Brother wasn’t a fool, and Laosan had a sharp mind in everything, Laosan was quick-witted as well. Why was it that Laosi had no cunning at all?
People usually talk about twins fighting for nutrients in their mother’s belly, resulting in one being strong and the other weak when they are born.
But she had never heard of siblings spaced years apart still managing to steal each other’s brains!
"It’s getting late. Let’s head home and talk," Wang Yongzhu intervened, seeing the way things were going.
Steward Lu, who had gotten to know the Wang Family’s situation quite well, watched this scene unfold without any surprise.
Hearing Wang Yongzhu and the others bidding their goodbyes, knowing there were important matters to attend to, he didn’t make empty offers to stay and personally saw them out, even helping to carry their luggage onto the cart.
Wang Yongping was stunned by the heap of belongings filling up half the cart, "Mom, little sis, are you moving? Could it be that you couldn’t settle into city life and are moving back here?" he asked.
Old Granny Zhang slapped him on the back of his head, "Stop spouting nonsense! Your mother and sister have been living just fine in the city! What do you mean ’couldn’t settle in’? Did your mother not give you eyes to see or a brain to think? Just look at these things. What do you think they are? You ingrate, are you cursing your mother to die?"
Taking a closer look, Wang Yongping realized that most of the items were for grave tending and making offerings for their father’s upcoming remembrance, just updated with a more modern and elaborate style. He hadn’t figured it out on his own until now.
He certainly deserved that slap! Seeing a cartload of ritual items and mistaking them for moving supplies, he could count only on the forgiveness of his own mother and sister. If it were any other family, a brawl would have already broken out!