Chapter 1022: Chapter 1020: Don’t Recognize Me Anymore?

The wooden fence gate was tightly shut, and there were several men over there, seemingly gatekeepers. They were either standing or sitting, with expressions that weren’t relaxed, each holding a knife and carrying a bow and arrow on their backs, looking as if they were facing a great enemy.

The rumbling sound of the carriage quickly caught the attention of the gatekeepers, and immediately those who were sitting stood up, looking over vigilantly.

Even Wang Yongping, with his straightforward nature, noticed something was off and whispered, “Something’s wrong here, isn’t it? When did they put up this big gate? Why is it guarded?”

As the carriage drew closer, one of the gatekeepers shouted, “Who goes there?”

Song Chongjin was about to speak, but Wang Yongping pulled him back, “Let me do it!”

He then jumped down from the carriage, took a few steps forward, and kept a cheerful smile on his face, “What? Can’t even recognize me? I’m from the Wang Family Mountain Shop! Don’t you remember that all the mountain goods from Yingzi Gully are sold to my family?”

Upon closer inspection, the gatekeeper realized it indeed was a familiar face.

A smile appeared on his face, “Oh, it’s the Wang Family’s Fourth Shopkeeper. What brings you to Yingzi Gully today?”

Wang Yongping spat, “Who are you mocking? Who’s the shopkeeper? I’m just trying to make a living, relying on the help of you brothers, right? I noticed that it’s been almost a month since you delivered goods from Yingzi Gully, and I’ve been thinking about your good stuff!”

The leading gatekeeper was about to signal to open the door when the man beside him muttered something in a low voice.

He hesitated for a moment and then asked, somewhat embarrassed, “Brother Wang, who else is in your carriage?”

Wang Yongping paused, puzzled, “You didn’t recognize them?”

He turned around and looked at Song Chongjin on the carriage.

Song Chongjin nodded, drove the carriage a bit closer, and parked neatly at the fence gate. He then lifted the curtain and helped Wang Yongzhu down from the carriage.

Wang Yongzhu stood in front of the fence, “What, don’t recognize me?”

The gatekeepers were dumbfounded for quite a while before they came to their senses, “Scholar’s… Scholar’s Lady… Why are you here?”

One quick-witted gatekeeper dashed inside, shouting as he ran, “The Scholar’s Lady is here — the Scholar’s Lady is here —”

The entire ravine could hear his voice.

Wang Yongping glared at the gatekeeper, who only knew how to stand there stupidly, “What? My sister is here, and you’re not opening the gate?”

The gatekeeper snapped back to reality and quickly opened the gate, “I dare not, I dare not, please come in, Scholar’s Lady!”

Wang Yongzhu stepped forward, gave Song Chongjin a signal to park the carriage to the side.

Gu Yu got off the carriage with a bundle, looked up, and saw the gatekeeping man, “Brother-in-law—”

The man was none other than Li Dashan, Yang Zhaodi’s husband.

He was taken aback by being called brother-in-law, looked over, and hesitantly asked, “Zhaodi?”

Gu Yu nodded, took a few steps towards Li Dashan, “Brother-in-law, it’s me! I changed my name, I’m now called Gu Yu!”

Li Dashan didn’t quite understand immediately, “When did you change your name? And how did you come along with the Scholar’s Lady?”

After hearing the question, Gu Yu couldn’t help but lower her eyes, “I was sold to a trafficker by my parents, but I was lucky to meet the Scholar’s Lady, who bought me. Now I serve her! The name was also given by her. And before returning to the county, she brought me here to see my third sister.”

“By the way, brother-in-law, how has third sister been?” Gu Yu quickly asked.

Li Dashan glanced at Wang Yongzhu, quickly looking away, and replied haltingly to Gu Yu’s question, “She’s doing well, everyone’s well…”

Before he finished speaking, the sound of footsteps was heard as a group of people hurried over.

Leading them was Loo Xiaoshan, alongside two people who seemed familiar, dressed differently than those from Yingzi Gully.

Upon seeing Wang Yongzhu, the two quickly took a step forward and saluted Wang Yongzhu, “This humble one is Zhang Quan (this humble one is Sun Qi), greeting the Scholar’s Lady, wishing you well.”

Wang Yongzhu nodded, “Please rise quickly, both of you.”

The two stood up immediately, positioning themselves beside Wang Yongzhu.

Loo Xiaoshan’s group, perplexed by Zhang Quan and Sun Qi’s actions, only realized what was happening after they stood beside Wang Yongzhu, and quickly came forward to pay respects, “Greetings to the Scholar’s Lady!”

Wang Yongzhu quickly replied, “I don’t deserve this, I don’t deserve this!”

But Wang Yongping nearby let out a cold snort, “You only greet my sister, but my brother-in-law is also here!”

Everyone was taken aback, quickly calculating in their heads, Wang Yongping being Wang Yongzhu’s fourth brother meant his sister is Wang Yongzhu, and brother-in-law is Wang Yongzhu’s husband; Wang Yongzhu is the Scholar’s Lady, so her husband is the Scholar?

Oh my goodness!

The people of Yingzi Gully, even though they had seen big bosses like Zhang Yinbao, only knew that the Scholar Master was significant, someone who might become an official.

Becoming an official meant being the most powerful. Upon realizing the esteemed Scholar Master was treading their grounds, they were unsure how to react.

Fortunately, Zhang Quan and Sun Qi, having followed their master and interacted with higher officials, turned and saluted Song Chongjin, “This humble one greets Scholar Song!”

Song Chongjin nodded without much comment, taking a step forward to slightly shield Wang Yongzhu.

The people of Yingzi Gully finally understood and hurriedly followed Zhang Quan and the others in saluting, causing quite a commotion for some time.

After the greetings, Loo Xiaoshan asked, “What brings the Scholar Master and Scholar’s Lady here today?”

Noticing Li Dashan’s glance, he stepped forward and explained, “It’s like this, my wife’s sister was sold by her parents to traffickers, but she was lucky to be bought back by the Scholar’s Lady, and now serves her. The moment the Scholar’s Lady returned to Qilidun, my wife’s sister asked her to bring her here to see my wife, hence with—”

This explanation relieved many people behind Loo Xiaoshan, who had sighed in relief and softened their expressions.

Meanwhile, Zhang Quan and Sun Qi exchanged a subtle glance.

After hearing this, Loo Xiaoshan looked at the unfamiliar little maid standing behind Li Dashan, guessing it was indeed his wife’s sister, shyly looking at everyone, seemingly frightened.

He quickly said, “It’s an honor for us at Yingzi Gully to have the esteemed Scholar Master and Scholar’s Lady grace us with their presence. Let’s discuss inside instead of standing at the entrance!”

He gestured invitingly, discreetly glancing at the people behind him, “Although we’re currently constructing houses and it’s quite chaotic, we might inadvertently neglect the Scholar Master and Scholar’s Lady. But once we finish building, we’d be honored to invite the Scholar’s Lady even if she doesn’t visit first!”