Fortunate Life of the Rural Beauty
Chapter 105 - 104: Gossip

Chapter 105: Chapter 104: Gossip

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The journey was very lengthy, and Chen Afu, bored to death, stared out the window, watching the excellent farmland and wasteland flicking backward, which gave him the sensation of riding a car in his previous life. But most of the time, he was listening to Luo Fang and Uncle Qing outside the carriage talking about all kinds of things around the world, and sometimes Chen Shi would chime in.

They were talking about how many relatives and friends from the Capital City and the Provincial City came for Chu Hanyan’s birthday, and all the rich men and dignitaries in Dingzhou city came to congratulate on her birthday, creating a festive atmosphere...

Chen Afu figured out that Ms. Chu not only came from a noble family, her great-grandfather was the old Marquis, and her grandfather was the Marquis. Even her maternal grandfather was an inspector in Jibei Province, the status of a high-ranking official... Then, Abbot Liao Chen, who became a monk, should have been Marquis Chu’s wife and Inspector Luo’s younger sister. How could she become a monk with such a distinguished background?

He really couldn’t understand.

Moreover, they didn’t mention the current Marquis at all, who was the little maiden’s biological grandfather, who came to congratulate. According to Manager Luo, some people held a grudge against the little maiden and even involved a certain dignitary from the palace... Could it be that Marquis Chu had shifted his affections and that his current wife, now powerful, was still unwilling to let go of the little maiden, hence forcing Chu Lingxuan to hide his daughter in the capital city?

Also, they didn’t mention the little maiden’s maternal family and mother at all. Perhaps her mother had already passed away...

Just when Chen Afu was deep in thought, he heard their conversation suddenly shift, bringing up the newly appointed governor Mr. Chen.

As soon as Chen Afu heard this, he tensed up and even Chen Shi’s expression became unnatural.

All that was heard was Uncle Qing asking, "Manager Luo, when you were welcoming the guests, did you see the newly appointed governor Mr. Chen? I heard that he is extremely handsome." He then added unwillingly, "No matter how handsome he is, could he be as handsome as our master or the young Marquis?"

Luo Fang laughed conceitedly and said, "I did see Mr. Chen. He is indeed extraordinarily handsome. However, his handsomeness is different from that of our master or the Marquis. Our master and the Marquis exude an imposing, rugged strength in their handsomeness, while Mr. Chen’s handsomeness is the kind that is especially pleasant to look at, even more than a woman’s." After a pause, he added, "Huh... It’s strange. Why do I feel that Mr. Chen looks like someone I know?"

Chen Shi nervously glanced at Chen Afu and then at Mrs. Wang, promptly saying, "Manager Luo, Uncle Qing, do you know where the previous governor went to serve? I strongly believe that he, the upright official, must have been promoted."

Luo Fang said, "Oh, he went to the Capital City to serve..."

Then their conversation steered towards another direction.

Fortunately, they didn’t directly mention that "Mr. Chen’s" name, and Mrs. Wang was not interested in things that had nothing to do with her, and kept her head down to work with her threads.

Chen Afu felt that it wouldn’t be long before Mrs. Wang found out about Chen Shiying’s appointment as governor of Dingzhou. After all, Chen Shiying’s hometown is the Zhaos’ Village in Fenglin Town, Sanqing County, and the Zhaos’ Village is only seven or eight miles away from Xiangluo Village. The people there must be thrilled to have a young governor and perhaps the news has already reached Xiangluo Village.

It was late in the morning when they arrived at Laohuai Village in Guanghe Town. They found the landlord Mr. Lin who was selling the land and went to see it. The whole lot of land was attached, and there was a weir lake nearby, which was convenient for irrigation.

Although Chen Shi was a businessman, he grew up in the countryside and could roughly tell the quality of the land. He grabbed a handful of soil from the field and nodded, whispering to Chen Afu and Mrs. Wang that the land was good.

Chen Afu nodded in agreement to buy. Mr. Lin also brought over a few tenant farmers, hoping that Chen Afu and her family would continue to use these tenants.

Chen Afu agreed. Because the land purchase contract had not been processed yet, and she didn’t want to travel such a long distance again tomorrow, she proposed that the lease agreement be signed in four days when she returned to Xiangluo Village while passing through here.

A total of two hundred acres of land, one hundred acres on the east was under Chen Afu’s name, and one hundred acres of land on the west was under Chen Ming’s name. Giving Chen Ming so much land was Chen Afu’s intention. This was her first property purchase, and she must give Chen Ming more to thank him for his care for Little Afu.

Mrs. Wang originally thought that fifty acres of land would be put under Chen Ming’s name, but seeing that it turned out to be a hundred acres, she was about to delay, but was stopped by Chen Afu’s shake of the head.

In front of so many people, it was indeed not good to delay.

Seeing such a huge piece of fertile land that seemed endless at first glance, Mrs. Wang’s eyes turned red. Their family was finally a landlord. They would not have to worry about food and clothing in this lifetime. This, this, this was something she would never dare to dream of.

After signing the land purchase agreement and having the notary and witnesses sign, Chen Afu handed over twelve hundred and sixty taels of silver to Mr. Lin.

She took out two silver dimes and asked Chen Shi to buy two strips of meat and five pounds of wine from the village for the village elder. She also paid for the luncheon, gave two silver dimes to a particularly diligent tenant, asked him to prepare several good dishes at his home, and bought a few pounds of wine. Chen Shi and Luo Fang accompanied the men in eating and drinking, while Chen Afu and her daughter ate in another room.

Because they still had to hurry, the drinks were served hastily and they were finished in about half an hour.

After lunch, Chen Afu and Mrs. Wang rode in Uncle Qing’s carriage and returned to the capital city with Luo Fang.

Chen Shi wanted to go to Zhongning County town with the notary and Mr. Lin to process the deed. It took more than an hour from here to Zhongning County town, and it was still nearly an hour from Zhongning County back to the capital city. If they hurried, they would be able to return to the capital city before the city gates closed. The Dashun dynasty opens the city gates in the early morning and closes the city gates in the early evening.

Chen Afu gave Chen Shi two taels of silver for tips and to invite the notary to dinner. If they couldn’t enter the city before the city gates closed, they would have to stay in an inn outside the city.

It was late in the afternoon when Chen Afu and Mrs. Wang arrived at Chen Shi’s house. Mrs. Zhang enthusiastically brought a pot of Lu Chuan that she had prepared and put it on the carriage for the two families to eat.

Chen Dabao had not returned from the Chus’ Mansion yet, and Chen Afu and her daughter were tired, so they went back to the room to rest.

Alu pointed to two bowls of water on the bed and said, "This is sugar water. I cooled it down for my mom and sister."

Chen Afu smiled and patted his head, drinking the sugar water.

Mrs. Wang hugged Alu and said, "Alu, you must study hard and take good care of your sister in the future."

Alu nodded and said, "I will definitely become a Jinshi to back up my sister and prevent people like Wang Yingjun from coveting my sister."

Chen Afu and Mrs. Wang laughed heartily at his words.

Not long after, Chen Dabao was brought back by the carriage from the Chus’ Mansion, and Manager Luo also came.

Manager Luo smiled at Chen Afu and said, "Our old Marquis has the same picky taste as our Miss Yan. He really likes the sticky rice dates you make, saying they are far more delicious than those made by our kitchen maid. He’s going back to the Capital City the day after tomorrow. Ha ha, our master wants to invite Madam Chen to make some more for him to take to the Capital City." He lifted the basket in his hand and then pointed to the two large bags of food carried by the two boys behind him, saying, "We have brought all the ingredients."

Seeing so many ingredients, Chen Afu smiled and said, "Okay, I’ll finish making them tonight and tomorrow morning."