Fortunate Life of the Rural Beauty
Chapter 113 - 112: The Most Feared

Chapter 113: Chapter 112: The Most Feared

Seeing the look on Afu’s face, Mrs. Chen realized that Chen Shi must have been afraid that Mrs. Hu would again open a lion’s mouth, and dared not to return. She no longer had the mind to think about Mrs. Wang and Chen Afu’s mother and daughter, and scolded Mrs. Hu, "When you’re in your own house, you are more diligent than anyone, but when you come here, you sit around acting like a Bodhisattva. Isn’t it your job to light the fire? Or are you waiting for my son to serve you?"

Outraged, Mrs. Hu had no choice but to go to the stove and stoke the fire.

Ever since the parrot incident, Chen Ye had been in a bad mood. These days not only was she trying to appease Chen Ye, but she also didn’t dare to speak more and cause trouble. Chen Ye’s attitude towards her improved a bit. However, she never helped at The Hus again. Once, Hu Laowu even invited them over for drinks and Chen Ye refused, and he also forbade Chen Agu to go.

Hu Laowu could lower his pride to please those more powerful than himself, but he certainly couldn’t do the same for Chen Ye. These days, the relationship between the two families was not as close as before.

Mrs. Chen only had ill feelings towards anyone her eldest son resented, especially Mrs. Hu, whom she had disliked for a long time. So now, life wasn’t easy for Mrs. Hu at home, she was always treading on thin ice, always subjected to potential scoldings from both.

Not daring to provoke Mrs. Chen, she could only glare at Afu.

After the Luwei was cut, Mrs. Chen led the men in the house to sit on the bed and drink, then called Dahu, Alu, and Dabao in to eat. Afu and her mother were busy in the kitchen rolling dough to make noodles and frying chives with eggs.

Ever since Afu began to earn money, Dabao’s status in the Chens had been rising. Now, not only he didn’t have to stoke the fire, he could also join Dahu and sit on the bed to eat meat.

Mrs. Hu no longer dared to be the first to sit at the table and eat, choosing instead to continue stoking the fire. Seeing that Mrs. Chen had gone inside, she murmured, "Sister, there’s a new story spreading around the village now, oh my, it’s spreading quite badly..."

Mrs. Wang was cutting noodles, and she looked up when she heard Mrs. Hu’s words, "What’s new?"

Afu was cooking eggs, she heard Mrs. Hu’s words and hit the wok with the spatula.

The shrill sound startled Mrs. Hu, and she cursed, "You silly girl, you scared me to death. Are you still ill? You’re so reckless, are you not afraid of damaging the wok?"

Mrs. Wang didn’t like Mrs. Hu berating her daughter. She had been frequently brainwashed by Afu saying that Mrs. Hu was a bully who only picked on the weak. Moreover, now that Hu Laowu didn’t dare to offend them anymore, there was no need to put up with her anymore.

So, she scolded Mrs. Hu sternly, "I say sister-in-law, my daughter Afu has recovered from her illness long ago. Now she’s diligent and filial, far better than some people’s daughters. Can you stop talking about her being foolish all the time?"

Mrs. Hu was about to retaliate when Afu scared her again by banging the wok.

Afu looked at her coldly and said, "Aunt, when we visited my uncle this time, we heard a lot of things. Do you want me to remind my big uncle?"

Upon hearing this, Mrs. Hu snorted and dared not to speak again.

The noodles were cooked and served in a large bowl, and they were taken into the room. When she walked into the room, she noticed Chen Aju also in the room. She had been sitting quietly on the stool behind the door, not making a sound, hence Afu hadn’t known she was there.

She must have come today to see what gifts the more prosperous second branch of the family had brought back, as well as to hear about Chen Aman’s situation. Chen Aju and Chen Aman were about the same age, Chen Aju always felt inferior to Chen Aman because she was a city girl, and every time she returned to the village, she was the one wearing better clothes and receiving more compliments than herself.

The women sat at the table on the floor and began to eat.

Mrs. Wang explained the current situation of Chen Shi’s family, mentioned that business was good with the Lu Chuan skewers, but didn’t specify how much money they made. She also talked about Afu becoming a needlework master at Tang Garden, and designing clothes for the Nirvana Embroidery Workshop for The Chu’s Mansion.

Seeing Mrs. Hu and Chen Aju’s eyes turning red with jealousy, Afu could not help but find it amusing.

Hearing this, Chen Ye and Mrs. Chen were very pleased. Especially when they heard that the Luwei on the table was made by Chen Shi’s family and that he is making money with this business, and even managed to get acquainted with the steward from the Senator’s Mansion. They were really happy.

They were even more delighted and surprised to learn that Afu had become a needlework master at Tang Garden. They said from now on, no one in the village would dare to mess with the Chens anymore. Of course, they quietly hoped that Afu would not go looking for her biological father. The worst possible fear of them now was that Afu would find out she’s not Chen Ming’s biological child, run off to find her real father for a better life, leaving them realizing they had raised her all these years for nothing.

Chen Ye was so happy that he drank too much, his face turned red, even his eyes. He sighed, "Had I known Afu was so capable, I wouldn’t have worked for the Hus for so many years without pay. I helped Hu Laowu when he was young out of respect for Agui’s mother. But as he grew up, he didn’t carry his responsibilities, and he expected me to work for him. At the time, I thought to myself, Although Hu Laowu is a lowlife, he is clever and well-respected in the vicinity. I had done so many favors for him and thought he could help us out if the Chen family needed something. But never in my wildest dream did I think he would be so ungrateful, plotting against our family and not giving me any respect. Disgusting..."

As he continued to speak, he got more and more heated, and ended up cursing at Mrs. Hu again. Chen Agu quickly interrupted him, "Father, don’t be angry. As you said, Uncle Hu doesn’t recognize any relatives, what’s there to be angry about? From now on, don’t work for him for free anymore."

Mrs. Hu, fuming and grinding her teeth, dared not to speak.

Then, Afu chimed in with compliments about how talented Chen Ayu was, how well Chen Atang could read, and how hardworking, beautiful and likable Chen Aman was.

Mrs. Chen smiled and said, "Those three children are indeed lovable."

Upon hearing this, Chen Ye said to Chen Aju, "Look, Aman is even younger than you, but she does everything at home. You should learn from her. You’re a grown girl, and you should be doing something."

Mrs. Chen also said, "You should have started learning long ago. You’re a grown girl but can’t do anything; what will you do when you go to your mother-in-law’s house in the future? Your mother may pamper you but your husband and mother-in-law won’t."

After the meal, Afu and Mrs. Wang took out the gifts they had brought from their house and third branch for the big house and Mrs. Chen. Out of the corner of Afu’s eyes, she saw Mrs. Hu and Chen Aju looking impatiently at the boxes.

The silver hairpin for Mrs. Chen, the jade mouthpiece for Chen Ye, and the silver lilac eardrops for Chen Alan drew the most attention. Mrs. Chen and Chen Ye were so happy that they couldn’t help grinning. The silver lilac for Chen Alan was the same pair that Chen Afu had bought for herself. But later she decided that since Alan was getting married in a month, she decided to give this pair of silver lilac to her. She also made it clear to Mrs. Chen that she had bought this pair of earrings especially for Alan because she was getting married.

She then brought out the silk and satin clothes that Chen Shi made for Mrs. Chen, Chen Ye and Chen Agu, as well as the food. These foods were not only from the capital city but also from the provincial city and even the Capital City.