Fortunate Life of the Rural Beauty
Chapter 114 - 113: Belong to This Family (For Dreamy Little Dream, Moon and His Bi+)

Chapter 114: Chapter 113: Belong to This Family (For Dreamy Little Dream, Moon and His Bi+)

Upon seeing the goods laid out on the bed, Mrs. Chen and Chen Ye exclaimed about the unnecessary extravagance. Such valuable gifts must have cost a fortune.

Their joy was interrupted by the sound of crying. It was Chen Aju. She was upset that she hadn’t received a gift when everyone else had, and stomped her feet in a tantrum.

Mrs. Hu was also furious, thumping her chest and complaining, "Even if I offend someone with my words, I have served my mother-in-law, husband and my brother-in-law faithfully all these years. How can you treat me like this? I am the woman of this house. Respect should be the least I deserve. This is not about the gifts, but about treating me as a member of this family..."

Mrs. Hu was clever in her way. She did not show any aggression in front of Chen Ye, but instead pushed him forward to cop the blame. The last time she demanded satin in front of him was because Chen Aju had disturbed her, causing her to do something rash.

At Aju’s tears, Chen Ye was both angry and embarrassed, clenching his fists and cursing, "How can a grown-up like you cry over trivial things? I can’t believe I fathered such a girl who lacks gumption. Shut up! If you cry one more time, I’ll beat you with my shoe." He then cursed Mrs. Hu, "If it weren’t for your misbehavior and wrongdoings, people would not treat you like this."

Mrs. Wang hurriedly interjected, "Sister-in-law, don’t be so hard on yourself. I brought something for you too." She bent down to search something in the box, mumbling, "Where did it go? Did it get misplaced while packing?"

This was previously agreed upon by Mrs. Wang and Chen Afu to share a piece of their own silk with Mrs. Hu. Since Mrs. Hu was Chen Ye’s wife, it was needed to save his face and keep him happy. Otherwise, the gifts they gave to the first branch of the Chens would have been for nothing.

Chen Afu had no other choice but to agree, but she was counting on greedy Mrs. Hu to create a scene, thus getting her into trouble.

When Mrs. Hu heard this, her face lit with hope as she attentively watched Mrs. Wang searching the box. After a few rummages, a green silk piece was found. Mrs. Wang, smiling, said, "Here it is. I want to give this silk to sister-in-law for a dress."

Her hopes dashed, Mrs. Hu asked, "It’s not like the silver hairpin for Granny Chen?"

Not only did both Chen Ye and Agui blush, but even Mrs. Chen blushed at the appalling greed of her son’s wife.

Chen Ye roared, "You greedy, shameless hussy, one more word out of your foul mouth and I’ll beat you."

Mrs. Hu fell silent. Seeing that Aju was still crying, she deliberately said, "Everyone in our family received something except Aju. Young ladies like to look pretty and dress up, I’ll give her this piece of silk."

Chen Afu responded with a half smile, "Aunt, you can’t say that. All these food and gifts are for your family, including Aju. Except for the elders, we only bought a piece of silk for Agui. Alan got silver earrings because she is to be married, and Daya’s little outfit wasn’t specifically bought, but made from leftover fabric from the embroidery workshop. Neither you, sister-in-law, nor Dahu got anything special."

Actually, Chen Afu really wanted to give Mrs. Gao a piece of silk, but she didn’t want Chen Ye to think that they were only focusing on Chen Aju, so she didn’t give anything to Mrs. Gao either.

The sight of Mrs. Hu and her daughter’s behavior made Chen Ye feel ashamed. He turned to Agui and said, "Go, take your mother, sister, and Dahu home. I’ll stay and talk with your grandmother a little longer."

Agui stood up, collected his belongings, and, pulling Mrs. Hu and Dahu, left. Chen Aju, still crying, did not want to leave and was pulled away forcibly by Chen Agui who scolded, "You’re a grown woman, and even Dahu behaves better than you. And who is demanding gifts like you do..."

All the while, the Silver Lilac earrings were tucked into Mrs. Chen’s bosom, for fear that Chen Aju might snatch it before they reached home. Turning to Chen Ye, she said, "Aju needs some strict teaching. Mrs. Hu might spoil her, but you must not enable her. If this continues, it will harm her."

Chen Ye, his face red, nodded.

As Wang and Afu were clearing up the plates, Chen Ming disclosed to Chen Ye the purchase of one hundred acres of fields, the earnings from Afu’s selling of an exotic bird to Tang Garden, and designing disk buttons for the city’s embroidery workshop. His health had improved and he intended to learn farming from Chen Ye in order to manage his fields in the future.

Chen Ye and Mrs. Chen were surprised to hear that Chen Ming had bought a hundred acres of land; their eyes widened and mouths opened up wide enough to fit an egg.

"My goodness, what kind of bird is worth so much silver?" Mrs. Chen wondered aloud.

Chen Afu laughed, "I happened to find the bird when I was picking firewood in the woods. Its feathers were bright and its call sweet, so I sent it to Tang Garden through Dabao. Little did I know that bird was called Ten Brocade Sparrow, which was said to be valuable."

"Oh my, Afu truly is a lucky child." Chen Ye praised.

Both Chen Ye and Mrs. Chen believed that Afu had only bought that one hundred acres of land, all for Chen Ming, and were delighted, praising Afu highly for her devotion to the family.

After Wang and Afu moved the chopsticks and bowls into the kitchen, Chen Ye whispered to Chen Ming, "Second brother, your words weren’t right. What did you mean by saying Afu gave this to you? She is an unmarried daughter of our Chen family. Whatever she earns is owned by your house, and belonged to the second branch of the Chens." And, "Afu is intelligent and obedient, you should not create a distance in your relationship with her."

The word "distance" was said with particular emphasis.

Mrs. Chen also agreed, "Your eldest brother is right, Afu is a respectful child." Then the old woman closed the door, and the three of them continued their conversation in privacy.

Seeing the door closed, Mrs. Wang and Afu knew they were being excluded. Mrs. Wang looked at Chen Afu with surprise, and Chen Afu felt very uncomfortable.

She had established her own household already, but now they wanted to rope her back in because they knew she was savvy and could earn money? Or maybe they were afraid that she would find out she wasn’t really a member of the Chen family and take back what was hers? Or perhaps they were advising Chen Ming to bring her back to the Chen family and firmly control her?

Chen Shi was right. Chen Ye was indeed a good head of the family as he always sought to protect his family’s interests. Whenever the interests of his own family clashed with that of others, he would always side with his own smaller family. If the interests of the Chen family were in conflict with outsiders, he would side with the Chen family. This was understandable as everyone has their own selfish interests. But some thoughts were unnecessary and could be offensive, assuming others were oblivious to what was happening.

Chen Ye was too narrow-minded for a man, and lacked the magnanimous spirit. Despite being shrewd and industrious, he could only scrape out a living from the Earth.

After Mrs. Wang and Chen Afu cleaned up, they went to the East room, where Dabao and Alu were having fun with Zhui Feng on the bed.

Mrs. Wang pulled Afu closer and said, "Afu, believe in your father. He would never entertain those thoughts."