Fortunate Life of the Rural Beauty -
Chapter 137 - 136: Moved Years Ago
Chapter 137: Chapter 136: Moved Years Ago
In the night breeze, Zhui Feng and Wang Cai were still quite excited, howling and running in front of the carriage, while the two parrots had already fallen asleep in the grass basket Dabao was holding.
The carriage rocked and swayed, and within moments, the younger siblings of The Yangs were lulled to sleep. Usually at home, they would have already been asleep. Chen Afu and Mrs. Huang each held one, snugly wrapped in small blankets.
Although Dabao was also a bit sleepy-eyed, she didn’t ask her mother to hold her and even took care of the sleeping parrots, covering them with a cloth towel.
Children from poor families mature early. Chen Afu looked at Yang Chao in his arms, then at Dabao, and felt a sourness in his heart. He whispered apologetically, "Big Brother Chao is a guest."
Dabao rubbed her head against Chen Afu’s arm and said, "Mm, I know, I won’t be jealous of Big Brother Chao."
Mrs. Huang softly said, "Dabao really is a good child."
As soon as they entered the door, Alu greeted them.
Chen Afu was quite embarrassed; today was one of the most important days in Alu’s life, and he hadn’t been there to share his joy right away.
Alu had wanted to talk to his sister, but seeing her holding the sleeping Yang Chao, he held his tongue.
After Chen Afu had settled the two children, he led the now awake Dabao to the east room of the old house, where Chen Ming, Mrs. Wang, and Alu were waiting.
The family squeezed onto the warm bed and listened as Alu recounted everything that had happened at school that day in great detail. Chen Ming and Mrs. Wang had heard the story several times, but still listened with beaming smiles as if they couldn’t get enough.
After a few words of encouragement, Chen Afu even put his arm around Alu’s shoulder and said, "Sister is just waiting for her brother to make something of himself, to support the family."
Nearly half an hour later, they each went to rest.
The next day, Chen Afu got up early and made two basins of Gold Thread Cake, one of which was to be taken back to The Yangs.
After breakfast, Yang Mingyuan hurried to The Chens. Yang Chao and Yang Qian cried and made a fuss, but were still forcefully carried onto the carriage.
The carriage had already traveled some distance away, yet the siblings still stuck their heads out of the carriage window and cried out, "Aunt Chen, next time we come to your house, we want to stay even longer."
Chen Afu smiled and nodded, and Dabao shouted, "Okay, we’ll be waiting."
Later, Chen Afu found out that Yang Mingyuan, in order to raise funds, had actually leased out the wine-shop in the county town and, taking all his assets, set off to Capital City to start a business. He was truly a risk-taker!
Winter swept in before long. With many hands making light work, the shrub forest had been cleared a few days ago, and the construction of the houses had begun.
They were building two courtyards simultaneously, with Chen Ming hoping to move in before the New Year.
The villagers alone weren’t enough, so they had hired specialized construction teams from the county town to build the houses. Now, they had to provide meals too, and paid the elder of a local family to help make food to be delivered at midday. The elder’s family had many children who looked for work wherever they could during the quieter farming periods. Not only did the grandsons help with the house construction, but the women helped with the cooking, earning several days’ wages all at once.
Chen Ming’s courtyard was slightly smaller, with only three acres of land. He haughtily designated half an acre as a "buffer zone" between the two courtyards. Chen Afu’s courtyard, which also served as a kindergarten, had to be a bit larger, not just three and a half acres, but the extra three-tenths of an acre were also included, totaling three acres and eighty percent.
Both families had winding second-entry mansions, with a main house, east wing, west wing, guest room, and rear cover rooms, all equipped with wells.
Chen Ming’s home, like most small rural landlords, had a front courtyard with some flowers, trees, and rock tables and benches, while the backyard was planned for cattle pens, pigsties, chicken coops, and vegetable gardens.
Chen Afu’s home, however, was not like theirs. Not only did he plant flowers, trees, and shrubs like a rich family, but he also decorated with carved banisters and painted columns, as well as latticed window shutters. The four rooms in the west wing even had to have wooden flooring. What made it even more different was the construction of a children’s playground.
Originally, Chen Afu had advised Chen Ming to improve his part as well, at least to have carved banisters and painted columns. But Chen Ming was unwilling; he regarded himself as a small landlord and strictly decorated his home according to this standard, saying it was practical and unnecessary for country homes to put on such airs.
Every day when he went to work at Tang Garden, Dabao would drag Chen Afu to look at their new house, laughing happily for a while. He almost daily asked the same question, "Mom, when will the new house be ready? When can we move in?"
Chen Afu always responded with a smile, "Our home is a bit more complicated, so we’ll have to wait until after the New Year. Grandpa’s home will be rushed to completion before the New Year, so we’ll move there first and live with Grandpa."
Grandpa’s home was also a new courtyard with large tiled rooms, so Dabao was delighted.
Both families entrusted all their furniture needs to the carpenter, Wu Changsheng. Additionally, Chen Afu handed out some drawings, asking Wu’s workshop and the local blacksmiths to help make some rare and unusual items.
When she went to visit Carpenter Wu, Wu Changsheng looked at her with deep lament, constantly trying to sidle up to her, only to be scolded away by Carpenter Wu.
Wu Changsheng was already betrothed to her cousin and would get married the following year.
After Chen Afu left the Wu family home, Wu Changsheng ran out to tell her, "Little Sister Afu, from now on, I’ll treat you as my real sister. If you need any help, I’ll be there for you, just as I have always been."
Chen Afu saw the pain in his eyes and was somewhat touched as she smiled and said, "Thank you, Second Brother Wu. I also wish you happiness for life."
During those many days, Abbot Liao Chen stayed at Tang Garden for two days, and it was only during those two days that Chen Afu took a rest at home. The rest of her days off were devoted to the little girl. However, Manager Luo had given her a monthly pay of five taels of silver at the end of last month, much more than the originally discussed two taels of silver.
On the fifth day of the winter month in the late afternoon, Chen Afu was playing with the children in the hall when she saw Luo Yuan lingering at the doorway. He had gone to the capital city on business the day before yesterday, taking two sets of clothing as well as lucky cat dolls, bags, cotton robes, and cotton slippers to the Nirvana Embroidery Workshop and had just returned.
Chen Afu clapped her hands twice and announced, "Alright, class is dismissed."
Chen Afu walked outside and listened as Luo Yuan mentioned that Mr. Luo was very pleased with those few items.
Thanks to those unique disk buttons, not only had business at the Nirvana Embroidery Workshop improved, but its reputation had grown even more. Many ladies from wealthy families used only the disk buttons from the Embroidery Workshop to decorate their clothes, and it had become quite fashionable. Simultaneously, the Workshop’s fabric was selling better than before.
Indeed, many rich families had their own sewing rooms and didn’t necessarily buy ready-made clothes from embroidery shops. But if a beautifully unique set of ready-made garments or a pretty accessory was displayed there, the women would buy the Workshop’s fabric and copy the design to make their own. If a shop’s ready-made clothes were stylish and appealing, the women would patronize that shop frequently. Some purchased ready-made clothes, while others bought the fabric.
Thus, beautiful garments and accessories weren’t only for selling but also served to attract customers to the Embroidery Workshop’s fabrics.
Luo Yuan also said that Mr. Luo instructed Chen Afu to have more lucky cat dolls and bags made, to be delivered regularly to the Workshop. This task was secured by Chen Afu for Mrs. Wang and Mrs. Gao.
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