Fortunate Life of the Rural Beauty
Chapter 146 - 145: Continue Hiding

Chapter 146: Chapter 145: Continue Hiding

After hearing Dabao speak such words, Chen Afu felt a pang of sour pity. The tiny boy was already aware of gratitude. He was an orphan abandoned by his parents, the most pitiable child. Yet, because he was picked up by a kind family, he was able to live a stable life. Even before she had transcended dimensions, the impoverished Chens did their best to shelter him.

Yet that tiny boy, Wang Cheng, had his birth father, and so many relatives...

Chen Afu picked up Dabao, placed him on her lap, and said, "A good child knows to be grateful and it’s a virtue. Your mother is very happy that you think this way. No matter how much you accomplish in the future, no matter where you go, always remember this household saved you, gave you warmth, sheltered you."

"Mm, I will remember," Dabao replied.

After the midday rest, Chen Afu returned to the old house. Chen Ming didn’t go out; instead, he kept whispering with Mrs. Wang.

When he saw Chen Afu had arrived, he spoke a few more words with her with the utmost solemnity. He said that she is his biological daughter and that she shouldn’t listen to the nonsense uttered by Mrs. Ding and her son. If outsiders also made such comments, she should not believe them. She might bear some resemblance to Governor Mr. Chen, but that was entirely coincidental...

They chose to continue keeping her in the dark.

Chen Afu was happy to play along, she quickly held Chen Ming’s arm and said, "Of course I won’t believe those rumors. If I wasn’t your biological daughter, how could you treat me so well? I remember how well you’ve treated me, even in those years when I was like a fool, I knew you were the best father in the world." She added meaningfully, "I’ve never thought of climbing social ranks. Our family living happily together is much better than those conniving wealthy families."

Her words touched Chen Ming deeply; he patted her hand comfortedly, saying, "Your father knows that Afu is a good daughter."

Off to the side, Mrs. Wang also seemed to have been relieved.

Chen Ming then reminded Chen Afu that she should not fight Mrs. Ding and Wang Cai like that in the future. Even if they were terrible, they were still her elders. If outsiders found out, it would invite criticism and make it harder for her to find a good husband.

Chen Afu agreed, saying, "Don’t worry, father. I only fought them this morning because I had no other choice." She looked at the scratch on Mrs. Wang’s face and asked, "Mother, did you do this to yourself?"

Mrs. Wang answered, "Mm, I had no choice either. I couldn’t let them go spread lies, could I?"

As a reward for Zhui Feng, Chen Afu specifically stewed two ribs it liked in soy sauce.

After dinner, Chen Ming, along with Alu and Dabao, went to deliver gifts to Hu Laowu’s house.

Chen Afu also shelled half a bowl of pine nuts, then returned to her space. The source of the water is remembered; she also remembered that Jin Yanzi brought Zhui Feng back. But she saw that Jin Yanzi wasn’t working, but was lying on the ground, one of its wings covering its belly. Seeing Chen Afu enter, it didn’t even greet her, just glanced at her resentfully, then turned over, showing her the back of its head.

"Yo, what happened to you, sweetheart? Get up, Mommy brought in some pine nuts for you." Chen Afu squatted down and prodded its little body with a finger.

Once it heard her, Jin Yanzi quickly got up, face red with rage, and squawked at her, "You have the nerve to mention pine nuts! You made me suffer so much!"

At this moment, it looked like an inflated sparrow.

Chen Afu was perplexed, and said, "What’s wrong with the pine nuts? They’re valuable, Mommy hasn’t even eaten much of them."

Zin Yanzi exclaimed, "All pine nuts are precious! Only you’re too poor to get them. Your stinginess has rubbed off on me. It’s been nearly two thousand years and I’ve never been so embarrassed." After speaking, it covered its little head with another wing.

Chen Afu anxiously said, "Oh dear, you’re just beating around the bush. I still don’t understand what you’ve been saying for so long. Okay, if you won’t speak clearly, I’m leaving." She was really tired and didn’t have much patience to coax a little thing today.

Jin Yanzi only lowered its wing and quietly said, "I got diarrhea," after hearing Chen Afu’s words. It then burst into tears and continued to complain, "In the past, when my original owner got nuts, she would bring them to me. Since she brought them often, I didn’t crave them so much and wouldn’t eat too many. But you, you don’t bring them to me often, and when you do, you bring the ones with a lot of oil. You’re too mean, you’ve embarrassed me. Waaaa..."

Chen Afu regretted it after hearing this. Although she had thought of feeding Jin Yanzi oily foods in the past, she hadn’t really gone through with it. She really thought that pine nuts were a great treat, and that became clear when she saw how fiercely Hui Hui and Qi Qi fussed over them. So she kindly brought them to Jin Yanzi, but she hadn’t realized eating too many of them could upset its stomach.

She quickly apologized, "Jin Bao’er, I’m sorry. Mommy didn’t know it would turn out like this. Let’s do this, mommy will bring in some water to wash your little butt."

Then, she slipped out, grabbed a large, chipped bowl, filled half of it with water, and brought it into the realm.

Upon seeing the broken bowl, Jin Yanzi wrinkled its tiny green eyes in disgust and said, "Mommy Fu, I, the ultra-wealthy Jin Yanzi, even the bowl to wash my butt, can’t be this kind of broken one."

Chen Afu coaxed it, "Alright, alright, once mommy becomes rich, we’ll use solid gold for all your daily supplies."

She took a look at Jin Yanzi and found a small spot of yellow feces on its long tail. She washed it off in the big bowl.

After leaving the realm, she couldn’t bear to throw out the water, so she put it on the stove.

Taking advantage of the bright moonlight, she shoveled half a basin of soil in the courtyard and planted some garlic in it. Then, she poured the water from the bowl into the basin and moved it to the kitchen in the old house, which was warmer.

Since mid-October, there haven’t been any vegetables in the field. Now, apart from eating radishes and bean sprouts, they only have dried vegetables. She missed fresh vegetables so much, she was hoping to grow some garlic sprouts.

The next day, Chen Afu took Dabao to see the new bride, Chen Alan, and express their wishes. They didn’t wait for the bride to distribute her dowry, and left for Tang Garden.

In the evening, when Chen Afu and Dabao returned home from Tang Garden, they heard Mrs. Wang and Chen Ming talk about Chen Alan’s wedding. They said it was extremely lively, and her dowry ranked amongst the best in the village, making Chen Ye feel very proud. According to those who returned from sending off the bride, the bridegroom’s family was also extremely satisfied with the dowry...

They also mentioned how hard Mrs. Hu cried. Although she usually showed more favor towards Chen Aju, she understood that the eldest daughter was usually more obedient and docile.

Mrs. Wang glanced at Chen Afu and chuckled, "Afu has been declared a female household head, so she doesn’t need to marry into a faraway place. Otherwise, I would die from crying."

Chen Ming laughed, "Right, Afu living next door to us is much better."

Chen Afu answered with a smile, "Of course. When father’s loud voice calls, we will hear it."

Ten days later, the garlic sprouts in the basin had grown more than half a foot tall. They densely covered the basin, their emerald green leaves extremely pleasing to the eye, and their smell pleasant.

Mrs. Wang exclaimed in surprise, "I’ve grown garlic sprouts in basins before, but they’ve never grown as fast or looked as fresh as these."