Fortunate Life of the Rural Beauty
Chapter 147 - 146: Moving House

Chapter 147: Chapter 146: Moving House

Afu secretly rejoiced, the bird droppings were truly a fertilizer and growth stimulator from heaven. Next time, she would dilute it more to avoid suspicion.

She joyfully harvested a handful, and stir-fried it as twice-cooked pork. The aroma was so appealing that Dabao and Alu wiped their plates clean with bread rolls, even Afu herself wished she could immediately fry another batch.

Chen Ming looked at the half basin left and said, "Let’s give these to my mother and elder brother to taste."

Afu shook her head, "Father, it’s not that I’m unwilling to share But this vegetable is so appealing that we don’t even know why. If they find it delicious and start demanding more, but the second and third harvests are not as appealing, what to do then? Let’s save the second harvest for them. If its taste is still as rich, then the third harvest will definitely be as well. If the taste is lighter, it won’t be as extraordinary."

She felt that if they didn’t continue to water it with bird droppings, the flavor would definitely weaken.

Chen Ming thought it over and agreed. Since the start of this summer, a faintly discernible fragrance wafted over their house; the water they boiled tasted sweeter, the food they cooked smelt more aromatic. Now, even their garlic sprouts grew faster and smelled richer than before...

Suddenly, his face turned pale with regret. He said, "Afu, I feel that this courtyard is a blessed land, we shouldn’t move elsewhere..."

He then voiced his doubts.

Afu couldn’t tell him it was because of the agarwood. She hurriedly reassured him, "Father, don’t worry. Let’s not sell either of the two courtyards for now. If you feel good here in the future, we can move back. However, I believe that the strange things happening in our home are not necessarily related to this courtyard, but rather to the people. When people are blessed, even the heavens will protect them. Perhaps when we move to the new house, we will bring this blessing there."

Upon hearing this, Chen Ming nodded. He still insisted that if he didn’t feel comfortable in the New Courtyard, he would be willing to return here to help the Chens maintain this blessing.

In the blink of an eye, it was the twelfth lunar month. The construction of Chen Ming’s New Courtyard was almost finished, and the beams were raised on the second of the month. Many people were invited to the New Courtyard for a meal.

To differentiate, Chen Ming’s new house was named Lu Garden and Afu’s new residence was named Fu Garden. The names were not only lucky and harmonious but also bore the names of the two siblings.

On the day of beam raising, Afu was working. She just stood at the entrance of Tang Garden with several children, looked towards Lu Garden, and returned to the courtyard after hearing the firecrackers in Lu Garden.

In Lu Garden, Mrs. Wang, Mrs. Gao, and Mrs. Wu and Mrs. Sun, who were granddaughters-in-law of the third great-uncle, were all busy. That day, representatives from the majority of the households in Xiangluo Village were present, all the prestigious people from the nearby area were invited, which of course included Manager Luo and his son.

The banquet was extravagant, becoming the talk of the village. Everyone couldn’t help but marvel at how the second house of the Chens had grown prosperous because of a daughter. It seemed that raising a daughter well was even more helpful than having a son.

The sixteenth of the twelfth lunar month was an auspicious day when The Chens’ second house officially moved. Not only did Chen Ming’s family move to Lu Garden, but Afu and her son also moved in. They would move into Fu Garden after it was complete and decorated in the coming spring.

The move was a bit rushed to catch the auspicious day. The furnishings arrived only a couple of days ago, transported by Carpenter Wu and his son on a bullock cart. They only had some pots, dishes, ladles, and other daily necessities, and the rest would be purchased gradually.

Early in the morning, a donkey cart from Chen Ye’s house and a horse cart from Tang Garden came. Chen Ming’s old furnishings would not be moved, and there was not much to pack. The majority of the load was fabric, several bags of food and grains, dozens of chickens, two larks, and the orchid in the space. Afu took the opportunity to take the orchid out of the space and prepared to hand it over to Abbot Liao Chen soon.

Dabao was puzzled to see the sudden appearance of the orchid. Afu lied to him saying that the flower had always been kept in the chicken coop on the right side of the backyard. They had two chicken coops due to the small number of chickens, only one was used.

Afu was afraid that the orchid would get cold, so she put the orchid in the carriage of the horse cart. After arriving at Lu Garden, she immediately carried it to the West Wing. She specifically warned Qi Qi and Hui Hui, that if they dared to nick this pot of flowers, she would not hesitate to punish them.

After two trips, everything was moved.

Chen Ming’s family packed the last bit of their possessions and stepped out of their home. Chen Ming turned around to lock the fence door, and stood there for a long time, gazing at the dilapidated courtyard.

Sixteen years ago, he was carried in by Chen Ye. He thought that moving in there meant waiting for death. The heavens had eyes, allowing him to marry Mrs. Wang. Not only did Mrs. Wang earn money for his treatment, but she also gave birth to a son and a daughter for him.

Now, his daughter had achieved success, built a new, grand house for him to enjoy good fortune. Furthermore, he was leaving this courtyard today, walking out upright, accompanied by his wife, children, grandchildren; a family covering three generations.

Chen Ming stood there for a long time. With Mrs. Wang and Afu’s support, he turned around as he wiped away tears and left.

Upon reaching the entrance of the village, looking at the two large courtyards from afar, they were surrounded by walls built from green bricks that were as tall as a person. Fu Garden on the east was still under construction, while Lu Garden on the west, with its green walls and black tiles, upturned eaves; it was impressive. In the countryside, only landlords could live in such large and luxurious houses.

To lighten the mood, Afu jokingly said, "Moving into Lu Garden, father will be Landlord Chen, mother will be the Landlord’s wife."

Alu chimed in, "Elder sister is the Landlord’s daughter, I am the Landlord’s son, Dabao is the Landlord’s young master."

Their words made everyone laugh. They hastened their pace towards Lu Garden. Dabao, Zhui Feng, and Wang Cai were running at the forefront, and the two parrots were circling above their heads, squawking.

In Lu Garden, there was a cross-shaped Qingshi road. Four plots were left vacant, waiting for the ground to thaw after the New Year to plant trees. The main house had three rooms plus two side rooms, the east and west wings each had three rooms, the guest room had five rooms, and there was a row of back rooms. Due to the scarcity of people and things, the back rooms were almost empty.

Although they both were two-courtyard houses, the layout in the countryside differed from that in the city. In the city, the first courtyard is the outer court, and the second courtyard is the inner courtyard. However, in the countryside, for convenience, generally, the first courtyard is the main court, and the second courtyard is where livestock are kept, the toilet is located, or used as a vegetable garden.

Seeing the completed cattle and pig sheds filled Alu and Dabao with excitement. Even though they were empty, ever since entering the twelfth lunar month, the villagers were slaughtering their yearly pigs. Their family had never raised pigs before, and had never experienced the thrill and joy of having their own pig to slaughter. That special day, like Lunar New Year, was something they looked forward to. Now, they could raise pigs in their own house too. Perhaps, in the near future, they could even have their own bullock cart.

Chen Ming and his wife lived in the west room of the main house, a room with a bed built into the platform. However, Alu’s east wing and Afu’s west wing didn’t have platform beds. They followed the rich city folks and placed carved canopied beds in their bedrooms. Without a thick mattress pad, a Mrs. Tang, and a coal basin, the canopied beds would be too cold. People in the countryside seldom lived so extravagantly.

The guest room housed the kitchen and a storeroom.

With many rooms and few people in the house, Chen Ming especially wanted to bring the old lady over to enjoy the good life. He secretly asked her, but the old lady did not agree. She was used to living with her eldest son and also was afraid that her eldest son would feel sad.