Fortunate Life of the Rural Beauty
Chapter 148 - 147: Bunk Bed

Chapter 148: Chapter 147: Bunk Bed

Chen Afu had just put things in order in his room when a large group from the Tang Garden came with Chu Hanyan. Mrs. Song and Mrs. Wei led the three children directly into the West Wing, while Manager Luo and his wife, along with three other men, went straight to the upper room.

The Lu Garden invited only the main household and a few relatives to the meal today, as well as a few people from Tang Garden. Because Chen Afu needed to take care of Chu Hanyan and didn’t have time to work in the kitchen, they specifically invited Mrs. Gao and two granddaughters-in-law of the elderly man to help, along with Mrs. Wang, in cooking.

Chu Hanyan was led into the room by Mrs. Song, and the little girl also held a red envelope in her hand. As soon as she saw Chen Afu, she handed over the red envelope, saying, "Auntie, con...gratulations."

Chen Afu was overjoyed, took the red envelope and said, "Oh, the girl even knows Auntie is moving house today, and brings a red envelope. Auntie thanks the girl, and also thanks you on behalf of my parents. You are so thoughtful."

Mrs. Song also laughed and said, "She held onto this red envelope as soon as she finished breakfast. I offered to keep it for her, but she didn’t agree."

The little girl pursed her lips, looking somewhat proud and yet somewhat shy, her small dimples appeared faintly.

Her cute appearance made everyone laugh. She felt embarrassed and hurriedly buried her head in Chen Afu’s arms.

Chen Afu chuckled, "Let’s stop laughing, guys. The girl is getting shy."

Mrs. Wei quickly said, "Alright, alright, we won’t laugh anymore."

The little girl twisted her plump body a couple of times before her head emerged from Chen Afu’s arms.

Mrs. Song secretly slipped Chen Afu another red envelope, smiling, "Just a small token of appreciation, Master Chen, please don’t mind."

Chen Afu said embarrassedly, "You shouldn’t have gone to such trouble, I’ll thank you on behalf of my parents."

Mrs. Wei didn’t give a separate gift because Manager Luo was supposed to give a gift to Chen Ming.

Chen Afu removed the little girl’s red silk-cloak with rabbit fur trimming and led her to the South Room. Here, there were two pots of charcoal burning, and thick door curtains were hung, keeping the room warm. This was especially prepared for the children.

The Silver Frost Charcoal in the pots was brought over by Manager Luo yesterday, fearing that the common charcoal Chen’s family could buy might choke Chu Hanyan.

In the middle of the room was a large low square table, surrounded by small low stools. The table was piled high with small wooden blocks of various shapes and colors.

These were building blocks that Chen Afu had commissioned the carpenter, Wu, to make. She then took them home and dyed them.

For the past two months, father and son of the Wu family had been busy crafting items for the Chens - from regular and irregular furniture, strange ladders, small house-like objects, baffling clothes racks, to small wooden blocks of different shapes and sizes... Although they found the assignments odd, the generous payment and consistent work kept them happily busy.

Chen Afu sat the three children on the little stools, explained that the items were building blocks, and that they could be used to construct houses, tables, chairs, carriages, wells, and so on. Then she demonstrated to them, building a small house.

Not only were Luo Mei and Luo Mingcheng interested, even Chu Hanyan’s eyes lit up for a moment as she started to play with the building blocks.

Dabao and Alu, being the men in the Chen family, were entertaining guests with Chen Ming in the reception room. When they heard that Chu Hanyan had arrived, they dashed to the West Wing.

Before they even entered the room, they started shouting loudly, "Yan’er, Yan’er."

Chu Hanyan was startled, she looked up towards the door curtain. Seeing Dabao lifting the door curtain and stepping in, she gave a small smile.

Chen Afu shared a knowing smile with Mrs. Wei and Mrs. Song. Her sister had progressed again.

Dabao came and sat next to Chu Hanyan, and they started playing together. Feeling neglected, the two parrots hopped onto the table to assert their presence. They perched on the table, and whenever a house was successfully built, they would knock it down with a peck of their beaks, instantly causing it to collapse.

The structures built by Dabao, Luo Mei, and Luo Mingcheng were also targeted, but when they pushed over the table that the little girl had painstakingly erected, the little girl wouldn’t stand for it and immediately burst into tears.

Infuriated, Dabao’s family scolded the two naughty creatures, and even threatened not to take them to Tang Garden the next day. The little culprits finally behaved.

As they were playing, Aju, leading Dahu and Daya, entered the West Wing.

From the moment she entered Lu Garden, Chen Aju had been constantly amazed. Before, their house in Xiangluo Village was considered one of the best, but after seeing Lu Garden today, she realized there was so much more to see. This huge estate was not only better than her own, but even more grandiose than those of the Hus, Junior Officer Gao, and the carpenter’s.

At home, she had heard that the beds Chen Afu and Chen Alu slept on were not a typical bed, but a bed frame with floral motifs, and she had always wanted to see what these beds were like.

When she first arrived at the South Room, she saw three elegantly dressed, beautiful children. Particularly the little girl in a leek green brocade jacket with embroidery, who looked exquisitely beautiful, like a little fairy.

She speculated that this must be the famous young mistress of Tang Garden. It was because Chen Afu had won this little girl’s favor that their home had become wealthy.

When she saw Chen Afu lead Dahu and Daya to the table and let them sit down and play, she also wanted to squeeze in.

As Dahu and his sister were brought over by Chen Afu, Mrs. Song and Mrs. Wei naturally let them get close to Hanyan. But they wouldn’t allow Aju to get near her, especially since this woman looked particularly wilful and reckless.

The two of them stopped Aju and said, "Miss, don’t run around. If you disturb our young mistress, it will be a huge mistake."

Aju saw that Chen Afu had no intention of helping her, and she wasn’t so foolish as to fight a battle she couldn’t win. Even despite her frustration, she knew better than to provoke the people of the Tang Garden, and with a stamp of her foot, she left the South Room.

Chen Afu followed her into the living room.

Aju complained, "Chen Afu, you’re my cousin, and you didn’t help me when I was being bullied?"

Chen Afu snorted with amusement, "So I’m still your cousin, huh. You call me a fool every day, you made me forget that I have such a cousin."

Aju huffed and stormed towards the door. She pushed the door open, thought better of it, turned back, and headed towards the North Room.

She pushed open the door of the North Room and finally saw the brown bed frame she had been longing to see. The bed frame was carved with rhombus blocks and also engraved with flowers and birds. It was adorned with a fresh, embroidered, pine green net canopy, and the bed was covered with a peach-colored embroidered satin quilt.

How beautiful it was, so beautiful that it seemed like a different world. Aju stared dumbfounded at the bed, her eyes red with envy.

In fact, the bed wasn’t anything extraordinary. It was made of mediocre wood, carved with some flowers and a few birds. The hanging net and spread quilt were also nothing remarkable, it was just that they were new, and their colors were vibrant.

However, for Aju who had always slept on a bed, this was the first time she had seen such a thing.

Chen Afu thought that Mrs. Chen and Chen Ye were decent enough, and still needed to point out a few things to Aju. So she swallowed her disgust for her cousin and said, "The good life has to be created with your own hands. One needs to be diligent, think more, and be kind to others to have good opportunities and to have a good life..."