Fortunate Life of the Rural Beauty
Chapter 152 - 151: Parroting

Chapter 152: Chapter 151: Parroting

Mrs. Wang glared at Chen Afu and said to Mrs. Wei, "Niece-in-law, don’t listen to her. If there’s a good young man willing to accept Dabao, her father and I will make the decision to marry her off."

Mrs. Wei just smiled without replying. She could tell that neither Mrs. Wang nor Chen Ming could make decisions for Chen Afu.

Afterward, Chen Afu cut off two more handfuls of garlic sprouts from the basin. They were the third batch, and though not as fragrant as the first, they still tasted very good. She had not been willing to cut these off for her guests earlier in the day.

She then stir-fried some dried tofu with the garlic sprouts.

Upon smelling it, Mrs. Wei exclaimed, "My goodness, how can these garlic sprouts smell so good?"

Chen Afu smiled and said, "I made two plates, one for you to take back for Mr. Chu and Yan, and one for Uncle Luo."

Mrs. Wei laughed and said, "No, if I take such good stuff home, my father-in-law will scold me."

Chen Afu said, "I made a bit too much, and Abbot Liao Chen can’t eat it. I’m sure your master and Yan can’t finish it all."

Mrs. Wei replied, "If the master cannot finish it, we will eat the remaining."

What a faithful servant. There was no use trying to persuade her further.

Chen Afu then told Mrs. Wei about her plan to buy a servant, and asked if Manager Luo could help out.

Mrs. Wei smiled and said, "Sure, I will talk to my father-in-law when I get home. Tomorrow both masters will be here, so let’s see if he can find time to go to the dental clinic in the county town with you."

When Mrs. Wei left with the food box, it was already dusk.

She took Luo Mingcheng and the other two children, who had been playing outside, back home. Dabao and Alu returned home with Zhui Feng and Wang Cai and locked the front yard door.

Chen Ming handed Chen Afu the red envelope, saying, "This gift is from Mr. Chu for you. It’s quite heavy, and it doesn’t feel right for me to keep it. You should."

It turned out that the red envelope contained a silver note worth a hundred taels.

Chen Afu laughed and said, "He knew today was the day you moved in. If it’s for you, you should keep it."

That evening, they had leftover vegetables with rice porridge. Without guests, they ate it in the east room of the upper house.

After dinner, they squeezed onto the bed in the west room for a chat. Chen Afu said that since Mr. Chu and Abbot Liao Chen had both returned, she didn’t have to go to work at the Tang Garden the next day and would accompany Mrs. Wang to buy things in town.

Because Alu had school the next day and couldn’t go, he specifically asked them to bring back two piglets to raise.

Mrs. Wang laughed and agreed. Now that Mrs. Xu was doing all the simple embroidery work, Mrs. Wang had more time. Seeing her son and grandson wanting to raise pigs, she was willing to fulfill their wish.

Chen Afu didn’t want Mrs. Wang to work so hard, so she told them about her plan to buy a servant. Now that the house was spacious enough, there would be room for a servant.

Chen Ming was still against the idea of buying a servant. He felt that their current life was already too good, and he didn’t want to squander their fortune, nor did he want Chen Afu to spend too much money.

Chen Afu just laughed and said, "It’s for my house; they can live here temporarily." Even if they move to Fu Garden later, they can still send someone over to help with some chores. Now that life was better, she didn’t want Mrs. Wang to do much heavy work.

After discussing, Chen Afu, Dabao, and Alu left the upper house. Wang Cai followed Alu to the east wing, while Zhui Feng followed Chen Afu and her son to the west wing.

As soon as she entered the house, Qi Qi and Hui Hui returned.

Chen Afu chided, "The more playful you get, the wilder you become. Only now do you return."

She brought warm water from the kitchen for Dabao to wash up, ushered him to bed, and then stuffed two hot-water bottles into his covers. Then, she took the birdcage hanging in the corridor to the south room and washed the hooves and claws of Zhui Feng, Qi Qi, and Hui Hui, instructing them to sleep in the nests in the south room. The weather was cold now, so it wasn’t convenient to bathe them regularly anymore.

Qi Qi crawled into the basket and stretched his neck saying, "Hmm... delicious... I’ll tell Yan’er that she likes it... so she can stir fry another plate of garlic sprouts..."

This was Chu Lingxuan’s voice.

Then, the voice changed, and it was Abbot Liao Chen’s voice. "Ha ha, you are the one who craves it, don’t blame Yan’er..."

The voice changed back in a flash, "No, it’s not my son’s craving, it’s genuinely fragrant."

Chen Afu laughed aloud as she imagined the scenario. Chu Lingxuan looked stern, yet he had such a side; no wonder Marquis Chu would call him a gluttonous.

Seeing that Qi Qi amused Chen Afu, Hui Hui stood upright to curry favor, and said, "I still have some silver, we’re not short of money, Papa can spend as much as he wants..." This was Chen Afu’s voice.

Annoyed, Chen Afu flicked Hui Hui’s little head and said, "Hey, you’re not to discuss our private matters openly. If I find out that you’re revealing our bottom line, I will surely sort you out." Having said that, she flicked his little head again. Compared to the elegant Qi Qi, Hui Hui was a typical rough and tumble playboy.

Seeing Hui Hui get chastised, Qi Qi laughed, with Mrs. Chen’s voice.

Chen Afu was about to head out the door when she heard Qi Qi muttering under his breath "...still as gracious as orchids and hollyhocks..."

It was Chu Lingxuan’s voice.

Chen Afu’s footsteps halted for a second. She heard the six words "gracious as orchids and hollyhocks" clearly, but she wasn’t sure whom they were referring to. Maybe, in the near future, Ms. Chu was going to have a stepmother.

She hoped it would be a good match, if not, the young girl, who just began recuperating, would be pitiful again.

After Chen Afu washed up and lay down on the bed, it was soft and comfortable. Although it wasn’t as warm as the stove bed, she felt extremely cozy. It’d been long since she’d slept on a bed; it felt wonderful.

She didn’t pull down the net tent, watching the bright moonlight seep through the floral-patterned windows. Today was mid-month; the moonlight was very bright, even with one layer of window paper obstructing the room, it still illuminated the room hazy.

The scent of new furniture, the aroma of new bedding, the subtle fragrance of the Swallow Chenxiang Tree Leaves in Dabao’s pillow- all of these made her feel refreshed.

Glancing at Dabao next to her, a smile occasionally appeared on his face, even in sleep.

The kindness of her relatives, the rebellious Jin Yanzi and her mysterious space, the sizable amount of silver fast approaching...

Everything was as good as can be, except for her own situation. If they didn’t stir up trouble, and she could just live peacefully in this quiet countryside, looking after her family and leading a peaceful life, wouldn’t that be wonderful?

After breakfast the next day, Alu left for school, Chen Ming was heading over to supervise work at Fu Garden, and Chen Afu and Mrs. Wang planned to go to Sanqing County town. Before setting out, Chen Afu wanted to take Dabao, Er Gou, and Er Niao to the Luo’s place to play with Luo Mingcheng. She also planned to ask Manager Luo if he had time to accompany them to the county town.

Dabao was fussing about going on the road, but he couldn’t be taken along. If he went, Zhui Feng, Wang Cai, Qi Qi, and Hui Hui would all follow. They were busy today, needing to buy many things. If suitable, they also intended to buy a few servants. They wouldn’t have the time to look after children and animals.

Just after passing Fu Courtyard, they saw Luo Yuan driving a horse cart towards them.

Upon reaching them, Manager Luo lifted the cart curtain and smiled, "We happened to be heading to the county town on business. We can help you buy some servants."