Fortunate Life of the Rural Beauty
Chapter 159 - 1158: Missing Aunt More

Chapter 159: Chapter 1158: Missing Aunt More

Just as Chen Afu and a few others arrived at the corner gate of Tang Garden, they saw Chu Hanyan and her siblings Luo Mei, chubby in their clothing, coming out with Mrs. Song, Mrs. Wei, and two guardians. Hanyan even had her large swallow doll that she only cuddles during sleep in her arms.

Chen Afu was surprised, "Where are you going to visit, sister?"

Chu Hanyan pouted and said, "Twenty...rest day...go to Auntie’s...house."

Mrs. Song cooed, "Dear, look, Master Chen has already come to Tang Garden, let’s just play at home, OK?"

"Not...OK, love...Auntie’s house, smells nice..." Chu Hanyan adamantly spoke.

This child is becoming more and more cunning. She only wants to visit on the days when Chen Afu is supposed to rest every tenth day. She even brought along her large swallow doll, showing she intended to take a nap at Auntie’s house.

Chen Afu laughed, "Sister is really capable, knowing that Auntie is resting today and will be home. OK, Auntie invites sister over to Auntie’s house."

Chu Hanyan pursed her lips into a smile, let go of Mrs. Song’s hand, and reached out to Chen Afu. Chen Afu held her small hand and they walked towards Lu Garden.

Now that the house was large, and with Aunt Mu’s help, Chen Afu didn’t mind if the young lady visited her at her house. First, he led the children to play in the West Wing hallway for a quarter of an hour, then brought them into the South Room of the West Wing to play with building blocks.

As they were playing, the front door chimed. As Shan Zi opened the door, Yang Chao’s loud voice was heard, "Dabao, Aunt Chen, my sister and I are here. Can we stay at your house for two days?"

Chen Afu and Dabao came out to greet them, seeing Mrs. Huang leading them by the hand, and Uncle Yang following behind driving the cart.

Yang Chao complained to Chen Dabao, "You didn’t even tell us when you moved. We first went to your house, and they said you moved here..."

Chen Dabao explained again.

Chen Afu smiled, picked up Yang Qian, and said, "Welcome, Aunt Chen missed you too." Seeing Yang Qian’s eyes were a bit red and swollen, she asked, "What happened to Qian, did she cry?"

On hearing this, tears welled up again in Yang Qian’s eyes, she sniffed with her little nose, puckered her lips, and said, "Aunt Chen, Papa sent a letter saying he won’t come back for Lunar New Year. He doesn’t miss his mom and son, and doesn’t miss his daughter..." After she finished speaking, she started sobbing again.

On hearing this, Yang Chao’s eyes also reddened, his mouth curled up high.

Mrs. Huang explained, "Yesterday, my master sent a letter. He said business in the capital is really busy, and he won’t be able to come back for Lunar New Year. Look at them, brother and sister are both upset. They cried a lot yesterday. They kept bothering to come here, so our old lady finally relented and let them come." The brother and sister had often asked to visit the Chens, but the old lady hadn’t allowed it. It was only when the two children threw a huge tantrum yesterday that she gave in.

Chen Afu, thinking about the hard work Yang Mingyuan was doing in the Capital City to earn money, felt she should also contribute. Moreover, she liked these two siblings very much, especially Yang Qian. Therefore she smiled and said, "Good. Auntie welcomes you to stay. You can stay as long as you like. There are plenty of rooms in Auntie’s house."

On hearing that, the two children finally felt a little better.

She led them to the West Wing and had them join the others playing building blocks at the table. Yang Chao was attracted to them right away. Upon stating Hanyan, Yang Qian became happy, and she ran over, sat next to Hanyan, and said, "Sister Yan’er, I missed you so much." She pouted and started talking about her sadness, "Sister Yan’er, you know, Papa doesn’t miss me at all. He’s also not coming back for Lunar New Year. I’m so sad, I miss Papa so much. I cried and cried and cried and cried and cried and-"

No one knew how many "cries" she had uttered.

Chu Hanyan had already forgotten who Yang Qian was, but as Yang Qian was so friendly and kept talking to her, she smiled politely. And said, "I...miss...Papa. And miss... Auntie more."

Her words greatly moved Chen Afu, who stood by her side. But, recalling what Qi Qi had said that night, he felt a sense of discomfort. If Chu Lingxuan remarries, no matter whether Qi Qi’s future stepmother is good or not, she will not like her stepdaughter getting too close with outsiders. The little girl relying so much on him, even more than her own family, might not upset Chu Lingxuan, but his future wife would definitely be displeased. In this case, not only would the little girl have a hard time, but he himself might also get into trouble.

He decided to see how things panned out. If Chu Lingxuan confirmed his marriage, for the little girl’s sake, he would have to find a way to prevent her from relying too much on him.

Chen Afu took Aunt Mu to the kitchen and made some cheesecake, also cooking a few dishes that the children loved.

Seeing that Mrs. Gao wanted to go home for lunch, he prepared a few cakes and a bowl of braised pork for her to take back to old Madam. He advised her to let Dahu and Daya have lunch at Lu Garden, take a nap there, and also have dinner before Shan Zi sends them home in the evening. He also asked Shan Zi to accompany Mrs. Gao to the village to pick them up.

Chen Afu could see that Mrs. Gao looked forward to having her children mix more with children from wealthy families.

Upon hearing this, Mrs. Gao indeed couldn’t hold back her delight, and led Shan Zi back to the village, laughing heartily.

After preparing the dishes, Chen Afu set them on a low rectangular table in the West Chamber South Room. Seven children plus Chen Afu, a total of eight people, gathered around the table for the meal.

A few days ago, Chen Afu had started training Chu Hanyan to feed herself, even though she was not very adept and would often spill rice all over the table, and her mouth would be all dirty. Yet, Chen Afu insisted that Mrs. Song should not feed her.

The other children could eat by themselves. However, Yang Qian, who was used to being fed by a nurse, made a mess when she ate.

They were halfway through the meal when Miao’er came panting.

Before she could say anything, Chu Hanyan opened her small mouth and started crying, sobbing out, "No go...home, no want...Daddy, want to eat...Auntie’s food... want to sleep...at Aunt’s house...wah wah wah..."

Anger had somehow stimulated a little girl’s greater intelligence. She not only guessed that her father had come back and understood Miao’er’s purpose, but she also spoke so many sentences in one breath.

Even though the contents were frustrating, Chen Afu, Mrs. Song, Mrs. Wei, and Chen Dabao were all very happy about her progress. Even little chatterbox Yang Qian was surprised and said, "Yan’er can say so many words."

Chen Dabao proudly said, "Qian doesn’t know, Yan’er is very capable."

Mrs. Wei took Miao’er outside the South Room.

Chen Afu comforted the little girl with a few words, saying, "Good girl, don’t cry. You can sleep at Auntie’s house."

Then, he also went to the main room.

"The Master has returned..." said Miao’er.

Just as he thought!

Chen Afu suggested, "What can we do? As soon as we mention going home, the girl starts crying. Why don’t you go tell the Master? Maybe after she takes her afternoon nap, we can go home."

Mrs. Wei responded, "I will go back and explain to the Master. Perhaps he will be glad about the girl’s progress." She added, "My husband likes sweets, may I take a few cakes back to win him over?"

Chen Afu then went to the kitchen, packed a few pieces of cake, and gave them to her to take home.