Fortunate Life of the Rural Beauty
Chapter 164 - 163: Unspeakable

Chapter 164: Chapter 163: Unspeakable

Seeing the little creature’s beady eyes widen before it cheekily grinned, gossiping hearts aflutter, Chen Afu was quite helpless. Sometimes it was incredibly naive, and yet other times it proved itself a creature of great cunning. Today, she discovered that it even seemed to have a slight case of delusions of grandeur.

Chiding it, she said, "What nonsense are you spouting? I’ve already made it clear to you. He and I are from two different worlds. We are as different as heaven and earth; how could we possibly be together? Even Liu Xudong from my past life, with whom the gap wasn’t as large, had rejected me terribly. I am not stupid enough to make the same mistake again in this life or to strive for the unreachable. Besides, it seems he’s already got his eye on another woman; he might be taking a wife soon. Oh dear, little Yan’er will have a new stepmother, poor child."

As Chen Afu finished speaking, she shook her head helplessly, breaking apart a fifth of the wood shavings and placing the remainder into a pouch in the space. Upon leaving the space, she heard Jin Yanzi stubbornly retort, "No way, I’m a relationship and psychological analyst. How could I have misjudged someone..."

Chen Afu made another trip to the storeroom to fetch two large chunks of frozen stiff mutton, and asked Xue Dagui to shave the meat. The meat thus shaved was not only much thinner than sliced meat but was also curled, which made it easier to serve and more pleasing to the eye.

The chicken soup had already been stewed to a thick concentrate. Chen Afu stir-fried the hot pot seasoning and added it to the chicken soup to continue stewing. Of course, when she added the chicken soup, she also added the bit of agarwood residue.

The sky darkened as a heavy snow began to fall. The tantalizing aroma wafting from the kitchen invited one to pause and inhale deeply.

Smelling the increasingly delicious aroma, Mr. Zeng remarked, "My goodness, I’ve lived for so many years, yet I’ve never smelled such a tantalizing fragrance."

Chen Afu and the others bustled about the kitchen. Seeing the snow falling heavier outside, she felt a touch of concealed joy. This was the perfect weather for hotpot.

The array of food wasn’t abundant, with only lamb rolls, shrimp, pork balls, and fish balls for meat dishes, and cabbage, bean sprouts, lotus root slices, mushrooms, vermicelli, and tofu skin for vegetables. For her own convenience and to entertain guests, Chen Afu had commissioned the construction of four homemade charcoal stoves and four tables with hollowed centers.

The Chens couldn’t afford Silver Frost Charcoal, so Madam Luo had someone fetch some from Tang Garden.

A hot pot feast was laid out in the main hall, attended by Chen Ming, Alu, Dabao, and Manager Luo who were accompanying Chu Lingxuan. Two tables were laid out in the east room, one for hotpot where Mrs. Wang was entertaining Madam Luo, Mrs. Wei, Mrs. Song, Auntie Zeng, and Aunt Mu. The other table wasn’t for hotpot but for a selection of braised and stir-fried dishes for the children, chaperoned by Chen Afu. A hot pot feast was also prepared in the guest room for the male servants as a welcome for Mr. Zeng and his crew.

Although the feast in the main hall had the fewest people, it had the largest assortment of dishes; six large plates of lamb rolls, four plates of fish balls, four plates of pork balls, and numerous vegetables. Despite this, it still wasn’t enough. An additional six large plates of lamb rolls and two small tubs of vegetables had to be prepared. Only when all the meat and vegetables were gone did the guests lay down their chopsticks.

Except for Dabao who had a relatively small appetite and was full, the others hardly touched the lamb rolls. Out of the twelve plates of lamb, Dabao ate less than half a plate, and the rest was nearly all consumed by Chu Lingxuan.

Every time Chen Afu came out to check, she’d cringe a bit, fearing that he would suffer from gastroptosis.

When Chu Lingxuan finished eating, he wiped the sweat from his forehead with a silk handkerchief, looking extremely satisfied. He smiled at Chen Afu who had just come out and said, "Master Chen is indeed very thoughtful. The delicacies you prepare are always so irresistible. This hot pot is even more delicious than the one I had at the Hongyun Hot Pot Restaurant in Capital City. In a few days, my grandfather, who is quite a foodie, will be coming here from the Capital City to celebrate the Lunar New Year. At that time, I hope Master Chen can prepare this hot pot several more times to please him."

Chen Afu nodded in acknowledgment, chuckling to herself, unsure if she was cooking for him or for Marquis Chu.

Chu Lingxuan then turned to Manager Luo and said, "This time, I brought back ten fat sheep from Dingzhou. Send over two tomorrow...wait, leave one at home, send over the rest."

Manager Luo bowed in obedient compliance.

As Chu Lingxuan stood up to leave, Mrs. Song handed over Chu Hanyan, who was wrapped in a small quilt. Chu Lingxuan took the child from Mrs. Song, and they all left the house together. Chen Afu then asked Shan Zi and Xue Dagui to escort the Dahu siblings home.

I do not know when the heavy snow subsided, leaving a thin layer of white snow on the ground. The sky was decorated with twinkling cold stars, making the horizon appear even more coldly bright.

Upon leaving Lu Garden, the wind intensifies. The cold wind sweeps across the open fields, over the ice-covered branches, whistling as it grazes past one’s ears.

Perhaps because of his daughter on his chest, Chu Lingxuan felt a unique warmth in his heart. For many years, even during summer nights, even when surrounded by many people, he felt an emptiness, an incomparable sadness and loneliness in his heart. At this moment, not only was there warmth in his heart, but there was also an unusual feeling of satisfaction...

"Aunt, Dabao." Chu Hanyan called in his ear.

Chu Lingxuan stopped and looked back. There stood two figures, tall and short, in front of the gate of the Lu Garden. Under the clear moonlight, those two figures were gazing at them.

Upon seeing them look back, the short figure waved at them with their arm raised high.

"Teehee..." Two distinct soft laughs rang out in Chu Lingxuan’s ear.

It was his daughter’s laugh! His daughter could now laugh out loud.

Upon hearing his daughter’s laughter for the first time, Chu Lingxuan was thrilled. He looked at his daughter, whose eyes were curved with joy as she looked at the two people in the distance. She softly said, "Like... Aunt... Dabao."

Chu Lingxuan felt both happy and a bit hurt as he asked, "Daughter, don’t you like Daddy?"

Chu Hanyan, hugging his neck and shifting her gaze back, rubbed her cheek against his and said, "Like... Daddy."

Chu Lingxuan laughed and said, "Good girl, Daddy likes you, too."

"And... like... Aunt, Dabao." Chu Hanyan mumbled, and she urged again, "Daddy, say it..."

Under the bright moonlight, the little girl’s eyes were shimmering as she looked at him, full of expectation.

"Um...well..." Chu Lingxuan looked back at the two figures, then whispered into Chu Hanyan’s ear, "Princess, Daddy is a man; some words are hard to say out loud."

Although Chu Lingxuan did not say what the little girl wanted to hear, his warm breath tickled her ear as he spoke. It felt ticklish and warm, quite amusing to her, leading her to giggle a few more times.

Chu Lingxuan saw the small figure still waving at them. He stared back for a while before turning around to walk towards the Tang Garden.

Only when Chu Lingxuan and his daughter had disappeared behind a few withered trees did Dabao lower his waving hand.

Chen Afu laughed and said, "They’re out of sight now. It’s time to go back."