Fortunate Life of the Rural Beauty
Chapter 182 - 181: Willing

Chapter 182: Chapter 181: Willing

Dabao took the rubbings and the ink and brush, and bowed as he said, "Thank you, Uncle Chu, I will study hard and not let you down."

Chen Afu also thanked him.

Chu Lingxuan’s face was adorned with a hint of a smile as he said, "Master Chen, you’re too polite. One should never repay a great kindness with mere words of thanks. Aju’s achievements today are all thanks to you."

After mother and son had walked some distance away, Dabao looked back and tugged on Chen Afu’s sleeve, "Mother, Uncle Chu is still watching us."

Upon hearing this, Chen Afu stopped and looked back, but apart from the falling snowflakes, the entrance to the study was empty. "There’s no one there," she replied.

Dabao blinked, indeed there was no one in sight. He uncertainly said, "Did I make a mistake? I could have sworn Uncle Chu was there just a moment ago."

Chen Afu laughed, "It’s dark and snowing, it’s possible you mistook a pillar for a person."

"Maybe," Dabao said with a dejected air.

Two guardians awaited at the corner gate of Tang Garden, it was their duty to escort Chen Afu and her son to Lu Garden.

Once they had left Tang Garden through the corner gate, they could see the wall of Fu Garden from a distance. They had to walk around Fu Garden to reach Lu Garden.

The snow was still falling, and the freezing wind was so strong that they could hardly see their hands in front of them. One guardian walked ahead with a lantern while the other trailed behind them.

It was a good thing they were being escorted, even though it wasn’t late, the area was so quiet it felt like there were no humans around.

Upon arriving at Lu Garden, Mr. Zeng opened the gate.

Chen Afu smiled at the two guardians and said, "Thank you for your hard work, brothers. Wait here. I’ll fetch some Luwei for you to enjoy with your wine." She went into the kitchen and brought them a small basin of stewed chicken and meat.

The two guardians graciously thanked and accepted.

They frequently escorted Chen Afu, and she would often give them some food to eat in return.

When they reached the main room, Chen Ming and the others were still waiting for them to eat dinner.

Upon hearing that Dabao had received a rubbing from Wang Youjun, the excitement was too much for Chen Ming; he couldn’t eat. He washed his hands again and couldn’t get enough of admiring the rubbing.

Mrs. Wang, seeing that Chen Ming was still engrossed in the book, smiled at him, "It’s getting late and you still won’t come to eat. Are you planning to keep the kids waiting and starve with you?"

Only then did Chen Ming come to eat, he said to Dabao, "Lend it to grandpa for one night and I’ll return it to you tomorrow."

Dabao generously replied, "If Grandpa likes it, then..." He originally wanted to say, "I’ll give it to Grandpa", but considering it was a rubbing from Wang Youjun and not something else, he corrected himself and said, "You can keep it for a few more days." Then, feeling that he was being stingy, he quickly added, "Keep it as long as you want."

Chen Ming chuckled, "Look at you, being all protective. Don’t worry, Grandpa will only keep it for one night."

Dabao blushed, and also generously offered one brush and one ink stick to his uncle. Both the brush and the ink were products of Jingcheng Wenshangzhai.

The Chens’ second house hosted guests on the third day of the Lunar New Year.

As the guests were not fussy, Aunt Mu and Auntie Zeng were in charge of cooking, allowing Chen Afu to relax for the day.

Granny Chen arrived with the people of the first and second house.

Lu Garden had servants, so none of the women needed to help in the kitchen. They all went to the main room leisurely cracking melon seeds, listening to the men loudly chatting. Chen Atang, Alu, Dabao, Dahu and a few other boys were playing and running around in the courtyard with Zhui Feng and Wang Cai.

Aman pulled Chen Afu to a corner and whispered something that seemed to involve Chen Aju meddling with her clothes, jewelry, and makeup. Although nothing was stolen, it still upset her. Mrs. Zhang, out of kindness, mentioned it to Granny Chen, asking her to better manage that girl, as messing with other people’s things wasn’t good. However, Mrs. Hu didn’t appreciate Mrs. Zhang’s intentions, instead she was displeased with Mrs. Zhang and her daughter, accusing them of falsely blaming Chen Aju, and even remarking if they didn’t want to stay they were free to leave, she couldn’t accept them eating and drinking in her house while falsely accusing her daughter...

"...I didn’t want Great Uncle to beat people during the Lunar New Year period, so I didn’t tell him, I just vented my anger at my aunt and Aju in private. I don’t want to stay in the countryside anymore, I want to go back to the capital city as soon as possible," Aman pouted as she spoke.

Chen Afu glanced at Chen Aju, who was sitting in the corner; she had just turned thirteen after the New Year, which would have made her a first-year middle school student in another life. This was a critical period for character formation. If she was not guided correctly and continued to be misled by Mrs. Hu, the child would be ruined.

Just as they were talking, Granny Chen brought Chen Aju over and laughed, "You young ladies are of similar ages, you should spend more time together." She turned to Chen Afu and said, "Afu, you’re a sensible girl, you should guide Aju more."

Chen Aju, unlike her usual haughty peacock-like manner, obediently sat next to Chen Afu and even called her "Sister Afu."

This was truly unexpected. Chen Afu also smiled and greeted her.

Soon, Chen Aju was drawn to the clothes Chen Afu was wearing and said, "We visited my uncle’s house yesterday. My cousin Hong had also returned from the county town, she was acting so arrogantly. In my opinion, she’s not as pretty as Sister Afu, and her clothes aren’t as nice either, even Aman is better than her. Yet, she still looks down on us country folk..."

The eldest house of the Chens had returned to the Hus’ house yesterday. Aside from the youngest daughter of the Hus, the other three sisters, including Chen Aju, all immediately began to help with kitchen work when they arrived. But Xia Hong and Hu Cuicui were close, and they didn’t pay much attention to the other cousins, including Chen Aju. When she tried to get close, she was ignored, which infuriated her.

Chen Afu replied, "She looks down on you guys because she thinks she is better than you. If there ever comes a day where you become stronger than her, she’ll definitely stop looking down on you."

Chen Aju rolled her eyes and said, "But we are from the countryside, no matter how strong we become, we will never be stronger than her." Her tone was bitter, almost as if she held a grudge against Chen Afu.

Chen Afu didn’t really want to say more after seeing her ungrateful attitude, but for the sake of Chen Ye and Granny Chen’s reputation, she restrained herself and patiently said, "Your uncle is also from the countryside, but she dares not look down on Cuicui because your uncle is competent, and Cuicui herself is shrewd and pleasing. Our family’s situation is going to improve more and more. If you could be more competent and learn how to interact with people well, would she still dare to look down on you?"

Granny Chen, upon hearing this, also added, "You should listen to Afu. Your second uncle is already a landlord, and your third uncle owns a wine-shop in the capital. We’re no worse than the Hus. If you are sensible and learn sewing well from your third aunt and elder sister-in-law, you could marry into a good family. By then, they would have to curry favor with you..."

At this moment, Chen Shi pulled Chen Afu aside, apparently, he was planning to expand the business further and was asking if Chen Afu had any ideas. Chen Afu looked at Chen Ming who was chatting and laughing with Chen Ye in the distance and thought that it might be time for Chen Shi to start a business in his name.

It would be better for them to have something of their own rather than depend on her.

Then she replied with a smile, "Actually, there is one. Uncle, do you want to open a proper wine-shop? If you do, I can help find a good chef and shopkeeper for you. But the prerequisite is to let my father become a shareholder."

Chen Shi laughed, "A war isn’t just fought by brothers or father and son, it’s fought by everyone. It’s even better with the participation of your dad. I don’t know much about the wine-shop business, but if Afu can help find a chef and shopkeeper, then I’m willing."