Fortunate Life of the Rural Beauty
Chapter 229 - 228: Going to Dingzhou Again

Chapter 229: Chapter 228: Going to Dingzhou Again

Chen Afu had seen before at the Jade Kirin Silver Tower that the set of jewellery Chen Shiying gave her would likely be worth between three hundred and five hundred taels of silver. But that was its purchasing price. The selling price would definitely be lower, probably falling by a hundred or more taels.

When you add everything up, it comes out to over a thousand taels. Add to that the six hundred taels she had previously given to Zeng Shuang, and the six hundred taels given by the Tang Garden, that totals more than two thousand taels of silver. After setting aside two hundred taels as floating money, the rest of the silver would be enough to buy and renovate a shop.

The next day, Chen Afu discussed with Manager Luo about going to Dingzhou. She would definitely bring Dabao with her; she didn’t feel comfortable with Dabao out of her sight. Dingzhou was about fifty miles away. It should be relatively safe to bring Dabao given its proximity. However, she planned to avoid public appearances with him as much as possible.

So what about Chu Hanyan?

Manager Luo said that his master should be able to return to Dingzhou in a few days, and he could take Hanyan with him to spend some time with her father.

The two of them concluded that they would set out on the 15th of April, four days from today. Chen would stay in Dingzhou for four to five days and aim to return by the 20th of April as Dabao couldn’t take too many days off school.

Upon hearing this plan, Mrs. Wang was a bit worried for Chen Afu and wanted to accompany her. But she was also concerned about Chen Ming and Chen Alu at home. Chen Afu comforted her, saying, "You don’t need to worry about me, mother. I have Uncle Three and his family in Dingzhou, as well as the Chus’ Mansion and Manager Luo. We’ll be safe."

On the morning of the 14th of April, Yang Chao and his younger siblings had to return home, crying inconsolably. Chen Afu repeatedly assured them that they would be invited back to Fu Garden soon. After all, their grandmother must be lonely with them staying elsewhere for such a long time. Left with no choice, wiping their tears, the siblings were lifted onto the carriage. They also took with them a lot of food and two sets of clothes made by Chen Afu’s team.

That night, Chen Afu brought the two children, Zhui Feng, and Qi Qi Hui Hui to dine at Lu Garden. Jin Yanzi was still recuperating from her emotional upset in her space.

Chen Ming had also invited the big family room, Manager Luo’s family, and Hu Laowu.

Everyone from the big room, except for Mrs. Hu, came. This was the first time Chen Afu had seen Chen Ye since they returned from Dingzhou.

Chen Ye had lost a lot of weight. He said he was basically healthy again, except he wasn’t as efficient with physical labor as before.

Chen Aju had become a lot more docile. She even started helping out in the kitchen. However, she still looked at Chen Afu with defiance. It was probably because she felt disgruntled that the meek individual she used to look down on and often bully was now far more successful than her. Nevertheless, Chen Afu disregarded it – there was no sense in quarrelling with an unreasonable young girl.

The elder family brought two packs of sweets from the county town and a silk robe for Chen Shi.

Now that Chen Ye and Mrs. Hu were physically weak, the household was being managed by Chen Agu and Mrs. Gao. Both of them were considerate and smart, and the gifts they prepared were quite good.

Chen Ming and Mrs. Wang also gave the third room some pastries and sweets, along with two pieces of silk. Chen Afu contributed a few pieces of silk and several sets of study tools.

The next day, as dawn was breaking, Chen Afu and the others got up. Chen Afu took Auntie Zeng, Xia Yue, Qiu Yue, and Xue Dagui, and also brought Zhui Feng, Qi Qi, and Hui Hui along.

Travelling by carriage was fast. If they did not encounter any unexpected incidents on the road, they should be able to depart early in the morning and reach the capital of Dingzhou by noon at the latest. Once in Dingzhou, Ms. Chu and others would stay at the Chus’ Mansion, while Chen Afu, her sons, Qiu Yue, and Xue Dagui would stay at Chen Shi’s house. Auntie Zeng and her daughter would stay at their own house at night and come to Chen Shi’s house during the day.

Before getting into the carriage, Manager Luo still advised Chen Afu, "Ms. Chen, why not stay at the Chus’ Mansion when you’re in Dingzhou? There are several vacant courtyards there. This way, you’ll be closer to my sister and we can better take care of you and your son."

Chen Afu did not agree. There was only one male master and one young master in the Chu’s Mansion, what would it mean for her, a girl, to live there?

She was quite busy these few days in Dingzhou, and didn’t often visit Miss Chu at the Chu’s Mansion. Once she finished her own businesses, they would all return home.

She had talked to Hanyan a few days before, it was just a matter of days, and it would pass quickly. Besides, Luo Mei and her brother were with her during the day, and her father was with her at night, so the days wouldn’t be too hard to get by. She also made lots of promises like making her delicious food, making her new clothes, making her two clothed small Yanzi doll, etc. With all these promised, Miss Chu reluctantly agreed with a pout.

Chen Afu took two children and Mrs. Song on a carriage ride, with Zhui Feng also there. Qi Qi and Hui Hui were either playing in the carriage or flying in the sky.

Laughter echoed non-stop from the carriage, and the journey was relatively smooth, they reached outside the capital of Dingzhou around noon. But there was a long queue outside the city gates.

After taking a look around the gate on horseback, Luo Yuan came back and said that there seemed to be some important figures in Dingzhou these days, and everyone entering and leaving the city needed to be checked. He also said that he knew the soldier in charge of the inspection so they could go directly to the gate.

Several carriages and a dozen or so horses bypassed the long queue and came to the city gate, where a guard symbolically lifted the curtain to take a look and let them through.

After entering the city gate and walking for a while, Chen Afu coaxed Miss Chu, ignoring the tear stains in her eyes, got off the carriage with Dabao and Zhui Feng, Qi Qi and Hui Hui, and took another carriage. From here, they had to go their separate ways, one to the east, one to the north.

Chen Shi had already moved to a new house. According to the address, the carriage ran for nearly 45 minutes before they arrived. This seemed to be where the middle class gathered, a sea of green brick and tile houses, the larger ones having two courtyards and the smaller ones just one.

Chen Shi had received the letter and knew they were coming today. Mrs. Zhang and Chen Aman have been waiting at home. When they saw them coming, they were delighted and invited them into the courtyard.

It was a new, sizable Siheyuan with a date tree planted in the courtyard, filled with Bougainvillea and Champak, which looked quite pleasant.

Chen Afu and her son stayed in the north room of the West Wing. The room was clean, the bedding was new, and it had been scented. Qiu Yue stayed in the north wing room, while Xue Dagui occupied the Southern Wing Room.

Chen Afu smiled and said, "Uncle Chen and Aunt Zhang are so thoughtful."

Mrs. Zhang laughed," You see, Uncle Chen and Aunt Zhang are living in such a nice house because of the glory of Afu. Aunt Zhang will always remember the favor Afu did... "

As it turned out, since Chen Ayu had gone to the Capital City and Chen Shi was too busy with the wine-shop, he didn’t have time to continue Chen San’s Lu Chuan business. So he mortgaged the recipe of Braised Skewers and the brand name of "Chen San’s Braised Skewers" together for 100 taels of silver, and also held 30 percent of the shares. Chen Shi added another 50 taels of silver using a total of 100 taels to purchase this Siheyuan.

He’s indeed a shrewd man. Chen Afu chuckled.

Mrs. Zhang had already prepared the meals, knowing that there would be coachmen and guardians from Chu’s Mansion to accompany Chen Afu, and she had even prepared meals for them.

The food for Chen Afu and her children was laid out in the West Wing parlor. A small table was set up here for Auntie Zeng, her daughter and a few others, including Qiu Yue. Food for Zhui Feng, Qi Qi, and Hui Hui was served in a basin on the ground. Xue Dagui and the four men from Chu’s Mansion were seated in the East Wing parlor, and wine was prepared for them.

Indeed, Chen Shi and Mrs. Zhang knew how to treat people right, everything was attended to perfectly.