Fortunate Life of the Rural Beauty
Chapter 261 - 260: Support

Chapter 261: Chapter 260: Support

Chen Afu had just finished tallying accounts when she decided to cook a couple of dishes in the kitchen. She’d been so busy lately she had not had time to cook and she found herself craving for the dishes prepared by her hand. Just as she was about to begin cooking, Mr. Zeng came to report that a distinguished guest had arrived at home, Mr. Chen.

Chen Afu went out to welcome the guests and saw, to her surprise, Chen Shiying leading her younger siblings, Chen Yulan, and two others into the courtyard.

Chen Afu had expected Chen Shiying to visit soon. After all, this was within his jurisdiction and he must be interested in the wonderful new watermelons that had been harvested. But she hadn’t expected him to bring the siblings along too.

She quickly approached and paid her respects to Chen Shiying. Chen Yulan and her siblings followed suit.

The siblings looked around curiously, finding the place very different from the countryside they had imagined. The courtyard, hidden by the bamboo and trees, was filled with vibrant blossoms. The houses featured exquisite carvings and vibrant bird cages hung under the eaves. They housed beautifully colored birds whose melodious trills filled the air. The distant green rolling hills added a dazzling view to the stunning scenery they were soaking in.

"Sister, your home is truly beautiful," commented Chen Yulan as she fanned herself.

"Indeed, the air even smells sweet here," agreed Chen Yuqing with a laugh.

Chen Yuxia, the youngest, simply shyly nodded with a smile.

"If you like it so much, feel free to stay for a few more days," replied Chen Afu with a smile.

They entered the main room, served tea, and took their seats.

"Father has been wanting to visit your place for a while but he hadn’t been able to spare the time until now. Your siblings also wanted to visit so I brought them along," explained Chen Shiying. He went on to praise the delicious watermelons Chen Afu had sent him and expressed his interest in visiting the melon field.

Regrettably, Chen Afu informed him, "The melons around my place were picked a few days ago. There is not even a vine left. We were just preparing to turn over the land and apply some fertilizer for the upcoming autumn corn. If you want to see a melon field, you will have to go to Wangshan Village."

Chen Shiying still wanted to see it in person. However, the trip to Wangshan Village would take up half a day and would likely cause him to be late to his return to the capital city. He decided to go by himself after lunch and spend the night at the village while sending Chen Yulan and her siblings back to Dingzhou in the afternoon.

But neither Chen Yulan, Chen Yuqing, nor Chen Yuxia liked that plan. Instead, Chen Yulan proposed, "If you’re staying in Wangshan village for the night, we’ll stay with sister."

Chen Shiying shook his head, "You have school tomorrow. You can’t neglect your studies. You can stay with your sister during the holidays."

Chen Afu returned to the kitchen and started dealing with the preparations with Auntie Zeng and Qiu Yue. Auntie Zeng had already cooked a variety of Luwei dishes: braised pork ribs, braised pig liver, chicken braised with bean curd, all common dishes at home. The old Marquis came to Fu Garden for meals every day, so these dishes were prepared for him to accompany the wine. More was prepared today, considering Chu Lingxuan was on vacation.

Chen Afu cooked bitter gourd with meat, spicy shredded pork, golden shrimp, winter melon with gold hooks, and dual-colored mushrooms. She also prepared a variety of appetizers: sugar and vinegar cucumber, sesame cucumber, refreshing watermelon rind, spicy sour watermelon rind, and chilled shredded vegetables.

In this hot weather, these dishes seemed not only appetizing but also refreshing and cooling.

Just as she was about to finish the preparations, Chen Shiying called Chen Afu out into the courtyard. With a flushed face, he said he had brought some gifts for Mrs. Wang’s family and hoped Chen Afu could invite Chen Ming and Mrs. Wang to also join them for the meal. "Your mother is my sister, and Chen Ming’s father is my brother-in-law. We’re family. It’s just customary," he explained. "Besides, Qing’er and Xia’er haven’t met them yet. It’s about time they did."

Chen Afu guessed that Mrs. Wang and Chen Ming would not want to see Chen Shiying. Chen Shiying could handle them nonchalantly, but they couldn’t do the same to Chen Shiying.

But since he had already proposed it, he had to go himself, so he took Chen Yulan and her two siblings, along with the gifts for Alu Garden to Alu Garden.

Chen Ming, Mrs. Wang, and Mrs. Chen were talking in the main room when Chen Afu led two elegantly dressed girls and a boy in. Chen Ming and Mrs. Wang recognized Chen Yulan and guessed that the other two might be Chen Shiying’s daughters.

Chen Yulan bowed to them and paid her respects. Following Chen Shiying’s instructions, Chen Yuqing and Chen Yuxia both knelt and kowtowed to Mrs. Wang, saying, "We pay our respects to Auntie, wishing you good health and good fortune."

Mrs. Wang quickly helped them up, and with tears welling up in her eyes, gave each of the sisters a handkerchief that she had embroidered herself, saying, "Good girls, these are handkerchiefs embroidered by your aunt herself. I hope you won’t dislike them."

Chen Yuqing smiled, "The handkerchiefs are so beautiful, we all know about Auntie’s excellent embroidery skills."

Chen Yulan presented the gifts, which included some sweets, candy, and wine, and specifically gave Chen Ming a pound of edible bird’s nest for health, and also brought some candy and wine for the old lady.

After an awkward small talk, Chen Afu invited Chen Ming’s family to have dinner at Fu Garden. Both Mrs. Wang and Chen Ming declined, using the excuse that they needed to accompany Mrs. Chen, and suggested that Alu could represent them at Fu Garden.

Chen Ming quietly suggested to Chen Afu, "When they leave in the late afternoon, let’s pick some fresh cucumbers and vegetables for them. Your mother just made a few jars of sweet rice wine, we can give them two jars. For country folks, they might enjoy such homegrown offerings."

The sweet rice wine that Mrs. Wang makes indeed continues the tradition from Chen Afu. Added to that, the well at Alu Garden also contains residues of Yan Chenxiang Wood, which makes the taste excellent.

Chen Shiying was somewhat disappointed to see that Mrs. Wang didn’t come over. But seeing that Chen Alu greatly resembles Mrs. Wang, is good-looking, bright, and mature at such a young age, he developed a great liking towards him. Alu also kowtowed to him, calling him "uncle". He gave Alu a jade pendant and encouraged him to study well.

Just as they were enjoying themselves, the people from Tang Garden arrived, only Marquis Chu, Chu Lingzhi, and Chu Hanyan came. They said that Chu Lingxuan had to go to the Sanqing County town due to a sudden matter.

Chen Shiying and Marquis Chu sat at one table drinking, while the others sat at another table eating. Both tables were set up in the dining room, and there was no shield in between. Even though there was only one additional adult male, Marquis Chu, Chen Yuqing and Chen Yuxia, who rarely ventured outside their own house, felt slightly embarrassed. However, as the dishes on the table were extremely delicious, even better than their home cooking or the meals at the wine-shop, they forgot their shyness while eating.

At the dinner table, Marquis Chu explained to Chen Shiying that the watermelon was special because the seeds were bought from a barbarian, and that Chen Afu had other unique seeds given to him by Master Wu Zhi. Now, not only did Chen Afu plant rice and corn, but even their Tang Garden planted corn on a large scale...

After hearing about the special features of these seeds, and the barbarian and Master Wu Zhi’s methods of treating the seeds, Chen Shiying was extraordinarily pleased. He said, "If you can use the best seeds from these wheat, rice, and corn crops to cultivate new varieties, just like these watermelons and cucumbers, improving yield and taste while reducing disease and pests, it would be a tremendous blessing for the people of Dashun."

Marquis Chu replied, "Once these crops are successfully grown, it’s not only a blessing for the people, but also a piece of governance credit for you as an official. Although our Chu family will protect Afu, there are occasions when we also need your support. Keep things confidential when it’s necessary, and provide cover when needed..."

Chen Shiying quickly expressed his position, "Absolutely, absolutely. Not to mention that Fu’er is my own daughter, even if she were a stranger, if there are such great initiatives that benefit the country and the people, I, as an official, must fully support them."

PS: Apologies for the mistake in the previous Chapter with the amount of silver earned by Tang Garden through selling watermelons. It has been corrected as it was not as much.