Fortunate Life of the Rural Beauty
Chapter 307 - 306: Recognizing Relatives

Chapter 307: Chapter 306: Recognizing Relatives

After Mr. Chu became disabled, his temperament changed drastically and he became unpredictable. His father, the Marquis, and his deceased mother cherished him. His brothers indulged him, which led to his unhealthy habits of indulgence in pleasure, slumbering under flowering trees, and loitering under willows.

Though it was not common for men in the Chu family to take concubines, the matriarch found it necessary to bring in two chambermaids for Mr. Chu in an attempt to rein him in. One chambermaid, cunning as she was, slipped him a contraceptive soup, bore him his first illegitimate son, and ascended to the position of Auntie Fang.

Having become disabled and fathering an illegitimate son only made it more difficult for Mr. Chu to find a wife.

It wasn’t until he was nineteen that a wife was found for him, who is now known as Mrs. Chu. Mrs. Chu’s father originally held a small official rank of level eight. Marquis Chu helped advance his rank by two levels and secured for him a considerably gainful position in order for him to agree to offer his daughter’s hand in marriage.

Mrs. Chu was fairly attractive, with fair and delicate features and a prestigious origin in an official family. Initially, Mr. Chu quite liked her and even accepted a small official position his family had offered him, intending to reform himself, manage household affairs, and create a stable life for his wife and children. However, as time went by, it was revealed that Mrs. Chu was narrow-minded, lacking in manners, and greedy. These flaunting flaws frequently became the subject of mockery.

Mr. Chu fell into sorrow again, and his old flaws re-emerged.

While he might have been deficient in other areas, he had a knack for fathering children. While Mr. Chu’s oldest and youngest brothers only had two children each, he had five ‒ two sons and three daughters.

They are Chu Lingqi, the older son, who is nineteen and the illegitimate firstborn; Chu Ling’an, the younger son and legitimate child, is seventeen; Chu Zhen, his legitimate eldest daughter, is fourteen; Chu Lin and Chu Bi, the two illegitimate daughters, are both nine.

Clearing his thoughts, Chen Afu approached Mr. Chu. Despite his downcast gaze, he could see some resemblance between Mr. Chu and Chu Lingxuan in their brows and eyes. However, their demeanors were entirely different. Chu was more gloomy, weak, and his left sleeve was empty.

Chen Afu gave a respectful greeting, saying "Greetings to Uncle."

Mr. Chu nodded in acknowledgement, so disinterested that he couldn’t even bring himself to speak, and handed her a red envelope.

Then she met the younger Mr. Chu, Mrs. Chu, and the younger Mrs. Chu, all of whom she had met before. The younger Mr. Chu and his wife greeted her with laughter and spoke auspicious words about hoping she would have a prosperous family. Mrs. Chu only gave a noncommittal "hmm" before each giving her a red envelope.

As the eldest sister-in-law, she was obligated to meet everyone – her younger brothers-in-law, sisters-in-law, sisters of her husband, nephews, and nieces. The gifts she had prepared for them were jade pendants for the men and jade hairpins for the women.

The last person to greet her was a one-year-old named Chu Siwen, the son of the elder Mr. Chu, Chu Lingqi. He was a very adorable baby boy who had been brought to her by his nanny to bow in greeting.

After the greetings, they went to the ancestral hall to pay respects to the ancestors.

By the time she returned to the Bamboo Pavilion, it was midday. She noticed that Mrs. Li and several handmaidens, including Qingfeng, were there to serve her.

After washing up in the restroom and having a noon-time meal with Chu Lingxuan, he headed to the front courtyard, saying he had some business to discuss with his third brother.

Chen Afu took her place next to the square table in the hall, and the others from the courtyard came to kowtow to her.

Previously, there were six handmaidens and four elderly maids in the Bamboo Pavilion. Xia Yue had prepared a wallet filled with silver ingots for each of them. As Daya and Hong Fei were the head handmaidens, their wallets contained six silver ingots.

Chen Afu designated Mrs. Li as her housekeeper, with Xia Yue, Qingfeng, Yu Zhuo, and Hong Fei as the head handmaidens. Xiao Hong, Xiao Lu, and the two other handmaidens of the Bamboo Pavilion, whom she renamed Xiao Huang and Xiao Mo, became the second-tier handmaidens, while Xiao Zi and the other younger handmaidens became the third-tier handmaidens. The four elderly maids continued to manage their respective tasks, with Mrs. Hua overseeing the small kitchen, preparing meals, and boiling water, while the other three worked as household maidens.

Yu Zhuo had been engaged back in Dingzhou, and her fiancé, Yu Yongshun, was also brought along this time. They were set to get married in two months, and Yu Zhuo was going to be the housekeeper of the Bamboo Pavilion, managing it for the long term. As for Yu Yongshun, he would manage Chen Afu’s shop in the Capital City, directly taking orders from Zeng Shuang, and sell the crops provided by Fuyunlai.

Having assigned everyone their positions, Chen Afu then ordered Mrs. Hua to prepare some ingredients like flour, eggs, and cow’s milk. Later in the day, she planned to make some pastries as a token of respect for the elders.

When only Mrs. Li and Xia Yue were left in the room, Xia Yue took out the red envelope.

The envelope was filled with silver notes. Old Marquis sent 800 taels of silver, Mr. Chu and Mrs. Chu each sent 400 taels of silver, Mr. Chu sent 400 taels of silver too, whereas Mrs. Chu sent only 20 taels of silver.

Xia Yue said scornfully, "Mrs. Chu really doesn’t care at all. As an elder, she only gave 20 taels of silver. Shameless."

Chen Afu shrugged, saying nothing. She was more than just oblivious; she didn’t even pretend to care.

She was leaning against the bed with her eyes closed. A servant reported that the fourth and fifth masters had arrived.

Fifth master was of course Chu Lingzhi, and the fourth master was Chu Lingwei, the eldest son of Mrs. Chu. In the morning, Chen Afu didn’t have a good look at Chu Lingwei. He was very tall, just turned 11 this year but was half a head taller than the 12-year-old Alu and Chen Yulan.

Chen Afu stood up with a smile and said, "Please come in."

Chu Lingzhi came running in, smiling, "Sister-in-law, you finally married into our family. I missed the pastries you used to make when we were in Tang Garden."

Chen Afu teased, "What, you only missed the pastries?"

Chu Lingzhi quickly replied, "Oh, I also missed you, Yan’er, Dabao, Zhui Feng, Sasa, Wang Cai, Qi Qi, and Hui Hui. Sister-in-law, why didn’t you bring them all?"

Chen Afu laughed and invited Chu Lingwei to sit on a chair. Chu Lingwei inherited the good looks of the Chu family. He was a little shy, his face flushing, probably embarrassed about coming for snacks.

She knew that the men in the Chu family, headed by the old Marquis, all had a sweet tooth, and especially liked pastries. These two boys must have craved for some.

She smiled, "I’ve already asked the kitchen to prepare the ingredients, and I will start making it right away. Have some tea while waiting. They’ll be ready in no time."

She and Xia Yue then went to the backyard kitchen. Mrs. Hua had already kneaded the dough.

Without an oven, many pastries couldn’t be made, but she managed to make some golden cakes, secretly adding a little Yan Chenxiang powder that she crushed in advance to the flour.

It took less than half an hour to finish. She gave eight pieces to each of the elders, four pieces to each of the other masters, and two pieces to some honorable servants. She asked the girls to deliver them separately.

Of course, everyone in Bamboo Pavilion got a share.

She took a plate of golden cakes to the main court. Chu Lingwei and Chu Lingzhi were feeding fish in the courtyard. Seeing Chen Afu bringing snacks, they hurriedly wiped their hands with handkerchiefs and went up to her.

Chu Lingwei said, "Sister-in-law, the cook in our house can also make these golden cakes, but hers are not as delicious as yours."

Chen Afu smiled, "If you like it, come often. I can make other things."

She liked Mr. and Mrs. Chu and their two children.

The brothers finished all the golden cakes on the plate. Chen Afu even gave them four extra pieces each to take home.