Fortunate Life of the Rural Beauty
Chapter 347 - 346 Raising Children for Old Age

Chapter 347: Chapter 346 Raising Children for Old Age

These treasures were all of top-grade material, truly a windfall. Chen Afu laughed without restraint.

These things definitely can’t be displayed or sold to the people of the Dashun dynasty, but they could be sold to barbarians if the opportunity arises.

Jin Yanzi chuckles and says, "I sneaked in when they were opening the storage room, and stayed inside for two days choosing these. The bundle was wrapped in three layers of cloth and was incredibly tough to unwrap. It took me half a day to pack it all up." After that, Jin Yanzi looked like it wanted to be praised for one’s deeds.

Chen Afu hugged and kissed Jin Yanzi a couple of times, laughing and saying, "My dear, you’re so capable, I owe you big time." Chen Afu further remarked, laughing, "The Princess Mansion has been visited by a great thief and lost so many treasures. It’s useless even if Rong Zhao were to cry her eyes out over this."

Jin Yanzi seemed to think of something and then happily rolled on the ground laughing. Then it got up and said, "Because that mean woman hates birdie, she didn’t allow brothers and sisters to go to her house. And birdie still went secretly during the night, hiding in a tree the entire time. The tree is right outside the bad woman’s window... oh my, Daddy Chu’s daddy is so pitiful..." With that said, Jin Yanzi started to laugh mischievously, covering its mouth with its wings.

"What do you mean?" Chen Afu asked with curiosity.

Jin Yanzi laughed and said, "Birdie is a little shy, and it’s kinda embarrassing to say. But since Mummy is so interested, I’ll just say it..."

It’s bashful! Chen Afu rolled her eyes at Jin Yanzi but did not interrupt. She too was curious to know how pitiful Marquis Chu was.

Jin Yanzi continued, "Before Daddy Chu’s daddy does it, he always gets himself drunk. As soon as he touches the mean woman, she starts making noises like a cat..."

"Stop, stop, stop!" Chen Afu couldn’t listen further. If she were to listen anymore, she’d feel embarrassed meeting Marquis Chu in the future. She scolded, "You’re still a child, you shouldn’t be looking at such things. It’ll cause you problems."

Seeing that her master didn’t like to hear further, Jin Yanzi muttered, "Hypocrite!" and started chuckling while laying on the ground.

Seeing Jin Yanzi act like this, Chen Afu involuntarily blushed.

Time flew and it was soon the 25th of March.

Wang Cheng and his family were leaving for the capital of Dingzhou tomorrow. Wang Cheng was officially starting his new job on the 1st of April, so they needed to go back a few days early to prepare.

Chen Afu had already asked Zeng Shuang to purchase a quadrangle house for them in the city, which had been roughly renovated and furnished, ready for them to move in. She also found a private school for Wang Xiaodi.

Mrs. Wang and Chen Ming planned to go to the capital of Dingzhou too. While they were seeing off Wang Cheng, they could also visit Chen Shi’s family and the wine-shop. Mrs. Chen learned about this and insisted on going too, as she missed her third son’s family. Chen Ye and Mrs. Hu didn’t dare to say they wanted to go; they were still scared from their last trip.

Today, Lu Garden was hosting guests at midday. Not only did they invite Chen Afu and her mother, but also Marquis Chu, Manager Luo’s family, and Hu Laowu’s family as well. Because the old marquis was lonely in the countryside and no longer had many class-based ideas, he was willing to drink in the same room as peasants and servants.

Chen Afu played with Chu Hanyan, Wang Xiaoli, Wang Xiaomei, and Chen Daya in Fu Garden until midday and then took them to Lu Garden. Li Xuan was afraid of crowds and didn’t dare to go, so Luo Mingcheng and Luo Mei stayed behind to keep him company while Mrs. Hua cooked chicken soup dumplings, and they ate directly in Fu Garden.

Two tables were set in the hall where the men ate. There were also two tables in the side room, where women and children ate.

Halfway through the meal, Shan Zi reported that the old master- the father-in-law, had arrived.

Upon hearing this, Mrs. Wang and Chen Ming both put on stern faces and rose, stopping Wang Cheng from doing the same. They went out to welcome old Master Wang into the West Wing where they had some drinks and food brought over.

Everyone could ambiguously hear the old man’s noise. After listening to it, Hu Laowu and Luo Yuan went to the West Wing. Hu Laowu laughed and said, "Let Brother Chen and Sister-in-law Chen greet the guests. We’ll keep Old Master Wang company for drinks."

Mrs. Wang returned to the side room, her eyes slightly red.

After the meal, everyone felt embarrassed to continue playing around and so, everyone left for home.

Before Chen Afu left, she asked Luo Yuan to remain behind and to have him ask Hu Laowu to stay as well. Old Master Wang was just a rogue that Chen Ming and Wang Cheng had no control over. The only ones capable of dealing with him were the even more deceitful Hu Laowu, and the somewhat influential Luo Yuan.

Once the guests had left, Wang Cheng went to the East Wing.

Old Master Wang recognized Wang Cheng instantly. Tears welled up in his cloudy eyes as he said, "My boy, you returned to your hometown and even visited your mother’s grave. Why didn’t you come home to see your father?"

Wang Cheng said somberly, "Since you silently consented to Mrs. Ding selling me off from the Wang family, I became someone else’s son."

Old Master Wang said, "In agreeing to let Mrs. Ding sell you off, I was looking out for your welfare as I couldn’t give you a good life. I thought if Mrs. Ding sold you to a good family, you could at least have enough to eat and warm clothes to wear. I don’t regret what I did. Now, you’re a military officer and even have an allowance, which is better than being a peasant tilling the fields. Therefore, even if being sold off was bad, it turned into a good thing. So, what’s your grudge?"

His words incensed everyone in the room. Even Hu Laowu admitted that he couldn’t come out with a statement as shameless as that.

Mrs. Wang indignantly said, "Father, I can’t believe you could say that. My younger brother suffered so much after being sold to the Li family, and got drafted into the army as a youngster who had just turned thirteen." She held up Wang Cheng’s left hand, which had been whittled down to nearly half its size, and wept as she said, "My brother has lost most of his left hand and has dozens of scars from knife wounds all over his body. He can’t even stand up straight now... and yet you say this is a good thing coming from a bad situation. What kind of a heart do you have?"

Old Master Wang’s lips trembled, but he continued, "Indeed, through hard work we become stronger. My boy has suffered, but at least his hardships weren’t in vain, were they? Not like your father who went through hard times in the countryside his entire life."

Luo Yuan sneered, "Old man, why don’t you stop talking nonsense and be more straightforward about why you’re here to see Wang Cheng."

Old Master Wang turned his gaze towards Wang Cheng and said, "My boy, no matter what you say, you’re still my son. Now that you’re a military officer with a generous salary, it’s only appropriate that you show some filial piety."

Mrs. Wang was incensed and said, "Father, isn’t the two taels of silver from my pension enough for you every month? My younger brother’s had such a hard life, how can you bear to ask him for money?"

Old Master Wang put on a rascal’s demeanor and smirked, "Raising a son to care for you in old age is a son’s duty."

Wang Cheng scoffed, "What kind of military officer do you think I am, and what’s this about being demoted three ranks? Father, you’re really overestimating me. I’m just an ordinary soldier in charge of feeding horses. It’s only out of sympathy for my disability that the higher-ups give me an allowance for food. If I was demoted, I’d be reduced to being in the manger. If I was demoted another three ranks, I’d be literally in the horseshit."

Old Master Wang was a bit taken aback. He had heard from Wang Cai that Wang Cheng had become a military officer and made a lot of money. That’s why he had come to visit.

He eyed Wang Cheng carefully and saw his thin physique, and bent back, and that his left hand was mostly gone. Indeed, he didn’t look like a man of high status...