Fortunate Life of the Rural Beauty
Chapter 349 - 348: Twins

Chapter 349: Chapter 348: Twins

Chen Afu was having a leisurely time during her pregnancy, doing some needlework, watching her lovely children, acting as a child psychology counselor, and anticipating Chu Lingxuan’s return. Time flew, and soon it was the end of June.

Everything had been going well over these months. The children were growing strong, and the elderly were in good health. Li Xuan’s condition had also improved significantly, his mood was brighter, and he could speak more coherently, although his reactions were still relatively slow and he was still shy.

The watermelon business had also made a huge profit. Although the price was not as high as last year, and other melon farmers also started using last year’s "Dingzhou sweet melon" seeds to grow watermelons, most outsiders still preferred to buy melons from the Fuyunlai Trading Company, thus they still made the most profit.

Moreover, this year’s watermelons were as delicious as last year’s. It seemed that the genetic improvements to the seeds were successful, which made Chen Afu very happy.

Therefore, the wheat seeds and the rice and corn seeds should also have been improved.

Both Wangshan Village and Tang Garden had a bountiful harvest of winter wheat. Apart from being more aromatic, the wheat farmed from these "foreign" seeds had the highest yield of up to 380 pounds per acre. As with last year’s "Dingzhou rice" and "Dingzhou corn", the yield had doubled, creating a historic high. This was not solely due to the "foreign" seeds, but also because the seeds had been soaked before sowing.

Chen Shiying didn’t care too much about the watermelons as they were not a staple food and wouldn’t contribute much to the overall agricultural development. However, when he heard that Wangshan Village had another bountiful wheat harvest, with the potential to double the yield, he was overjoyed. He personally visited Wangshan Village and officially named this type of wheat as "Dingzhou wheat".

He then instructed to promote "Dingzhou wheat", "Dingzhou corn", and "Dingzhou rice" on a large scale within Sanqing County, Zhongning County, and Huajiang County, which all belong to Dingzhou.

At the same time, he started to collect the data and characteristics of these crops, preparing to write a glowing report to be submitted to the court after this year’s rice and corn harvest.

Chen Afu could foresee that Chen Shiying was due for promotion in the near future. While she was making money quietly, she had inadvertently accumulated a lot of merit for Chen Shiying. In ancient times, agriculture was a major issue. Not only would agricultural reform ensure that the people were well-fed, but it would also significantly enhance the strength of the country.

The only downside was that Chen Afu had a big appetite, so her stomach grew rapidly, and she put on a lot of weight. Her original oval face had ballooned into a round face, and her features had changed along with it. Her eyes were puffy, her nose had grown, and pimples had popped up on her face. Her belly, at only four months in, was already very prominent. Many women commented that it looked like a six-month belly.

A few days ago, they had a doctor from the capital city take her pulse, and he diagnosed her with twins.

That was wonderful news, and the old Marquis was over the moon. He immediately sent letters to the capital city and the prefecture’s city, holding a banquet to celebrate with his relatives and friends from both villages, and letting the servants join in the feast.

Chu Lingxuan was away again and couldn’t come back immediately. The Chens’ Mansion in the prefecture’s city sent gifts the next day, and five days later, the Marquis’ Mansion in the capital city also sent gifts.

Chen Afu felt a bit embarrassed, after all, taking a pulse was not as accurate as an ultrasound scan. Besides, the old Marquis kept going on about great-grandsons; what if she gave birth to two girls? She wouldn’t mind, and she believed Chu Lingxuan wouldn’t either, but she wasn’t so sure about the old Marquis.

What’s more, the old man not only kept talking about great-grandsons himself, but he also shamelessly bribed Dabao and Yan’er, forbidding them to talk about younger brothers or sisters, and only allowing them to mention younger brothers.

Even the dim-witted Xiao Lixuan had been bribed. Every time he saw Chen Afu’s belly, he would say, "Auntie’s belly is carrying a little brother."

On the afternoon of June 27th, the novice monk Gui Yi from Lingyin Temple arrived, saying that his master, Abbot Liao Chen, was going on a pilgrimage, and asked Chen Afu to come by the next day.

The old monk was not just going away for some business, but on a long pilgrimage. Judging from his previous experiences, he would not return for three to five years.

Chen Afu was quite saddened by the old monk’s departure. Although he lacked some qualities that a senior monk should possess, he was still a respectable senior monk. After all, his whole-hearted effort to save the Ninth Prince was driven by his wish to prevent unnecessary suffering and danger. It also provided her with early warnings...

She replied, "Okay, I’ll come by tomorrow."

She also had some candies sent to the novice monk, Gui Yi.

Chen Afu remembered that in her previous life, there was a belief that pregnant women should not visit temples. However, customs vary by region, and in some places, it was permitted.

So, after confirming her pregnancy, Chen Afu hadn’t gone to visit Abbot Liao Chen at the Yingxue Nunnery. Instead, Abbot Liao Chen had come to the Tang Garden to visit her twice and often sent people to deliver fruits.

Now that Master Wu Zhi had requested her to come, she should be able to visit the temple.

The next morning, Chen Afu got up early and started to make vegetarian desserts with Mrs. Hua in the small kitchen. She made a lot because after visiting Lingyin Temple, she planned to visit Abbot Liao Chen at the Yingxue Nunnery.

As soon as Ms. Chu got up and had her breakfast, and they were about to leave Tang Garden, they saw a man racing towards them on horseback.

It was a yamen runner, who informed them that the governor would lead a group of officials from the capital city to visit Shangshui Village and Xiangluo Village to inspect the planting of "Dingzhou corn" and "Dingzhou rice" and asked the farmers who planted these crops to prepare for the visit.

Since Chen Shiying was her father, Chen Afu had to return to Yanxiang Pavilion and delay her visit to Lingyin Temple until the next day.

Of the two villages, Tang Garden was the major cultivator of these two crops. Manager Luo sent word to Chen Ming and Chen Ye, as well as the landlords who grew these crops, and summoned the village heads to welcome the officials.

At midday, they also shared a meal with the governor, who was like a pure and honest official to them, which thrilled them greatly.

After Lunch, the other officials returned to the city, leaving only Chen Shiying in Tang Garden. He went to Yanxiang Pavilion to visit his daughter and planned to return home the next day.

At this moment, Chen Shiying was beaming with pride. He was still young and handsome, gentle and refined, just as Chen Afu had seen him two years ago. Time had barely left any mark on him. Although he had grown a small mustache over his upper lip, he was still worthy of the praise as a jade-like young man.

It was his first time seeing Chen Afu after she got pregnant. He smiled and said, "I was so happy to hear that Fu’er is carrying twins."

Chen Afu touched her belly and joked, "Despite your young age, father, you look nothing like a grandfather."

Chen Shiying laughed heartily and said, "Look at how you talk, aren’t you saying that I’m old?" Then he added, "I should thank you, Afu, for getting those seeds from Master Wu Zhi and generously using your own land to cultivate good crops. This has benefitted the people greatly. In the report I’m writing, I mentioned you so that the emperor will know about your big achievement."

Chen Afu replied, "It’s not just me, my other father also generously used his land to be the first to cultivate this crop."