Fortunate Life of the Rural Beauty
Chapter 99 - 98: Birthday Gift (skyblue08 and Shi Bi+)

Chapter 99: Chapter 98: Birthday Gift (skyblue08 and Shi Bi+)

Once she finally managed to appease the little creature and got some small Yan Chenxiang tree leaves from it as she wished, she adhered them to a handkerchief. It was only then that Chen Afu could get out of the space.

After returning to her small house, she quietly told Mrs. Wang about the sale of the Ten Brocade Sparrow for 600 taels of silver, expressing her intention of using this fortune to buy farmland.

Mrs. Wang almost dropped her jaw in shock. "Good heavens! Do the rich not see money as money? Giving so much silver for just a bird?"

Chen Afu chuckled, "So I heard, our Dashun dynasty doesn’t have this type of bird. There are only two Ten Brocade Sparrows in the imperial palace, and they were gifts from barbarians. This is the third one, of course, it is expensive. Besides, the wealthy folks adore these flower and bird items. Premium plants can even fetch thousands of taels of silver. It’s what they call elegance."

Mrs. Wang nodded in agreement. "Hmm, indeed. However, that Master Chu is a good government official who didn’t deceive us."

That was very true. If they hadn’t spoken, how could she have known that a Ten Brocade Sparrow could be so valuable. As it appeared, although scrutinized, that formidable-looking man was actually quite decent.

It was then that Chen Afu recalled, Manager Luo mentioned something about the old Marquis. Did that imply that Chu Lingxuan was born into a Marquis’ Mansion? Such a noble birth was indeed illustrious. But she wondered why the mother from such an affluent family would choose to become a nun.

While contemplating, she and Mrs. Wang began to cut out satin dolls for Chu Hanyan.

Just as they had cut out two, they heard a knocking on the door from Chen Aman. Chen Afu had to put away the satin fabric she was using to make the swallow dolls.

Because the Chus did not want others to know their child was fascinated with the smiling swallows, Chen Afu couldn’t make swallow dolls. Instead, she shifted to making clothes for Chu Hanyan. With the abundance of fabric provided by Manager Luo, and given the amount of silver she accepted from their home, she was obligated to make Ms. Chu a nice set of clothes.

Chen Afu had already learned how to cut, so she started herself and asked Mrs. Wang whenever she was uncertain.

Chen Aman wanted Mrs. Wang to teach her how to cut better-looking clothes. The little girl could describe the styles but was unable to cut them properly. Mrs. Wang, having been an embroiderer, listened to her descriptions and cut out the patterns for her.

Chen Afu generously tore a piece of bright red satin for Chen Aman to use as decoration on her clothes. She also suggested that it’s not suitable to sew disk buttons on such clothing, as they seem cumbersome.

Seeing the disappointment in the little girl, she gave her two feet of aqua blue satin to make a half-sleeve buttoned vest. This kind of garment is suitable for disk buttons, and it matches the color of the buttons. Chen Aman was delighted, cheerfully pulling Chen Afu and calling her "good sister".

Zhang, who came in, stopped her. "Don’t do that. If the nobility finds out you used their satin and get angry, what will we do?"

Chen Afu laughed, "No worries, Manager Luo specifically stated that if there is any leftover satin, I can keep it to make my own clothes."

After thanking Chen Afu, Zhang asked Mrs. Wang to cut the vest a little larger, to wear next year. She said that having a fashionable crimson dress this year and next would be sufficient. This way, they would have nice clothes to wear for several years.

The next day, to the Chen family’s surprise, Uncle Qing came with a procurement manager from the Chus’ mansion. They said that Manager Luo tasted the Lu Chuan and found it delicious. He had taken it to pay respect to the master. As it happened, several lords from Capital City were present and also found the taste to their liking. They requested the Chens to make ten pounds of different Luwei, unthreaded, as they wanted to arrange them on plates. This quantity was to supply the Chu residence for six days. They would need more on the 15th, demanding twenty pounds of each type of Luwei.

Chen Shi was ecstatic, promptly bowing and promising to follow through. Then, he gifted Uncle Qing and the procurement manager each with a silver ingot weighing one tael.

If the people from the Senator’s Mansion could frequent Chen San’s Lu Chuan shop for the next few days, and he found a way to develop relationships with these managers, those ruffians wouldn’t dare to cause trouble. In the past couple of days, Chen Shi has already noticed individuals akin to local bullies loitering near his shop.

After sending off the Chus’ staff, Chen Shi said to Chen Afu with a smile, "The name Afu is well chosen, truly a lucky one. Not only did you bring good fortune to your own family, but you even brought fortune to your third uncle’s family. My, my, your third uncle is so reluctant to let you leave that he wishes to treat you like a precious jade Bodhisattva in his own home."

Mrs. Wang grinned at his words.

The Chens were busier than usual. Mrs. Wang and Chen Afu were locked in their room, busily crafting dolls and clothing. They worked day and night with urgency, and finally completed two swallow dolls—big and small—and a set of little clothes on the fourteenth day in the late afternoon. This was the birthday gift they prepared for her.

Tomorrow was the little girl’s birthday. Chen Afu wanted to finish everything tonight so that the birthday girl could fall asleep hugging her beloved doll. A happy mood would lead to a calm mind.

Chen Afu speculated that the old woman had thrown the big swallow doll away in her determination to make the little girl’s condition worse before her birthday—likely to allow some ill-intentioned individuals to mock her or to sully her reputation in the capital.

Both large swallow dolls were filled with a little Yan Chen Fragrance Leaf. Although the dolls’ outer coverings had been replaced, their expressions remained unchanged—they were still smiling brightly. They hadn’t had time to work on the four small and medium dolls yet, so they would have to finish them later when they had time.

The little outfit was a goose-yellow cross-collared short dress with significantly altered sleeves. They weren’t the narrow or wide sleeves popular in this era, but rather bell sleeves. The part from the shoulder to the elbow was narrower, and from the elbow, the sleeve widened, flaring out like two fully bloomed bell flowers. Mrs. Wang even embroidered peonies on the satin-trimmed color.

The small dress was very pretty and unique. Not only did Mrs. Zhang and the others praise it, but Chen Afu also liked it tremendously, imagining how beautiful the little girl would look in it.

Upon seeing it, Dabao couldn’t stop grinning.

Yesterday, Chen Afu had asked Mrs. Zhang to bring back five pounds of red dates, two pounds of glutinous rice flour, and a few ounces of sesame when she went to the market. Chen San’s miscellaneous store had rock sugar and osmanthus sugar.

In the morning, she started soaking the red dates before moving on to her own tasks.

After lunch, Chen Afu started making osmanthus glutinous rice dates in the kitchen. She even added a little Yan Chenxiang Wood Residue while cooking the dates. Before taking the dates out of the pot, she sprinkled crushed osmanthus sugar and sesame seeds into it.

The glutinous rice dates filled a large wooden basin when they were ready. She set aside two big bowls and planned to bring the rest with her.

Presently, Master Chu was her understanding patron, and Ms. Chu was both her student and an understanding listener—they should be properly catered to.

Once the dates were ready, Mrs. Wang also finished her last bit of work.

Chen Azhu wrapped the dolls and clothes in cloth, and had Chen Ayu carry a large basin full of glutinous rice dates. They left the Chen residence. There was a mule cart waiting outside Chen San’s store, which they rode directly to the Chus’ Mansion.

Dabao wanted to follow them, but Chen Afu didn’t bring him along. They wouldn’t be allowed to see Chu Hanyan as the Chus’ Mansion was filled with guests at the time.