Fortunate Life of the Rural Beauty-Chapter 43 - 42 Ditching

Chapter 43: Chapter 42: Ditching

Chapter 43 -42: Ditching

To ensure a better taste, he didn’t stew the meat overnight but waited until he got up early the next day to do it. Since the water tank contained Yan Chenxiang wood, Chen Afu was afraid the stewed meat might acquire an off taste, so he specifically set aside a bucket of water separately.

Waking up early, he stewed the meat and large intestines. After having some for breakfast, he left a bit for Chen Ming to eat at midday, taking the majority with him.

Chen Ming also got up early, worried. He wanted to accompany Chen Afu. But Chen Afu didn’t dare to let him get tired. Although his health had improved, he still shouldn’t overexert himself. Only when he was convinced to bring Jin Yanzi along did he feel relieved. He also instructed Chen Afu to go to Xile Restaurant. Although it ranked second among the wine-shops in Sanqing County, its prices were fair, and it didn’t bully the common people.

Seeing that Jin Yanzi was going, Qi Qi and Hui Hui insisted on following. Chen Afu had no choice but to keep them in the basket, not allowing them to fly around, and he also cautioned them not to talk, lest they attract unwanted attention.

After placing them in the basket and covering it with cloth, Chen Afu, wearing a wide-brimmed hat, carried the basket with the stewed meat, while Chen Dabao carried the basket with the small birds, heading to the village entrance to take Mr. Gao’s donkey cart.

It was market day, and many people were carrying items to sell in the county town.

The aroma of the stewed meat was mouthwatering, but the people in the cart didn’t dare ask Chen Afu. Instead, they asked Chen Dabao, “What’s in your basket that smells so good?”

Chen Dabao said, “It’s meat stewed by my mom; we’re taking it to sell in the county town.”

The cart driver, Mr. Gao, laughed and said, “With such a good smell, you’ll surely get a nice price.”

Dabao smiled, squinting his eyes, and said, “Thank you for your auspicious words, Grandpa Gao. I hope so too.”

Once they reached Sanqing County, Mr. Gao said his donkey cart would wait at the town gate until the late afternoon, and would leave without them if they were late.

Upon entering the county town, Chen Afu pulled her hat down further and kept her head low. No one could clearly see her face. The original host had been bullied to death here; she couldn’t afford to be careless.

Jin Yanzi, knowing she wasn’t much to look at, boldly flew out and perched on Chen Afu’s chest to enjoy the scenery. The other two creatures just poked their little heads out, gazing at the worldly hustle and bustle.

After asking for directions to Xile Restaurant, they headed that way. On the road, they spotted a sundry shop, and Chen Afu asked what kind of stewing ingredients they had. The shopkeeper pointed out the same few as always, giving her a bit more confidence.

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Unexpectedly, they also came across Jinyun Embroidery Workshop, and Chen Afu led Chen Dabao inside. The Embroidery Workshop was quite large, with three floors, arranged with a dazzling array of goods. There were embroidered screens, fans, hair ornaments, pendants, and even fabrics and ready-made clothes. The shop assistant, realizing they weren’t there to sell embroidery and didn’t look like they could afford anything, did not attend to them any further but did not drive them away either.

Chen Afu noticed that all the ready-made clothes used flat buttons and abacus bead knots; she thought that if that beauty ran her business well, she could indeed make a fortune.

Even if the ancients were ingenious and could invent various styles like chrysanthemum or lotus disk buttons based on the existing disk button, they definitely wouldn’t come up with double-layer disk buttons and lucky character-shaped knots in a short period of time; Chen Afu knew all this.

But she still didn’t dare sell these disk button designs to compete with that beauty. Jin Yanzi said that those people were relatives of the Inspection Mansion, not someone a commoner like her could afford to provoke. She would wait another year before considering it.

After visiting those two places, it was almost midday, and they quickened their pace toward Xile Restaurant.

On the way, Chen Afu bought a date cake for Chen Dabao. As a result, Qi Qi and Hui Hui also clamored to have some, leaving Chen Dabao with no choice but to take a bite himself and then feed them.

Suddenly, a few men stopped them. One pointed at the basket in Chen Dabao’s hand and said, “That bird is quite pretty. I, the young master, will take it.”

The speaker looked like a rich young master, about twenty years old, dressed in brocade, holding a large folding fan. The other two were servants.

The voice of the man had no sooner fallen than a servant took out one to two taels of silver.

Turned out, Qi Qi was so delighted that he poked his entire body out. Under the sunlight, his beautiful feathers appeared even more dazzling and eye-catching. Moreover, his little head stretched out for food, looking incredibly amusing.

Chen Dabao stepped back and said, “Gentlemen, we are not selling this bird.”

“Ho, little peasant, this young master wants to buy the bird because I think highly of you. Today, whether you sell or not, you’ll have to sell,” the man said arrogantly.

Was this coercive buying? No, it should be said to be outright robbery. One to two taels of silver were enough to buy only a feather of Qi Qi.

Chen Afu didn’t speak; she was afraid of drawing the attention of those men to herself. With Jin Yanzi around, there was no need to worry about Qi Qi being bullied.

Jin Yanzi suddenly flew up, circling above Chen Afu’s head and chirping incessantly. She was saying, “Mommy Fu, let Dabao sell to them. These people are too despicable. They want to bully us into selling? Let’s ‘release the pigeon’ and leave them with nothing.” She then called out to Qi Qi a few times.

Chen Afu was startled, even knowing about the trick of “releasing the pigeon,” Jin Yanzi really was a bird with a wealth of knowledge.

Indeed, she was no match for those men. Since Jin Yanzi came up with a good plan, she had no choice but to follow through. So she said to Dabao, “Son, if these gentlemen like it, let’s sell it to them.”

The men laughed and said, “That’s more like it.” Then they threw one to two taels of silver into Chen Dabao’s basket with a clatter, startling Hui Hui into cawing loudly. They grabbed Qi Qi firmly in their hands, laughing, “Let’s go, I’ll take you home to live a life of luxury.”

It seemed that Qi Qi understood Jin Yanzi’s words, as he did not resist and was taken away by the men. Jin Yanzi also soared into the sky, circling high above.

As soon as those men left, Dabao burst into tears, crying out loud, “Qi Qi, my Qi Qi, not for sale…”

Chen Afu bent down to wipe Dabao’s tears and whispered in his ear, “Don’t cry, Dabao, with Jin Bao here, Qi Qi will come back home.”

Hearing this, Dabao stopped crying. With tears hanging on his cheeks, he asked Chen Afu, “Can Qi Qi really come back home?”

Chen Afu nodded, “Jin Bao is so capable, of course, she can bring him back home.”

She tucked the little silver ingot into her bosom, sneering inwardly, she hadn’t expected someone to deliver the money so readily.

Xile Restaurant was also a three-story building with a vermilion door and carved windows, very impressive, and it did a good business as well. The server, not minding their tattered clothes, still warmly welcomed them to a small table.

Chen Afu first looked at the menu: soy-sauce braised pork knuckle, rouge roasted goose, honey-marinated mantis shrimp, steamed pomfret, baked chicken, sugared braised eggplant, five-spice marinated meat, green shrimp rolls, etc., with dozens of dishes in total. Many of the dish names were unfamiliar to Chen Afu.

She ordered a five-spice marinated meat, a relatively cheap Kung Pao diced chicken, a vegetable soup, two bowls of rice, totaling one hundred and twenty coins.

The server didn’t leave but stood politely to one side. Chen Afu then realized that he was wary they might dine and dash because of their shabby clothes. She hurriedly took out a string of coins plus twenty coins from her bag.

……

Thank you to Jian and Rose, and Hera @ Qianlin’s wallet.