Fortunate Life of the Rural Beauty-Chapter 45 - 44 Shopping

Chapter 45: Chapter 44 Shopping

Chapter 45 -44 Shopping

Chen Afu nodded and took the silver. Then she pulled out a silver ingot worth ten taels and asked, “Uncle Yang, could you help me exchange this for ten one-tael silver ingots?”

Yang Mingyuan exchanged it for smaller ones for her.

After earning another amount, Chen Afu was delighted and said to Dabao, “Dabao, we should get going.”

Upon hearing that they were leaving, Yang Chao and Yang Qian were unwilling, especially Yang Qian. Tears welled up in her eyes. She pleaded, “Play with us a bit longer. We like Hui Hui and we’ll miss her.”

These two children had been well brought up. They did not disdain Dabao and Chen Afu for being shabbily dressed, nor did they insist on keeping Hui Hui. Chen Afu was highly impressed with them, thus her perception of the shrewd Yang family merchants improved too. Their good parenting indicated good character. If in future any good food came to her mind, she could consider collaborating with them again.

Yang Mingyuan stood up, picked up his daughter, and comforted her, “Dear Qian, if Dabo and Hui Hui don’t go home now, it’s going to get late and they will not be able to leave the city.”

Yang Qian did not insist on keeping Hui Hui anymore, but a tear fell from her moist eyes.

Dabao felt gutted, and he quickly reassured her, “Qian, come and visit me with your brother next time. We have not only Hui Hui but also Jin Bao and Qi Qi at home. Jin Bao’s chirping is very pleasing and she’s fiercely smart. Qi Qi is as pretty as you and can talk a lot. She can even recite poetry.”

Yang Chao and Yang Qian listened with yearning faces.

Yang Chao widened his eyes and said, “She must be so beautiful to look like my little sister.”

Dabao looked at Yang Qian, nodded profusely, and said, “Yes, Qi Qi indeed is as beautiful as Qian. Also, our home is in Xiangluo Village, not far from the county town. It only takes half an hour by donkey cart.”

Yang Chao cheerfully accepted the invitation and said, “Brother Dabao, you and Hui Hui are welcome to visit the county town whenever you like. Our house is just two streets away from here. If my father and us are not in the wine-shop, you can ask Mr. Xu to guide you to our house.” He turned to Mr. Xu, “Grandpa Xu, did you hear that?”

Mr. Xu immediately laughingly replied, “Alright, I’ll keep the young master’s order in mind.”

The children’s friendship having come this far, the adults of both families had no choice but to approve it.

Impressed with Dabao’s and Hui Hui’s performance, Yang Mingyuan asked Mr. Xu to give them a crispy duck from the wine-shop to take home.

Chen Afu and her son left the wine-shop and headed for the south city gate. On the way, they passed a small cloth shop. The cloth here was cheaper than in the Jinyun Embroidery Workshop, so Chen Afu went in and bought several pieces of fine cloth, twenty-odd feet of coarse cloth, and two finished cotton quilts. She planned to make a set of clothes for each of her family members, as well as quilts and mattresses for herself and Dabao. All of this cost her one tael of silver and more than two hundred coins.

It was so expensive, it was no wonder people in the countryside who lived well enough still wore patched clothes.

She also spent fifty cents buying some cloth scraps and made some dolls when she was idle. They could be playthings for Dabao, and perhaps she could sell them to make some money too.

Then, she hailed a donkey cart on the roadside and loaded it with her stuff. Next, she bought a large pot, a small pot, a kettle, a set of bowls and chopsticks, a set of tea bowls and other household items to take to her new home. She also bought a bronze mirror, a box of face powder, tooth powder, and a number of other items including ten pounds of white flour, ten pounds of white rice and ten pounds of vegetable oil. This cost her more than two taels of silver.

Having spent so much time in Dashun, this was the first time she’d been on a shopping spree.

What a wonderful feeling!

By the time they left the city, the sun had already set. Dabao, with his mouth wide open in shock, finally closed it. Even though he knew his mother had earned so much silver, he was still amazed by her speed of spending.

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He whispered in Chen Afu’s ear, “Mom, we don’t have even a mu of land. We can’t spend all the money.”

Chen Afu patted his little hand and whispered back, “Mom knows.”

When they returned home, Chen Ming was very worried. Seeing Chen Afu and her son return safely, he felt relieved.

When he saw the carriage driver helping them unload so many things, he felt dizzy. He guessed that Afu had sold the cookbook, but having money didn’t mean it should be spent like this. Hearing that the cookbook had sold for fifty-five taels of silver, a smile crept onto his face.

Chen Afu wanted to give him twenty taels of silver, but he firmly refused, saying, “You’re young and Dabao is still small. You need to save more money to buy fields.”

Chen Afu figured that, anyway, their money was also hers, and they would prosper together in the future. Moreover, it was safer to keep it in her own space, so she took it back.

When Chen Ming saw that only Hui Hui had returned, he asked where Jin Yanzi and Qi Qi had gone. Hearing Dabao’s account, he exclaimed, “Can Jinbao really bring back Qi Qi?”

Having full confidence in Jin Yanzi, Chen Afu chuckled, “Jin Bao managed to lead them back even in the deep mountains, let alone in the county town.”

Before dinner, Chen Ming asked Dabao to send half of the crispy duck to Chen Ye’s family.

When Dabao came back, his small face was flushed from anger. He huffed, “Grandpa, when I delivered the crispy duck, grandmother said that our family must have got some money through underhand means. We are indulging in feasting every day, and are not showing gratitude for grandfather and her bringing us up. Instead, Grandpa is learning from third uncle. I told her that the crispy duck was not bought, but was given to us by someone else, but she still did not believe it.”

Chen Ming became angry and his face darkened, but still said, “Just ignore what your great-aunt said. She’s your elder, and your granduncle once helped us, we have to keep that in mind.”

Chen Afu was secretly grumbling; that Mrs. Hu was really of premium quality, demanding things from others audaciously and unabashedly.

She vaguely heard Chen Ming talking with Mrs. Wang that Hu had wept and demanded a new house from Chen Shi behind the backs of Chen Ye and Mrs. Chen. Chen Shi was grateful to Chen Ye, and knew that Chen Ye cared about his face, hence he reluctantly built a house for the big room without letting Chen Ye know. After that, he didn’t come back to the village including during the Lunar New year last year; he didn’t dare to. He explained this to Chen Ming quietly before leaving.

While having dinner, Chen Afu saw that Chen Ming was still angry and tried to comfort him, “Dad, don’t be upset. No matter what she says, we’ve made up our minds not to give in to her. We can’t indulge her. I understand that my aunt and elder uncle were nice to us. When we are powerful in the future and not afraid of Mrs. Hu holding a grudge, we will thank and attend to them properly. We also have brother Agui. We keep in mind all those who have helped us.”

At night, Hui Hui, without Qi Qi’s company, was restless and refused to sleep, chirping restlessly. Chen Afu initially tried to pacify her patiently. However, seeing that it continued to squawk non-stop, she was afraid that Chen Ming would fall sick due to the noise. Hence, she had to close all the doors and windows of that room.

Dabao, lying on the bed, kept mumbling, “Mom, it’s already dark. Why hasn’t Jin Bao brought Qi Qi back yet?”

Chen Afu placated him again, “Go to sleep. When you wake up tomorrow, Qi Qi will be back.”