Fortunate Life of the Rural Beauty-Chapter 75 - 74 Got Sick

Chapter 75: Chapter 74: Got Sick

Chapter 75 -74: Got Sick

The siblings were crying fiercely. Yang Chao was weeping openly, his tears unrestrained as befits a boy. Yang Qian’s delicate face was wet with dewy tears, which tugged at Chen Afu’s heartstrings. Afu went into the house and fetched a small chicken plushie for her. The toy was about twenty centimeters long, with a yellow body, red comb, and two tiny legs posed as if it were running. Even its little wings were spread out as if taking flight. This toy was part of her goods to sell in the capital city.

The little girl stopped crying as she hugged the incredibly adorable plushie. Tearfully, she said, “This little running chicken is so cute, Qian loves it. Thank you.”

Chen Afu smiled and pinched her cheek gently.

Mrs. Wang then loaded a food box of Osmanthus sticky rice jujubes, a basket of fresh dates, and two baskets of fresh vegetables onto the carriage.

Having climbed into the carriage, Yang Chao stuck his head out and cried, “I will ask my father if I can come and stay the night at your house in the future.”

The Chens all expressed their welcome.

After the siblings left, peace returned to the Chen household.

Chen Ming, Alu, and Dabao, who were all feeling drowsy, went for a nap. Chen Afu and Mrs. Wang then salted the remaining portion of meat and hung it in a shady, well-ventilated location to dry. The weather was starting to cool down, and with plenty of salt, the meat could be preserved for a couple of days. They were saving it for the Mid-Autumn Festival.

Chen Afu then started to make more Osmanthus sticky rice jujubes. This batch was intended for Manager Luo’s house and for her own family’s consumption. Although Luo’s first wife, Chu Hanyan, had been sent to the capital city, Madam Luo, Manager Xiao Luo, and their two children were still at the Tang Garden.

Once Dabao woke up, Afu had him deliver a large bowl of it along with a small pouch of fresh dates to the Tang Garden. Both items were placed inside a woven backpack for him to carry over.

Chen Afu didn’t tell the boy what to say. Dabao’s words were as sweet as the Osmanthus sticky rice jujubes, he naturally spoke courteously.

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After about two quarters of an hour, Dabao returned, trailed by a little servant girl who looked about eleven or twelve years old. Her name was Xiao Qing, and she was clever and lively.

Xiao Qing said that her siblings loved the treat. Madame Luo was very pleased and sent her thanks. She had specifically sent Xiao Qing to escort Dabao back and also sent a large bowl of braised pork. The big bowl that Dabao had brought now contained preserved begonia fruit.

Chen Afu thanked her, emptied the bowl of braised pork, and wiped the large wooden bowl clean. Considering that the sea of begonia fruit preserve given by Dabao was returned in the bowl, it was not proper to let Xiao Qing take back an empty bowl, right? Madam Luo was indeed a clever woman.

Chen Afu found it slightly amusing. She put the remaining sticky rice jujubes designated for her family into the bowl until it was almost full.

While doing these tasks, she also served a small plate of sticky rice jujubes for Xiao Qing to enjoy. After Xiao Qing finished eating, Chen Afu gave her a pouch full of fresh dates before asking her to carry the large bowl of Osmanthus sticky rice jujubes back to Manager Luo’s.

Xiao Qing, still a child herself, was beaming with delight from the treats and gifts and thanked Chen Afu before scurrying back to the Tang Garden with the bowl.

Looking at the large bowl of braised pork, glistening in deep red and generously laden with fat, Chen Ming suggested, “Let’s send this meat to your uncle. He’s been working hard on the harvest, he needs to eat more fats. Also, send him half of the goose for him and Agui to have with their drinks.”

Initially, he wanted to give some exquisite mooncakes and apples to the old lady, but fearing that Mrs. Hu would regularly come asking for more, he decided to wait until the day of the Mid-Autumn Festival to deliver them.

They had already started harvesting corn and sweet potatoes in the past few days. Chen Ming’s three acres of land was either leased or helped by Chen Ye and his son, but Mrs. Hu kept saying that it was farmed by the elder brothers on behalf of the second brother’s.

With plenty of meat, Chen Afu poured a bowl for her family. The rest, more than half of it, was dispatched to the elder branch of the family by Dabao. She also taught him to be honest and say that the goose was given by Master Yang and the braised pork was sent by Mrs. Luo.

Mrs. Hu only knew how to take but never reciprocate. She received so much from Dabao’s family but never offered anything in return, and still felt that they owed it to her.

When Dabao came back, there was still more than half a bowl of stewed pork with lotus root. Dabao said Mrs. Hu wasn’t present and Madam Gao and Aunt Alan prepared it for him. He also mentioned, “Aunt Alan and Madam Gao thank you, mother. They really liked the satin.”

He then pulled out a handkerchief and a child’s bellyband from his bulging pockets. The handkerchief was a gift from Alan to Chen Afu, and the bellyband was a gift from Madam Gao to Dabao.

Both items were made of fine cloth and embroidered with beautiful patterns. Chen Afu accepted their kind gestures graciously.

Both Madam Gao and Alan were kind-hearted. If it wasn’t for Mrs. Hu, their relationships with the second branch of the family would certainly be better.

Later, Chen Ming asked Mrs. Wang to cut two large slices of the coral goose, packaged two bags of preserved begonia fruit, and had Dabao deliver these to the family’s senior figure Jiang and Third Brother’s families as their contribution to the holiday gifts.

Afu Chen smiled to himself, thinking about how astute his father was, knowing to maintain good relations with the family elders.

There was still a large bowl of the red-cooked goose left, along with some red-braised pork and stewed pork with lotus root. Adding those to the leftover vegetables and soup from lunch made for a sumptuous dinner.

Chen Ming, seeing all the delicious food, said with regret, “If I wasn’t worried about spoiling my sister-in-law’s mood, with all these great dishes, I could have invited my mother and big brother over for a drink.”

At night, Dabao and Alu were thrilled with the mooncakes and apples, things they had never eaten before.

Mrs. Wang laughed, “You’ve eaten so many good things and you still want more? You’re not afraid of bursting your bellies.”

Despite saying that, she still took out two mooncakes, broke them into pieces, and shared a small piece with the five people and Er Niao. Afu Chen tasted it and found it had a sweet, fragrant five-nut filling. Then she washed and cut an apple and divided it among the family again.

Zhui Feng wasn’t interested in these foods and continued gnawing the goose bone on the ground.

After dinner, Alu and Dabao couldn’t resist comparing notes on all the tasty food they had eaten that day, saying they were living like immortals!

The next morning, when it was time for breakfast, Alu didn’t get out of bed. Afu Chen went inside to check on him and found that his leg was hurting badly.

He must have overexerted his leg while playing with the other kids yesterday.

After Alu returned home, Afu Chen had specially asked Jin Yanzi for a small piece of agarwood bark, which he put into the medicine he made for Alu. When he poured out the medicine dregs, he picked out this piece of tree bark again to use the next time he made medicine. Alu’s leg had been recovering very well and rarely hurt.

Afu Chen told him not to get out of bed, and Mrs. Wang brought his meals to him.

After the meal, Mrs. Wang went to the county town to deliver her embroidery work. She didn’t need to buy anything else, as they already had everything they needed for the holiday.

Afu Chen washed the family’s clothes by the creek outside the village. When he got back to the yard, he saw a well-dressed little boy wandering around outside the fence wall, peeping inside from time to time on tiptoe.

The little boy was about four years old, fair and chubby, wearing a knee-length, brown silk tunic and pale moon-colored pants. He was obviously a young master from a rich family. Though he looked unfamiliar, there was a sense of familiarity to him.

Afu Chen walked over and asked, “Who are you looking for?”

The little boy wasn’t shy and said to her, “I’m looking for Dabao Chen. Is this his house? I heard that his house is behind a fence wall.”

Afu Chen shouted for Dabao Chen, who was inside the house writing characters. As soon as he saw the little boy, he hurried over and greeted him, “Cheng, why are you here at my house?”

Afu Chen recognized him now. This little boy was Luo Mingcheng, the grandson of Manager Luo, or Cheng for short. He was four years old, a few months younger than Dabao.

Even though Manager Luo’s family were but servants, their children were still valued. Not like Dabao and Shitou, country kids who ran around everywhere. What was he doing here alone? It was quite a walk from Tang Garden to here, through a large field of rice.

Afu Chen quickly went out to bring Luo Mingcheng into the yard and squatted down to ask him, “I’m Dabao’s mother, why are you looking for Dabao?”

Luo Mingcheng twisted his chubby finger and said, “I love your sweet dates. But my granny let my dad send all the dates to the young master in the capital city, and I only got to eat a few.” His little mouth quivered in displeasure as he added, “My sister isn’t well, and even my mom had to go to the provincial city to take care of her.”

Afu Chen initially thought Luo Mingcheng had come for the same reason as Yang Chao and his sister, missing her pets Qi Qi and Hui Hui. But it turned out that he was hoping to get some food from her. And what was wrong with little Yan’er? Poor child, she hoped she would be alright.

She stood up and said, “Okay, I’ll make some for you right away, Cheng.”

Dabao, who was standing nearby, became worried when he heard that Yan’er wasn’t well and said, “Mom, Yan’er is sick again.”

Afu Chen comforted him, “The capital city has good doctors; they will cure her illness.” Then she told him to take Zhui Feng to Tang Garden to tell Madam Luo that Cheng was at their house so they wouldn’t worry.

Before Afu Chen started soaking the dates in the kitchen, she took Cheng to the New Courtyard so that Qi Qi and Hui Hui could keep him company.