Chapter 379 Giving Chunhua her dowry

He hadn't been home for half a month, and the vines in the yard had grown taller, climbing up the wall.

“Eeya ya…”

The little girl's voice rang out in the courtyard, where Ms. Wen was holding the child.

Cheng Wanwan walked over, picked up her granddaughter, and said with a smile, "Little Zhuzhu, did you miss Grandma?"

The little girl couldn't speak, so she just hummed and cooed with saliva in her mouth.

Mrs. Wen smiled and said, "He was just fast asleep, but as soon as he heard his dear grandmother's voice, he immediately opened his eyes wide. His eyes were rolling around so much; he'll definitely be a clever child in the future."

The little girl grinned at Cheng Wanwan.

Cheng Wanwan's exhaustion vanished instantly. She carried the child around the yard, and the little girl immediately fell asleep.

She walked around, pointing to the stone table in the middle of the yard, and said with great interest, "Dashan, later you can dig a hole here and plant the grapevines."

Plant two grapevines in the yard, and sit under the grape trellis—how pleasant and cool that would be!

The grapevines were a gift from Lu Yingxue's mother. They were wild grapes that hadn't been improved, but Cheng Wanwan secretly replaced them with improved varieties from the mall—those thin-skinned, seedless, and sweet purple grapes. Just thinking about them makes my mouth water.

There were still many fruit trees and melon seedlings on the carriage, but she replaced them with improved varieties from modern agriculture. They definitely couldn't be planted in the yard, so she moved them down first and planned to set aside a plot of land later specifically for growing these things.

After all the items were unloaded from the hired carriage, Cheng Wanwan paid the fare, and the driver left satisfied.

"Eldest daughter-in-law, you're finally back!" As soon as she heard the news, Old Mrs. Zhao finished what she was doing and came over immediately. "You've come all the way back from Huzhou, haven't you eaten anything yet? Luckily, we've prepared some ingredients at home, so we'll go to the old house to eat something later."

Old Zhao's family has recently started a small food business. They always have ingredients prepared at home, so they can cook something as soon as they turn on the stove, which is very convenient.

"Grandma, leave dinner to me!"

Wu Huiniang's voice came from the gate, and an oxcart slowly drove up to the gate.

Zhao Dawang was driving the cart, and Zhao Ergou, Wu Huiniang, and Cheng Fang were all on the oxcart, which was also loaded with a lot of fresh ingredients.

Zhao Ergou jumped off the car: "I heard the messenger go to the county government early this morning, so I knew that Shen Zheng and my cousin must have passed the exam. I specially closed the shop and brought back all the good food in the shop. We must have a good celebration today."

Zhao Sidan stuck out his tongue: "My older cousin and Zheng have already gone home, so we can't celebrate."

Wu Huiniang smiled and said, "Mother has finally returned from Huzhou after half a month. Let's celebrate our family reunion. I'll cook, and Chunhua and Chengfang, you two can help me."

Cheng Fang quickly unloaded everything from the oxcart—chicken, duck, fish, meat, wine, and all sorts of other things—a truly abundant feast.

After the three Wei siblings finished unloading the goods, they stood to the side, completely unsure of what to do. Many people from the Zhao family came over, and the courtyard was full of people, making the three siblings seem out of place.

Cheng Wanwan turned her head and said with a smile, "Hongying, Hongyan, go help in the kitchen. Xiaohai, water the roots of those fruit seedlings a little so they don't dry out."

The three children found the task and immediately went to get busy.

Grandma Zhao whispered, "This is..."

“Didn’t Mother suggest I buy people before? This time when I went to Huzhou, I bought three children. They are all orphans, which is quite pitiful,” Cheng Wanwan said. “Although I have their indentures, I will naturally return them after they grow up and get married.”

"These three kids seem pretty good." After observing them working, Grandma Zhao gave them a very positive evaluation. "From now on, someone will take care of all the messy things in this yard, which will make your life easier."

Cheng Wanwan nodded, at least she wouldn't have to do the tedious chores herself anymore.

She handed the child to Wen, who coaxed the child into the house. She bent down and unpacked a pile of things she had brought back on the ground, only then remembering that she had bought quite a lot of things. She hurriedly said, "Sidan, call your grandfather, second uncle, third uncle, third aunt, and sisters over. Come and share the gifts."

Grandma Zhao immediately expressed her disapproval: "It costs money to travel, why buy so many things? We have everything at home. Don't spend any more money in the future."

Cheng Wanwan grabbed Old Mrs. Zhao's hand and looked her over from left to right.

The old lady felt inexplicably uncomfortable. Although her relationship with this daughter-in-law had improved a lot, they had never been this close before.

“Mom, you’re only in your fifties, and your hands are already so cracked. This won’t do.” Cheng Wanwan took out a white porcelain bottle. “Apply this to your hands after washing your hands in the morning and evening. It should take about a month for your hands to recover.”

Grandma Zhao's eyes widened: "This is too expensive! How can we buy something that only wealthy people can afford? I'm just an old woman from the countryside, doing hard labor every day. I don't need it, I really don't need it..."

"That's why we need to use it for hard work," Cheng Wanwan said with a smile. "If Mom doesn't take good care of herself, she'll age quickly. When her grandchildren become successful, she'll be old before she can even enjoy her life. What a waste!"

Grandma Zhao finally took it hesitantly, opened the lid and smelled it. Oh my, it smells so good! It's the kind of fragrance only wealthy young ladies have. I, an old woman, can actually use such a good thing one day...

Just then, the Zhao family arrived. Sun ran ahead and grabbed Cheng Wanwan's hand: "Sister-in-law, you're finally back! I missed you so much... If I hadn't had things to finish, I would have come long ago. Wow, what's all this stuff? So many strange things..."

Cheng Wanwan took out two rouge boxes: "One for each of his second and third aunts. I didn't know what colors you liked, so I bought the light pink that's most popular among the ladies and young women of Huzhou City. See if you like it?"

Mrs. Sun took the rouge in disbelief. The box had a picture of a lady on it, and inside was a light pink rouge with a strong fragrance.

Although she was a woman, she had never owned a rouge box of her own in the past twenty-seven or twenty-eight years. In her opinion, this was something that only young ladies from wealthy families could afford. She didn't even dare to dream of owning one. The small box felt as heavy as a thousand pounds in her hands.

She stammered, "Sister-in-law, I think I'd better not..."

Even if I wanted it, I wouldn't be able to use it, and even if I wanted to, I wouldn't know how. Holding it in my hand would feel very awkward.

"Mom, if you don't want it, just give it to me." Donghua reached out to snatch it. "Auntie, will using rouge make me prettier? I want to try it?"

"Take your pig's trotters away!" Madam Sun glared at her. "Even if I don't want them, it's not your turn. Forget it, keep them for Chunhua's dowry."

She deftly tucked the rouge into her sleeve.

Cheng Wanwan couldn't help but chuckle as she continued rummaging through her things: "These two pairs of shoes, one for each of his second and third uncles. Here's a kitchen knife, Sidan, take it inside for Chunhua. This set of embroidery thread is for Xiahua. Qiuhua, this is a silver hairpin for you. Donghua, this is for you."

All the flowers were happy, except for the winter flower.

She took the book from Cheng Wanwan, her face full of disbelief: "Auntie, this...this book should be for Brother Sidan or Brother Erwang, right? I can't read, why would they give me a book? They must have given it to the wrong person!"

Zhao Erwang glanced at it: "The Huzhou specialty cookbook, the one that tells you how to cook, is definitely a gift for you."

Cheng Wanwan nodded: "Donghua, don't you love to eat? Just follow the recipe and make whatever you want to eat, isn't that great?"

Donghua almost cried: "But I can't read!"

"If you don't know it, then learn it." Old Mrs. Zhao said irritably, "That girl Cheng Fang couldn't read a single character before, but after spending half a month in the restaurant, she learned quite a few characters. Are you really not as good as her?"

Donghua: "..."

Her older siblings all got their favorite things, but she had an extra burden. She felt like crying.

Old Zhao tossed Donghua aside, squeezed through the crowd, and changed the subject: "Eldest daughter-in-law... cough cough, was the journey smooth?"

The pipe his eldest son's wife bought from Nanyang City last time made him the talk of the village, and for some reason, he started looking forward to this gift.