Chen Aju rolled her eyes and said, "It's easy to talk without any pain. If you hadn't been connected to Tangyuan, no matter how hard you worked, you would still have to live in a thatched house and sleep on a brick bed."

Chen Ahfu sneered, "The reason I can be associated with Tangyuan is because I am diligent, skillful, and good at thinking..."

As he was talking, he heard Old Lady Chen shouting in the yard, "Aju, Aju, where have you been again? I'm busy today and I'm waiting for you to light the fire."

Chen Aju was so angry that she muttered, "There are so many people in the main room who are not working, and they just stare at me."

Chen Afu said, "Grandma, you're doing this for your own good. Sometimes, having others do the work is more tiring than doing it yourself." After saying that, he didn't want to pay any more attention to her and went to the west room.

I don’t know whether Chen Aju listened to me or not, but she walked out with a sullen face.

Later, smelling the delicious food, Hu Laowu and his family came again. He would not miss any opportunity to curry favor with Luo. Not long after, Wu the carpenter also came with Wu Changgen, Changgen's wife and Xiao Shitou.

Chen Ming welcomed the two families who came to congratulate him and invited them to sit upstairs.

When Xiao Shitou arrived, he was pulled to the west wing by Dabao.

Changgen's wife was diligent and went into the kitchen to release Chen Aju as soon as she arrived. Chen Aju pulled Hu Cuicui to talk about how beautiful Chen Afu's bunk bed was and asked her to go and see it.

Hu Cuicui didn't move. In her opinion, this place was just a little bigger than her fourth uncle's house in the county town, but the furniture and furnishings were not as good, and the bed couldn't be much better.

She glanced at Chen Aju, who had never seen the world, and said proudly in a low voice, "Sister Aju, when I go to my fourth uncle's house in the county town in the future, I will bring you with me. Cousin Hong's boudoir is really exquisite and beautiful."

Chen Aju couldn't stand Hu Cuicui's disdainful expression, but she had no choice. Apart from this cousin, she didn't have a close friend.

During the meal, three tables were set up in the main hall, two for men and one for women and children. In addition, there was another table in the east wing, which was occupied by Chen Ahfu and his friends with several children.

The wine and food on the table were good, and everyone enjoyed the meal. Only occasionally, Mrs. Hu couldn't help but say something unpleasant. Not only Chen Ye and Old Lady Chen would glare at her, but even Hu Laowu would look at her gloomily. Although Hu Laowu was the youngest in the family, his four older sisters were afraid of him, and Mrs. Hu was no exception. Seeing that the heads of both her husband's family and her own family were unhappy, she could only shut up in anger.

After dinner, Song's mother carried the sleepy Chu Hanyan back to Tangyuan to rest, and Luo Mei and her brother were also taken back by Wei. At the end of the hour of Wei, Chen Afu would go to Tangyuan to work. Now the two families were close, and it only took half an hour to walk. And for convenience, the road between the two families was not only flat and neat, but also paved with gravel. Of course, Tangyuan hired someone to do this.

After the men in the upper room had eaten and drunk their fill, the guests returned home one after another. Hu Laowu walked last and whispered to Chen Ming, "Second Brother Chen, have you heard that something happened to the old Wang family in Xianhu Village?"

Chen Ming was stunned at first, then he remembered that the old Wang family should refer to Wang's natal family. He hurriedly asked, "What happened?"

Hu Laowu smiled and said, "I heard that the family seems to have offended the gods recently. Mrs. Ding broke her leg when she stepped on ice, Wang Cai was beaten with a sack over his head one night, and Old Man Wang was hit on the head by a rock falling from the sky. There is inexplicable feces and urine in the yard every now and then. Moreover, one of the chickens, ducks and geese in the family is lost every now and then..."

After hearing this, Chen Ming hurriedly bowed to Hu Laowu and whispered, "I see that Brother Hu likes to drink Xiao Yuanchun, I will give you two more jars some other day."

Hu Laowu said hurriedly, "I dare not. In the future, when Brother Chen's family entertains distinguished guests like Mr. Luo, remember to invite me along."

Chen Ming nodded and said yes.

Watching Hu Laowu's gradually receding back, Chen Ming felt helpless. He used to hate this kind of villain who only did immoral things to curry favor with the powerful, but now in order to punish the even worse and more immoral Ding family, he had to ask him for help...

Chen Afu and Wang cleaned up the kitchen, and when they came out they saw Chen Ming walking around in circles in the yard, breathing heavily through his nose.

Wang smiled and said, "Boss, what are you doing? Why are you like our Wangcai?"

Chen Ming smiled and said, "Juan Niang, Ah Fu, can you smell it? There is a faint fragrance in our house again, just like the fragrance in the old yard. I smelled it yesterday, and there was no such smell. Today, this smell is back. Our family is really blessed."

Wang smelled it and said happily, "It really is."

Chen Afu also smiled and nodded.

When she was drawing water from the well today, she had secretly thrown in a small piece of Yanchen wood as thick as her little finger.

Several people went to the west room of the upper house, sat on the kang, and sorted out the gifts and money they had received.

The gifts given by the third grandfather and other relatives included ten coarse porcelain bowls and twenty coins, or a chicken or duck. Chen Ming's family gave a hundred coins and ten catties of fine rice, and the old lady also gave four small porcelain bowls. Chen Ming felt very proud and happy to see that his eldest brother's family was so generous.

Hu Laowu gave a hundred coins, Wu the carpenter's family gave four small carved wooden stools. Luo the shopkeeper gave a pair of large white porcelain blue and white vases, which was considered a heavy gift. The others in Tangyuan gave two silver peanuts worth one coin, and Chu Hanyan gave six silver peanuts worth two coins. Chen Ahfu gave all the red envelopes from Chu Hanyan and Song Mama to Chen Ming.

Chen Ming smiled and said, "Miss Chu is very thoughtful. She knows how to give gifts at such a young age." He then looked at the pair of large vases and said, "It would be a pity for our family to use these large vases. Let's keep them for Ah Fu to take to Fu Garden."

Chen Ahfu said with a smile, "Dad really thinks he is a small landlord. Don't forget, you are still a student, and you understand elegance. Put one vase in the living room of the upper room, and one in Ah Lu's study. I will go to Tangyuan to pick a few plum blossoms and put them in there. They are elegant and smell good." He added, "There are still some things missing at home. When Lord Chu or Abbot Liaochen comes back, I will go to the county town and buy some more. It will also be a good time to buy some New Year goods."

Chen Ming hurriedly said, "As for the remaining things, let your mother pay for them. This home, including the land, the house, and the furniture, has already cost you more than sixty taels of silver. I can't spend any more of your money."

Wang also said, "Yes, your father is right. Then we will go together, and mom will pay."

It was almost time to go to work, so Chen Ahfu went back to the west wing to wake Dabao up and took out a basket filled with building blocks. He made three sets of these building blocks, one for his family and one for Tangyuan and the other for Yang's family.

As soon as she, Dabao, Zhuifeng, Qiqi and Huihui walked out of the gate, they saw Mother Song holding Chu Hanyan, who was wearing a red cloak, and Wei holding the Luo Mei siblings, as well as two guards walking towards them.