The news of Chen Xiaocai's return quickly spread throughout the village.
The Chen family was very excited. Back then, Lu Lin spent a fortune to buy an official position, and the villagers all witnessed how rich Lu Lin was. So many years have passed, and everyone felt that Lu Lin should be even richer. Chen Xiaocai followed Lu Lin, so naturally he was also rich. Chen Xiaocai and his group of more than ten people had eight guards. Just by looking at this entourage, everyone knew that Chen Xiaocai was no longer poor.
Several members of the Chen family gathered together, but for some reason, they did not invite Old Master Chen Jin and his family.
Chief Grey, Chen Xiaocai is back. He's quite a big shot from our clan now. Shouldn't we give him a good welcome this time? "Yes, all the big bosses in town have invited him to dinner."
"It would be great if he were still living in the village."
"Staying in an inn? That's such a waste of money! The Shen family's house is still there, isn't it?" Several clansmen who were listening couldn't help but whisper among themselves. In the eyes of the villagers, inns were only for rich people. As a result, Chen Xiaocai actually booked an inn to stay in. It was one thing for him to stay there, but it was too wasteful to let his subordinates stay there as well.
"The Shen family's house is too small. Chen Xiaomi's house was quite nice back then. If Xiaomi hadn't sold her house, Xiao Cai would be living in the countryside now."
"Why did Xiao Cai come back?"
“It’s because Shen Chi is coming back. Shen Chi has two sons, one of whom is to be included in the Shen family’s genealogy. They’re coming back to pay respects at the graves.”
Chen Ding asked, somewhat puzzled, "Xiao Cai has a child, why is he going to be included in the Shen family genealogy?"
“The Shen family is dwindling in number, with only Shen Chi and his little Shuang’er left. Shen Chi probably wants to preserve a lineage for the Shen family,” said an elder.
“He’s already married to Xiao Cai, so naturally all the children he has should belong to the Chen family. What’s the point of putting them in the Shen family’s genealogy?” An elder of the Chen family couldn’t help but say sourly.
The old man from the Chen family once considered giving his granddaughter to Xiao Cai as a concubine, but Xiao Cai refused.
"If you can make decisions for Chen Xiaolai, you can discuss it with him," an elder said irritably.
When this elder spoke, the other elders looked rather listless. Back then, they had a falling out over Chen Jing's matter, and when Chen Xiaomi's affair was exposed, the Chen clan didn't gain any advantage.
"Clan leader, what should we do about Chen Xiaocai's situation?"
“We offended Brother Chen Xiaocai quite a bit before because of Chen Shouxin’s family. We need to work on our relationship this time.”
Chen Ding smoked a cigarette, feeling a slight headache.
The Chen family.
"Husband, has Chen Xiaocai returned?" Zhang asked Chen Shouxin.
Chen Shouxin nodded and said, "Yes."
When the clan heard that Chen Xiaolai had returned, everyone wanted to get close to her. Lately, the clan has been deliberately avoiding her family at meetings every few days, which is really going too far.
What a pity! The clan is all about shaving heads and having the guts, but Chen Xiaocai doesn't seem to have the intention to build good relations with the clan.
Every time Chen Shouxin thinks about the past, he feels like he has experienced a dream. He almost sold Chen Xiaocai back then. If he had sold Chen Xiaocai decisively back then, Chen Xiaocai would not be able to swagger around now!
Zhang said with a frustrated tone, "That bastard Chen Xiaolai, he left and that's it, why did he come back? Did he come back just to show off?"
Knowing she wouldn't gain anything from Chen Xiaocai, Zhang was extremely annoyed by his return.
Chen Xiaocai is now a big shot. The better Chen Xiaolai lives, the more it highlights how destitute and down on her family is now.
As soon as Chen Xiaocai returned, the third brother's family started making a fuss, saying that it was because they had gone too far with Chen Xiaomi back then, which caused Chen Xiaomi and her brothers to become estranged from them.
Zhang scoffed at the claims made by the third wife. Back then, they hadn't treated the second wife very well, but the third wife wasn't much better.
Zhang felt uneasy whenever she thought about Chen Xiaomi following Lu Lin and getting promoted and making a fortune somewhere, while they were living a hard life in the countryside. Zhang could only fantasize that Lu Lin's official career was actually not going well, and he might have been killed by a mob. However, judging from the way Chen Xiaocai returned, she knew that was probably impossible.
"Is this the place?" Several villagers found the inn where Chen Xiaocai was staying.
Chen Xiaocai chose the best inn in town, which looked very grand. Several villagers hesitated in front of the inn.
The innkeeper looked at the group of people with a strange expression, which made the villagers feel somewhat at a loss.
Chen Chi, holding Chen Nian, walked down the stairs.
When the innkeeper saw Chen Chi come down, he said respectfully, "Young Master Chi, these people said they came to see you, the boss."
Chen Chi glanced at the doorway, nodded, and said, "Understood."
Holding the baby, Chen Chi walked up to several members of the Chen clan.
The clan elder at the head of the clan said somewhat awkwardly, "Achi, you're back!"
Chen Chi nodded. "The elders have come to see Xiao Cai."
"Yes! It's rare for him to come back, so we should get together. After all, we're all members of the Chen family," said one of the clan elders.
Although Chen Chi was somewhat dismissive, he didn't embarrass the others.
"Uncles, Xiao Cai went out early this morning. You haven't eaten yet, have you? Eat something first and wait while you eat."
Several clan elders, somewhat embarrassed, declined when they heard Chen Chi's words.
Chen Chi didn't stand on ceremony and instructed the innkeeper to serve the Chen family several dishes.
The food at this inn is naturally quite expensive, and there's a suspicion of overcharging customers. However, given Shen Chi's wealth, he doesn't need to worry about such a small amount.
Shen Chi was dressed in a moon-white robe, his hair was tied up with a silver crown and a jade hairpin. Although his attire was simple, he looked quite noble. Several villagers felt a sense of pressure when they saw Shen Chi's demeanor.
"Achi, is this your child?!"
Chen Chi nodded and said, "Yes! It's called Chen Nian."
Chen Chi lifted Chen Nian up, and Chen Nian excitedly shook her arms and legs, causing the silver bells on her hands and feet to jingle. Chen Nian loved the bells and liked to make all sorts of noises when she was awake.
"He looks so energetic!" An elder forced a smile, without mentioning that the child's surname was Chen.
Chen Chi chatted with everyone for a while, and after the meal, they still hadn't seen Chen Xiaocai, so they had to say goodbye.
The Lu family.
"Chen Xiaocai is back?" Madam Tang asked Lu Chengyu.
Lu Chengyu nodded and said, "Yes! I heard that he came back to pay respects at Old Lady Shen's grave, and also to get Shen Chi's youngest son included in the Shen family genealogy."
Mrs. Tang muttered, "That Shen Chi is really good at taking advantage of being favored!" Mrs. Tang thought to herself: Shen Chi is just a girl with average looks. Chen Xiaocai is a big boss now, and Shen Chi even lets his son take his surname. He's so arrogant and spoiled. Isn't he afraid that Chen Xiaocai will get tired of him and divorce him?
"There are quite a few people in the village who want to introduce their daughters to Chen Xiaocai, but Chen Xiaocai doesn't seem to be interested." In recent years, Chen Xiaocai has gotten a few years older, but she is still very young. Now that she is a bit older, she seems to be more popular.
Mrs. Tang said sullenly, "Yes! Many people in this village will abandon all sense of shame for money." Lu Chengyu's wife, Li Fangyue, gave birth to a daughter a couple of years ago, which infuriated Mrs. Tang.
Madam Tang did want to find a concubine for Lu Chengyu, but the family's financial situation didn't allow it. Seeing how popular Chen Xiaocai was, while her own son was unwanted, Madam Tang felt very bitter. Her son was a scholar, yet the village girls were all materialistic and only liked rich men.
“Chen Chi is indeed a blessing!” Lu Chengyu said.
Tang thought to herself: "That little devil Chen Chi, he has no father or mother, and his grandmother is dead. He used to look like he had no good fortune, but I never expected that he would have good fortune later in life. He gave birth to two sons and kept Chen Xiaocai under his thumb."
Old Mrs. Shen is really good at scheming. Those people who smeared Shen Chi back then ended up benefiting this little Shuang'er.
The Zhang family.
"Mother, is Chen Xiaocai back?" Zhang Ya asked.
Ma Yuelan nodded and said, "Yes! This kid is really popular now. It is said that he has been to the capital and has connections with the officials there. It's really a good thing for that guy Chen Chi."
Zhang Ya said sullenly, "Chen Xiaocai is so successful!"
Zhang Ya was the village beauty when she was a child. Ma Yuelan once thought of marrying Zhang Ya to Chen Xiaocai, but Lu Lin refused because Chen Xiaocai was too young.
Because the matter didn't work out back then, Ma Yuelan later spoke ill of Shen Chi and Chen Xiaocai in the village quite a bit. However, since Shen Chi and Chen Xiaocai already had a bad reputation, the bad things Ma Yuelan spread didn't have much effect.
Later, Huaxia Trading Company revealed that it was Lu Lin's shop, which greatly upset Ma Yuelan, and Zhang Ya was also quite upset.
Zhang Ya didn't actually like Chen Xiaocai, but later she learned that Chen Xiaocai was low-key and wealthy, and she regretted missing out on a good man.
Zhang Ya got married two years ago. By the standards of the villagers, she had married well, but compared to Chen Xiaocai, she was far inferior.
Chen Xiaocai had already been to Kyoto, was knowledgeable, wealthy, and gentle and considerate, making him the perfect husband for the girls in the village.
"Yes! Lu Lin bought his way into office back then, and he must have done a lot of things to exploit the people. Otherwise, Chen Xiaocai wouldn't have been able to get rich. Who knows when he'll be investigated and imprisoned." Ma Yuelan said, cursing.
Zhang Ya thought to herself: "It's not so easy for an official to be dismissed. The one in Lin Town before seemed to have just had bad luck."
"I heard that Chen Xiaocai came back because of Shen Chi, and wanted to register their son in the Shen family's genealogy."
Ma Yuelan nodded and said, "That's true. Shen Chi's little Shuang'er is really lucky to have given birth to two sons at once."
Zhang Ya lowered her head somewhat dejectedly, sighed, and felt a pang of resentment. She felt she hadn't fought hard enough back then, missing out on a good match. Otherwise, she would probably be the proprietress now. Zhang Ya had heard rumors from Butcher Zhang that Chen Xiaocai had bought a whole street of shops, showing astonishing wealth, which left her feeling uneasy.
Chen Chi bought some joss paper and carefully folded a lot of ingots, with Chen Xiaocai helping him for a while.
This was something that could have been done by someone else, but Shen Chi felt that doing it himself would show his sincerity, so he did it himself.
"Did anyone from the village come looking for you during the day?" Chen Chi asked.
Chen Xiaocai nodded and said, "Some people from the Chen family asked me if I wanted to buy the house back, or if I wanted to come back, and so on."
Shen Chi thought to himself: The Chen family didn't show up for the past two days, and now they're back again. They're really persistent! Shen Chi glanced at Chen Xiaocai and said, "The house, what do you think?"
Chen Xiaocai shook his head. "There's no need to buy back a house that's already been sold." The villagers only wanted to get some benefits out of him; they didn't genuinely welcome him back.
"Is someone looking for you?" Chen Xiaocai asked.
Chen Chi nodded and said, "That's true."
During the day, Chen Chi took his eldest and youngest sons out for a stroll and happened to run into a distant relative. In fact, the two were quite distant from each other.
The other party greeted him with pleasantries for a while, and after chatting for a bit, they started talking about how Chen Xiaocai's business had recently taken off, and how many people were praising him for being lucky.
"Did those people give you any trouble?" Chen Xiaocai asked.
Chen Chi smiled and said, "What are you thinking? Of course not, they're just envious of my good fortune."
“What do those people know? Ah Chi is so capable. The lucky one is actually me,” Chen Xiaocai said with a smile, tilting her head.
Chen Chi glanced at Chen Xiaocai and said, "All you do is say nice things."
After Chen Xiaocai returned to the village, many people tried to talk to him, but Chen Xiaocai was very cold to them, so many people turned their attention to Chen Chi.
Compared to Chen Xiaocai, Chen Chi is slightly easier to talk to.
"Ah Chi, are these two your sons?" An old woman couldn't help but ask when she saw Chen Chi holding one in his arms and having another following behind him.
Chen Chi nodded and said, "Yes, one is named Chen Lei, and the other is named Chen Nian."
"Achi, you are so lucky to have given birth to two sons in your lifetime, unlike my family which only produces money-losing children," the old woman said helplessly.
Chen Chi smiled faintly and said nothing.
Influenced by Chen Xiaomi, Shen Chi didn't place much importance on gender. However, Shen Chi also knew that in the eyes of the villagers, having a boy was still considered more auspicious.
"Achi, this little one has your surname, Chen!"
Chen Chi nodded and said, "Yes!" His grandfather and grandmother shared the same surname. The surname Chen was actually passed down from his grandfather. His grandmother and grandfather only had one son, his father, who died young. His grandmother always felt somewhat sorry for his grandfather.
"Does Xiao Cai listen to you?" a plump auntie asked.
Chen Chi nodded and said, "It was Xiao Cai who suggested it in the first place."
The plump aunt looked at Chen Chi and said, "Chen Chi, you are so lucky to have found such a considerate person. My daughter is not as lucky as you."
Chen Chi held the sleeping Chen Nian in his arms and smiled calmly.
After Chenchi returned to the village, he had heard this kind of talk many times and had long since gotten used to it.
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