Chen Alan was well-behaved and hardworking. Chen Ming and Wang both liked her. Chen Afu also had a good impression of her, so he spent a lot of money on her makeup.
Whenever they took something, Fu would make exaggerated click of the tongue and say a few words of envy.
It goes without saying that having such a supporting actor makes both the gift giver and the gift receiver feel happier.
Chen Alan blushed, smiled with her eyes curved, and said thank you in a low voice.
Chen Ye was even more satisfied with the makeup they added, laughing. This time, Mrs. Hu was also quite satisfied, and for the first time ever, she grabbed a handful of fried peanuts and stuffed them into Dabao's hand.
Chen Aju's eyes were fixed on the comb box and she moved closer to the table.
Chen Aju went to the table and took the six combs in turn, rubbing them in her hands, and was very fond of them.
Seeing Chen Alan looking at her nervously, she frowned and said unhappily, "I'm just taking a look. I'm not going to steal it. Do you have to act so poor?" After saying that, she threw the comb in her hand into the brocade box.
Chen Alan was so angry that she burst into tears.
Chen Ye was so angry that he took off his shoes and hit Chen Aju, cursing, "I will beat you to death, you black-hearted bastard. That's your sister, she's going to get married and leave this family soon, and instead of being affectionate with her, you say these hurtful words. You're not even as good as your cousin from another family..."
This time Chen Ye was determined to beat her. He grabbed Chen Aju's clothes with one hand and beat her with the sole of his shoe with the other. Chen Aju couldn't run away and cried and screamed in pain.
Neither Old Lady Chen nor Chen Agui went up to pull her away. They felt that Chen Aju should have been taught a lesson long ago. Gao was reluctant to pull her father-in-law away, but when Hu tried to pull her away, Chen Ye kicked her and scolded her. She could only stand aside and persuade her, "Don't be angry, head of the family. Aju is young and naive. She will be fine when she grows up."
Old Mrs. Chen said, "Aju is not a child anymore, and she is already complaining about her in-laws. If we don't discipline her properly, what will happen to her in the future?"
Only Chen Ming, Hu Laowu and Hu Wei were left to pull Chen Ye back. Chen Ming didn't pull him back, because he also felt that Chen Aju deserved a lesson, but Hu Wei didn't have that awareness at all. Hu Laowu saw that the beating was almost over, so he stood up and pulled Chen Ye back, saying, "Brother-in-law, calm down..."
Hu Cuicui hurried over and pulled the crying Chen Aju out of the house.
Chen Aju's fuss made everyone lose interest in talking and laughing. Chen Ming's family wanted to say goodbye and go home, but when they saw Hu Laowu standing up to say goodbye, they held back. They didn't want to go out with that family, so they sat and talked for a while.
Alan wiped her tears and whispered to Chen Afu. The girl was about to go to her husband's house, and she had both expectations for the future and uncertainty. Unfortunately, these whispers between the young ladies could not be told to her sister Chen Aju, and she was not close to her cousin Hu Cuicui, so she said a few words to Chen Afu.
Chen Afu counselled her a few words and told a couple of jokes, which made Chen Alan blush and smile.
After more than a quarter of an hour, Chen Ming and his family got up to say goodbye.
Before leaving, Wang said to Old Lady Chen, "Mother-in-law, I am the only one who can come to help with the housework the day after tomorrow. Ah Fu has to go to Tang Garden and has no time to help."
Old Mrs. Chen nodded and said that the important work of Tangyuan could not be delayed. Mrs. Hu glanced at Chen Ye and Chen Ming who were far away and whispered, "There were many people helping that day, and there was no shortage of labor. It's just that my family didn't buy much meat. I saw that my brother's wife's family had so much meat..."
The old lady's face turned red with anger, and she shouted, "Old lady's wife, Aju just got beaten, why are you still so shallow?"
Mrs. Hu immediately stopped talking, her face turning red from holding it in.
When they arrived in the yard, they could still hear Chen Aju's loud crying and Gao's persuasion coming from the west wing. They all walked away as if they didn't hear the crying.
After returning home, Wang told Chen Ming what Hu said. She added, "My eldest sister-in-law is like a hungry ghost, always asking for food. Their family is living a tight life. They have more than ten acres of land, but they are reluctant to hire long-term workers. They didn't pay for the renovation of the big courtyard. There have been no major expenses for so many years, so how could they be short of money? If it wasn't for Ah Fu's idea of making braised skewers, his family wouldn't be able to live as well as my eldest uncle's. No one is stupid. I calculated the savings of the eldest house over the years, and it won't be less than this number." She made a five with her hand and said, "It won't be less than fifty strings of cash."
Chen Ming shook his head and said, "Big brother is such a good man, how could he marry such an unreliable wife and teach Ah Ju to be like that?"
The next day, Dabao, as the "man of the house", followed Chen Ming to supervise the new home. Chen Afu finished his housework leisurely and took a small bowl of pine nuts into the space.
As soon as she entered, Jin Yanzi stretched her neck and said, "It smells so good."
As soon as Chen Afu put the bowl on the ground, it ran over and started eating the pine nuts.
Chen Ahfu looked at the orchid again. The stems were green and the leaves were stretched out. It was completely alive and strong. He thought about waiting for Abbot Lechen to come to Tangyuan and giving the flowers to her. Lechen was not in good health and had asthma. He often had asthma attacks in winter, so he rarely came to Tangyuan now.
Chen Afu left the space and went to the west room of the old courtyard with paper and charcoal.
Both mother and daughter were sitting on the kang, one doing needlework and the other "designing" furniture.
Gao didn't come today, so there were only the mother and daughter. They talked and worked happily. Zhuiji and Wangcai also crawled on the ground happily, half-closed their eyes and dozed off.
Chen Ahfu drew a wardrobe, which looked similar to that of this era, with a rectangular shape, double doors, and carved flowers on them. But the interior was different from that of the present era, and modern hangers were also drawn.
In ancient times, people's clothes were folded and placed in boxes. When they were ready to wear clothes, poor people would just take them out and wear them, or take them out on the first day and hang them on a rope. But sophisticated people had wardrobes, and in the wardrobes there were "hangers", which were wooden racks, somewhat like the horizontal bars of the past. They would take out the clothes they were going to wear the next day, and hang them on wooden sticks with the sleeves. This kind of "hanger" took up a lot of space and was also troublesome.
Chen Afu thought that he would ask Wu the carpenter to make more of these hangers, not only for his own use and Tangyuan's, but also to send some to Nishang Embroidery Workshop.
While I was painting, I heard a loud voice outside the door, "Sister, mother is here to see you."
When Wang heard the voice, her face suddenly turned pale. She said, "Those two people are my mother's stepmother and brother, both of them are very powerful. Ah Fu, please go to the east room and don't come over."
Chen Ahfu looked out the window and saw a woman in her fifties and a man in his twenties standing outside the fence. The woman was thin and small, with sleek hair and a red flower in her hairpin, white powder on her face, and red lips. The man was not tall either, and looked a bit like Wang.
This should be the stepmother who sold Wang twice. It turns out that she has a half-brother.
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