When Chen Afu brought Dabao, Alu and the animal home back to Lu Garden, Chen Ming and Wang had already returned.
Wang's eyes were red and swollen, and her makeup had been washed off. She must have cried and washed her face. However, she seemed to be in good spirits.
Several people sat on the kang and listened to Chen Ming and Wang talk about their trip to Xianhu Village.
When Wang and Chen Ming appeared in such a state at her great uncle Wang's house, everyone was shocked. Unexpectedly, Wang Juanniang, who married a sickly man for the second time, really got rich!
Although Mr. Wang was already in his sixties, he was still in good health. His family warmly received the couple. They were very happy to see that Wang had brought so many gifts, and they invited all the relatives to have a drink and distributed the gifts.
Wang asked where Wang Cheng was sold to, and the relatives started talking about it. At first, Ding was beaten so badly by Wang's relatives that she refused to tell them where the child was sold to. She was afraid that these people would ask her to return the money and take the child back.
It was not until a few years later that rumors began to spread about where the child was sold. Some said that she was sold directly to Fan's dental shop in the county town, while others said that she was sold to He Houzi's mother-in-law in the village. The latter version was the most popular.
He Houzi's mother-in-law lived in the neighboring village. She was very good at talking and would do anything that was against conscience as long as she could make money. It was said that when He Houzi's mother-in-law came to the village to visit her daughter, Ding secretly found her, tricked Xiao Wangcheng out of the village, and sold him to that woman.
More than 20 years have passed and the old woman has long since died.
After hearing this, Wang couldn't help crying again.
Chen Ming asked Xue Dagui to carry two taels of silver and take a young man from the Wang family to He Houzi's house. Seeing the one tael of silver, He Houzi told the truth. Wang Cheng was indeed sold to his mother-in-law by Ding for four strings of coins and two hundred coins. His mother-in-law then sold the child to a distant relative of her family for five strings of coins and two hundred coins. That relative had never given birth to a son.
Afterwards, He Houzi took Xue Dagui and the others to his mother-in-law's house. Although his mother-in-law was dead, his brother-in-law was still alive. His brother-in-law said he didn't know at first, but when Xue Dagui took out a tael of silver, he told him the specific address, saying it was in a village called Xiaoli Village in Yi'an County. Yi'an County is nearly 100 miles away from Sanqing County and is also under the jurisdiction of Jibei Province.
Everyone was very happy to find out Wang Cheng's whereabouts so easily. Wang thought that the family had no sons, so they would definitely treat her brother well. This was much better than being sold to a rich family as a servant or to a theatre troupe.
However, Wang's father and Ding found out that Chen Ming and Wang had returned to Xianhu Village, so they came to find them. Ding threw a tantrum, saying that Wang was very unfilial, that she did not go back to her parents' home to visit her elderly father after returning to the village, that she only gave her money to relatives when she had money, but did not know how to respect her parents...
Chen Ming and Wang Shi were not good at speaking, and they were even more speechless when they were angry. Aunt Zeng was very eloquent, and she and Mr. Wang's granddaughter-in-law listed all the bad things that Ding Shi had done. When it came to the irritating part, the two elder women of the Wang family could not help but beat Ding Shi with their crutches, and finally scared her away.
But Wang's father, Old Man Wang, refused to leave. He stayed there to eat dinner, wiping his tears and calling her "daughter", saying that his life was not easy. Wang had no choice but to ask Chen Ming to give him one or two taels of silver...
When Chen Ahfu heard about Wang Cheng's uncle, he was also very happy. He called Zeng Laotou and asked him if he knew where Xiaoli Village in Yi'an County was.
Old man Zeng actually knew that Yi'an County was located in the northwest of Sanqing County, and Xiaoli Village was a remote small village close to Dayan Mountain. He had been there once when he was young.
Chen Ming and his companions were very happy. They asked him to take Xue Dagui there tomorrow to inquire about Wang Cheng's whereabouts, and also gave him ten taels of silver.
The next day, Chen Afu went to Manager Luo to borrow a carriage for two to three days.
Today is the fifth day of the first lunar month, and Hu Laowu is treating everyone. After seeing off Zeng Laotou and his partner, Chen Ming invites Luo Guanshi to go to Hu's house for a drink.
There were no adult men in Luyuan during the day, so it was inconvenient for the Chu family's grandparents to come here for lunch, so they agreed to come back in the evening. But Miss Chu came with Luo Mei and her brother in the morning, and said they wanted to take a nap here.
Chen Ahfu led them to practice martial arts, tell stories, play games, and then let them play with building blocks in the south room of the west wing, while she went to the kitchen to get busy. Not only did she have to prepare lunch, but she also had to prepare dinner. The two masters' tastes became more and more picky, especially the old marquis. He said that Yan'er had passed on the habit of eating food that smelled better than the food in Tangyuan to him, and he just felt that the food in Luyuan was more delicious than that in Tangyuan.
Thinking of the old marquis pulling his beard and saying this, Chen Ahfu found it very funny. The old man was old but still young, a bit like an old playboy, a very cute old man, not like a superior at all.
After lunch, Chen Afu let Miss Chu and Luo Mei go to bed. Just as he left the west wing and was about to go to the upper room to do needlework with Wang, he heard someone knocking on the door.
Shanzi opened the door but did not invite anyone in. He asked blankly, "Master, who are you looking for?"
I heard a clear male voice outside the door, "Excuse me, is this Wang Juanniang's home?"
Which man dares to call Wang by her maiden name? How rude.
Chen Ahfu complained in her heart and walked to the door. When she saw the tall man standing outside the door, she was stunned.
That man was the handsome man she had seen in Yu Qilin Silver Shop. He was wearing a lake blue embroidered flower cloud satin cotton robe, a jade belt around his waist, a dark gold brocade cape, and a black futou on his head. He had an elegant posture and a warm look. Because of the cold weather, his cheeks and lips were red, making his skin look even more rosy like peaches and apricots.
He was about to speak when he saw Chen Ahfu coming over. He was delighted and called out, "Fuer."
This name gave Chen Ahfu goose bumps and woke her up. She came to the door and said to Shanzi, "Go and do your thing."
After hearing this, Shanzi left quickly.
Chen Ahfu blocked the door and said, "Who are you and what are you doing in my house?"
Chen Shiying did not answer Chen Afu's question. With a smile on his face, he looked Chen Afu up and down several times, his eyes becoming more and more gentle, and said, "Fuer, I am you... I am Chen Shiying, I am here to find... you... and your mother..."
Chen Afu said expressionlessly, "I don't know you, nor do I know anyone named Chen Shiying. My family is full of women and children, and it's not convenient to let a strange man in." As he said that, he wanted to close the door.
Chen Shiying stretched out a hand to hold the door shut and said, "Fuer, let me see your mother. I have something important to tell you."
Chen Afu said, "My mother is a good woman and will not meet a man outside her family." Then he was about to close the door.
Chen Shiying blocked the door and begged, "Fuer, be obedient and let me see..."
Suddenly, he stared blankly behind Chen Afu, tears welling up in his eyes, and he said softly, "Sister..."
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