After hearing what Dabao said, Chen Ahfu laughed, and seemed to be looking forward to that scene. She said, "Okay, mother will wait for that day. So, mother will not be the only one who likes her son, and not just your sister and Chu... Daddy, there will be more and more relatives who love you and rely on you. Isn't that right?"
Dabao nodded and smiled even sweeter.
Coaxed the naughty kid into bed and let him take a nap.
Chen Afu packed up his things and took some vegetarian snacks and dishes to Lu Yuan to add to their evening meal.
As soon as I went out, I saw a carriage parked at the door, and the person who got out of the carriage was Qingfeng.
She came over and bowed to Chen Ahfu, saying with a smile, "The master and the mistress sent me here to celebrate the eldest lady's birthday."
Chen Afu smiled and invited her into the house, asked her to sit down and served her tea.
Qingfeng did not dare to sit on a chair, but sat on an embroidered cushion. She took out all the gifts given by her masters.
Chen Shiying and Jiang Shi gave a pair of gold filigree and pearl-embroidered hairpins, Chen Yulan gave an exquisite horn comb, and Chen Yuqing and Chen Yuxia each gave a handkerchief embroidered by themselves. The embroidery of the handkerchiefs was very good, and Chen Yuxia's handkerchief should have been embroidered by Aunt Lu.
Chen Afu thanked him with a smile, and asked Qiuyue to accompany Qingfeng for dinner, and Old Man Zeng to accompany the coachman for dinner. He arranged accommodation for them and would send them away tomorrow.
After finishing his work, Chen Afu went to Luyuan.
Luyuan was a busy place, and many women came to help. Gao and Wu's sisters-in-law were helping Aunt Mu cook in the kitchen, Chen Aju was making a fire, and even Hu Laowu's wife, Gao Lizheng's daughter-in-law, and Old Lady Chen were sitting in the yard picking and washing vegetables.
As soon as Chen Afu entered, everyone smiled and congratulated him on his birthday.
Chen Afu smiled and expressed his gratitude again.
The courtyard was harmonious, except for Mrs. Hu, who sat under a tree and stared at the roof in a daze, looking unhappy, which made Mrs. Chen and Mrs. Hu Laowu's wife so angry that they glared at her from time to time.
Wang took the teapot and refilled the tea bowls on the stone table with water. She said with a smile, "Don't just keep busy. Stop and have a drink." She called Chen Ahfu into the room and whispered, "That Mrs. Hu is really annoying. Who is she showing off to? Hum, the birthday gifts your grandma and the eldest wife sent you are so heavy that we feel heavy in our hands. If we don't accept them, we're afraid your grandma and eldest uncle will be suspicious. If we accept them, look at Mrs. Hu. She's almost throwing her face to the ground."
It turned out that yesterday, Old Lady Chen, Chen Ye and Chen Agui had discussed for a long time and felt that the eldest wife had made a lot of money thanks to Chen Afu, and Chen Afu had found such a good relative. If the relationship was good, he would help the eldest wife in the future. They all decided to give a better birthday gift this time. The old lady went to the town and spent two taels and five cents to buy an open silver bracelet, plus a pair of silk embroidered shoes made by Gao for Chen Afu, which she felt was a decent birthday gift.
Mrs. Hu was unhappy. She had never worn a silver bracelet in her life. Besides, the girl and the second wife were very stingy and didn't remember any favors. The big restaurant only gave the first wife 10% of the shares, and the second wife only bought them a cow with all the money she earned. So she said, "Isn't it said that the girl is very rich? Why would she want things from us poor people? I, the head of the family, worked hard to raise the second uncle, and they haven't even mentioned giving me a bracelet."
Chen Ye and Old Lady Chen started to scold again. Mrs. Hu didn't dare to say anything, but she was still unhappy and couldn't suppress it.
Chen Ming, who followed in, said, "My sister-in-law is a fool who only takes in money but never gives out. Ah Fu Mo, don't bother with her. Just do it for the sake of your grandma and uncle." He also scolded Wang, "Why bother your daughter with these trivial matters?"
Chen Mingcai invited the servants of the Luo family and the Tangyuan families who had a good relationship with him, as well as Liu Lizheng from Shangshui Village, Yu the landlord and Yu Lizheng from Guqiao Village to come to Luyuan for a drink.
Chen Ahfu was puzzled and said, "It's fine if you invite Manager Luo and the others. If you don't invite them, they might come on their own initiative. Why do you invite those village heads and landlords? They don't interact much with each other normally."
Chen Ming smiled and said, "Dad didn't plan to invite them at first. This morning, I heard that those people sent someone to the village to ask about our family's dinner party. Dad thought, since they want to come, we should take the initiative to invite them. These people are all influential figures in the neighborhood." He pinched his beard with great pride, thinking that he, Chen Ming, had become a person that the big shots in the neighborhood were vying to make friends with.
Chen Ahfu nodded, talked for a while, and then returned to Fuyuan, and asked Dahu and Daya to go play with her in Fuyuan. Chu Lingzhi had already arrived, and was pulling Dabao, who had just woken up, to the backyard, and the children went to the backyard to play.
At the end of the afternoon, the men all went to Luyuan one after another. The country folk had loud voices, and their laughter could be heard clearly even in Fuyuan.
Soon, the Chu family also came to Fuyuan. When Mr. Chu heard the noise in the yard next door, Chen Ahfu said that those were the people who came to celebrate his birthday.
The old man said to Chu Lingxuan, "Ahfu is a girl, it's not appropriate for her to greet these men. Let's go over and sit down and chat with them. Grandpa will live in Tangyuan for a long time in the future, so we should also build good relations with the local tyrants here."
Chu Lingxuan nodded and took Chen Dabao with him. Dabao was Chen Afu's son and would have gone there to entertain guests in the evening. When Chu Lingzhi saw him, he also wanted to go with him.
When Lord Chu and his men came over, they were so scared that they all stood up. Except for Captain Xia, Hu Laowu, and Liu Lizheng, no one else could say a word, including Chen Ming and Chen Ye.
Old Lord Chu talked to them with a smile, telling them not to be nervous, and thanked them for taking care of his future granddaughter-in-law Chen Afu and great-grandson Dabao.
The old man stayed with Dabao for dinner. Chu Lingxuan didn't like this kind of occasion, so he took Chu Lingzhi back to Fuyuan.
Chen Ahfu said to Mrs. Chu San embarrassedly, "It's a bit noisy here. Are you not used to it, Mrs. Chu San?"
Mrs. Chu San laughed heartily and said, "When Chu Lang and I were at the border, those rough guys made even more noise. I'm used to this kind of noise."
In the evening, after seeing off the Chu family, Chen Afu began to prepare return gifts.
Because she went to the Chen residence to recognize her relatives in a hurry, she did not prepare any filial gifts for Chen Shiying and Jiang, or any gifts for Chen Yuqing and her three siblings. This time, she sent them all together. She sent embroidered satin slippers to Chen Shiying and his wife, panda dolls to Chen Yuqing and her sister, and a satin gown to Chen Yulan. The slippers and dolls were samples she had made before and prepared for the embroidery workshop. The gown was for Chen Alu. The gown was a little long, so Chen Yulan, who was half a head taller, could wear it. Tomorrow, she would send some more homemade snacks and fruit cucumbers.
The gown that Chu Lingxuan wanted last time was already made, and she also made a purse to match it. Mr. Chu will stay in Tangyuan for a while, and then she will make him a set of clothes. As for Mrs. Chu San, a woman who grew up in the palace has no shortage of good things. Chen Afu thought for a long time and gave her a green leaf agarwood. Also give Chu Lingzhi a panda doll.
Everything was ready and it was already midnight.
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