Wang said with a red face, "After I had finished pulling the blue satin for Dabo and Dahu, I reluctantly pulled a piece for my boss, Alu and Dabao, and there was no more. After I pulled a piece of yellow satin for you, I pulled a piece for myself, and there was only more than two feet left, which was only enough to make an autumn shirt or a vest for Ahfu."
This was what Chen Afu taught her to say, to let Mrs. Hu know that the second wife also had to make one for each person, and it didn't make sense that her own things could only be made for the first wife.
Mrs. Hu added, "Don't you have white satin? Take a few yards and make a middle-length coat and pants for Ah Ju. It will match the yellow vest perfectly."
Chen Aju felt hopeful again, and turned back with tears in her eyes and said, "You can also make a pleated skirt, and embroider it with flowers to make it look even better. I saw young ladies from wealthy families wearing such skirts when I went to the county town."
Wang shook her head again and said, "We used up a lot of white satin, so there are only two small pieces of cloth left, which are not enough to make clothes and skirts."
When Chen Ming heard his wife say this, he blushed and lowered his head. These words were told by Ah Fu before they left. That girl, how did she know that Hu and Ah Ju would do this?
Chen Aju had originally had a glimmer of hope, but when she heard that it was gone, she turned her face away and continued crying.
Mrs. Hu felt sorry for her daughter, and said shamelessly, "Ah Fu has already established a daughter household, and is not in a hurry to arrange a marriage, so just give her few feet to our Ah Ju."
Chen Agui's face had already turned red with embarrassment, and he shouted, "Mom, my sister likes it, and I, Afu, am also a girl, and I like it too, so why shouldn't I wear it? I give it to your daughter. I have already given so much to our family, I feel embarrassed, how can you still want it? Besides, you can't spoil my sister like this anymore, otherwise she will suffer in the future."
Chen Agui is a taciturn person and doesn't talk much, but today he couldn't help but talk about his mother in public.
Chen Ye's face had already turned red like a big red shrimp, and he was so shocked that he could hardly react. He could guess that his wife would hint to the second and third wives, asking them not to forget their brother and sister-in-law's initial efforts, and to show respect when it was due. In his opinion, that was just a hint. But he never expected that she would be so shameless in asking for it, and pressing on step by step. The second wife had already said that there was no extra, but she was still trying to take the remaining satin from them. Too much!
He felt that he had lost all face, and with his eyes wide open in anger, he stood up and pushed Hu to the ground, slapping her several times. Chen Agui quickly stopped him, and Chen Ming also went to pull him to sit down.
Chen Ye sat on the kang and pointed at Hu and cursed, "If your daughter wants it so much, you should give her your own satin. You greedy bitch, you are not satisfied after taking so much from others, and you want to take everything from others. You are so short-sighted, you have disgraced me." After saying that, he wanted to get up and hit someone, but Chen Ming held him back.
Mrs. Hu was so upset by her little girl that she forgot to hide it in front of her husband and son. Seeing her husband was angry and her son had said something, she was too scared to make a fuss anymore. She sat down and wiped her tears, and began to nag about how she had to take care of the housework, be filial to the elderly, and serve her uncle as soon as she got married, and how aggrieved she was.
Old Lady Chen glared at Mrs. Hu and said, "Stop crying and wiping your tears. It is your duty as a daughter-in-law to take care of the household chores, respect the elders, and take care of your younger uncle. This is what every daughter-in-law does. My eldest son is right. If your daughter wants it, why don't you give her your own satin instead of Ah Fu's? You have corrupted your daughter." She threatened, "I'm telling you, don't think about the second son's satin again. If you dare to ask for it again, I will not agree and will tell my eldest son."
The old lady's words made Chen Ye blush again. He glared at Hu and yelled, "Did you hear what mother said? If you dare to do something shameless behind my back, I will show you how I will deal with you."
Mrs. Hu said aggrievedly, "When did I ever ask for something from my second uncle's family in private? It's really unfair. This is the first time I have disregarded my dignity. It was Ah Ju who made me cry and confused. Thinking about the young lady's love of beauty... Head of the family, please stop being angry. I will never do such a thing again."
Chen Ming snorted coldly, "You must remember this." Seeing that the little girl was still crying, he frowned and said, "Aju needs to teach her a lesson. She is already twelve years old, but she is still so ignorant and fights over everything. It's just a piece of satin, take mine. I am a farmer working in the fields, and it would be a waste for me to wear satin."
Old Mrs. Chen disapproved and said, "Don't indulge them like this, my eldest son. Wear what you are given. You are so old and have worked so hard, you should make a satin dress. A vest or a skirt will be enough for Aju. She is still young and will have the time to wear satin clothes in the future."
Wang was still angry after she came back and said, "We went to give gifts, but we had to watch the mother and daughter cry as if we had forced something from their family. It's really infuriating. Ah Ju was taught by the sister-in-law to be like her." She added, "If things go wrong, uncle's satin might really be given to Ah Ju or the Hu family. Then, the sister-in-law will complain for uncle in front of us, saying that the younger brother has already put on the satin clothes, but the older brother, who worked so hard, still hasn't put them on. How wronged we are."
Chen Ming shook his head and sighed, "Big brother is such a good person, why is his wife and daughter... Fortunately, Agui and Alan are good."
Chen Ahfu was secretly delighted. The piece of red satin really fulfilled its purpose. He said, "Dad, did you see that? Auntie and Chen Aju are so greedy. We gave them so much of what my mother and I earned, but they still thought it was not enough. They wanted to take it all, not even leaving us a small piece of cloth." He said wickedly, "Dad, look how much uncle indulges his wife and daughter. As long as Auntie gives in and Chen Aju makes a fuss, he gives them everything. Dad, you can't let your wife and children watch Uncle's wife and children live a good life just to save Uncle's face, while you can't wear clothes or eat meat, right? We all remember Uncle's kindness and will repay it, but we won't indulge Auntie and Chen Aju like this."
Chen Ming sighed and nodded.
The dates in the old yard were ripe. In previous years, these dates were a considerable source of income for the second wife, but this year they did not need to be sold for money. Some were given to relatives and friends, and the rest were dried and eaten by themselves.
That afternoon, the Chen family members were all in the east room eating dates and chatting, while Wang was busy doing her work.
Tomorrow is August 13th. Wang will go to the county town to hand in her embroidery work and bring back some more work. She will also buy some mooncakes and fruits for the Mid-Autumn Festival. Mooncakes are a luxury that this family has never bought before. A Lu and Da Bao cheered with joy when they heard this.
Chen Ahfu also wanted to go to the county town. She wanted to take the chicken dolls, tiger dolls, and puppy dolls she made to the embroidery shop to have a look. If they liked them, she could sell them for a little money.
Wang suggested, "On the ninth day of next month, Ah Lu will have had his bones fixed at Qianjin Clinic for two months. The doctor asked us to go for a follow-up checkup then. Ah Fu might as well go with us to the city. The embroidery workshop in the city might charge a higher price. The owner of our embroidery workshop is a bit stingy, and I don't dare to bargain with him."
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