Fortunate Life of the Rural Beauty

Asking for a monthly ticket——

At noon, we arrived outside the gate of Fucheng. Mrs. Wang gave Old Man Gao 200 yuan for the carriage, and the family got off the carriage. Old man Gao fed the donkey at the teahouse here and rested for a while before heading back. He wanted to return to Xiangluo Village before dark.

Several people said goodbye to Old Man Gao, rented a mule cart, and entered Fucheng.

The prefectural city is much more impressive than the county town. The main road in the city is paved with bluestone slabs and is very wide, with shops lined up on both sides. Most of the shops are small buildings with several floors, with green walls, black tiles, red doors and flower windows, which are extremely gorgeous. Some large shops are even more fancyly decorated, with many colored lights hanging outside. There were many horse-drawn carriages running in the middle of the road, and people on both sides were bustling.

Dabao’s little mouth can be opened wide enough to fit an egg in. Huihui and Qiqi also stretched out their little heads from the cloth and looked around.

Chen Afu smiled and pinched the little boy's face. He would take him out to see the world more often in the future.

After getting off the main street, we passed through several streets and alleys. The roads became narrower and narrower, and the houses were not as grand and spacious as before. The houses here are of mixed quality, some are new brick houses, and some are low old houses.

Wang said that Chen Shi's family lived in this alley.

There was a sesame seed cake seller at the entrance of the alley, and Chen Afu got out of the car and bought ten. It was already the end of noon, and Chen Shi and his wife were busy, so it was not easy for them to prepare lunch.

The mule cart stopped in front of a small shop, and Mrs. Wang said.

This is a small miscellaneous shop called Chen San Gan Za. The red paint on the folded gate and doorposts has faded, and is even mottled and peeling off in some places. There is also a small shop next door, which is an oil shop. This was what Chen Shi split his shop into two and rented out.

As soon as a few people moved their things down, a man walked out of the shop and laughed loudly, Sister-in-law, I figured you would come in the next few days. I have been looking forward to it.

This man looks similar to Chen Ming and Chen Ye. He is wearing a half-worn silk gown. He is in his early thirties, of medium height, fair and handsome, with a short beard. He is Chen Shi. Among the three brothers of the Chen family, Chen Shi is the most handsome.

He looked at Chen Afu again and said, Afu is getting more and more handsome, do you still recognize Uncle San? He also greeted Alu and Dabao.

Looking at his sincere smile, the fatigue of riding in the car was relieved a lot. Chen Afu and his sister called him third uncle and Dabao called third grandpa.

At this time, a woman and a girl about thirty years old came out of the shop.

The woman is Zhang, and the girl is Chen Aman, Chen Shi's daughter. Mr. Zhang has an average appearance and a kind face. Chen Aman looks like her father, a very pretty little girl.

Chen Ming and Zhang have three children. The eldest son Chen Ayu is fourteen years old, the second daughter Chen Aman is twelve years old, and the youngest son Chen Atang is nine years old.

Several people passed through the shop and entered the backyard. The backyard is not big. Opposite the shop are two side rooms with two wings. There are three low houses on the left, a kitchen, a warehouse, and a guest room. There is only one chicken pen on the right, sharing a wall with the next door.

Chen Shi invited them into the room on the right side. Facing the window was a kang with a pair of old boxes beside it. There is also a small stove built with adobe bricks at the end, probably used for heating in winter.

This is the house of cousins ​​Chen Ayu and Chen A. Now it is given to their family of four, and the two brothers live in the living room.

Mrs. Zhang went to the kitchen to roll out noodles for them again, but Mrs. Wang stopped her and said that they had bought sesame cakes and that they could just drink boiled water and eat the cakes. Mrs. Zhang went and cooked a pot of white rice and egg soup for them.

After several people finished eating, Dabao and Alu lay on the kang to rest, while Chen Afu and his daughter took out the things they wanted to give away.

In addition to the two baskets of fresh vegetables and two packs of snacks given by the first room and the old lady, it was the second room that was given. Several pieces of satin, Chen Shi's is bright blue, Zhang's is brown, Chen Ayu's two brothers are moon white, and Chen Aman's is scarlet. In addition, he gave the two brothers two pens, two pieces of ink, two knives of fine rice paper, two jasmine flowers and several ribbons for Chen Aman.

Chen Shi knew the goods. When he saw these things, he was surprised and said, Oh, this material is produced in Jiangnan, and these two pens are from Wenshangzhai in the capital. How can you be so embarrassed to give us such a valuable thing?

Mrs. Wang smiled and said, I still have it at home. Then she briefly talked about the things she did to make things for the little master in Tangyuan and how Dabao played with her. He also mentioned the big fuss caused by the satin and asked them not to wear the satin to the countryside.

He added, ...it's not that we don't want to give things to the eldest brother. The head of the family has always said that he wants to repay the uncle. But eldest sister-in-law, hey... we don't dare to give more.

Mrs. Zhang sneered and said, Ms. Hu is really shameless. She dares to do this in front of my uncle and mother-in-law. You are just doing this. You are used to it. She has to scrape off several layers of your land. Mrs. Zhang was very angry with Mrs. Hu.

Chen Shi sighed, My eldest brother is a good parent. When we were a family, he protected our brothers. Now that we have separated, he protects his wife and children. Alas, it's just that I didn't find a good wife, and my eldest sister-in-law did too much.

Chen Aman held the piece of satin and smiled with crooked eyebrows, trying to figure out what to do. He also said that two kinds of buckles are popular in Fucheng now, one is called chrysanthemum big buckle, and the other is called plum blossom small buckle, which are beautiful and tight. Many wealthy families go to Nishang Embroidery Shop to buy or make clothes, and the clothes there use these two kinds of buckles. I also sell the buckle separately, but it’s too expensive.

Finally, he wrinkled his nose and said, Unfortunately, the buttons sold by Nishang Embroidery Shop are too expensive and we can't afford them. A few days ago, Sister Qiu and I went there to see how the buttons were made. Even if We didn't make it look good, but we could adapt to the situation. But before we could take a closer look, we were kicked out. If this dress was equipped with chrysanthemum buckles or plum blossom buckles, oh, I don't know. How beautiful.”

Chen Afu laughed. Chrysanthemum buckles have become popular, and a plum blossom buckle has also been invented. That young lady from a rich family is really capable. I heard Jin Yanzi originally said that her family seems to be in the provincial capital Shizhou, and her business has reached Dingzhou, more than 200 miles away. Thinking about it again, Jin Yanzi also said that their family seems to be related to Chu Hanyan. The Chu family is in Dingzhou Prefecture, so maybe they have business contacts.

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After hearing this, Mrs. Wang smiled and said, The chrysanthemum plate buckle was made by Ah Fu and sold to a young lady from a wealthy family. Otherwise, how would we have had the money to pay for Ah Lu's medical treatment at that time. She saw Chen Aman's surprised look. , and added, It's a pity that we agreed with them at the time that we couldn't do this kind of buckle within a year, and we couldn't sell it for money. We can't afford to offend those noble people, and we have to listen to what they say.

Chen Aman pouted with regret.

Mrs. Zhang smiled and said, This satin is tender and suitable for making spring shirts. When the deadline comes next year, I will let your second uncle and Sister Afu tell you how to make it.

This article was originally published on Qidian Women’s Channel, asking for monthly tickets, first subscription, and support from relatives.