Fortunate Life of the Rural Beauty

Chapter 38: Chapter 37: Dividing the Money Chapter 38: Chapter 37: Dividing the Money Mrs. Wang and Alu both looked at Chen Afu with surprise and joy. Chen Afu nodded at them and said with a smile, “Let’s go eat some wontons. I’m hungry.”

They went to a wonton stall and ordered four bowls of wontons. They cost twelve cents per bowl, and Mrs. Wang did not hesitate to spend the money. The wontons were thin-skinned and stuffed with meat, so aromatic that the two children could not resist scooping them into their mouths despite the heat. If it weren’t for the fear of overfilling their little bellies, Chen Afu would have ordered another bowl for them.

While they were eating the wontons, the last sewing basket was bought by a young lady.

Alu remarked, “These are so delicious. It’s a shame we can’t bring a bowl back for dad.”

Chen Afu pointed to a stall across the street and said, “Wontons would be hard to bring back. There’s a braised meat stall over there, we can buy some for dad to take home.”

Mrs. Wang said, “That stall is Xuji Braised Flavor from Mingshui Town. I’ve heard it’s particularly good.”

Chen Dabao sniffed the air and said, “Mmm, it smells good. We can even smell it over here.”

Mrs. Wang said, “Let’s buy the Luwei later. We should first enter the temple and pay our respects to the Bodhisattva, thank the Bodhisattva for blessing Afu with recovery, and donate more money for incense.” She added, “It would be great if we could meet the master who predicted Afu’s fortune. We should definitely thank him for his auspicious words.”

The few of them entered the temple and paid their respects to the Bodhisattva, and Chen Afu generously left one to two taels of silver as a donation for incense. After visiting several of the main halls, they were unable to find the monk who had told fortunes, and, not even knowing his Dharma name, Mrs. Wang was quite disappointed.

On the other hand, Chen Afu was a little relieved. She really did not want to meet any senior monks or the like.

Once they left the temple, they bought a pound of braised meat and Chen Afu bought a small pack of winter melon candy for each of the children.

The early afternoon of summer was extremely hot. Once they left Honglin Mountain, it felt even hotter. Seeing the carts and oxcarts on the roadside, Chen Afu did not dare to hail a ride, knowing that Mrs. Wang would not accept it.

Luckily, they didn’t go far before they came across an oxcart from Guqiao Village and got on. There were also two women from Xiangluo Village on the cart.

One woman said, “Mrs. Chen, I heard your sewing baskets are selling for ninety cents each. You must have made several thousand cents today, right?”

Mrs. Wang anxiously replied, “We didn’t make that much. If we price them too high, no one will buy them. We have to sell many of them at a lower price.”

The other woman said, “Even if you sell them for a lower price, how much lower can they get? A full cart of baskets, you must have made four or five thousand cents. Wow, you’ve made in half a day what our entire family makes in half a year. Incredible.”

This made everyone on the cart envious.

Alu and Dabao were quick to deny it, “There’s not that much.”

The woman smirked, “Why deny it? Even if you make a lot, no one’s going to steal it.”

Chen Afu did not deny it. If she denied such a small amount, how would they build a large house in the future.

When they returned to the village, it was already late in the afternoon. From a distance, they saw Chen Ming sitting under the eaves of the house, anxiously looking into the distance. When he saw them returning, he quickly got up and went to the fence door.

Seeing that everyone returned empty-handed except for Mrs. Wang who was carrying a basket on her back, he asked cheerfully, “Did you sell everything?”

Dabao put his index finger to his lips and exaggeratedly hushed, “Grandpa, speak softly. Let’s talk inside.”

The group shut the fence gate and house door, going into the West Room. Dabao was assigned to keep watch at the window for anyone entering the yard. After receiving this honorable task, Chen Dabao squatted on the bed, attentively staring outside through the window frame.

Mrs. Wang took a large pile of money from her basket and placed it on the table, mixed in were a few small silver dimes. Chen Ming and the others were stunned when they saw Chen Afu place several silver ingots on the table. It was their first time seeing so much silver.

Chen Dabao, while keeping an eye outside, bragged, “Made so much money, my mother is capable, isn’t she? And Grandma, she made these sewing kits.”

Alu nodded intensely, “Mmm, sister and Mother are both very capable.”

Mrs. Wang’s eyes grew red as she said, “Finally, we can treat Alu’s leg.”

Chen Ming, in his excitement, his body started trembling as he stared at the silver and said, “With this much money, not only can we treat Alu’s leg, but we can also buy some farmland for Afu and her son. The family will be able to live better.” He pondered for a moment, then pushed two twenty-tael silver ingots in front of him. He pushed the rest of the silver towards Chen Afu, laughing saying, “Father knows, Afu contributed the most to these sewing kits. This time your mother and I will take the large portion, keeping forty taels. Ten taels for Alu’s treatment, and thirty taels to build a tiled house when Alu gets married. The remaining money Afu can spend acquiring a few acres of farmland, and also save some for Dabao’s education and to save for his future marriage. From now on, you and your son will not have to worry.”

Seeing this distribution, Chen Afu had to admire him. He was truly admirable and generous man.

Chen Afu laughed mixing all the silver together, “This is for my little brother’s treatment. Ten taels may not be enough, so we should prepare more.” She pushed three twenty-tael silver ingots to Chen Ming, “These sixty taels, include both mother’s wages and daughter’s respect, you must take them. In addition to treating his leg, Alu also needs to get books, and my father and mother need to live better.” Then she pulled the remaining thirty-six taels toward herself, “This money, my son and I will keep for later use. Land will not be purchased for the time being. We’ll talk after earning more money.”

When Chen Ming was about to refuse, Mrs. Wang held his hand and said, “As the head of the family, you have cared for Afu for more than a decade. This is the first time she’s earned money; you should accept her gift.”

Her voice was choked with emotion. She had always appreciated Chen Ming’s kindness to Afu as if she were his own. Now that Afu was finally able to show her appreciation through her own efforts, she was happier than anyone else.

Chen Afu also reached out and shook Chen Ming’s sleeve, “Father, please accept it. You’ve seen my daughter’s skills, in the future, she’ll show you even more gratitude.”

Sitting by the window, Dabao was clearly delighted and offered encouragement. “Grandpa, just look at how sweet my mother is, accept it.”

Chen Ming nodded, “Good girl, I’ll accept it first. I never dreamed I would have this much money. If Afu and Dabao need it in the future, you just need to come here to get it.”

The group then counted the money earned from selling the sewing kits. Altogether, there were more than 3,000 big copper coins and six small silver dimes. Mrs. Wang was put in charge of this to cover the household expenses.

Deciding where to keep the silver caused both Chen Ming and Mrs. Wang to scratch their heads. In the end, Mrs. Wang and Chen Afu moved the box by the bed, dug a hole in the ground, and buried the jar containing the silver.

The group agreed that once the house was finished, Mrs. Wang would take Alu to the capital for his leg treatment. Chen Afu really wanted to go to the capital to see it, but she had to stay at home to look after Chen Ming.

Chen Afu proposed replacing the thatched roof with tiles to stop rain leaks and replacing the fence wall with a brick wall to increase security and privacy. Not only should this be done for their new house, but also for the old one.

Chen Ming disagreed, “Indeed, the new house should have a brick wall for you two to live safely. It won’t cost much, maybe 1,000 more cents. Let’s talk about the rest later. How much we earned today is obvious. Altogether more than four thousand, plus Alu’s leg treatment in the capital…”
Not showing their wealth is especially important for a family like theirs, with weak, sick, and disabled members. Chen Afu had to temporarily agree.

………..

Thank you to oh oh 520, Jian and Rose, Hera@Qinlin’s “Hebao”.