Chapter 124: Progress

Chen Feng shook her head and corrected, “That’s not speaking slowly. It’s singing, a song, a song.”

“Song… More,” Chu Hanyan said.

Chen Feng sang it again. As soon as she finished, Chu Hanyan said, “More.”

But singing continuously wasn’t feasible.

Chen Feng said, “Just Auntie singing isn’t enough. You need to learn to sing too. When Golden Treasure returns and finds that you can sing, and that you’re singing his song, he’ll be delighted. Maybe he’ll even keep you company in the evenings…”

Regardless of whether she understood or not, Chen Feng continued to talk.

Later, she stood up and said, “Today’s first lesson is…”

At noon, Mrs. Luo was amazed by the scene in the Serene Courtyard when she arrived to deliver lunch.

Chen Feng stood under the ginkgo tree, with Hanyan, Dabao, Luo Mei, and Luo Ming Cheng lined up opposite her. In the middle stood Qiqi and Gray.

When Chen Feng said something, the children and the two parrots repeated it, clapping rhythmically as they spoke. Chu Hanyan, though, just stared at Chen Feng, occasionally moving her lips. When she grew impatient, Mama Song quickly fed her a bit of golden silk cake.

“Little swallow, wearing flowered clothes, Comes here every springtime. I asked the swallow why it comes. The swallow said, the springtime here is the most beautiful.”

After singing it once, Chen Feng would give two thumbs up, praising, “Well done.”

Chen Feng saw Mrs. Luo arriving with the food container and said, “The first lesson is over. You all did very well. Auntie rewards you with golden silk cake.”

Then she gave a few of the children a small piece of golden silk cake each, and Qiqi and Gray also got one each. The two little ones were getting impatient, but they were being kept interested with the golden silk cake.

Mrs. Luo smiled and said, “Ms. Feng, you’re having lunch here too, right? After you finish…”

The words “go home” were swallowed back as she smiled and glanced at Chu Hanyan.

Since Chen Feng had prepared food for herself and Dabao, and she was feeling quite hungry, she decided to stay and eat here. After Chu Hanyan fell asleep and Dabao also retired to his side room’s couch, she took Zhui Feng and returned home.

She walked briskly and arrived home in about half an hour.

Mrs. Wang had saved some food for her, but she mentioned that she had already eaten.

Chen Ming enthusiastically said, “I walked around this morning, and I still feel that our place is great. The two courtyards can be combined into one, and then we can buy the vacant land next to your courtyard to build another one.”

Chen Feng responded, “The combined land isn’t even two acres. Building two courtyards would be too small. Plus, right outside is someone else’s farmland, not very spacious.”

Chen Ming suggested, “Then your courtyard can be larger, and ours can be smaller.”

Chen Feng shook her head, saying, “It’s best to get it right the first time. Each courtyard needs at least two acres of land. Let’s have Dad look around again.”

Chen Ming nodded helplessly. Although he felt there was no need to build such large courtyards, he decided to listen to his daughter.

Chen Feng rested in the new courtyard for about two hours. After getting up, she thought about what she could do for the Ni Shang embroidery workshop and started drawing and writing with a brush on paper.

Since recovering, whenever Chen Feng had free time, she would diligently study or practice calligraphy with Dabao and Lu.

Her “astuteness” left Chen Ming astonished. Once, he couldn’t contain himself and blurted out, “A’Feng is too clever, just like Chen…” realizing his mistake, he quickly shut his mouth, his face turning red.

Beside him, Mrs. Wang also blushed, looking at her husband and daughter, uncertain of what to say.

Chen Feng knew he wanted to say “too much like Chen Shiying, the Scholar.” Fortunately, the Scholar was a brilliant student and had exceptional talent, composing poetry at the age of five, providing a source for her “cleverness.” In reality, the ancients understood genetics, but they referred to it as “inheritance.”

Seeing Chen Ming and Mrs. Wang like this, Chen Feng chuckled and said, “Too much like Dad, right? Grandma has said that if Dad hadn’t fallen ill, he would have passed the imperial examination by now.”

Chen Ming breathed a sigh of relief, nodded with a smile. Mrs. Wang also relaxed and continued with her work.

Chen Feng’s “astonishing cleverness” and “remarkable appearance” were much like Chen Shiying, allowing her to be less restrained in her studies. Her drawings were unique and beautiful, just like the animals and clothes she sketched.

So, whatever she drew, Chen Ming and Mrs. Wang never found it unbelievable.

After some time spent drawing, she headed to Tangyuan around noon.

The afternoon sun was scorching, even in autumn. Unable to play in the yard, they played in the shade of the corridor.

Chen Feng, with a few children, Qiqi, and Gray, sang and danced, reciting and acting out “The Little Swallow Wearing Flowered Clothes.” Later, Miao, Qiao, and two ten-year-old maids also joined in. They took breaks, had some water, and ate snacks.

Their “lessons” each day consisted of just one thing—reciting the lyrics of “The Little Swallow,” combined with dancing and singing.

Dabao no longer wanted to partake in this childish game. The next day, he recited for a while, then took Zhui Feng to the side to read. At times, he was drawn in by their laughter, prompting him to cheer, “Hanyan, you’re amazing,” and then he would hold up two thumbs toward them.

However, most of Dabao’s efforts, about seven or eight times out of ten, went unheard by Chu Hanyan. Occasionally, if she did hear him, she would look in his direction, which would make Dabao incredibly happy.

The older girls, including Luo Mei, understood that they were playing with the young miss and were extremely cooperative. Only the little Luo Ming Cheng felt frustrated and unhappy. After playing for a while, although he had already memorized the lyrics, he continued to repeat the same words, reciting them very slowly, which made him impatient.

Whenever he slackened, Mrs. Luo or Mrs. Wei would glare at him, and he had no choice but to continue playing, sometimes with tears in his eyes.

Observing this, during the “breaks,” Chen Feng would discreetly give him an extra piece of golden silk cake or some other snack, coaxing him, “This is just for Ming Cheng, because he’s the best, better than all the others.”

Upon hearing this, Luo Ming Cheng would smile through his tears.

Chen Feng’s actions brought joy to the Luo family.

After three days, Chu Hanyan finally managed to say, “The little swallow, wearing flowered clothes… comes here in springtime,” and even managed a small jump at the end.

Although her speech was very slow and somewhat hesitant, and her jumping wasn’t very high, this was a significant improvement for her. Furthermore, she was no longer averse to playing with the other children. Sometimes, when she saw others having fun, she would even form a faint smile.