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After Mrs. Wang left, Chen Feng couldn’t be bothered with having breakfast. She took some steamed buns and headed to the Tangyuan.
Dabao and Lu were staying in a small courtyard with Chu Lingzhi. When she arrived, the children were having breakfast.
Dabao was clearly distracted, and his eyes were a little swollen. He hadn’t slept well the previous night. Chu Lingzhi chided him, “You’re not acting like a proper young man. You shouldn’t be clinging to your mother’s apron strings all the time. Look at me, I’ve been separated from my mother for so long, but I still eat and sleep. My father said that’s how you become a general and make something of yourself.”
Dabao retorted indignantly, “That’s because your family has money and power. You’ve never been afraid that one day you might be separated from your mother and never see her again. But I’m different. We’re poor, and grandmother Hu has said more than once that she’d sell me to the mountains or to a theater troupe. If that happens, I’ll never see my mother again.” As he spoke, his voice trailed off.
Chu Lingzhi looked like he thought Dabao was just making excuses and said, “Brother Lu is from the same family as you, and he’s not as afraid of being separated from his mother as you are.”
Dabao blurted out, “That’s because I’m not…” He quickly covered his mouth with his hand, swallowing the rest of the sentence. It was something he didn’t want to admit, but he had to. Everyone knew he wasn’t his mother’s biological son, which was why he was even more afraid.
He fell silent, his eyes welling up.
Chen Lu knew why he was upset and quickly intervened, “I’m also afraid of being separated from my mother, but as I’ve grown up, I’m less afraid. Dabao is still young, he’ll get over it as he grows older.” He reassured Dabao, “Our family isn’t poor anymore, General Chu is now your father, so no one will dare to bully us, and Aunt also won’t speak to you like that anymore.”
Chu Lingzhi boasted, “Who is Grandma Hu? Without my big brother stepping in, I could have her family brought to their knees with just my guards.”
Chen Feng then walked in, smiling, “Dabao, look at what I’ve brought for you.”
Dabao’s face lit up upon seeing Chen Feng, and he called out, “Mom, Mom, hugs, hugs!” He was so thrilled that he couldn’t even get his words out properly. If his legs could move, he would have run faster than Zhui Feng.
Chu Lingzhi shrugged, shook his head, and rolled his eyes.
Chen Feng cheerfully placed the meal box on the table and took out a large plate of steamed buns. After they finished breakfast, they went to the front yard for their lessons, and Chen Feng then visited the Serene courtyard where the young girl lived. The two courtyards were adjacent, just a few steps away.
Chu Hanyan was still asleep, so Chen Feng spoke softly with Mama Song and Mrs. Wei about various matters. When the little girl woke up, they played for a while before Chen Feng returned home.
Sasa had now officially become a part of Fengyuan, a member of the household. Not only did Chen Feng like it, even the servants did, although they still didn’t dare get too close to it for the time being.
Later, Mrs. Wang came over to find Chen Feng, informing her that the wood had been delivered and asked her to take a look. She wanted to take Zhui Feng and Sasa to Luyuan to let Sasa get acquainted, but Zhui Feng refused to go.
Perplexed, Chen Feng asked, “Didn’t you use to enjoy playing with Wangcai?”
The Golden Swallow’s voice echoed in her mind, “The two brothers have become rivals. Wangcai has also pursued Sasa, becoming Zhui Feng’s love rival, but Sasa doesn’t like it. So, Zhui Feng doesn’t like Wangcai now and sees it as a toad lusting after a swan.”
Initially, Chen Feng was upset with Zhui Feng’s stubbornness, but upon hearing this surprising news, she couldn’t help but burst into laughter. Autumn and Old Zeng, and a few others in the courtyard, looked at her in surprise.
Chen Feng quickly smiled and said, “Zhui Feng, are you afraid that if you bring your wife to Luyuan, Wangcai might have ill intentions?”
Zhui Feng seemed to understand, and it stood with its eyes fixed in the direction of Luyuan, letting out a series of powerful howls.
Its behavior amused everyone in the courtyard.
Old Zeng proudly declared, “Our dogs and birds here are smarter than those elsewhere.”
Upon arriving at Luyuan, Chen Feng saw Wangcai lying listlessly under a tree, half asleep. It opened its eyes upon hearing the movement, but upon seeing her, it closed its eyes halfway, as if in a half-awake state. It didn’t greet her as enthusiastically as before, wagging its tail upon seeing her come over. Chen Feng found it quite amusing that Wangcai seemed lovesick and even had a grudge against her.
She noticed a pile of wood in the corridor, and the Wu carpenters, father and son, were already there, bent over and examining the wood. For the next few months, they would only work on Feng’s furniture, setting aside all other tasks.
Wu, the carpenter, straightened up and smiled, “To make beautiful furniture for Feng, I even took some time a few days ago to visit my senior brother in the provincial capital and see the furniture and the carved patterns they were making. This time, the furniture we make will surely be even more beautiful.”
Chen Feng smiled and thanked him.
Wu Chanshen chuckled, and the bitterness in his eyes had vanished. It was said that his wife was already a few months pregnant, so he would soon become a father.
As their lunch would now be at Luyuan, Chen Feng asked Autumn to come and help Auntie Mu with the cooking.
Chen Ming and Mrs. Wang accompanied Chen Feng to the upper room. Chen Ming said, “Next year, the Chu family will officially propose a marriage alliance with our family. We’ve already decided that we’ll escort the betrothal gifts, and the family will provide you with a dowry.”
Chen Feng replied, “There’s no need for a dowry from you. I have some money and property, and I’ll ask Old Zeng to buy some fabric and bedding. That’ll serve as my dowry from my natal home.”
Mrs. Wang disagreed, saying, “That won’t do. When a daughter gets married, her natal family has to provide a dowry. It wouldn’t look good if we didn’t, and it wouldn’t sit well with future son-in-law.”
Chen Ming shared the same sentiments.
Chen Feng thought it over and said, “I’ll give you a thousand taels of silver. You can use it to buy some fabric, jewelry, bedding, and along with the furniture, it should be sufficient. When making these purchases, have Mrs. Luo come along, she knows what to buy.”
Chen Ming didn’t want Chen Feng’s money, but his savings didn’t add up to a thousand taels of silver. He felt conflicted.
Chen Feng smiled and said, “Your Daughter isn’t short of money. Use this money, and in the future, Daughter will also take care of you.”
Chen Ming replied, “Daughter should live her life well. Once married, she’ll belong to her husband’s family, and frequently helping her natal family might invite criticism. We’re not short of money now, with the restaurant, grain shop, and the fields. We won’t exhaust them in this lifetime.”
At the same time, they insisted that the money for the wood and craftsmanship of the furniture should be paid by the natal family.
After calculating, Chen Feng realized that the total sum was less than two hundred taels of silver, so she agreed.
In recent days, Chen Feng had been building a relationship with Sasa, talking to it, feeding it, and taking it to the children’s playground to slide and play. She also let Chu Xiaoniu take it and Zhui Feng outside the courtyard for a walk.
Sasa’s affection for Chen Feng grew day by day, and it also developed a greater liking and admiration for Zhui Feng, as the family members were really kind.
Only after ensuring that Sasa wouldn’t harm the family did Chen Feng allow the children to return.