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Upon seeing the half-kang items, Grandma Chen and Chen Ye praised the thoughtful gifts, expressing concern about the cost of such precious items.
Just as they were happily discussing, they heard crying – it was Chen Jue. She was expecting someone to give her gifts, but seeing everyone else had already received theirs and she hadn’t, she stamped her foot in frustration and began to cry.
This upset Mrs. Hu, who placed her hand on her chest and said, “Even if I have offended people with my words, I have wholeheartedly served the mother-in-law, husband, and younger brother for so many years. How can you all treat me like this? I am the lady of the house, how can you show me such disrespect? It’s not about receiving gifts, it’s about not having regard for the lady of the house…”
Mrs. Hu had some intelligence, in front of Chen Ye, she didn’t act aggressively or insist on anything, instead putting Chen Ye at the forefront. Last time, she had demanded the satin in front of Chen Ye because Chen Jue had disturbed her emotions, leading her to make a mistake.
Upon seeing Chen Jue cry, Chen Ye became angry and embarrassed. He clenched his fists and scolded, “You’re grown up, yet you’re crying over trifles. How did I end up with such a useless daughter? Shut up! If you cry again, I’ll spank you with a shoe.” He then berated Mrs. Hu, “If it weren’t for your lack of integrity, if it weren’t for your loose tongue offending people, would they treat you like this?”
Mrs. Wang quickly said, “Sister-in-law, here, I also brought something for you.” While searching through the box, she continued, “Why isn’t it in this pile? Did it get misplaced while packing?”
This was something Mrs. Wang had arranged with Chen Feng later on. She took a piece of her own silk and gave it to Mrs. Hu. As Mrs. Hu was Chen Ye’s wife, to save Chen Ye’s face and prevent him from getting upset, they couldn’t ignore her. Otherwise, they’d be giving away so much to the main house for nothing.
Chen Feng had no choice but to listen. However, she had arranged for Mrs. Wang to give it to Mrs. Hu because she knew that the greedy Mrs. Hu would make a fuss, and she had to lose face a little.
Upon hearing this, Mrs. Hu eagerly watched as Mrs. Wang searched through the box. After a few moments, Mrs. Wang found a piece of green silk and said, “Here it is. This silk is for you to make clothes, sister-in-law.”
Mrs. Hu, feeling disappointed, asked, “It’s not a silver hairpin like the mother-in-law’s.”
This statement not only made Chen Ye and Chen Gui blush, but even the Old Lady felt embarrassed to have such a greedy daughter-in-law.
Chen Ye shouted, “You greedy woman, if you have no shame, I’ll beat you.”
Mrs. Hu finally stopped speaking indignantly, and seeing Chen Jue still crying, she deliberately added, “Everyone in our family received something, except for A’Jue. Young ladies love beauty and dressing up, so I gave her my piece of silk.”
Chen Feng explained with a wry smile, “Aunt, you can’t say that. All the food is for your family, including Jue. Apart from the elders, this time we only bought a piece of silk specifically for cousin Gui. The silver earrings were a gift for Lan because she’s getting married soon. The clothes for Daya weren’t intentional, they were made from the leftover fabric at the embroidery workshop. Mrs. Gao and Dahua didn’t receive anything either.”
In reality, Chen Feng wanted to give Mrs. Gao a piece of silk but didn’t want Chen Ye to think they were only focusing on Chen Jue, so they refrained from giving it to Mrs. Hu.
Feeling embarrassed by Mrs. Hu and her daughter’s behavior, Chen Ye instructed Chen Gui, “Go, take your mother, sister, and Dahua home. I’ll speak with you and your mother in a while.”
Chen Gui got up, packed the items, and led Mrs. Hu, Jue and Dahua away. Chen Jue, still crying, didn’t want to leave and was being dragged away by Chen Gui. He said, “You’re all grown up, yet you’re worse than Dahua, demanding things like this…”
Meanwhile, Grandma Chen kept the silver earrings close, worried that Chen Jue might take them before they got home. She then said to Chen Ye, “A’Jue needs to be taught a lesson. Hu spoils her, and you shouldn’t, if this continues, it will be harmful for her.”
Chen Ye nodded, his face red with embarrassment.
While Mrs. Wang and Chen Feng were clearing the table, Chen Ming spoke to Chen Ye about how Chen Feng had bought a hundred acres of land for the family. He mentioned that Chen Feng had sold a valuable bird to Tangyuan, and in return, the master of Tangyuan gave her several hundred taels of silver. She also designed a button for the Ni Shang embroidery workshop in the capital city, earning some more silver, which she then used to purchase the land. He also mentioned that he had recovered from his illness and intended to learn farming from Chen Ye to manage their land in the future.
Chen Ye and Grandma Chen were astonished to hear that Chen Ming’s family had purchased a hundred acres of land, their eyes widened and mouths agape.
“Goodness, what kind of bird is that, to be worth so much silver?” Grandma Chen exclaimed in amazement.
Chen Feng chuckled, “I found that bird by chance while collecting firewood in the woods. It had beautiful feathers and a melodious song, so I had Dabao take it to Tangyuan. Little did I know that the bird, a cloud brocade sparrow, was considered valuable.”
“Wow, A’Feng is truly fortunate.” Chen Ye said with a pensive look.
Chen Ye and Grandma Chen thought that Chen Feng had bought this hundred acres of land, and all of it was registered under Chen Ming’s name. They were very pleased, praising Chen Feng as a filial child.
After Mrs. Wang and Chen Feng cleared the table, Chen Ye quietly spoke to Chen Ming, “Second brother, your words weren’t quite right. What do you mean by ‘A’Feng gave it to you? She is the unmarried daughter of our Chen family, and what she earns belongs to this family, to the second branch of Chen. A’Feng is clever and filial. You shouldn’t disrupt your relationship with her.”
The term “disrupt” was emphasized.
Grandma Chen added, “Your elder brother is right. Chen Feng is a dutiful child…” Then she closed the door, and the others didn’t know what they were discussing inside.
Seeing the closed door, they were clearly avoiding her and her mother. Mrs. Wang looked at Chen Feng with surprise, and Chen Feng felt uncomfortable.
She had already established herself, and now that they had seen her intelligence and ability to earn money, they wanted to interfere? Perhaps they feared that if she found out she wasn’t truly part of the Chen family, she would take away the family’s property? Or maybe they had advised Chen Ming to bring her back to the Chen family, to firmly secure her there?
Chen Ming was right, Chen Ye was a good head of the family. He always found ways to protect the family’s interests. If there was a conflict between the larger and smaller branches of the family, he would prioritize the smaller branch. If there was a conflict between their family and others, he would prioritize their family. This wasn’t wrong, people are naturally self-interested. However, there were things you could think about, and things you shouldn’t dwell on or consider, especially with others not being fools.
Chen Ye, in the end, was somewhat narrow-minded, lacking the magnanimity a man should possess. Even if he was shrewd and hardworking, he would only be able to scratch out a living from the soil.
After Mrs. Wang and Chen Feng finished cleaning up, they went to the east room, where Dabao and Lu were playing with Zhui Feng on the heated brick bed.
Mrs. Wang took Chen Feng aside and said, “A’Feng, trust your father. He won’t have those thoughts.”