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Chen Feng returned home carrying the almost dying orchid.
The courtyard was quiet, with Dabao sitting alone under the eaves, engrossed in a book, while Zhui Feng and Wangcai napped at his feet. Seeing Chen Feng return, he put down his book and approached, asking, “Mother, how is sister Yan doing?”
Worried about Chu Hanyan, he hadn’t taken a nap after lunch and had been waiting here for his mother.
Chen Feng smiled, “Little Yan is fine, she’s already eaten and gone to sleep.” Then she asked, “Why aren’t you taking a nap? Go rest for a while, children need enough sleep to grow tall.”
Dabao pointed at the flower and asked, “Why did you bring back a dying flower, Mother?”
Chen Feng replied, “This is an orchid. I want to see if I can revive it.”
The mother and son went to the new courtyard. Dabao went to sleep in the east room, and Chen Feng sent Zhui Feng and Wangcai to join him. She went to the west room alone. Qiqi and Gray had wandered off somewhere, so she closed the doors and windows, moved the flower into the space, and hoped the energy there would revive the flower. If not, she would try using swallow droppings.
Seeing the Golden Swallow busy with his tail raised, she said, “Goldie, Master Wuzhi asked me to take care of this flower for him. Please, don’t mistake it for food.”
The Golden Swallow’s beak was occupied, so he just wagged his long tail to show he understood.
After leaving the space, Chen Feng remembered the purse that Steward Luo had given her. She opened it and found a surprising 500 taels silver note inside.
This substantial performance bonus not only affirmed her work but also served as an advance for the young miss’s future living expenses.
Chen Feng smiled to herself. With this money, she could use half to build a beautiful home and buy furniture, creating a lovely environment for the little Yan to grow up in. She would also make her own clothes and ensure the girl was well-dressed. Additionally, she planned to make items that children from her previous life would enjoy playing with…
She carefully put away the silver note and began sketching different designs of Hello Kitty on paper—Hello Kitty dolls, Hello Kitty pouches, Hello Kitty slippers, and a cotton robe embroidered with Hello Kitty. The style of the cotton slippers and robe was from her previous life, not only stylish but also warm for the winter nights. To prevent the robe from looking bulky, she sewed small diamond-shaped squares onto it.
However, she decided to rename it from Hello Kitty to Lucky Cat. Although somewhat old-fashioned, it suited the current era’s preferences.
After Mrs. Wang and Mrs. Gao finished making the two sets of clothes, she will asked them to work on these items. They would make two of each—one for the embroidery workshop and one for Chu Hanyan.
Now, Mrs. Gao will spend at least two hours every day assisting Mrs. Wang in the second room. Mrs. Gao handled simple sewing, starching, and ironing, while Mrs. Wang focused on embroidery, buttoning, and crucial parts of the clothing.
In the future, she would talk to Steward Luo to see if the embroidery workshop could provide accessories for her to make, thus securing long-term work for Mrs. Wang and Mrs. Gao.
During dinner, Chen Feng mentioned to Chen Ming about the reward of silver from Lord Chu. She didn’t specify the exact amount, as she couldn’t divulge too much about her financial situation. Otherwise, she wouldn’t be able to bring out the forty taels of gold and all the valuable items from the space.
She also mentioned Steward Luo’s desire for them to construct the house quickly and make it spacious. She explained that tomorrow, she would have tenants from the Luo family help clear the bushes.
“Tomorrow, I’ll also hire some people to clear the area. It’s not ideal to use only Tangyuan’s workers. Don’t worry about the money, your daughter is well-off now,” Chen Feng said cheerfully.
Afterward, she gave five taels of silver to Chen Ming to exchange for copper coins in the town. This would serve as payment for the laborers who would help with the cleaning and house repairs. She intended to pay them well since they wouldn’t be provided with lunch.
That night, Chen Feng no longer needed to assist Mrs. Wang, so she joined Chen Ming, Li, and Dabao to study and write together.
While she had a natural talent for drawing, reading and writing required formal learning. Even with a photographic memory, one still needed to comprehend the material.
The following day, Chen Feng rose early to make steamed cakes for the children. Ever since becoming a kindergarten teacher, she had been as busy as a spinning top, rising early and working until late, not even getting a chance to sleep in.
She eagerly anticipated the swift completion of the new house, where she could set up a clay oven to make various delicious snacks, making things much more convenient.
As she opened the door, a gust of cold wind, carrying snowflakes, swept in.
Wow, it’s snowing. This is the first snowfall of the year.
Chen Feng felt a sense of joy, she had spent her previous life in the southern regions where snowfall was rare. Even when it did snow, it was mostly a mix of rain and light snow, nothing like this.
She walked into the courtyard, palms outstretched, catching the snowflakes as they landed, feeling them dissolve into droplets in her hands.
“Are you being silly again? What if you catch a cold? Hurry inside.” a voice called out. It was Mrs. Wang, carrying firewood.
These days, all the baking happened in the new courtyard, so Mrs. Wang was boiling coarse rice in the old courtyard and then coming over to bake.
With the household now busier and money more abundant, they purchased firewood with money.
Mrs. Wang watched as Chen Feng poured the batter, made with eggs, sugar, and various seasonings, into covered teacups before placing the cups into a steamer over a pot. Once steamed, she inverted the cups, revealing delicate, pale yellow sponge cakes, looking delightful. Upon tasting, they were sweet, light, and aromatic, truly delicious.
Chen Feng smiled, “It would be even better with milk.”
Mrs. Wang replied, “It’s already delicious as it is. I don’t know how your mind works, coming up with all these ideas.”
After finishing the first batch, Chen Feng began on the second. While Mrs. Wang went to check on the porridge, Chen Feng slipped a piece of cake into the space. Since she didn’t know where the Golden Swallow was sleeping in one of the apartments, she quickly placed the cake on a leaf and rushed out.
Chen Feng went to Tangyuan and handed a food box to Steward Luo. He smiled as he took it and, observing her carry another food box into the inner courtyard, he no longer seemed as embarrassed as before.
On the 5th of this month, Chen Feng painstakingly avoided resting and only took a break on the 10th.
On the 9th, Chen Ming and Mrs. Wang, knowing that the young miss would visit their home the next day, were extremely nervous, cleaning both courtyards and the house thoroughly. Even Mrs. Wang, who had not left the house in many days, went out with Chen Ming to the town to buy food.
At the same time, they needed to purchase some study materials for Chen Lu, as on the 11th, Lu was set to start attending the village private school.
On the 10th, Chen Feng woke up early. She first checked on the orchid in the space, which had improved significantly since she started caring for it. The stem had turned green, and the leaves had unfolded, although it still wasn’t entirely robust and needed a few more days of care.
Chen Feng couldn’t help but feel a sense of delight at having found another source of income.
Just then, a voice above her head said, “Mommy, the reason I allowed you to bring in this plant is that it’s a rare species, and placing it here doesn’t disgrace the great Golden Treasure. As for any other inferior plants, don’t even think about bringing them in.”
Chen Feng felt a surge of indignation. How did it know her thoughts? This little thing was incredibly shrewd at times.
Ignoring it, she swiftly exited the space.