Chapter 171: Be Clever

Chen Shi saw his second brother’s improved health and became so excited that his eyes turned red. The two brothers walked together into the main room.

Mrs. Zhang came out of the kitchen with a smile, pulling Mrs. Wang to work together in the kitchen. Chen Tang and Chen Lu led Dahua and Dabao to eat candy in the hall. The others went to the west room of the main room, where the old lady Chen led her three sons to sit on the heated brick bed, while the rest sat on chairs below, listening to Chen Shi talk about his experiences in the city, with Chen Yu adding details.

Chen Shi’s family had rented a large shop. It was a two-story building, with the first floor serving as a pub and also selling braised skewers for takeout, while the second floor was dedicated to braised skewers. They not only sold skewers at their own pub but also had a dedicated selling point, hiring twelve workers. He mentioned that currently, there wasn’t enough money, but once they earned more, they would consider buying the shop.

Mrs. Hu was running between the kitchen and the west room, extremely busy, fearing to miss any information related to Chen Shi’s family.

Before Chen Shi returned home, the old lady had privately warned Mrs. Hu, telling her that if she dared to openly or secretly ask Chen Shi for things, she would reveal all the things she had done before to Chen Ye and have Chen Ye dismiss her. Chen Ye and Chen Gui had also given Mrs. Hu a lot of advice, asking her not to casually ask for things, otherwise, the bond between them would fade.

Thus, the phrase “You can’t just focus on getting rich, you should also buy a shop for your eldest brother” twirled countless times in Mrs. Hu’s mind, yet she managed to suppress it.

Chen Shi smiled at Chen Feng and said, “A’Feng, Uncle wants to thank you. Your idea has brought about a tremendous change in your Uncle’s family’s life.”

Chen Feng smiled and replied, “It’s mainly because Uncle Shi is capable.”

She thought to herself that Chen Shi was shrewd, but he had the same flaw as Chen Ye—having a sense of pride and enjoying boasting. No wonder he had been taken advantage of by Mrs. Hu in the past. If his family have ten taels of silver, he would claim to have eleven.

Upon hearing this, Mrs. Hu immediately interjected, “A’Feng, you’ve helped your Uncle Shi’s family, but you should also help your eldest uncle’s family. We’re all relatives, how can we differentiate between them? Our family can be considered your benefactor. If it weren’t for us, those shallow-minded people would have deceived you and sold you back for fifty taels of silver. Would you still be sitting here so peacefully…”

“Mother, what nonsense are you talking?” Chen Gui interrupted Mrs. Hu, glaring at her.

Chen Ye’s expression turned stern as he loudly scolded, “You foolish women, it’s the New Year, yet you can’t find peace. If you dare to misuse the money, before you even spend it, your hands will be crushed by someone. Idiot, no matter how many times I’ve scolded you, you still blabber nonsense. Go, go, go and work in the kitchen.”

Seeing the men getting angry, Mrs. Hu pouted and had no choice but to turn and head back to the kitchen.

Mrs. Hu’s words made Chen Ming blush. Chen Feng let out a cold laugh, thinking to herself, “She’s really lost it. She can twist even good words into something like this.”

Chen Gui quickly apologized to Chen Feng on Mrs. Hu’s behalf.

When Chen Shi asked what was happening, Chen Ming didn’t want to discuss it in public and waved his hand, saying, “It’s a troublesome matter. We can talk about it when we have some free time in the future.”

Chen Feng knew that because she had made a lot of money, the main branch of the family would definitely have ideas. Additionally, the main branch had helped their family a lot recently, and she remembered that. She felt it was time to show some appreciation to the main branch as well.

She whispered to Chen Gui, “I bought another piece of uncultivated land, probably around five acres. I want to plant watermelons. When I was in the city, I bought some watermelon seeds from the Hu people and also learned some special methods for treating the seeds from them. If big brother trusts me, I’ll set aside a few acres for you to grow watermelons with me. I’ll give you some of the seedlings produced from the Western Region watermelon seeds.” She humbly added, “This is my first time growing melons, so I can’t guarantee it will definitely be profitable.”

In her previous life, a good friend, Tang Tingting’s parents were melon farmers. Chen Yanyan had visited their home a few times with Tang Tingting and had often heard her talk about it, learning some tricks for melon germination. She believed that using the environmental space effectively, the watermelons she grew would be even tastier, just like the cucumbers grown in the summer.

Though Chen Gui’s mind wasn’t particularly sharp, he knew that working with Chen Feng wouldn’t lead to losses. He immediately nodded and said with a smile, “If big brother is working with A’Feng, it’s definitely profitable. Even if it ends up in a loss, I’ll accept it. After we harvest the winter wheat, I’ll set aside five acres to grow melons.”

Chen Ye and the old lady, upon hearing this, nodded happily. Both of them were shrewd and had long realized that Chen Feng, after recovering from her illness, was extraordinary. Seeing how pleased Chen Shi was with Feng’s proposal, they were also delighted.

The meal that day was exceptionally lavish. The old lady sat with her three sons and Chen Gui on the heated brick bed, while the others ate on the floor and the table, split into two groups.

During the meal, Mrs. Hu recounted, with extremely expressive gestures, the hardships of Chen Ye in raising Chen Ming and Chen Shi.

This was Chen Ye’s favorite topic to hear, and he erupted into loud laughter.

Chen Ming and Chen Shi both raised their wine bowls to thank Chen Ye for his past sacrifices. The three brothers reminisced about the hardships and the current joyful life.

Mrs. Hu felt stifled with anger, thinking to herself that speaking nicely was pointless if it didn’t involve money.

Chen Aman sat next to Chen Feng, whispering to her from time to time, causing Chen Jue to feel envious and jealous.

In the rural area, Chen Feng’s attire wasn’t particularly flashy, usually consisting of fine cloth or darker-colored silk. However, Chen Aman dressed well, though not of the highest quality, the colors were soft, the style was attractive, and coupled with her fair and delicate appearance, always smiling, everyone liked her.

After the meal, Chen Shi’s family brought out gifts. They bought a golden hairpin and some soft treats for the old lady, and each of the main and second branches received a large package of items for eating and using, with each gift valued at three to four taels of silver. This was already a significant gift.

Chen Ye and Chen Ming expressed their thanks. Mrs. Hu, however, pursed her lips, wanting to say something, but seeing Chen Ye’s stern look, she held her tongue.

After some more chatting and laughter, Chen Ming and the others were about to leave. They agreed to gather at the main branch’s home for the New Year’s Eve dinner and for the second branch to host a gathering on the third day of the Lunar New Year.

Chen Tang announced, “I’m going to stay at brother Dabao and brother A’Lu’s house.”

Chen Aman also stood up and said, “I want to sleep with Sister Feng.”

The old lady said to her, “You haven’t been home for so long, Aman, you should sleep with me.”

Upon hearing this, Chen Aman immediately hugged the old lady’s arm and happily agreed.

The old lady glanced at Chen Jue sitting at a distance and said softly, “Your sister A’Jue has been looking forward to your return. Since you’ve become close to A’Feng, you should also get close to A’Jue. A’Jue is a bit naive and often listens to that Hu Cuicui. Hu Cuicui often instigates her to do wrong things, and when things go wrong, A’Jue takes the blame. She doesn’t listen to me, and her father only knows how to hit, while her mother always indulges her. You young ladies can talk easily. Talk to her more, spend more time with her, make her more shrewd…”

The old lady had no other choice. She originally wanted Feng to talk to Jue more, to spend more time with her. However, Jue had offended Feng to the core, making it awkward for Feng to talk to her. She had to let Aman get closer to Jue, make Jue more wise, and keep her away from Hu Cuicui.