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Chen Feng turned and saw Dabao standing on the bed, dressed in a red jacket, red trousers, and a red hat, looking like a brightly red lantern, incredibly handsome. She went over, kissed Dabao’s face a couple of times, and said, “My son has outshone everyone.”
Dabao, feeling truly pampered, couldn’t even straighten his tongue properly, holding onto her neck and saying, “I can’t beat you, Mom… I can’t beat you…”
Chen Feng bent down, personally helped Dabao put on his little red boots, and wiped his face. Then, mother and son held hands as they walked out of the west wing.
The sky was still blanketed with fluffy snowflakes. Even though the servants had just cleared a path in the courtyard, it was now covered in snow once again. Not only the courtyard, but the rooftops, tree branches outside the courtyard, and even the lanterns were all coated in a thick layer of snow. Everywhere was a scene of pure white.
Fortunately, they were now living in a large tiled house. If they were in the old grassy courtyard, they would have worried about the heavy snow collapsing the house.
As they arrived at the main residence, Chen Ming, Mrs. Wang, and Lu were already seated, dressed in their new clothes.
Chen Feng led Lu and Dabao to bow and pay their respects to Chen Ming and Mrs. Wang, who, in turn, gave each of them a red packet containing six silver coins. Then, Lu bowed to Chen Feng, and Dabao kowtowed to her. Chen Feng, with a smile, also gave each of them a red packet, also containing six silver coins.
Next, the servants came in to bow and offer New Year’s greetings to the masters, who then gave them red packets, each containing two silver coins.
These red packets were all prepared in advance by Chen Feng. She also prepared a few extra red packets, each containing two silver coins, for the younger generation of the Chen family who came to offer New Year’s greetings.
After the lively festivities, they finally sat down for a meal.
After the meal, accompanied by Xue Dagui, Lu took Dabao to make New Year’s visits. They first went to Tangyuan, then to the Luo family, and finally to the village.
Chen Feng chatted with Chen Ming and Mrs. Wang for a while. They discussed Chen Ming’s plan to visit Xianhu Village on the fourth day of the Lunar New Year. They decided to visit Mrs. Wang’s eldest uncle’s home to offer New Year’s greetings and also inquire about the whereabouts of Mrs. Wang’s younger brother, Wang Cheng.
Mrs. Wang’s eldest uncle was a formidable figure, it was he who had once led a group that severely beat Mrs. Wang’s biological father and stepmother.
Mrs. Wang’s spirits were also lifted, and she also wanted to go back. She was too eager to know her brother’s whereabouts. She had wanted to inquire for over twenty years, but had not dared to do so until now. Naturally, she wanted to find out as soon as possible.
Chen Feng said, “If you really want to go back, take Xue Dagui and Mrs. Zeng with you. Xue Dagui is formidable, and Mrs. Zeng is eloquent. With them, you won’t have to worry about being taken advantage of.”
Just as they were speaking, the New Year’s visitors arrived.
The first group to arrive was Chen Gui and Chen Yu, the legitimate young relatives who had to kowtow. Chen Ming also gave them red packets and asked them to take red packets for the other young relatives. Then came Luo Xiao, followed by Mrs. Wei, and then there were more and more waves of visitors, including the staff from Tangyuan, the villagers from Xiangluo Village, and even those from Shangshui Village…
As a female, Chen Feng hid in the west wing. She washed a few teacups she had taken from the space, then poured the used water into the backyard, which had already been sectioned off as a future vegetable garden.
She looked at the teacups. Even though they were cleaned, they couldn’t be used anymore. However, since it was New Year’s Day, she felt like she couldn’t throw them away. So, she placed the teacups under the bed and planned to dispose of them after the New Year. She couldn’t throw them away at home – the thrifty Chen Ming and Mrs. Wang would surely reclaim them for further use.
Suddenly, she heard the delighted voice of Old Zeng from the yard, “Ah, young miss is here.”
Chen Feng left the bedroom and saw Chu Hanyan, draped in a pomegranate-red hooded cloak, already inside. Seeing Chen Feng, she quickly walked over, folded her chubby little hands, and said, “Wishing Aunt… a prosperous New Year… and all… the best.”
Then, she looked up at her, wearing a face that begged for praise.
On the side, Mama Song corrected her, “Dear, you have to wait until Aunt is seated before offering New Year greetings.” She had already reminded her many times while at Tangyuan, but as soon as she saw Chen Feng, she would rush to make an impression.
Chen Feng laughed and said, “Don’t worry about it.” Then she said to Chu Hanyan, “Dear, you’re so capable. You’ve come to offer New Year greetings, and Aunt’s big red packet is already prepared.”
She handed her the red packet, which had already been prepared and contained six silver coins, and asked her to remove her cloak and have some pastries and candies. After hearing that the guests from the main residence had all left, she took the little girl to the main residence, where she offered New Year greetings to Chen Ming and Mrs. Wang.
The noble girl offering New Year greetings brought great joy to Chen Ming and Mrs. Wang, who promptly gave her a red packet each.
The little girl smiled and said, counting on her fingers, “I have… one, two, three, four, oh, five, five red packets!”
Chu Hanyan didn’t have many close relatives here, and the servants couldn’t give red packets to the masters. Receiving so many all at once made her extremely happy.
Chen Feng led her to the west wing to play for a while, and the little girl left reluctantly.
At noon, Lu and Dabao returned. Each of the boys received several red packets, from old marquis Chu, Chu Lingxuan, grandma Chen, Chen Ye, and Chen Shi. Old marquis Chu and his grandson gave six and four first-rank gold coins, while Chen Shi gave a hundred copper coins, and the others gave fifty copper coins each.
Surprisingly, Chu Lingxuan also gave a red packet to Chen Feng, which Dabao brought to her, containing eight gold ingots.
Dabao said, “I kowtowed to Mr. Chu on behalf of Mom and wished him good health and longevity.”
Chen Feng praised him, “Well done, son.”
It was the first time Dabao had so much money, and he smiled broadly. He generously handed the money to Chen Feng, saying, “All this money is for you, Mom. You can use it to buy flowers.”
This brought everyone much joy. Chen Feng laughed and said, “Mom has money to buy flowers. This money is all Dabao’s private money, and I’ll keep it for you. If you find something you like, come to me for money.” She also put twenty copper coins into his purse and said, “This money is for buying candy.”
Chen Lu was much more modest. He also handed all his red packets to Mrs. Wang but was too shy to express any sweet words. Mrs. Wang also said it was his private money, and she would keep it for him. In the end, she also gave him twenty copper coins as pocket money.
On the second day of the New Year, they had fermented rice soup and steamed buns for breakfast. Chen Feng had thought of making fermented rice soup on the twenty-seventh day of the lunar month and had it prepared by Auntie Mu.
She made a large pot and two small pots and gave a small pot to both Tangyuan and the Luo’s family. People in the south loved this dish, and she wasn’t sure if northerners would enjoy it, so she didn’t send too much.
It was the first time Chen Ming and the others had tried it, and they all said it was delicious and aromatic. Chen Feng also felt it tasted better than in her previous life, perhaps due to the quality of their own water.
Today was the day to visit the maiden’s family. Their family didn’t have a daughter to visit her family, and Mrs. Wang had no family to return to, so the whole family jostled together on the heated brick bed in the west room, chatting and laughing. Lu and Dabao would occasionally run outside to set off firecrackers or run around wildly.
Around the afternoon, Mrs. Wei arrived.