Chapter 209: Capturing

Around 9 am, Chu Hanyan, Luo Mei, and Luo Ming Cheng arrived under the supervision of the adults.

It was the first day of class at the new campus. Chen Feng and the children were very excited. With Yang Chao and Yang Qian around, the class atmosphere became livelier.

They began by listening to stories and playing games in the activity room. Then, they practiced martial arts in the front yard and learned counting and addition within ten in the study. Afterward, they had lunch and took a nap.

In the afternoon, they played games, built with building blocks, learned new words, and then had free time in the children’s playground at the back, ending the day with dinner.

After dinner, the children continued to romp in the yard, while the birds, having roamed freely all day, returned under the leadership of Golden Swallow.

Laughter, barking, and chirping intertwined, making Fengyuan even more lively.

Chu Hanyan would be sleeping in the same bed with Yang Qian and Feng tonight, her smile even sweeter with joy.

Meanwhile, Chen Feng and Mrs. Wang discussed the arrangements for Dabao’s birthday the next day. It was the fifth anniversary of his first appearance and would also be considered his fifth birthday. After the celebration, he would start attending a private school.

Chen Ming had taken Dabao to visit Mr. Jiang at the Shuicun private school. Mr. Jiang was very fond of Dabao, stating that he was extremely bright and talented. He even asserted, “I can at most teach this child for a year. After that, you will need to seek another excellent teacher…”

This statement had moved Chen Ming to tears. Their family would finally produce an official.

Mrs. Wang felt that giving Dabao a birthday celebration should involve more than just giving him an egg, as he usually understood and even shared half with his mother. She wanted to throw a lively celebration for him, as is customary in the countryside – inviting more guests and preparing more delicious food.

Chen Feng disagreed, saying that Dabao’s happiness was the most important. Therefore, she planned to have only the children accompany her. Apart from the children at home, she would invite Shitou, Sixizi, and two other children from Tangyuan who got along well with Dabao, Dazhu and Guanzi.

Both Chen Feng and Mrs. Wang were worried about Chen Ming. Given his personality, he shouldn’t have missed Chen Feng’s housewarming or Dabao’s birthday. However, he had not returned, and he might miss Dabao’s birthday.

Chen Feng comforted Mrs. Wang, “Mother, don’t worry. With Steward Luo overseeing things and looking after them, if there’s an emergency, they will definitely send someone back to inform us.”

Suddenly, a clatter of carriage wheels was heard outside, and the carriage stopped at the entrance of Fengyuan. Soon, Zeng Shuang’s voice followed, “Open the door, Chen is back.”

Old Zeng quickly opened the door, and both Mrs. Wang and Chen Feng got up and went to the entrance, followed by the children.

They saw Chen Ming and Zeng Shuang standing at the door, with Chen Ming looking rather pale. The carriage was from Tangyuan, and it had brought them back before returning to Tangyuan.

Zeng Shuang helped Chen Ming inside, and Mrs. Wang anxiously asked, “What’s wrong, the head of the family?”

Chen Ming shook his head and walked straight into the upper room. Chen Feng and Mrs. Wang quickly followed. Chen Lu and Dabao wanted to follow as well, but Chen Feng stopped them, instructing them to continue playing with the young guests in the yard and asking Mrs. Zeng to attend to Chen Ming and Zeng Shuang.

After drinking a glass of water, Chen Ming explained the situation.

It turned out that when Chen Ye and Mrs. Hu realized the grandeur of the restaurant and the thriving business, they regretted their decision. Prosperous Grand Restaurant was a three-story building with green brick, projecting eaves, carved railings, painted columns, and colorful lanterns that dazzled their eyes.

They had initially assumed that the restaurant, due to its modest size, might be only slightly better than the restaurants in Sanqing County, and never expected it to be so luxurious and grand, surpassing even the best restaurants in the county.

Moreover, the business was unexpectedly booming, with all three floors fully occupied. They wondered how much money it could possibly earn!

Chen Ming shook his head, “The unexpectedly brisk business in the first few days was due to Steward Luo’s and Zeng’s connections, as they invited many stewards from the generals’ mansions, people associated with the generals’ mansions, even military officers, and some officials that the restaurant must entertain. Normally, we wouldn’t have so many customers…”

However, Chen Ye and Mrs. Hu didn’t see it that way, they simply felt that they had been taken advantage of. The second and third branches each held forty percent of the shares, while the main branch only held ten percent. They believed that the second and third branches would inevitably earn more and the main branch would only get poorer…

Chen Ye regretted not investing more money and securing a larger share, as the restaurant clearly promised significant profits. He felt that it was all because of that stubborn woman, otherwise, he could have invested another hundred or so taels of silver and secured a larger share.

On the other hand, Mrs. Hu felt that the second and third branches were too stingy, and if they were to distribute shares, each should have been allocated thirty percent. At present, they each held forty percent, which was unfair.

At that time, Chen Shi had purposely booked a private room at the restaurant to treat the entire Chen family to a meal.

Mrs. Hu was the first to confront them, tearfully accusing the second and third branches of being selfish and ungrateful, only thinking about their own wealth and causing their elder brother to suffer losses and poverty. She particularly targeted Chen Feng, claiming that it was all her idea, and that the girl’s heart was deceitful…

Chen Ming didn’t mind being scolded, but he didn’t like it when Chen Feng was blamed. He said, “It was sister-in-law who didn’t want to invest money that day, how can you blame my A’Feng for it? A’Feng had a kind heart, she offered the idea so that the main branch could secure a share without investing money.”

Mrs. Zhang also chimed in, “Yes, A’Feng came up with the idea that day. I remember sister-in-law being very pleased.” She thought to herself, not only was Mrs. Hu pleased, the whole main branch was pleased.

Chen Ye was already angry and was about to rebuke her for her harsh language when he heard Chen Ming’s words, which immediately created distance among the family members, further displeasing him. He sternly said, “Second brother, what did you say? What do you mean by ‘my A’Feng’ and ‘your main branch’?”

Grandma Chen also spoke up, “Second son, are you out of your mind? You can’t distinguish between relatives and non-relatives?”

Chen Ming, who was already afraid of Chen Ye, was indeed agitated and realized he had spoken too hastily. He quickly said, “I misspoke, big brother, please don’t be angry…”

Seeing her husband’s support, Mrs. Hu felt encouraged. She sneered, “Oh, now ‘my A’Feng’? You have the nerve to say that… Many villagers are secretly saying that Feng isn’t your biological daughter, she was brought by Mrs. Wang and is the biological daughter of the magistrate…”

This statement frightened the Chen family and grandma Chen. If anyone overheard it, the whole family would be in serious trouble. They quickly warned her not to speak recklessly.

Chen Ye, infuriated, slapped her, causing her to fall onto the table, knocking over a pile of bowls and dishes beneath her. Fortunately, the weather was still cold, and Mrs. Hu was wearing thick clothing, so apart from a few blisters on her hands, she was not seriously injured. Mrs. Hu immediately burst into loud wails, creating chaos in the room.

They couldn’t continue the meal and everyone returned home.

Because Chen Ming was upset, he couldn’t sleep well, and Chen Shi and Chen Yu went to him to check his well-being.

The next morning, a group of military officers from Chen Shiying’s family suddenly stormed in and arrested Mrs. Hu, accusing her of falsely accusing a senior court official, a serious crime. However, due to the case’s connection to the magistrate, to avoid suspicion, the case was transferred to the military.