Chapter 265: Not Wanting to Know Too Much

Chen Ming smiled as he held the silver, “To earn this much from these few acres in just over two months is beyond my wildest dreams. But Dad also knows that this time, I’ve once again taken advantage of A’Feng.”

Chen Feng chuckled, “Consider the extra silver as my filial gift to Mom and Dad.”

With the money earned, rewards were also given to the servants and laborers. Zeng Shuang, Old Zeng, and Lin Bo received the most, twenty taels of silver each, followed by Wang Laowu with ten taels. Then, rewards were given in descending order, two to one tael, and everyone at Fengyuan was delighted.

With the excellent treatment from the good doctor and the help of the agarwood bark, Dabao’s leg recovered exceptionally well.

By early July, Dabao began learning at Tangyuan again, taking turns being carried there and back by Xue Dagui and Chu Xiaoniu.

The watermelons grown at Tangyuan and by Chen Ye and Chen Ming also had a bountiful harvest. Due to the high summer temperatures, the watermelons grew faster than in the spring.

Half of the five mu of watermelons grown at Tangyuan were sold, while the remaining half was kept for personal consumption and gifting. Because of the abundance of watermelons, they were distributed to relatives and friends in both the capital city and Dingzhou Prefecture.

These watermelons now had a specific name, known as Dingzhou Sweet Melons. Most of these watermelons were either sent from Dingzhou or bought by merchants from Dingzhou, hence the name.

Chen Ming’s three mu of watermelons earned over forty taels of silver, while the main house’s five mu sold for seventy taels of silver.

Their watermelons were primarily sold to merchants from outside the area through the Dingzhou Fengyunlai Trading Business. Although they didn’t match the prices of their previous watermelons, they still sold for two wen more per catty compared to those of other melon farmers.

This made Chen Ye and Mrs. Hu ecstatic. Previously, with their five mu of land, they could barely earn ten taels in a year, but this time they had earned so much in just two months.

Grandma Chen, Chen Ye, and Chen Gui also bought gifts to thank Chen Feng at Fengyuan. Perhaps they were afraid that Mrs. Hu would be too outspoken, so they didn’t bring her along.

Mrs. Hu also felt that she shouldn’t thank Chen Feng. In her view, if Chen Feng had allowed them from the main house to join in planting the watermelons from the beginning, they would have earned even more money.

At that time, Chen Gui sent his mother back, “At that time, Feng told me that our family had no spare land, so I didn’t join in planting. Who knew that these watermelons would be so profitable? Otherwise, I would have cleared the worthless crops earlier.”

Chen Ye also opened a small grocery store in Sanqing County, naming it “Chen Dagang Variety”. Initially, Chen Ye’s family sold some watermelons in their own store, but due to the limited purchasing power in Sanqing County, they couldn’t get good prices. Eventually, they had to sell through Fengyunlai to get better prices.

Both Chen Ye and Chen Gui enjoyed farming but were unwilling and lacked the skill to engage in business. Therefore, they didn’t personally manage the variety store in the county town, instead opting to hire a shopkeeper and an assistant. Despite the expenses of hiring staff and renting the shop, the store managed to make some profit each day due to the quality and low cost of goods supplied by Fengyunlai. Also, due to Xia Bukuai’s influence, no one dared to cause trouble at their store.

To Chen Feng, the small store seemed to lack substantial significance. Half of the earnings went to the shopkeeper and assistant, leaving less than one tael of silver per month. From her perspective, it would be more meaningful to focus on farming, use the savings to buy more land, or hire someone to cultivate virgin land and grow high-quality crops. This way, they could become successful landowners and still earn a good income.

Chen Ming tried to explain this to Chen Ye, but he wouldn’t listen. He felt that since his two younger brothers had their own stores, he should have one as well. Chen Feng found it difficult to express her thoughts further, fearing that the main house might think that she was unwilling to provide them with goods from Fengyunlai at a fair price.

As for Chen Ming’s store, Chen’s Grain Shop, it was still running at a loss, except for some initial earnings from selling watermelons. Since it only sold grain and had a limited variety, and with the saturation of grain stores in the county town, plus the expenses of renting the shop and paying the shopkeeper and assistant, it was operating at a loss each month.

Chen Ming was considering closing down the store or switching to a variety store. Chen Feng advised him to persevere and wait for a good harvest of high-quality grains. Although they wouldn’t be able to sell all the high-quality grains, having them available would improve the sales of other grains. In this era, a well-managed grain store could be highly profitable. Moreover, opening a grain store was not easy. Chen’s Grain Shop was established with the special approval of the county magistrate, arranged by Steward Luo.

On the evening of July 19th, just as Chen Feng and the others were about to have dinner, Chu Lingxuan arrived again.

“Dad.”

“Uncle.”

“Dad.”

Not only Chu Hanyan and Chu Lingzhi but even Chen Dabao shouted out their greetings to Chu Lingxuan.

Through this injury, Dabao truly realized that not only his mother, grandmother, grandfather, uncle, and little sister, cared for him, but also the pets and Chu Lingxuan genuinely cared for him. He believed this was his reward for reciprocating with heartfelt care. As a result, he treated Chu Lingxuan with more warmth and sincerity than before.

Hearing the joyful shouts of the children, Chu Lingxuan’s lips curved upwards. Seeing Chen Feng rise to prepare for the kitchen, his smile deepened.

After dinner, the old Marquis returned to Tangyuan first, while Chu Lingxuan remained at Fengyuan with the two children. With Dabao’s leg inconvenience, the children sat in the western wing room to play with building blocks. After a day of learning, it was their most relaxed moment.

Chen Feng and Chu Lingxuan went to the western room upstairs. Considering the time since Dabao’s accident, she felt there were some things that needed to be discussed with him. She also had a feeling that Chu Lingxuan had something to say to her.

The servants were tactful enough not to follow them.

Inside the room, the two sat by a round table. The sun had not fully set, and the twilight’s glow still seeped into the room, casting a warm light. However, it felt inappropriate for a man and a woman to be alone in the room, so Chen Feng lit the candles on the lotus jade lamp. The candlelight was dim, flickering at times, casting alternating light and shadow on their faces.

“I…” they both began.

“You go first.” Chu Lingxuan said softly.

“No, you go first.” Chen Feng replied.

“Alright, I’ll start.” Chu Lingxuan smiled and leaned forward, his face closer to Chen Feng’s. He reached out, holding her hands resting on the table and said, “Feng, although we haven’t spent a very long time together, I know you’re a gentle, virtuous, and kind-hearted girl. Otherwise, you wouldn’t have shown such affection to the ‘son’ you found, nor would you have cared for my Yanyan so tenderly. We are already betrothed, and we are to be married early next year. I feel that there are some things I should tell you… These things were unknown even to my father and me initially, and I only found out the day before our betrothal. My second uncle, second aunt, and even my mother and third aunt were unaware. After you hear this, you must keep it deep in your heart and never reveal it to anyone.”

Chen Feng didn’t want to hear any more. She didn’t want to know too much.