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Chen Ye was displeased when Mrs. Hu expressed her desire to obtain the parrots from the second branch, saying, “Those things belong to others, and their children like them. Why should they give them to our family?”
He also mentioned that both his brothers had been very good, always remembering the affection he had shown them. The third branch had built a large house for them, and as soon as the second courtyard’s situation improved, they frequently sent food and drinks, as well as a lot of satin to their family. He advised her not to be so superficial and demanding of everything. If she continued, it would dilute the bond between the brothers.
While Chen Ye and Mrs. Hu were having this discussion, Chen Gui walked in and said, “Mother, please listen to some advice. Always asking uncles for things is not good. Father and I work day and night, and we’ve never treated you or my sisters unfairly. Our family is now well-off in the village. Please give Father and me some face. Also, A’Jue, Mother should teach her well.”
Chen Gui was not one to speak much, so it was rare for him to say so much.
Chen Ming added, “A’Gui is right. You should be stricter with A’Jue. She’s almost of marriageable age and still so immature.”
Thinking about these matters, Mrs. Hu suppressed what she wanted to say.
After the Mid-Autumn Festival, whenever Luo Mei and Luo Ming Cheng didn’t come to play at the house, Chen Dabao busied himself collecting firewood at the east side of the village. He went twice a day, morning and afternoon, to collect extra for storage. When they go to the Capital city next month, Grandfather would have something to burn. Sometimes, when Chen Feng finished her tasks, she would accompany him.
After the twentieth, although a lot of cornstalks had been brought back to the courtyard, they were still not dry and needed a few more days to dry out before they could be used as firewood.
If the Luo siblings did come, Dabao would play with them, and Chen Feng would prepare some snacks.
That night, the first autumn rain arrived. It drizzled all night.
The next day, by the time Chen Dabao finished writing, it was already mid-morning. Not seeing the Luo siblings, he took the initiative to go to the village with Zhui Feng to meet Shitou and Sixizi to collect firewood. Although Shitou and Sixizi didn’t need to collect firewood for their families, they were willing to accompany Dabao to play in the woods.
Chen Feng advised, “The ground is still a bit wet. Let’s go tomorrow?”
Dabao shook his head and said, “No, I need to save more firewood for Grandfather.”
Chen Feng could only go along with him. Qiqi and Gray also wanted to go with them. Chen Feng instructed them, “If you want to play, just fly a few circles high up or go to the woods in the mountain, but stay away from people, don’t let anyone catch you.”
Qiqi and Gray, upon hearing this, spread their wings and flew up into the sky.
Chen Feng took the clothes she was making for Yang Qian to the east room of the old courtyard. She worked on her tasks while talking to Chen Ming and Mrs. Wang.
At that moment, Mrs. Hu arrived. She didn’t call at the door but came in directly through the fence gate.
Mrs. Wang had to welcome her into the east room.
Chen Feng had already put the satin for the clothes she’s making into the bed cabinet and felt extremely depressed. She was using her own family’s satin to make clothes, feeling like a thief.
Mrs. Hu, unusually cheerful today, chatted with them for a while and then said, “Hey, where are those two birds of yours?”
Mrs. Wang replied, “They’ve gone out to play.”
Mrs. Hu smiled and continued, “I will give Second Brother-in-law and sister-in-law a way to make money. After this, your family’s days will be better. My Fifth Brother told me that he has a friend in the county who particularly likes talking parrots and asked my Fifth Brother to find them for him. He said he’d pay five taels of silver for one parrot. Tsk tsk, that’s ten taels for both. With this money, your family could live comfortably for over a year. What do you think? Let my Fifth Brother make the arrangements and sell those birds for you? We rural folk need food and clothing, where do we have the money to keep pets like the wealthy families?”
Chen Feng, Chen Ming, and Mrs. Wang cursed inwardly. Did they think they were fools? Qiqi and Gray could speak many words and even knew the way back home. Such clever parrots should be the most expensive birds in the bird market, each worth at least a few hundred taels of silver.
They had formed a deep bond with these two birds, and no matter how difficult things got, they wouldn’t sell them. Moreover, they didn’t need money at the moment. Initially, Tangyuan had offered a high price to buy them, but Dabao couldn’t bear to sell them.
Chen Ming directly refused, “Thank you, Sister-in-law, for thinking of us with this opportunity. However, these two parrots are like family to us now. No matter how much money we’re offered, we can’t bear to sell them.”
Mrs. Wang added, “We also don’t dare to sell them. The steward from the Luo family told Dabao that their young miss likes these birds. When their young miss returns to Tangyuan, Dabao will have to bring them to play with her.”
Mrs. Hu’s expression darkened, and she said, “I know you’ve cozied up to the steward from the Luo family, but does that mean you can drag them into every little thing? My sister’s husband is an official in the yamen. Last year, he even dined at the steward from the Luo family’s house with the county magistrate. We never bring that up. Even if you have a good relationship with the steward from the Luo family, have you dined at their house? Can you compare to the relationship my sister’s husband has? Why does their young miss have to play with these birds? I’ve heard that wealthy households have many birds filling their courtyards. With the master of Tangyuan coming from such a wealthy family, would their young miss really care for your two ordinary birds? My Fifth Brother was just trying to help, and yet you’re making a fuss about it.”
She sincerely believed that the master of Tangyuan wouldn’t care for these two birds, and she absolutely didn’t expect these birds to be worth a fortune. Otherwise, she wouldn’t have been so composed. Hu’s Fifth Brother had told her that he could sell each of these birds for twenty-five taels of silver in the county town. He would keep twenty taels and give her the remaining thirty taels. Hu wanted to keep twenty taels for herself and give Chen Ming ten taels, which she thought was already generous. She never expected that they wouldn’t want to sell.
Chen Ming leisurely said, “We are not seeking favors, nor do we need Hu’s Fifth Brother to kindly assist us. These two birds are like family to us, and we won’t sell them no matter how much money is offered.”
Seeing that Mrs. Hu was about to speak, Chen Feng, with a wry smile, said, “Aunt, my grandmother has told us that if you come to our house behind Uncle’s back and upset my father, causing him to fall ill, we will tell her, and she will set boundaries for you. If you go too far, she will also tell Uncle about how you pressured my third uncle for a house.”
This revelation sank heavily on Mrs. Hu. How could the old lady and the second branch know about that matter? It seemed that the third branch wasn’t as honest as she had thought. She had been praising him all along.
Furious, she stared at Chen Ming and questioned, “Second brother-in-law, back when we weren’t divided, didn’t your sister-in-law, I serve you wholeheartedly? Now, you’re allowing your daughter to treat me, your elder brother’s wife, in this manner?”
Chen Ming sneered and said, “Sister-in-law, I’ve always remembered my elder brother’s kindness and your affection. Back when we weren’t divided, you ‘served’ me really well. If it weren’t for your years of devotion, there are some matters for which I might have been as determined as my third brother.”
He emphasized the word “served.”
It was only then that Mrs. Hu remembered how she used to scold Chen Ming when they weren’t divided. Over the years, she often spoke about how devotedly she had served her younger brother-in-law. After saying it repeatedly, she had even started to believe that she had been so devoted in the past.