Chapter 86: Two Types of Buckles

By noon, they arrived at the outskirts of the capital city. Mrs. Wang gave Gao Lao two hundred wen as the cart fare, and the family disembarked. Gao Lao went to feed the donkey at a local teahouse and rested for a while before heading back, wanting to return to Xiangluo Village before nightfall.

They bid farewell to Gao Lao and then rented a mule cart to enter the capital city.

The capital city was more grandiose than the county town. The main road was paved with blue stone and was very wide, with shops lining both sides. Most of the shops were multi-story buildings with blue walls, black tiles, red doors, and colorful windows, exuding grandeur. Some of the larger shops were even more ornately decorated, with many colored lanterns hanging outside. Many horse carriages with canopies ran down the middle of the road, and people bustled about on both sides.

Dabao’s mouth hung open, wide enough to fit an egg. Qiqi and Gray also poked their heads out from their cloth, looking around.

Chen Feng smiled and pinched the little boy’s cheek, resolving to take him out more to broaden his horizons.

After leaving the main street and passing through several alleys and lanes, the road became narrower, and the houses were not as spacious and grand as before. The houses here were of varying quality, with some being newly built brick houses and others being low, old buildings.

Mrs. Wang mentioned that Chen Shi’s family lived in this lane.

At the entrance of the lane, there was a vendor selling pastries, and Chen Feng got off the cart to buy ten. It was already late afternoon, and Chen Shi and his wife were busy, so she didn’t want to burden them with making lunch.

The mule cart stopped in front of a small shop, and Mrs. Wang said they had arrived.

This was a small miscellaneous goods shop named “Chen San Miscellaneous Goods.” The folded large door and the red paint on the door pillars had faded, some places were even chipped and peeling. Next door was a small shop that sold oil. Chen Shi had divided his shop into two and rented out the other.

As they finished unloading the things, a man walked out from the shop and cheerfully said, “Sister-in-law, I calculated you’d come over these few days and have been looking forward to it.”

This man bore a resemblance to Chen Ming and Chen Ye, wearing a slightly worn silk robe, in his thirties, of medium height, fair and handsome, with a short beard. This was Chen Shi, the youngest of the Chen siblings, and the most handsome of the three.

He also looked at Chen Feng and said, “A’Feng is becoming more and more good-looking. Do you still recognize your third uncle?” He then greeted Lu and Dabao.

Seeing his sincere smile, the fatigue from the journey dissipated somewhat. Chen Feng and her son called him “Third Uncle,” and Dabao called him “Grandpa.”

At this moment, a woman in her thirties and a young girl emerged from the shop.

The woman was Mrs. Zhang, and the young girl was Chen Shi’s daughter, Chen Aman. Mrs. Zhang had an average appearance and a kind face. Chen Aman resembled her father and was a very pretty young girl.

Chen Shi and Mrs. Zhang had three children: the eldest son, Chen Yu, fourteen years old, the second daughter, Chen Aman, was twelve, and the youngest son, Chen Tang, was nine.

They passed through the shop into the backyard. The backyard wasn’t large, with two wing rooms facing the shop. On the left were three low rooms: a kitchen, a storeroom, and a guest room. On the right was just a chicken coop, sharing a wall with the neighboring property.

Chen Shi invited them into the side room. Near the window was a kang, with a pair of old chests next to it. Further in, there was a small stove made of bricks, probably for heating during the winter.

This was the room of Chen Yu and Chen Tang, but now given to them to accommodate their family of four, while the two brothers moved to the main hall.

Mrs. Zhang was about to go to the kitchen to make noodles for them, but Mrs. Wang stopped her, suggesting they could have the pastries with hot water. Nonetheless, Mrs. Zhang decided to make a pot of egg and white balsam soup for them.

After the meal, Dabao and Lu lay down to rest on the kang, while Chen Feng and her mother brought out the gifts they had brought.

In addition to the two baskets of fresh vegetables and two packets of pastries given by the main branch and the old lady, there were also gifts from the second branch. Several pieces of satin were given, with Chen Shi’s being a bright blue, Zhang’s a brownish-yellow, Chen Yu’s in moon white, and Chen Aman’s in crimson. Additionally, they included two sets of pens, ink, high-quality Xuan paper, two camellia flowers, and several ribbons for Chen Aman.

Chen Shi was surprised when he saw these items and exclaimed, “Oh my, this fabric is from Jiangnan, and these pens are from the prestigious Wenshang Studio in the capital. How can we accept such valuable gifts?”

Mrs. Wang smiled and said, “We have more at home,” and briefly explained the things they had made for the Tangyuan young miss and how Dabao had accompanied her. She also mentioned the incident where the main branch had caused a commotion over the satin and advised them not to wear the satin in the countryside.

She added, “We’re not unwilling to give things to the main branch. Our head of the family has always wanted to repay the eldest brother. It’s just that, Sister-in-law, well… we don’t dare offer too much.”

Mrs. Zhang chuckled and remarked, “That Hu woman really has no shame, she dares to act like that in front of the eldest brother-in-law and the mother-in-law. What you’re doing is right. Once you get used to it, she might even take away the land from your family.” Mrs. Zhang was very angry at Mrs. Hu.

Chen Shi sighed, “The eldest brother is a good patriarch. Back when we were one family, he protected us brothers. Now that we’ve separated, he’s protecting his own wife and children. It’s just that he didn’t find a good wife. Sister-in-law does things that go too far.”

Chen Aman held up the piece of satin and smiled, discussing what she could make with it. She mentioned that there were two popular types of buttons in the city now: one called the Chrysanthemum button and the other the Plum Blossom button, both very beautiful. Many wealthy families were going to the Ni Shang Embroidery Workshop to buy or make clothes, and these buckles were used on the clothes there. They were also sold separately, but they were too expensive.

Finally, she wrinkled her nose and said, “It’s a pity that the buttons sold at the Ni Shang Embroidery Workshop are so expensive, and we can’t afford them. Some time ago, Sister Qiu and I went there to see how those buttons were made. Even if what we made wasn’t as nice as the ones they sell, we could at least have something to match. But before we could look carefully, we were chased out. If that set of clothes were paired with a Chrysanthemum or Plum Blossom button, oh, it would be so beautiful!”

Chen Feng smiled. The Chrysanthemum button had become popular, and now there was a Plum Blossom button too. It seemed that the wealthy lady of that family was quite capable. She recalled that the golden swallow had said her family seemed to be in the provincial capital of Shizhou, and their business extended to the Dingzhou capital, over two hundred miles away. Additionally, she had mentioned that her family seemed to be related to Chu Hanyan, and the Chu family was in the Dingzhou capital, so perhaps they had business dealings as well.

She thought her own dolls could also go to the Ni Shang Embroidery Workshop to try their luck. If the collaboration went well, she had some excellent ideas…

Mrs. Wang laughed and said, “The Chrysanthemum button was something A’Feng came up with and sold to the wealthy lady, or else how could we have the money to have A’Lu’s leg treated.” Seeing Chen Aman’s surprised expression, she added, “It’s a shame, though. We agreed with them not to make these types of buttons for a year or sell them. We can’t afford to offend those wealthy people, we have to do as they say.”

Chen Aman pouted regretfully.

Mrs. Zhang laughed and said, “This fabric is delicate and suitable for making spring clothes. When the time limit ends next year, your second Aunt and Sister Feng will tell you how to make them.”

^[1]A “Mule” is a hybrid between a horse and a donkey.