As soon as Chu Fuyu entered the house, she saw her sons looking at her in unison. Huaiyi asked innocently, “Mother, what is Granny Wang going to do?”
“Her? She’s just someone who likes to cause trouble when she has nothing better to do. If she comes again in the future, you don’t need to pay her any attention, and don’t open the door for her,” Chu Fuyu instructed the children a few words and then thought about adding a lock to their door.
After the children finished eating, she started washing the dishes.
The three sons obediently returned to their rooms to practice calligraphy. The large-character writing assignment Chu Fuyu had given them yesterday was still not finished.
Now that each of them had their own room, they wouldn’t disturb each other.
Chu Fuyu was very attentive when it came to her children’s education and tried her best to provide them with a good environment.
After washing the dishes, Chu Fuyu planned to rearrange her bedroom.
Now that she no longer needed to share a room with her sons, she wanted to bring out many of her belongings—for example, the rosewood dressing table from her spatial storage. It looked quite luxurious and was perfect for placing her bottles and jars of cosmetics, skincare products, and facial masks.
Even though her face was already beautiful in this ancient world, she still needed to take care of it!
It was autumn now, and the capital was in the northern region where the weather was very dry. She already felt her skin becoming dehydrated recently, so it seemed she would need to apply a facial mask tonight.
In addition, she prepared lace curtains, since as a modern woman she valued her privacy.
She also chose a folding screen painted with seasonal floral scenery, which she placed between the bed and the doorway so that no one entering the room could immediately see the bed.
She even prepared a soft lazy sofa, a large fluffy carpet, a countryside-style floral bedding set, and several elegant decorations.
After a busy morning, her previously simple bedroom was finally transformed.
The most important change was a large wardrobe—after all, a woman’s wardrobe is never complete.
Today she was wearing a newly bought light blue padded jacket. The color was bright and vivid; on others it might look dull or harsh, but on her it made her small delicate face look like carved jade, standing in sharp contrast to the villagers around her.
When Wang Cuihua saw her earlier, she was stunned. No wonder the arrogant Zhao wealthy merchant specifically wanted to marry Chu Fuyu—just her appearance alone, plus the graceful sway when she walked, already made her surpass even the young ladies in the capital.
Thinking of clothes, Chu Fuyu calculated the days and realized she had to go to Xing’an Town again tomorrow to see Shopkeeper Zhou. The fabrics she had given him were supposed to be turned into clothes, and the deadline had arrived.
After a while, she collapsed onto the lazy sofa, sinking into it comfortably. It felt so good that she even wanted to sunbathe at the door.
So she did exactly that.
She took a rocking chair out of her space and placed it by the door. It was noon, the sunlight was strong but not harsh in the autumn air, instead making people feel drowsy and relaxed.
While she was half-asleep in the rocking chair, she heard footsteps outside and someone calling her.
She opened her eyes and saw it was Aunt Li next door, so she quickly went to open the door.
Aunt Li was smiling brightly, holding two large bowls covered with white cloth.
“I steamed some buns at noon—pork and scallion filling. I brought some for you and the kids to try. Taste my cooking,” she said.
Chu Fuyu quickly took them and thanked her. “Thank you, Auntie. This is just in time—I haven’t had time to cook yet! Your cooking is amazing; even through the cloth I can smell the fragrance.”
Aunt Li couldn’t help but laugh. “You really have a sweet mouth!”
Then she seemed to remember something and asked worriedly, “Earlier I went to the fields to pick vegetables, and when I came back I heard from Huzi that that matchmaker Wang came to you and was driven away?”
Chu Fuyu nodded. “She wanted to arrange a marriage for me—with Zhao the wealthy merchant.”
Aunt Li’s expression immediately changed. She spat in anger, “That damned matchmaker, always chasing money and not caring about people’s lives! She’s completely heartless, introducing just anyone to you! If I had been there, I would’ve knocked her teeth out!”
Chu Fuyu felt touched and gently held Aunt Li’s hand. “Don’t worry, Auntie. I already scolded her. She probably won’t dare come again, and even if she does, I won’t open the door.”
Aunt Li nodded firmly. “Good. Don’t worry, if she comes again, I’ll help you deal with her! That old hag needs someone like me to handle her!”
Chu Fuyu knew Aunt Li was kind-hearted and cared about her. She often helped them, and these buns were repayment for her hospitality when Chu Fuyu had previously invited her children to eat.
Chu Fuyu brought the buns into the kitchen, then took out several eggs and duck eggs and handed them to Aunt Li.
“My ducks are laying well—there are quite a lot now. Auntie, take these home and boil them for the kids.”
Aunt Li felt a little embarrassed but didn’t refuse. Her children had been craving eggs, but she usually saved them to sell for money.
She accepted them, thinking she would bring something back next time.
Chu Fuyu saw through her thoughts and said, “Auntie, I actually have something else. I bought some duck eggs before, and now there are over twenty or thirty. They don’t suit being eaten every day like chicken eggs, so I want to make salted duck eggs, but I don’t know how. Can you teach me? I’ll give you five duck eggs as payment.”
Aunt Li laughed heartily. “Silly girl, why are you being so polite? What payment? I’m not a private tutor—it’s just a small thing!”
“That won’t do,” Chu Fuyu said playfully. “If I don’t give you something, how will I have the courage to ask you to teach me pickled dishes in the future?”
Aunt Li couldn’t stop laughing and pinched her cheek affectionately, as if she were her own child.
Feeling her smooth skin, Aunt Li couldn’t help but sigh, “Girl, your face is so tender it looks like it could squeeze water out. Even my Xiao Ying can’t compare to you.”
Chu Fuyu touched her own face and smiled. “Xiao Ying is a beauty too. Her eyes look like yours—she’ll definitely be even prettier than me when she grows up.”
Aunt Li smiled even more. “I’ll take your blessing then. Alright, you eat first. I’ll come teach you after lunch.”
Chu Fuyu nodded and saw her out.
Back in the kitchen, she lifted the cloth and saw two large bowls filled with seven or eight big buns—soft, white, and fragrant.
Her first reaction was: she should have given more eggs!