The Red Chamber begins with a bastard

Chapter 403: To fulfill the promise made in the past, he entered the opera world

Taohuawu is located about one mile south of Gusu City. Although it is not as prosperous as the city, it has a large population and is very lively. It is also close to the water and has many peach trees planted, which is probably the origin of the name Taohuawu.

The arrival of Jia Huan and his party caused quite a stir in Taohuawu, and the neighbors came to watch.

"Everyone, come and see, the adopted daughter of the vendor Chen, the Yuanyuan, has returned home."

"Hey, didn't Yuanyuan sell herself to bury her wet nurse some time ago? Why did she come back suddenly? Could it be that the seller Chen was willing to spend money to redeem her?"

"Bullshit, how is it possible? The salesman Chen would like to cut a few pounds of meat from the legs of a egret, how could he be willing to spend money to redeem his adopted daughter? Not to mention an adopted daughter, even if it was his biological daughter, it would be impossible, otherwise he would not have watched Yuanyuan sell herself. Although his family is poor, they are not so poor that they cannot afford the funeral expenses."

"That's true. How did Yuanyuan come back?"

"Look, can't you see? They came back in a horse-drawn carriage, and there were two large carts of goods. And look at the handsome young man on the horse. He looks very rich or noble. It is very likely that Yuanyuan has found a nobleman."

"Tsk tsk, this girl is so lucky, she has become a phoenix in one day, she must be so happy to be selling goods this time."

Chen Huowang had never felt so glorious before. Seeing the envious eyes of his neighbors, he suddenly became full of heroic spirit. He held his head high and walked out with his chest puffed out, ignoring his relatives. The basket on his shoulder swung back and forth like he was dancing the yangge.

"Hey, Old Chen, is it your son-in-law who's here to propose marriage?" an old neighbor joked loudly.

"Go, go, go away. Get out of the way. Be careful not to offend the noble. You are too weak to carry the tofu." Chen Huowang waved his hands like he was shooing away a fly. The old neighbor retreated in dismay, curling his lips and cursing, "Bah, look at that peddler Chen Nengde, his tail is so high up in the sky."

Chen Huowang strode to the door of his house and shouted, "A distinguished guest has arrived, but you are still lying in the house and have not come out to greet him."

As soon as he finished speaking, a woman with a sallow complexion staggered out, looked at Jia Huan and others in confusion, and asked in a low voice: "Master, where did this noble man come from? It seems that we don't have such a respectable relative in our family."

At this time, the carriage had stopped steadily. Little Yuanyuan got off the carriage, which immediately caused a burst of exclamations. The woman was startled for a moment, and then she looked carefully for a moment before recognizing her. She blurted out, "Yuanyuan?"

"Aunt!" Little Yuanyuan ran forward quickly and threw herself into the woman's arms. The woman held Yuanyuan's face excitedly and said with a giggle, "Yuanyuan girl, it's really you. God bless you, you're finally back!"

The woman wiped away her tears as she spoke.

Jia Huan observed calmly, and seeing the woman's true feelings revealed, he could not help but nod secretly. It seemed that Yuanyuan's aunt was really good to her.

Chen Huowang said impatiently, "Yuanyuan's return is something to be happy about. Why are you mourning here? You don't even bow to Master Huan San. Aren't you ashamed?"

The woman hurriedly wiped away her tears and bowed carefully to Jia Huan, saying, "I greet Master Huan San."

Chen Huowang pulled out three children who were peeking out from behind the fence and shouted, "Little beasts, what did your parents teach you? You don't know any manners at all. Why don't you kowtow to Master Huan San?"

These three children were between six and ten years old, barefoot and dirty. They should be Yuanyuan's cousins. They knelt down in front of Jia Huan with awe in their eyes and bowed their heads.

Jia Huan hurriedly asked them to stand up and rewarded each of them with a string of copper coins. The three little clay monkeys were so happy that they almost somersaulted on the spot. Their father would never give them so much pocket money in the whole year.

Chen Huowang couldn't help swallowing his saliva. This Mr. Huan San was really generous. He might not be able to earn three hundred dollars even if he worked very hard for several days.

"Haha, Master Huan, please come in. Yuanyuan, take Master San into the house quickly. Don't just stand there!" Chen Huowang urged with a flattering smile.

Yuanyuan hurriedly said, "Oh, Third Master, Brother Shitou, please come in!"

As soon as Jia Huan and his companions entered the house, Chen Huowang immediately confiscated the ten-dollar bills from his three sons, kicked each of them on the buttocks, and shouted, "Go and play somewhere else."

The three boys could only run away, covering their buttocks. The woman whispered, "This Third Master Huan is so generous that he sent two truckloads of goods to our house. Could it be that he has taken a fancy to our girl?"

Chen Huowang said with a little excitement: "If he really likes our Yuanyuan, the whole family will have no worries about food and drink in the future. Do you know where this boy came from? The son of the Jia family of the Rongguo Mansion, he just won the first place in the provincial examination not long ago. His future is limitless. If Yuanyuan becomes his wife, won't our family also benefit from it?"

The woman was surprised and said, "It turns out that he is actually a young duke, or a god of literature. Tsk tsk, how could our Yuanyuan be so lucky!"

"Hey, here I come. Don't talk nonsense later. I'm here to sound out this kid's attitude. It looks like he is right. Otherwise, why would we have to mobilize so many troops and personally send Yuanyuan back?" Chen Huowang happily went into the house in a flash.

The Chen family's house was a small farmyard with mud brick walls and a thatched roof. It was very narrow and the lighting was not very good. The ground was bumpy and there was no furniture. The only intact stool was given to Jia Huan to sit on, so Shitou and others could only stand at the door.

Xiao Yuanyuan filled a bowl of well water in a rough earthenware bowl and gave it to Jia Huan. She said with an embarrassed expression, "Third Master, drink some water."

Jia Huan took the bowl and took a big sip, then said with a smile, "The water from your well is quite sweet."

Seeing that Jia Huan didn't mind and even praised the well water for being sweet, Xiao Yuanyuan was very happy and her eyes turned into two beautiful crescent moons again.

Chen Huowang was secretly delighted when he saw this, thinking that he was right. Jia Huan wanted to ask Xiao Yuanyuan to go back and be his household member, hehe.

Jia Huan sat for a while longer, then stood up and said goodbye, "Uncle Chen and Aunt Chen, since Yuanyuan has returned home safely, I will not disturb you any more. I will say goodbye now."

"Mr. Huan San, are you leaving now?" Chen Huowang was dumbfounded. He had already been calculating how much money to ask Jia Huan for. "Why don't you have dinner first?" The woman greeted him warmly.

Jia Huan smiled and said, "No, maybe next time. Yuanyuan has just returned, and your family is just about to have a good chat. I won't bother you."

At this time, Mu Ye and Jin Bao had already unloaded all the items from the two large trucks and piled them up in a large pile on the open space in front of the door. The neighbors from Taohuawu were still watching from behind the fence.

Yuanyuan reluctantly sent Jia Huan out of the yard and almost cried again. She held Jia Huan's hand and said, "Third Master, remember to come and see me when you have time."

Jia Huan smiled and said, "Yes, if you encounter difficulties in the future, you can ask Butler Xiao for help."

Yuanyuan nodded with tears in her eyes and asked, "How long will Master San and Miss Lin stay in Suzhou?"

"It could be as long as eight or nine days, or as short as four or five days. Anyway, it won't be too long. I still have some things to deal with when I return to Yangzhou, and then I have to go to the capital."

"Oh, then Yuanyuan wishes you success in the imperial examination next spring and wins first place."

Jia Huan smiled and said, "Then Yuanyuan, you have to work hard too."

Yuanyuan nodded solemnly.

Shitou walked up to Xiao Yuanyuan, touched her forehead with his hand, and said fiercely, "If anyone bullies you, remember to ask Butler Xiao to write to me, and Brother Shitou will skin him alive."

After saying that, he glanced around, and the sharp eyes made Chen Huowang subconsciously shrink his neck.

Little Yuanyuan watched Jia Huan and the others go away, silently clenched her fists, and thought to herself: "Don't worry, Third Master, Yuanyuan will work harder, not to live a superior life, nor to be admired by everyone, but just to be closer to you, Third Master. When the beautiful scenery of Jiangnan is here, I will see you again when the flowers fall."

"Hey, is this Master Huan San abnormal? He goes to such great lengths to do this, could it be that he really treats Yuanyuan as his good friend? What a weirdo!" Chen Huowang muttered to himself, completely confused.

But soon, his attention was attracted by the two large carts of things. He looked through them happily. There were all kinds of things, including food and daily necessities. They were estimated to be worth dozens of taels. He might not be able to earn that much in two or three years.

"This piece of cloth is so beautiful and the material is so strong. It's just right for making two sets of winter clothes for Daya and Yuanyuan respectively." Chen Xing said happily.

Yuanyuan was very happy to see that her aunt liked the clothes. She shook her head and said, "Yuanyuan has winter clothes now. Auntie, please make a set for me and my sister. There are two more pieces here. You can make a set for my uncle and my brothers as well."

"You spendthrift woman, instead of using such good cloth to make clothes, you might as well sell it for money." Chen Huowang snatched away a few pieces of cloth.

Chen Xing had always been afraid of her husband, but she was too timid to say anything.

Chen Huowang grabbed the cloth, and then saw his three sons each holding a plate of cakes and munching on them. He immediately took them away with a pain in his heart, and gave each of them a slap on the face, scolding them, "Eat, eat, eat, all you know is to eat. Just eat one or two pieces to try it out. If you keep eating like this, sooner or later you will eat me out of money."

The three boys burst into tears immediately, but Chen Huowang didn't care and continued to count the things in the two carts. In the end, he even opened the box of books that Jia Huan gave to Yuanyuan.

"Why are they all books?" Chen Huowang thought the box contained valuables, but he didn't expect it to be a box of books. He was very disappointed and cursed, "Sell them for money. There's no point in keeping them."

Yuanyuan got anxious when she heard that, and hurried forward to close the box and said, "These were given to me by the Third Master, and cannot be sold!"

Chen Huowang sneered, "You are a girl, and you don't need to take the imperial examination. What's the point of him giving you these? He might as well just give you a box of silver. Stop talking nonsense. No matter who gave it to you, once it enters my house, it belongs to me. I might be able to get some money by selling it."

"I can't sell it!" Yuanyuan mustered up the courage to stand in front of the box, glaring at her uncle.

This move shocked Chen Xingshi and all the brothers and sisters. Chen Huowang was also very surprised. His face darkened and he raised his hand to hit her, cursing, "You little whore, you are so bold to confront your uncle!"

Xiao Yuanyuan was so scared that she closed her eyes, her face turned pale, but she still held the box of books tightly. Chen Huowang frowned, but he didn't hit her with his raised hand. It wasn't because he suddenly showed mercy, but because he remembered the threat Shitou made before he left. He was interrogated by Shitou with an axe on his neck before, and he still had a shadow of it.

Although Chen Huowang is a mercenary person, he usually walks around the streets and has seen a lot of people, so his eyesight has naturally been honed. The murderous aura and eyes on Shi Tou clearly show that he is a ruthless character who has probably killed someone. How dare he provoke him?
"Forget it, if you want to keep these crappy books, keep them. As long as you finish your daily chores, I won't bother with you!" Chen Huowang snorted coldly and turned to look for other bundles. As a result, he found 100 taels of silver in each of the two bundles. He was so excited that he went crazy: "Haha, I'm rich!"

Xiao Yuanyuan recognized the two packages. One was given by Lin Daiyu and the other was given by Sister Ping'er. It was obvious that they had secretly stuffed silver into them, and now it was benefiting her greedy uncle.

However, for Xiao Yuanyuan, the box of manuscripts given by Jia Huan is the most precious. As long as she can keep them, money is secondary.

"Uncle, my daughter wants to go to the opera house to learn from a master!" Xiao Yuanyuan took advantage of Chen Huowang's happiness after getting the money and made a request.

Chen Huowang frowned and said, "As a girl, why would you choose a master? What art would you learn?"

"Third Master said that Yuanyuan has a talent for music, so I want to join the opera theater to learn music and opera. If I become famous in the future, I can make money to honor my uncle and aunt."

Chen Huowang's eyes turned when he heard this, and he thought, the music played by this dead girl Yuanyuan is really nice, she is also beautiful and has a moving voice, like a lark, maybe she can become a famous actor in the future.

This guy had just received two hundred taels and was in a good mood. Thinking of this, he readily agreed.

(End of this chapter)