Chapter 254 - 253: Reminder
After everyone had lunch, they saw off the Chu family members. Because Lu Garden didn’t have a steward, Manager Luo went last, handing the gift list and gifts to Chen Ming. The gifts included famous snacks from the Capital City, fabric, learning materials, and ornaments, a colorful heap of items.
In the late afternoon, Chen Ming and Mrs. Wang went to their backyard to pick ripe cucumbers. They only managed to fill a small basket. Adding two boxes of homemade pastries, these were the gifts they were to give to Mrs. Chu to take back to Capital City.
However, both of them felt embarrassed. The Chu family had given them so many gifts, yet all they could offer was this. They found it hard to find something worth giving that wouldn’t embarrass their daughter. Mrs. Wang then went to find Chen Afu in Fu Garden to discuss what additional gifts they could give.
Chen Afu laughed and said, "Even wealthy people can’t buy fresh cucumbers right now, so this is what they will cherish. And those pastries, just because they’re sold in shops doesn’t mean they’re better than homemade ones. Don’t bother with anything else. They don’t lack for things that can be bought with money. Even if we delivered them, Mrs. Chu wouldn’t bother to carry them back to the city."
Mrs. Wang also said, "Didn’t you suggest that I make a pair of beautiful panda slippers for the Embroidery Workshop? I’ve already finished them. The vamps are embroidered with a pair of baby pandas, they look very beautiful. Let’s just give these slippers to Mrs. Chu, she is sure to like them."
Usually, slippers are made by younger generations for elders, and Chen Afu did not want to bother Mrs. Wang. Shaking her head, she said, "Mom, although Mrs. Chu comes from a royal family, she is still my elder, just like you. How could I have you make shoes for her? I don’t need to do it. When I have time in the future, I’ll make her a pair." Seeing that Mrs. Wang was still reluctant, she continued, "In the future, I’ll draw a design of ’pandas playing with bamboo’ for you to embroider onto a small screen. We can give it to the Chu family as a New Year’s gift, and they’ll be sure to like it."
Mrs. Wang agreed after hearing her suggestion.
Chen Afu felt embarrassed to hand over Chu Lingxuan’s clothes and wallet in front of everyone, so she asked Mrs. Wei to give them to him. Meanwhile, she held a bronze tube containing one piece of green leaf agarwood and asked Xia Yue to carry a panda doll and two boxes of homemade pastries outside the door. When Chen Ming and the others went out, they all went to Tang Garden together.