Chapter 415 - 411: So-called Family Heritage?

Chapter 415: Chapter 411: So-called Family Heritage?

"This is more than enough." Gu Nuan Nuan handed the box to her mother and picked up her chopsticks to eat the noodles. The portion was large, topped with a stack of five or six fragrant, pan-fried eggs.

"What is it?" Zhang Minzhen asked as she took the box from Gu Nuan Nuan and opened it. The moment she saw the bracelets inside, her gaze was instantly captured. Just as Gu Nuan Nuan had said, even if a woman wasn’t obsessed with beautiful things, she would absolutely appreciate them.

Zhang Minzhen carefully picked up the pair of tri-colored Fu Lu Shou Jade Bracelets from the box. "These bracelets... I’ve seen my fair share of Jade Bracelets by now, but I’ve never seen a ’Fu Lu Shou’ where the three colors blend so harmoniously. They’re so beautiful, so pleasing to the eye that you just can’t bear to put them down."

"I got these from stone gambling in Ju State." The jade for this pair of bracelets came from a portion of the largest jadeite stone she had uncovered back in Ju State. She had previously set aside time to carve three pairs of Fu Lu Shou bracelets—one for her mother, one for her grandmother, and one for her aunt.

After touring the mines in Nan’an Country, she truly hadn’t seen a single piece of raw jadeite with Spiritual Energy more abundant than the one she got from Old Jin’s shop in Ju State. Naturally, none of the jade that was cut from them could surpass it.

Seeing how much Zhang Minzhen liked the bracelets, Gu Nuan Nuan casually recounted the story of how she acquired the jade, including its history. Zhang Minzhen was left speechless, marveling at her daughter’s luck. Gu Nuan Nuan couldn’t help but laugh. "Mom, I have a cheat. It wasn’t like a blind squirrel finding a nut; it has little to do with luck."

"Who says? Having a cheat is a form of luck in itself." Zhang Minzhen casually placed the Jade Bracelets back in their box, her attention shifting back to Gu Nuan Nuan. "So, my Nuannuan is just lucky."

"Mom, don’t just put them away. You should wear them often. Jade nourishes the wearer when it’s worn frequently." Seeing Zhang Minzhen putting the jade away, Gu Nuan Nuan couldn’t help but say, "I prepared a pair for Grandma and Auntie, too. Except for Grandma’s pair, which is all green, yours and Auntie’s are both this Fu Lu Shou type."

"Who said I was going to put them away and not wear them? I’m going to wear them out tomorrow and show them off."

Zhang Minzhen said smugly, "Last week, your dad, your uncle, your aunt, and I went to the Liu Family’s birthday banquet. That eldest daughter-in-law of the Liu Family was so arrogant. She happened to be wearing a Fu Lu Shou Jade Bracelet, which she claimed was passed down from her maternal grandmother. But it clearly wasn’t as good as these you brought out. You have no idea, though. Everyone was so envious, and she was practically bursting with pride."

Just talking about it made her angry. Zhang Minzhen said indignantly, "We weren’t even envious of her nice things. We were being polite and even complimented her a few times along with everyone else, but then she suddenly went crazy and started targeting us. She kept making these backhanded comments about how ’good jade is hard to come by.’ She said, ’Good jade is a sign of a family’s heritage. The easiest way to see if a family has heritage is to look at the quality of the jade its women wear. Families with no heritage, even if they strike it rich overnight, can only wear gold and silver, thinking that gold is the best there is.’ Ugh, you should have heard her. I wanted to take a needle and thread and sew her big mouth shut right then and there. She was all but pointing at my nose and your aunt’s, calling our family nouveau riche with no heritage, unable to find any good jade. It was infuriating! Hmph! Tomorrow, your aunt and I will wear these Jade Bracelets of yours and put her in her place. Let her dog eyes see what real heritage looks like!"

"The Liu Family? The one that used to be the richest in the city?" Gu Nuan Nuan’s eyes narrowed.

"That’s right. The Liu Family only made their fortune a few years ago. But one of their ancestors was some piddling minor official, and I guess that’s what they call ’heritage.’ Their eldest daughter-in-law, however, does have some background. Rumor has it that the main branch of her family in Beijing is a very powerful aristocratic family. We don’t know the details, but just from the way the Liu Family treats her like a goddess, the rumors are probably true."

Zhang Minzhen sat to the side, watching Gu Nuan Nuan eat happily. She couldn’t help but take the steak that Gu Nuan Nuan hadn’t gotten to yet and start cutting it for her. As she cut, she fed a small piece into Gu Nuan Nuan’s mouth and asked with an expectant look, "This was just delivered yesterday. Try it. How did I do with the pan-frying today? Is it tender enough?"

"It’s great. Just right." ’In reality, it was a tiny bit overcooked. Her mother’s steak-frying skills were clearly not as good as her grandmother’s, but Gu Nuan Nuan had no intention of telling the truth.’ She just nodded repeatedly. "It’s delicious. It has Mom’s special touch."

"Hehe, if it’s good, then eat more." Zhang Minzhen smiled happily. She stayed by her side, popping a small piece of steak into Gu Nuan Nuan’s mouth after every couple of bites of noodles. Neither mother nor daughter found this the least bit strange; on the contrary, they both savored the moment, one feeding and the other being fed.

After they finished the noodles and steak, Gu Nuan Nuan helped clear the dishes into the kitchen. While her mother was washing up, she brewed a pot of flower tea, and the two went to the living room to continue their chat. "Mom, is Dad on a business trip again?" ’She’d been back for a while and hadn’t seen her stepfather, so she had already guessed, but she asked anyway.’

"Yes, he went to Beijing again. He left yesterday and is expected back next Tuesday."

"Oh, then you can give this gift to Dad for me." Gu Nuan Nuan nodded and took out another box, handing it to Zhang Minzhen.

Zhang Minzhen took it and casually opened it for a look. Inside was a pair of jade cufflinks. Seeing that the jade seemed to be from the same piece as her own bracelets, she nodded, closed the box, and looked at Gu Nuan Nuan, asking hopefully, "How many days can you stay home this time?"

"About a month, but I’ll probably spend half of that time at the Medicine Garden refining some more medicine." As she spoke, Gu Nuan Nuan took out another, larger box, placed it on the table, and pushed it toward Zhang Minzhen. "Mom, you keep this. You won’t need to prepare this when you welcome a daughter-in-law in the future."

"What is this now? It’s pretty heavy." Zhang Minzhen tried to lift the box but found it was very heavy. She opened it and saw it was full of gold bars. She slammed the lid shut with a SNAP and pushed it back. "Don’t give them all to me. If you have a place to store them, keep them with you. I’ll just ask you for some if I need them in the future."

"Hehe. You’re not worried people will call you nouveau riche again for holding onto this, are you?" Gu Nuan Nuan giggled. Before her words had even faded, a glittering wall of gold appeared right in front of Zhang Minzhen.

Zhang Minzhen: "..."