Chapter 190: Banquet, Brother Jiu Shows His Affection
Translator: Henyee Translations Editor: Henyee Translations
The next day, Yu Shaoqing went to his daughter’s room and realized that the shoes were no longer in the basket.
The little girl even hid the shoes?
The open and aboveboard Yu Shaoqing couldn’t help but feel an itch in his heart. He actually secretly rummaged through his daughter’s room. Finally, he found a bag of a similar size in the wardrobe.
He opened the bag and saw that it was actually an exquisite mahogany box. Inside the box were the shoes that his daughter had been making for half the night. They were wrapped in light-colored silk. Just by looking at them, one could feel his daughter’s caution.
It was wrapped so tightly and exquisitely like a gift…!!
Yu Shaoqing had a flash of inspiration. Yes, he had almost forgotten that it was his birthday in the second half of the year. This must be the birthday gift his daughter had carefully prepared for him. He had never mentioned this to his daughter, but she still found out.
Yu Shaoqing was so touched by his daughter’s filial piety that he almost cried. Since his daughter planned to surprise him, he would pretend not to know.
Yu Shaoqing was moved and excited as he put the shoes back and patiently waited for his birthday.
However, before his birthday came, the banquet in the middle of the month came first.
The 16th of March was an auspicious day. The Yu family’s new workshop and dormitory were set to move on that day.
Yu Wan had always known that building a house in the countryside required people to drink beam wine. Firstly, it was to thank their relatives and friends, and secondly, it was to reward the craftsmen. However, Lotus Flower Village was not interested in drinking beam wine. They only set up a banquet for a day when they first started the work. They invited all their relatives and villagers to join in the fun.
Lotus Flower Village was poor, and no one had built a house in the village for a long time. The most recent time was when Shuanzi’s family repaired the cow shed, but they could not set up a banquet.
Regarding who was invited to the banquet, the Yu family sat down and held a family meeting.
Little Zhenzhen couldn’t sit still anymore and pulled Brother Bruiser out.
Madam Jiang was sleepy and returned to her room to rest.
Yu Song also wanted to escape, but Aunt stopped him.
“Of course everyone in the village has to come…” Uncle said. “We have to invite some familiar people from the neighboring village.”
Uncle’s tone was a little hesitant, as if he was hesitating about something. Yu Shaoqing said, “Big Brother, if you have something to say, just say it.”
Uncle opened his mouth. “It’s… your sister-in-law’s relative.”
“The Guo family and the Luo family?” Yu Shaoqing asked.
He had more or less heard about the Guo family’s visit. He knew that Guo Xianqiao had bullied Bruiser and Yu Wan had beaten Guo Xianqiao up. In the end, it was all because the children were insensible, but then there was the matter of Wang Mazi and Guo Xianyue.
At that time, they only felt that it was a coincidence. After that, the Yu family thought carefully and realized that something was wrong. When Guo Xianyue fell into the water, she was wearing Yu Wan’s clothes. When Du Jinhua called for help, she did not go in the direction of the Guo family’s old residence, but to Young Master Wan’s house next door.
This matter was seen by Stone and the other children, but they were far away and did not hear Du Jinhua call for help. However, this did not affect the Yu family’s judgment.
After combining Du Jinhua’s reaction by the river, the Yu family guessed that Guo Xianyue falling into the water was not simple. Perhaps they wanted Young Master Wan to save the beauty who was wearing Yu Wan’s clothes. Unexpectedly, Young Master Wan did not fall for it. Instead, Wang Mazi was kind-hearted and saved her by accident.
Whether this matter was Du Jinhua’s idea or Guo Xianyue’s own idea was no longer important. What was important was that they actually used Ah Wan’s clothes… There were some things that the Yu family did not say, but they knew in their hearts. Young Master Wan had saved Ah Wan during the earthquake. Perhaps he was interested in Ah Wan. He was also a scholar, better than Zhao Heng. If Ah Wan could marry him, it would be a good marriage.
Du Jinhua and her daughter must have discovered this too, which was why they dared to pretend to be Ah Wan and rely on Young Master Wan. To put it bluntly, they were snatching Ah Wan’s marriage! This was worse than pigs and dogs!
Therefore, the Yu family did not want to invite the Guo family to the banquet.
“What about Young Master Wan?” Yu Shaoqing’s focus was different from his brother and sister-in-law.
Uncle was stunned. He also felt that his brother’s focus seemed to be a little off, but he still answered seriously, “I heard that something happened in his home, so he went home.”
For some reason, Yu Shaoqing did not like this Young Master Wan, who was talented, outstanding, and had saved his daughter. This feeling was the same as that of Young Master Yan, who had taken care of him in the Dali Temple.
“I think…” Yu Song said.
“Why are you interrupting when adults are talking?” Aunt glared at him.
Yu Song shut his mouth gloomily. Since he wasn’t an adult, why did they let him stay here?
“Then I’ll leave,” Yu Song said as he stood up.
Aunt continued, “Do you think you’re a three-year-old child? You’re behaving atrociously all day!”
Yu Song felt bitter. He wasn’t an adult or a child. What was he?!
In the end, the Yu family decided to send a message to the Guo family.
“I don’t think they have the shame to come!” Aunt snorted.
That’s right. Didn’t they think that it was embarrassing to come to the Lotus Flower Village after what happened with Wang Mazi? Wang Mazi was afraid that Guo Xianyue would cling to him, so he had already anxiously married Widow Liu!
Since they had already sent a message to the Guo family, the Luo family naturally could not fall behind. Although that family was not as ridiculous as the Guo family, they still looked down on the Yu family. Whether they came or not depended on them. The Yu family did not force them.
Originally, they should have invited Yu Shaoqing’s brothers over, but they had all followed Wu San out of the Capital to look for Zhou Huai.
On the sixteenth, the Yu family woke up in the middle of the night and began to prepare for the banquet later. Although the Yu family was poor, they almost all interacted with the people from other villages. Therefore, they invited many people.
They were afraid that there would not be enough food to eat, so the Yu family bought a total of two three-hundred-pounds of pigs. The hunter came to help kill the pigs, and Shuanzi and Yu Feng helped the hunter.
The three men used all their strength to press the fat pig onto the stool, while Hunter slashed down and bled the pig. The three of them were exhausted after that.
Yu Wan also came. She grabbed another pig and threw it onto the stool!
Yu Shaoqing looked at the three tired men and then at his daughter, who had easily lifted a pig. He felt that something was wrong.
Around five in the morning, Cui Hua from the Hunter family, Aunt Luo from the neighboring family, Aunt Zhang and Aunt Bai from the village entrance also rushed over to help. Aunt Bai had finally walked out of the shadow of her son’s death. She had thought it through. She didn’t have a child, but she still had Mao’er and Erya. For the sake of this pair of children, she had to pull herself together.
The banquet only started at noon. For breakfast, they used the slaughtered pig vegetables and cornbread.
Yu Feng and Brother Shuanzi went to the market before dawn to buy the vegetables. They also bought some peanuts and candy. The candy sold in the shop was naturally not as delicious as Uncle’s cooking, but Uncle was too busy, so he could only settle for the next best thing.
Those who came to eat would give congratulatory money. Yu Feng invited the old scholar from the neighboring village and asked him over to help out with the bookkeeping for a day.
After nine in the morning, guests came one after another. First, it was from their own village, and then there were from Li Village and Wu Village.
Aunt was receiving guests in front. Yu Shaoqing had not returned home for six to seven years, so many of those faces were unfamiliar to him. Aunt introduced them to him one by one. “Grandpa Wu, this is Third Brother. When he got married, you even came to his wedding banquet. Have you forgotten?”
“Old Third? Old Third is back?” Uncle Wu was deaf and had dim eyesight, and his voice was even louder than Aunt Bai.
“It’s Old Third!” Aunt shouted into his ear.
Yu Shaoqing was already the father of two children, but the eldest sister-in-law brought him along as if she was bringing her own children.
The kitchen was also very busy. Uncle was the head chef, Yu Feng was cooking, Yu Wan was killing fish and chopping vegetables, and Aunt Bai and Aunt Zhang were the logistics. The Yu family’s kitchen was not big enough, so Aunt Luo’s house was also used.
The tables for eating were all borrowed from various families and were placed on the field in front of the door. Although the size was different and there were the old and new ones, there were many of them. At a glance, it looked a little spectacular.
In the afternoon, they made stir-fried cabbage with meat skin, braised pork belly, braised intestines with green onions, stewed spring bamboo shoots with crucian carp, and pig chowder. In the countryside, such a banquet was considered very sumptuous. Moreover, there was more meat than vegetables, and it was filled with oil. After a mouthful of hot soup, they were so satisfied that they narrowed their eyes.
The wine was made in Shangli Village. It was a high-grade sorghum liquor. It was crystal clear and rich. It was fragrant but not pungent, bitter but not astringent. There was sweetness in the mouth. Coupled with the peanuts that had been fried and sprinkled with snowflake salt, it was so delicious that the group of men could not put down their glasses.
The Yu family was in the stinky tofu business, so this dish naturally could not be missing from the table. The villagers were already used to its smell. When they brought it out, their expressions did not change, but it made the guests in the neighboring villages suffer.
“What is this?” Uncle Wu nagged. “It’s already spoiled, yet you still take it out to entertain people! Is there nothing else to eat!”
Aunt smiled. “Uncle Wu, try it. If it doesn’t taste good, I’ll wrap a piece of braised meat for you!”
Uncle Wu’s family was not having a good time either. For the sake of braised meat, Uncle Wu went all out. He braced himself and stuffed a piece of stinky tofu into his mouth. Then… Uncle Wu did not want the braised meat anymore.
Not long after, Shopkeeper Cui also came to visit. He came in a carriage. There were mostly ox carts in the countryside, and those with some family background drove donkey carts and mule carts. Only people in the city could sit in carriages, so when Shopkeeper Cui’s carriage stopped outside the Yu Family’s courtyard, the guests in Li Village and Wu Village were all shocked.
Were they seeing things? That was really a carriage! There were guests in carriages. They must be from the city!
The people from Lotus Flower Village had calm expressions. What was a horse carriage with a single horse? They had seen carriages with two horses!
“Sister-in-law!” Shopkeeper Cui alighted from the carriage with a smile.
“Aiyo, it’s Shopkeeper Cui.” Aunt did not expect him to come and was pleasantly surprised. She quickly went to the kitchen to call Yu Wan.
“Shopkeeper Cui,” Yu Wan greeted with a smile. Yesterday, she went to the Young Master Manor in the Capital. When she passed by the White Jade Restaurant, she had mentioned the construction of the house to Shopkeeper Cui. However, she had forgotten to tell her family when she returned home.
Shopkeeper Cui cupped his hands and smiled. “I could smell your stinky tofu in town. Is there any left?”
Yu Wan smiled and said, “As long as Shopkeeper Cui doesn’t mind, I’ll make sure that you will be full today.”
Shopkeeper Cui raised his eyebrows and smiled. “Then I won’t stand on ceremony! Eh? That’s…”
Shopkeeper Cui noticed Yu Shaoqing, who was talking to the guest from Li Village. Yu Shaoqing was tall and had an extraordinary temperament. When he stood there, he was like a crane in a flock of chickens, making people unable to notice his existence.
“That’s my father.” Yu Wan walked forward and called Yu Shaoqing over. She introduced him, “Dad, this is Shopkeeper Cui of the White Jade Restaurant. Our family’s business has been taken care of by Miss Bai and Shopkeeper Cui.”
At the mention of Miss Bai, what else did Yu Shaoqing not understand? He had to greet his nephew’s family.
Soon, Master Qin arrived. The owner of the Drunken Immortal Pavilion, the vice president of the Jiangzuo Merchant Union, was sitting in a carriage that was even more eye-catching than Shopkeeper Cui.
When the two majestic southwest horses appeared in the Yu residence with their heads held high, the people from the neighboring villages were dumbfounded. What kind of luck did the Yu family have? How did they know so many rich families?
Master Qin got off the carriage with a strong aura. However, what really stunned everyone was not Master Qin, but the handsome young man who jumped off the carriage after Master Qin. He looked to be no more than fifteen or sixteen years old and was handsome.
When have they ever seen such a beautiful young master? All of them looked at Qin Zixu and even forgot to eat.
“Young Master… where’s Young Master?” In the Young Master Manor, Uncle Wan hurriedly entered the courtyard.
Nanny Fang said, “Young Master went out. Steward Wan, you’re so anxious. Did something happen?”
Uncle Wan patted his head. “I must have been muddleheaded. Miss Yu’s family is organizing a banquet today. I forgot to tell Young Master! Young Master… did the Young Master say where he went?”
Nanny Fang thought for a while and said, “I think he went to the throne room.”
Yan Jiuchao was in the throne room again!
Everyone did not know why he came.
The first time he came, he beat up the high minister. The second time he came, he disturbed the marriage alliance of the Xiongnu. The third time… who knew what trouble he was going to cause this time!
Everyone, including the Emperor, looked at him with a headache.
Coincidentally, the person he interrupted was the Minister of Rites, who was presenting the marriage proposal. The Minister of Rites felt bitter. Why am I always the unlucky one?
However, it was unknown if it was everyone’s imagination, but they felt that Yan Jiuchao was taller than before. Could it be that he could grow taller at his age?
Yan Jiuchao said indifferently, “Minister Li, why do you keep staring at my shoes?”
The Minister of Rites was dumbfounded. I didn’t!
Yan Jiuchao: “Still looking?”
The Minister of Rites: “???”
Yan Jiuchao: “It’s not yours no matter what.”
The Minister of Rites: “!!!”