In the early morning, a sunrise slowly rose from the fields, and golden light shone through the green gaps. Xiahe Village had just woken up from the morning fog, and Zhu Ping'an's house was already bustling.
Today is the time for Zhu Ping's family to hold a flowing banquet. Grandpa, grandmother, third uncle and fourth uncle's family all came over to help. The eldest aunt and Zhu Pingjun also came. However, the uncle who just came home the day before yesterday did not come over. I heard that my grandfather said he was reviewing books at home.
.My uncle didn’t come, but my mother, Mrs. Chen, breathed a sigh of relief. It would have been better if he didn’t come, but she would still be upset if he did.
Setting up a flowing banquet in rural areas is not that simple. Although the villagers only come to the table at noon, preparations need to be made a day in advance. Ingredients, venue, tables, chairs, benches, bowls, spoons, chopsticks, etc. all need to be prepared a day in advance. Yesterday
When my father came back from town, he bought a lot of vegetables and fruits. In the afternoon, he asked the butcher in the village to prepare a big fat pig that he had raised and sold it to the butcher with half a fan of pork. The remaining pork was kept for tomorrow.
We feasted on running water, and evened out some meat to send some to the neighboring neighbors and my grandfather's house.
In addition, the eldest brother Zhu Pingchuan picked a lot of fungi such as fungus and mushrooms from the mountains. He also caught a lot of big fat fish, enough to put one on each table. There were also eight hares, which was not enough.
Add another meat dish to each table.
Early this morning, my grandfather packed up and led the people from the old house to come over to help, picking vegetables, washing dishes, etc., and he was busy all morning. Although my mother, Chen, didn't say anything, she looked at her grandparents' eyes.
But it was much warmer.
At about nine o'clock, a woman who was familiar with her mother, Chen, came over from home with gifts. After some greetings, the women chatted while picking and washing vegetables, which seemed like a happy time.
Zhu Ping'an went to Shanghe Village again early in the morning, but his mentor still didn't come back. When he returned home, the house was already very lively. Murakami's mountain village chef, who was responsible for the busy work, had already taken his apprentices to the place, weaving pots, and started to
Processing ingredients is a very busy time.
It was almost noon. Villagers came to Zhu's house to have a feast one after another, and most of the village was empty. In the villagers' words, "feast" means "feast". Feast and banquet are two things. Because there are so many people, there is a running water banquet.
It was placed in the open space outside the door, and there was a lot of people.
"Oh, your second child is really living up to his expectations."
"You, Mr. Zhu, have smoke rising from their ancestral graves this time."
"I was admitted to the scholar examination when I was only thirteen years old. It's really amazing. In a few years, I will be admitted as the top scholar."
…
Whenever the Zhu family passed by, the villagers would always express one or two words of envy or jealousy.
As a result, my mother, Mrs. Chen, became the happiest person today. She felt elated and elated. Her face was red and radiant all day long.
Don't laugh at the farmer's wine, which is thick with wax and wine. In good years, there are enough chickens and dolphins from the guests.
The Zhu family's flowing banquet today was full of dishes, especially meat dishes. Fish, pork, rabbit, and mutton were placed on the table in various patterns. Only the villagers who had been reluctant to eat meat for a long time were left with mouths full of oil.
The people in the village also praised the flowing feast, which made mother Chen even more radiant.
Grandfather also felt that he was very dignified. During this flowing banquet, he sat together with Li Zheng and the village elder. Not only that, Li Zheng and the village elder also praised Mr. Zhu a lot. This sour feeling almost made grandfather almost
They were all drunk.
It was a flowing banquet that lasted until three or four o'clock in the afternoon. Everyone was very happy.
Zhu Ping'an stood outside the door with his grandfather and father, bidding farewell to the villagers one by one. His mother, Chen, greeted familiar neighbors at home, and divided the vegetables and lettuce ingredients that had not yet been touched with chopsticks one by one, and asked the neighbors to take away them in bowls.
It wasn't until the sun went down that Zhu Ping'an's family restored the courtyard to a state where no flowing water banquet was held.
In the evening, Zhu Ping'an took out the book he borrowed from the Li family last time and neatly copied out the unfinished last part.
The next day, after breakfast, Zhu Ping'an walked to Shanghe Village with his schoolbag slung across his body. He planned to return the books to Li's house and then borrow two more books.
This time, as soon as I knocked on the door, the concierge Uncle Li opened the door. Probably because the rich man Li came back, the concierge Uncle Li started to do his duty again.
"Master Xiao Zhu is here to borrow books again, come on, come on."
Zhu Ping'an could only smile bitterly when he heard the nondescript name given to him by Uncle Li, the concierge, and walked through the door.
The study was different from the past. When Zhu Pingan entered the study, there were already many people in the study. It was not the scheming girl and the others, but more than ten smart-looking accountants. They were sitting on three tables, and there were people on each table.
There were four or five people, some with an abacus, some with account books, and some with records, all performing their duties. The whole study was filled with the sound of dialing the abacus.
Rich Man Li was restless on the side, going to a table to look at it from time to time.
Zhu Ping'an walked in, not even bothering to disturb them. He bowed to Rich Man Li from a distance, took out the book from his schoolbag, and indicated that he was here to return the book.
Rich Man Li was so worried that he just waved his hand casually, signaling Zhu Pingan to help himself.
So, Zhu Ping'an gently walked around the accounting rooms where the accounts were calculated, went to the rows of bookshelves, and put the books back in their original places. Then, he stood in front of the bookshelves, looking for the books he borrowed this time.
The Four Books and Five Classics have been thoroughly read, so I plan to borrow a miscellaneous book to read this time.
Zhu Ping'an was aimlessly behind the bookshelf, flipping through each book one by one. When he saw a book that interested him a little, he stopped and read for a while before moving on to the next one.
The sound of the abacus being dialed outside was still there, almost never stopping. The accountant responsible for checking the accounts was miserable. He had been checking the accounts for three days in a row. He basically didn't get much rest except for a short sleep at night, but he still didn't find anything in the account book.
What's the problem? Rich Man Li pressed on urgently, making these accountants even more exhausted.
While Zhu Pingan was flipping through the books, the sinister girl led Baozi's maid, followed by two old ladies, into the study.
"Dad, have you found out?"
The sinister girl asked as soon as she entered the door.
"Shu'er, why are you here? The study is too hot. It would be nice to stay in your room. Daddy asked someone to send two more basins of ice to your room." Rich Man Li saw his baby bump entering the study and even looked at the account books.
Incredible.
"Dad, I'm not hot. Is there something wrong with the account book?" Li Shu twisted her body twice and asked with a pout.
"Ahem, cough, cough, hurry up, hurry up." Rich Man Li coaxed.
"It's coming soon, it's coming. You said this yesterday, but it hasn't been found out yet... Today it's happening again..." Li Shu's pouted mouth could hold an oil bottle.
"You should be quick to check the accounts, but not slow to collect the money."
Seeing his precious baby getting angry, Rich Man Li also became a little anxious. He turned around and urged the three desks behind him. (To be continued.)
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