In the morning, a rising sun rises slowly from the other side of the field, and golden rays of light shine through the green gaps. ds This site has changed its new URL, shorthand method: ,..] Xiahe Village has just woken up from the morning mist, and Zhu Ping'an's house has already become lively.
Today was the time for Zhu Ping'an's family to hold a buffet. Grandpa, grandma, uncle and his family all came to help. Aunt and Zhu Pingjun also came, but uncle who just came home the day before yesterday did not come. Grandpa said he was studying at home. Uncle did not come, which made me feel relieved. It was better that he did not come. It would be annoying if he did.
It is not so easy to set up a buffet in the countryside. Although the villagers only come to the banquet at noon, preparations need to be made one day in advance. The ingredients, venue, tables, chairs, benches, bowls, spoons, chopsticks, etc. need to be prepared one day in advance. When my father came back from the town yesterday, he bought a lot of vegetables and fruits. In the afternoon, he asked the butcher in the village to prepare a big fat pig raised at home. He sold half of the pork to the butcher, and kept the rest of the pork for the buffet tomorrow. He also gave some meat to the neighbors and my grandfather's family.
In addition, the eldest brother Zhu Pingchuan picked a lot of fungi such as wood ear mushrooms from the mountains, and caught a lot of big fat fish, enough to put one on each table. There were also eight wild rabbits, which was almost enough to add another meat dish to each table.
This morning, my grandfather dressed up and led people to help, picking vegetables, washing dishes, etc., and was busy all morning. Although my mother Chen didn't say anything, the look in her eyes when she looked at my grandparents was much warmer.
At about nine o'clock, women who were familiar with my mother Chen came from home with gifts. After exchanging greetings, the women picked and washed vegetables while chatting, and there was a sense of joy in the atmosphere.
Zhu Pingan went to Shanghe Village again early in the morning, but his mentor still hadn't come back. When he got home, the house was already very lively. The village chef who was in charge of the house had already taken his apprentice to the place, weaving pots, and preliminarily processing ingredients, and was very busy.
It was almost noon. Villagers came to Zhu's house one after another to sit for the feast, and most of the village was empty. Sitting for the feast is the villagers' word, "Yan, also known as the feast". Yan and Xi are two names for the same thing. Because there were so many people, the buffet was set up in the open space outside the door, and the noise was deafening.
"Oh, your second child has done well."
"Your Zhu family is really blessed this time."
"He's already passed the exam to become a scholar at the age of ten. That's amazing. In a few years, he'll definitely pass the exam to become the top scholar."
…
Whenever the Zhu family passed by, the villagers would always express envy or jealousy.
As a result, Mother Chen became the happiest person that day. She felt very proud and her face was rosy and radiant the whole day.
Don’t laugh at the muddy wine of the farmers, for in a good year there are enough chickens and pigs to entertain guests.
The Zhu family's buffet today was very filling, especially with meat dishes, such as fish, pork, rabbit, and mutton, which were placed on the table in various ways, making the villagers, who had not eaten meat for a long time, eat until their mouths were full of oil. The villagers also praised the buffet, which made the mother Chen even more radiant.
Grandfather also felt very proud. At this buffet, he sat together with the head of the village and the village elders. Not only that, the head of the village and the village elders also praised Mr. Zhu a lot. It was so refreshing that grandfather almost got drunk.
It was a buffet dinner that lasted until 4pm, and everyone was very happy.
Zhu Ping'an, his grandfather and his father stood outside the door, bidding farewell to the villagers one by one. His mother, Chen, greeted the neighbors at home, dividing the dishes and raw vegetables that had not yet been eaten, and asked the neighbors to take them away with their bowls.
It was not until the sun was setting that Zhu Ping'an and his family restored the courtyard to its original state without the buffet.
In the evening, Zhu Ping'an took out the book he borrowed from the Li family last time and copied down the last part that he had not finished copying neatly.
The next day, after breakfast, Zhu Ping'an walked towards Shanghe Village with his schoolbag slung over his shoulder, intending to return the book to Li's house and then borrow two more.
This time, the doorman Uncle Li opened the door as soon as I knocked. I guess it was because the rich man Li had returned, so the doorman Uncle Li started to do his job conscientiously again.
"Mr. Zhu is here to borrow books again. Come in quickly, come in quickly."
After hearing the incongruous address from the doorman, Uncle Li, Zhu Ping'an could only smile bitterly, bow, and enter.
The study was different from the past. When Zhu Pingan entered the study, there were already many people in the study. They were not the black-bellied girl, but more than a dozen accountants who looked very smart. They sat at a table, and there were four or five people at each table. Some were using an abacus, some were reading the account book, and some were taking notes. They were doing their own job, and the whole study was filled with the sound of abacus.
Mr. Li, the rich man, was sitting restlessly, looking at a table from time to time.
Zhu Ping'an walked in, not wanting to disturb them. He bowed to the rich man Li from a distance, took out a book from his bag, and indicated that he was there to return the book.
Mr. Li, the rich man, was so anxious that he just waved his hand casually, indicating that Zhu Ping'an could do as he pleased.
So Zhu Ping'an tiptoed around the accountants who were calculating their abacus, went to the bookshelves, put the books back in place, and then stood in front of the bookshelves to look for the books he wanted to borrow.
I have read the Four Books and Five Classics to pieces, so I plan to borrow some miscellaneous books this time.
Zhu Ping'an walked aimlessly behind the bookshelf, flipping through the books one by one. When he saw a book that interested him a little, he would stop and look at it for a while before moving on to the next one.
The clacking sound of abacus was still there outside, and it hardly ever stopped. The accountants in charge of checking the accounts were miserable, as they had been checking the accounts for days in a row, and except for a short nap at night, they had basically had no rest. However, they still did not find any problems with the account books. The rich man Li was urging them to hurry up, which made the accountants even more exhausted.
Just as Zhu Ping'an was flipping through a book, a sinister girl led her maid, followed by two old mothers, into the study.
"Dad, have you found out?"
The sinister girl asked as she entered the room.
"Shu'er, why are you here? It's hot in the study. It would be better for you to stay in your room. Daddy will ask someone to send two more basins of ice to your room." When the rich man Li saw his precious daughter enter the study, he didn't even care about the account book.
"Dad, I'm not hot. Has there been any problem with the account book?" Li Shu twisted her body twice and asked with a pout.
"Hehe, it's almost there." The rich man Li coaxed.
"It's almost there again. You said so yesterday, but we haven't found out yet... Today it's happening again..." Li Shu's pouting mouth was so tight that it could hold a bottle of oil.
"You guys should check the accounts faster, you're not slow when collecting the money."
Seeing his precious child getting angry, Mr. Li became anxious and turned to urge the accountant behind him. (To be continued.)