Chapter 607 A Grand Feast for the People of Ping'an County

Because they had to deal with He Ling, the wolves on the mountain were temporarily staying at Cheng Wanwan's house.

She clapped her hands, summoning the entire wolf pack.

Although she was familiar with these wolves, in reality only Little Dot and Little Black would obey her commands. The other wolves were only willing to live peacefully with her because of these two, plus because she fed and cared for them.

She couldn't bear to give up Little Dot and Little Black, so she could only find a wolf with a slightly gentler temperament from the pack.

She pointed to a gray wolf that was about the same size as Xiao Hei and said, "Grandpa, do you see that wolf? It's Xiao Hei's brother from the same womb. It has never had to worry about food or drink since it was born, and it has never seen blood. It has a relatively gentle and easy-to-tame nature."

"Awoo..."

The gray wolf crouched down and growled.

Eunuch Ming was startled. He did indeed want to take a wolf to the capital, but if it attacked someone and killed him on the way, it would be a huge loss. Killing him was a minor matter; his biggest fear was that it might injure the Emperor…

Just as Eunuch Ming was seriously considering whether he had been too hasty, a large white goose flew out from the bushes, landed directly on the gray wolf's head, and pecked at the wolf's ear.

The gray wolf howled a few times, but didn't dare to rush over. In the end, it shrank its neck and hid.

The big white goose won, stretching its neck and strutting proudly around the yard.

Eunuch Ming's eyes lit up: "Lady Sui, what's the name of this goose?"

"Let's call it Sanbai," Cheng Wanwan smiled. "It likes to eat small fish and shrimp. Would you like to give it a try, Eunuch Ming?"

Five big white geese, named Big White, Second White, Third White, Fourth White, Fifth White... names that guy, Fourth Egg, came up with.

Grandpa Ming nodded. If they could handle this big white goose, it would be perfect. If the gray wolf dared to misbehave and bite people, the white goose would subdue it. Indeed, there is one thing that can subdue another in this world. I never thought that a wolf would be afraid of a goose...

Seeing that Eunuch Ming was having a great time playing with the white goose, Cheng Wanwan didn't stay any longer. She and Shen Dongming began to discuss the banquet for the next day.

She wanted to invite the entire Dahe Village, as well as the merchants she frequently visited. Shen Dongming, on the other hand, invited the people of Ping'an County. Although he had not saved much salary after serving as an official for many years, he still had enough money to host a banquet, and he and Cheng Wanwan would split the cost equally. He could afford this expense.

Because of the time constraints, no special invitation letter was sent; it was sufficient for the yamen runners to post a notice on the Ping'an County bulletin board.

Of course, for some important guests, someone will be specially invited.

The people of Dahe Village were all busy. Some went to the city to buy supplies, bringing back truckloads of chicken, duck, fish, and meat. All the vegetables in each family's vegetable garden were harvested, and the fish in the river were caught in advance. The larger ones were kept for cooking, while the smaller ones were thrown back to be caught again at the end of the year. All kinds of dried vegetables were purchased for cooking, and some women even went up the mountain to pick mushrooms and wood ear fungus...

Because Wu Huiniang was pregnant and unable to cook, Wen Shi and Chunhua were chosen as the head chefs for this banquet, with other skilled cooks from the village assisting.

This banquet had far more guests than usual, and the temporary kitchen was set up to be even larger, with more than a dozen temporary stoves inside. Even so, there still wasn't enough space, so the work had to be outsourced, with the women preparing the chicken, duck, fish, and meat at home and bringing it over to cook together...

The entire Ping'an County was in an uproar.

"My goodness! Our county magistrate has been promoted! He'll be going to the capital in a month. Does that mean we'll never see him again?"

"That's why the magistrate invited us common folk to a promotion banquet. The magistrate is reluctant to part with us, and we are reluctant to part with the magistrate. Back then, my son was kidnapped by human traffickers and I went to report it to the police. If it weren't for the magistrate mobilizing everyone to find him, my son wouldn't have the good life he has now."

"The county magistrate has been promoted to the fifth rank, and Sui'an resident has been promoted to the fourth rank. I must say, Sui'an resident is really amazing. No one else can get promoted so quickly."

"Now she should be called Lady Sui, a fourth-rank court lady, even more noble than the wife of a prefect."

"I need to hurry back to prepare the congratulatory gift; we're going to Dahe Village for the banquet tomorrow..."

"..."

Dahe Village was busy all night, and Ping'an County was also in an uproar all night.

Before dawn, people from the city and other villages came to Dahe Village with gifts to offer their congratulations.

Ordinary people's gifts are very simple, nothing more than a dozen eggs, a few feet of cloth, hand-sewn clothes and shoes, a chicken and a duck... more or less representing their good wishes.

When outsiders came to the village, they were surprised to see many women and old women with bandages wrapped around their bodies, yet still working efficiently.

At this point, some insiders revealed some details.

"It just so happened that I was admiring the flowers in Dahe Village that day when I saw a Lord He from the capital causing trouble in the village. These injured villagers were all hurt by Lord He, and they were all badly injured."

"Yes, I saw it too. That Lord He was too arrogant, actually causing trouble for the people of Sui'an. Fortunately, the imperial edict arrived in time, otherwise Dahe Village would have been in trouble."

"Look, because several people in Dahe Village have been promoted, the villagers are in high spirits and are working so hard even with injuries on their bodies."

"Then let's hurry up and lend a hand..."

People from outside the village left their gifts and joined the work team.

Those villagers who appeared to be seriously injured were forcibly helped to the side to rest.

The injured, led by Master Zhao and Old Lady Zhu, were also helpless. Because Eunuch Ming was still alive, and people from all sides would be coming to offer their congratulations today, they would naturally know what had happened in Dahe Village. If they recovered from such serious injuries overnight, they wouldn't be able to explain themselves even if they had a hundred mouths to speak...

When outsiders came to help, they were all shocked when they saw the dishes.

Although the kitchen was full of vegetables, wild greens, and dried vegetables, there was even more chicken, duck, fish, and meat. The chicken and duck were stewed whole in the pot, the fish was huge, and the meat was pork and mutton. The meat was cut into large slices, overflowing into a big bowl, making it mouthwatering even before it was cooked...

Grandma Zhao sauntered in: "Everyone hurry up, it's getting late, hurry up and put some of the time-consuming dishes into the pot..."

While the women were busy here, the men gathered at the entrance of the Zhao Family Ancestral Hall.

The Zhao family ancestral hall rarely holds formal ancestral worship ceremonies. This time, a major event has occurred, which is why the ancestral hall was opened.

Zhao Dashan is a descendant of the Zhao family, so it is only right for him to come and pay respects to his ancestors. Cheng Wanwan didn't think it had much to do with her, but she was still forced to come.

Cheng Wanwan: "..."

She'd rather not kneel before the emperor than before her ancestors.

However, with so many people watching her so eagerly, if she didn't comply, it would be as if she were betraying everyone's good intentions. So, she could only be led to the entrance of the ancestral hall like a puppet, along with Zhao Dashan.

Zhao Lizheng was also the patriarch of the Zhao family and was responsible for presiding over the ancestral worship ceremony.

"Our Zhao clan has risen to prominence in response to the times, and is now flourishing. I am filled with gratitude..."

"The virtuous deeds of our ancestors inspire us, their noble character, to strive and follow in their footsteps..."

"One bow, to pray for the well-being of the clan..."

"Second bow,..."