It's not that the He family had never seen a beautiful courtyard and a sumptuous feast, but subconsciously they all felt that the conditions in the prefectural city were definitely much better than in the county town. So even though they knew that the Cheng family might be doing quite well in the county town, they never imagined that it would be this good.

These are all just stereotypes.

The truly wealthy, even living in remote and impoverished areas, can have three thousand servants and enjoy delicacies every day. But what about the destitute? Even living in the most prosperous capital city, they are still struggling to make ends meet.

Fortunately, the He family didn't care much about these external things. After the initial shock, they quickly got used to it and were able to truly enjoy the food and scenery. In particular, the eldest cousin's wife, Tian Fenfang, praised several dishes created by Cheng Ruyi and even seriously discussed cooking techniques with her.

"My cousin's dishes are indeed delicious and unique, but I always feel something's missing! They're too bland! For example, this braised pork belly should use pork belly with more fat than lean meat, so that every bite is bursting with the rich, oily flavor—that would be truly satisfying! And this sweet and sour carp wasn't fried thoroughly enough, and the sauce could be a bit sweeter and more sour..."

Tian Fenfang has loved eating since she was a child and also loves cooking. In addition, her family runs a candied fruit shop. Through long-term exposure to food, she has developed her own "unique insights" about food.

When Cheng Ruyi visited the He family before, she had already fully understood her cousin-in-law's tastes. The taste of the food itself was not important; the most important thing was that the flavor had to be strong. Not only did she have to eat a lot of oil and salt, but she also had to eat large mouthfuls of meat. She had absolutely no interest in vegetables or light flavors.

This can actually be seen from the physique of their family members.

Therefore, this large table of nutritionally balanced dishes, with a mix of meat and vegetables, was indeed too bland for Tian Fenfang...

It's normal for everyone to have different tastes. If a family likes this kind of food, they must have their reasons. You don't need to tell them that eating like this is unhealthy, especially during the Chinese New Year. That would be such a downer.

So Cheng Ruyi simply smiled and replied, "These are the flavors that our family is used to eating. It was my oversight that I forgot to cook according to your tastes. Please make do with what you have tonight, and I will definitely ask the kitchen to change the flavors of the dishes tomorrow!"

"No, no! Ruyi, don't listen to her." Cheng Hua immediately stopped her, and jokingly complained, "Your cousin's cooking is so salty that you can't even tell what kind of meat it is. Your way of cooking is so delicious, fresh and fragrant, and it retains the original flavor of the ingredients. It's just as good as the chefs in the restaurants in our city!"

He Zheng also spoke up to explain, "Ruyi, your cousin-in-law has always liked strong-flavored dishes since she was a child, especially sweet ones. What she just said didn't really mean anything, so please don't mind it!"

Feeling uncomfortable after being criticized by her mother-in-law and husband, Tian Fenfang dared not retaliate on the spot, so she could only stomp on He Zheng's foot.

"Ouch~~" After being stomped on hard by his heavy-duty wife, He Zheng immediately picked up the water: "Actually... they're all delicious, haha, each has its own unique flavor, hahaha... impressive, you're all impressive!"

Seeing him like this, everyone couldn't help but chuckle. Thanks to He Zheng's self-sacrifice, the meal was finally enjoyed in harmony and ended amidst laughter.

Cheng Ruyi was initially worried that her cousin-in-law might be unhappy about this, but to her surprise, Tian Fenfang completely changed when several desserts were served. She exclaimed that she was amazed by each dessert and praised Cheng Ruyi as if she were the best in the world.

After finishing all the desserts by herself, she enthusiastically dragged Ruyi to the kitchen to ask her how to make them. Finally, she earnestly discussed with Ruyi the possibility of opening a dessert shop in the city.

If Cheng Hua hadn't appeared in time and pulled Tian Fenfang away, Cheng Ruyi estimated that this cousin-in-law would have talked with her until dawn.

I only knew she loved sweets before, I never knew she had such a knack for business!

After the dessert fiasco, the He family, who had been traveling all day, rested and went to sleep.

The main building of Qiushiyuan includes a main hall, two bedrooms, and two side rooms.

The bedroom on the right features a super large "parent-child bed," originally designed to make it convenient for young children to sleep with their parents. However, apart from its size and the soft carpet on the floor, this bed is no different from a regular bed, and it doesn't seem out of place for He Gang and Cheng Hua to sleep here now.

The bedroom on the left has an ocean theme. Not only is the room decorated with a lot of seaside elements, but the walls are also painted with sea scenes. Even the carpet on the floor is indigo blue. Standing in the center of the room is a tall, pirate ship-shaped bunk bed. Every child who sees this bed will have their eyes light up and then refuse to leave the room. The two eldest grandsons of the He family almost want to eat dinner here. At this moment, the two brothers are lying on the pirate ship, dreaming of going out to sea to catch big fish.

The entire basement of the main house was paved with fire pits, and the two side rooms also had toilets and bathrooms, making it warm and comfortable to live in, almost no different from a modern vacation villa.

There was a large wing room on each side of the front yard, and a kitchen, storeroom, and public toilet in the back yard. There were also two small beds in the storeroom, which were convenient for wealthy people who came on vacation with their servants.

The west wing was divided into two rooms. One room had a large hammock where you could sway back and forth, which was a lot of fun. The other room had a bunk bed shaped like a small wooden house, with a small staircase at the back leading to the second floor and a slide at the front for the children to slide down. The two chubby little girls of the He family couldn't tear themselves away from the bed and played with it for a long time without getting tired of it. So, this wing room naturally belonged to He Zheng and his wife and their two little daughters.

If the previous rooms were decorated with a fun theme, then the east wing takes a romantic and beautiful approach, mainly targeting slightly older children.

The room resembled a modern duplex. Downstairs was a round, exquisitely carved canopy bed covered with gauze curtains. The small attic on the second floor also had carved wooden railings. Two beds made of several layers of cotton quilts and snow-white rabbit fur were laid on the floor. All sorts of exquisite plush toys were piled up around the room. Few girls could resist them.

Of course, the highlight of this room is the main hall, where dozens of strings of colorful glass pieces hang from the high ceiling. These translucent glass pieces are polished to a very smooth finish and then strung together with strong fishing line, adorning the room at different heights. Under the illumination of the surrounding candlelight, they appear and disappear like stars in the night sky, making the whole room seem like a dream.

Not to mention He Nuan's two daughters, even she herself liked them very much, and her impression of the Cheng family underwent a complete change.

The next morning, Cheng Ruyi had a large table of breakfast brought over.

"The weather is so nice today, Aunt and Uncle. After breakfast, would you like to go to the county town for a stroll, or stay in Lishan?"

Upon hearing this, Cheng Hua smiled and took her niece's hand affectionately, saying, "Everyone traveled all day yesterday, and their backs are aching from sitting in the car. Let's stay here and rest today. Besides, you said yesterday that there are many places in the Lishan area that we haven't visited yet. We have to go and see them so that this old woman can broaden her horizons!"

Last night, Cheng Hua not only saw her relatives but also had a delicious and nutritious dinner. In addition, the room was warm and comfortable enough that she slept well, which was rare for her. She woke up this morning feeling refreshed and in a great mood.

“Yes, that’s good. We’ll go to the county town another time. The main reason we came here this time is for our two families to reunite. So today we’ll stay here and have a good chat with everyone!” He Gang naturally knew what his wife was thinking, so he naturally agreed. Moreover, after last night, he was very curious about the whole of Lishan.

Looking at the two kind old people, Cheng Ruyi felt a warmth in her heart. "Auntie is joking again. What haven't you and Uncle seen in the world? But it's good that everyone can rest well in Lishan today. After you finish breakfast, Father and I will take you for a walk around the neighborhood!"

For the rest of the day, led by Cheng Ruyi and Cheng Yan, the He family first visited all four villas on Lishan Mountain. Then, at noon, they went down the mountain to browse several shops along the official road and enjoyed a self-service spicy hot pot lunch at a snack shop.

The novel, exciting, and delicious Mala Tang (a type of spicy hot pot) naturally and easily captured everyone's hearts. While it was freezing cold outside, you were eating it in your room, sweating profusely. The feeling was simply amazing!

In particular, the He family of six was incredibly voracious, almost finishing off all the food the snack stall had prepared for the day, astonishing everyone present.

After lunch, it started snowing lightly again, so instead of wandering around, everyone went straight to the point—visiting Lishan Bieyuan.

After seeing the newly built, clean, spacious, comfortable, and beautiful courtyard, everyone understood what Cheng Ruyi had said earlier. In the prefectural city, only aristocratic families or officials were qualified to live in such a five-courtyard house; ordinary people wouldn't even dare to dream of it.

What shocked them even more was that there was a huge farm behind the yard, with all kinds of vegetables and animals on display. The key was that it was kept very clean and tidy, and it looked very wild and had no odor at all. It could achieve self-sufficiency in daily life, which was truly amazing.

After two months of freezing winter, the prices of food in the city have skyrocketed. Not to mention grain, meat and vegetables are extremely hard to find. So, seeing this huge farm full of food, the He family couldn't help but have their eyes light up!

It was only then that they realized why there were so many vegetables in all the meals they had eaten there. At first, they thought the Cheng family had spent a lot of money to buy them, but it turned out that they had actually grown them in a greenhouse they had built themselves!

As for the large orchards, dry land, and paddy fields behind it, the He family members were already used to it. At this moment, everyone realized that this Lishan Villa was completely different from what they had imagined. To put it bluntly, the entire Lishan area was actually a multi-functional estate that combined commerce, living, and planting.