In the afternoon, after returning to her parents' home, Xiao Yunying asked her two older brothers to move the stove and cooking utensils into the yard. She said:

"Mother, I've ordered two pigs, and the quilts and other things I bought are all ready. Tomorrow, I'll ask my eldest and second eldest brothers to borrow an oxcart so we can go to the city and bring them back together."

Mu Lianrong complained, "Your father is so unreliable. He spread the word that everyone in the village can come and have a housewarming feast. How much money is that going to cost?"

Xiao Yunying asked her two older brothers to move the stove into the woodshed, and then prepared to cook on the earthen stove in the courtyard.

“Dad was just trying to help me get along with the people in the village. He didn’t let me buy meat, saying that we had plenty of potatoes and cabbage at home. But I thought, how can we only serve vegetarian dishes when we’re having a meal with people? Everyone has these things, so who cares? I should buy some meat. Building a house is a big deal, so it’s worth spending some money for good luck.”

Most people in this era are superstitious, and Mu Lianrong is no exception: "Since the words have already been spoken, we can't stop them from coming. It's good for more people to come, as it will bring wealth and good fortune, making your future life smoother."

"Mother, has the wine arrived?"

"It's been delivered and it's in the backyard."

"Mother, I don't know the exact amount, just check if there's enough wine."

"Whether it's enough or not is just this much; we can't really expect to provide as much as we want."

Xiao Yunying handed the red paper and copper coins to Mu Lianrong, asking her mother to take the children to cut red paper and wrap red envelopes.

When Xiao Shanhai returned from outside, he asked her to hand over the task of cooking to her two sisters-in-law and accompany him to visit the village chief, clan elders, and other elders, going door to door to invite them as a sign of respect.

After visiting more than a dozen stores, it was already close to dusk.

Mu Lianrong took Wang Shi to borrow tables, chairs, plates and other necessities from several families they were on good terms with. They put them in the courtyard and would move them to the new house for the banquet the next day.

She and her two daughters-in-law were kneading the risen dough and steaming buns.

In Donglin City, rice flour was cheaper than rice. Mu Lianrong couldn't bear to treat the whole village to rice, so she specially asked her two sons to bring freshly ground wheat flour from their home and mix it with cornmeal to steam many large steamed buns that were so big they could be held in two hands. They were steamed today and would be ready to eat tomorrow when they were reheated.

Xiao Yunying cooked dinner, and after dinner, she boiled several large pots of water and gave all the children in the family a bath.

The kitchen had been burning all afternoon, and it was still warm enough with the door closed, so there was no need to worry about the children catching a cold.

Mu Lianrong brought over the medicine: "Drink it, the temperature is just right."

Xiao Yunying dried Luo Xin's hair: "I didn't drink anything at noon, and I was thinking of taking a break today."

"You're such a grown-up, why do you need someone to watch you drink your medicine? Hurry up and drink it, stop nagging."

Xiao Yunying finished her medicine in a few gulps, her face contorted with bitterness, and her mother stuffed two pine nut candies into her mouth.

After the sweet maltose melts, the pine nuts inside fall out. Chewing it fills your mouth with the aroma of pine nuts, and it's quite delicious.

After drying the children's hair, the family went to bed early. There would be even more things to do tomorrow, so they had to get up early.

The next day, before dawn, Xiao Yunying got up early and cooked noodles for her two older brothers. She made sure they were full before driving the two oxcarts into the city together.

She arrived at the city gate just as dawn broke and the gate had just opened. She went to the butcher stall to pay the remaining silver and bought pork. The stall owner gave her a dozen or so extra pig trotters and pig tails.

Xiao Yunying thanked him and asked her two brothers to drive to Jinxiu Pavilion.

Cheng Yue was already waiting at the door: "Yun Ying, have you forgotten how much stuff you bought from me? One oxcart can't carry it all."

The shop assistant had already packed all her things. Xiao Yunying peeked out and decisively asked her second brother to rent two oxcarts from the car dealership. It took three carts to fit all her things.

"Sister Cheng Yue, why are there still two bolts of cloth? Didn't I take all my cloth beforehand?"

Cheng Yue came out carrying several gift boxes and said, "This is new fabric that came with the cotton. It's in new colors, orange and cherry red. Take it back and make clothes for yourself."

"Don't spend the money..."

"No, no, your sister Cheng Yue has nothing good to offer except fabric. Hurry up and get in the car, we have a lot of things to do back home."

Xiao Yunying was pulled onto the oxcart by Cheng Yue and returned to her parents' home. After unloading the things, she began to prepare the lunch dishes without stopping.

The family had already moved the tables and other items to the open space in front of the new house. Although the yard was large, it couldn't accommodate so many people. Apart from the clan elders and some seniors eating in the yard, everyone else sat outside.

Xiao Yunying built an earthen stove in the open space and brought over her own pots and her parents' pots. Feeling that four pots were not enough, she went to Aunt Yang's house and borrowed four more large pots from the surrounding neighbors.

Xiao Shanhai and his two sons dismembered two pigs and slaughtered the rabbits they had caught in the mountains recently. Xiao Yunying also handed over the task of dealing with the wastewater to her brothers.

She had already discussed the recipes with her mother: braised pork with potatoes, spicy stir-fried pork intestines, braised pig's trotters, braised rabbit, hot and sour shredded potatoes, stir-fried cabbage with vinegar, spicy stir-fried pig's lungs, braised pork ribs with potatoes, braised offal platter, and radish and meatball soup.

Ten dishes, symbolizing perfection.

Most of the dishes are stewed or boiled, which is simple, convenient, and saves time.