Because of the joyous occasion of digging the canal, and considering that in this year of famine, there was finally something worth celebrating besides the festival, the whole village organized a feast to celebrate together.

The banquet was set up on a large flat area in front of the back hill, which can be considered a square. It's spacious there, and being at the foot of the mountain, it's cool. Larger banquets in the village are usually held here.

Because the place was right next to the Shen family's house, and Yang's cooking skills were excellent, the village chief Ma approached the Shen family to discuss having Yang take charge of the cooking.

When discussing the matter with the Shen family, Village Chief Ma didn't hide anything, saying with some helplessness, "To be honest, repairing the canal has already cost the village a lot of money. The harvests haven't been good these past few years, and now there's not much money left in the public coffers. We can only afford five taels of silver for this banquet, but the whole village will be eating, so five taels is really not enough. I'm not sure I can prepare anything good, and I'm afraid asking others won't agree. But Wan Niang's cooking skills are the best in our village, so we have to guarantee either quality or quantity, right?"

Yang naturally agreed, especially since Village Chief Ma had given her a penny from the public funds as wages, so she was extremely happy to accept.

As for the budget being insufficient and not having enough food?

Her family has its own secret weapon!

So on this day in early July, Xinghua Village finally gathered in a lively atmosphere at the square in front of the back mountain for a feast.

The large round tables were collected from various households, totaling more than thirty tables.

Although it's called a feast, everyone knows that given the current situation, the village won't spend much money on a grand celebration.

But since it's a rare occasion for celebration, everyone's just here to wish for good luck.

Moreover, the youngest daughter-in-law of the Shen family is an excellent cook; even her wild vegetable soup is many times better than what I make myself. It would be nice to come and try Yang's cooking.

No one had high expectations for the dishes. Five taels of silver for over thirty tables—we were afraid we'd only get scraps of meat.

When the Shen family's sons brought out plates of colorful dishes, the people of Xinghua Village were so surprised that their jaws almost dropped off the table!

Black fungus and bitter melon salad, pickled fish, chicken stew with mushrooms, stir-fried potatoes with diced meat, steamed egg custard, wild vegetable soup, fried sweet potatoes...

The dark black wood ear mushrooms and bright green cucumbers create a delightful combination. The wood ear mushrooms are soft yet slightly chewy, offering a smooth and delicate texture. The cucumbers are crisp and refreshing, with a slightly sour taste that instantly whets the appetite, making even the summer heat disappear.

The golden and glistening pickled fish, with dogwood and scallions complementing each other, perfectly blends the freshness of the fish, the tanginess of the pickled cabbage, the spiciness of the dogwood, and the aroma of various seasonings. The dogwood, which can numb the tongue, is added to this fish and makes it taste better than ever before!

Steaming hot chicken and mushroom stew, the broth thick and glistening with oil, gently bubbling. The chicken is tender and juicy, with a springy texture; a light bite releases a burst of savory flavor. The mushrooms are smooth and slightly chewy, each bite bursting with rich umami. The rich, creamy broth clings to the chicken and mushrooms, offering a savory and subtly sweet taste.

The most unremarkable dish here is actually wild vegetable soup!

The people of Xinghua Village stared wide-eyed, the aroma of meat lingering in their noses for a long time, leaving them unable to recover from the lingering fragrance on their lips and teeth.

The main thing is, it's meat!

Such a big bowl of fat fish!

Chicken stew with mushrooms has a lot of mushrooms, but it also has chicken!

And that stir-fried potato with diced pork, that pork!

This tastes like meat!

The villagers of Xinghua Village ate their rice with tears in their eyes, marveling at their plight.

"Oh my god, there's fish, chicken, and meat!"

"Sanlang's wife's cooking is amazing! She puts dogwood in this fish, I don't know how she does it, but it tastes so good! Although it still makes my mouth numb, it's so addictive!"

"And this chicken stew with mushrooms, the mushrooms are so fresh and tender!"

"Yes, yes, even this wild vegetable soup is so delicious!"

The dishes were so plentiful that the villagers almost forgot that Village Chief Ma had only given the Yang family a budget of five taels of silver!

Yang even managed to get two jars of wine from somewhere!

Village Chief Ma was also dumbfounded. He remembered that he had indeed only given five taels of silver.

Oh, and later they even brought ten eggs from their own home, so I guess some of the eggs in this steamed egg custard on the table came from their family.

Looking at Old Man Shen and several other elders enjoying their drinks, Village Chief Ma asked, "Uncle Shen, where did Wan Niang buy all this stuff? Is it really that cheap?"

Old Man Shen glanced at him and smiled mysteriously.

Ha, Village Chief Ma really only gave five taels of silver.

Five taels of silver couldn't buy so many fish and chickens.

But who said these things were bought?

The wood ear mushrooms in this wood ear mushroom salad and the mushrooms in this chicken stew were all picked by Lili and her boys from the back mountain!

With pears around, you can pick them one by one, and you can fill five baskets in one trip!

And the fish in the sauerkraut fish dish was, of course, caught by Lili and the boys from the river.

Because he was afraid that Lili would be traumatized by her falling into the water, Shen Jiahao had previously taken Lili to the other side of the river to catch fish.

But Lili said she wasn't afraid and really wanted to go to the river to see the pear tree that had blossomed.

Only then did Shen Jiahao dare to take Lili to the river to catch fish.

Logically speaking, the area around the pear tree is where villagers often wash their clothes, so fish usually stay far away from there, and the probability of catching fish is naturally not as high as elsewhere.

But once Lili makes a move, you can tell if she's good or not.

The boys were still rummaging through the river, searching for fish, while Lili simply broke off a branch from a pear tree covered in petals and casually splashed water on the riverbank. Waves of fish swam towards Lili.

Chun Chun used the pear tree branch as a fishing rod.

So the boys caught a lot more fat fish.

Also, because there were so many, the baskets we brought couldn't hold them all, so we had to make two trips.

Those around him listened in stunned silence, as if Old Man Shen was telling a myth rather than explaining the origin of the ingredients.

"No, Brother Shen, are you trying to fool your older brother?"

An older man named Wang, who was a bit older than Old Man Shen, said, "It's one thing to find mushrooms and wood ear fungus, but what kind of fish just run towards people on its own?"

It's no wonder he didn't believe it; it was just too absurd. Who would believe it?