Shui Qing's idea was for eleven men to get married together, which would be like a group wedding. Especially since both sides of the wedding were family members, although it couldn't be too elaborate or grand, it couldn't be too shabby!

But let's hear Da Ni and Zhou Yu's plans first. "What dishes did you originally plan to make for the wedding banquet?"

Li Dani wiped the sweat from her forehead and read out the menu that the five of them had discussed: "Madam, since we are all in-laws, we thought that since they have come all this way, we should not distinguish between each other and treat them together."

With over a hundred people, if the children don't take up seats, we can easily squeeze into twelve tables. Each of our four families will contribute three old hens and three fat rabbits, so each table will have one stewed old hen soup and one rabbit—two main meat dishes. We'll also have a side dish made with chicken and goose eggs, along with some stir-fried vegetables. For staple food, we'll eat steamed buns or flatbreads made from a mixture of wheat and corn flour.

Shui Qing listened and nodded.

This dish was indeed the best that the four households could offer, showing no slights in their hospitality.

"You put your heart into it."

Li Dani rubbed her hands together and said happily, "This is something you, Madam, are willing to give. Otherwise, even if we servants wanted to, we wouldn't be able to afford it."

The servants couldn't afford it, and many families in the village couldn't afford it either.

"That's because you guys are hardworking," Shui Qing said clearly.

For rabbits, she only provides the baby rabbits; she does everything herself, from building rabbit hutches and cutting grass to feeding them and cleaning the hutches. The same goes for chickens, ducks, and geese. It's because they are so diligent that they can bring out so many animals at once when they hold a wedding.

There was also white flour and rice. The amount she gave was there. If someone was greedy and gluttonous, they would have eaten all the fine grains first. Even if they didn't finish them, they wouldn't be willing to give them to others.

Especially since they are in-laws whom I've never met before.

Like Fan Dazhu's family, they also had hens, but they only kept them for themselves. They used to raise rabbits, and she wouldn't object if they traded hens for them, but they either thought it wasn't worth it, or that it was dirty, or that it was too tiring, so in the end they never raised them.

When it comes to the wedding, there isn't even a meat dish, yet they still have to hold a banquet. To put it bluntly, they only want to collect congratulatory gifts. Whether the people who come eat or not is none of their business, and it would be better if they didn't eat at all.

If a happy occasion is celebrated like this, who would genuinely want to attend the banquet?

Li Dani and the other four knew perfectly well that this wasn't a matter of being diligent or not; they had always been diligent.

Working from dawn till dusk, I could only barely make ends meet. Now I'm not as tired as before, but life is completely different!

It is so important to follow the right master.

"Oh, right, Madam, how about we have Feng Da and the others go and catch a few more fish to make a fish dish?" That's a meat dish too.

“Sure.” Shui Qing added, “There are at least ten people at the table. Everyone came overnight and they are all farmers. They have good appetites. One old hen, one rabbit, and a few stir-fried dishes may not be enough.”

Here's what we'll do: my dad goes to the prefectural city to collect pig bristles on the fifteenth, and I'll have him collect more than twenty pig trotters while he's at it. We'll add a stewed pig trotters dish to each table.

Buy another pork leg, stir-fry the vegetables and shredded pork together to add a meaty flavor;

Buy a 20-plus kilogram pork tenderloin and make a sweet and sour pork dish that both the elderly and children will love.

Slaughter another sheep and stew it with radishes; one pot per table.

Goose eggs and chives can be used to make a chive omelet, while chicken eggs can be used to make steamed eggs.

We'll have rice as the staple food, and wheat flour and cornmeal for wedding cakes. I'm thinking you all have good relationships with many families in the village, especially the men who have gone out together; you'll definitely come over to share in the joy. We won't accept any food or gifts, but we should still give out wedding cakes. What do you think?