Chapter 144 Memories Carried for Many Years

With the help of the small clips, the two of them gradually became faster.

Chen Fangyang got lazy again after a while, and although his hands were still on the duck, he couldn't pluck a single feather in a long time.

Neither Shen Xuewei nor Shen Xuewei asked him for help.

As long as he sits properly on the stool and doesn't cause trouble for the two of them, that's fine.

After a long period of preparation, all the ingredients were ready, and it was already dark.

After a quick dinner, everyone got back to work.

The venue for the banquet was a large open space in front of the Chen family's new house, including the living rooms on the first and second floors, as well as the rooftop on the third floor.

The four households worked together, preparing everything before dawn, except for some dishes that needed to be cooked on the spot.

Around seven or eight in the morning, Chen Fangqiu brought three friends of similar age to his home on his motorcycle to help out.

Well... you could also say he's his underling.

These people will be responsible for helping to serve the dishes and bring them to the table.

The welcoming banquet is only held at noon.

Around nine o'clock, people began to arrive at the Chen family's house.

As the heads of the Chen family, Grandpa Chen and Grandma Xi were responsible for talking to the visitors and getting the atmosphere lively.

Chen Fangyang moved a table and chair and sat on the right side of the doorway.

A red cloth was laid on the table, on which were placed a bottle of ink, a calligraphy brush, and a personal relationship book.

The relatives who arrived earlier spoke with Grandpa Chen before entering the house to offer their greetings.

At this time, the amount of money given as a gift is not high, usually between 20 and 100 yuan.

20 yuan is the amount of money given as a gift by ordinary relatives, while 100 yuan is the amount given by people with a closer relationship.

For example, my second maternal grandfather, although he helped with chores at the Chen family's house, gave a hundred yuan as a gift early in the morning.

If we hold a banquet at his house, Grandpa Chen will do the same as he did today.

You should both help and give a gift.

As it approached eleven o'clock, most of the relatives arrived.

When Zheng Feng and his parents arrived, Grandpa Chen specifically asked Shen Xuewei to come forward and greet them.

They gave 30 yuan as a gift, and then talked to Shen Xuewei for a while before being led by her to a table where no one was sitting.

They started eating, while Shen Xuewei was still squatting next to the large basin of vegetables, washing them.

My second maternal grandfather and Uncle Chen were standing to the side, guarding two large pots, their spatulas almost smoking from shoveling.

Chen Fangqiu and the three people he brought placed the dishes on the plates and passed them from table to table in a great hurry.

Chen Fanglan stayed by the fire until the rice was cooked, then turned it off.

Chen Fangli took several stainless steel bowls and used a rice spoon to scoop rice into them.

One bowl is enough for one table of people.

Around 2 p.m., as the last group of people left, everyone breathed a sigh of relief almost simultaneously.

After resting for a while, everyone divided up the tasks to clean up the mess.

On the table and under the table, there were only leftover bones and some leftover rice, not much leftover food.

The custom here is that if you can't finish the food, you can take it home. In addition, when you leave, the host will give you wedding cakes, candies, and red eggs as a parting gift.

Shen Xuewei washed too many things today, and her fingertips were already white and wrinkled from being soaked in water.

The women in the house cleared the dishes and planned to wash them all together.

Shen Xuewei tidied up the table, put the bowls and chopsticks in the dishwashing basin, added some dish soap to the loofah, and squatted down to wash the dishes.

Chen Fangli glanced at her hand and pulled her up.

"Weiwei, you don't need to help here. Aren't there lots of leftover bones at home? Take them to the old house and feed them to Dahuang. We'll come back later after we've finished cleaning up."

Seeing that Shen Xuewei hesitated, she gently nudged her.

"You're just a little kid, and you've already helped with so much chores these past few days. Listen to your aunt, feed Dahuang and then play with Yuhong. Get some rest tonight..."

Shen Xuewei looked at her dry, sallow face and nodded gently.

"Okay, Auntie, you go ahead with your work, I'll go find Da Huang."

Chen Fangli helped her lower her rolled-up sleeves and patted her on the back.

"Go."

Shen Xuewei filled a bag with bones and leftovers and ran quickly to the old house.

With so many people coming and going at the family banquet, the Chen family dared not let their rooster roam the new house, fearing it might bark or bite and frighten the guests.

So early in the morning, Grandpa Chen chained Da Huang to a yellow-skinned tree next to the drying ground.

Shen Xuewei brought a large bowl of rice mixed with bones, and Da Huang wagged its tail at her from afar.

When Shen Xuewei got close, it rubbed against her even more vigorously.

Shen Xuewei was so rubbed against by it that she almost fell down on her bottom.

She slapped Big Yellow on the head and scolded, "Big Yellow, sit down and stop making a scene!"

Dahuang whimpered and obediently sat down, tilting its head back and staring expectantly at the large basin in Shen Xuewei's hand.

Shen Xuewei bent down, placed the basin in front of it, stroked it again, and then took a step back.

"Eat up, eat well, I'll take you to your new home later."

Big Yellow buried its head in its rice, while its tail continued to wag happily behind it.

Shen Xuewei brought so much, but Da Huang still devoured it all.

Shen Xuewei reached out and touched its belly, finding it bulging. She frowned slightly.

Won't Dahuang eat so much at once? It'll be stuffed to death!

After Dahuang finished eating, it walked around Shen Xuewei's feet, seemingly without any discomfort.

Shen Xuewei breathed a sigh of relief. "I brought it for you to eat, not for you to finish it all at once. Why are you so greedy?"

Da Huang was used to being scolded by Shen Xuewei, and just tilted his head to look at her, looking innocent.

When Shen Xuewei met its dark eyes, she couldn't bear to say anything more to it.

She sat on the drying ground and could still see several people busy washing all sorts of things on the flat ground in front of the Chen family's new house.

Not only pots and pans, but also tables and chairs borrowed from other people's homes, all have to be washed before being returned.

Wu Yuhong peeked out from the back door and saw Shen Xuewei sitting on the drying ground waving at her.

Since there wasn't much to do at home, she took out her ping-pong paddle and went upstairs to play with Shen Xuewei.

The two played for about half an hour when Wu Yuhong's mother called her from home at a loud voice.

"Yuhong, where did you go? Those geese at home look listless. Did you forget to feed them?"

Wu Yuhong stopped playing and put her racket away.

"Weiwei, my mom told me to come home and do some chores. I'll come visit you at your new house when I have time."

Shen Xuewei handed her the racket in her hand, "Okay, no rush, come find me when you have time."

Wu Yuhong ran home. "Mom, I'm here. I remember feeding them this morning. I'll go see what's wrong."

After Wu Yuhong returned home, Shen Xuewei untied the iron chain binding Dahuang and took Dahuang to the new house.

After walking a few steps, she stopped and looked back at the old house behind her.

The dilapidated old house holds many years of memories for her; she probably won't come here much in the future.