Gu Xiao is similar to Aunt Yang in some ways. I wonder who influenced whom?

He's concerned about saving face and feels that even if he's wrong, others should accommodate him. It's just a few dollars, after all.

Xu Shaoqing is already his daughter-in-law! And to be honest, Gu Xiao also regrets about the money.

He helped out for a whole day, but didn't spend a single penny! Not a single cent!

Why should she have to put up with this?! Her anger flared, Gu Xiao yelled at Gu Ting, "This unfilial, disrespectful brat deserves a divorce! Write her a letter of divorce!"

Before Gu Ting could speak, the second wife interrupted him, "What are you saying? What kind of father-in-law tells his son to divorce his daughter-in-law?"

Gu Xiao was unconvinced and was about to say something more. But the old lady came over at that moment, and Gu Xiao quickly went over to help her up.

Lady Gao, the wife of the Marquis, was extremely annoyed to see this family coming again!

If you separate him out, he'll become an outsider. You should know that. Can't you visit him like a relative?

They insist on staying at home even on New Year's Eve, acting as if they are still part of the family who haven't been separated from the family.

But since the Marquis went to the palace today, she couldn't just tell this family to leave.

"This is the first year since my sister-in-law separated from the family. Why didn't she celebrate the New Year at her own home? She's gone to another family's house. Did she have anyone put up Spring Festival decorations and light lanterns at her own house?"

Zheng Jin felt that familiar awkwardness again. "Yes, thank you for your concern, sister-in-law."

Lady Hou only spoke recklessly in her anger, and seeing Zheng Jin's state, she couldn't bear to make things difficult for her any further!

He sat down next to the old lady, still holding his breath, and the family began to eat their reunion dinner.

The maid serving the dishes came around and ladled a spoonful of eggplant casserole for the old lady. The old lady ate it with a smile and said to everyone,

"You should all have some too. This is something the chef in the manor just made. Try it and see how it tastes."

Gu Xiaoke chimed in, "Oh my, what a delicacy this is! I knew the old lady loved us the most, so it must be something delicious that she gave it to us."

I guessed it was a delicious dish, but I didn't expect it to be so unique. Nobody can take this dish from me today; I'm going to eat as much as I can.

I think the reason this dish tastes so good is not only because the chef does it well, but also because the old lady's deep love for her son is reflected in it!

"No way, I want this dish first! Don't anyone try to take it from me!"

The old lady was always beaming with joy when he coaxed her, and she was happy every time she saw him. (Except when he caused trouble.)

While everyone at the Marquis's residence was enjoying themselves, Xu Shaoqing was so angry on Xilou Street that she couldn't eat.

What a load of nonsense! A mere illegitimate son of a marquis dares to treat her like this just because he's her elder.

Guilan couldn't just stand by and watch her mistress not eat. "Miss, is the food prepared by the chefs in our mansion not to your liking? How about I go to Baifanlou and order a table of dishes?"

Xu Shaoqing originally wanted to suggest something, but now that she couldn't eat, she changed her mind and said, "Go ahead, order two tables, send one to the second branch of the Marquis's mansion, and send the other to us."

Guilan was startled and didn't know how to reply! She quickly looked to Guixiang, who was standing to the side, for help. Guixiang put down the incense burner she was holding and came over to comfort her.

“Miss, please don’t be angry. It’s not proper to do things like this during the New Year. If this gets back to the Marquis’s residence, we will be reprimanded by our elders.”

Xu Shaoqing was puzzled. "How is it unreasonable? I ordered a table full of dishes from Baifanlou and sent them to the Marquis's residence to show respect to my elders. Who could say anything about that?"

"Miss! You two just had a fight because of Baifanlou. Even if you meant well, you couldn't stop some gossipy servants from spreading the word to the old lady."

Sending over another meal at this point would inevitably be seen as a provocation. Whether the second master gets angry or not is unimportant; what if they offend the old lady?

Xu Shaoqing thought about it for a moment and then gave up.

"Alright, alright, let's not go to Baifanlou for now. Let's turn the corner and there's Renhelou, right? Let's go there and order a whole table of food for me."

Gui Xiang quickly replied, "Yes, this servant will go right now."

Xu Shaoqing wanted to rest on the soft couch for a while, so Guilan followed Guixiang out.

"Sister, it was my fault today. I shouldn't have suggested going out to buy a meal."

Gui Xiang patted her, "It's okay, I'm going out for a stroll too, I'll bring you a string of candies (candied hawthorn) when I come back!"

……………………………………

Gui Xiang arrived late at Renhe Restaurant. The main kitchen was very busy today, as out-of-town merchants usually stayed at these large restaurants for their New Year's Eve dinner. Even if they weren't at home, they still wanted to eat well.

Small business owners who usually eat out on the street will also get together to order a large meal.

Although most people still eat at home, and even though they usually don't want to cook breakfast at home, today is the Lunar New Year, and many people have prepared their meals at home well in advance.

However, a small number of people are willing to come out and have their New Year's Eve dinner at a restaurant. This group consists almost entirely of people who usually run businesses, with the cooks making up the largest portion of those who come out.

It's Chinese New Year, so let's come here and order a couple of vegetable buns to enjoy the pleasure of not having to cook.

After all, today is probably the worst day of the year for the small restaurants in the city. Not to mention that some have already closed down.

Whether you're rich or poor, everyone's willing to go to one of the 72 official restaurants. As long as you don't drink, you can get a banquet for one or two taels of silver.

As for drinking, it's hard to say how much it will cost; it can range from a dozen ounces to over a hundred ounces!

Needless to say, Baifanlou has dismantled the stage in the tile-roofed area today and set up round wooden tables to welcome guests.

Renhelou Restaurant was also packed with customers, and there were no seats reserved for Guixiang.

"No, no, sir? I want to pack up a whole table of food to take away!"

"Oh, is that so? Okay, okay! You can come here."

Buy a pot of Tusu wine, a plate of spring pancakes, and red shredded fried dough sticks as the main dish. Slice fish into thin slices, steam shad, roast chicken, and steamed lamb. Dongpo tofu, Yuanxiu vegetables, and Litang soup.

Gui Xiang ordered basically the same New Year's Eve dinner as Wang Ying's family.

Wang Ying and the others also ordered a table of food today, intending to deliver it to the academy so that Wang Xing and his classmates could eat together.

Seeing that it was almost time, Wang Ying took Wang Yan downstairs to pack the food and then deliver it to the academy.

As soon as they came down, they ran into Gui Xiang, who was asking the waiter, "Why don't you have red shredded noodles today? Our young lady specifically asked for this noodle soup, and isn't it your signature dish? How come you don't have it?"

The waiter looked embarrassed and said with a bitter face, "Miss, it's precisely because it's our signature dish that it sold out so quickly."

Gui Xiang was now at a loss. What should she do? Xu Shaoqing was in a bad mood and had specifically asked for their red silk buns.

Seeing the panic and worry on her face, Wang Ying thought that the Third Young Master was up to his old tricks again. It wouldn't be good to be scolded by the Third Young Master during the New Year.

So she looked at Wang Yan, who nodded, "Sister Guixiang, we ordered red shredded fried dough sticks here, can you take this portion of ours?"

When Gui Xiang heard someone call her, she turned around and exchanged a few pleasantries before Wang Ying gave her the portion.

She was deeply grateful. "Thank you both, sisters," she said, and stuffed a purse into Wang Yan's hand.

Wang Yan refused to accept it, and after tearing at it for a while, she finally pushed the purse over.

Because at this time, the main kitchen had finished preparing all the dishes, and the red shredded steamed buns were given to Gui Xiang.

Then Wang Yan and the other girl left with their lunchboxes; their food had been prepared earlier.

But wasn't this bowl of mutton soup given to Guixiang? I should go and buy another bowl of mutton soup for my brother.

Red Silk Floss Rice Cake: You can eat shrimp without seeing shrimp, and the dough is made without water. One bowl of rice cake contains one bowl of shrimp. First, peel a small bowl of shrimp meat and chop it into shrimp paste with the back of a knife.

Crush the peeled shrimp shells, add water, and filter the shrimp juice through fine gauze.

Then take an appropriate amount of flour, put the freshly peeled and chopped shrimp meat paste into it, and knead the dough with the meat paste and the shrimp shell juice that was just filtered out.

Knead the dough until it is smooth and fine, so that the shrimp meat and dough are completely combined. Then place the kneaded dough on a wooden board and cut it into the pot in two-inch pieces.

At this point, the rolled-out dough is still white. Boil a pot of spring water and put the chopped flatbread into the pot.

Then you'll see the white noodles turn into a light pink color. After cooking for about 15 minutes, remove them from the water and place them in a bowl.

Gui Xiang waited another fifteen minutes, then packed her own food into a lunchbox and took it home.

Red shredded shrimp dumplings are bursting with the fresh flavor of shrimp. The shrimp paste is incorporated into the noodles, making them soft, tender, and smooth.

The noodles had a rich and varied texture, and Xu Shaoqing's mood improved considerably after eating this bowl of noodles.

Back at the academy, Wang Ying and her companion were about to head back after delivering the food, as Aunt Wang had already booked a small private room at the restaurant.

The two were in a hurry to get back for dinner, but Wang Xing wouldn't let them walk all the way because it was too cold. He told them to have a bowl of Litang soup before they left.

Litang Soup uses only two vegetables: white cabbage and radish.

However, the requirements for vegetables are quite high; they must be fresh and vibrant green, and even the slightest wilting will not work.

When they were making this dish in the back kitchen today, the radish stalks were a little wilted, so they just removed them.

You must choose very fresh vegetables to make them taste good. The method is also simple: just boil a pot of spring water, tear the white cabbage into large pieces, cut the radish into small pieces, and throw them in to cook.

The two vegetables, when cooked together, produce a fresh, sweet, and refreshing flavor, requiring only a touch of salt for seasoning.

Wang Yan and her brother drank a large bowl of soup under their brother's watchful eye before going home. They ate radishes in winter because radishes are good for warding off the cold.

After returning home, I sat down with Aunt Wang, and the three of us started eating our New Year's Eve dinner. Even though it was just the three of us, the atmosphere was just as lively!

First, drink a cup of Tusu wine, which is believed to ward off cold and disease. Then eat a fruit platter consisting of cypress, persimmon, and orange. When eating, first break off a cypress branch, then break off the persimmon and peel the orange, symbolizing good fortune in all things.

Take a bite of the Five Spicy Dishes (spring rolls) to boost your health and ward off evil spirits.

After that, we could start eating other dishes. Because Wang Yan liked dumplings, Aunt Wang also ordered a bowl of dumplings.

Otherwise, the current Chinese New Year tradition is to eat "botuo" (a type of steamed bun), and Wang Yan ate both.

After dinner, we'll go out to listen to people set off firecrackers and watch the fireworks at the palace.