Chapter 48 Chapter 48 Pig-Slaughtering Banquet (Part 1)

The 25th day of the twelfth lunar month, Changpingli.

Everyone in Liu Yu's family got up early in the morning and started to get ready. Cao'er, in particular, was extremely excited. As she watched her mother comb her hair, she couldn't help but ask, "Are we really going to attend the pig-killing banquet hosted by the young lady today?"

"Of course. Erlin came to tell me a few days ago and even sent me that invitation. How could it be fake?"

"Yes, Uncle Erlin is always reliable and never tells lies."

Otherwise, Liu Yu would not have gone to the county early to buy new cloth and make new clothes for the whole family.

This was a treatment they hadn't even had in previous years, but this time, because of the invitation from the young lady, their family had spent a lot of money - Liu Yu had learned about the pig-killing banquet from Erlin, and didn't want to embarrass the young lady by dressing too poorly.

Of course, it is also because we have a lot of income this year and there is hope for the future. Otherwise, we would not have the conditions to pretend to be rich.

Speaking of which, it was only when Liu Yu got married that she went to the county to buy cloth and have such beautiful clothes made.

In the past, giving birth to a son was considered a good thing if Jun Gu could give the order and make a new set of coarse cloth clothes for the son to hold a full-month banquet.

Liu Yu carefully combed Cao'er's hair like a county girl. She was skillful and liked to think about things. After watching it several times and practicing on Cao'er's hair, her hair looked pretty good today.

Cao'er's mother brought in a clay basin. Cao'er used the water in the basin to vaguely see her current appearance and was very satisfied.

Then I heard my mother praising me: "I have eaten well in the past six months, and the grass has grown strong."

Cao'er smiled shyly.

In the countryside, "strong" is a compliment, meaning good health, a good family background, the ability to work, and the ability to have many children in the future.

"When Cao'er was born prematurely, everyone said she couldn't survive. Now it seems that our Cao'er is the luckiest one. None of her sisters can compare to her." Liu Yu said as he inserted a beautiful hair flower on Cao'er's head.

They had already decided to keep Cao'er at home to marry into the family. He should be raised as a son of the family and would establish his own family in the future.

Naturally, Liu Yu and Cao'er also went to the banquet together.

Even though Erlin said that the young lady didn't mind, she couldn't really bring her whole family to the banquet.

"Come, change into your new clothes." Cao'er's mother carefully took out a new dress from the cabinet.

Cao'er blinked and asked Liu Yu, "Grandmother, can I wear a head flower and new clothes and go talk to my friends?"

Before, they all showed off in front of her that they had new clothes to wear for the New Year, but she could only wear an old set of clothes that had been patched up for three years and looked at them with envy.

It was a rare occasion that her grandmother made herself a new dress for the banquet, and she wanted to show it to her friends.

Liu Yu frowned for a moment, then relaxed his brows as if thinking of something. "Forget about the new clothes. We'll change into them when the carriage that comes to pick us up arrives. Then you can go play with your friends with the hairpin."

Cao'er was not disappointed either. She cheered and ran out.

Cao'er's mother was a little worried: "Aunt Jun, is this inappropriate..."

Her family has always been low-key. It’s okay to eat, but for the sake of their health, it’s okay to keep the doors and windows closed tightly.

But when it comes to dressing... Jun Gu never dares to be too conspicuous, for fear that someone will become jealous and have evil intentions.

She also believed in Jungu's wisdom.

Their family has been able to live a peaceful and smooth life for so many years, with their daughters all married into good families and their lives prospering, all thanks to Jungu's advice.

"Don't worry, things are different now." Liu Yu smiled slightly, "Our family now has a backer."

What's more, she only let Cao'er take the lead in going out, and the truly eye-catching new clothes have not been put on yet.

Liu Yu was also Cao'er's age, and he knew that the girl was most relaxed in the past few years when she didn't go out.

Cao'er is not going to marry but is looking for a son-in-law, but the burden on her shoulders is heavier than that of her sisters.

The little girl could easily run out to play, but Liu Yu, who also had to attend the banquet, had no time to spare.

Even in the twelfth lunar month, the tofu stall at home is still open, and business is even more prosperous than usual, as customers come to prepare New Year's goods.

Liu Yu now makes less tender tofu and focuses on making some new products, such as bean curd sheets, fermented bean curd pickled under the guidance of the young lady, and frozen tofu that appears after winter.

Because the tofu is clean, tastes good, and has a wide variety, Liu Yu's business is booming. It is no longer as deserted as it was six months ago when other villagers started selling tofu.

Many people from other places came here specially to buy food during the Chinese New Year, and even bought a lot of expensive bean curd sheets and fermented bean curd.

This is the only luxury I can afford once a year.

——Thanks to the tofu invented by the young lady, all hardworking families will have a better New Year.

Liu Yu had just finished arranging today's affairs and had no time to drink a sip of water or take a breath when he heard crying and cursing coming from outside.

A stout, fat woman walked in aggressively and said angrily, "Liu Yu, you really need to take care of your Cao'er. Look how you beat my son!"

Liu Yu didn't even look at them. He hugged Cao'er, whose hair was disheveled and eyes were red, and asked repeatedly, "What's wrong? What kind of injustice have you suffered? Tell your grandmother quickly and she will take care of it for you."

"Liu Yu, what are you talking about? It's clearly your Cao'er's fault, and she's still being wronged? She must be going to heaven if she's really wronged!" The fat woman yelled angrily.

Liu Yu's face darkened. "Chunhua, I know my daughter Cao'er's personality very well. She has always been well-behaved and sensible. Ask her in Changping when she has ever fought with someone without asking why."

"Cao'er, what on earth is going on?"

Because there were no male children in the family, Liu Yu always taught them to be friendly and kind to others when they were outside.

It was also in the past six months that Cao'er developed some courage. Now that someone had come to her house, she felt wronged and scared. When she heard what her mother said, she burst into tears.

It turned out that Cao'er wore a hair flower to show off to her friends today. She received a lot of praise and was very satisfied. Unexpectedly, she was suddenly grabbed by someone and the hair flower was snatched away.

She was about to rush over to grab it, but was stopped by the man's brother: "My mother said that your family has no sons and you will marry me in the future. All your things are mine. This flower is beautiful. What's wrong with giving it to my sister?"

Cao'er immediately became angry: "My eldest mother said that I will not marry and will stay at home to take care of them. My family's things have nothing to do with you. Return the hairpin to me!"

She rushed over and slapped the man who stole her peach blossom twice, and snatched the flower back.

"Brother, my hair is being pulled out, woooo!"

"You dare to hit my sister?"

"What's there to be afraid of? I'll beat anyone who dares to steal my things!"

"You are so disobedient! I must teach you a lesson if you are so fierce!"

Cao'er decisively took the initiative and hit them hard, but there were two people on the other side.

Her decision was right. Even though she knocked the man unconscious, Cao'er still didn't get any results when fighting one against two.

The hair that her grandmother had carefully combed was now messy, the buttons on her clothes were torn off, and the flower in her hair was in a mess.

But the other party was not much better off. The brother's eyes were beaten black and blue, and his ears were pulled red and swollen. The sister had a lot of hair pulled out, and her face and neck were covered with marks from scratches by grass.

——She was taught by the Great Mother that when she is in a weak position, she must seize the vital point.

Liu Yu didn't rush to make a comment. Instead, he stared at the brother and sister who were beaten miserably and asked coldly, "Is what Cao'er said right?"

The brother and sister avoided each other's gaze and tried to explain, but their words were hesitant.

How can this little trick be hidden from adults?

Liu Yu looked directly at the fat woman: "Is it clear? It was your child who provoked it first. Cao'er deserves to beat him."

She sighed in her heart. She had tried her best to keep a low profile, but she didn't expect to attract attention.

It's just a hair flower, yet you're bullying me?

Do they think that her daughter doesn't deserve good things?

An idea came to Liu Yu's mind that maybe he should move to the county town.

But this thought only flashed through his mind. After all, everyone in Changping was an acquaintance, and if he encountered any problems, he could find someone to help him. If outsiders wanted to bully them, the people in Changping would not just stand by and watch.

However, Lantian County was completely unfamiliar.

"Cao'er is such a rude child! A girl is arguing and fighting with a boy. Which good family will want her in the future?" The fat woman was in the wrong, but she still shouted loudly, "Liu Yu, you have to take care of the child too."

"Yeah, Cao'er was too cruel. Look at how he scratched the girl's face. What if it left a scar?" Someone who came to Liu Yu's house to buy tofu spoke for some unknown reason.

The fat woman seemed to have caught something wrong when she heard this, and she became even more excited and chased Liu Yu for compensation.

Liu Yu was willing to pay compensation, but said, "Your child bullied my Cao'er first. You must go to the head of the village in front of everyone and apologize to Cao'er and explain the reason."

The fat woman glared. Reputation is very important these days. Whether it's a sister stealing someone's head flower or a brother helping to bully orphans and widows, it's not a good thing if it gets out.

She wanted to smooth things over, and the people around her tried to smooth things over.

"It's not that serious. It's just three kids fighting."

"Yeah, both families should just take a step back. Why do we need to bring this up with the head of the village?"

Cao'er and her mother's eyes turned red with anger. These people sided with the fat woman, wasn't it because there were so many able-bodied men in her family?

Suddenly, the sound of approaching horse hooves was heard. Everyone turned around in surprise and saw a regal carriage driving into the courtyard. The driver called out, "Is Liu Yu at home? The young lady is here to invite Liu Yu to a banquet."

Liu Yu was stunned, and the people who were trying to smooth things over were also stunned.

The young lady invited Liu Yu to a banquet? How could they not understand this?

Liu Yu's eyes flashed, and he stepped forward quickly: "I am Liu Yu. Please wait a moment, let me and my granddaughter clean up."

"It's okay, it's still early." The driver didn't even look at the people in the yard, but was very polite to Liu Yu.

Liu Yu glanced at the fat woman coldly and said, "Cao'er, come back to the house with me and change into new clothes. I will take you to the banquet hosted by the young lady."

There were still tears on Cao'er's cheeks, but her eyes were exceptionally bright. She called out "Wei" loudly.

Liu Yu and Cao'er went into the house. Everyone outside looked at each other in confusion for a while, and suddenly someone changed the subject: "Chunhua, it's you two kids who are wrong in this matter."

"Yes, the older brother is already twelve years old. He's not an ignorant child anymore. Cao'er is only ten years old this year."

"The two older ones can't beat a girl like Cao'er. If it were my child, I would definitely beat her up. How dare you cry?"

"Chunhua, Liu Yu is right. They should apologize in front of everyone for bullying Cao'er like this."

The fat woman didn't expect that they would change their words in the blink of an eye. She was dumbfounded, but when she saw the carriage parked in the yard, her arrogance subsided.

When did Liu Yu's family become the guests of honor of the young lady?

Although Liu Yu's family became more prosperous and made some money from tofu in the past six months, the fat woman didn't take it seriously.

Her family has many people, so she often goes to Lantian County to do odd jobs to earn money during the slack season.

Liu Yu's family has been selling tofu for the past six months. Ordinary people would be grateful, but the fat woman's family has a very different idea. They just think that it is their family that helped Liu Yu sell tofu and made her money.

Otherwise, how much can you sell just by relying on Changpingli?

I’m afraid that the prepared tofu will go bad and I’ll suffer a huge loss.

The adults thought so and instilled this idea into the children. The children then felt that Liu Yu's family owed them and they also set their sights on Liu Yu's tofu business.

It's obvious that he wants to wipe out the whole family, but he acts like my family is a wealthy family and it's a great blessing for your daughter to marry into our family.

But who would have thought that Liu Yu could actually hook up with a young lady! The fat woman's face gradually turned pale.

The people around her quietly moved away from her. Although the young lady was kind, she also had ruthless methods and would never let the people she protected suffer any loss.

As for the Erlin family, it was because of them that the Xiang family, a noble family that had the Meng family as their in-laws, moved away in disgrace.

Although there is no big grudge between my family and Liu Yu's family, Liu Yu is now dating a young lady. Who knows if he will need help from them in the future?

Cao'er's mother caught a glimpse of this scene and continued to greet the customer who came to buy frozen tofu as if nothing had happened, but she cursed him in her heart.

Liu Yu didn't know what was going on in the courtyard, but she could almost guess it. However, she didn't care. She just comforted Cao'er: "Don't be afraid, Grandmother is here, no one can bully you. Now we have a young lady as a backer. If Cao'er is wronged, she can fight back like she did today."

Cao'er's eyes sparkled: "I'm not afraid, it's just..."

She pouted and said, "Mom, the hair you combed for me and the hairpin are all ruined."

"It's okay. I'll comb your hair again. As for the flower..." Liu Yu hesitated for two seconds and said, "I won't take it off. I'll comb your hair like a lady's."

Cao'er, who had been looking at the flower with pity, suddenly became excited: "Really? I like this."

"Of course, I'm obsessed. You'll like the young lady's hair better than the county girl's hair."

The young lady's hairstyle is very simple, just a high ponytail.

Liu Yu quickly tied up the grass and felt relieved when he saw his granddaughter doing it neatly and with a bit of heroism. Yes, this was more suitable for his granddaughter.

She will set up her own family in the future, so she should be as capable as a young lady.

The two quickly changed into new clothes and went out.

The fat woman and the neighbors who were still in the yard were all stunned, watching the grandfather and grandson get into the carriage and drive away.

After a long while, someone exclaimed, "Liu Yu is used to wearing coarse linen clothes, but I didn't expect that after wearing this fine cloth, she actually looks a bit like a noble lady in the city. And Cao'er has grown into such a beautiful girl."

"Yes, her hair is really neat and clean, like a lady."

The point is not the hairstyle, but the latter.

Looking at Liu Yu's family again, he felt a bit of awe in his heart.

The carriage rumbled towards Lantian County. After the initial excitement, Liu Yu and Cao'er couldn't help but feel uneasy.

Liu Yu held Cao'er's hand, as if he had drawn strength from Cao'er. For a moment, he didn't know whether he should hope that time would go slower or faster, but he finally arrived in Liu Yeli.

The carriage stopped at the door and the driver gently asked them to get off as he had to pick up other people.

The grandparents and grandchildren got out of the car and looked at the open door in front of them. They were a little afraid to go in for a moment. Were they qualified to enter and exit through the door?

The servant who was in charge of opening the door and welcoming guests saw the two of them and hurried forward to lead them in.

There was nothing unusual about the plain fine cloth clothes they wore.

The housekeeper had already said that the imperial teacher was holding a pig-killing banquet today to entertain a group of common people. Guests came one after another early in the morning, and some of them were dressed worse than Liu Yu.

Only after being led into the inner courtyard and seeing Erlin's family did Liu Yu breathe a sigh of relief and hurried forward to greet them.

When they learned that the young lady would also be attending the pig-killing banquet, they suddenly felt at a loss as to where to put their hands: "The young lady is coming too?"

"Yes, he came a few days ago and is staying here in the willow tree. The pig-killing dishes we will have at the banquet later were all prepared under the guidance of the young lady. You should enjoy them carefully when the time comes."

After these words were spoken, the grandfather and grandson became even more excited.

It’s not because of the taste, but because this is the dish that the young lady recommended.

If you can learn even a little bit, you will benefit from it for the rest of your life.

Cao'er twitched her nose. "From the moment I walked in, I smelled the aroma of meat. Could it be that the young lady prepared a lot of meat?"

"Of course, otherwise why would it be called a pig-killing banquet? Apart from anything else, there's plenty of pork."

The two men were not like some nobles who disliked the fishy smell of pork. Instead, they swallowed their saliva and thought, there is plenty of meat. What does that taste like?

Erlin, however, knew the situation and said mysteriously, "The pigs raised by our young lady are different from those stinky pork out there. You'll know after you eat them today."

As he spoke, Erlin also swallowed his saliva.

The grandfather and grandson were astonished. Ever since the Erlin family started working for the young lady, they could eat meat every now and then - Cao'er had heard about it from the children of the Erlin family.

Even people who are used to eating meat behave like this, so the pork arranged by this young lady must be really delicious.

"But," Erlin changed the subject, "it's not even lunchtime yet, so I'll take you inside to avoid the wind and snow."

After hearing this, the two of them also felt a bit cold. Even though they had earned money and bought a lot of winter supplies, they wore all the clothes they could to keep warm. There was also a stove in the carriage, but it was still too cold.

Especially now that there is no cotton, the common people really don’t have many things to keep warm.

They couldn't afford expensive fox fur or sheepskin, and at most they could only use some pig skin, willow catkins, chicken feathers, and duck feathers to keep warm.

Liu Yu quickened his pace and followed Erlin into the house, where he was wrapped in a refreshing warmth.

Cao'er couldn't help but stretch out her shivering hands and feet: "Uncle Erlin, this room is really warm."

Liu Yu noticed something strange: "There doesn't seem to be a charcoal brazier in this room, so why is it so warm?"

"Because we built a wall of fire."

Zhu Dan remembers the kang, and of course he will not forget the fire wall.

However, the cost of a fire wall is much higher than a kang. She wanted to keep the people on the lower floors warm, so the first choice was naturally a kang. But Zhu Dan herself was not short of money, so she built fire walls in some houses that were suitable for construction.

Especially in areas where many people gather or hold meetings...fire walls are more suitable than kangs.

Erlin led the grandparents and grandchildren to feel the warmth brought by the fire wall first, and then took them to the house with a kang.

The women of Erlin's family were there. They all knew that the young lady was interested in promoting kangs, so they enthusiastically took Liu Yu's hand to introduce them.

Liu Yu was extremely surprised. He felt the temperature of the kang and said, "If I could sleep on it, I wouldn't even need a quilt. My hands and feet would be warm all night long."

"Yes, we now live in a house with a kang. The winters that used to be so hard to endure are now so comfortable that we don't even want to get off the kang."

"But this will consume a lot of firewood." Having said that, Liu Yu was tempted.

Cao'er was born prematurely and was in poor health. What she feared most at the time was winter. Every winter she had to hold Cao'er's little body in her arms, fearing that she would freeze to death at any time.

Firewood is hard to come by, but if you can build a kang like this, you can just store more for the autumn.

Erlin's mother shook her head. "With such a thick snowstorm, don't we usually burn firewood at home? This kang, if you really calculate, costs less. There's a pot at the head of the kang, so it's very convenient for drinking water and cooking..."

The same scene occurred in more than one place, and everyone was very enthusiastic in introducing the kang.

It was not only because of the young lady's instructions, but also because after experiencing it for a few days, they sincerely found that the kang was a good thing, and they kindly hoped that their neighbors and friends would also use it so that they would not have to suffer in winter in the future.

So the only concern left was: "How expensive is it to build a kang?"

"Don't worry, it's not expensive at all. We are all experienced workers. The young lady instructed us to recruit a group of people from the countryside and bring them out so that everyone can use the kang."

It's very lively here, in every sense of the word, and on the other side, the front door is also welcoming guests one after another.

Jinhuan helped her eldest mother get off the carriage and looked around curiously. They were close by, and the carriage was coming to pick them up from behind.

When they came at this time, there was no one there, unlike when the grandfather and grandson came.

Although everyone was a stranger, they felt a little close to each other when they remembered that they were all guests invited by the young lady. They walked in while chatting.

The neighbors on both sides also noticed the commotion and looked at the guests who came to the banquet with envy.

Two days ago, all kinds of aromas wafted from this house. I thought they were going to open a shop, so some greedy people came to ask about it. They didn't expect that they were going to entertain guests, so they couldn't wait to ask how they could join the banquet.

As a result, he was directly rejected. They said that the guests for the banquet had been decided long ago and were all people favored by the young lady, so outsiders would not be entertained.

Even if you want to spend a lot of money to buy this invitation, it won't work.

"Today I finally get to see what these guests look like. They're nothing special." Someone said sourly.

Although Liu Yu and others had tried their best to wear their best clothes, and even had new clothes made, what they thought was the best was just that in the eyes of the locals in Lantian County.

If they had met each other normally, they would not have looked at each other straight in the eye, but now they are all extremely envious of each other.

No matter how poorly they were dressed, they were still the young lady's guests and were about to attend the sumptuous banquet and enjoy the delicacies that had tempted them for two days.

No matter how well we are dressed or how rich we are, we can never get through this door.

Because Zhu Dan had taught here before, many nobles came to listen to his lectures. They usually paid attention to the movements in the willow leaves. When they learned that the young lady was going to hold a pig-killing banquet, they went to the housekeeper to plead for her, but they were all turned away without exception.

After the news spread, the scope of envy suddenly expanded from the left and right sides of this house. Zhu Dan didn't know that the prices of houses near Liuye Li had increased.

No matter how envious they were, it had nothing to do with the people in the house because the banquet was about to begin.