Ning Huaizhi, his eyes red, looked at Jiang Yuwei and nodded:

"Wife, I know you've suffered a lot with me, and I remember your kindness. I know what kind of person you are. I'll say it again, from now on, you'll be in charge of all our family matters."

Seeing Ning Huaizhi say this, Jiang Yuwei smiled with satisfaction:

"Alright, I'll make the decision. Let's have barbecue tonight to treat everyone!"

Ning Huaizhi frowned, puzzled:

What is barbecue?

Jiang Yuwei smiled mysteriously, turned around and went to the corner to pile the bamboo she had cut earlier in front of Ning Huaizhi, then called out to the side room:

"The idiot's out there working!"

Hearing this, the fool reluctantly picked up the little black dog and left the house. Jiang Yuwei taught the fool how to split bamboo into thin strips, and then taught Ning Huaizhi how to cut the bamboo strips into equal lengths, one end pointed and the other blunt.

Jiang Yuwei then went to the yard, found a good spot, and started using bricks to build a long barbecue grill. She then found some wood to keep for starting a fire.

Then Jiang Yuwei picked out a large piece of pork belly and went to the backyard to call Ning Daya to come to the front to help cut the meat. Jiang Yuwei was in charge of skewering the meat. Jiang Yuwei also asked Ning Wan to wash some eggplants, mushrooms, potatoes and other vegetables. After everything was prepared, they started a fire to grill the meat.

Soon the fragrance from the front yard wafted into the backyard. Ning Qiu, unable to contain her curiosity, ran to the front yard to investigate. Jiang Yuwei smiled and said:

"Ningqiu, come and learn how to make barbecue with me. We might set up a stall to sell this stuff in the future."

Hearing Jiang Yuwei's words, Ning Qiu quickly and happily moved closer, smiling:

"Okay, Sister Yuwei, I'll learn more. It's always good to have more skills."

As she spoke, Ning Qiu took the meat skewers from Jiang Yuwei and began to grill them, turning them left and right as Jiang Yuwei did. Jiang Yuwei guided her from the side, occasionally sprinkling some seasoning on Ning Qiu. Seeing this, the idiot next to her also picked up a meat skewer and started grilling it on his own. Jiang Yuwei did not stop him, as she wanted to see who could grill better between Ning Qiu and the idiot.

Soon the two of them had grilled all the skewered meat. Jiang Yuwei went to the backyard to invite everyone to come and have barbecue. The people working in the backyard had been smelling the aroma for a long time and couldn't wait. When they saw Jiang Yuwei calling them, they quickly put down their work and went to the front yard.

Jiang Yuwei distributed the meat skewers to everyone, and also took some skewers grilled by Ning Qiu and Sha Zi to taste. To Jiang Yuwei's surprise, Sha Zi's grilling skills were much better than Ning Qiu's. It seemed that he had a better grasp of the heat and seasoning of the meat. While eating, Jiang Yuwei was thinking to herself that she could bring Sha Zi to set up a barbecue stall next time she went to the market.

Amidst laughter and chatter, everyone enjoyed another hearty meal. After dinner, everyone went home. Jiang Yuwei and Ning Daya tidied up the yard and then went back to their houses.

As soon as Jiang Yuwei returned to her room, she sprayed the peony flowers with spiritual spring water. She was going to the Sun family mansion for a birthday banquet tomorrow, and she couldn't let the flowers down.

Jiang Yuwei had prepared six pots of flowers. Four of them had already bloomed, and the remaining two would bloom tomorrow. All she needed to do was bring the flowers to the Sun residence, let them bask in the sun for a while, and then water them with the spiritual spring water in front of the old lady, and they would bloom on the spot.

After finishing with the peony flowers, Jiang Yuwei finally felt at ease and went to sleep.

The next day,

Jiang Yuwei carefully inspected the peony flowers again after getting up in the morning, and then she called the fool to drive the oxcart. She also made sure Ning Huaizhi and Ning Wan were properly dressed before they all got on the oxcart and headed to the Sun residence.

Jiang Yuwei didn't want to take Ning Wan with her at first, but then she thought that such an opportunity might not come around often, so she might as well bring Ning Wan along so that she could see the world and broaden her horizons, and wouldn't always have to be timid and hesitant in front of the Ning family in the future.

Jiang Yuwei looked at Ning Wan from the oxcart and patiently began to speak:

"Wan'er, we're going to the old lady's birthday banquet at the Sun family today. You have to stay close to me. There will definitely be a lot of people there, so you can't get separated from your parents. When you get to the Sun family, talk less and observe more. When you see the old lady, remember the auspicious words your mother taught you and say them to her properly."

Ning Wan stared at Jiang Yuwei with her two bright, sparkling eyes and nodded obediently:

"Yes, Mother, Wan'er has remembered it all."

Jiang Yuwei then looked at the fool driving the oxcart and said:

"You silly girl, you can't cause trouble for me when you're out and about. I'll take you out for a nice meal. You have to be obedient and stay by your brother Huaizhi's side. Just help him push his wheelchair. Do you understand?"

The fool nodded as he drove the carriage, not caring about anything else as long as there was good food.

Jiang Yuwei looked at Ning Huaizhi and smiled:

"For some reason, I'm actually a little nervous. This is our family's first time attending a noble gathering in Ping'an Town. I hope nothing goes wrong."

Ning Huaizhi patted Jiang Yuwei's hand reassuringly and smiled:

"It's alright, honey. You've always done a great job. They're people too, just a bit richer than us. Don't worry about it too much."

Jiang Yuwei thought Ning Huaizhi's words made sense, so she smiled and said:

"Okay, I understand."

When Jiang Yuwei and her group arrived at the Sun family's gate, they saw that everyone else was driving horse-drawn carriages, while they were driving an oxcart. They immediately realized that if they wanted to frequently interact with high society, they should buy a horse-drawn carriage. If they wanted to expand their business, they also needed to have a presentable storefront.

Fortunately, because of the previous incident where the servant was punished by cleaning the latrine, no servant made things difficult for Jiang Yuwei's family today. They just looked them up and down with disdain when they saw that they had come in an oxcart. Then one of the servants urged Jiang Yuwei to drive the oxcart to the back gate to park it, so as not to take up space there.

Jiang Yuwei wanted to get angry, but when she thought about how it was the old lady's birthday banquet, a joyous occasion, and that the host had invited her, she decided to suppress her anger and not make everyone unhappy. She then ordered the simpleton to drive the oxcart away.

Led by a servant, Jiang Yuwei and her entourage entered the Sun residence. They walked along a path lined with pink flowers and green grass. After a while, the view became increasingly open, with red walls and green tiles standing on both sides. A pool of lush green water reflected the stone screen in the front yard, which was carved with green bamboo and flowers, making it even more elegant.

Jiang Yuwei hadn't expected that the Sun residence was so magnificent, no less impressive than the Xu residence. The pavilions and towers were interspersed and interwoven, exuding elegance and grandeur.

Jiang Yuwei was carefully observing the courtyard when she became distracted and bumped right into someone walking towards her.

"Oh dear, who's so careless, walking around so recklessly! If they get my clothes dirty, can you afford to pay for it?"