As noon approached, the feast began. Six tables were set up on the threshing ground. Lu Yan and several seven- or eight-year-old children had been eagerly anticipating the meal. As soon as they heard the feast was about to start, they ran to the foundation to call for help. Lu Yunfeng then invited everyone to eat. Today, the Lu family's feast was excellent, with fish, meat, and ribs—a feast for the eyes, nose, and palate. Several people from Chenjia Village sat at one table. They were all hardworking men, and they ate quickly. As soon as they sat down, they began to wolf down their food, almost choking on it. One of them even downed a bowl of water in one gulp.

Over the past few years, they have been building houses all over the place. On the first day of construction, they would have a meal at the host's house, but they had never eaten such a good meal. Even when they were building houses for people in towns or counties, those people would not skimp on such a feast. This feast was comparable to that of an upper-middle-class wealthy family in the county.

They all secretly marveled at how wealthy the Lu family was.

After they had eaten their fill, their eyes began to wander again, glancing at Qin Xiaozhou who was serving the dishes. A man in his early twenties asked in confusion, "Who is this girl? Judging from her hair, she looks like a woman."

Another person picked up a piece of boiled fatty meat and stuffed it into their mouth, glancing at Qin Xiaozhou, "Judging from their appearance, they should be from the city."

Today, Qin Xiaozhou wore a light blue belted dress, which accentuated her fair skin, voluptuous figure, and beautiful features. Every smile and frown exuded elegance.

Chen Xingwang warned, "Don't look around or talk nonsense. That's Lu Yunfeng's wife, who hired us to build the house. The Lu family is spending a lot of money this time, and the house they're building is huge. It's a big deal. Even if we don't make any business this year, we won't have to worry about food and drink after we finish this job. Don't lose all this work."

The young man was stunned. "Didn't Lu Yunfeng marry the daughter of Qin the butcher in town? I bought a string of meat from Qin's butcher shop before the New Year. That butcher's daughter was fatter than a pig, with three layers of cheeks and a waist thicker than a water bucket... How could this beautiful woman be the butcher's daughter? Could it be that the Lu family has become successful and Lu Yunfeng has changed wives?"

"Don't talk nonsense." Chen Xingwang lowered his head and ate his food. "Whether it's been replaced or not has nothing to do with us. After you finish eating, go get to work. Don't be lazy. If you're outdone by those men from Wangjia Village, see how you'll find work in the future."

The feast was lavish, featuring eight dishes in total: spicy fish chunks, braised pork belly, braised pork belly with preserved mustard greens, crispy fried pork, stewed fatty pork, braised eggplant, stir-fried shredded melon, and boiled seasonal vegetables. Five of these dishes were meat dishes, and the crispy fried pork was coated with a golden egg. Anyone who saw it would recognize it as a grand feast.

The village chief's family and Wang Gui's family ate with gusto, their mouths brimming with oil. The old women who came to visit from the village also had their eyes shining, scrambling to fill their bellies before they had time to talk. Even the children who came with the adults to the feast stopped running around and playing, their eyes fixed on the meat on the table, having no time to find playmates.

Wang Lan naturally felt proud of the well-organized banquet. She sat at a table with her relatives from the village, and the conversation revolved around the Lu family's house and Qin Xiaozhou, with nothing but praise. She felt very pleased with herself.

An hour passed before the relatives who had come to eat in the village gradually returned home. Wang Lan hummed a little tune as she cleared the dishes. The Lu family had many women, and even with Li Fengxian and Wang Cuicui also present, it still took them a whole afternoon to wash the dishes and pots before they could bring the leftover food home.

Several village dogs were circling outside the threshing ground, eagerly eyeing the bones and scraps of vegetables on the ground. Qin Xiaozhou dumped the garbage onto the riverbank slope beside the threshing ground, and the dogs rushed down to rummage through the garbage. Her eyes lit up. The Lu family's orchard was so big, with so many chickens, ducks, and geese inside, raising a couple of dogs wouldn't be bad.

Everyone else had gone to work, and the threshing ground was now empty. Only Qin Xiaozhou was there to finish up. The village chief came over, smoking his pipe, and asked, "Lu family, is everything done?"

Qin Xiaozhou smiled and said, "It's all done, Village Chief. My grandma and the others have already taken the leftover food back home. The pots and pans in the shed have also been washed and put away. Please come and take a look, and we'll lock the door after you've checked everything."

The sheds are usually locked up and only opened when needed. Otherwise, with so many bowls, plates, and chopsticks inside, and so many people coming and going in the threshing ground, they would easily get lost or damaged.

The village chief nodded, his eyes full of appreciation. "I trust the Lu family to get things done. Alright, you've had a busy day, go home now."

Qin Xiaozhou invited the village chief to his house for dinner that evening before heading towards the end of the village. It was hot, and meat wouldn't keep well, so as soon as Qin Xiaozhou got home, he went into the kitchen, started a deep fryer, and cut the meat into palm-sized pieces. This way, it would keep for three to five days. The aroma of the fried meat wafted for miles, and Li Fengxian, drawn by the smell, rushed into the kitchen, almost drooling. "Grand-nephew's wife, this meat smells amazing! Want some for dinner?"

"Grandma, our Lu family is building a house, how can we be so extravagant? Tonight we'll just eat what we brought back from the threshing ground at noon. We need to save this for later, we can't finish it all in one day." Qin Xiaozhou stirred the meat in the pot. "Grandma, why don't you go and rest in the yard? It's very hot in the kitchen."

Li Fengxian snorted, cracked some melon seeds, and went out. Qin Xiaozhou glanced outside and saw Li Fengxian and Wang Cuicui, the mother-in-law and daughter-in-law, going to the eaves to grab peanuts to eat. Only then did he take out the fried meat, wrap two pieces of meat in vegetable leaves, and put them into the basket that Zhao's aunt had brought that morning.

This basket was full of eggs and a hundred coins when it arrived this morning, which shows how good the Zhao family is to the Lu family. Li Fengxian only brought a few vegetables. The Lu family only entertains relatives for one meal, but Li Fengxian is trying to freeload for dinner too.

It was only half past noon when the Lu family started cooking in the kitchen. There were some clean, untouched meat and vegetables left over from the morning, which they would heat up and eat that evening. They couldn't finish them all by the end of the day.

Before the sun had set, Wang Lan and Zhao Fang called their relatives to eat. They were walking back, and it would be safer to get back sooner. Lu Yunfeng and Lu Yunxing were still at the foundation and hadn't returned yet. Qin Xiaozhou left a portion of food for the two brothers, saying, "Aunt and Second Cousin, please don't be shy, eat up. I've saved some food for Dayun."

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