How gifts are given is a matter of personal sentiment, and Mu Yi'an doesn't care too much about it. However, she will remember what everyone gave, so that she can reciprocate in the future.

Once everyone had arrived, Mu Yi'an and Jiang Qi laid out the prepared items on the mat.

Mu Yi'an prepared many things: beaded flowers, books, abacus, pens, sachets, handkerchiefs, silk flowers... all things with auspicious meanings. After all, the first birthday celebration is a way for parents to express their hopes that their children will have a smooth future.

"Chuyue, look, there are so many things. What do you like? Take one for your mother."

Mu Yi'an placed the beautiful, fairy-like Chuyue on the bamboo mat and asked her to fetch something.

Chuyue glanced at the things on the mat, then crawled toward the brightly colored silk flowers. Before she could reach them, she changed direction, quickly crawled over, grabbed the flowers in front of her, picked them up with both hands, and took a bite.

"Haha... Our Chuyue is such a foodie! This big apple smells so good. That's great, being able to eat is a blessing, may you stay healthy in the future!"

Looking at her adorable granddaughter, Mu's mother kept praising her.

"Eat, eat..."

Chuyue handed the apple to her grandmother, repeatedly saying, "Eat, eat..."

"Oh, our Chuyue is so filial. If Grandma doesn't want to eat, you can eat it yourself."

Mu's mother was overjoyed; her granddaughter was so filial, always remembering to give her the best food.

Actually, Chuyue is so young, what does she know? She's just a show-off; she saw a lot of people today and thought it was interesting.

The baby's first birthday celebration was over, and Mu Yi'an tidied up the things on the mat to prepare lunch. There were many people today, so there was a lot to do.

Jiang's mother and Mu's mother took the birthday boy to chat, and Jiang Qi, who was helping her second sister-in-law cook, followed them to the kitchen. Jiang's father took Mu's father out of the yard for a walk nearby.

Brother Mu originally wanted to see Yi'an's watermelon seedlings, but seeing so many people, he remained silent, deciding to wait until everyone had dispersed. He asked Jiang Shuyun to take him to the field where Yi'an was preparing to plant watermelons to see how it was going. He was worried that Yi'an was farming for the first time and didn't know if she knew how to do it.

Everyone in the courtyard went their own way, and even the children gathered together to play.

Li Qiuniang also went to the kitchen. She wasn't good at cooking, but she could still help out.

Looking around the large living room, now only she and Jiang Lan were left, and Sister-in-law Jiang felt a little uncomfortable. Especially since the gift she brought today paled in comparison. She felt somewhat disapproving; a little girl accepting such a generous gift, she really had too much money to burn.

Jiang Lan was also a little uncomfortable. She hadn't expected her second sister-in-law's family to send so many gifts, even preparing a separate gift for her child's uncle. It made her seem like she didn't understand social etiquette. She just didn't want to send any gifts. Her second sister-in-law had been quite the show-off lately, a far cry from her usual quiet self.

She was originally engaged to a wealthy young man from the county town, a fact that had made her proud in the village for a long time. However, the news that Mu Yi'an was going to grow watermelons caused such a sensation that no one mentioned or cared about her engagement anymore. In short, many things combined to make her feel bad, so she didn't prepare a gift for Chu Yue.

Mu Yi'an had no idea what the two people outside were thinking. After Jiang's sister-in-law's baby was born, she would return the gift in the same manner. As for Jiang Lan, she would also send a dowry when she got married, but the value of that was hard to say.

"Second sister-in-law, is there anything I can do?"

Li Qiuniang watched the two busy people, not knowing what she could do.

"Qiu Niang, peel these sweet potatoes. I'll make candied sweet potatoes later."

Mu Yi'an usually cooks simple home-style dishes, but this candied sweet potato dish is relatively complicated, and she did it quite well. She hadn't made it since arriving here.

"Candied sweet potatoes, I've never had them before, are they delicious?"

"It's sweet, you'll see when it's done."

Mu Yi'an kept everyone in suspense, quickly stir-fried the chicken, added water, brought it to a boil over high heat, added some sweet potato starch later, and finally added some flatbread, making a simplified version of iron pot stew.

Jiang Qi was also busy. She had several dishes to prepare. There were many people today, so she and her second sister-in-law had made preparations in advance, but there was still a lot of work to do.

The kitchen was bustling with activity, and the aroma wafted out from the doorway, making the children crane their necks to look, wondering when they could eat.

When the sun was directly overhead, Mu Yi'an and the others had prepared their meal.

Jiang Shuyun brought Brother Mu into the courtyard. They had just returned from the fields, but Jiang Shuhe refused to eat there and went home.

Mu Yi'an served a plate of chicken stew with vermicelli and picked up a few flatbreads, asking Jiang Shuyun to deliver it. She had promised to provide three meals a day, and she couldn't break her promise.

Brother Mu and Brother Jiang were not familiar with each other, and they didn't know what to talk about or have anything in common.

"Brother, please move the table over here, the food is ready."

Mu Yi'an called out to her older brother, and then she prepared to apply the plaster.

"Okay, I'll be right there."

When Brother Mu saw the table, he started moving it over. Mu Xuan then told his younger siblings to wash their hands and get ready to eat.

Mu Yi'an prepared many elaborate dishes, although they were all home-style dishes, but their value lay in their freshness. Many of them were not available in this dynasty, such as the plate of candied sweet potatoes.

There were many people, so we were divided into two tables.

The children sat at one table, and the adults at another.

The dishes, with their perfect color, aroma, and taste, received unanimous praise. Jiang's father and Mu's father both drank a little wine, but not much.

The others just ate the dishes; there were so many delicious dishes, it was really not worth missing.

After dinner, Jiang's parents went home, as did Jiang's sister-in-law and her husband with their child, and Jiang Lan. Li Qiuniang wasn't in a hurry to go back; she helped clear the dishes. Shao Kun had a great time, laughing and chuckling the whole time.

My dear reader, there's more to this chapter! Please click the next page to continue reading—even more exciting content awaits!