The meal was a great success, with both hosts and guests thoroughly enjoying themselves.
The women helped clear the table, while the men huddled together chatting, burping. Xia Chunmei's house was too small for everyone, so her uncle and brother-in-law had to rush back before dark after their meal.
My two older cousins didn't come this time either, because they are both pregnant, the mountain road is rugged and difficult to walk, and it's not close by, so they didn't come.
Xia Chunmei gave each of her two brothers-in-law a large fish, ten eggs, and two pieces of brown sugar as a return gift, while her uncle-in-law received two pheasants, two pieces of brown sugar, and ten eggs.
"It's too much. We didn't bring you anything, but you're taking big bags and small packages home." Uncle Xiao Youyin felt a little embarrassed, feeling like he was taking advantage of his poor and helpless niece.
“Where are there too many? Pheasants aren’t fat. I’m definitely going to kill all of my pheasants this year to eat. I also have chicks and ducks at home. You and my brother-in-law have brought so many over. Dongmei and Qiumei can’t feed them all now. Take two back for my sister-in-law to nourish her. Pregnant women need to eat well so they can have more chubby babies in the future.”
"One pheasant is enough. You can keep the eggs and sugar for yourselves."
“There are still some at home, take them quickly, Uncle, don’t keep refusing me. If you don’t take them today, I’ll deliver them to your house tomorrow.”
"Hahaha." Xiao Youyin laughed happily, "Then I won't stand on ceremony with you, Uncle. I haven't enjoyed the blessings of my children, but I have enjoyed the blessings of my niece."
"Uncle, brother, brother-in-law, please be careful on your way back. I won't see you off."
"No need to see me off, you have other guests. You can't be negligent."
After seeing off his uncle and brother-in-law, the other guests also took their leave one after another.
At this moment, Jin Yuntian told Xia Chunmei that he wanted to buy recipes for boiled pork, steamed pork ribs, tofu balls, and pickled fish.
"Forget about buying it or not. It's not worth much. I'll go to your house to teach him whenever it's convenient, but he can't teach it to others and steal my business."
The Jin family is large and powerful, so naturally they wouldn't try to steal Xia Chunmei's small business. But the cook is a different story; there's no guarantee he won't teach others to steal their business.
The money Xia Chunmei earned from organizing banquets was barely enough to feed the Jin family, but it was a fortune for ordinary people.
"You can rest assured about this Miss Xia. If you are free tomorrow, I will have someone come to pick you up."
I'm free tomorrow.
"Then I'll have to trouble you, Miss Xia. I wonder if Miss Xia could write a few amulets for me to keep safe?"
They were able to find themselves, and they must have known that they had written a lucky charm for Jin Wenyuan, and that they actually knew how to read faces.
However, this is not a society governed by the rule of law, and Xia Chunmei was worried that it would cause her trouble, since she had no connections. Therefore, she did not want to reveal that she could draw lucky charms.
Xia Chunmei said apologetically, "To be honest, the talismans I draw sometimes work and sometimes they don't. It all depends on luck. Maybe only a few out of a hundred will work. Next time I have some good ones, I'll send them to your residence."
I don't know if Jin Yuntian believed it or not, but he didn't insist on having it.
"In that case, I, Jin, thank you in advance, Miss Xia."
"Goodbye, sister. Come early tomorrow." Jin Wenyuan boarded the carriage and waved goodbye to Xia Chunmei.
As soon as Jin Yuntian's carriage started moving, Wu Han strode over to Xia Chunmei and said, "The mule cart will be left to Miss Xia; it will make it more convenient for you to travel in the future."
"I can't accept this. I've already received so much. Please don't bother with the mule cart. I appreciate your kindness."
A mule costs about ten taels of silver, which made Xia Chunmei feel quite embarrassed.
"With the mule cart, it will be much more convenient for us to go out for banquets or to go into town." After saying this, Wu Han lowered his voice and whispered in Xia Chunmei's ear, "There's something at the bottom of the box, so you'd better keep it safe, Miss."
Before Xia Chunmei could react, Wuhan rode off on horseback to chase after Jin Yuntian.
"Chunmei, did the nobleman just say that the mule was given to you? Did I hear that right?" After Jin Yuntian's men had completely left, Zhuang Shi immediately came forward to confirm.
Zhuang's voice was quite loud, immediately attracting the attention of everyone else.
This couldn't be kept secret, so Xia Chunmei readily admitted, "Auntie, you heard me right. Uncle Jin really did leave the mule to me. That way, I can ride the mule cart when I go out to run errands, which will make things easier."
"A mule costs more than ten taels of silver. Wealthy families are truly generous." Zhuang was extremely envious.
"At the time, I was thinking that the wealthy family was so stingy, only sending a few boxes of cheap clothes. I never expected such a big gift. A mule! This is the only one of its kind in our village."
"Of course, a mule isn't cheap. When I was little, my family wanted to buy a mule, but now I'm almost a grandfather and we still don't have one. Sigh, it's infuriating to compare yourself to others."
"What good luck Chunmei has had!"
"I guess it's Xia Ping'an protecting us from below. It's really infuriating to compare ourselves to others. None of our ancestors are reliable. It makes me angry just thinking about it. All the paper money we burn every year is wasted."
"Who says otherwise..."
Xia Chunmei already had enough to envy with the three large boxes of clothes and the box of fabric, but now she also has a mule, making the villagers even more envious.
However, with Lin Xiaojuan as a living example, although everyone admired her, they dared not do anything to Xia Chunmei.
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