Chapter 275 It's a real shame not to eat roast duck
The main dish for dinner was roast duck.
The first duck was burnt and not flavorful enough, so Wu Huiniang boldly killed the second duck. Fortunately, it was successful, otherwise a third duck would have suffered the same fate.
On the table were two whole ducks that hadn't been cut into pieces. Even though they were considered failures, they were still golden in color, with a slight reddish and caramelized hue. The aroma was irresistible, making one's mouth water and causing the sound of swallowing saliva to rise continuously.
Chunhua stood there, ready to cut the meat into two pieces, one to give to Master Yu and the other to Master He.
"Don't start yet," Cheng Zhao said, stopping him. "Wait a moment, let me memorize what this dish looks like in its entirety."
After we finish eating, he has to draw. This is a task assigned by his second aunt, and he has to do it perfectly.
Shen Zheng was just swallowing his saliva, but now he straightened his back properly and his little brain was working at lightning speed. He was going to write a poem about roast duck after he finished eating. He couldn't let that little brat Si Dan laugh at him for writing a poem in front of so many people.
“Kong Xiu Niang, sit here.” Cheng Wanwan pulled out a chair. “There aren’t so many formalities in the village. Boys and girls all sit at the table to eat together. It’s more lively with more people.”
Kong Xiuniang spotted the roast duck on the table at a glance and exclaimed in surprise, "This...this is roast duck?"
She had eaten this dish at a wealthy family's home in the capital, and it was quite delicious. She had heard that only the imperial chefs knew how to make it. How could someone in such a poor, remote place know how to make it?
After she sat down, Chunhua cut a slice of roast duck and placed it at the bottom of Kong Xiuniang's bowl: "There are two kinds of sauces here, sweet sauce and hot sauce. Kong Xiuniang can dip whichever flavor she likes."
At this moment, Wen came out carrying a winnowing basket: "The spring pancakes are ready. My sister-in-law said that roast duck tastes even better when wrapped in spring pancakes."
Kong Xiuniang was extremely surprised. It would make sense if it were just roast duck; it's normal for villagers to roast something to eat. But to have both dipping sauce and spring pancakes meant that someone in this house had definitely been to the capital and eaten roast duck, which was only available there… Could this family be a wealthy family that had just returned from the capital?
She lowered her head, put the roast duck into her mouth, and was immediately stunned.
This tastes even better than the roast duck she had in Beijing...
Could it be that she hasn't had roast duck in a long time, so her sense of taste is off?
While Kong Xiuniang was pondering, the two roast ducks on the table had already been quickly reduced to their bones.
Cheng Wanwan coughed awkwardly: "Si Dan, Xiao Zheng, watch your table manners..."
With outsiders around, these children didn't know how to behave themselves. Fortunately, she put some food out for Kong Xiuniang separately, so that Kong Xiuniang wouldn't go hungry.
"I was just too hungry, my apologies." Shen Zheng put down his chopsticks, wiped his hands, and instantly transformed into a refined young gentleman again. "In my drunken dreams, I was transported back to the Grand River Banquet. It would be a real shame not to eat roast duck."
"This limerick is quite good." Cheng Wanwan laughed. "Xiao Zheng does have a talent for writing poetry."
The poem is catchy and easy to understand. If you don't come to Dahe Banquet to eat roast duck, you'll dream about it every night when you're drunk, and it will torment you.
After dinner, it got completely dark.
Kong Xiuniang returned to her room to continue organizing her luggage. Before she had finished, she heard the sound of reading aloud coming from the main hall outside.
She peeked through the crack in the door and was immediately stunned. There were two candles burning on the table where they had just eaten, and several children were sitting around it, some reciting their lessons, some writing, all of them very focused.
The woman who held the baby during the day was also writing.
This scene was completely beyond Kong Xiuniang's comprehension. Suddenly, she understood why Miss Cao had asked her to come here...
Wu Huiniang was recording the process of making roast duck, Wu Xiaochui was practicing drawing tables, Cheng Zhao, Shen Zheng, and Zhao Sidan were reciting their lessons, Zhao Ergou was doing accounting, and Zhao Sanniu was practicing his skills at the door. Only Afu and Zhao Dashan, who had worked hard all day, were already fast asleep.
Cheng Wanwan was lying on her bed, a bedside lamp was on, and she was reading a book.
She really wanted to share the lamp, but unfortunately, the risk was too great, so she could only enjoy it by herself.
This was Kong Xiuniang's first night in Dahe Village. She was a bit unaccustomed to the bed and didn't sleep well, opening her eyes very early.
She tiptoed out of the house and suddenly heard the sounds of fighting coming from not far away.
She was startled. This year, many places had poor harvests, and she had heard that many refugees had appeared. Refugees often turn into bandits. Could it be that bandits had come to Dahe Village to steal grain?
No, we have to wake this family up right away!
Just as she was about to make a move, she suddenly heard a familiar voice.
"Third Brother, take this!"
"You little brat, Si Dan, you actually resorted to sneak attacks!"
Isn't that the voice of the third and fourth sons in this family?
Kong Xiuniang calmed herself down, walked into the courtyard, and stood on the stone roller to look at the source of the sound.
She saw thirty or forty people standing in a row under the big locust tree in the middle of the village. A young man was standing in front of them, speaking: "...Let me see you guys throw a punch. Your fist-clenching posture is wrong. You should clench it like this, turning your fist into a lethal weapon..."
Kong Xiuniang understood; it turned out the villagers were practicing martial arts.
But why do the villagers practice martial arts?
She was puzzled when she suddenly saw several green-eyed wolves rush down from the forest and pounce on the person who was practicing martial arts.
She was so frightened that her throat tightened, and she lost her voice for a moment, unable to even utter a warning.
"Aww—"
"Woof woof woof!"
Suddenly, several dogs in the yard jumped over the wall, while the little guy who couldn't jump over got anxious and kept spinning around in circles.
Kong Xiuniang's breathing became rapid. The dog was no match for the wild wolf. If it charged forward, it would probably be torn to pieces.
However!
She was stunned when she saw what happened next.
The wolves actually mingled with the children who were practicing martial arts, and even licked each other's lips with the dogs that rushed over, acting very affectionately.
“So Little One is a wolf…” Kong Xiuniang looked down at the two dogs at her feet. “Big Black is a dog, that’s true, Little Black… should also be a wolf…”
She wiped the cold sweat from her forehead, still feeling quite shaken.
This village was so different from any village she had ever seen before.
The girls were all clever, the boys studied late into the night, the villagers rose at the crack of dawn to practice martial arts, and the wild wolves in the mountains fought alongside the villagers...
She had actually been worried about bandits; if they came, she'd probably be devoured by wolves until nothing was left.
As dawn broke, the villagers who had been practicing martial arts went about their tasks, some working in the fields and others going to work at the Chengwanwan Workshop.
The county's talent competition was held on this day. Since it was spearheaded by Magistrate Shen, who is now highly regarded by the Prefect and whose status has risen accordingly, he has a lot of influence among the magistrates in the surrounding area. Therefore, the competition venue was set in Ping'an County.
Early that morning, the village head gathered the top three winners from the previous competition and headed to Ping'an County together.
There were nine projects in total, with 27 people in total. There were also some women and children who wanted to watch the excitement, so about 40 or 50 people walked over together.
Cheng Wanwan's family had a child participating in a competition, so she packed her things and went along too.
They set off relatively early, but when they arrived, they found the place already packed with people. Many people from seven or eight nearby counties and towns had arrived before dawn and had already occupied advantageous positions.
Those who participated in the competition could go in directly to register and wait, while Cheng Wanwan and the others who were just watching the excitement could only squeeze in as fast as they could.
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