Chapter 383 Family Feast
Cheng Wanwan called to Wei Xiaohai to hurry up and drive the carriage.
Although the child is only ten years old, he has been making a living in Huzhou City for a long time and is quite adept at driving carriages.
After the village road was repaired, the carriage traveled smoothly. However, as it approached Chengjia Village, the road became narrower, and the carriage slowed down, slowly making its way towards Chengjia Village.
The Cheng family home was bustling with activity today. The courtyard had been renovated, and bright red silk cloths were tied under the eaves. Incense was lit in the main room, and chicken, duck, fish, and meat were placed on the table to offer to the ancestors. In the backyard, a group of women were washing, preparing, and chopping vegetables, their laughter filling the air.
"Oh, isn't this Third Master's second daughter back?"
Old Man Cheng was the third in his generation, and everyone in the village called him Third Grandfather and Old Lady Cheng Third Grandmother.
"Wanwan hasn't been back for a long time. When I saw her for the first time, I almost didn't recognize her."
"This outfit is really impressive, it doesn't look like someone from the village at all. By the way, it seems that Wanwan has become some kind of lady."
"Yes, a seventh-rank lady, the same rank as the county magistrate. Third Master and Third Madam are truly blessed, having produced a lady and a scholar in their family."
Grandma Cheng was busy inside the house when she heard the noise and came out.
She stood at the door and saw Cheng Wanwan getting off the carriage. She was dressed in silk clothes, her hair was tied up high, and a jade hairpin was inserted in her hair. Si Dan, the child, used to be dirty and dark, but now he was wearing a moon-white long robe and looked very scholarly. The two of them seemed a bit out of place here.
This was the first time Old Mrs. Cheng realized that her second daughter had truly flown away.
"They're here." Old Mrs. Cheng gave a slight smile. "The food isn't ready yet, please sit down. Xiao Cao, bring out a stool for your second aunt."
Cheng Xiaocao is five years old this year. Although she is young, she has to do all sorts of chores at home. Upon hearing this, she immediately brought out a long bench and placed it in front of Cheng Wanwan.
She tilted her head to look at Cheng Wanwan, sucking her finger and said, "Are you really my second aunt? My second aunt doesn't seem to be this young."
Her second aunt used to visit the Cheng family often, but she didn't remember her second aunt looking like this.
Cheng Wanwan laughed immediately. This was a compliment to her youth. Having lived in this era for so long, and with children and grandchildren, she always felt old.
Being complimented on looking young instantly puts me in a great mood.
She reached into her sleeve and actually bought a bag of rock candy pastries from the mall: "Take these and share them with your older brothers, sisters, younger brothers, and younger sisters."
As soon as she saw the food, Cheng Xiaocao's eyes lit up, and she exclaimed, "Thank you, Second Aunt!"
After saying that, he grabbed the snacks and ran off in a flash.
A group of busy women gathered around Cheng Wanwan.
"Wanwan, I heard you opened a workshop in Dahe Village. Are you hiring?"
“My husband is strong and honest. If we need to hire someone in the future, could you let him try out?”
“My son is also very strong, and he is definitely not the kind of person who would cheat or be lazy. You even carried him when he was a baby.”
A group of women came over to recommend their family members.
Cheng Wanwan didn't refuse. She was about to build a glycerin workshop and did need to hire a group of workers. She would accept anyone who was willing to work hard and was down-to-earth.
“Okay.” She nodded with a smile. “I’ll go to Dahe Village in a few days. If it’s really as everyone says, I’ll stay. But let me make this clear: I can’t stand any nonsense. If you’re thinking of coming to my village to coast along, you’d better give up now, so we don’t end up making a scene.”
The people of Chengjia Village had no doubt about what she said.
For the past six months, she has never returned to Chengjia Village. Everyone in the village knows that the second daughter has fallen out with Uncle Cheng's family.
If even family members can fall out, what about their fellow villagers?
The people looked at her with increasing caution.
Cheng Wanwan casually looked around the yard and suddenly noticed a plant on the roof.
The rooftops in this rural area were plastered with yellow mud and covered with dry grass, making it a suitable environment for some plants to grow. She recognized this plant as aloe vera.
She had been thinking about what plants to use as the main ingredients for her skincare products. There were many beauty plants in ancient times, such as peony, almond, motherwort, and musk. But these things were not cheap. Since she wanted to make affordable products, she had to control the cost at the source. Aloe vera was a relatively inexpensive option.
She found aloe vera in the original owner's memories. There seemed to be a lot of aloe vera on the back mountain of Chengjia Village. They all grew wild. Everyone knew that if you applied a little aloe vera juice to a cut finger, you could stop the bleeding. Therefore, every household would dig up some aloe vera and plant it in their yard.
She said, "Aloe vera is in bloom in March and April, there should be quite a few on the mountain."
Sister-in-law Cheng chimed in, "Last year there was a drought, but these things just kept growing and multiplying. They're everywhere on the mountainside. They're actually flowering now. When you go up the mountain to dig for wild vegetables, they look quite pretty from a distance."
Cheng Wanwan knew that aloe vera had a strong drought resistance and could survive for months if left unattended after being pulled out.
She paused for a moment before saying, "I plan to buy a batch of aloe vera from the mountains, roots and all. I'll take as many as you have, three cents a plant."
Her family has a lot of land. The two hundred acres used to grow cotton are not all planted. There are still dozens of acres left, which can be used to grow aloe vera. Long-term planting will not cause a shortage of raw materials.
"What?"
"Buying aloe vera?"
“Those things are everywhere in the mountains. If you want them, we can get them for you.”
Some women, in order to win Cheng Wanwan's favor, did not mind being free laborers at all.
“Even close brothers need to keep clear accounts. We’re not from the same village anymore, so we naturally need to be clear about things,” Cheng Wanwan said calmly. “There are requirements for the three-cent price per plant. The roots of the aloe vera must be protected, and the leaves must not be damaged.”
Her words gave everyone present a boost of confidence. These working women planned to go up the mountain to look for aloe vera after the banquet at the Cheng family's house. One plant cost three coins, so one hundred plants would cost three hundred coins, which was a huge sum of money.
Cheng Wanwan sat in the courtyard for a short while and quickly became friends with the people from Chengjia Village.
Old Mrs. Cheng sat in the main room watching, a mocking smile curling at the corners of her lips. She'd already become a seventh-rank lady, yet she was still entangled with these village women, even thinking about farming… Once their Zhao'er became successful, they would move their entire family out of Cheng Family Village and completely change their social standing…
Around noon, the food was ready, and more than ten tables were set up in the courtyard. All relatives within five degrees of kinship of the Cheng family were invited to the feast.
The head of the Cheng family and the village head sat at the main table and invited Cheng Wanwan to sit there as well. In addition, there was the village's old scholar, Cheng's fifth uncle, old man Cheng, old lady Cheng, eldest brother Cheng and sister-in-law Cheng, and Cheng Zhao.
"Come, let me first offer a toast to Madam Sui." Clan Chief Cheng stood up with a wine cup in hand. "I heard from Zhao'er about the events in Huzhou. If it weren't for Madam Sui's mediation, our Cheng family's most promising child would have been forced to become someone else's son-in-law. I'll drink this cup first."
Cheng Wanwan took a sip of tea and looked at the two elders of the Cheng family: "Do you two have any thoughts on Zhao'er's marriage?"
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