Chapter 399 Prelude to the Wedding Banquet
The Cao family only arranged for one of their own brothers to accompany the bride; the rest were all matchmakers and wedding officiants hired from outside the family. There were no maids or servants, as was the standard practice.
It wasn't that the Cao family didn't want to make arrangements, but Cao Yingying herself refused. She knew that the Zhao family's place wasn't big, and she also knew that her future mother-in-law didn't have any maids to serve her. How could she, a daughter-in-law, have a bigger air than her mother-in-law? Besides, she had lived in the Zhao family for a month before, and she had been able to live very well without anyone serving her.
It could even be said that that month was the happiest month she had since her mother passed away.
She loved the atmosphere at the Zhao family home and didn't want to spoil that pure beauty.
However, these servants who had been serving her would not stay in the Cao family forever. After she settled down in Dahe Village and the mulberry orchard officially started raising silkworms, some of these people would come to Dahe Village to help her manage the mulberry orchard, while others would go to other estates and shops to help with management...
Cao Yingying walked out and crossed the threshold. At this moment, her elder brother came over, carried her on his back, and put her in the bridal sedan chair.
“Yingying…”
Cao Defu burst into tears.
"My Yingying, I can't bear to part with you. If you get married, who will help me look after those account books..."
Cao Yingying's tears had just flowed out when she immediately held them back.
Her father is really... well, she's a little worried too. After she gets married, the family account books will probably fall into her stepmother's hands again. Her stepmother is too cunning...
"Yingying, waaaaah..."
Cao Defu disregarded his image and clung to the sedan chair, bursting into tears.
"Father-in-law, rest assured, I will take good care of Yingying and live up to your trust." Zhao Ergou said firmly, supporting his father-in-law's shoulder. "If you need someone to look at the account books, please give the word, and I will come to the Cao residence at any time."
"Excellent, excellent!" Cao Defu patted his son-in-law on the shoulder. "It's settled then."
Qi, standing to the side, secretly clenched her handkerchief. She hadn't even dealt with the bastard child in Aunt Meng's belly yet, and now Zhao Ergou had come along, was he deliberately trying to make things difficult for her?
As she was thinking to herself, she felt a gaze sweep over her. She looked up and met Zhao Ergou's cold eyes.
She immediately suppressed her malicious thoughts, took Cao Defu's arm, and said softly, "Master, the auspicious time has arrived. Let Yingying go out smoothly. She can return to her parents' home in three days. We can talk about anything then."
The curtain of the bridal sedan chair was lowered, four sedan chair bearers lifted the sedan chair, Zhao Ergou mounted his horse, the honor guard played music, and firecrackers crackled and popped at the gate of the Cao mansion.
Amidst the lively atmosphere, the bridal sedan chair gradually disappeared into the distance.
By this time, it was already past 9 AM, the sunlight was even stronger, and Dahe Village was becoming more and more lively.
The villagers who came to the feast did not come empty-handed; they all brought gifts, such as red cloth, red eggs, a few pounds of rice, two pounds of meat, and brown sugar. Some close relatives would prepare more generous gifts, and some people who had received kindness from Cheng Quanwan would also give more gifts, such as Aunt Wang, Aunt Fugui, and Old Lady Zhu.
When villagers come, they don't just sit idly by; they all lend a hand and do what they can. The yard is full of people: a group of people are peeling garlic here, a group of people are picking vegetables there, someone is scraping fish paste in this corner, and someone is making meatballs over there...
"Big Head Aunt, the meatballs are fried, take them to the kitchen."
"The sour fish soup is ready too. Someone, take it to the kitchen."
"I wonder if the roasted mutton is ready yet. Let's call Auntie Dashan to come and check..."
Cheng Wanwan was checking the dishes in the kitchen. Although everything had been arranged, she still needed to check it again in person because the dishes were different from those of the traditional wedding banquet in Dahe Village. Each dish was very complicated, and she had to personally oversee the process.
First, there were pre-meal snacks, which were served while everyone waited for their meal. Four dishes were prepared: steamed dates, carved bamboo shoots, walnut shortbread, and goat cheese.
The second part consists of eight main hot dishes: braised duck with flowers, braised river fish, fresh and delicious pickled fish, braised pork belly, poached chicken, braised tendon, braised snails with shiitake mushrooms, and four-happiness meatballs.
Thirdly, there are two main dishes and side dishes: roasted whole lamb and a platter of braised dishes, with the roasted whole lamb being the highlight.
Fourthly, there are soups and stir-fries, such as "Early Birth of a Son" soup, stir-fried wild ferns, stir-fried wood ear mushrooms, and lily bulbs stewed with snow fungus.
Fifth, there are four desserts after the meal, consisting of candied fruits and dried fruits.
The villagers, seeing the makeshift kitchen filled with countless delicacies, had already silently swallowed their saliva countless times.
In their village, those with poorer means don't even hold a wedding banquet; they just give out some wedding cakes and that's it. Those with more money will arrange a feast, but it's only six dishes—one meat dish and the other five are vegetarian. Even so, the villagers will praise the feast. But when it comes to the dishes at Da Shan's mother's house... they don't know where to begin praising them; they're all at a loss for words.
"Auntie, the lamb outside looks roasted," Chunhua reported, running in. "What's next?"
Cheng Wanwan calmly washed her hands and then started preparing the seasonings. She bought cumin directly from the online store, poured it into a small dish, and carried it outside.
The whole roasted lamb is served in a separate area at the very back of the courtyard, a little further from the main courtyard. The main reason is that the aroma is so enticing that it might cause unrest among the troops.
The lambs were slowly roasting over the fire. A woman was in charge of watching the four lambs, constantly turning them over and adding ingredients. After an hour of roasting, the whole roasted lamb had turned a charred color, and the aroma kept spreading. Cheng Wanwan's mouth was watering.
She walked to the nearest sheep, picked up a knife, cut off a small piece of meat, sprinkled some cumin powder on it, and put it on her lips and tongue.
This is lamb leg meat. The meat is tender, the skin is golden yellow, and it's crispy and charred when you eat it. The plump meat bursts in your mouth, and the aroma of meat and cumin permeates the air, making you want to eat another bite after just one bite.
With countless eyes fixed on Cheng Wanwan, she felt too embarrassed to cut another piece of meat.
She put down the knife, coughed, and said, "It's cooked. Slice all the meat into thin slices and arrange them on a plate. Just leave the lamb ribs whole..."
"Auntie, we have a distinguished guest!" Donghua ran in and said.
Cheng Wanwan nodded and got up to go out to greet the guests.
As soon as she left, Donghua started drooling and secretly tugged at her mother's clothes.
Mrs. Sun poked her head: "You're the biggest glutton, just bear with it, there'll be enough for you when the feast starts!"
Big Head Granny laughed and said, "It's normal for children to be greedy, but there are over a hundred tables today, and we don't know if there will be enough mutton. We can't give you any in advance. After all the meat on this thigh is removed, you can gnaw on the lamb leg. Do you want some?"
Donghua immediately nodded: "Yes, yes, thank you Aunt Big Head."
So she sat down and started waiting to gnaw on the bones; with so many lamb legs, there would always be plenty of meat left…
Guests from outside the village arrived one after another at the courtyard gate.
Cheng Zhao represented the Cheng family, along with Master Wang and his wife, Old Master Qian and Qian Hui, Manager Zheng of Rujia Restaurant, Manager Chen of Nanfu Academy, Manager Zhou of Jixiang Restaurant, Manager Yang of Zuixianlou Restaurant… Old Madam Shen, Magistrate Shen, and Shen Zheng, as well as Lord Wu, who had a very low profile in the village…
And the merchants who stayed yesterday also took this opportunity to come to the door.
The courtyard suddenly became even more lively.
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