Chapter 461 Shen Zheng's Thoughts
A gentle breeze blows, and her skirt flutters in the wind.
The profile of the girl in the blue dress was more beautiful than the lotus flowers in the pond.
"What are you looking at, young master?" Afu placed the fruit and snacks on the table and followed his young master's gaze. "Isn't that Miss Lin?"
Shen Zheng put down his teacup: "How do you know me?"
“Miss Lin also came to the Shen residence as a guest at the last young master’s family reunion banquet,” Afu replied. “The young master was drunk that day, and I couldn’t find him anywhere. In the end, it was Miss Lin’s maid who found me, and I found the young master, who was completely drunk, under the crabapple tree in the backyard. If it weren’t for Miss Lin, the young master would definitely have caught a cold and gotten sick that day. I haven’t properly thanked Miss Lin yet.”
Shen Zheng frowned: "Is that so?"
He recalled for a moment, and some fragmented images suddenly flashed through his mind.
It seems... Under the crabapple tree, he did indeed see a girl in a green dress. That day, he was drunk, fell asleep on a rock, and had a dream. He dreamt of his mother, and he seemed to be holding her hand... For the first time in so many years, he felt his mother's presence so clearly...
Thinking of this, Shen Zheng broke out in a cold sweat.
He actually mistook Miss Lin for his imagined mother, and even forcibly grabbed Miss Lin's hand.
Afu looked at his face and asked, "Young Master, what's with that expression?"
Shen Zheng spoke slowly, "I need to go and apologize to Miss Lin."
"Huh? Shouldn't we be saying thank you?" Afu scratched his head. "Should I prepare some thank-you gifts?"
As he asked the question, Shen Zheng had already started walking towards the lake.
At this time, everyone was admiring the lotus flowers. The men gathered together to compose poems, the women chatted about everyday things, and some young ladies chatted and laughed in groups of three or five.
Miss Lin and her maid were leaning against the railing, gazing into the distance, when suddenly a flock of ducks swam by, and both of them perked up with joy.
Just then, a voice suddenly rang out behind them.
"Miss Lin."
Shen Zheng walked over and greeted him.
Miss Lin turned around, saw someone she recognized, and replied, "Young Master Shen."
Shen Zheng looked slightly embarrassed: "I came here to apologize to Miss Lin. I was drunk last time and did some impolite things. Please don't take it to heart."
When the topic came up, Miss Lin looked a little embarrassed. She was only sixteen years old when she was forced to call someone "mother," a feeling she couldn't describe.
Later, she went back and sent someone to inquire a little. She learned that Madam Shen had passed away not long after giving birth. It was likely that Young Master Shen didn't even know what his own mother looked like. She was a pitiful person.
It's normal to dream of your mother and mistake her for someone else due to emotional excitement.
She tried to appear indifferent: "It happened several days ago, and I've already forgotten about it."
Shen Zheng smiled and said, "That's good, that's good."
Not far away, Mrs. Lin spotted a man talking to her daughter and was so startled that she stood up and hurried over.
This was in public, with men and women all around. In the past, she would never have been so vigilant, but ever since the incident of her daughter falling into the water, she treated any man who approached her daughter as if she were facing a formidable enemy, fearing that her daughter would be harmed again.
"So it's Young Master Shen."
Madam Lin walked over and stood directly in front of her daughter.
When she saw who it was, she finally breathed a sigh of relief. Although the Shen family boy was carefree and irresponsible, he seemed very kind and innocent and would never do anything so underhanded.
She greeted him with pleasantries, "Young Master Shen, you are studying at the official school in Huzhou now, are you confident about passing the provincial examination in the fall?"
Shen Zheng wanted to say that he had no intention of participating in the provincial examination, but for some reason, when he met Madam Lin's gaze, he felt somewhat lacking in confidence.
He changed the subject, saying, "Brother Cheng must be confident; the Master said he would definitely be in the top three."
“Young Master Cheng is the nephew of the people of Sui’an, so naturally he is just as talented as the people of Sui’an,” Madam Lin praised. “If there is a chance, I must let my good-for-nothing son meet Young Master Cheng. Maybe he can pick up some of his talent.”
Miss Lin nodded and said, "My younger brother has indeed been looking for an opportunity to get to know Young Master Cheng. Mother should have brought him along today."
“There will be plenty of opportunities in the future,” Madam Lin said with a smile. “The sun is shining over here, let’s go sit in the pavilion for a while.”
She left with Miss Lin.
Shen Zheng stood there, rubbing his nose in frustration.
Why does he bring up Brother Cheng for no reason? Madam Lin's words are full of praise for Brother Cheng, and Miss Lin seems to know Brother Cheng quite well...
Thinking of this, he slapped his forehead. The Lin family mother and daughter both praised Brother Cheng, so Lord Lin must also admire Brother Cheng. He should be happy for Brother Cheng, so how could he feel even a little bit jealous?
He is not Zheng Wangfeng; he shouldn't be so petty.
Shen Zheng gave himself a few words of advice, and his mind immediately opened up. He then went to talk to someone with a smile.
On the other side, Cheng Wanwan was extremely busy.
She made a menu based on the available ingredients and then handed it to Grandma Zhao to prepare the ingredients.
Fortunately, Wu Huiniang returned with Chunhua and Cheng Fang, so the main force in the kitchen was back, and she wasn't too overwhelmed with work.
"San Niu, we're running out of firewood. Go chop some more, the more the better!"
"Big Head Auntie, hurry up and help me chop the meat. I need to kill the fish to make fish balls."
"The rice needs to be steamed now, otherwise we won't have time later. Once it's steamed, put it aside so we can eat it when the weather gets cold."
"We're running out of greens. If anyone has any left, bring them over! Don't be stingy!"
"We're running out of dried bamboo shoots. Everyone, please help out. Bring whatever you have. Si Dan has written everything down over there, so we won't let anyone suffer."
"..."
Although they had the experience of holding a banquet for Zhao Ergou's wedding last time, they started preparing the dishes the night before. This time, the meal was to be served in two hours, so everything had to be prepared from scratch. The villagers were also very busy, rushing around doing this and that.
Fortunately, there were enough people, and the tasks were distributed among everyone, so it wasn't too chaotic, and it was organized even amidst the chaos.
Cheng Wanwan looked at the menu, which contained twelve dishes. Because it was prepared at the last minute, it was not as lavish as the last wedding banquet. However, she had done her best to prepare over a hundred tables of dishes in two hours, including chicken, duck, fish, and meat.
She looked up at the vegetable garden next to her yard and gave a bitter smile.
This banquet used all the local ingredients. All the vegetables in her garden were picked clean, including all kinds of greens, green beans, lettuce, eggplants, cucumbers... In short, anything that grew to be edible was sent to the kitchen as ingredients.
Even the chickens and ducks at home couldn't escape; their chirping and quacking suddenly decreased by half...
An hour later, the aroma of food began to waft through the courtyard, and gradually, the aroma grew stronger and stronger, enveloping the small courtyard.
It was already afternoon, and dinner was just around the corner. Most people were starving, their stomachs rumbling.
Cheng Wanwan asked Old Man Zhao to call everyone to sit down, preparing for the feast.
The villagers spontaneously sat at the tables on the flat ground outside. The main table in the courtyard was naturally for the officials. Magistrate Shen, Magistrate Fu, Magistrate Bai, Lord Lin, Lord Wu, and others sat at one table with Eunuch Ming. Cheng Wanwan was an official, and in some important occasions there was no distinction between men and women, so she also sat at this table.
On the side, some officials' wives sat at one table, young ladies sat at another, and Old Man Zhao invited some respected elders from the village to sit at a third table...
"The food is served!"
With a loud shout from Aunt Wang, a rich aroma wafted over.
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