Chapter 465 I Have Three Requests
Cheng Wanwan sat in the chair and asked everyone to stand up.
“I come from a peasant background and don’t like to follow too many rules. When you come to my house, then follow my family’s customs.” She said calmly, “I have three requirements. First, you are not allowed to kneel down easily. People in the village don’t like to make such a big fuss all the time. Second, do not enter or leave my bedroom without my permission. Third, you are not allowed to make any decisions on your own.”
She has never liked creating class conflict, and if these people kneel down every day, she will find it hard to bear.
Moreover, she is a modern person, and when she has the opportunity, she values her privacy. Even her personal maids do not want to frequently enter or leave her private space.
Finally, these old women were all quite old and seemed to have their own opinions on everything. She didn't want them to use their knowledge and experience from the capital to interfere with her lifestyle or do things that she found incomprehensible.
Granny Qi and the group curtsied, saying, "We will remember Madam's words!"
The twelve people spoke together, and their voices were really loud, startling the small birds that had landed on the treetops in the courtyard.
The villagers who were tidying up outside the courtyard were startled. They gathered around to watch the commotion and saw Cheng Wanwan sitting in a chair with more than ten people standing in front of her, each of them bowing their heads and being lectured.
Although these people were called "servants," they were all dressed in silk clothes, and the maids and servants wore silver hairpins, earrings, and bracelets. They looked no less than the wealthy people in the city. But now, these well-dressed people were bowing and scraping before Da Shan Niang.
The villagers exchanged glances; they seemed to have been too casual in front of the mountain woman… Was this really a bad idea?
"Grandma Qi, you all go to the kitchen and help make some snacks." Cheng Wanwan dismissed the twelve people and looked up at the villagers at the gate of the courtyard with a smile. "Today, we were able to prepare a banquet of over a hundred tables in such a short time, all thanks to everyone's help. If you don't mind these leftovers, you can take some home and use them as a dish."
The villagers were all a bit reserved.
Although they didn't know how ordinary people in the city interacted with officials, they could tell from the attitude of Granny Qi and the others that they were usually too casual.
They were the lowest-ranking farmers, while Dashanniang was a sixth-rank Anren (a type of official).
Even the county magistrate has to pay his respects to the Mountain Goddess and bow his head before her...
"What's going on?" Cheng Wanwan vaguely understood the change in everyone's thoughts. She walked over, brought over a bucket of leftovers, scooped out a bowl, and handed it to Old Lady Zhu at the front. "Tiger likes to eat mixed soup with cabbage the most. If Old Lady Zhu doesn't want it, I'll give it to someone else."
"Yes, yes, yes." Old Mrs. Zhu took the bowl, her face full of emotion. "A sixth-rank lady personally ladled food for me. I could close my eyes and feel at ease right now."
"Grandma Zhu, you mustn't say anything unlucky. You can't close your eyes until you see Hu Zi get married and have a baby." Cheng Wanwan continued scooping food. "Don't just stand there like idiots. Help yourselves. Scoop whatever you like. If you're late, there won't be any left."
She spoke in the same tone as before, without distancing herself from the villagers despite her changed status. Only then did the villagers dare to approach and chat and laugh around her.
By the time the yard was completely cleaned, it was already dark.
In the kitchen, they were still making pastries. These were pastries to be taken to the capital by Eunuch Ming. Cheng Wanwan wrote the list, and Wu Huiniang was mainly responsible for making them. They would steam or bake them in a pot. In short, there were many ways to make pastries.
Granny Ma was very good at making food. She originally thought that she could make use of her strengths when she came here, but after seeing Wu Huiniang's way of making pastries, which was completely different from her own, she couldn't help at all and could only help with the design of the pastries.
More than an hour later, all the pastries were finally ready, and the house was filled with their aroma.
Because we had enough manpower, we made enough snacks, and the family gathered around to enjoy them.
Cheng Wanwan wrote four lists in total, covering four categories of dried snacks that could be stored for a slightly longer time: egg yolk pastries, cookies, goat milk puffs, and wine-flavored bean paste.
This kind of pastry is absolutely impossible to find in this era. She also put a detailed production process in the pastry box as a thank-you gift to the emperor.
The next day, Ming Gonggong tasted the pastries and praised them highly, eating six pieces in one go before stopping.
Cheng Wanwan had the pastries loaded onto the carriage. Because there were Empress Dowager, Empress, concubines, princes and princesses in the palace, a large quantity was made, filling an entire carriage.
Besides these, there are also some local products from Dahe Village, such as dried mushrooms, wood ear fungus, and bamboo shoots, some smoked dried wild deer, roe deer, and even free-range chicken eggs. All kinds of local products are available.
Eunuch Ming didn't mind and accepted everything.
“Sui’an sir, I’m returning to the capital now.” Eunuch Ming stepped into the carriage. “The next time we meet, it will be when Sui’an sir has been promoted again. I look forward to that day.”
More than ten horse-drawn carriages slowly drove out of Dahe Village, filling the sky with dust, and gradually disappeared into the horizon.
The people from the capital went back, leaving behind eighteen people, twelve servants, and six top craftsmen.
The six craftsmen came with a mission: to build a mansion for the people of Sui'an within half a month. The imperial court gave them a budget of 10,000 taels of silver, enough to buy a piece of land in Huzhou and build a magnificent three- or even four-courtyard house. The craftsmen were all eager to get started and brought the house construction drawings they had prepared in advance for Cheng Wanwan to review.
Cheng Wanwan glanced at it; the house was suitable for the city center, but she didn't plan to build a house in Huzhou.
She began, "I want to build a new yard next to my old house, with the main gate at the same level as the old house, and a corridor connecting the back door to the lake and pond. It will include the orchard here, and also this area..."
The foreman was immediately bewildered: "Sui... Sui'an people, are you going to build a house in the village?"
Cheng Wanwan nodded: "Didn't Grandpa Ming say that I get to decide where to build the house?"
The craftsmen: "..."
The houses that the people of Sui'an currently live in are already among the best in the village. The houses they want to build will be many times more magnificent than these. It feels like a waste to build such beautiful houses in the village.
The village head, who was just about to come in to find Cheng Wanwan, heard this and was immediately overwhelmed with excitement. He rushed in, his voice trembling, "Auntie Dashan, I knew you wouldn't move to Huzhou... Everyone in our village will miss you. Grandma Zhu just told me about it, and she even cried... Your in-laws are also hiding at home crying... I thought it was just us who would miss you, but I didn't expect that you would miss everyone too. I'm so happy, so happy..."
Cheng Wanwan felt a little guilty.
One reason she chose to build a house in Dahe Village was that she was reluctant to part with the property, and another reason was that she had already bought a three-courtyard house in Huzhou. Wouldn't it be a waste to build another house?
But since there's already a misunderstanding, let it remain a misunderstanding; a beautiful misunderstanding is fine too.
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