66 Chapter 66
◎Buffet◎
The buffets in the ancient deserted villages were not as varied as they are today. There was no chicken, duck, fish, meat, seafood, etc., nor were they as elaborate as eating multiple meals from one pig, not to mention the combination of meat and vegetables and desserts.
Cheng Mi only prepared three things: wine, meat and noodles.
Wine, of course, was readily available. The meat was mutton. While the Northwest boasted a wide variety of poultry and livestock, for such a large banquet, only sheep were sufficient. Sheep were collected from all over the area a month in advance, at a price of three cents and two cents per sheep, and fourteen were purchased.
There was only one dish at the banquet: mutton noodle soup.
After the live sheep were slaughtered, they chopped them up and stewed them into soup. Several stoves were built in the open air, and spices were added to slowly stew the soup. The whole Zhaojia Village was filled with the aroma of mutton soup.
The noodles were cooked in a special pot, kneaded by three people, and cut by Yu Shi alone. She was too busy to handle it all, so she called Gui Er and Mu Yun, who were setting the tables, and said, "Everyone, bring your tables here. Set up yourselves, and you can cut the noodles."
Guier’s knife skills have always been top-notch, and she is also an expert at making dough.
To cut the noodles, you have to roll the dough into large pieces first, so that it takes up more space. She was quick with her hands and proudly invaded Mu Yun's territory.
Mu Yun rolled the dough into a ball, and without arguing with her, he directly brought it to the edge of the pot where the water was boiling.
"Wow! Daddy is so awesome!"
Xiaoliu and Xiaoqi's cheers attracted more children, who all stretched their necks to look.
Mu Yun saw the kitchen knife flying in his hand, and the noodles fell into the water like willow leaves.
"Wow! Magical noodle-shaving skills!" Xiaoliu danced with joy, and the other children also got excited.
Like a circus, the neighbors who came to the banquet gathered to watch and applauded.
Gui'er was very angry. She stopped rolling the dough and took a large ball of dough and asked Li Yu, who was kneading the dough, to hold it. She held a kitchen knife in each hand.
“Get out of the way!”
In front of another stove where water was boiling, Gui'er stretched out her arms, opening and closing them widely, and the noodles flew out like flying fish into the sea.
With the new tricks, more people are joining in the fun.
Country people rarely have the opportunity to see acrobatics, and the novelty of this scene is even greater than eating meat and drinking wine. The people in the back who can't see it are also smart. They move benches and step on them to occupy the high ground and have an unparalleled view.
Gui'er was thinking of competing, and it was obvious that cutting noodles with two swords was more interesting than Mu Yun's single sword. She gave him a provocative look.
After Mu Yun finished cutting the dough, he took another piece and a kind person handed him a kitchen knife.
He looked closely and took a special look to see who the curious person was. Oh, it was Chen Hu.
It seems that three people in the same family are competing with him.
After getting the new dough and the new knife, Mu Yun did not use two knives to cut the noodles like Gui'er did. He placed the dough on the knife surface, holding it steadily with one hand, and with the other hand, he swung the other kitchen knife around, so that only its shadow could be seen, not the blade.
The rapidly rotating blade cuts through the dough, and the dough pieces are like hidden weapons, or like a sudden downpour, splashing into the water.
The cheers resounded through the sky at this time.
Gui'er's face turned green after she finished shaving the dough. She wanted to compete again, but Yu suddenly slammed the kitchen knife on the chopping board and said, "That's enough!"
Yu was furious. "I asked you to help cut the noodles, and look what you did!"
Sao Hu and the others helped disperse the crowd of onlookers. Only then did Mu Yun and Gui Er realize that the pot was full of noodles. Where was the water? It had either splashed out or been absorbed by the noodles that had been put in first.
While scolding him, Yu rushed to rescue him.
Gui'er glared at Mu Yun and obediently went to the chopping board to cut noodles.
Xiaoliu and Xiaoqi winked at Mu Yun and quietly pulled him away.
For today's buffet, Cheng Mei specially made two jars of chili sauce.
Guests who came to the banquet from nearby brought their own bowls. They first went to the noodle area to get a bowl of noodles, and then went to the meat pot to get the mutton topping. The butcher piled each bowl high as instructed.
Some people eat noodles and meat separately, one bowl each.
"What's this?"
A large bowl of bright red chili sauce was placed on the table, something many villagers had never seen before.
"The spicy sauce is more potent than onions, leeks and garlic. Would you like to try it?"
Use a spoon to scoop and place over the lamb.
After taking a bite, some people immediately blushed and said, "Wow! Wow!"
People who can eat spicy food are like victorious generals. They encourage everyone they meet to try it, enjoy watching the other person jump for the spiciness, and make fun of them, making the banquet very lively.
All the guests came to congratulate Cheng Mu, and Cheng Mu was responsible for receiving them and accepting gifts.
Most people who come to a banquet bring gifts. This is how social interactions work. Those who can afford it give a little, but some people are not well off and don't bring anything. They just say a few auspicious words.
Old Man Chen's grandson picked up a beautiful stone, and Old Man Chen chiseled it bit by bit until it became an inkstone and gave it to Cheng Mu.
Old man Chen opened his toothless mouth and said, "Every scholar needs it. Your kid can use it."
Cheng Mu thanked them and asked Xiao Qi to go to the stove and ask them to cook the noodles for Old Man Chen and chop the mutton.
Zhao Dezi and his family also came. Zhao Dezi's injury was thanks to Cheng Mu's ginseng. This time, the family bought ginseng of the same weight to return it.
The rest of the people went to the banquet. Zhao Dezi's mother grabbed Cheng Mu, her eyes red, and fell to the ground to kowtow.
Cheng Mu hurriedly supported him: "Old man, you are making me suffer."
"My benefactor, I'm at home. I've had someone write a red card. Every morning and evening, we'll light a stick of incense and pay our respects to each other. Since you're pregnant today, how can I not pay my respects?"
Dong'er came quite early and wanted to help, but Cheng Mu refused because she was pregnant again.
After Dong'er finished eating, she came to ask Cheng Mu for chili sauce, "Madam Cheng, you are really a fairy on earth. Where did you find so many delicious foods?"
Cheng Mu said, "The pepper seedlings in Songzhuang have grown from the seeds that Mu Yun brought back from the capital. You can transplant a few and plant them at home someday."
Zheng Lizheng also came to ask for chili sauce, and Cheng Mu filled a jar for him in an exquisite small jar.
Qi Song came over and said to Cheng Mu, "Madam Cheng, someone from the Wuwei Escort Agency in Yunzhou City has also arrived."
"Who's here? Chang Qing?"
As soon as he finished speaking, someone came in. "Madam Cheng, congratulations! Congratulations! Chang Moumou came to ask for a glass of water or wine."
Because he had previously disguised himself as Mr. Chang and dealt with Manager Qin, Cheng Mu couldn't help but remind him to avoid people when he went out.
"It doesn't matter whether I avoid him or not. Today, I ran into that Qin guy on the road, but he didn't recognize me. I pretended to be Mr. Chang, dressed in rich clothes, but I was timid. I, Chang Qing, walked past him with a felt hat on my head, straw sandals on my feet, a knife on my waist, and a knife in my hand. He didn't react!"
Cheng Mu: "He is a man of deep thoughts, so don't be careless."
"He has a lot on his mind. He's here to congratulate Madam Cheng on her wedding too. You'll see him soon."
After Manager Qin arrived, he did not have a banquet, but only drank a bowl of wine. Cheng Mu took him to Songzhuang to see the greenhouse.
After seeing people off over there and on the way back, she saw Qi Song escorting Chang Qing and others out from afar.
She and Gui'er waited there, intending to say a few more words to Chang Qing, but she didn't expect that Chang Qing and the others didn't notice her at all. They were only concerned about their own affairs.
"Even after coming to invite him this time, Master Yun still refuses to go back to the escort agency with us. Does he intend to follow Madam Cheng for the rest of his life?"
"This Steward Qi has been by his side for so many years, and now he's completely following the Master's wishes? He doesn't even listen to the boss!"
"Otherwise, we might as well ask Madam Cheng for help!"
The three of them stopped and thought it was worth a try.
"What do you need my help with?" Cheng Mu came out from the shelter of the horse and willow trees, startling Chang Qing and the others.
They were complaining all the way as they walked, but when Cheng Mu asked them, they all looked like gourds with sawed-off mouths.
Cheng Mu stared at them intently, "Do you have something else important to do today?"
After a long silence, one of them simply took the plunge and said, "We are here on the orders of the head Boss to ask Master Yun to return to the escort agency."
Cheng Mu: "Young Master Yun? Mu Yun? Is he from your escort agency? The son of the head of Wuda?"
Chang Qing explained, "Young Master Yun is not the eldest master's son, but the son of her late husband, Master Mu, and his concubine."
Cheng Mu asked again, "Is Qi Song also from the Wuwei Escort Agency?"
"He used to be the manager of the escort agency."
"If you want him to go back, why are you looking for him now? He escaped for his life in the first place."
"This... this matter we don't know," Chang Qing muttered. "Back then, when the Mu family had a mistress, the eldest boss had them brought back and arranged for Master Yun to study martial arts. Not long after Master Yun's biological parents passed away, he ran away. The eldest boss asked Steward Qi to find him, but unexpectedly, Steward Qi resigned from the escort agency after finding him. The eldest boss said it would be good for him to go with Steward Qi to gain experience outside. Later we found out that you, Madam Cheng, had taken them in."
Cheng Mu recalled the strange feeling she had when she went to the Wuwei Escort Agency. "So you all know me? You recognized me the moment I arrived at the agency, and the head Boss came out to greet me personally?"
"Manager Qi said you were Young Master Yun's benefactor, so naturally everyone in the escort agency respected you. At the time, they were worried that Manager Lu would arrest someone and report you to the authorities, so the head of Wuda even made some arrangements with the prefect."
Cheng Mu: "Since you've let him gain experience outside, why do you want to invite him back to the escort agency now?"
Chang Qing smiled bitterly. "No matter what, the eldest lady is Young Master Yun's mistress. Since she has no children, the escort agency will be handed over to Young Master Yun. Moreover, Young Master Yun has grown up very well in the past two years. He is brave and resourceful, and has even become a sixth-rank military officer. The eldest lady said that since he doesn't want to be an official, the family business will be handed over to him."
Chang Qing bowed and said, "Please Madam Cheng, please help persuade him."
After seeing off Chang Qing and the other two, Cheng Mu and Gui'er stood there, and only turned around after the three of them disappeared.
Gui'er was confused and didn't understand: "Why is Mu Yun from Wuwei Escort Agency? Madam Cheng, he is not from your husband's family--"
Now he was not afraid to tell her, Cheng Mu admitted, "I hired him to pretend to be my brother-in-law. You know, I was alone at the time and I was pregnant with a posthumous child."
Gui'er tried hard to recall, and it seemed that this was the case. At first, he was said to be a maid, and later he was said to be a brother-in-law. Gui'er couldn't figure it out, "Why do you think you need a brother-in-law?"
Cheng Mu shook her head.
Gui'er pressed on, "If you want family, why don't you acknowledge my mother as your godmother and become my sister?"
Cheng Xi sighed.
How should she explain it to Guier?
There happened to be a commotion, so I didn't need to discuss this with Guier.
"What's wrong?"
Li Yu came up to report, "Some beggars appeared from nowhere, trying to get free food."
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