Chapter 259 Housewarming Banquet
Late autumn.
Autumn has arrived again. After the autumn harvest, and after collecting all the fruits and mushrooms on the mountain, it will be time for the long winter holiday.
However, this autumn is quite special because the people from the White Town base have moved here.
Although my home is quite far from town, and even Taozi, who lives the closest, is also quite far away, we didn't hear any noise when they moved.
However, the thought of familiar people moving into town still made it impossible to suppress the restlessness in my heart.
When I woke up early in the morning, there was some white frost on the ground.
I swept the yard with a big broom, looked out at the surrounding mountains, and thought to myself that it was time to make a pot of tofu again.
Just then, a donkey brayed outside the door, but it wasn't Little Corn's.
I peeked through the crack in the door and saw that it was Aunt Liu who had come alone by carriage.
This was the first time she had come to my house alone.
I opened the door: "Sister-in-law, you're here. Why did you come alone?"
"Are you going to town for a feast today? Your brother Liu and the others are busy slaughtering pigs. I came to call you."
A wedding banquet? Is someone getting married?
Before I could even ask, Aunt Liu continued, "Everyone's moved in and settled down. Let's have a housewarming dinner together."
"Alright, come in, come in, just wait a moment."
I propped the broom against the wall and hurriedly went inside.
When celebrating a housewarming, how can one not bring a gift and eat at someone's house for free?
Moving gifts should not be too heavy.
The house is full of eggs. If we bring two boxes of eggs, we can divide them up and it will be just right.
Liu Sao and I drove the donkey cart and arrived at her house in about 20 minutes.
Visiting each other is so convenient now, we're getting closer and closer.
Perhaps because people are used to living in detached houses, many people don't live next to each other; there are usually several houses between each family.
However, this doesn't stop the aroma of food from wafting throughout the street.
The donkey cart stopped in front of Aunt Liu's house, and I could smell the aroma of various kinds of stir-fried pork with chili peppers and stewed pork ribs with green beans as soon as I stood at the door.
"Oh dear, you're back so late. We've already prepared dinner."
When Sister Wang saw Sister Liu and me standing there, she beckoned us to come over and serve the dishes.
Since there are quite a few people at the White Town base, a compromise location needs to be chosen for the banquet.
The area in front of Wang's house was the most spacious. Each family was responsible for one dish, with eight dishes per table, making a total of 10 large tables.
People are usually quite frugal, but this is probably the last time they're moving to a new house, so everyone is being quite generous.
Once all the dishes were served, everyone could choose their own seats.
I naturally sat with Aunt Liu.
Taozi, as the base leader, didn't make any statements; he just told everyone to eat and drink well.
It's been many years since I've had a rural feast where you can eat your fill just by eating vegetables.
Halfway through the meal, the children finished eating and played in the open space between the tables.
Looking at it this way, I realized that there are quite a few next-generation talents at the White Town base.
Little Tuantuan, with her hair in two pigtails, joined the other children in their playful antics.
Tuantuan has grown up, but her baby fat hasn't faded at all; she's still so chubby and tender.
Tired from running, it came to my side.
A small hand pressed on my thigh, while the other pointed to the fried meatballs on the table.
"Aunt Cheng, I want to eat this!"
I casually picked up the fried meatballs she pointed to and put them on my plate, instead of feeding them directly to her: "Catch your breath before you eat, you're prone to choking when you eat now."
Only after seeing that Tuantuan's breathing gradually stabilized did I dare to put the fried meatball into her mouth.
With a meatball in her mouth, she ran off to play with her other friends.
One of her friends whispered to her, "Tuantuan, who is that?"
Tuantuan, still chewing the food in her mouth, replied, "That's my aunt."
Seeing this, Aunt Liu turned around and smiled at me, saying, "This child has a really good relationship with you."
After finishing their meal and cleaning up the dishes, it was getting dark, so everyone prepared to go home.
Since there are no electric lights now, people tend to go to bed earlier.
I don't want Aunt Liu to take me back again. I'm planning to go back with Taozi and have him give me a ride.
Tuan Tuan sat in the middle of the donkey cart, singing a jumbled song.
Taozi and I each sat on one of the front ears of the donkey cart.
Taozi's home is very close to the town, only about one kilometer away.
They can usually get there promptly if there's anything going on in town.
My home is about three or four kilometers further in.
He was worried about Tuantuan being home alone, so he took Tuantuan with him to catch the bus to see me off.
It was almost dark when we got home, but luckily Taozi had brought a flashlight.
Fearing it would be unsafe for them to go back after dark, I didn't stay any longer.
I stood at the gate of the courtyard, watching the donkey cart disappear.
That's great, it seems like the apocalypse is over, and I'll never have to live in fear again.
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