Chapter 104 Awesome
The Bai family's house was completed very quickly. At noon on the day of completion, Manbao and his friends did not eat in the school, but followed Bai Shanbao into the new house to eat.
Mrs. Bai Liu was very generous. She went to the county town to hire a chef and hired many people in the village to help them. She specially planned to hold a one-day buffet.
All guests who come can sit at the table and eat without bringing any gifts.
As the number one figure in Qili Village, Mr. Zhuang was of course invited, and of course, Manbao and the others were also called.
Everyone in the village came, from the sixty-year-old woman who could walk to the eight or nine-month-old children who could eat complementary foods.
Of course, the villagers were embarrassed to come empty-handed, so they all brought some things with them. Xiao Qian and others who came to help also declined the wages offered by the Bai family. The village chief's wife spoke on behalf of everyone and the servants who came to give out the money, saying, "Every family is required to lend a hand for weddings and funerals in the village. I've never seen anyone give money without asking for it. Since your old lady has settled down in the village, she is a member of Qili Village. We are all from the same village, so it's only natural that we help each other."
Everyone quickly agreed. Xiao Qianshi also said, "It's because the house your old lady built is so special that it took so long for us men to feel comfortable taking the money. My aunt came home a while ago and insisted on building a house for your family. We thought it would be finished in a few days."
"Yes, fellow villagers, who wouldn't help build a house? As long as we provide food, that's fine. In the past, men were embarrassed to ask for wages. We just help with two meals, washing and cleaning, and we don't have to cook. Why should we ask for wages? Take it back quickly, take it back quickly."
The servants obviously had not anticipated this, as it was beyond their knowledge, so they could only take the reward money and go back to find the old lady and the wife.
Zheng obviously hadn't expected this either. She said, "The villagers of Qili Village are quite simple and honest. Mother, are you going to give me the money?"
Liu thought for a moment and said, "Since this is the custom in their village, then we won't give it to them. Forcing them to give it will not only be unwelcome, but will also make them seem distant."
Zheng was amazed. "There are actually people in this world who help for free. I remember that in the past, even distant relatives had to be paid when they came to help out."
"Customs vary from place to place, so we follow the local customs. I've instructed the kitchen to sort out any leftovers that look presentable and give them back to the women who work there."
The servant agreed.
At this time, Manbao was climbing onto a high chair and sitting next to Bai Shanbao with her feet dangling in the air. She looked around curiously. She saw many familiar people, but did not find her fifth brother and the others, so she sighed like a little adult.
The food hadn't arrived yet, so everyone could only drink water from their cups. Bai Shanbao approached her and asked, "Why are you sighing? Is it because your husband said we can't write articles yet?"
"no."
"Why is that?"
Manbao sighed and said, "My fifth and sixth brothers are not here. They must have gone out to do business. It seems they won't be able to eat delicious food today. I heard from my eldest sister-in-law that your family also cooked goose meat. The goose was so big."
Manbao made a big circle, and Bai Shanbao said, "Impossible, I've never seen a goose in my house."
"It's not wrong. My sister-in-law never lies." Manbao said, "If you don't believe me, wait until the food comes up and you see if the goose is this big."
Bai Erlang heard them veer off topic, and he couldn't help but uncomfortably correct them, saying, "Aren't we talking about your fifth and sixth brothers' business ventures? We've been in school for several days, why are they still going?"
"What does this have to do with us going to school? My third brother is serving there, so he has to go. Otherwise, he'll be eating cold steamed buns and drinking cold water. How pitiful."
Bai Erlang had also tried drinking cold water in the middle of winter. He shuddered and said, "It would be better to pay for a substitute service than to endure this suffering."
In the past, Bai Erlang would definitely not understand this kind of thing, but after following Manbao and the others, he came back worried that he would have to work as a laborer in the future.
Although it was quite fun there, he was still reluctant to dig the soil all day long, so he asked his father as soon as he came back. He learned that his father had to pay money to serve in lieu of military service. Otherwise, it would be his father who would serve now, and when his older brother came of age, it would probably be his older brother's turn.
Knowing that he could use money as a substitute, Bai Erlang became proud. Although he was young and didn't know much, he knew that their family was the richest in the village, even the richest in several nearby villages!
Manbao had mentioned this to her family before, so she knew the reason. She shook her head firmly and said, "My family doesn't have enough money. Five taels of silver can already buy my fifth brother a wife."
Bai Erlang's eyes widened. "Five taels can marry a wife?"
"Yes, your father used the money your eldest brother used to marry a wife to pay for his military service this year. Next year, it will be your turn to use the money you used to marry a wife to pay for his military service," Manbao said, worried about him. "What will you do if you can't get married in the future?"
Bai Shanbao covered his mouth and laughed.
Bai Erlang was shocked and terrified. Although he was young, he knew that his wife was a good person.
He jumped up from his chair and ran to his father. Just then, the kitchen started serving the dishes, and a group of children immediately picked up their chopsticks and got ready.
After the investigation and service, Bai Shanbao is no longer so picky about food and now wants to eat everything he sees.
The one who came to serve the dishes was the second sister-in-law Feng. When she saw the younger sister-in-law, she immediately smiled at her and put the meat in her hand near Manbao.
A group of children screamed and drooled as they looked at the meat in the bowl, but no one touched it because all the dishes had not been served yet.
Before coming, Mr. Zhuang gave everyone a etiquette lesson so that they knew the correct rules for dining as guests.
Mr. Zhuang sat at the head table in the main hall. He glanced outside and saw that the students were all well behaved. He nodded with satisfaction.
Just as he was feeling satisfied, Bai Erlang ran up and angrily asked Mr. Bai, who was sitting next to him, his father, "Dad, did you use the money you were going to use to marry me to serve in the army?"
Mr. Bai: “…”
Manbao's eyes were fixed on the meat. To divert her attention, she whispered to Bai Shanbao beside her, "My fifth brother and his friends are amazing! They made a ton of money the day before yesterday and yesterday."
Bai Shanbao never lacked food, so he was quite reserved at this moment. However, seeing Manbao like this, he also felt greedy. He looked away with difficulty, just in time to look at Manbao and asked, "How much is a lot?"
"My fifth and sixth brothers earned 368 coins, and half a bag of wheat. My second brother was a little behind, but he also earned 289 coins, and a lot of wheat and rice. Don't you think they are impressive?" Manbao said, "After we divide the money, I will go buy some geese to eat."
(End of this chapter)
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