Soon it was the ninth day of the sixth lunar month, the day when Yan Qingqing's new house was officially raised.
Because of the feast to celebrate the raising of the roof beam, many women from the village came to help early in the morning.
The head chef was specially borrowed from Yuelaiju by Li Xiang'an. When Manager Xue of Yuelaiju heard that they were going to hold a housewarming banquet, he sent over the best chef in the kitchen without hesitation.
The entire process was carried out according to what Grandpa Li had said. Grandpa Li also felt Yan Qingqing's respect for him, and his face was full of smiles throughout the whole process.
When it came time for the incense burning and sacrificial ceremony, Yan Qingqing asked Li Xiangping to do it.
Not to mention that Yan Qingqing was pregnant and a widow, unless there were no men in the family, there has never been a tradition of a woman presiding over a sacrificial ceremony.
Yan Qingqing didn't want to give people something to talk about over such a small matter.
But Li Xiangping didn't care. He felt that all the family's current assets were earned by Yan Qingqing, and no one could say anything if his mother came to pay her respects.
Yan Qingqing knew Li Xiangping's intentions and said with a smile, "You are the eldest son in the family, and you will have a lot of responsibilities on your shoulders in the future. It is only natural for you to do this. I don't care about these formalities. Everything I am doing now is for you and your siblings."
"Without you, Mother, even the hardest efforts would be meaningless."
At this moment, Yan Qingqing perfectly portrayed the image of a loving mother, leaving many people present deeply moved.
Of course, Yan Qingqing's words were sincere.
Upon hearing this, Li Xiangping felt even more strongly that if he were not filial to Yan Qingqing in the future, he would be struck by lightning.
Seeing Yan Qingqing's understanding and righteousness, the village chief also said, "Xiangping, your mother is right. You are the eldest son in the family, and this is something you should do."
It's almost noon, so be careful not to miss the auspicious time.
Li Xiangping nodded upon hearing this; he didn't want to disappoint his mother's good intentions.
After the sacrificial ceremony, the person in charge set off firecrackers, and the main beams of the three courtyards were raised simultaneously. The main beams weighed over a hundred kilograms and were made of carefully selected high-quality wood from the mountains.
In those days, there were no cranes, and everything was done by hand to raise the beams. From a distance, you could see people on every roof, all shouting slogans and working together in one direction. It was a very spectacular scene.
Later, whenever villagers built new houses, they would remember Yan Qingqing's remarkable feat of building a house, which was always talked about with great interest.
After the beam is erected, it will be lunchtime immediately.
Yan Qingqing's kitchen was too small to fit so many stoves, so she set up several large pots in the yard beforehand.
Fortunately, Yan Qingqing's family had two extra pots for making braised offal, and together with the pots they usually used for cooking, the three large pots were just enough.
With the head chef of Yuelaiju in charge of cooking, along with several helpers from the village, the courtyard soon filled with enticing aromas.
The surrounding villagers all sniffed hard, and one of the older men said, "This smells so good! This feast must be very grand."
Another person replied, "Of course, I heard they specially hired the head chef from Yuelaiju. Do you know what Yuelaiju is? It's a big restaurant in the county town. I heard even the county magistrate often goes there to eat."
The onlookers erupted in a frenzy, discussing the matter animatedly.
Some people say that a meal at Yuelaiju costs at least several taels of silver.
Some people say that Yan Qingqing's family must be very wealthy to be able to do business with Yuelaiju, which explains why they can build such a nice house.
Some people even said that if they could have a meal at Yan Qingqing's house with such a lavish feast, it would be the same as eating at Yuelaiju.
Thinking about it this way, some of the more imaginative people started to have ideas. They wondered if it was too late to prepare a gift.
However, in the end, none of them were that shameless.
Yan Qingqing's family had a very lavish feast for raising the roof beam, including dishes such as stir-fried red bean curd, cold pork heart salad, pork ears, eight-treasure rice, mandarin duck chicken, four-happiness meatballs, wood ear mushrooms and eggs, cold seasonal vegetables, two soups, and unlimited white steamed buns.
Before the workers finished their shifts, Li Daniu and Zhao Yumei followed the aroma and came over.
Logically, Li Daniu and Zhao Yumei should have come to eat at Yan Qingqing's house for the housewarming feast.
However, Yan Qingqing disapproved of Li Daniu's character and was even more annoyed by Zhao Yumei's selfishness, so she didn't tell them at all.
Zhao Yumei knew things were different now, so she stopped being pretentious when she saw Yan Qingqing and instead said with a fawning smile, "Oh, how come you didn't even let your older brother and me know about such a big thing happening in your family?"
You don't want people to say you're being immature.
On this wonderful day, Yan Qingqing didn't want to argue with her and make herself a laughingstock.
So he said, "Since you're here, elder brother and sister-in-law, please wait here. The feast will begin soon."
Li Daniu said indignantly, "Mrs. Yan, how can you be so ill-mannered? We've come and you don't offer us a warm welcome. How can you expect our guests to wait on the side?"
Yan Qingqing was so angry she laughed. Shamelessness is truly unparalleled. With a brain like that, how could he possibly pass the exam?
Yan Qingqing retorted without holding back, "Guests, I really don't know what kind of guests you two are. Can you call someone who comes uninvited a guest? Can you call someone who comes without bringing a single feather a guest? Can you call someone who brings bad luck to the host instead of helping them during their joyous occasion a guest?"
How dare you call yourselves guests when you come here during mealtimes to freeload?
Or perhaps some people are simply used to getting something for nothing and take this behavior for granted. It's better to have some self-respect.
Li Daniu blushed after Yan Qingqing's words; he had no idea when Yan Qingqing had become so eloquent.
After stammering for a long time, Li Daniu pointed at Yan Qingqing and only managed to utter the four words "disgraceful to culture".
Yan Qingqing snorted coldly and said, "It's better to be a disgrace to civilization than a scoundrel of civilization."
Li Daniu really couldn't stand it anymore this time, and stormed off in anger.
If you didn't know the truth, seeing Li Daniu's appearance would really make you think of a scholar who has been humiliated.
With Li Daniu gone, Zhao Yumei couldn't linger any longer. However, she inwardly complained that Li Daniu was more trouble than he was worth, and that they wouldn't be able to enjoy such a fine feast today.
Xu, who was standing to the side, witnessed Yan Qingqing's verbal battle with Li Daniu and his wife. She silently gave Yan Qingqing a thumbs up, as Yan Qingqing had said what she had wanted to say but dared not say for so many years.
After chasing Li Daniu and his wife away, the banquet began soon afterward.
Those who built the house for Yan Qingqing were overjoyed; they had never eaten such a sumptuous feast before.
Everyone was eating with their mouths full of oil. Some said that the "Flipped Red" dish was really good, no wonder it was a dish recommended by the county magistrate. Others said that the "Four Happiness Meatballs" were very flavorful, no wonder they were made by the chef of Yuelaiju Restaurant.
Anyway, everyone was very satisfied with the meal.
The village chief, one of the people invited by Yan Qingqing, saw that everyone had almost finished eating before speaking: "Everyone, the host knows that we have worked hard building the house during this period, so he specially spent a lot of money to prepare a feast."
Hopefully, after everyone has eaten and drunk well, they can work even harder so that the host family can move into the new house as soon as possible.
What do you all think?
"Good! Good!" came a chorus of agreement from below.
After enjoying such a fine meal, everyone felt grateful and naturally worked even harder.
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