Chapter 113 Celebration (Part 4) Parade of Workshops
The first item on the New Year's celebration list is the military parade.
The second item was a public parade.
Aunt Feng, who drew number one in the lottery, raised her chin proudly, welcoming the envious and jealous gazes of the other workshop owners.
There's nothing we can do about it; it's just luck.
Aunt Feng turned to look at the entrance, where their teahouse's one hundred employees walked in happily, holding huge signs and being introduced by the female host from the publicity department and the male host from the [redacted] department.
The sign for the teahouse was painted by Yuan Yingchuan, a master of traditional Chinese painting, depicting the entire tea-making process.
The already elegant tea-making process became even more beautiful and mysterious thanks to Master Yuan's superb skills.
As they walked, the teahouse staff greeted the government officials and guests from Ningzhou nearby, as well as the local people in the distance, their faces beaming with smiles, showcasing the teahouse's charm to everyone.
He Qinglan waved her hand.
The teahouse owners have made a significant contribution to the economic development of Jinzhou.
Their tea was not only sold throughout the country, but also crossed borders and reached the grasslands.
"The goddess is greeting us," a young woman said happily.
Those around her looked towards the VIP section and saw the goddess waving, so they quickly waved back vigorously.
"goddess!"
The person who drew number two was Fu Xiaohan, the general manager of the breeding farm, who smiled reservedly.
But clearly, the people at the farm weren't being reserved; some were carrying chickens, ducks, or geese, others were holding dried fish skewered on sticks, and still others were carrying pork, beef, or mutton...
They showcased the fruits of their labor at their farm to all the viewers.
Upon seeing this, an orchard employee stamped his foot, exclaiming, "Damn it, they really tricked us!"
The paper mill workers gritted their teeth, "Yeah, isn't this a parade? Are they treating it a harvest celebration?"
"Exactly, they actually brought a live chicken with them. Aren't they afraid it will run away?"
"That's a big goose!"
“They are really…” The orchard worker suddenly stopped talking, turned his head and glared angrily at the paper mill worker, “You have the nerve to say that your paper mill is no different?”
Paper mill employee: "..."
The third to appear was the paper mill.
They displayed their products: hemp paper, straw paper, bamboo paper, bark paper, Xuan paper, pearlescent paper, toilet paper...
In addition to the usual white, yellow, and off-white, there were also papers in various colors such as red, orange, yellow, green, cyan, blue, and purple, which were particularly eye-catching and attracted the attention of many people.
The paper mill workers' eyes darted around. Oh well, there's nothing we can do about it. Paper is inherently difficult to show off any new ideas.
Therefore, when everyone was discussing this in the meeting...
Someone slammed their hands on the table and stood up. "Why don't we display all kinds of paper, especially these colorful ones! Aren't there many people from other places coming? There must be some scholars among them. I don't believe they won't be tempted when they see them."
The proposal was unanimously agreed upon.
"Oh dear, oh dear," a worker from the stone workshop comforted the orchard worker, "Don't be so sour. Everyone knows your orchard produces fruit, dried fruit, and canned goods."
He sighed, "Our stone archway is the only one with nothing to show."
The orchard worker chuckled, "Really?"
The stone shop employee nodded, "It's even more real than pearls."
That's how it was originally planned. What could a stone archway possibly display? You can't exactly carry stones up here, can you?
Amidst the exclamations of the crowd, the stone archway workers strode in, carrying a stone-carved bridge with great spirit.
It was a very beautiful arched bridge, spanning the river like a rainbow. The stone balusters of the bridge were carved with various animals, such as tigers, lions, wolves, wild boars, horses, leopards, and bears.
At the same time, the narration began, "...This stone bridge is a scaled-down version of the newly built covered bridge at the border of Yuanxi County and Sifang County. It's a scaled-down version."
Qin Dongkui couldn't help but clap her hands and said to Li Ping of the stone archway, "It's really impressive that you guys even thought of carving a bridge to carry up here!"
Li Ping laughed heartily, "This is also to show everyone our most proud work."
The construction of this covered bridge took a lot of effort from everyone in Shifang.
He asked Qin Dongkui, "What will the embroidery workshop and weaving workshop showcase?"
Qin Dongkui smiled, "How would I know? I'm not part of the embroidery workshop anymore."
Li Ping: "..." He didn't believe it.
The embroidery workshop displayed an embroidery piece from the Goddess Palace in Jinzhou, whose exquisite craftsmanship drew praise from countless people.
The weaving workshop used yarn to make some cute little animals, showing everyone the uses of yarn beyond knitting sweaters and pants.
The ceramics workshop simply displayed their pottery, porcelain, and glassware.
The distillery brought out bottles of wine, each with a red paper label bearing the wine's name.
Each person in the sugar workshop held a string of beautiful sugar paintings, including animals, plants, and cartoon figures.
The lumberyard brought out wood carvings depicting people celebrating New Year's Eve.
...
“Everyone has great ideas,” Yun Youning said to Zhu Youchuan, tilting her head. “This is what collective wisdom and effort are all about; it’s sure to bring surprises.”
Zhu Youchuan nodded with a smile, "I wonder what the ironware workshop, weapons workshop, and firearms workshop plan to display?"
Yun Youning thought for a moment, but couldn't come up with an answer, so she smiled and said, "After all, this is still a people's parade, so they will be more lenient."
Zhu Youchuan disagreed, "Are you sure?"
Yun Youning wasn't sure, but she didn't care much. "Essentially, everyone is using this parade to promote themselves."
Zhu Yunwei withdrew her gaze from Zhu Youchuan and Yun Youning, a thoughtful expression appearing on her face.
Cao Ruheng asked, "Is there anything you'd like to buy?"
Zhu Yunwei immediately became alert, "Your health isn't good, you can't secretly buy alcohol to drink."
Cao Ruheng said helplessly, "Do you really think I'm such a tactless person?"
Zhu Yunwei thought to herself, "Are you usually very careful? If you mess up your health, how are we going to explain it to Madam Ye when we get back?"
Ji Zhun glanced at Yuan Yingchuan with a look of disdain, "Oh, you've only been in Jinzhou for a short time, and you've already painted for a teahouse?"
Yuan Yingchuan stroked his beard and said proudly, "It's clear that I'm quite famous. The people in the teahouse know that I'm skilled in painting and have come specifically to ask me for help."
Pei Wenzhao was surprised, "They begged you, and you just painted them?" Are you kidding me? Countless people ask Yuan Yingchuan for paintings, why don't they ever see him paint them?
Yuan Yingchuan raised an eyebrow. "My daughter's new friend's father works at a teahouse." Of course, the father of his daughter's friend is different from ordinary people.
He Qinglan watched with a cheerful mood as everyone took the opportunity of the parade to showcase their workshops. She casually picked up an orange, peeled it, and ate it.
Fang Wangshu, who was sitting to her right, immediately said, "Shall I peel it for you?"
He Qinglan said, "No need, go watch the parade."
Fang Wangshu: "...Okay." She glanced at the orange in He Qinglan's hand. The goddess still didn't like being served too much. Peeling oranges was something she should do!
He Qinglan was multitasking, still discussing tonight's menu with the system.
He Qinglan: [Today is New Year's Eve, we must have a very sumptuous meal.]
System: [So?]
He Qinglan: [Let's just serve the Manchu Han Imperial Feast.]
system:【? 】
He Qinglan said calmly, "This is my first New Year's Eve as the governor of Jinzhou. Not only has the governor of Ningzhou been invited, but there are also many people from other places. Didn't you want me to increase my visibility? The opportunity is right in front of you."
System: [Alright, let's treat everyone to a New Year's Eve feast, prepared to the standards of a Manchu Han Imperial Feast!]
System: [When does it start?]
He Qinglan looked up at the ironware workshop employees walking towards her. "We'll have a feast after the parade ends."
After everyone finished their New Year's Eve dinner, they continued watching the gala.
System: [OK.]
After visiting the various workshops, there were also parades from different counties.
Compared to the workshops that went to great lengths to showcase their crafts, the county parade was much more modest.
They simply walked by with their things, cheerfully greeting everyone.
The onlookers were slightly disappointed: Why is it so simple? Don't you have anything to show us? Doesn't your county have anything to demonstrate?
The prefects were both amused and exasperated: "Alright, alright, we'll come up with something different next year and let everyone see our local specialties."
After the second major event, the public parade, concluded, the host announced a break, and everyone began to eat their New Year's Eve dinner.
Everyone was surprised: Wasn't it still not dark yet?
The host explained with a smile, "After our New Year's Eve dinner, we'll be having a New Year's Eve party. We can't exactly stop the performance and then have to eat, can we?"
The people in the administrative office called on their own people and the army to carry the octagonal table and benches to the square and put the table together.
Some people cast curious and expectant glances at He Qinglan: Can this goddess really provide food for everyone at the same time?
There are tens of thousands of people here.
What should she do?
He Qinglan got up and walked to the center of the platform.
She calmly looked at everyone present, raised her hand, palm up, and made a "please" gesture.
Countless bowls of dishes appeared out of thin air and landed steadily on the Eight Immortals Table without spilling a single drop of soup.
In an instant, the aroma of the dishes filled the air, wafting into everyone's noses and whetting their appetites.
"This taste... crispy roasted pigeon?"
"It tastes like fish, it tastes like sea fish, there's no mistake!"
"Why are there water bamboo shoots this season?"
"And there's bitter melon too."
"The broth smells so good, is it mutton soup?"
Some outsiders exclaimed in disbelief.
"She can actually... Is she really a goddess? But, a goddess..."
"It must be! If she weren't a goddess, how could she conjure up cooked food out of thin air?"
"The goddess has actually come to the mortal realm!"
"Why does the goddess only protect Jinzhou? We're starving too!"
Some people from out of town muttered excitedly as they looked at He Qinglan with anticipation.
After the goddess bestowed a sumptuous New Year's Eve dinner, she returned to her seat.
The host from the publicity department will announce that everyone is to take their seats and that the New Year's Eve banquet is about to begin.
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