Chapter 418 She clearly liked it very much.
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Just as Li Shiyue had said, about 25 minutes before the start of the first birthday banquet for the twins in the Li family, Li Wangming, with a stiff face, got off the carriage with his wife and walked into the lobby of the inn.
Jiang Huai and Qin Fen, brothers-in-law, sat around the round table. When they saw Uncle Li arrive, they looked at each other, the meaning in their eyes understood only by themselves.
However, the two of them quickly got up and went forward to greet Li Wangming, their nominal second uncle.
To host a banquet for the entire village, the few tables in the inn's lobby are naturally not enough.
Li Shiyue simply wanted to use the inn's lobby to say a few words;
The banquet wasn't set up here; it was set up in the village's drying ground.
Although it was only early April, the sun in the sky was as hot as it was in June.
Therefore, each round table in the threshing ground was covered with a straw stack, which could shield people from the scorching sun that made their faces burn red.
Li Shiyue carried Pingping, and Li Xiatian carried An'an. The two went up to the high platform in the lobby of the inn and exchanged only a few polite words.
The two of them, dressed up like the golden boy and jade girl in the opera, held Pingping and An'an, the siblings, and made them bow and greet everyone present.
When Han families hold a first birthday banquet for their children, the most important part is naturally the "grasping ceremony" or "should be chosen according to one's birth order."
In the very center of the inn’s lobby, several square tables had already been set up to form a long table, and red cloth had been laid on top of it.
The red cloth was covered with all sorts of objects symbolizing different professions.
Like the writing brush, ink, paper, and inkstone that symbolize a scholar's official career;
Small, polished wooden spears and swords, symbolizing military generals, and small bows and arrows for children to play with;
Of course, there were also abacuses, copper coins, silver ingots, and gold ingots that symbolized business wealth;
Naturally, it also contained the needlework, jewelry, and rouge that people at the time were accustomed to using to define the character of young women.
Because Lijiatun had paper mills and charcoal factories, the village also had rabbit farms, sheep farms, and horse farms;
Therefore, there are also wooden papermaking tools on the table, which are dozens of times smaller in size;
And there are wooden carvings of rabbits, sheep, and ponies.
A long table was filled with all sorts of objects, big and small, just waiting for Pingping and An'an to pick them up.
Perhaps it was because Pingping always saw Li Shiyue wiping his knife in his spare time when he was at the Li family's house that he was so impressed by it;
Or perhaps, Pingping simply used her chubby little hand to grab the wooden knife that was closest to her on the table by accident.
Pingping grabbed the little wooden knife and liked it very much, calling out "knife, knife" repeatedly.
An'an, the younger brother who was born a little later, sat quietly at the head of the long table without moving. It was only after Li Xiatian coaxed him by saying that he could eat fruit if he grabbed something that he lazily crawled forward.
An'an was probably used to seeing Jiang Huai holding a brush and grinding ink to write at home, but after crawling three or four steps away, she directly grabbed the new brush next to her.
Once he had the brush in his hand, he refused to move and just lay there motionless on the table.
Just as Li Shiyue was about to call Li Xiatian to carry An'an back, who didn't want to move, she suddenly heard a short woman from the Wang family who were watching shout loudly, "Okay!"
Before the woman could finish speaking, her sudden shout startled An'an, who was lying motionless.
Startled, An'an fell to the side, landing right on the open rouge box.
Thus, a red mark was directly imprinted on An'an's forehead.
Li Xiatian took a few steps forward to hug the person, but Pingping was faster than her, climbing on the table even faster than Li Xiatian.
Pingping immediately grabbed the small wooden knife and stood in front of An'an, staring intently at the Wang family woman who had just shouted.
"Great! Great!"
She grabbed the wooden knife; is she going to be like her aunt and become a female general who protects the country in the future?
If you grab a calligraphy brush, you're practically a god of literature descended to earth!
Judging from the young man's current bearing, he's probably destined to be the top scholar in the imperial examinations!
Li Shiyue laughed as soon as she heard the woman's words. She saw that Li Xiatian had already held An'an in his arms and Li Qiutian, who was standing to the side, had also held Pingping. Then she turned to look at the Wang family woman who was saying such flattering words.
Upon seeing her face, Li Shiyue immediately recognized her. Wasn't this woman the mother of Wang Shiqi, the woman who had taken over the sheep farm in the village?
That woman, though short in stature, had a very loud voice and loved to joke around with people.
This old woman, Wang, was a typical loud-voiced woman found in the countryside. She wasn't a bad person, but she was used to speaking loudly. Occasionally, if you passed by her yard, you could always hear her cursing Wang Shiqi and his two sons.
So, when Li Shiyue saw that Wang Pozi, who looked a little embarrassed but still said all the auspicious words she had prepared in advance, she smiled and replied, "Thank you for your kind words! Haha, thank you for your kind words!"
Come on, everyone, the auspicious time has arrived, let's all move over to the feast.
Today I've specially invited the Fushou Opera Troupe from the city to perform. Everyone can enjoy the food and the show, and have a good time together!
The inn wasn't far from the drying ground; anyone with a quick leg could walk there in no time.
Upon arriving at the drying ground, after setting off two strings of firecrackers, the feast began immediately.
After the four cold and four hot side dishes were served, the opera performance on the high platform that had been set up in the drying yard began.
Looking at An'an, whose brows still bore a trace of rouge, Li Shiyue took a handkerchief from Li Xiatian, dipped it in the tea on the table, and went to wipe An'an's brows.
"Was An'an frightened?"
No sooner had Li Shiyue finished speaking than Pingping, who was in Li Qiutian's arms, jumped up and stretched her head toward Li Shiyue, making "ah ah" noises.
Li Shiyue chuckled with a hint of helplessness, then pretended to wipe her flat forehead with the damp handkerchief in her hand.
Then she reached out and gently tapped her flat forehead with her finger, "You, you want everything."
Who couldn't see that Li Shiyue's tone was accusatory?
She clearly liked it very much.
"Come here, let Auntie hold you, and Auntie will give you some water."
Just as Pingping was drinking water from Li Shiyue's hand, the opera on the high platform was being performed loudly. Suddenly, Li Shiyue turned her head to look at the threshing ground.
After putting down her water glass, Li Shiyue shoved Pingping into Li Qiutian's arms and stood up abruptly: "I heard someone coming. I'll go check it out. You guys eat first."
As soon as she moved, she handed the baby, Pingping Li Qiutian, to Zheng Meiniang and followed Li Shiyue out.
Seeing Li Qiutian head towards the drying ground, Qin Fen stood up and said to Li's mother and the others, "You eat first, I'll go and take a look."
Li Wangming and Li Shiyue were sitting at a table. He was looking up at the threshing ground, but he could only see Li Shiyue leave the threshing ground and go onto the main road in the village.
Because the children were all there, even though Li Xiatian was worried, she still focused more of her attention on them.
Li Shiyue, who had just left the drying ground, was now standing by the roadside with Li Qiutian and Qin Fen, waiting.
Sure enough, a short while later, she saw the lamb riding a horse galloping over.
Upon approaching, the lamb dismounted and bowed to Li Shiyue, saying, "General! Brother Zhao has come looking for us, saying that the Zhao family was robbed by bandits!"
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