Chapter 93 Banquet
Wu Zhuang touched his head in bewilderment and said, "Anyway, there will be a village meeting later, Madam Xu, remember to send someone to your house."
"OK."
Xu Miaomiao nodded. She had been here for so long, but apart from discussing the cyclical growth of cotton and the time when she was falsely accused of being a disaster, she had never held a village meeting.
"There will be a village meeting today, you can eat at home first, you don't have to wait for me."
Xu Miaomiao gave instructions to everyone. Song Wushao still had to write a letter to someone, so it was obviously impossible for him to open it. This glorious task naturally fell on Xu Miaomiao.
When she arrived at the yard, many people had already gathered in the house, talking and laughing.
The village chief counted every household, and when he found someone coming, he stood on the steps and spoke.
"As everyone knows, our village's four-year banquet is about to begin. Let's draw lots today to see who will win today!"
As soon as Village Chief Wang finished speaking, Xu Miaomiao curiously asked the person next to him.
"Mr. Wu, what does this flowing water banquet mean?"
"By the way, Madam Xu, you didn't know you were late."
Wu Zhuang cleared his throat and said, "In our village, we hold a banquet every four years. Each family draws lots to make a meal for the whole village on New Year's Day, and then everyone brings stools and goes to her house to eat together."
Xu Miaomiao nodded when she heard this: "I see."
"By the way, Madam Xu's cooking skills are amazing." The woman next to her said, "It would be great if we could go to Madam Xu's house for a meal this year."
"Yeah yeah."
The person next to him echoed, "Mrs. Xu is a lucky star. The cotton coat I'm wearing now is also made from the cotton grown by Mrs. Xu. It's so warm!"
There were so many compliments that Xu Miaomiao felt a little embarrassed to respond.
When it was her turn to draw the lots, everyone peeped out to see curiously. If Xu Miaomiao won the lot, they would be in for a treat.
There are many families in the village, and only one family can be chosen, and there is only one red lot.
Xu Miaomiao had already prepared herself for failure, but she was still a little surprised when the red stick appeared in her hand.
I am so lucky, how come I can get everything?
Seeing that she was the one who won the lottery, everyone applauded enthusiastically and looked at Xu Miaomiao with joy.
"This time it was Madam Xu who won the prize. Let's invite Madam Xu to come up and say a few words." Village Chief Wang suddenly spoke to everyone.
Everyone looked at Xu Miaomiao expectantly.
Receiving so many expectant looks, Xu Miaomiao didn't want to disappoint everyone, so she walked up the stairs.
"First of all, I am honored to host this gourmet banquet. I also hope that everyone will come to my house on the first day of the Chinese New Year to enjoy a good meal. Finally, I wish everyone a happy new year."
Xu Miaomiao walked down the stage right after she finished her speech. She had previously been busy with academic research, so she was a little nervous as it was her first time speaking on stage.
She was surrounded by the crowd's warm applause.
Xu Miaomiao returned home surrounded by people and told everyone in her family the good news.
The whole family was happy about the events of the first day of the new year, but the old house had a different look.
"This is outrageous." Zhang Ru sat on the stool dissatisfied, her teeth chattering, and said viciously: "The village held a meeting, everyone went, but we were not notified. Aren't we from this village?"
"That's enough!" Song Zhiyuan pointed at Zhang Ru and started to curse, "Look at you, do you still look like a noble lady? If I enter the government in the future, you will embarrass me!"
"You still want to enter the government!" Zhang Ru sneered when she heard this: "Look at how many years you have been taking the exam. Let alone the government, you can't even leave this small county. I have long given up on you!"
"You!" Song Zhiyuan was touched on the spot and glanced at Zhang Ru in dissatisfaction: "What do you mean by that? If you hadn't dragged me down, how could Song Wushao not recognize me? It's because you were too harsh on him in the beginning."
"I'm being harsh?" Zhang Ru stood up dissatisfiedly and looked at the man and said, "It was you who coveted their family property and asked me to kick them out. Now you blame me!"
"Just shut up!"
Song Zhiyuan raised his hand and slapped the woman hard on the face.
Zhang Ru fell to the ground and was stunned. It took her a long time to come to her senses: "You dare to hit me!"
As he said that, he was about to start fighting with Song Zhiyuan.
"alright!"
Song Yingying called an end to this farce in dissatisfaction. Their rice for the day was almost finished. If she continued like this, she would have to go digging wild vegetables. Her dream of becoming a noble lady would soon be shattered, and she would have to rely on Song Wushao and the others for the time being.
"What's the point of you making a fuss now!" Song Yingying said, "The most urgent thing now is that we have to make Song Wushao accept us again."
"What else can Ying'er do?" Zhang Ru asked curiously.
"Aren't they going to hold a banquet? I want to see who can help her when the time comes."
Song Yingying narrowed her eyes and looked ahead, brewing her own plan in her mind.
"The tea eggs are ready, come and try them."
Xu Miaomiao heated up the tea eggs she had made yesterday and handed them to everyone.
The delicious smell attracted praise from everyone.
Li Yi was also eating the tea eggs. The novel taste made his eyes light up as soon as he took a bite: "It's delicious. If I add some sugar, it will definitely taste better."
It was just a casual remark, but Xu Miaomiao kept it in mind. She thought that adding some sugar could enhance the flavor, but unfortunately the sugar at home was used up, so she didn't add it. Li Yi had never eaten tea eggs, but he could say this. He really has some talent.
Xu Miaomiao thought secretly.
"We need to prepare dishes for the banquet. Let's discuss which dishes are more suitable."
Xu Miaomiao called Gu Yuanniang and Song Weiwei to discuss the matter.
"Just be careful." Gu Yuan's mother coaxed the child and said, "If you want to do things carefully, there will be no problem."
Xu Miaomiao nodded, wrote the menu and put it on the table for everyone to see.
There are all kinds of meat dishes and cold dishes.
Li Yi, who was standing by, also came over curiously to check it out. After a long while, he pointed at a dish and said, "This pig's trotter is very oily. If you serve plum cake directly as the next dish, it will help to relieve the greasiness, but it will also lose the taste of the dish. We should change its position."
When Xu Miaomiao heard this, she looked at Li Yi with satisfaction and nodded. These two dishes should be swapped. She had thought about it before and wanted to test him, but she didn't expect that the child could see it right away.
Li Yi, who had just finished speaking, thought he had said something wrong, and quickly explained: "I didn't mean anything else, please forgive me, Madam Xu."
"You're right." Xu Miaomiao said, "I don't mean to blame you."
This child has a talent for cooking. If he is guided, he will achieve great things in the future.
Xu Miaomiao thought secretly.
(End of this chapter)
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