Chapter 449 Buffet
"It won't have much of an impact." Gu Jiayue smiled and shook her head, her tone calm. "The kids have been working so hard preparing for the exam. Taking this opportunity to relax for a few days will actually help them focus more on the subsequent review. It's easier to break a string if you keep it tense all the time."
Seeing that Gu Jiayue had no objection, the elders in the ancestral hall nodded in agreement.
The village chief slapped his thigh and spoke in a resounding voice. "Alright! It's settled! Starting tomorrow, our Gu family will host a three-day banquet. Not only are we inviting the villagers, but all our friends and relatives from all over the place are welcome to come and share in the joy of Taohua Village!"
"Since this is such a big event for the village, as the headmaster of the school, I have to contribute." Gu Jiayue pulled out a silver note worth one thousand taels from her pocket and handed it to the village chief. "Take this money and use it to buy food and drinks. Don't let everyone down."
The village chief smiled and pushed the banknote back. "You're being so reserved with me, kid! Since I'm suggesting a buffet, I must have the confidence. The paper mill in the village has made a lot of money over the past year, more than enough for a three-day banquet."
"But the share belongs to everyone in the village, not just our Gu family. Will families with other surnames have any objections?"
"What objections could they have?" the village chief smiled confidently. "Just wait and see. Their elders will definitely come to me tonight and maybe even rush to offer to pay! Forty-one students! This is the common glory of our Taohua Village. Who wouldn't want to celebrate with great fanfare?"
Gu Jiayue thought about it and stopped insisting. "Okay then, I'll trouble you, Village Chief, to take care of this matter. I'm not very good at handling these trivial matters."
"Don't worry!" the village chief promised. "Just focus on taking care of the children's studies. You don't have to worry about these little things. When it's time to eat, I'll have my son call you!"
As the village chief expected, before it got dark, the elders of the Li and Chen families came to the door with smiles on their faces.
They also wanted to hold a banquet for their own children who had passed the imperial examination, but they could not raise much money at the moment, so they hoped to contribute some of the public share of the village papermaking workshop.
Several people hit it off immediately.
Anyway, they are all children from Taohua Village and it is a big event in the village. It is reasonable to use the share of the workshop to hold a banquet, and no one will have any objection.
The news that Taohua Village had produced forty-one young students and was going to hold a three-day banquet spread like wildfire throughout the surrounding area in just one afternoon, and even people in Juzhou City had heard of it.
The next morning, just as the sky was getting light, the entrance of Taohua Village became bustling with activity.
Most of the villagers from the neighboring Xinghua Village and Liushu Village came with their families. Some carried a basket of eggs, and some carried a small bag of rice, chatting and laughing as they walked towards the village.
"Dad, Mom, isn't it embarrassing for us to bring so many people to the banquet? Will people chase us away?" A little girl of seven or eight years old asked in a low voice, pulling her mother's clothes, her eyes full of anxiety.
Her mother smiled and rubbed her head, handing the egg to the man next to her. "Silly girl, this is how a buffet works. No matter who you are or how many people come, as long as the table is full, the feast begins, and you'll be fed until you're full! That's the rule of a buffet."
The little girl still felt something was wrong and frowned as she asked, "But...but won't this cause trouble for others?"
"If you're embarrassed, then stay home." Her father teased her deliberately, his tone somewhat seductive. "But I heard that Taohua Village slaughtered five big fat pigs this morning, as well as several sheep. The aroma of the stewed meat could be smelled two miles away."
"Five heads?" The little girl's eyes suddenly widened, her face full of surprise.
With so much meat, does Taohua Village not plan to make a living?
"Hey, what do you know, little kid?" Her father patted her shoulder with a smile. "Taohua Village is different from ours now. We have paper mills and cement workshops. There are so many ways to make money. This little bit of meat is nothing!"
A group of people walked into the village talking and laughing.
Just as they thought, the people in Taohua Village didn't care how many guests came.
There are dozens of wooden tables on the open space at the entrance of the village. As long as a table is full of people, the women in the village will bring the dishes to the table.
Bowls of braised pork, pots of stewed pork ribs, and dishes of stir-fried vegetables soon filled the table.
Looking at the large bowl of pork bones and ten stir-fried dishes on the table, everyone couldn't help swallowing.
Taohua Village is really rich!
In the past, we might not be able to eat so much meat during the Chinese New Year, but now there is enough at the buffet.
In a large household, the whole family would just fill one table. Without showing any sign of courtesy, they would pick up their chopsticks and scoop up the meat from their bowls, devouring it with big mouthfuls.
In a short while, the whole table of food was eaten up, and even the soup was used to mix with the rice.
After eating, everyone rubbed their chubby bellies and staggered home, muttering, "Let's go back and rest for a while, and come back to eat in the afternoon. We have to come tomorrow too. Such a good feast cannot be missed!"
"Dad, where are the eggs we brought? Aren't they used to give as gifts?" It was the same little girl from before, pointing at a few villagers walking towards the village chief's house not far away, and asked in a low voice.
Her father glared at her and gripped the basket tighter. When no one was looking, he stuffed the eggs from the basket into the clothes of the woman next to him.
Only then did the little girl realize that there was something under the basket, and there were only about ten eggs on the top.
"What favors are you giving? I've never heard of giving favors at a buffet. The host just wants to have a lively atmosphere."
He was just pretending to carry the eggs in this basket. Did you think he was really giving them away?
He is right.
The purpose of a banquet is to celebrate, and the host doesn't expect to receive gifts. Of course, if someone gives something, the host won't refuse it.
Those who took copper coins wrapped in red paper were not doing so as a favor, but simply wanted to share in the joy of the "children's success". The red envelopes were handed to the village chief as "wedding money" for the children, for good luck.
Just as the atmosphere was bustling, a middle-aged man in a green robe came over, bowed to the village chief, and said with a hint of teasing, "Village Chief Gu, you are really promising! There are so many young people in the village all of a sudden. I'm afraid there won't be enough room for them. If not, give me a few. We have many empty houses in the village. Let the children take their pick!"
The village chief glanced at him sideways and retorted bluntly, "Look at what you're saying. How can the children of Taohua Village be without a place to live? Why should they live in your village's thatched houses? Besides, the children still need to review for the exams. Does your village have a school? Are there any teachers who can teach students?"
The man's face turned red. He was not convinced but could not refute it.
Who made Qiushi Academy in Taohua Village?
If the school was built in their village, he would be the one showing off like this today!
He was a little unconvinced and looked up to find Gu Jiayue.
Just wait, once he brings Gu Jiayue to their village, won’t there be a school there too?
He hadn't found it yet when a burst of "crackling" firecrackers suddenly rang out, interrupting him.
"Look! Is that Landlord Chen?" someone shouted, pointing at the village entrance.
Everyone looked in the direction they were going and saw a man in silk clothes with a round belly walking towards them. He was followed by two servants carrying gifts. It was none other than the famous local landlord Chen.
Landlord Chen walked up to the village chief with a smile and bowed, saying, "Village Chief Gu, congratulations! Your village is truly blessed with talented people and land, producing so many pillars of society all at once!"
The village chief had known that Landlord Chen would come.
Landlord Chen’s eldest son, Chen Siyan, was studying at the Qiushi Academy. Gu Jiayue had also mentioned to him that Chen Siyan had good grades.
He smiled and replied, "Mr. Chen, you are so kind! I heard from Jiayue that Si Yan is very hardworking in school and his grades are also top-notch. Maybe next year your family will have another student, or even a scholar!"
Landlord Chen smiled until his eyes narrowed into slits, and nodded repeatedly: "Thank you for your kind words, Village Chief Gu! This is what I've been looking forward to!"
He sent his son to Qiushi Academy because he wanted his son to pass the imperial examination and change his family status so that people would no longer call him a "nouveau riche."
In the past, Chen Siyan was a notorious student with learning difficulties. No matter how the teachers taught him in other schools, he could not learn anything. However, after only one year at Qiushi Academy, his grades soared like a rocket.
Seeing that all 41 students in the school had passed the entrance exam, he felt more confident about his son's future. So today he specially brought a lot of gifts, as a way to "return the favor" and share in the good news.
As the two were chatting, another burst of firecrackers rang out, a few degrees louder than before.
"Hey! Isn't that Shopkeeper Wang from Jixiang Cloth Shop? Why is he here too?"
"Look, look, isn't that Shopkeeper Li from Mingrenju in Juzhou? Am I seeing things?"
"And the owner of Peach Blossom Hot Pot! He's here too!"
There was a commotion in the crowd. No one expected that even the big bosses in the city would come.
And Kangzi's arrival was even more grand.
Behind him were more than a dozen servants, carrying gift boxes lined up in a row, almost stretching from the village entrance to the banquet hall. They were filled with silk, tea, and snacks, all of the finest goods.
Village chief Gu Ping immediately greeted him with a flushed face, and his attitude was even more enthusiastic than when he treated Landlord Chen.
Kangzi is the "God of Wealth" of Taohua Village. A lot of the school funding and workshop turnover depend on him for management and support. Whether the children can study with peace of mind in the future depends on him.
"Oh, Mr. Gu, you are finally here!" The village chief held Kangzi's hand and smiled from ear to ear.
Kangzi quickly returned the greeting with a bow, saying respectfully, "Village Chief, you are too polite. I must come to congratulate you on such a big happy event in your village."
"Congratulations!" The village chief patted him on the shoulder. "You deserve half of this military medal! If you hadn't been managing the shop, the children wouldn't have such good learning conditions!"
Kangzi felt warm in his heart after hearing what he said. He felt that his hard work was not in vain, and he quickly said a few humble words.
As they were talking, they suddenly heard a louder burst of firecrackers, mixed with the sound of gongs and drums.
Everyone turned around in surprise and saw a group of people coming from a distance. The leader was wearing official uniform and had a jade belt around his waist.
It was none other than Zheng Qinghe, the magistrate of Annan County!
"Oh my God! It's the county magistrate! He's here too!"
Someone in the crowd exclaimed, and everyone was stunned.
It was unprecedented that a village's buffet banquet could alarm the county magistrate!
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