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Chapter 78: A Generous Feast

(Girls' Literature)

Su Zhi had finally finished cleaning up the house and was ready to serve the room-warming wine. Many people had already seen Shen Zian and asked him when he would treat them to a drink.

Su Zhi thought that this was the first time her family interacted with the villagers on a large scale except for building the house. The last time they built the house, they spent money on work, but this time it was purely to entertain the villagers. The interpersonal relationships depended on this. The more people came, the better. She was not afraid of others eating too much. It was better to be lively. This showed that the villagers accepted her. In her heart, personal connections were far more useful than a few tables of delicious food and meat.

Su Zhi started preparing two days in advance and ordered the menu. There were no fresh vegetables in this season, just cabbage, radish, and potatoes. In addition, Sister Li also sent three large pumpkins from home.

Su Zhi also heard that some families picked beans and eggplants in the fall, cut them into slices, and dried them. She asked Sister Shugen to help buy them from every household. Both dried beans and dried eggplants were ten cents a pound, almost as much as the price of lean meat. Those who had these dried vegetables were happy to sell them. Those who were diligent and dried more could keep them for themselves and earn hundreds of cents. Those who did not dry the vegetables were jealous and regretted it very much.

In addition, Su Zhi also bought a large bundle of green onions, thinking of using them to stir-fry lamb and green onions. The lamb was newly bought by Shen Zian, and there was not much lamb available at the time.

The mutton was purchased, but the pork was from a pig from Shugen's wife's home. It was already quite big, fat and strong. Shen Zian offered a good price, so he hired a butcher to kill the pig. After cleaning up, Su Zhi thought that this pig was too big to be eaten even if she was entertaining guests. The rest could be made into bacon and preserved meat, which could be eaten until the New Year.

In addition to mutton and pork, Shen Zian also asked Li Shi to go into the mountains, and the two of them brought back five or six wild rabbits and seven or eight pheasants. They also hunted a roe deer, so there was enough meat.

Finally, Su Zhi saw the old hen at home and remembered that eggs were not enough, so she went to buy some eggs. Now everything was ready.

Sister Li's eyes widened when she saw the pile of things Su Zhi had prepared.

"Hey, sister, what you prepared is really rich. Look at all the meat. There will be more meat dishes than vegetables. It's really a bargain for us who are here to have the feast. Just by looking at these, I feel that the feast must be good! Sister, you are really generous."

Su Zhi likes to cook. She has a kitchen for herself. There are cabinets, counters, and various cooking utensils. There are two stoves. There are three chopping boards, one for cutting vegetables, one for cutting meat, and one for making noodles. In the cabinet are pots, bowls, pans, and other tableware. Outside there is a large jar and three small jars. The large jar is for water, and the three small jars are for noodles, rice, and corn noodles. However, these are put in the pocket with a hole tied, and then put into the jar, and then covered with a lid. In addition to these staple foods. Su Zhi also put red beans, mung beans, millet, and sorghum noodles in the cabinet. Now that she has money, Su Zhi doesn't want to let herself and her family suffer in terms of food.

After Li's wife and several other women came to see Su Zhi's kitchen, they were all envious. Su Zhi's kitchen was large and clean, and had all kinds of utensils. Any woman who could cook wanted to have such a kitchen, but unfortunately many people didn't have one. Some families even lived in small houses, so where could they find such a big space for a kitchen? A small shed would be good enough.

Sister Li had always envied this kitchen, and now it was filled with food, she was even more jealous. She thought that just a month ago, wife An was the most unlucky woman in the village, but now she is the happiest one.

Su Zhi listened to what Sister Li said, pursed her lips and smiled, and said: "At this time of year, there are no good dishes to treat everyone, so we can only focus on the meat. Except for the pig, the rest are hunted by Zi'an and Shitou in the mountains, for free. It looks like a lot of things, but it doesn't cost much. This is also the first time we have invited people to a banquet after we became independent, as long as it is not shabby. We will have to ask Sister Li to help, but don't worry, I will prepare a table for you Sister Li, and I will sit with you and toast you a few glasses."

"That's great! I will definitely come early to help. I already know that you cook delicious dishes, so I want to watch and learn from you. By the way, who have you invited to help tomorrow?"

Sister Li came with Li Qing to deliver tables to Shen Zian's house today. There would not be enough tables for the banquet tomorrow. Usually, they would borrow tables from other people's houses. After all, when the family came to eat, it would not be a problem if there were no tables. Shen Zian went to borrow tables on a bullock cart. In total, he borrowed more than ten tables. He could not carry all of them at once, so Li Qing used his own flatbed cart to bring back a few tables for him. Sister Li also came with him.

When Sister Li saw the number of tables, she knew that Shen Zian's family was going to invite a lot of people. He wanted to cook a lot of dishes, and would need a lot of help.

"There's your sister-in-law Li, there's sister-in-law Shugen, and we also invited the eldest and second sister-in-law. I didn't want to invite Aunt Jinhua, so she asked her daughter-in-law, Sister Feng, to help. That's five people in total, and that's enough."

Su Zhi said that even though they were separated, the son would still invite his parents to the banquet after building a house, and of course, brothers and sisters would also be notified. Naturally, the family members would also need help, so that they would appear to be a harmonious family. Even though they were separated, they were still brothers. Su Zhi was still satisfied with the two sisters-in-law, Wang and Li. They were not bad people, and they were quick and hardworking. If they were asked to help, they would really help and would not cause trouble. As for the other members of the Shen family, she would just set up a table for them and let them eat and drink there. She would feel at ease if they did not cause trouble for her. She really did not expect them to help her.

Mrs. Li nodded, thinking that these people are hard-working and won't be too busy to cause chaos.

"Fortunately, your third sister-in-law is pregnant. Otherwise, she could come to help. I don't want to work with her."

Su Zhi pursed her lips after hearing what Li's wife said, thinking that even if she wasn't pregnant, she wouldn't let her help, because that would be a disaster, and she didn't want her to ruin the happy housewarming party. People here care a lot about this housewarming party, if it's done well, then life will be prosperous, if it's not done well, then life will get worse and worse. Although Su Zhi didn't believe this, no one wants to feel upset, right?

As they were talking, it was already the second day. All the women that Su Zhi had invited to help came early. When they arrived, they found that there was not much work for them to do.

Su Zhi had already washed the vegetables and the meat, and all that was left was to cut them.

"Sister-in-law, look at you. Just leave these to us. What are we supposed to do if you do all this?"

The headman's daughter-in-law is called Zhao Feng. She is pretty and energetic. When Su Zhi saw her, she thought of Feng Lazi. However, this person is warm and likable. Her mother was sick a few days ago, so she went to see her mother with her husband Li Sheng. Two years ago, her brother from her mother's side went to the neighboring county to open a shop and took her parents away. It was not easy for her to visit them. She was away for more than a month before she came back. As soon as she came back, she got along very well with Su Zhi. Of course, she was very outgoing and Su Zhi was not a timid person. It seemed that the two of them got along very well.

Su Zhi smiled and said, "Since you are here, of course you have work to do. Cut vegetables for me, light the fire, watch the pot, and pour water for me. If you really can't do it, we can chat together. Isn't this great?"

“It’s good!”

Mrs. Li also smiled and clapped her hands, saying that she had already started looking for a job.

Wang and Li arrived a little late. They were accompanied by several older girls, Chunlan, Chunxiang, and Chunyue. When they arrived, they realized that they really did not need so many people.

Su Zhi knew that the Shen family only had two meals a day, so they must have come without having eaten. She took out a plate of steamed buns from last night from a pot.

"Auntie Four, there's nothing delicious here. These cakes are just warmed up. Try them."

Chunlan and the others all waved their hands, but Su Zhi handed the plate to Chunlan, so they accepted it. Each of them took a stuffed bun and ate it. It turned out to be filled with cabbage and pork. It was so fragrant and warmed their stomachs. They had never eaten at this time in the Shen family before, and they felt so comfortable in their stomachs after eating.

"Auntie, the food you cook is delicious."

Chunyue was very sweet-talking. She praised Su Zhi's cooking skills while eating. Of course, she was not talking nonsense, she really thought it was delicious.

As Chunyue was talking, she looked at the many foods in the big kitchen and wondered if she could eat whenever she wanted if her family was divided. Not only her, but everyone in the Shen family had this idea. Especially Wang and Li, they felt jealous when they saw their daughters eating stuffed buns. If they hadn't listened to their parents-in-law because the family was not divided, they could have had three meals of porridge for their children!

"If it tastes good, eat more. Auntie Four will make a lot of delicious food for you to eat your fill."

Su Zhi told Chunyue that because she had a better relationship with the Li family, she would naturally be closer to Chunyue.

Finally, several girls asked Su Zhi to peel the peanuts. She planned to make fried peanuts, which are the best to go with wine. Women and children love to eat them, but they are also forbidden to eat.

Everyone was there, and they all started to find their own tasks. One was peeling the pumpkin, another was cutting vegetables, another was kneading the dough, and another was pouring water. Then they started to get busy.

Su Zhi was picking up the cooked pork head when she heard Shen Zian calling her at the door. She handed the work in her hands to Sister Shugen beside her and walked out.

"Zi'an, who are these?"

When Su Zhi walked out of the door, she saw a couple standing next to Shen Zian. The woman was holding a child, and the man was carrying a bag.