Chapter 77, Banquet
The Yan family had just arrived in Xingzhou and was unfamiliar with the place. Whether it was for Yan Zhigao to carry out his work smoothly or for the Yan family to gain a foothold in Xingzhou, holding a banquet and entertaining all parties was inevitable.
The banquet was the first time that the Yan family showed up in Xingzhou City, and it was of great significance, so everyone in the Yan family was on high alert. Even Old Lady Yan participated in the preparation of dishes for the banquet.
Rice Flower Pavilion.
Daohua stood in front of the flower shed, supporting her chin with her hand, her brows slightly furrowed, as if she was thinking about something.
Ping Tong came over with a newly made dress and happened to see this scene. She immediately smiled and said, "What problem have you encountered, young lady?"
When Daohua saw Pingtong, she sighed like a grown-up: "Isn't there a banquet coming up? I was wondering how I'm going to entertain all those young ladies who are coming on the day of the banquet."
There is a division of labor among the Yan family. In the backyard, mother and second aunt are responsible for entertaining the ladies of each family, third aunt is responsible for taking care of the kitchen affairs, and she is responsible for the young ladies who come over.
As for the outer courtyard, the adults are taken care of by her stepfather, and her eldest brother is responsible for receiving the young masters who come.
Ping Tong asked with a smile, "Does the young lady have any ideas?"
Seeing Pingtong's smile, Daohua's eyes turned and she said, "Please give me some advice, Sister Pingtong!"
Pingtong smiled and said, "How can a servant like me teach you anything?" Seeing Daohua's face fall, she smiled again, "However, Madam did ask me to come over and talk to you about what the ladies in the boudoir do when each family holds a banquet."
Daohua's eyes lit up, and she immediately pulled Pingtong into the house: "Sister, tell me quickly, what will the young ladies do at the banquet?"
Ping Tong first handed the dress to Wang Man'er, then said with a smile: "Actually, at the banquet, the girls have limited things to do. They just enjoy the flowers, drink tea, chat, and recite poems and couplets."
"Ah? That's all!" Daohua was disappointed.
Ping Tong nodded. "Rich families place great importance on the reputation of women in the boudoir. When they go out to visit guests, everyone will be very reserved. So, young lady, there is no need to be nervous. Just treat them politely on the day of the banquet."
Mrs. Li was worried that her daughter would be nervous about doing something for the first time, so she asked Pingtong to come and comfort Daohua.
After a while, Pingtong left. Wang Maner saw Daohua still looking worried and asked, "Miss, didn't Madam say that we should just treat each other with courtesy? Why are you still worried?"
Daohua sighed: "It's not that simple."
Where there are many women, there are bound to be trouble. Even if they are just a group of girls in their teens, she dare not be careless at all.
Fortunately, their home was a government office, without any rockery or ponds, otherwise, her nerves would have been tense from morning to night on the day of the banquet.
"It's no time to enjoy the flowers." She had already planted the climbing roses, and she also had a lot of flowers in the flowerbed, but it was still a little early for them to bloom.
"Drinking tea is fine." But you can't drink tea all day long!
"Recite poems and compose couplets." Daohua shook her head. She had no talent for composing poems in her past life or present life. Even if she plagiarized others, she couldn't remember many lines in her mind. She couldn't say "The moon is bright in front of my bed" to a group of little girls.
Daohua frowned: "I have to find something to do." If I were idle and a group of little girls gathered together, there would inevitably be some who like to make trouble. If something happened, it would not look good for her as the owner.
After thinking about it, Daohua ran to find her third uncle Yan Zhiqiang.
In the blink of an eye, the day of the banquet arrived.
Early in the morning, everyone in the Yan family got up, packed up, and then went about their own business.
At around 9:00 PM, people started arriving one after another.
Daohua followed behind Mrs. Li, welcoming each lady and young lady into the house with a smile and conversation.
Madam Li first took the young ladies from each family to pay a visit to Old Madam Yan, and then, after not staying for long, took them to the main courtyard to talk.
When Old Lady Yan saw that everyone had left, she immediately breathed a sigh of relief. There was nothing she could do. As an old woman from a farming family, she really couldn't find any common topics to talk about with a group of wives of officials.
"The eldest brother's wife is so considerate!" He did not forget to take care of her feelings at this time.
Old Lady Yan thought of Daohua and said to Sun Ma, "This is Daohua's first time attending a banquet like this, especially as the host. Go and take a look. If she wants to help, stay there."
She is of higher generation and older, so she only needs to say a few words to everyone she meets. However, as the eldest daughter of the Yan family, Daohua has to take care of the young ladies who come to visit her, so she is bound to be busy.
Main courtyard.
In the living room, several ladies in gorgeous clothes were drinking tea and chatting. Judging from the way they talked and laughed freely, it was obvious that they had known each other for a long time.
As they started, several young girls gathered together, chattering and laughing. Not far away, Yan Yihan, Yan Yishuang, and Yan Yile sat alone, looking a little embarrassed, as if they couldn't join in the conversation.
When Daohua and Madam Li came in with the wife and daughter of the Tongpan family, they saw this scene.
Mrs. Li glanced at Daohua and looked a little worried. Among the girls who came today, there was the granddaughter of the former prime minister. She was said to have a bad temper, and she was worried that her daughter could not handle it.
Daohua noticed Madam Li's gaze, smiled, and walked over with the young lady of the Tongpan family.
When Mrs. Li saw Daohua passing by, she started calling out to the girls from all the families, calling them sisters. She felt relieved and then took the wife of the Tongpan to talk to the ladies who had come earlier.
Zhou Jingwan, the youngest daughter of the head of the Zhou family, a prominent family in Xingzhou, and the most beloved granddaughter of the former Prime Minister Zhou Zhengyao, is inevitably spoiled because of her favor. At this moment, she looks arrogant towards her master Daohua.
The Zhou family had already found out about the Yan family's situation early on and knew that the eldest daughter of the Yan family grew up in the countryside.
Originally, Zhou Jingwan thought that the eldest daughter of the Yan family must be very vulgar in appearance, but after seeing her, she found that her appearance and demeanor were in no way inferior to the daughters of wealthy families. If it weren't for her simple and ordinary clothes, she would almost be as beautiful as the noble ladies in the capital.
Zhou Jingwan glanced at Daohua's rosy, fair face, and suddenly felt uncomfortable when she thought of her own dark complexion. After thinking for a while, she said, "Miss Yan, it's boring to be idle. Why don't we all compose a poem together?"
Appearance is innate, but knowledge is acquired. She doesn't believe that a person who grew up in the countryside can recite poetry and compose couplets.
Before Daohua could speak, Yan Yishuang, who had been sitting on the side and unable to get a word in, immediately agreed, "That's great. Let's recite poems together. It will not only kill time, but also help us get to know each other better."
As soon as these words were spoken, Zhou Jingwan and other girls looked at Yan Yishuang, with a hint of contempt between their brows.
"snort!"
Zhou Jingwan snorted coldly and ignored Yan Yishuang. Instead, she sneered at Daohua and said, "Your Yan family's rules are really good."
In wealthy families, there has always been a circle of legitimate daughters and a circle of illegitimate daughters. If a illegitimate daughter wants to break into the circle of legitimate daughters, she must either be very outstanding herself or there is no legitimate daughter in the family.
Yan Yishuang did not fit into either of these two situations. They had ignored her before, but this person had no sense at all and insisted on getting close to them. Such behavior was really despicable.
Daohua's smile remained unchanged, as if she hadn't understood Zhou Jingwan's words. She wasn't about to let this little girl steal the show, so she said with a smile, "Sisters, the main courtyard is too noisy, and there are adults watching. Why don't you all go to my courtyard? It'll be more fun that way."
Hearing this, the little girls were all a little moved.
They are still children. It is natural for children to not like to play and make noise, but they will inevitably be restrained in front of adults.
Zhou Jingwan didn't want to stay under her mother's nose, but her attitude just now was not very good, and she was a little embarrassed for a moment.
Daohua looked at the expressions of the little girls and knew that they were all led by Zhou Jingwan, so she smiled and walked up to her, took her arm, waved to the others, and left the room together.
(End of this chapter)
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