Grandpa Zhao slapped Zhao Yunyun on the head. "You silly girl, would I lie to you? Even if Yunhua is gone, you won't be."
Yunhua, who was engrossed in her meal, immediately looked up upon hearing this, her eyes wide with disbelief. "How can you leave me out? No way, I don't agree!"
Xu Han hurriedly replied, "Yes, yes, everything is ready. Don't worry, I've already prepared everything for you."
Upon hearing this, Yunhua swallowed the food in her mouth and whispered, "That scared me to death."
The Taoist priest looked disgusted at the sight, but he didn't hit him. However, his expression clearly showed his disdain. He thought to himself, "How did I end up with such a gluttonous disciple? What a misfortune for my family!"
The meal lasted for two hours before it finally ended.
After the meal, Grandpa Zhao and the Taoist priest played chess, while Yunhua and the others kept them company.
Seeing that there was nothing for her to do, Xu Han called over Dan Niang and Old Man Zhu.
After inquiring about the family's situation and seeing that everything was going as smoothly as he had imagined, he was completely relieved.
Then they gave some more instructions and went about their business.
With the Lunar New Year approaching, Dan Niang had already prepared all the New Year's goods and food in advance, saving Xu Han a lot of trouble.
In previous years, Xu Han had personally taken care of all these things. Suddenly, she wasn't allowed to manage them anymore, and she felt a bit lost, as if there was something she hadn't done.
Finally, they called over Granny Ma and Dan Niang to inquire further, and seeing that there were no problems, they were finally able to relax completely.
With the help of servants this year, Xu Han didn't have to do many things herself, and it was the first time in many years that she had such a leisurely time.
During the Spring Festival, Yunhua, the Taoist priest, Lu Chuan, and Han Qi would go up the mountain whenever they had free time, sometimes with their two children.
The strength of four people is great, and the number of prey they hunt is also extraordinary.
There are all kinds, big and small, countless. If you can't finish them at home, you can take them to the wild produce shop to sell. For a while, the wild produce shop became popular again because of all kinds of wild game.
Wealthy people in the county town are vying to buy it, with long queues forming every day to snap it up.
If you were to ask which shop in the county town had the best business before the Lunar New Year, it would definitely be the Lu family's mountain produce shop and tavern.
People lined up before dawn to buy wild game and canned fruit, hoping to get as much as possible.
Xu Han and Zhao Yunyun didn't stay idle at home either. Neither of them were particularly good at needlework, but they still studied how to make some dowry items. Fortunately, they only made simple ones, while the Li family simply had their embroiderers make the more complicated ones.
For several days in a row, the group spent their time hunting and embroidering during the day, and whenever they had free time, they would get together to play mahjong. The days passed quickly, and before they knew it, it was the 29th of the lunar year.
There is no Lunar New Year's Eve this year, so today is considered Lunar New Year's Eve.
Yesterday, Han Qi went to the county town to pick everyone up, and they all gathered together to celebrate the New Year.
On the 29th day of the Lunar New Year, Xu Han prepared the New Year's gifts to be distributed to everyone early in the morning.
Each person received a packet of pastries, plus 500 coins, and those who went to the county town received an additional reward of some silver.
Juxiang and Li Wen, the two temporary stewards, were each given an extra tael of silver as a reward, and the others were also given some silver according to their abilities.
In total, including the cost of buying pastries and other items, Xu Han spent 30 taels of silver as a New Year's gift.
All of this might seem like a lot when added together, but it's actually not much when you calculate it. Their monthly wages are fixed, and apart from a few junior managers, the rest of them haven't received a raise.
After working for several months, this amount of money isn't really that much.
The main reason was that Xu Han had made quite a bit of money before the New Year, thanks to canned fruit and sweet potato wine, which is why she was so generous in giving money to her subordinates.
After distributing the money, Xu Han said, "Everyone has worked hard this year. Let's work hard next year and strive to get more bonuses than this year."
Upon hearing this, everyone erupted in cheers, with shouts of "Bravo!" growing louder and louder.
Xu Han waved her hand, signaling everyone to quiet down. "Your wages will all increase next year, but the specific amount will depend on your individual abilities."
The specific wages for each person will be announced one month later. Starting next month, which is tomorrow, your wages will change, but the exact amount is yet to be determined.
You have two opportunities to get a raise each year, one in the middle of the year and one at the beginning of the year.
As long as you work hard, you'll all get a raise. It won't be a huge increase at once, but it'll definitely happen.
Of course, if someone doesn't perform well, their wages will be reduced. How much they get paid depends entirely on themselves; you decide their wages.
After hearing this, the people below became excited again, looking at each other with smiles on their faces.
Xu Han waved her hand and continued, "In addition to the money and pastries you received, I have also prepared some grain and meat for you."
We've also prepared plenty of wine to liven things up for you.
Since you're all eating together now, let's distribute the food together, everyone eat together.
After Xu Han finished speaking, she had someone give them the twenty chickens, one sheep, and eighty catties of beef that had been prepared.
This beef was brought back by the Taoist priest and his group a couple of days ago, specifically for the Chinese New Year.
Besides meat, grains were also essential; Xu Han provided some wheat flour and rice.
We can't give them too much, but it's enough to let them taste it.
The wine served was naturally sweet potato wine and fruit wine, homemade, and even if it was expensive, it had to be tasted by our own people.
Xu Han drank Lu Chuan's drink, and he wasn't the stingy type; he was willing to spend that much money.
During the Chinese New Year, everyone should get together and have a good time, enjoying the festive atmosphere.
The main reason is that there have been too many happy events this year: Xu Han was granted an official position, opened a shop and bought a house in the county town, and the war has ended.
Whatever it is, they should celebrate together, and it's also a way to encourage everyone to do better next year.
The servants happily carried the things away, and Xu Han followed Dan Niang to start preparing the New Year's Eve dinner.
Xu Han will definitely not be able to spend the Lunar New Year with them this year.
It wasn't that they disliked it, but there were too many servants. Also, Yunhua and Zhao Yunyun rarely came back, and their own family definitely wanted to have a proper reunion.
The host family celebrates the New Year at the old house, while the people downstairs enjoy the festivities on the other side of the valley. This way, neither side disturbs the other, allowing everyone to enjoy their own time – a win-win situation.
We all had a lively New Year's Eve dinner together, and then stayed up all night to welcome the new year.
That night, both the people on this side of the old house and the people on the other side of the valley made a ruckus until very late.
Since it's a rare occasion for everyone to get together, we should have a good time and let it be lively. This meal will also help the people below to get closer together.
Everyone is usually busy and doesn't have much time to build relationships. Now that we finally don't have to work, we should definitely have a good time.
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