The tables were almost overflowing with food, and everyone looked on in astonishment.
The waiter replied, "Oh, the other dishes—braised chicken, stir-fried meat, and fried fish—were ordered by Manager Guan of Cheng's Grain Shop. He said they were a gift for Miss Lin to celebrate your grand opening."
"I see." Lin Qixia understood and asked He Zhilan to see the men off.
Meanwhile, many shop assistants in the courtyard were whispering among themselves: "Cheng's Grain Shop? Is that the same Cheng's that runs Cheng's Cloth Shop?"
"The Cheng family are famous wealthy merchants in Huailiang Prefecture. We even robbed their caravans of goods a few times when we were on the mountain. They are really rich!"
"Yes, no wonder they were so generous in bringing vegetables to our boss."
"I never expected our boss to have such connections. He's truly remarkable."
Lin Qixia, who was seated at the head of the table, cleared her throat and said to everyone, "Now that all the dishes are served, please don't stand on ceremony."
"Eat and drink as you please. Today is our first day of business, and everyone has worked hard." As she spoke, she poured a glass of wine and raised it to everyone.
Everyone in the courtyard quickly poured themselves drinks and raised their glasses to her: "Thank you, boss!"
"Grand opening!"
He Zhilan also raised her glass to Lin Qixia.
Lin Qixia smiled and clinked glasses with her, then took a sip.
The wine was spicy on the palate but had a sweet aftertaste. She clicked her tongue and said, "Hmm, this 'Qiongxian Brew' from Yuxianlou is indeed quite good, very delicious."
"It's not bad," He Zhilan replied after finishing her drink, looking satisfied.
Lin Yi ran downstairs at this moment, leaned over the table, and looked up at Lin Qixia, asking, "Auntie, can I eat this?"
She had been eyeing the candied lotus root on the table for a long time, and couldn't help but ask Lin Qixia with longing eyes.
Lin Qixia sat down and patted her head. "Of course, hurry up and eat, otherwise the food will get cold and won't taste good."
Seeing this, the others also started eating.
"Thank you, Auntie!" Lin Yi immediately picked up her chopsticks.
She quickly picked up a piece of candied lotus root and brought it to her eyes to look at it. The thin layer of white sugar frosting on the surface looked very tempting.
She couldn't resist taking a big bite, and the sweet and chewy texture made her eyes crinkle with joy, while her two short legs excitedly kicked around under the table.
However, He Zhilan quickly held her down with one hand.
"Mother—" Lin Yi pouted nervously in the face of He Zhilan's stern warning gaze.
Lin Qixia put down her wine glass and said with a smile, "It's alright, sister-in-law, you don't need to worry about her. She's just happy today."
She took a few sips of wine, and her emotions started to rise.
The fatigue from a busy day is swept away, and it feels very comfortable.
Seeing this, He Zhilan moved the wine glass next to her a little further away. "Even if you're happy, you can't act recklessly. You should too."
As she spoke, she added several more bites of food to Lin Qixia's bowl: "Eat some, or you'll get too drunk and feel terrible."
"Okay~" Lin Qixia finally responded and obediently picked up her chopsticks to eat.
With a table full of dishes laid out in front of her, she tried to order as many as possible to cater to everyone's tastes, and He Zhilan even served her a lot of food.
The dishes she was most interested in were roast duck, stir-fried vegetables with sausage, and the fish that Guan Yu had ordered for her. However, these dishes that she wanted to eat the most were mixed in with the other dishes.
She didn't really like it, but life here was already difficult, so she forced herself to get used to it.
Now all she wants to do is eat her favorite dishes, bite by bite. Among them, the most popular is the fried fish she had at a noodle shop a few days ago, which she can't stop thinking about.
She hasn't had time to try it again these past few days, and she really misses it.
Just as Lin Qixia was about to reach out with her chopsticks to pick up a piece of fish, a piece of fish appeared in front of her the next second.
It was Huo Yanqing, and he still used a separate, clean bowl to hold the fish.
"Uh, thank you." Lin Qixia was slightly surprised. When did the other person discover her likes and dislikes?
After all, even her family hadn't noticed.
Huo Yanqing sat to her right, his dark eyes fixed on her quietly as he said, "Eat up, there are no thorns."
Lin Qixia responded again, then lowered her head to fiddle with the piece of fish in her bowl, looking somewhat embarrassed.
However, her attention was quickly diverted when she put the fish in her mouth.
He raised his face and said with a smile, "Indeed, the fried fish in Lichong County is delicious."
"Then eat more." Huo Yanqing quickly added a few more pieces for her.
And all the fish bones were removed.
Lin Qixia was even surprised, wondering how he could remove the fish bones so quickly.
After all, although the fish is delicious, it still has quite a lot of bones.
Suddenly, some images flashed through Lin Qixia's mind, such as the time when Huo Yanqing was torturing the masked assassin with a knife in the woods that day, and she immediately shuddered.
"Are you cold?" Huo Yanqing asked with concern.
Lin Qixia shook her head with a dry laugh: "No."
She just—felt something terrible.
Seeing her expression, Huo Yanqing put down his chopsticks and lowered his head, looking somewhat aggrieved.
"You should eat too." Lin Qixia casually put a few dishes on his plate.
Huo Yanqing was much better then, and silently ate the food that she had put in his bowl. Even when he ate food that he didn't like or that tasted strange, he only paused for a moment while chewing.
He then silently swallowed the food.
This celebratory banquet on the first day of opening brought a lot of life to the long-vacant courtyard of "Xiahezhuang".
Everyone ate until very late and then voluntarily helped clean up.
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