Chapter 273 Rongyueyuan Barbecue
Wang Xifeng gave a mysterious smile.
"What's so difficult about that? It's just a villa for visiting relatives. We can extend the timeframe to next year's Mid-Autumn Festival. If we really want to rush the construction, it should be ready by next year's Dragon Boat Festival."
Yuan Hongqu's lips twitched. She thought to herself, "Wang Xifeng is really rich and powerful now, or does she think that building a house now is like in later generations, with one floor every day?"
Seeing Wang Xifeng's confidence, others didn't think much of it and assumed that she had already made arrangements.
Around noon, the snow fell heavier, and Wang Xifeng arranged a barbecue in the pavilion by the water.
Daiyu had wanted to do this for a long time. When she lived here last year, she felt that this place was suitable for cooling off in the summer, suitable for reading in the spring and autumn, and although enjoying the snow in the winter was wonderful, it was too cold.
While brewing tea around a stove is certainly elegant and something for a refined scholar, it feels a bit cold and lonely, lacking the warmth and liveliness of everyday life.
This is exactly the kind of barbecue we need, with smoke billowing and the aroma of meat filling the air – it's the perfect way to complement this heavy snowfall.
Unfortunately, last year, Granny Yuan wouldn't allow her to eat these things, saying that her spleen and stomach weren't properly nourished.
During the activities organized at the academy this year, Granny Yuan no longer restricted what she ate, but she didn't allow herself to eat too much.
Wang Xifeng's barbecue set was specially made after the autumn season. It combined the style of the Hu region with the dietary habits of the people in the capital. As soon as it was launched, it caused a great sensation in the capital.
Their family had a shop in a rather remote location, but it was quite large. Everything they did resulted in losses until they started a barbecue business, which surprisingly brought in daily revenue comparable to that of restaurants in the best locations.
Wang Xifeng felt that she had found a way to survive in the world of Dream of the Red Chamber.
Yuan Hongqu provided her with various recipes and seasonings, and Wang Xifeng used all the modern knowledge she had, along with Jia Lian's strong execution ability.
They've really made quite a name for themselves these past few months.
Wang Xifeng did not become complacent. While making money, she also participated in charity auctions, and her reputation in the capital grew better and better.
Inside the pavilion by the water, there was a bustling atmosphere filled with laughter and chatter. Upon closer inspection, it turned out that even the old lady had been invited over, along with Baoyu and Shi Xiangyun.
Although Xue Baochai was also by her side, she tried her best to minimize her presence, making her almost unnoticed.
Although it was snowing, thankfully there was no wind.
The barbecue grill on one side of the pavilion was piled high with barbecue skewers.
Daiyu didn't eat much, but she really enjoyed watching the food slowly change color and cook, then being sprinkled with various seasonings, the aroma of cooking mingling together, which was very satisfying to watch.
Baoyu and Xiangyun were also on the side, busy turning the roasted meat.
"That's the first thing they put out, it must be cooked by now, Baoyu, bring it to me." Xiangyun's own food was far from ready, but seeing the sizzling mutton on Baoyu's side, she felt her mouth water immediately.
Baoyu was not stingy and immediately gave half of what he had to Xiangyun.
Then they invited Lin Daiyu to eat.
"Sister Lin, you should try some too."
“I’ll try Baoyu’s cooking. This is done too, you can try it.”
Daiyu accepted it without hesitation and then offered the venison in front of her.
"This is venison, which is hard to digest. Give the old lady a small portion. This roe deer meat is more tender, so she can eat more of it." Daiyu directed Zijuan to take the plate over to the old lady.
With space cleared on the oven, she had someone bring over some rice cakes and place them on the wire mesh. Watching the round rice cakes puff up little by little, becoming plump and white, the older woman who had come to join in the fun gasped in astonishment.
The bulge on top of the rice cake was swollen and full, and with a "pop," it split open, startling the older sister.
"Sprinkle some sugar on this and let our eldest sister eat it," Daiyu said with a smile. Xueyan then brought over a plate.
The eldest sister took a small bite; the crispy outer shell was soft and chewy inside, a texture that children love.
After she finished eating, she wanted more, but Daiyu didn't give her any. Instead, she handed her a skewer of chicken mixed with fruit.
The older sister thought this looked nice and smelled sweet fruity, so she didn't ask for rice cakes anymore.
In another corner of the pavilion, Yuan Hongqu and Wang Xifeng were already quite full from being fed by Daiyu.
The old lady was quite happy with the younger generation entertaining her, which saved Wang Xifeng a lot of trouble.
The two of them each held a cup of floral tea and sipped it slowly.
"Sister Yuan, please give my eldest daughter a name. It's not good to keep calling her that." Wang Xifeng looked at her lively and lovely daughter and thought that her daughter still didn't have a name. Last time she asked Yuan Hongqu to name her, she said that someone else would name her eldest daughter in the future.
Sigh, I wonder who this person is and when they will appear!
If you're going to say that Sister Yuan is the head of the girls' academy and the head of the female officials in the court, then Sister Yuan should be the one to name her!
“It’s not time yet,” Yuan Hongqu said with a smile, as she kept a close eye on Daiyu.
From the moment she first met Daiyu until now, Yuan Hongqu never imagined that she could mold Daiyu into the person she is today, with her current personality and way of doing things.
Although she is quite different from the Lin Daiyu in the original novel, if the Daiyu in the original novel had a strong body, given her mischievous personality, how could she not be the way she is now!
"Second Madam, Aunt Zhou brought a grandmother over, saying she's an old acquaintance of ours and has some history with our family. She wants to pay her respects to you. Would you like to meet her?" Ping'er whispered to her.
"Zhou Rui's wife didn't go out with the Second Madam today?" Wang Xifeng found this strange.
"I was supposed to go out with the second wife, but I don't know why we were asked to come back when we got to the door. She said that Grandma was moving today and asked me to help look after her."
Wang Xifeng snorted coldly, "I haven't seen a trace of her all day, but now she's out. Let her go back, I'm too busy."
"Ping'er, let her bring her over." Yuan Hongqu overheard this and her heart skipped a beat. Could it be Granny Liu? That would be a good opportunity to meet her.
“Sister Yuan, you can tell from this that they’ve come here to freeload. The main person isn’t here, so they’ve come to me instead. On a day like today, I don’t have the patience to entertain them. Ping’er can just give them twenty taels of silver and send them away.”
"The person who will name your daughter has arrived," Yuan Hongqu said softly, looking at Wang Xifeng.
Wang Xifeng paused for a moment, then stood up. "I'll go and greet her."
"Sit down." Yuan Hongqu glared at her. "Behave yourself, or you'll frighten the old lady."
"Oh, Ping'er, go and invite her over," Wang Xifeng said hurriedly. Yuan Hongqu had told her that in the original story, she was the one who named the eldest daughter and ultimately saved her life.
This is the eldest sister's godmother, her savior. We must see her!
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