In the early morning, a round of sunrise slowly rose from the other side of the fields, and golden light shone through the green gaps. Xiahe Village had just woken up from the morning mist, and Zhu Ping'an's house was already bustling.
Today is the time for Zhu Ping's family to hold a flowing banquet. Grandpa, grandmother, third uncle and fourth uncle's family all came to help. The eldest aunt and Zhu Pingjun also came, but the uncle who just came home the day before yesterday did not come. I heard that my grandfather said he was studying at home. . My uncle didn't come, but my mother, Mrs. Chen, breathed a sigh of relief. It would have been better if he didn't come, but she was still upset when he came.
Setting up a flowing banquet in rural areas is not that simple. Although the villagers only come to the table at noon, preparations need to be made a day in advance. The ingredients, venue, tables, chairs, benches, bowls, spoons, chopsticks, etc. all need to be prepared a day in advance. When my father returned from town yesterday, he bought a lot of vegetables and fruits. In the afternoon, he asked the butcher in the village to prepare a big fat pig that he raised and sold it to the butcher for half a fan of pork. The remaining pork will be kept for tomorrow. They held a flowing banquet and distributed some meat to the neighboring neighbors and my grandfather's house.
In addition, the eldest brother Zhu Pingchuan picked a lot of fungi such as fungus and mushrooms from the mountains, and also caught a lot of big fat fish, enough to put one on each table. There were also eight hares, which was not enough. One more meat dish is added to each table.
Early this morning, my grandfather packed up and led the people from the old house to help, picking vegetables, washing dishes, etc., and he was busy all morning. Although mother Chen didn't say anything, her eyes looked much warmer when she looked at her grandparents.
At around nine o'clock, a woman who was familiar with her mother, Chen, came over from home with gifts. After some greetings, the women chatted while picking and washing vegetables, which was a great time.
Zhu Ping'an went to Danshanghe Village again early in the morning, but his mentor still didn't come back. When I got home, the house was already very lively. Murakami's mountain chef, who was responsible for the busy work, was already in place with his apprentices, weaving pots and preliminarily processing the ingredients. They were very busy.
It's almost noon. Villagers came to Zhu's house to sit down one after another, and most of the village was empty. Sitting at a banquet means "a banquet" in villagers' words. Feast and mat, two names and one thing. Because there were so many people, the flowing water banquet was placed in the open space outside the door, and there was a lot of people.
"Oh, your second child is really living up to his expectations."
"You, Mr. Zhu, have smoke rising from their ancestral graves this time."
"I was admitted to the scholar examination when I was only thirteen years old. It's really amazing. In a few years, I will be admitted as the top scholar."
…
Whenever the Zhu family passed by, the villagers would always express one or two words of envy or jealousy.
As a result, mother Chen became the happiest person today. She felt proud and proud, her face was red and radiant all day long.
Don't laugh at the farmers' wine, which is thick with wax and wine. In good years, enough chickens and dolphins are kept from visitors.
The Zhu family's flowing banquet today was full of dishes, especially meat dishes, including fish and pork. Rabbit meat and mutton were put on the table in various ways, making the villagers who had been reluctant to eat meat for a long time gorge themselves with food. The villagers also praised the feast, which made mother Chen even more radiant.
Grandfather also felt that he was very proud. During this flowing banquet, he sat together with Li Zheng and the village elder. Not only that, Li Zheng and the village elder also praised Mr. Zhu a lot. This sour feeling almost made grandfather almost All were drunk.
A flowing feast. The meal lasted until three or four o'clock in the afternoon and everyone was very happy.
Zhu Pingan, his grandfather and father stood outside the door and bid farewell to the villagers one by one. The mother, Ms. Chen, was greeting her acquaintances at home and serving dishes that had not yet been touched with chopsticks. And the lettuce ingredients were divided one by one and asked to be taken away in bowls by the neighbors.
It wasn't until the sun went down that Zhu Ping'an's family restored the courtyard to a state where there was no running water banquet.
In the evening, Zhu Pingan took out the book he borrowed from the Li family last time and neatly copied the last part that was not finished.
The next day, after breakfast, Zhu Pingan walked to Shanghe Village with his schoolbag slung across his body. I plan to return the book to Li's house and then borrow two more books.
This time, as soon as he knocked on the door, the concierge Uncle Li opened the door. It was probably because the rich man Li came back that the concierge Uncle Li started to do his duty again.
"Master Xiao Zhu is here to borrow books again, come on, come on."
Zhu Ping'an could only smile bitterly when he heard the nondescript name given to him by Uncle Li, the concierge, and walked through the door.
The study was different from the past. When Zhu Ping'an entered the study, there were already many people in the study, not the scheming girl and the others, but more than ten smart-looking accountants. They sat at three tables, and there were four or five people on each table. There were those who read the abacus, those who read the account books, and those who kept records. They all performed their duties. The whole study was filled with the sound of the abacus.
Rich Man Li was restless on the side, going to a table to look at it from time to time.
When Zhu Ping'an walked in, he was too embarrassed to disturb them. He bowed to Rich Man Li from a distance, took out the book from his schoolbag, and indicated that he was here to return the book.
Rich Man Li was so anxious that he just waved his hand casually, signaling Zhu Pingan to help himself.
So, Zhu Ping'an gently walked around the accounting rooms where the calculations were done, went to the rows of bookshelves, and put the books back in their place. Then, he stood in front of the bookshelf, looking for the books he borrowed this time.
The Four Books and Five Classics have been thoroughly read, so I plan to borrow a miscellaneous book to read this time.
Zhu Ping'an was aimlessly behind the bookshelf, flipping through each book one by one. When he saw a book that interested him a little, he stopped and read for a while before moving on to the next one.
The sound of the abacus being dialed outside was still there, almost never stopping. The accountant responsible for checking the accounts was miserable. He had been checking the accounts for three days in a row. He basically didn't get much rest except for a short sleep at night, but he still didn't find anything in the account book. What's the problem? Rich Man Li pressed on urgently, making these accountants even more exhausted.
While Zhu Pingan was flipping through the books, the sinister girl led Baozi's maid, followed by two old ladies, into the study.
"Dad, have you found out?"
The sinister girl asked as soon as she entered the door.
"Shu'er, why are you here? The study is too hot. It would be nice to stay in your room. Daddy will ask someone to send two more basins of ice to your room." Rich Man Li saw his baby bump entering the study and even looked at the account books. Incredible.
"Dad, I'm not hot. Is there something wrong with the account book?" Li Shu twisted her body twice and asked with a pout.
"Ahem, cough, cough, hurry up, hurry up." Rich Man Li coaxed.
"It's coming soon, it's coming soon, you said this yesterday, and it hasn't been found out yet... It's happening again today..." Li Shu's pouted mouth could hold an oil bottle.
"You should be quick to check the accounts, but don't be slow to collect the money."
Seeing that his precious baby got angry, Rich Man Li also became a little anxious and turned around to rush the three desks behind him. (To be continued.)
