| TBBOTOF | 308
Tang Xu had anticipated their arrival, so he had already tidied up the area outside the house with Tang Li and Tang Yang. They were ready and waiting.
Sure enough, in less than two days, Tang Erhu and the others arrived.
It was midday.
The walnuts on the mountain were already ripe. They hadn’t harvested many, so they sat in the vegetable cellar peeling the skins. Although walnuts tasted good, peeling them left your hands black and hard to clean.
Tang Xu had woven three pairs of hemp gloves. He kept a pair for himself and Wei Dong, and the other pair was left for whoever needed it while working.
The two of them sat on small stools, peeling walnut skins while chatting.
"We need to borrow more tables and chairs. Last time Dad left, he mentioned wanting a banquet-style feast. The Tang family has a lot of relatives, and when you add in the villagers, this feast might require over a hundred tables."
A banquet-style feast is one where people eat at one table and then move on, clearing the table for the next group and serving new dishes. That’s how it worked in their village.
For the wealthier families, such feasts could go on for days — three days and nights, or even five.
Wei Dong nodded, "If word gets out that we’re hosting a banquet, the villagers will definitely help us with what we need. Borrowing from the nearby families should be enough, no need to go further."
"Let’s also call the men who’ve been helping out to join in. It’ll be livelier that way." Tang Xu threw a peeled walnut into the basket, raised his arm, and wiped the sweat off his forehead with his wrist. The sun was making things hot.
Wei Dong nodded again, "Sure, I’ll talk to them."
“That yard over there is big enough. Let’s set up the tables there; don’t bring them to this side.”
When Tang Erhu built his house back then, he purposely left a particularly large yard, planning to use it for drying rice grains. Though it hadn’t been used for that, it would now be perfect for hosting the feast.
“Where are we going to find a chef?” A chef for a banquet-style feast couldn’t be randomly chosen. If the food turned out bad, it might lead to people gossiping behind their backs about the event.
Wei Dong suggested, “Chef Liu.”
Tang Xu’s eyes lit up.
Right!
Chef Liu was one of Liu Yao’s elders. If they invited him and his apprentices, they’d not only have great food for the banquet but also the pleasure of having him at the celebration.
“Let’s head to town tomorrow to invite Chef Liu. We’ll need to notify the shopkeeper in advance too.”
Over the years, their business ties with the shopkeeper had been consistent. Tang Xu owed much of his success to Fuyun Restaurant. Although the method for making cold noodles had been figured out by others, Tang Xu’s seasoning packets were still unmatched.
He knew that the restaurant must have spent a lot of effort experimenting with seasoning ratios, but since his business hadn’t suffered, it was clear they hadn’t cracked his secret recipe.
Tang Xu felt a bit proud.
Since he dared to sell his seasoning packets, he had naturally taken precautions against the risk of anyone stealing or replicating his recipe.
“Our small stone mill isn’t working as well as before. Find some time to fix it; the ground medicinal ingredients aren’t as fine as they used to be.”
Wei Dong acknowledged, “I’ll give it a proper hammering. It’s probably worn out after so many years, and the edges of the stone have smoothed down.”
“When I ground almonds last time, I already noticed it wasn’t as efficient. Hammer the big one too. In a few days, we’ll need to grind some glutinous rice flour — we’ve got to have fried rice cakes at the wedding feast.” Tang Xu shook his slightly sore hands, stood up, and went to fetch water.
After coming back, he handed Wei Dong a cup. “By the way, has Er Bao mentioned that he wants to learn martial arts from Uncle Liu?” (tl: old wu’s servant)
Wei Dong raised his eyebrows and laughed. “What’s this? Does he plan to become a martial arts champion?”
Tang Xu rolled his eyes at him. “He’s still so young, barely past the age where he’s learned to stop wetting the bed. Why should he learn martial arts?”
“When Old Sun said he was suited to martial arts, I already figured this day would come.” Tang Xu snorted. “But think about it — with the world in such chaos now, if your son really masters martial arts and runs off, won’t you be worried?”
“Wu family’s third son didn’t learn martial arts and still ran off and hasn’t come back,” Wei Dong countered.
Tang Xu suddenly realized who he was talking about — Wu Weiming, the male lead of this book’s universe.
After all, he’s the male lead. Even though the world in the book had undergone some changes, for the protagonist, it’s like killing an indestructible cockroach. No matter how dangerous things get, he’d always find a way out.
But he felt that his son was definitely not some kind of protagonist. He was just an ordinary person!
Learning martial arts for fitness and health was fine, but if he was dreaming of one day becoming a martial arts champion and achieving fame, it was better to stop before it started. His heart couldn’t take it.
Tang Xu was quite frustrated. Er Bao had pestered him about it several times, saying he’d seen Uncle Liu and Uncle Qi practicing martial arts in the courtyard in the morning and wanted to join them.
Tang Xu remarked that for someone like his son, who usually didn’t even wake up early, had suddenly stopped lazing around. As soon as the rooster crowed, he’d roll out of bed, dress himself, and dash straight to the back courtyard.
Seeing his husband’s gloomy expression, Wei Dong tried to comfort him, “It’s said that children and grandchildren have their own fortunes to follow. What’s the point of worrying so much? You can’t exactly stand guard at his door every day to stop him.”
Tang Xu pressed his lips together, saying nothing.
Wei Dong took off his gloves and gently patted Tang Xu’s shoulder twice. “Maybe it’s just a passing interest. Once he’s tired, he’ll probably stop.”
Tang Xu sighed. “Fine, forget it. Let him do whatever he wants. I can’t control everything. You see how determined he was at just three years old; he probably won’t listen to anything we say in the future.”
Wei Dong felt that it was a bit unfair to say this about Er Bao. If Er Bao truly wasn’t inclined to listen, he wouldn’t have brought it up to them. Instead, he’d have gone straight to practice without saying a word.
In this regard, Wei Dong thought their parenting wasn’t bad at all.
Knowing Tang Xu was stuck in his own thoughts, Wei Dong didn’t push further. Instead, he asked, “What are you planning to add to your sister’s dowry?”
It had been mentioned earlier that when Tang Li got married, they would prepare a dowry for her. However, Wei Dong didn’t pay much attention to such matters; it was all handled by Tang Xu.
Tang Xu held up three fingers. “I’ve prepared three pieces of jewelry for her.”
Before Wei Dong could ask what they were, there was a sound from outside the courtyard wall.
Tang Xu paused, then quickly walked toward the back door. “Dad?” he raised his voice, calling out.
“Hey!” Tang Erhu responded from the other side of the wall.
Tang Xu jogged over and opened the back door. At the same time, the courtyard gate diagonally opposite was being unlocked by Tang Erhu.
The middle-aged man turned his head to look at Tang Xu running out and scolded him, “What’s your hurry? Can’t you walk steadily? What if you fall?”
“I was just eager to see you guys!” Tang Xu replied cheerfully, stepping forward to help unload the large barrel from the cow cart. He managed it alone, with Wang Cuicui assisting.
“I told you I had a feeling you’d be back soon. Dad, have you been losing sleep worrying about Ah Li’s wedding?”
Tang Mei chuckled softly as she carried a bundle off the cart while holding Goudan. “Second Uncle hasn’t been sleeping well lately.”
Tang Xu grinned, “I knew it. Whenever there’s something on his mind, Dad can’t stop thinking about it.”
“Where’s Ah Li? Why isn’t she out here?” Tang Erhu wanted to avoid his son from teasing him, so he shouted toward the courtyard.
“She’s not at home,” Tang Xu turned and shouted toward the yard, “Ah Dong, everything’s been unloaded. You can come now!”
Wei Dong arrived two steps behind Tang Xu, easily lifting the large barrel. “I’ll take it to the ice cellar.”
“Right, it needs to be boiled and cooled before freezing, otherwise, it’ll spoil,” Wang Cuicui intervened.
Wei Dong nodded, “Got it, Auntie.”
He carried the barrel back to the house, while Tang Xu helped with the things on the cart.
“Where’s Ah Li doing?” Wang Cuicui asked.
“She said she’s stitching handkerchiefs with her friends. She didn’t leave until after lunch. Auntie, have you eaten?” The cow cart was slow, and with all the things on it, it was even slower.
“We just ate a little and came back quickly. I’ll cook once we’re done tidying up.” Wang Cuicui glanced at Tang Xu with curiosity, giving him a look that made him feel creeped out.
“What’s wrong? Do I have something on my face?” Tang Xu raised his hand and rubbed his face.
“You look like you’re not feeling well. Are you okay?” Wang Cuicui asked him.
Tang Xu sighed and told her about Er Bao wanting to learn martial arts.
Upon hearing this, Tang Erhu turned and said, “Let him learn then. We’ve got someone in the family to teach him, there’s no need to specially find a martial arts master. If he likes it, let him learn.”
Tang Xu scoffed.
Wang Cuicui glared at Tang Erhu. “Go feed the cow.”
She then pulled Tang Xu inside and added, “If Er Bao likes it, don’t stop him. Not many kids can stick with it.”
But Tang Xu felt that his second son was determined. That boy had a bit of stubbornness in him.
“Forget it, let him learn. Let all three of them learn. It’ll help them build strength.”
Tang Mei laughed and added, “Let Xiao Yang join in too.”
Tang Xu chuckled and nodded. “Alright, no one’s getting out of doing it! No more sleeping in!”
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