Transmigrated as a Stepmother: Time to Bring the Family to Prosper!-Chapter 349 - 348: The Liu Family’s Gluttonous Cat

Chapter 349: Chapter 348: The Liu Family’s Gluttonous Cat

The dinner was held in the Lotus Courtyard.

Qi Xian, in the capacity of a teacher, sent out invitations, inviting the village head, clan leader, and the entire Old Liu family to a housewarming feast at the new home.

With so many people to feed, the staff brought by the Qi family was entirely insufficient, so they hired a chef from a county restaurant a day in advance.

In the afternoon, a driver was sent to bring him over, and the chef had prepared all the ingredients, bringing a young apprentice along as well.

The kitchen in the Lotus Courtyard was made quite large, with three stoves burning at once, and by evening, appetizing aromas of meat wafted through the courtyard, carried by the wind to every household in the village, leaving the children drooling just from the scent.

Jinhua could not wait any longer, looked out several times, and saw that the elder and parents in the courtyard had not yet set off, her little face full of anxiety.

"Mother, if we go late, will there be no meat left to eat?" Jinhua nervously asked.

Just now, she and her friends were playing by the village well and saw the Qi family’s cart pull an entire pig over.

Mrs. Qiu was changing her son’s clothes; the little guy was quite a sturdy little fellow, at the age where he crawled around everywhere, getting his bib dirty in the blink of an eye.

Today, they were going to the Lotus Courtyard, not a village household, so they had to dress properly to avoid showing disrespect to the esteemed guests.

While taking care of the little one, she also had to attend to the older one; Liu Zhong could not even find his own clothes, wandering aimlessly around the two boxes in the room, waiting for her to fetch them. Now hurried by her daughter, the usually gentle Mrs. Qiu could not help but complain:

"What’s the hurry, you little gluttonous cat? Don’t we have meat in the house every three or five days? Why do you act so miserly?"

Jinhua immediately slumped her shoulders, sighed, and murmured, "But the meat at home is nothing like the meat cooked by a restaurant chef from the county..."

Si Niang said the meat they had at the restaurant in the Prefecture before was like nothing else, so delicious it was like clouds in the sky, making one feel like floating.

Jinhua thought to herself, Si Niang must be exaggerating, there’s no way there could be meat like clouds.

Sniffing, the aroma wafting over from the Lotus Courtyard was indeed enticing!

Mrs. Qiu, carrying Da Mao, walked out of the room with Liu Zhong, and saw their daughter standing at the main gate, looking towards the Lotus Courtyard, swallowing her saliva, which was both pitiful and amusing.

Old Liu and Mrs. Zhang had put on brand-new jackets made of cotton fabric that Liu Fei had previously brought back from the Prefecture.

They originally planned to wear them for the New Year, but today, since the esteemed visitors at the Lotus Courtyard were hosting a feast, Old Liu did not want to disgrace the third child, and so, for once, brought out the new clothes to wear in advance.

Clothes indeed make the man, and with the change in dress, he looked much more spirited and lively.

Mrs. Zhang glanced at the old man and chuckled to herself.

"What are you laughing at?" Old Liu grumbled, puzzled.

Mrs. Zhang’s eyes sparkled as she said, "Looking at you in these new clothes, you don’t seem so old after all."

Upon hearing this, Old Liu, seeing his wife’s bright eyes, blushed for the first time, coughed twice, and called loudly into the courtyard, "Is the household ready?"

He inside busily responded, "Coming, coming!"

Pushing a coy Jinbao with a slicked hairstyle out, Liu Zhong exclaimed with a laugh, "Our Jinbao looks like a little young master!"

Unwilling to be outdone, Jinhua sidled up to her father, "What about me?"

She was wearing a new peach-red jacket; Mrs. Qiu had made it after Si Niang’s rabbit fur set, adorning the little girl beautifully and cutely.

Liu Zhong lightly patted his daughter’s head, "Beautiful, beautiful, like a rich family’s daughter."

"I don’t want to be a rich family’s daughter." Jinhua hugged her mother joyfully, "I just want to be the Liu family’s gluttonous cat!"

After speaking, she quickly made a face and darted away to avoid Mrs. Qiu’s playful swat.

The people inside the house were all laughing heartily at her antics, while Mrs. Qiu wore a face full of helpless affection.

Just then, Si Niang’s loud call came from outside: "Sister Jin Hua!"

It was Qin Yao and her daughter who had come, afraid Old Liu and the others might feel uncomfortable, so Qin Yao specifically brought Si Niang along to bring them to the Lotus Courtyard together. 𝐟𝕣𝗲𝕖𝕨𝗲𝐛𝗻𝗼𝐯𝗲𝚕.𝗰𝚘𝐦

The three boys had already gone with Ah Wang to find Liu Ji.

Seeing Qin Yao come to greet them, He loudly responded, and the entire family from the old house quickly came out.

Mrs. Zhang carried a basket of still steaming sugar-roasted chestnuts, "Yao Niang, would it be okay for us to give this to Mr. Qi and Mr. Gongliang?"

It was a sudden idea from Qin Yao, who had eaten roasted chestnuts last year, and this year, they stepped up the challenge to make sugar-roasted chestnuts. Only then did Mrs. Zhang, taking advantage of her trip to the field to tidy up the vegetable garden, bring back many chestnuts, and roast them fresh this afternoon.

A full bamboo basket, packed with today’s roasted chestnuts.

Qin Yao lifted the gauze to take a look, and thinking about the sweet and glutinous taste of the sugar-roasted chestnuts, couldn’t help swallowing a gulp of saliva, nodding repeatedly, "It’s fine, it’s fine, this is a wonderful thing, even if you want to buy it in the city, you can’t find it."

Seeing Qin Yao’s small action, Mrs. Zhang couldn’t help but laugh and reminded Si Niang, "Come and get some at the house later, I saved some for you siblings."

Si Niang was admiring Sister Jin Hua’s clothes and paused, letting out a "huh," "I didn’t ask for any."

But seeing her mother’s eyes glued to the bamboo basket, she quickly reacted, "Oh, I do want some, thank you, Grandma!"

"Good child." Mrs. Zhang looked affectionately at the little girl, with her rosy cheeks, making people adore her.

Thinking back to the days before Qin Yao arrived, when the siblings looked like little beggars, Mrs. Zhang felt a surge of emotions.

In the past, they would never have dared to imagine that a small farmer like themselves could attend a scholar’s feast.

Along the way, Qin Yao kept reminding the people from the old house not to be nervous, just treat it as if they were seeing the village head or clan leader as usual.

But it didn’t seem to help; even the usually lively Da Mao felt the tension in his family, becoming unusually obedient.

On the other hand, Jinhua and Jinbao, the two children, had fewer thoughts, entirely focused on the feast’s dishes, full of anticipation and not shy at all.

When they arrived at the Lotus Courtyard, lanterns were lit both inside and outside the courtyard, illuminating the entire place brightly.

Shi Tou and two Attendant Students greeted the guests and led Qin Yao and others inside.

Upon entering the courtyard, Old Liu and the others were awestruck by the rockery and flowing water, unable to believe this was the overgrown old house from before.

Reaching the spacious hall, the floorboards were polished with wax, shiny enough to reflect one’s image.

For a moment, the people from the old house stood at the hall’s entrance, hesitant to step in, unsure whether to advance or retreat.

It was only when Qin Yao took the lead that they followed behind her, taking cautious steps, feeling like the few short steps took several hours to pass.

The banquet was set in the backyard, while the front hall was mainly for receiving guests, a stark contrast to the casual seating arrangements of rural households, where people grabbed seats at a table as they saw fit.

But this arrangement was already simplified according to the ’when in Rome’ principle after Qi Xian consulted with Qin Yao.

Fortunately, the village head and clan leader had arrived earlier and were awkwardly chatting with Gongliang Liao about the village’s seasonal customs and conditions, accompanied by Liu Ji.