Chapter 182: Chapter 181: Unexpected Visitors

It’s still early, but the old courtyard is already full of people.

Mrs. Zhang, in a rare moment of generosity, brought out candles to light lanterns and illuminate the courtyard for everyone bustling around.

As soon as Qin Yao and her husband arrived and put down their things, they were roped into helping out.

Sister-in-law Zhou and the others called for Qin Yao to come over and use a vegetable knife to cut vegetables, and Liu Ji was dragged away by Old Liu. They took out the red-paper-cut gift registry and had him and Liu Fei responsible for recording the gifts.

Liu Ji was in charge of recording, and Liu Fei was in charge of collecting gifts. The two of them looked at each other with mutual dislike but just happened to supervise each other.

Qin Yao saw this and had to comment: “Brilliant!”

“I’ll cut the meat,” Qin Yao picked up her own knife, spun it around in her hand, dragged a piece of pork onto the chopping board, and started chopping with a “bang bang” sound!

“Cubed or sliced?” she asked while cutting, working very efficiently.

Sister-in-law Zhou paused for a moment, then said tremblingly, “We need minced meat to make meatballs later.”

Sliced meat wouldn’t be enough for so many people, so they mixed the minced meat with vegetables to form meatballs and made soup, one big bowl for each table.

The group seldom got to have meat all year round, so having a bowl of meat soup made them quite content.

Qin Yao nodded, realizing that these meatballs were actually the main dish.

Finding one knife too slow, she grabbed another one, wielding them both with her hands moving up and down, filling the entire prep area with the sound of chopping meat.

The sound was so intense that it made the onlookers’ teeth ache.

Within two quarters of an hour, Qin Yao had chopped all the minced meat that would have taken others one to two hours to finish, and it was chopped very finely and delicately, clearly of good quality.

Sister-in-law Zhou and the others gathered around, all giving Qin Yao a thumbs up.

Qin Yao’s confidence soared, and she waved her knife, “Leave the vegetable cutting to me. You just wash them and hand them over, and I’ll cut!”

Everyone laughed and agreed without exception.

In the main hall, Liu Ji was just watching over the gift registry, but since no one was coming by at the moment, he sat there cracking peanuts. Seeing the bustling scene at the kitchen door, he clicked his tongue twice, thinking to himself: So this is also someone who likes to show off.

As it got bright, the sun, rarely seen, rose into the sky on this fine day.

The celebratory tea was ready, and once they finished their chores at home, the villagers gradually gathered, old and young, coming in waves.

With each gift Liu Fei recorded, he sang out loud, until just before noon, when everyone expected to show up did, and he could finally rest his voice.

Liu Ji’s task was much lighter, just focusing on writing.

The village head and the clan leader both sat around the gift registry table, curiously watching him write each character, as if he were a child who had just learned to write, eyes full of affection.

Seeing him so serious and earnest was rare, and the village head and clan leader occasionally offered words of encouragement, praising his fine writing skills.

It’s hard not to lose oneself amid such constant praise.

Liu Ji kept writing with increasing fervor until he spread out the extra red paper and flamboyantly wrote a large “Fortune” character with a flourish.

As Qin Yao passed by with a tray of dishes, she glanced over, thinking it looked like dog paddling, really hard on the village head and clan leader’s conscience, who still praised it.

All morning, Mrs. Zhang and Liu Zhong were busy attending to the guests. Seeing the hour was about right, Mrs. Zhang instructed the kitchen to start stir-frying, notified the guests to take their seats, and prepared for the feast.

He was cooking, while Mrs. Qiu was in the room watching the kids and greeting her family, and Qin Yao looked around, finding it amusing that it fell upon her, half a hostess, to instruct others to set up tables, chairs, and utensils.

Thankfully, being the owner of the water mill wasn’t for nothing; the majority of the village women were willing to follow her instructions.

Qin Yao called over a few available women, organizing them to set up tables, chairs, and utensils, and once these tasks were done, with some time left before the dishes were ready, she finally had a chance to go see today’s main little character.

Da Mao was in particularly good spirits today, awake after eating, possibly aware that everyone was there to see him, looking around with his big, shiny eyes, though it was unclear if he could actually see anything.

Jinhua was the happiest today, with her grandmother, uncle, and aunt coming, along with cousins, bringing along unknown amounts of food and drink.

Moreover, the cousins were willing to play new games with her, unlike Jinbao and Second Lang, who always despised the younger ones tagging along.

Si Niang somehow showed up as well, always tagging along with her older cousin for free food and drinks.

Seeing Qin Yao come in to see the little baby, she excitedly rushed over, asking Qin Yao to check out her pouch, “Mother! Have some brittle candy.”

Qin Yao looked down to see the small pouch filled to the brim with brittle candy and peanuts, her haul quite impressive.

Qin Yao ceremoniously took one piece out of the pouch, popped it into her mouth before she even tasted it, and Si Niang eagerly asked:

“Is it good? It’s good, right? My cousin said this candy is only available in their town.”

Qin Yao nodded, going along with her, “It’s good.”

The little girl chuckled, heard Jinhua’s cousin calling her outside, and immediately dashed off.

Qin Yao couldn’t help but remind her, “Don’t run too far, we’re about to start eating!”

“I know, we’re just at the door, and big brother is with us.” Si Niang obediently responded as she looked back.

Seeing Qin Yao wave her hand, she finally ran off with Jinhua’s cousin.

Qin Yao went by the side of the bed, playing with Da Mao, who didn’t yet understand reactions, and got acquainted with Mrs. Qiu’s family in the process.

A group of people crowded around, inquiring about all sorts of information, making Qin Yao nervous. She quickly found an excuse to swiftly escape.

The dishes were nearly ready, and He called everyone over to serve them.

Just as Qin Yao was about to move, a surprise, a cart stopped outside the main gate, and an energetic old woman and a couple in their late twenties came down, calling tentatively to the group of children at the entrance, “Da Lang? Second Lang?”

Mrs. Zhang thought they were distant guests and hurriedly called Liu Zhong to come and greet them.

Afterward, the expressions on both their faces changed.

Liu Zhong turned and shouted into the main hall, “Liu Laosan, come here quickly!”

With a puzzled look, Liu Ji went to the entrance, and upon seeing the three people outside, his expression also changed.

He suppressed his shock and panic, looking towards Mrs. Zhang and Liu Zhong.

Both of them simultaneously looked at him, all three of their eyes wide with shock: Who invited them?

However, Mrs. Zhang was quick to respond, her expression stiffening for a moment before she squeezed out a surprised smile, “Oh, the in-laws are here! Please, come in!”

But the smile was too forced, revealing her embarrassment and surprise to the other side at a glance.

Liu Ji regained his composure, first politely addressing the elderly woman as his mother-in-law, and then courteously greeting the young couple:

“Brother, sister-in-law, it has been years since we last met, how have you been? The kids must have grown up by now? You’ve arrived just in time, we’re just about to eat, please come in.”

Eldest Brother Mo and Eldest Sister-in-law Mo nodded, assisting their mother into the courtyard.

Liu Ji also reached out to help, but Old Mrs. Mo snorted coldly at him, “Liu Laosan, you’ve forgotten the old for the new, you’ve really made something of yourself now.”

Having said that, she turned her attention to the few children outside the courtyard, her demeanor much more amiable.

“Da Lang, Second Lang, bring your brothers and sisters over, let them meet their uncle and aunt.”

Da Lang and Second Lang led the bewildered Dragon and Phoenix Twins to stand in front of Old Mrs. Mo, “Grandmother, uncle, aunt.”

Standing under the eaves, Qin Yao blinked, realizing the arrivals were Liu Ji’s ex-wife, Mrs. Mo’s mother, and his brother-in-law and sister-in-law.

Source: Webnovel.com, updated by NovelKeep