CHAPTER 217: CHAPTER 216: BROADENING THE HORIZONS OF GREAT TANG’S NOBLE LADIES

Next, Lin Marco Polo Wanwan began vividly describing the foods and various mines of America. She wasn’t exaggerating; these things truly existed. She merely employed a bit of rhetoric to make them sound more enticing.

Using her Ranger "senior" brother’s name for publicity, she sowed seeds of curiosity among the Great Tang’s nobles, proving to be invincible.

She knew that the Wang Family and Fang Family attending today’s banquet both had large fleets. If they were to develop an interest in exploring the world and picking up gold, it wouldn’t be a bad thing.

Our universal Great Tang should seize every opportunity to capture global wealth. There’s no reason why small countries in the Age of Discovery could sweep the world, while our majestic Great Tang couldn’t; it’s simply a lack of information.

Lin Wanwan felt a strong sense of national pride.

As Lin Wanwan’s vivid descriptions unfolded, people gasped in astonishment.

For the noblewomen of the Great Tang who rarely traveled far, the world described by Lin Wanwan was so colorful and fascinating, it made them yearn for exploration!

Especially the gold and silver that could presumably be picked at will, along with the wild growing spices like pepper, making everyone drool.

This Le’an Village Lady possessed such inexhaustible wealth, surely brought back by her senior brother from the land of America, where gold was said to be everywhere?

It was foreseeable that after this banquet, the mysterious and elusive senior brother of Lin Wanwan would become even more legendary.

Rangers were already legendary figures in the Great Tang, and the one described by Lin Wanwan was even more impressive.

Exhausted from speaking, the music and dance commenced again.

Lin Wanwan personally set the rhythm, as Heng Wu changed into a Hu skirt and special shoes, performing the Hu Xuan Dance that had started to gain popularity in Chang’an City.

The Hu Xuan Dance had a marked rhythm, exuberant and joyous, perfect for a banquet performance, instantly igniting the atmosphere, rivaling dynamic music of later times.

After the dance concluded, the women showcased their talents. Having played elegant games before, they now played drawing lots, each drawing a bamboo stick and performing according to the content on it.

Arrangements were made for music, books, and paintings, with joyful dances not to be missed.

Pipa, Konghou, Guqin, Xiao, various instruments took turns on stage, and the group, with little age difference among them, quickly enjoyed a scene of cheerful camaraderie.

Dish after dish was served and cleared, like flowing water, keeping the long dinner table in the main house never empty.

The final dessert was sliced winter melon and washed grapes. Seeing these treasures made everyone’s hearts tremble with excitement, and their high spirits soared further.

Though lychees and cherries before the meal were rare, aristocratic households could secure them once or twice a year. But these winter melons and grapes, even with money, were unattainable, found only in the palace inner courts. People had only heard of them in rumors, never truly seen them.

"Oh... Wan Lady, such skill to obtain such fine winter melons and grapes! My father said they were Western Regions tributes exclusively for the Imperial Family!"

Lin Wanwan smiled and replied, "It’s actually quite simple. Today’s two winter melons were grown by me. My senior brother brought back good seeds, and my teacher and I planted them several times, now cultivating winter melons in my glasshouse."

"Ah, can they really be grown oneself?"

"Yes, they can, just requires some technique. When seedlings are ready in late March, if anyone is interested, you can purchase them from Lin Family Manor. Fair trade, ten gold per plant, guaranteed to thrive and bear fruit, with refunds if they fail."

"Ah, then make sure to save a few for me."

"I want some too!"

"My family wants some too."

Everyone clamored to make reservations, and Lin Wanwan readily agreed.

"Wan Lady, how about the grapes resembling purple pearls?"

"These aren’t grown by me but were specially sent to me by my senior brother during the Lantern Festival. He’s afraid I’ll pester him with endless questions, so he always arrives and leaves without a trace, dropping off goods and leaving. I was in Qiantang at the time and didn’t see him, only discovering them in the cellar when I returned. Ah, what a headache."

Is this really a headache? With such a generous brother looking out for you, how could one not be thrilled! Compared to their own brothers back home, who only scold and reprimand, truly there’s no comparison; they should be tossed aside.

Similar thoughts inevitably arose in the minds of all the women.

This banquet seemed to be consuming a fortune far exceeding ten thousand gold, yet when told to family and friends, it would be hard for them to believe!

If not for saving face, these women sincerely wished to pack the grapes from their plates to take back home for their families to witness too.

In Chang’an City, such delicacies were only available during Imperial Palace night banquets, rarely seen by civilians.

The variety of dishes and food at today’s banquet couldn’t possibly be managed by Lin Wanwan’s household servants alone; even sending out a group of young boys would fall short.

Therefore, within the Lin Clan, the Clan Leader selected over twenty people above secondary menial ranks to assist with the kitchen chores, be it washing dishes, serving courses and soups, or preparing vegetables, with tasks clearly divided.

Though people from Lin Family Manor had never witnessed such an extravagant array of dishes before, they were well-versed in organizing lively banquets.

After all, whenever there were family weddings or funerals, the clan brewed wine, and village farmers without servants inevitably sought help from kinfolk, a tradition spanning hundreds of years.

Mutual aid passed down from generation to generation became customary long ago.

Hua Nong was one of the busiest individuals today, as she was in charge of cooking.

Fortunately, Lin Wanwan had long realized that she couldn’t handle everything alone. Previously, the open-air banquet at the academy brought in the main chef and apprentices from the restaurant where Lin Mengli worked in Wanghai Town, utilizing the academy’s kitchen, unrelated to where Lin Wanwan hosted from.

Rural people were uninterested in the delicate cuisine served in small dishes customary to nobles; they mostly shared meals together, given living conditions that didn’t allow them to dine separately, favoring large servings of meat, large bowls of wine, and large bowls of white rice.

Thus, at their table, Lin Wanwan followed the Clan Leader’s advice to cater to their preferences, mostly with meat, meat, meat, wine, wine, wine, and complemented by fruit desserts worth their weight in gold in the Great Tang.

Both the guests in the front courtyard and the rear hall, though dining differently, were exceedingly happy, and everyone enjoyed themselves.

After the banquet dispersed, Lin Wanwan led everyone on a garden tour, though she only had a little more than an acre of land with small artificial hills and ponds.

But these were all expertly designed, nicely arranged, and contained many remarkable transplanted plants. The women viewed the tour with great enthusiasm.

Lin Wanwan was devoted to hosting guests, while Qingyu was equally attentive as she guided the children from the big town to see her little elephant, touch her little red horse, and even had Aqing make the big bird fly a circle within their sight.

By late afternoon, the women reluctantly bid farewell.

Traveling by boat to return to their home town would take at least an hour or two, so they were compelled to leave early.

Lin Wanwan prepared for each person a set of individually packaged modern cosmetics as a parting gift, maintaining her image of extravagance until the end. It’s not that she wanted to flaunt, but her current status simply couldn’t keep a low profile!

The only Secondary Fifth Rank in Mao County!