Capítulo 1301: Chapter 1300: Far Too Naive

The flowing banquet, as the name suggests, means that while people at the table are still eating, there are already people waiting behind them.

Almost every person at the banquet has one or a few people behind them, eyeing their seats eagerly.

Eating slowly would invite a few complaints from others.

If they had thin skin, being stared at like this would make it nearly impossible to continue eating.

Of course, those who could attend the flowing banquet were not thin-skinned.

Especially those formidable women, holding one child in their arms, another on their back, and leading yet another, swarmed around the table.

The people eating would go to fetch a bowl of rice or a bun, and once they returned, their place would be occupied.

The good-tempered ones would just smile, stand aside, and finish their meal without fuss.

The ill-tempered ones, started to quarrel, and truly could say anything.

There were also those with shallow views, who couldn’t wait to grab all the meat dishes to themselves as soon as they were served.

As soon as a dish was placed on the table, it would be gone in a blink.

If your chopsticks were even slightly slow, you’d just end up staring at an empty plate.

Especially the kids, who wouldn’t even let an empty plate go, using their buns to clean off any remaining meat juice thoroughly.

Once those who had eaten their fill left the table, those waiting behind would be almost fighting over the spot.

Thankfully, Old Granny Zhang, seasoned as she was, had already arranged for twenty personal soldiers to patrol the alley. If anyone tried to fight, just a single glare would make them behave.

For the moment, it was fairly peaceful.

At the entrance of the alley, Yao Da and Shitou set up a table at the door, with a red ledger on it, recording the guests’ gifts.

Even as people of the world, Yao Da and Shitou couldn’t help but be surprised when seeing the ledger filled mostly with a few eggs and some dried vegetables as gifts.

To give a piece of cloth or a couple of packages of pastries was already considered generous.

Yao Da looked at the ledger, did some accounting in his mind, then glanced outside at the long line of people waiting for seats. He couldn’t help but wipe the sweat from his forehead and murmur, “With this flowing banquet lasting all day like this, how much silver will we lose?”

Shitou, never having seen such a commotion, couldn’t help but ask, “Do we have enough food prepared, with all those dishes and rice? With this crowd, it looks rather doubtful.”

Yao Da was uncertain too, “Should be enough, right? The old lady said she had experience with this sort of thing, and I even bought twenty percent more while shopping—”

Sure enough, even by afternoon, there were no signs of the guests dwindling.

The chefs in the back kitchen could no longer wield their spatulas, the firewood was almost depleted, and there was no longer enough time to ferment dough for buns, so they had to steam rice instead, as it cooked faster.

The women helpers had rotated out several times already, yet still couldn’t keep up.

Seeing things going awry, Yao Da and Shitou hurried inside to report.

Old Granny Zhang hadn’t anticipated this, even though she had estimated that besides the neighbors, there would be enough for everyone nearby.

Unexpectedly, almost half the city showed up.

What could be done? They had committed to a day-long flowing banquet, even if they had to kneel, they would see it through.

Time was tight, so Yao Da and Shitou split up to purchase more, and since the Du Family found out, they also sent people to help.

The county town knew today Song Chongjin was hosting a flowing banquet, and this spectacle hadn’t been seen in decades, the elders clicking their tongues in amazement.

The vendors also gave Song Chongjin face and managed to scrape together more ingredients, meat, and rough rice temporarily, ensuring they could make it until the end.

By nightfall, everyone was completely worn out.

The arms of the master chefs in the back kitchen were swollen, unable to lift much more, let alone flip a spatula.

Seeing the situation, Wang Yongzhu both apologized and handed them thick red envelopes to send them off.

They didn’t need to worry about cleaning up outside, as people would merely take back their own tables, chairs, and cutlery.

The personal soldiers, who patrolled all day, were wiped out too, feeling the day had exhausted them more than marching.

Everyone collapsed from exhaustion, washed up briefly, and fell asleep the moment they hit the bed.

The next day, everyone woke up late.

Opening the courtyard gate, there were still traces of the aroma of alcohol and meat lingering in the alley, yet all the mess had been cleaned up by the neighbors who had risen early.

After a night’s sleep, Wang Yongzhu felt revived.

Following Old Granny Zhang’s instructions, each family who provided bench, table, or cutlery received a red envelope, delivered house by house as a thank-you gift.

Although Wang Yongzhu and her people were exhausted, everyone in Jing County, when mentioning yesterday’s flowing banquet, would give a thumbs up.

They all said Song Chongjin did things generously and with great flair!

Even with so many people yesterday, there was no sign of panic, they managed to handle it to the very end.

Unlike some families, who claimed to set eight bowls for their flowing banquet, but only the first had decent dishes, while the rest were merely filled with tofu and cabbage as substitutes.

Wang Yongzhu didn’t know about the praises outside, she was busy comparing the gift ledger with Yao Da, looking at the majority consisting of eggs and dried vegetables, and couldn’t help rubbing her forehead.

Yesterday, when they ran short on dishes and meat, these eggs and dried vegetables were put to use and not wasted.

The remaining items were mostly worthless, and Wang Yongzhu didn’t bother examining them, only instructed Yao Da to organize these items, pack them with One hundred taels of silver, and send them all to Jing County’s charity orphanage.

This place accommodated those with nowhere else to go, both elderly and children, though sheltered, funding was limited, and a day could be considered fortunate if they had two bowls of thin porridge to eke out an existence.

Although the leftover items weren’t worth much, to the people of the orphanage, they were already quite wonderful.

Once Wang Yongzhu and Song Chongjin handled matters in Jing County and were preparing to pack for returning to Qilidun, they noticed Lord Du unexpectedly among the crowd, making their heads spin.

Honestly, Wang Yongzhu considered herself not particularly adept at caring for children. In her heart, she felt that if she were in the previous timeline, she would still be a child.

Moreover, the Wang Family’s Jinhoo, they were all sturdy and didn’t need Wang Yongzhu to worry or care for.

Her concern and care were a matter of convenience, not something she actively worried about.

Lord Du’s status made it difficult, neither too lenient nor too harsh.

But fortunately, Wang Yongzhu was big-hearted, since her master was bold enough to entrust the child to her, she asked herself, why shouldn’t she be?

She straightforwardly declared in front of Old Doctor Du and Lord Du that going to the countryside was fine, everyone would be treated equally, no special privileges.

Whatever everyone ate, Lord Du would eat, and the living conditions would definitely be inferior to those in the city or the capital, which was a matter of objective conditions with little room for improvement.

Everyone would handle their own affairs, there would be help with washing clothes, but certainly, no one would serve him.

No one would particularly attend to him, because everyone had their own tasks, don’t end up feeling he was neglected.

Country folk speak bluntly and directly, bound to clash with Lord Du, he should keep opinions or thoughts to himself and not vocalize them because saying so wouldn’t change anything, nobody would change their nature for just him.

If they truly went to the countryside, they would stay for a while, if he wasn’t used to it, no one would specifically escort him back to Jing County, the escort agency or other people would have to take him along the way.

If he accepted, she would take him along, if not, she couldn’t help it, for the countryside had those conditions, and if brought along, he didn’t adapt, she would just send him back.

Old Doctor Du was unsurprised, knowing his disciple, seemingly agreeable until pushed to the limit.

He knew the intention behind suddenly entrusting such a big child to the couple, his disciple certainly understood, and the conditions stated upfront were clear.

As for Lord Du, he had always encountered Wang Yongzhu smiling genially, being very agreeable, never seen her angry.

Even hearing others say how formidable his young master aunt was, he only knew from hearsay, in his heart thinking, that such a woman as his young master aunt was amiable and generous, nothing like what others described.

But today, he realized he was truly too naive.