CHAPTER 177: CHAPTER 177: HOUSEWARMING BANQUET

On the day of the housewarming feast, as soon as dawn broke, the second wife got everyone up.

Liu Ze and Qi Xi went back to the Liu residence yesterday, and their things were all packed up, so they could just move directly.

Everyone else’s belongings had been packed into several large boxes a few days ago, and as for the grain, Jiang Hu and Qi Xi had already moved it to the new house when there were fewer people around in the evening.

The new house has a dedicated storeroom and a cellar. In the cellar, moisture-proof charcoal is placed on the bottom, covered with dry straw, then sweet potatoes are stored on top, with no need to worry about moisture and mold.

The cellar was the last thing to be dug, known only to Liu Zhi and a few others, but as it rains a lot in Cheng County, it’s easy for water to accumulate in the cellar, so mostly sweet potatoes and various beans are stored there.

This year’s sweet potatoes were surprisingly good, with a yield of two or three thousand catties per acre, making the Jiang family very happy.

However, Jiang Hu also noticed that not everyone’s sweet potatoes were like that; only their family’s sweet potatoes had the highest yield.

But the high yield of sweet potatoes did not attract much attention from everyone. For the villagers, sweet potatoes, although nice, couldn’t be eaten every day. At most, they were added to rice when cooking, mainly still used to feed pigs.

Jiang Hu didn’t go out of his way to publicize this matter, considering it as quietly making a fortune.

Getting back to the main point, aside from the cellar, there was also a dedicated grain store, which was waterproof and moisture-proof, and the other grains were stored there.

Originally, some people in the village offered to help move, but because the family had a lot of grain this year, Jiang Hu didn’t want too many people to know, so he declined and, together with Qi Xi, spent several days slowly moving everything.

The grain store was locked, with only a small amount of grain in the kitchen. Today’s housewarming feast was at the new house, and the cooking would naturally take place there.

Jiang Hu went to the new house to unlock the door, while the second wife and a few children packed everything, and those who came to help had almost arrived.

A few people came to help them move their things to the new house, then busily started working over there, even making and eating breakfast on-site.

Today, the entire Jiang family changed into new clothes, their faces beaming with joy, and even Xiao Mi temporarily set aside her worries. No matter what, at this moment, everyone was happy.

The new Jiang household bustled with activity; some were stewing chicken, others cooking fish. Everyone loved Jiang family’s dishes, which couldn’t be found outside.

So, whatever the Jiang family had, there was no need to buy from outside.

By the time it was the hour of the snake, several carriages had driven into Fu’an Village, heading towards the Jiang family’s new residence.

The children shouted, "Esteemed guests are here!" "Esteemed guests are here!"

Jiang Hu hurriedly went out and, indeed, it was a familiar carriage.

Before the carriage even stopped, Mr. Liu lifted the carriage curtain, poking his head out to greet Jiang Hu.

"Xiao Jiang, congratulations, congratulations."

Once the carriage stopped, Mr. Liu got off, followed closely by Liu Ze, who respectfully called out, "Uncle Jiang."

"Uncle Liu, please come inside." Then he turned to Liu Ze, "Jiang Yu and Xiao Xue are in the inner courtyard. Xiao Ze, you can go play; you know which room is yours, just move your things in."

Liu Ze’s smile broadened, "Thank you, Uncle Jiang, I’ll go in first."

He then gestured behind him, leading several house staff carrying boxes inside.

Mr. Liu smiled and patted Jiang Hu on the shoulder, "Thank you all. This child is much more lively compared to before."

He then waved behind him, and someone brought an item over.

"I knew you probably didn’t prepare for this, so here, I specially had this made for you."

Jiang Hu stared wide-eyed and stunned, "This is a name plaque?"

In Jiang Hu’s impression, name plaques were items only owned by wealthy families. Although his family’s new house wasn’t small, he never considered such a thing.

Even when the furniture store people delivered furniture and brought it up proactively, Jiang Hu directly declined the offer.

But he never expected that Uncle Liu would personally bring one for him!

At this moment, Uncle Liu was acting like it was his own home, bypassing Jiang Hu, finding helpers, and bringing two ladders over.

While Jiang Hu was still somewhat bewildered, the name plaque was already hung, adorned with a big red flower and a piece of red silk, looking very festive.

Once it was hung, Uncle Liu expressed his satisfaction.

"Jiang Residence, how about it, looks good, right? I specially went to the county to find the best master to make it, and waited in line for half a month."

The Jiang family were ordinary folks, so using something like "Jiang Manor" wasn’t fitting. "Jiang Residence" suited the relatively small courtyard well.

Jiang Hu looked at the name plaque above the door. Even though it was just one additional thing, it felt like the whole house was different.

"Thank you so much, Uncle Liu," Jiang Hu sincerely expressed his gratitude.

Uncle Liu laughed heartily, "It’s nothing, nothing, as long as you don’t mind this old guy coming over for a meal."

It was only then that Jiang Hu noticed that during this brief moment, the household staff who had helped Liu Ze bring in his things, had already come out and moved several large boxes out of the carriage again.

From the looks of it, they were actually planning to stay at the Jiang house long-term.

Jiang Hu did not oppose this at all, and was even quite pleased.

"You’re most welcome, I’m delighted. I’ll show you inside to put down the things; it’s still early, Uncle Liu, you can rest for a while."

Having Uncle Liu stay at their home was almost equivalent to gaining a solid backing.

Although the Jiang family had always kept a low profile so far, without encountering bad people or bad situations, who wouldn’t welcome the added security of having a backing that others would respect?

Moreover, this house was originally funded by Uncle Liu, so it naturally involved him as well, right?

Jiang Hu led Uncle Liu into the house joyfully, with rooms already prepared.

On the way, people asked what was going on, and Jiang Hu didn’t hide it, saying directly that Uncle Liu wanted to stay in the village for a while.

Everyone knew that Uncle Liu had provided the funds to help build the Jiang family’s house, and upon hearing that he intended to stay at the Jiang house, it naturally led to much discussion.

However, Uncle Liu didn’t mind, and Jiang Hu wasn’t concerned about it either.

Having settled Uncle Liu into the inner courtyard, where the second wife and young wives like Wang Xiang Xiuniang and some children were, Jiang Hu went outside again.

Earlier, while bringing Uncle Liu in, Jiang Hu noticed another carriage entering the village, likely signifying the arrival of Shopkeeper Liu and his group.

Sure enough, as Jiang Hu came out, he saw Shopkeeper Liu, Master Zhang, and Little Ding with his father, plus surprisingly, several other helpers had all arrived.

Jiang Hu quickly tallied the numbers in his mind and hurriedly called the village head to add two more tables while Shopkeeper Liu and the group were still at the carriage.