Farming Beneath the Changbai Mountains

While they were talking, the old man and Zhixin also came in. When Mrs. Chen saw her eldest grandson, she quickly called Wenhan to come to her side, "Come on, eldest grandson, come to grandma and let grandma see if she has lost weight?"

Wen Han sat down next to his grandmother with a smile, "Mom, I'm not losing weight. Isn't that good? Everything is fine outside. Guoqiang is a smart man and has arranged his food and daily life well. This time, Zixuan, Pengcheng and I We were all awarded the title of scholar, Zixuan was the best, ranked third, I was fourteen, and Pengcheng was twenty-one. We were all selected to be junior students, and we had to study in the county school every month. If you can get some rice, you won’t be able to spend any money at home.”

Just now, everyone was just dealing with the people outside, so they really didn't have time to ask Zixuan and Pengcheng. Now when I heard that all three of them had passed the examination, the old man was even more happy. Wenhan is the grandson, Pengcheng is the grandson-in-law, and Zixuan may also become the grandson-in-law. Unexpectedly, these three newly minted talents are all related to the Xu family. Can the old man be unhappy? "Wen Han, why didn't you see Zixuan?"

"Grandpa, let's come back together. Zixuan has gone home. This is a big happy event. Of course, we must let Uncle Lin know about it as soon as possible." Wen Han explained with a smile. "Pengcheng has also gone home. He will probably come tonight or tomorrow morning."

Mrs. Chen glanced at the old man and said, "You, the older you get, the less capable you are of thinking about things. We are all looking forward to Wenhan's return, isn't it the same for the Lin family? It's great now, Zixuan is here The kid is really good, it's really amazing to get third place in the exam." Chen had already heard from the old man that Zixuan was interested in Jinghan, so she looked at Jinghan while saying this.

Jinghan was also happy for her brother and brother-in-law. She was not too surprised that Zixuan was admitted as a scholar. The three people had similar knowledge, so there was no reason for anyone to fall behind. However, she had no other thoughts about Zixuan, so she acted normally.

When Mrs. Chen saw it, she secretly sighed in her heart. Why did Jinghan look so naughty on weekdays, but so slow when it came to her own feelings? Mrs. Chen shook her head helplessly. It was up to them to handle the affairs of the younger generation themselves. Adults should not interfere easily.

The old man here was discussing with Zhixin and Zhiming about having a drink in the evening. It had been a few years since the Xu family moved to the town, and the neighbors all got along well with each other. It just so happens that we take this opportunity to have a drink together to enhance our relationship.

"Boss, hurry up and notify the Sun family and ask shopkeeper Sun to come and have a drink. In addition, Ye Er also hurriedly sent a message. We have gotten along well over the years, so we can't leave them behind in this matter. "The old man was thinking about who to invite, and said, "There's Qingnian, let's go tell him, and Lao Si's."

When the old lady heard this, she said, "Just tell Qingnian. It doesn't matter if he comes or not. Huixin may only be here for a few days, so he won't dare to leave. Let's make up for it when we have time in the future." "Hui Xin's pregnancy was very difficult. She vomited until she was six months old, and the pregnancy was severe. Qing Nian was very worried.

Zhixin nodded. It happened that Guoqiang had come back with Wenhan, so he sent Wenhan and Guoqiang to go everywhere to deliver letters and invite people to drink. "Wen Han, they are all your elders. If you go there in person, you will also make them look good. Go, this is a happy event, you should go."

Wenhan agreed, went back to the house, changed his clothes, and then led Guoqiang out.

Mrs. Xue and the others bought a lot of vegetables, chicken, pork, etc., and also a lot of cooked food. In this day and age, there are some sellers of cooked food, such as roasted chicken, pig head meat, etc., but they are more expensive. However, Mrs. Everyone quickly started picking vegetables, cutting meat, and preparing for the noon banquet. Jinghan said while picking vegetables, "If I had known earlier, I should have asked Honglian and the others to come back with them. With more people, it would be easier to work. Mom, how many tables should we prepare for tonight?"

Mr. Why don’t we have a table of ten or twenty people here?”

The Jinghan sisters all work in the kitchen. In the past few years, under the guidance of Xue and Zhu, the girls in the Xu family have learned good cooking skills. Even at such a young age, Jingxian can still cook a lot of delicious dishes, so everyone didn't look flustered at all, they just did whatever they had to do, and they were all very organized.

Wen Cheng and his brothers were not idle, and went to nearby neighbors' homes to borrow tables, chairs, dishes, and other household items. Of course, the Xu family didn't have that many tables and chairs, and they didn't have time to go to a place that specifically rented them, so they could only borrow them from the neighbors' homes.

It didn't take long to borrow all the things I needed. The weather was still very warm at this time, so the banquet could be placed outside. Wen Chenggong led Wen Xuan and Wen Chang to set the table together. Mingyu was of course not idle, and worked with everyone.

While the children were setting the table, many neighbors came over, and several daughters-in-law from the neighborhood came over to help with the cooking. This time it was quicker to cook, and in a short time, several dishes were cooked in the kitchen. In addition, Mrs. Zhu cut the cooked food one by one, and six or seven dishes came out at once.

"Jinghan, please hurry up and help serve the food. There should be a lot of people outside." As soon as Mrs. Xue saw that the food was almost done, she quickly asked Jinghan and the others to carry it out.

Jinghan and the others had already picked and washed the vegetables. Since they had nothing to do, they carried the vegetables out.

The six tables in the yard were all full of people. Most of them were neighbors nearby. Of course, there was also Shopkeeper Sun. Ye Laoer also came with his brothers. Zhide also came and entertained the people with Zhixin and the others. Tao Qingnian was not seen. He probably didn't dare to leave Huixin.

The dishes were placed on the table one by one. Wencheng put a jar of wine on each table and poured wine for everyone. When Zhixin saw that the dishes were almost served, he raised his wine glass and said, "Dear neighbors, today is a good day for our son Wenhan. Come on, everyone, drink as much as you can. We won't go home until we are drunk." As he said that, Zhixin drank the wine in one go.

The people next to him also raised their glasses and drank the wine in their glasses. "Brother Xu is so lucky. His son passed the exam to become a scholar, and even his son-in-law passed the exam this time. This is a great joy." One person said so.

In the same town, the sons of the Xu family and the Yue family both passed the examination and became scholars. It didn't take long for everyone to know the news. In addition, the in-law relationship between the two families added a lot of topics. Everyone envied the Xu family. Their sons were able to pass the examination and become scholars, and even their sons-in-law were so capable. This was really a perfect match. The marriage was really perfect.

The old man's table was full of older people. These old men were praising Wenhan and the old man for being blessed. Xu Chengkuan was so happy that his mouth was grinning.

This dinner started at noon and lasted until noon. People drank until their faces were red, and some people had a little tongue. A man of about the same age as Zhixin came to Zhixin with a wine glass in his hand. "Brother Xu, come here, I'll toast you. You are a capable man, and all your children are successful. When your family becomes prosperous, don't forget me."

Zhixin drank a lot, but fortunately he could drink a lot, so he looked better. "Brother Li, what are you talking about? We are all from the same village. If I can help, I will just ask. Who doesn't have big or small things in their family?"

"Okay, I like what you said, brother. If you have any problems in your family, just tell me, I will not refuse." The man drank with Zhixin, and then staggered back to his seat.

Everyone enjoyed the wine very much. An older man looked at this and said, "Okay, it's getting late, we should go home. The scholar just came back from the state capital, and he is very tired. We have almost finished drinking, so we should go home."

Everyone said yes, so they got up and said goodbye to Zhixin and his brothers. Zhixin and his two brothers came to the gate and sent everyone out.

Xue quickly led people to clean up the table, and then served two more tables of dishes. The daughters-in-law who helped and her family sat together to eat a meal. After the meal, the daughters-in-law helped to wash out all the bowls and plates and separated them according to the marks of each family. Then they said goodbye to Xue and Zhu. "Sister-in-law, we are leaving first. Sister-in-law, please let us know if you have any problems in the future. We can't help with other things, but we are good at cooking." A daughter-in-law said before leaving.

Xue and Zhu packed up some unused cooked food and brought some to each of them, "Sister, these are not served on the table, take them back and feed them to the children." Rural people usually do this. When preparing a banquet, they will prepare more, and the rest will be distributed to the people who come to help. Of course, when sending home items back, they should also send a portion to others.

The daughters-in-law refused for a while, and then took them all. Xue's sisters-in-law sent the family away, and then arranged for Wencheng and his friends to send back the borrowed items one by one, and naturally they had to bring back some vegetables.

After Wencheng and his friends had sent back all the borrowed items, everyone sat down to rest. Wenhan said apologetically, "My mother and aunt have suffered for my son's affairs, and Wenhan feels really bad."

"What are you talking about? You have done a great honor for our family, but not every child can pass the imperial examination. No matter how tired I am, I am very happy." Xue touched her son's head and said with a smile.

"Okay, you are really tired today, take a rest. You don't need to cook any dishes in the evening, I will just heat up the remaining dishes then. You all go back to your rooms to rest, tomorrow is another festival, and we still have to have a good reunion." Chen said, asking everyone to rest.