Chapter 176: Laba Festival

Chapter 176: Laba Festival

Early in the morning of the Laba Festival, sheds were set up near Guyu's home, with several large pots installed. The pots were bubbling with heat, and the aroma wafted far and wide.

Winter is already a relatively leisurely season, and with several days of continuous snowfall, most people were still in their warm beds. This was also why so many people hadn't escaped in the scene.

However, there were always those who rose early. Drawn by the aroma, a curious person asked, "Is this a newly set up breakfast stall?"

Xiaolian, dressed in a thick red jacket, smiled and said, "No, our young miss lost her cat yesterday. Many neighbors around here helped search for it. Out of gratitude, our miss decided to offer free porridge for four days."

Hearing it was free, the person's eyes lit up immediately and they craned their neck to look into the pot. They saw thick porridge in the pot, and in two other large pots, fragrant meat was being stewed.

"This meat—" The person swallowed hard, eyes wide with disbelief.

Xiaolian smiled gently, "The roast pork, roast chicken, and boiled eggs are also free."

"Really?" The person exclaimed, unable to believe their ears.

At that moment, a few more people came over, drawn by the aroma. Upon hearing this, they asked in disbelief, no one daring to trust it was true.

During hard times, it wasn't uncommon for wealthy benefactors to offer porridge out of kindness, but no one had ever given away chicken legs and braised pork!

"Of course, it's true, but our miss has a rule—" Xiaolian drew out her words.

Already salivating from the aroma and now hearing they could eat for free, several people asked eagerly, "What rule?"

Xiaolian looked at Xin You.

The others followed her gaze.

Xin You, wrapped in a snow fox fur coat that was both warm and exuded an air of nobility, looked highly credible as someone who wasn't short of money.

Under the eager gazes of several pairs of eyes, Xin You smiled and said, "The porridge and meat are distributed per person."

"Per person?"

Xin You nodded, "Those who come get a bowl of porridge and a portion of meat. Those who don't come get nothing."

"So if a family has eight people, they can get eight portions?"

"Yes, as long as all eight come." Seeing their eagerness, Xin You added, "However, the porridge and meat are limited. First come, first served. Once it's gone, it's gone for the day—"

Before she could finish, several people took off running, shouting as they went, "Come out quickly! A generous young miss is giving away porridge and meat!"

"First come, first served! It'll be gone if you're late!"

Xiaolian watched as the previously deserted street became lively and cast an admiring glance at Xin You, "Miss, you always have the best ideas!"

Using the money left by her miss to save these people's lives was also accumulating good fortune for Miss Qingqing. Her miss would be reborn into a good life, with healthy and long-lived parents, and never encounter any treacherous relatives again.

Thinking of this, Xiaolian wiped her eyes and smiled again.

Soon, many people came running with bowls in hand, while others, not quite believing it, ran out empty-handed just to see what was happening.

The first person in line nervously handed over their bowl, eyes fixed on the pot of stewing meat.

The guard serving the porridge ladled two scoops into the bowl and handed it to a companion.

That guard, holding the bowl, asked, "Would you like roast pork or chicken? Or perhaps a boiled egg?"

"Roast pork, the fattier the better!"

The guard nodded, scooped a glistening piece of roast pork into the bowl, and said, "Here you go, hold on tight."

The person took the bowl, lowered their head to take a deep whiff of the meat's aroma, and finally believed it was real.

"There's really meat to eat!"

With that shout, those who had come empty-handed rushed back to fetch bowls.

"No need to rush, everyone, please form an orderly line." A loud-voiced guard maintained order.

"Hey, aren't you the young miss from yesterday?" A middle-aged woman recognized Xin You and pulled another woman standing behind her in line, "Guyu's mother, come take a look. Isn't this the young miss we helped look for her cat yesterday?"

Gu Yuniang took a long, hard look at Xin You.

Xin You smiled generously, "It's me. I'm here today to offer free porridge as a way to thank the neighbors for their help yesterday."

"Miss, did you find your cat?"

"I did."

"That's good, that's good. I knew a kind-hearted miss like you would find it."

"What is your name, miss?"

"I am Kou Qingqing. You can all call me Miss Kou."

"Thank you, Miss Kou!" Those who received food expressed their gratitude.

Hearing the thanks, Xiaolian's eyes welled up again, and she silently thought: Miss, can you hear them? They are all thanking you.

By publicly announcing Kou Qingqing's name, this was exactly what Xin You intended.

The money was Qingqing's, and she deserved to be thanked and remembered.

It was now a young man's turn. After receiving his porridge, he handed over another bowl and said, "My child is still young, and my wife is at home with the child, so she can't come out. Is it possible to bring something back for her?"

The ever-smiling guard turned serious, "I'm afraid that won't do. We must serve the porridge and meat only to those present. This is the rule set by our miss."

"Can we be a bit more flexible? It's cold and snowing, it's really not easy to bring the children out."

"Yes, my old mother can't get around easily either, can we take some back for her?"

With the younger people starting to speak up, more people immediately chimed in.

The guards had been instructed by Xin You beforehand that this rule was the bottom line and must not be broken, so they immediately turned even more stern. "Everyone, don't forget, we're giving away porridge for free today. Once it's gone, it's gone. If everyone says they need to take some back for someone at home, wouldn't that be unfair to those waiting in line behind who might not get any?"

As soon as these words were spoken, people standing further back in the line started shouting, "Exactly! Miss Kou is kind-hearted to give us porridge, we shouldn't be greedy!"

"That's right, how can we make so many demands when it's free? Besides, we all live around here, what's the big deal about coming out?"

The young man left with a red face.

Before long, he returned with his wife and child, and the young woman silently stood at the end of the line holding her child.

Xin You noticed that the young woman was the neighbor who lived across from Gu Yuniang.

Seeing her come to collect porridge while holding her child, Xin You smiled slightly.

The porridge was made with good rice, thick and fragrant, and the roasted meat and chicken were so delicious that they made people drool. The eggs were cooked in the meat broth and tasted just as good. Once these people had a taste, it would be hard for them not to come back in the following days.

Of course, nothing is absolute, but this was already the best result she could achieve. If someone stayed home and something happened to them, it would just be their fate.

"Huh, why do you look familiar? Didn't you already get your share?" Liu Zhou, with his sharp eyes, called out a man who was trying to queue twice.

The middle-aged man refused to admit it when confronted.

Liu Zhou sneered, "The porridge and meat are limited. If you take more, others will miss out."

Hearing this, people standing behind started accusing the man, but quite a few harbored the same thought.

Liu Zhou raised his voice, "Please help us keep an eye out. If anyone tries to queue up again and the neighbors don't notice but I catch them, then I'm sorry, we'll have to stop the free porridge right away."

Hearing this, those who wanted to take advantage immediately gave up on the idea.