Chapter 128 Flowing Banquet

Chapter 128: The Continuous Banquet

The house was now more than twice its original size, but the courtyard still wasn't large enough for the continuous banquet.

The day before the banquet, the butcher brought the pigs over and slaughtered them at the village's grain-drying ground. Brother Man's family closed their shop in town and came over, along with Second Uncle Song's family, clan members, and villagers who all volunteered to help.

More than twenty temporary stoves were set up in the courtyards of Song Tingzhou's house and Aunt Song Liu's house, with twenty-odd large woks set up.

Zhang Xiaoyu's house at the end of the village also had stoves set up, cooking dishes at both ends to ensure smooth serving.

A group of women were making steamed buns in the dining hall. The dough had been prepared the night before, and they started steaming before dawn. They were all large white-flour buns, bigger than an adult's fist, and one could fill a child's stomach.

Tables, stools, bowls, and chopsticks were borrowed from the village households. That was easy enough—every house had them set out at their doorsteps, stretching from Aunt Song Liu's at the entrance of the village all the way to the end.

On the first day, outsiders were invited first. It didn't matter where they were from; as soon as a table was full, dishes were served. After one round, the next pot of food was cooked.

Since there were too many people, stir-fried dishes wouldn't suffice, so they mainly made braised dishes and cold dishes.

Cabbage and pork slices braised with tofu, pig trotters braised with soybeans, steamed pig's blood with sesame oil, sauerkraut braised with spine bones, winter melon braised with ribs, eggplant steamed with large pork slices, potatoes braised with pork belly, amaranth mixed with pig heart, cold sliced pig liver, cold sliced pig elbow, cucumber mixed with pig tail, bean sprouts mixed with pig skin...

Each dish was guaranteed to have meat. The cooks served whatever dish was ready, mainly braised dishes, ensuring each table had four braised dishes and two cold dishes, all different from each other.

There wasn't time to clean the pig intestines and pig heads. Except for two pig heads reserved for ancestor worship and Song Tingzhou's father, the rest were cut up and distributed to the families who helped.

At the hour of Si (9-11 AM), the tables were mostly full. Some couldn't find seats and gathered in groups at the village entrance to chat.

For the Song family's happy occasion, Clan Elder Song stood up as an elder and gave a few polite remarks. The village head stood at the village entrance, recording which village each guest came from and which family they belonged to—not to collect money, but to keep a rough record for reference.

Xue Sheng and a few young people set off firecrackers at the village entrance to signal the start of the feast. Large bowls filled to the brim with oily, rich dishes were brought to the tables. Each table had a basket of slightly yellow yet fluffy buns, which were replenished when empty.

The children in the dining hall were still young but came out to help the adults, despite the chaos outside. The older ones went ahead, but Meng Wan wouldn't let the little ones near the stoves to avoid tripping or getting burned.

"You all sit at this table and eat with Grandma Chang," Meng Wan led them to the east room, letting them sit on the heated bed with their grandmother.

Zhang Xiaoyu's child was also on the heated bed playing with Yu Ge'er. The child was still young and needed watching. Maternal Grandmother and a few elderly clan members were in this room, chatting and looking after the kids.

"Your Wan Ge'er is truly a blessed good child."

"He's a whiz at managing both inside and outside."

"Indeed, he even produced an official—truly remarkable."

Now the clan looked up to Song Tingzhou and Meng Wan, so the elders only said nice things. However, there were always those who lacked tact, even from youth to old age. They inevitably asked why Meng Wan hadn't had children after years of marriage, suggesting he consult someone for folk remedies.

For the former, Maternal Grandmother responded with a smile. For the latter, she pretended not to hear.

Her own daughter, the actual mother-in-law, hadn't pressured them. How could she, a grandmother, meddle in her grandchild's marital affairs?

Outside, there was bustling noise and chatter everywhere, mostly from people serving food and those working in the yard. The guests at the tables were busy rolling up their sleeves to grab meat.

Some people finished eating but just sat there, refusing to budge. Before the hosts could say anything, those waiting in line complained.

By noon, the crowd hadn't shrunk; it had only grown. Several landlords from nearby villages took advantage of the occasion to curry favor with the Song family, offering money or women—the same old routine.

Song Tingzhou exchanged a few polite words, but when they became increasingly improper, he put on a stern face and prepared to show them out. The clan elder stepped in to play the good cop, while Song Tingzhou called over Scholar He and his son, Tongsheng He.

Scholar He was a wily old fox. He spoke without fawning but with flattery that pleased Song Tingzhou. Noticing Song Tingzhou seemed to want a private word with his son, he excused himself to taste the village feast and secretly signaled his son to seize the opportunity.

"Teacher, you had grace in teaching me. I had planned to pay you a visit before I left." Song Tingzhou led Tongsheng He to the backyard, which was quieter.

Tongsheng He's expression was complex. "It was your own diligence and progress. I didn't help you much." Song Tingzhou's achievements had far surpassed him, and he felt not only relief and disbelief but also some panic.

After all, he had once seen certain things and looked the other way.

Song Tingzhou's perspective had broadened; he no longer cared about those past matters. Besides, Tongsheng He had indeed helped him considerably.

He didn't want to prolong pleasantries, so he got straight to the point: "I want to establish a clan school in Sanquan Village. Would you be willing to come and teach here?"

"Me, teach?" Tongsheng He was overwhelmed by the favor.

His expression showed he truly felt unqualified.

Song Tingzhou's brows were clear and his eyes bright. "Do not worry, teacher. It's just to enlighten the children. The yearly tuition fee is ten taels of silver. If any student passes the exam to become a Tongsheng, the school will reward you with half a tael per successful candidate."

In fact, the He family wasn't short of money, but Tongsheng He had always lived under his father's oppressive, controlling guidance like a puppet.

He hesitated. "There are many Tongsheng in town. Why choose me, someone so rigid and conventional?"

Song Tingzhou bowed solemnly to Tongsheng He. "Because I trust your character."

That he could remain upright under the tutelage of such a scheming and snobbish father showed resilience. Such a personality might not be a bad thing for teaching children.

Moved, Tongsheng He replied, "Alright, I... accept."

Both wealthy families from the town were present today. First Master Fang outlasted his father, paid off all the various concubines and sent them away, and sent his half-brothers away with their shares. His household was now much more peaceful.

Meng Wan found him and asked, "Do you know where Jin Rong is now?"

First Master Fang looked somewhat uncomfortable. "He married and moved away."

Meng Wan thought he feared revealing Fang Jinrong's whereabouts would cause trouble for his son, so he explained, "I was close to Jin Rong. I'm not testing you. It's just that after we parted at the prefectural city, I've had no news of him and miss him."

First Master Fang rubbed his forehead and smiled bitterly. "I'm not lying to you, Meng Fulang. Rong'er truly married a border guard and now lives in Lingnan, a remote place."

The distance was vast, and that place was unheard of. Each letter took half a year to arrive. He didn't know how his son was living in hardship, and he couldn't up and leave his large family to go see him. Just the thought of it gave him a headache.

Meng Wan was surprised. "Lingnan? What a coincidence! My husband is going to Lingnan for his post. If you trust me, tell me Jin Rong's current address. After we move there, if it's nearby, I can try to find him."

First Master Fang was beside himself with joy. "That's wonderful! I remember the address clearly. Do you have paper and brush?"

Meng Wan fetched Xuan paper and a writing brush, copied down Fang Jinrong's address in Lingnan, and stored it safely.

The continuous banquet went on until dark. With so many tables, villagers from nearby villages all got to eat.

Everyone cleaned up. About twenty or thirty tables at the village entrance and end were removed. The remaining tables and stoves were left in place for the next day's feast for their own village.

On the second day, the helpers from their own village also sat down to eat. About twenty clan members stayed to help, eating only after finishing their work.

After the feast ended at night, Uncle Chang and his family stayed overnight. They left the next morning, but his maternal grandmother stayed on for a few more days.

Song Tingzhou and his family invited a feng shui practitioner to install his father's spirit tablet. They stayed home for three more days, gave instructions to Second Uncle Song and Uncle Song Liu, divided the chickens and leftover grain between the two families, and then packed their belongings to depart.

A few days earlier, Xue Sheng had sent word to the escorts and the cart drivers in town. The escorts waited in town, while the cart drivers arrived early to help load the carts.

While they were loading, Meng Wan handed the house keys to Zhang Xiaoyu. "Second Aunt, here are the keys to the main gate and the rooms. Please, if you and Second Uncle could drop by occasionally to look after things."

Second Uncle Song patted his chest and promised, "Don't worry. Leave it to us. We'll take good care of everything."

He still drank, but not as decadently as before. Zhang Xiaoyu looked after the child, and some chores he had to do whether he liked it or not.

Chang Jinhua, as the eldest sister-in-law, could not help but advise him before leaving: "Now that the Song family has a better life, no one can live it for you. Yu Geer has gone through the hard times with you and even given you a daughter. You should be content. Work harder and build up some savings for your daughter. Later, you can recruit a son-in-law, and the children will still bear your surname Song."

Second Uncle Song nodded honestly, but Zhang Xiaoyu couldn't help but feel a glimmer of hope upon hearing this.

Grandmother happened to be going to town with them, and Meng Wan, as usual, pressed some loose silver into her hand.

After seeing her to the Chang family, he also gave Aunt Chang a bit of silver to buy her silence.

These money-grubbing types are easier to handle than outright evil people. As long as Grandmother could bring her benefits, she cared about her mother-in-law's health more than anyone else.

They had come with four carts; after distributing some things, they loaded up many more, and their family carriage also set off.

Half a month later, they returned safely to Changping. The Nie family had prepared a teacher-apprentice banquet. It wasn't grand, but overall it was solemn and dignified.

Master Nie sat in the main seat, accepting Song Tingzhou's ceremony of three kneels and nine prostrations. After drinking the teacher-respecting tea, he bestowed on him the style name—Jingxing.

It came from the "Book of Songs": "The high mountain is looked up to; the great road is traveled on." It was Master Nie's wish for his disciple, wishing Song Tingzhou a bright future and a smooth path ahead.

After finishing the most important matters in Changping, it was almost mid-September. They couldn't stay long and had to hurry back to Shengjing.

Huang Zheng had some leads on finding Xiao E, but Meng Wan couldn't wait any longer. He could only instruct Huang Zheng to repay the debt on his behalf after finding Xiao E, explaining it was owed to an old acquaintance. If Xiao E was struggling, Huang Zheng was to help him as much as possible.

Huang Zheng noted everything down and once again saw Meng Wan and the others out of the city gates. As for meeting again, who knew how many years it would be.

At the beginning of October, they finally arrived in Shengjing. They settled the remaining payment with the escorts and drove their carriages to Shichun Alley.

It was nearly dark. After getting off the carriage, Meng Wan suddenly noticed a patch of dark shadow behind the willow tree at his doorstep.

With a frown, he called over Xue Sheng, who was moving the cart up front. "Xue Sheng, come and see if there's something behind the tree."

Xue Sheng approached and looked. "Fulang, it's a few children."

"Children?" Meng Wan walked over doubtfully and found it was indeed true.

Four young children were curled up behind the tree sleeping. Perhaps aware of human voices, they slept restlessly and were about to wake up.

"Why does this older one look so familiar? Isn't he the little medicine apprentice that Qing Xing brought home last time?" Meng Wan asked Song Tingzhou, who had followed.

"It is indeed him." Song Tingzhou still remembered.

Awakened by their voices, the little medicine apprentice opened his eyes. He stared blankly at the people in front of him, rubbed his eyes, and then burst into tears with a "waa."

His crying startled the other three little ones awake, and then one by one, all the children started crying.

Meng Wan had a headache. "First, come inside with me. Tell me properly why you were sleeping at my doorstep."

The little medicine apprentice calmed down a bit and, sniffling, led his younger siblings into the residence. The youngest of these little sprouts was only two years old, with a small red face from the cold, sucking on their fingers and following behind in a daze.

Chang Jinhua felt a bit soft-hearted when she saw them. She picked the little one up and carried her. "Where did these children come from? Where are their parents?"

As soon as she asked, the little medicine apprentice was about to cry again. After being led into the main hall, he directly knelt at Meng Wan's feet crying. "Meng Fulang, please save my elder sister! My sister said you are a good person. I didn't know who else to turn to. Can you save her?"

He spoke incoherently. When the other children heard "sister," they wanted to cry again. Meng Wan's head was about to explode.

He called over two maidservants from outside. "Go to the kitchen and tell the cook to prepare some noodle soup and bring it here. Make it mild."

Then he coaxed the children, "Stop crying first. Crying won't bring your sister back. Eat first, then tell me the whole story clearly, understand?"

Hearing about food, the little ones stopped crying and started sucking their fingers again. They were quite dirty; their clothes hadn't been changed for who knows how many days. Their hands and faces were muddy, and they kept putting their dirty fingers into their mouths.

Meng Wan was at a loss and put a hand to his forehead. "Bi Yun, quickly take them to the guest room to wash up and find some clean clothes for them to change into."

"Fulang, but we don't have any children's clothes in the house," Bi Yun said.

Meng Wan thought about it and realized she was right. He had almost forgotten. "Then quickly send someone to the clothing store to inquire."

He didn't know if the clothing store was still open at this hour. If it was closed, they would have to make do with some adult clothes.

The servant rode off on a horse. The nearby clothing store was indeed still open, and he soon bought clothes and returned.

Bi Yun took the children to bathe and change clothes. Then, clean and dressed in new clothes, they came out to eat noodle soup. Each child held a bowl of hot noodles and ate them with gusto.

One bowl sufficed for the little ones. The older one, who had been hungry for who knows how long, quickly finished one bowl but felt too shy to ask for more.

Meng Wan, who had been watching, got up and helped them serve more noodles.