Chapter 90: The Peasant Girl’s Splendid Manor
Chapter 90: Gift Giving
In the customs of Da Chu, the New Year's Eve dinner is not eaten until it's dark outside. The New Year's Eve dinner is very particular; it not only includes fish and meat but also continues until the third day of the first lunar month.
Although eating leftover dishes for three days is not beneficial for health, this custom symbolizes a family's hope for the coming year. Moreover, since it's only once a year, Mo Yan prepared three days' worth of meals.
The ingredients in the house were abundant. Half a month ago, they bought half a pig, with half of it marinated with spices to make unique-flavored cured meat, and the other half chopped to make spicy and fragrant sausages.
There were also many chickens in the space, apart from the roosters. There were also old hens that no longer laid eggs. They were all nourished by the aura in the space, and not only were they nutritious, but their taste was also indescribable.
Speaking of chickens, Mo Yan had a headache. The hens in the space often laid eggs, and there were already seven to eight hundred of them, which was the result of her efforts to suppress their numbers. Otherwise, the entire space would probably be occupied by the flock of chickens.
Fortunately, they were going to buy barren hills next year, and by then, they would be able to raise all these chickens on the mountains.
The Mo family loved braised meats, so they naturally couldn't do without delicious braised pork, chicken, and sausages. The braising sauce that Mo Yan personally prepared emitted a delicious aroma as soon as it boiled, attracting Zhen'er to keep running into the kitchen.
Mo Yan tore off a chicken leg and handed it to him. He eagerly took several bites, his cheeks bulging like an inflated frog.
While Mo Yan was busy in the kitchen, the others were not idle. They were gathered in the hall, rolling out dough, chopping fillings, and wrapping dumplings.
On New Year's Eve, not only did the family eat dumplings, but also when relatives and friends came to visit, they would eat dumplings first to fill their stomachs. If there were many relatives and friends, even a few hundred dumplings might not be enough.
Back when they were resettled in Liuyang Village, it wasn't just the Mo family and the old Mo family who were resettled there, but also more than ten other families surnamed Mo. If they were still in Mojia village, they would all come to visit on the first day of the lunar New Year. If they were close, they would eat dumplings before leaving, and if they were distant, they would usually just pay a New Year visit and leave.
Mo Yan wasn't sure if those relatives of the Mo family would come to visit on the first day of the lunar New Year. Back in Mojia Village, these so-called relatives were not friendly to the original owner's family. Some even occasionally took advantage of them. Whether they came or not, Mo Yan didn't care, but if they did come, she couldn't shut them out.
As for people like Lin Da and Lin Meng, who had closer relationships with the Mo family, they would definitely come to visit, and most of these dumplings were prepared for them.
When the kitchen tasks were almost done, they were just waiting to cook the New Year's Eve dinner at night. Mo Yan washed her hands and went to the hall to help wrap dumplings.
This time, they made a lot of dumplings, and there were also several types of fillings. In addition to the mushroom and lean meat filling that the family loved, there were also corn and lean meat, mushroom and chicken, and leek and egg fillings.
Mo Qingze and Li Zhong were responsible for chopping the meat filling, while Li Yan and Xin'er rolled out the dough skins. Mo Yan alone could handle all the dumpling wrappers.
The family chatted and laughed as they wrapped dumplings. They heard a knock on the door, and since Zhen'er was the only one free, he ran to the courtyard to open the door.
"You're all busy!"
Shopkeeper Xing greeted them with a smile. Behind him was Xiao Zhu, who was carrying a square silver box.
Seeing them, Mo Yan quickly clapped the flour off her hands, invited them to sit down, and went to wash her hands and brew tea.
"Don't be so polite, Miss Mo. I was instructed by the young master to bring you something. I won't stay long."
Shopkeeper Xing quickly stopped her, then instructed Xiao Zhu, "Go and bring in everything from the carriage."
Xiao Zhu quickly obeyed and handed the silver box to Mo Yan before running outside to carry things in.
The Mo family watched as the small Xiao Zhu kept running back and forth, carrying things. In a short while, the cloth and food brought in were piled up in the hall.
Mo Yan twitched her eyes. She thought it was just "bringing something," but she didn't expect so much. Moreover, they were all household items, not particularly precious. She couldn't even refuse them.
The others were not familiar with Shopkeeper Xing, only knowing that Mo Yan had business dealings with him, and he had also taken a lot of vegetables away a few days ago.
Only Mo Yan knew that the vegetable delivery was just a cover, and what was really transported was Spirit Spring water from the space. To avoid attracting attention, she and Shopkeeper Xing claimed that the two families had reached a cooperation agreement.
With reciprocity in mind, Mo Yan had to pack up the freshly wrapped dumplings and take out a basket of cured meats, sausages, and braised meats from under the eaves, filling a basket full of them. After some thought, she also took out several old hens from the kitchen and quietly took out some vegetables and fruits from the space, putting them together as a return gift.
"There's nothing good at home. These are all produced by ourselves, and they taste pretty good. Especially these chickens are very nourishing. If Shopkeeper doesn't mind, take them back."
"I don't mind, I don't mind. These are all good things that can't be bought outside!"
Shopkeeper Xing personally took the dumplings and braised meat, and let Xiao Zhu carry the chickens and vegetables onto the car.
From his master, he vaguely knew that this Miss Mo was not simple. If it were someone else's family sending these foods, he wouldn't be interested, but since it was sent by Miss Mo, it must be good.
After Shopkeeper Xing and his party left, Mo Yan began to sort out the gifts they had brought. The gifts were heavier than she had imagined. Apart from the smooth and soft fabrics, the pile of snacks were all bought from famous shops, with each small packet costing a tael of silver.
The things in the silver box were even more precious. There were jade ornaments, gemstones, and pearl jewelry, suitable for young girls of ten or so years old. Each set had a different design; there were also three pieces of jade pendants for men, which even included Li Zhong and Li Yan. It had to be said that this gift was thoughtful.
On Shopkeeper Xing's side, he brought the return gift from the Mo family and delivered it to the residence of Wu'an.
As a result, during the New Year's Eve dinner at the Wu'an Mansion residence that night, the young master Wu'an ate only a few bites of the food with great disgust and didn't touch his chopsticks again until the chef brought in a pot of fragrant chicken soup and a bowl of steaming dumplings. After the young master Wu'an personally served a bowl of chicken soup and dumplings to his grandfather, the other dishes were all eaten by him alone, which made Wu'an's wife—the young master Wu'an's step-grandmother—feel extremely aggrieved. They had a big quarrel that night, and as a result, she was severely punished by the old master Wu'an before calming down!
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