The Banquet
Xu Ran went to the Zhuo Mansion after shopping to confirm with Zhuo Yun the time for Qingshu's hundredth day celebration (a traditional activity to commemorate a baby's first hundred days of life).
Only after hearing Xu Ran's question did Zhuo Yun realize the matter, "But I didn't seem to have told you when my little darling was born?"
Xu Ran shook his head and said, "No, you didn't. It was just yesterday that I remembered it. I inquired of Tongtong, who informed me that Qingshu was born on September eleventh. I kept track of the days. On the twentieth of this month, Qingshu will be a hundred days old."
Zhuo Yun nodded "It's the 20th of the month, but the mansion is currently unstaffed. We won't be able to handle this on our own. So, I'll reserve a room in a restaurant and everything will be OK."
"This is a good method. Though it will cost more money, you can free yourselves and don't need to care for too much."
"Yeah, let's decide to go to Mr. Chen's restaurant," Zhuo Yun said.
"Do you want me to add some food to the banquet?" Xu Ran asked.
With a wave of his hand, Zhuo Yun said, "No, it's not true. I'm sure the food you'll include will be all of Mr. Chen's signature dishes. There's no reason to show them. After this lunch, I'm concerned someone will come to my house and scavenge free meals from us every day."
Xu Ran considered it and agreed. Potatoes and dried bamboo shoots were among the items he could add to the dinner. It was alright for dried bamboo shoots, but if he took too many potatoes all at once, Zhuo Yun would be in serious trouble.
Xu Ran then made the following suggestion: "What about this approach? My baby's full month celebration (a customary activity to commemorate a baby's first month of life) will take place on the 25th. If you're free on that day, why don't you come to my place and we can have a big Qingshu celebration?"
"Well, let me discuss it with Shuwen first. If he agrees, I have no objection."
"Alright, then you can discuss it with Shuwen. And I'll go back first," Xu Ran said.
"Okay. Take care and bye," Zhuo Yun sent Xu Ran to the gate.
______
The winter days at home were always fast, and in the blink of an eye, the days from the 16th to the 20th had passed.
The hundredth day of Qingshu's birth was commemorated today. Xu Ran dressed himself up in the morning. He then assisted in the dressing of the two children. As a result, the father and sons appeared sophisticated and lovely when they stood together.
Today's celebration will be a joyous occasion. Xu Ran had pulled away Tangtang's and Guoguo's crimson jackets from their New Year's Eve outfits and allowed them to wear them. Originally, the two children were attractive. They grew more energetic as soon as they put on the red jackets and turned to two wealthy young masters.
Xu Ran's two children were obedient and clothed themselves according to his wishes. To show his appreciation for his efforts, Xu Ran clapped his hands and stroked his chin.
Xu Ran said to Tangtang and Guoguo, "You two can go and show Daddy."
Tangtang and Guoguo both believed the red coats they were wearing on themselves were attractive. They smiled and walked away. When Liu Tong saw Tangtang and Guoguo enter the room, he questioned, "Why haven't you gotten started yet? If you don't go now, it will be too late."
Guoguo turned around and asked Liu Tong, "Daddy, do you think my brother and I look good today?"
Liu Tong also noticed the red jackets on them. He praised them with a smile, "Very good-looking. Both Guoguo and Tangtang look good."
Guoguo threw himself to the bedside, "Dad asked us to wear the red jackets and he let us come here to show you."
Liu Tong replied, "Well, no matter what, our Tangtang and Guoguo look good. Today you are more handsome."
Hearing this, both Tangtang and Guoguo were happy that they were about to jump up onto Liu Tong.
Liu Tong was holding Baozi in his arms at the time. He was frightened they would damage Baozi, so he swiftly stopped them, saying, "Don't jump, otherwise your little brother will be hurt. Get downstairs! Dad will leave right now if you don't go."
The two kids then considered why they were wearing red coats today. They went downstairs, waving to Liu Tong and young Baozi. And it just so happened that they ran into Shao Yu downstairs. They posed the identical inquiry to Shao Yu as they did to Liu Tong.
Shao Yu was amused by them both. He also praised them for their good looks.
At last, Tangtang and Guoguo were satisfied and ran quickly to find Xu Ran.
Shao Yu went upstairs to Liu Tong's room and told him what had just happened.
After hearing this, Liu Tong smiled "They'd merely asked me about it and then came back to you. I'm curious where they got this habit. They are men, yet they adore being attractive."
Shao Yu argued, "Who said that men can't be attractive? I think they get this habit from the young master. Didn't they say that the young master took the red jackets out for them?"
Liu Tong thought of what Guoguo and Tangtang had just said and smiled lightly, "I also think they learned from Ran, but Ran was not like this before."
Hearing Liu Tong's words, Shao Yu casually asked, "What was the young master like before?"
"Well, before! He was a fool. He had been a fool before I married him. At that time, I was sold to their family by my eldest uncle... "
Liu Tong felt compelled to speak about what had transpired previously for some reason. Despite the fact that he believed his life was unpleasant at the time, he never considered leaving alone. The past had become a memory. He had been watching over the family and spending time with them for the previous seven years.
Fortunately, the day he had been waiting for had arrived: Xu Ran had recovered and was on the mend; they were now enjoying a happy life, and he had given birth to the baby in his arms.
Liu Tong was softly telling the narrative of their past, while Shao Yu sat by the side, quietly listening. When Shao Yu arrived to this residence, he noticed that the family was happy and unconcerned about food or clothing. He had never dreamed they would go through those seven difficult years. As a result, he felt strangely sad for them.
It was really lucky that Xu Ran had recovered, and their life had become better. Everything was fine now...
_____
Xu Ran and his two sons, on the other hand, arrived in town with ease. Xu Ran knew Lin Xi was coming today, so he drove slowly in the hopes of running into him along the route. He didn't see anyone on his walk from the village to the town, though.
So when they got to Mr. Chen's restaurant, it was already crowded with people everywhere.
Zhuo Yun was standing at the gate to receive his guests when he saw Xu Ran.
Tangtang and Guoguo followed Xu Ran. Zhuo Yun started moaning just as he was about to say something "You already know I'm going to be very busy today, so I'll simply say that. Why haven't you offered to assist me sooner?"
Xu Ran was stunned and had no choice but to look up at the sky. He felt bad since he had been completely inconsiderate. Zhuo Yun, on the other hand, simply complained verbally, and his focus quickly shifted to Tangtang and Guoguo.
He stroked their heads and bent down to talk to them, "Tangtang and Guoguo, why do you look so good today? You are wearing red coats!
Tangtang, who had been serving as the diplomat for them both, explained, "Dad said that today is a happy day for Brother Qingshu. That's why he asked us to come in red clothes."
Zhuo Yun gave Xu Ran a sidelong glance and replied, "I wasn't expecting you to be that considerate. Allow Tangtang and Guoguo to stand by my side and give happy candies in that scenario. You should go in and begin serving the visitors."
Zhuo Yun sent Xu Ran away with that casual remark. He then took Tangtang and Guoguo to his side.
There was a table behind Zhuo Yun. Housekeeper Zhuo was busy registering something there. And Zhuo Yun taught Tangtang and Guoguo how to distribute happiness candies.
In fact, the custom was eerily identical to that of nowadays. The housekeeper was keeping track of the gifts that guests had sent. To avoid having to send them during eating, all of the happy candies would be handed out at the restaurant's entrance as a gift of gratitude.
Xu Ran entered the restaurant after noticing that no one was paying attention to him. At the restaurant's entryway, there was a red "happiness" character hanging. Mr. Chen had arranged for a few workers to conduct the reception duties after all of the guests had received invitation cards. It was a very special moment.
Many guests were coming and Qin Shuwen was very busy there. Xu Ran found he was holding his baby while a group of Ge'ers were around them.
Because the red mole on a Ge'er's ear was too evident, Xu Ran could now discern if the person was a Ge'er or a man with a glance. It was plainly visible as long as his ear was exposed, and Ge'er clothing was often brighter in color. Xu Ran hasn't made a fool of himself yet because of this.
Xu Ran didn't go to greet Qin Shuwen since he was busy. Instead, he intended to ask Mr. Chen whose room Zhuo Yun had reserved and if there were any more dinner guests arriving today. Mr. Chen was also quite busy at the time, so he didn't stay at the counter. Finally, Xu Ran located him in the kitchen.
As soon as Mr. Chen saw Xu Ran, he seemed to get his savior, "Xu Ran, help me keep watch on the kitchen. Don't let anything go wrong with them. I'll go out and take a look. There are probably many customers outside. I have to arrange to dish up now."
Without giving Xu Ran a chance to respond, he quickly walked out.
Xu Ran felt powerless as he touched his nose. He was merely here to inquire about Mr. Chen's private room for Zhuo Yun. Mr. Chen, on the other hand, had gone outside and should be able to assist the guests outside. And Xu Ran had to stay to keep an eye on the kitchen!
The chefs were elderly individuals who had worked at the restaurant for many years. They were well-versed in their responsibilities. As a result, Xu Ran's presence there was absolutely unneeded. Xu Ran examined the foods on the table and observed that they all appeared to be of excellent quality, with great color, smell, and taste.
Salad was also served. Salad would always arrive on the feast tables, even if the weather was bitterly cold and few people wanted to eat it. The salad was arranged on the plate in an unsatisfactory manner. Xu Ran took a plate and drew a pattern on it rapidly. After that, he requested the two busboys to re-plate the salads.
Although they were quite reluctant about the task, they had to admit that Xu Ran had done much better than them. They had to follow Xu Ran's instruction.
The banquet was started at exactly noon time, which was considered as an auspicious moment.
As a result, the kitchen was a hive of activity. When individuals in the town had a banquet, each table had eight salads and eight hot meals, which was pretty extravagant. Aside from that, there were a lot of customers today. The kitchen crew had to put up a lot of effort in their duties.
Soon, Xu Ran saw two waiters come to dish up the food.
Salads were served first, followed by hot foods. To serve all eight salads, they had to make many visits to the kitchen. Xu Ran took advantage of the occasion to take a look around. He discovered firecrackers placed up outside the eatery at this time. Perhaps they'd be detonated when the plates were placed on the tables. The guests might then take a seat and dine.
Xu Ran found at every table there was alcohol. He guessed that a competition in drinking wine would be inevitable later when eating.
By the time he returned to the kitchen, the staff had already started to dish up hot dishes. Suddenly, Xu Ran noticed that two dishes were not prepared.
He stopped the servers in their tracks as they were about to carry the food away and stated, "There are two more dishes that need to be made. Serve them at a slower pace. If there is no food to provide during the course, it will be a problem. Take your time with them. It's great if the other two meals arrive after the six hot dishes have been served."
The two waiters didn't say anything but nodded in agreement.
Xu Ran then told the chefs to hurry up with the other two hot dishes.
The remaining two meals were ready in about a quarter of an hour, and the two waiters had just completed serving the other six hot dishes. As a result, Xu Ran completed his duty and was no longer required to remain in the kitchen. He strolled out, hands behind his back, to watch the fun.
05.27.21