The Daily Life of Farming and Raising Children in Ancient Mountain Residences
The Daily Life of Farming and Raising Children in Ancient Mountain Residences Chapter 54.3

Chapter 54 3/3

“That’s right,” Shen An said proudly. “My sister-in-law is so clever. See that chicken coop? That was built by my sister-in-law herself. Impressive, right? Does your chicken coop have banana leaf roofs like ours?”

Hu Zi shook his head, and Shen Jin did the same.

Shen An said, “Building a banana leaf roof not only looks good but also keeps out the rain. My sister-in-law says banana leaves don’t let the rain through.”

Shen Ning added, “It also provides shade on hot days, so the chickens and ducks won’t get too hot inside.”

As they worked, the siblings boasted about the chicken coop built by their sister-in-law. Hearing this, Hu Zi also became eager and kept glancing over at Shen’s chicken coop.

How was it built? Should he go home and ask his older brothers to build one too?

As they were thinking about this, they heard some commotion from the children playing by the side of the house. Hu Zi and the others took a few steps and almost jumped with joy!

“My dad is bringing tables!”

“Mine too!”

Shen Jin, Shen Yin, and Shen Tie: …

Their dads hadn’t done anything for them.

Shen An stopped tying the fence and ran over to see if they needed help. He saw Chen Youtian, Shi Erlang, and Lu Dalang each carrying a bench, with Chen Youtian managing it fine but Lu Dalang clearly struggling. Shen An hurried over to help.

Shen An wasn’t the only one going to help; there were also tables and benches being brought over, so Shen Jin, Hu Zi, and even Shen Ning ran down to help.

The children were as excited as if it were New Year’s Day, following the adults carrying the tables into the courtyard.

Because the kitchen was built large enough, the front yard of Sang Luo’s house was much larger than the backyard. Three tables were gradually brought in and arranged properly.

The group of children carried benches, one by one, and placed them around the tables.

It was bustling with excitement.

Sang Luo came out and asked Chen Youtian, Shi Erlang, and Lu Dalang, who had brought the tables, and found out that their family members would be arriving soon. The hot dishes were being reheated, and those ready to be served were being placed outside.

When Hu Zi and the others saw the golden-brown fried meatballs, they got so excited and started shouting. Mrs. Chen helped bring out the dishes, and when she saw this scene, she laughed, “No one can touch the food on the table first. We have to wait until everyone is here and we’ve paid our respects to our ancestors and set up the kitchen god before we can start the meal, got it?”

They all shouted in unison, understanding.

Mrs. Chen smiled and went back inside. It was good to have so many guests; it was lively and full of energy.

Inside the kitchen, Sang Luo was dumbfounded.

They had to pay respects to the ancestors and set up the kitchen god???

She hadn’t prepared for this at all.

Seeing Mrs. Chen come in, Sang Luo approached her, “Grandma, I didn’t know about those two customs you just mentioned. I wasn’t prepared.”

Both old ladies were stunned.

Wasn’t this common knowledge?

Sang Luo: …

It’s really no wonder. She grew up in an orphanage since childhood and didn’t understand these things at all. Besides, she didn’t have ancestors to remember, so how could she remember to honor them?

Mrs. Chen looked at Mrs. Lu and asked, “Do you have any incense and candles at home?”

Mrs. Lu nodded, “Yes, I’ll go get them right away.”

Sang Luo: …

The three families arrived very quickly. Mrs. Lu returned with the incense and candles. Guided by the two old ladies, Sang Luo set up a bowl of rice and a few pieces of braised pork as offerings, accepted the kitchen god, and paid respects to the ancestors. Then, Qin Fangniang and her family arrived.

Leading the way were Chen Laohan and his son Chen Youtian, carrying a fire basin and a ladder. Behind them, everyone was carrying something, like Liu Niang, carrying a load on her back. 

Sang Luo was still a bit confused when Mrs. Chen took her hand and called Shen An. Surrounded by a group of guests, they followed some customs.

Although Sang Luo didn’t understand the significance of carrying the fire basin and ladder into the courtyard, it was indeed lively.

After everyone entered the courtyard, Qin Fangniang presented the gifts brought by her family, speaking auspicious words. The daughters-in-law of the Shi family and Liu Niang followed suit.

It was only at this moment that Sang Luo realized that all three families had brought rice, oil, and firewood for them, bringing prosperity and blessings.

She didn’t know how to express her gratitude. After receiving the rice from the three families and pouring it into the rice bin, she placed the oil in the kitchen and neatly stacked the firewood under the eaves outside the kitchen, busy leading everyone to the table.

At this moment, she realized that she hadn’t seen Liu Niang’s second daughter-in-law. She hurried inside and asked Mrs. Lu, “Grandma Lu, why hasn’t your daughter-in-law come? And I didn’t see Ah Xu either.”

Mrs. Lu, who had been busy in the kitchen, was stunned when she heard this. Stepping out, she saw that the entire family from the main house had arrived, including the youngest son. However, Liu Niang’s second daughter-in-law and Ah Xu were missing.

Mrs. Lu’s face darkened as she looked at her eldest daughter-in-law, who seemed to avoid her gaze, feeling guilty. Remembering what she had instructed in the morning, considering the large number of people in the main house, she couldn’t invite everyone. Since there were four of the main house’s father and sons invited, including Shen’s child, naturally it also included children like Stone who didn’t go to help.

But with so many people from the Lu family, they were really bold to all come to someone else’s house for a meal.

Because four out of the main house’s father and son were invited, and the third son also went, Mrs. Lu thought it wouldn’t be good to leave the second house’s mother and son at home. She had said earlier that her eldest daughter-in-law Chun Niang would bring Stone and her four grandchildren to eat at their own house.

She hadn’t expected the second daughter-in-law and her grandson not to come, while the eldest daughter-in-law and Stone were both present.

Mrs. Lu tightened her cheekbones, restraining herself from showing any expression. She didn’t ask her eldest daughter-in-law to leave with embarrassment. Since the situation had reached this point, she could only say to Sang Luo, “Liu Niang felt it wasn’t good to have too many people come over, so she wanted to rest at home instead of coming.”

Sang Luo: “How can we say that? A warm gathering is all about being lively.”

Turning around, she called out to Shen Ning, “Go and invite your Aunt Lu and your little brother Ah Xu to join the feast.”

Shen Ning crisply responded and then dashed out.

Aunt Lu chuckled, “Well, what can we say? We’re like a big family descending upon a wealthy household.”

Mrs. Chen caught on to something and interjected with a joke, steering the conversation away. She managed to elicit laughter from everyone, easing the tension momentarily.

Aunt Lu acted as if nothing happened and happily invited Qin Fangniang and the others into the kitchen to help with serving.

As the women went back and forth, the tables gradually filled up with an abundance of dishes, enough to stun everyone in the courtyard.

Qin Fangniang and the daughters-in-law from the Shi family were also somewhat stunned.

This was too extravagant; their eyes were dazzled.

They all swallowed, but nobody dared to sit down at the table yet.

Mrs. Chen chuckled, “What’s the hold-up? Let’s all take our seats. I think it’s good to have separate tables for men, women, and children. If one side is spacious, just add a few more people, and if it’s crowded, some can stand by the table’s edge with long arms.”

With three tables, a little squeezing was reasonable enough for everyone to sit down.

After some bustling, everyone was seated, but no one touched their chopsticks, waiting for Aunt Lu’s second daughter-in-law and grandson.

Seeing this, Aunt Lu waved her hand. “No need to wait. With this much food, there’s plenty to eat whenever they arrive.”

Old Man Chen also echoed her sentiments. Sang Luo looked at Mrs. Chen, who nodded in agreement. Sang Luo then said, “Alright, let’s begin. I’ve bought a small jar of wine for Mr. Chen and Mr. Lu’s table. I’ll go get it now.”

“More wine?” Shi Erlang’s eyes lit up.

Sang Luo smiled, “Not much, probably just enough for everyone to have a few sips. Please don’t mind, sirs.”

“No worries at all,” Shi Erlang laughed heartily. “Just a sip for me is fine. I haven’t had a drink in almost half a year.”

Sang Luo smiled and went into the kitchen. In no time, she came out carrying the small jar of wine.

Seeing the wine, even Old Man Chen and Chen Youtian, who rarely spoke, couldn’t help but show a hint of excitement.

Old Man Chen chuckled, “Daughter-in-law, I won’t be polite today. I’ll let you spend some money.”

Sang Luo smiled, “Just a jar of rough wine, no need to talk about spending money, gentlemen. Please enjoy your meal.”

3 Comments
  1. orz has spoken 1 month ago

    ngl but the frequent changing of names and titles is giving me a headache; I can barely tell who is who now

    Reply
  2. JShaw has spoken 3 months ago

    Is she? I don’t remember her ever being petty or jealous beforehand. Either missed it, forgot, or it isn’t there.

    Though she did make a mistake by leaving the second in-law and grandson at home whilst the rest went, yeah. But to be fair, I think that might be just an oversight if not customs, don’t think it was necessarily out of spite and what not.

    That or I just didn’t understand the situation well enough to see it clearly but yeah.

    Reply
  3. M&M's has spoken 5 months ago

    The Lu family’s eldest daughter-in-law doesn’t seem like a good person for Sang Luo’s business relationship, so I can only imagine that she’ll be jealous when the second daughter-in-law will instead be most likely be involved. The eldest daughter-in-law doesn’t seem to have a good personality overall, since she seems to be easily petty and jealous of others.

    Thanks for the chapter! 😀

    Reply

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