Chapter 222: Chapter 224: Arrivals for the Full Moon
An Ning was also assigned a task: once most of the people arrived, she would be in charge of holding the baby.
As for her sister-in-law, Lin Cuihua didn’t plan on letting her come out.
In the village, there was a custom of a forty-five-day postpartum confinement—a month and a half—which was good for new mothers.
Her sister-in-law was grateful. Lin Cuihua treated her well, so she didn’t have a single complaint.
Very few women in the entire village were able to observe the full month-and-a-half confinement.
But it was still early, so An Ning was chopping firewood.
An Ning chopped piece after piece of firewood, varying in thickness and size.
"An Ning, good morning."
Yin Xuemei had arrived. She had been invited today to cook a few dishes.
"Morning. Aren’t you cold?"
An Ning asked, noticing Yin Xuemei’s clothes were a bit thin.
Yin Xuemei shook her head. "I’m not cold. I’ll be in front of the stove soon, and the fire will keep me warm."
"That makes sense. The ingredients are all over here. See what you need."
An Ning pointed to the prepared ingredients and seasonings on the side and said to Yin Xuemei, "My mom will be here in a bit to be your assistant. Just tell her whatever you need."
"Got it."
As soon as Yin Xuemei arrived, she got to work.
An Ning continued chopping wood. A moment later, Yang Jianguo also arrived, carrying several stools.
"Hello, Teacher An. I’m here to help."
"Thanks."
An Ning nodded at Yang Jianguo.
She went back to chopping wood. After a few more swings, Li Chengze came over, holding a stack of bowls and plates.
"Careful, slow down. Put them over there."
An Ning pointed to a spot for Li Chengze and walked over worriedly to help take some from him.
"How did you end up with such a delicate job?"
Li Chengze wiped the sweat from his forehead. "I was supposed to carry the tabletops, but they were too heavy. I couldn’t lift them."
"Right. Carry less next time."
Li Chengze nodded with a goofy grin and went back out to continue.
All morning, people came and went from the An family’s courtyard.
By now, An Ning had moved from the wood-chopping team to the dish-washing team.
In the warm water were bowls and chopsticks borrowed from various households, all gathered to be washed together.
In the courtyard, Jiang Xia and a group of others were setting up tables.
Tabletops of various colors paired with mismatched stools created an eclectic style.
Inside the yard, steam was already rising from the temporary stove, and fragrant aromas filled the air.
The An family’s four large iron woks were also filled to the brim with dishes that had been stewing since early in the morning.
They had bought quite a lot of things for this full moon celebration.
Around seven in the morning, An Sancheng took a few "double-kick" firecrackers and set them off at the An family’s gate.
This was an unwritten rule in their village.
Hear the firecrackers, come to the feast.
Here, you didn’t need to formally invite guests to a banquet. You just had to set off a few rounds of double-kick firecrackers on the day of the event. Once the explosions sounded, the villagers would know a family was hosting something.
By asking around, they could find out what was going on.
Once you knew, you could decide for yourself whether or not to go. The host family wouldn’t force you.
However, the host family would keep a gift registry. The next time another family hosted an event, they would reciprocate based on what was recorded in the ledger.
In other words, if you skipped their happy occasion this time, they might not necessarily attend yours next time.
"FZZZ—BANG"
"WHOOSH—BANG!"
After setting off ten of the firecrackers, An Sancheng went back into the courtyard to work.
About forty minutes later, he would set off another round.
And forty minutes after that, yet another round.
After all the rounds were set off, it would be about time for the main event.
Village banquets usually started around ten-thirty, aiming for a morning start.
An Ning changed into a new set of clothes, braided her hair into two small pigtails, and held Hei Dan’er, who was also dressed in red and wrapped in a small blanket covered with the character for "fortune."
An Ning looked down at the small face in the blanket, at his moist eyes... well, slits.
"Oh, Hei Dan’er, when are you going to get a little fairer?"
Hei Dan’er, in his swaddling clothes, had small eyes that were barely open a crack. He blew two bubbles from his mouth.
"He must be one of ours. Why do I find our Hei Dan’er so good-looking?"
An Ning looked at her second brother beside her and asked, "You think so too, right?"
"I thought there was something wrong with my taste," he replied. "Turns out our Hei Dan’er really is handsome."
An Guoming stared at little Hei Dan’er and said, "That’s right. He’s so ugly he’s cute."
"Hahaha, that’s still handsome, isn’t it, Hei Dan’er?"
An Ning was very fond of children.
’In the interstellar era, children were protected by all of humanity.’
Jiang Xia, who was helping nearby, noticed An Ning’s expression. It was very different from her usual self.
The gentle sunlight cast a halo of light above An Ning’s head.
"Jiang Xia, the wok!"
"Oh—"
Jiang Xia’s steady movements were tinged with a hint of panic, but he quickly corrected himself.
By this point, the courtyard was filled with people.
At the main gate, a table and stools were set up. The village accountant and an elder were sitting there, recording gifts in a ledger.
An Guoping was beside them, pouring them tea and water, and occasionally taking bulky gifts into the house to get them out of the way.
Looking in from the main gate, one could see four rows of tables stretching from near the entrance toward the An family’s house.
An Guoqing and a few others were each carrying a large wooden board laden with dishes, beginning to serve the tables one by one.
First came some cold appetizers, sunflower seeds, and candy, giving everyone something to nibble on.
At the front, near the opposite courtyard wall, two large woks were blazing away. Jiang Xia and Yin Xuemei were stir-frying with all their might.
The courtyard was a hubbub of voices, with talk and laughter blending together.
An Ning’s task was to carry the baby and walk a lap through the crowd.
But An Ning was conflicted as she held him, because people kept trying to pinch the baby’s little cheeks.
Even though Hei Dan’er was quite dark, An Ning still felt protective.
But she couldn’t bring herself to say much. No one was doing it maliciously; they genuinely didn’t know any better. It was just how things were done in the village.
So, in the end, An Ning walked quickly with the baby in her arms, giving no one the chance to touch him.
After An Ning had made her rounds, the banquet was about to begin.
"Food’s coming out!"
"Make way, make way! Don’t want this spilling on you."
Several young men started helping to serve the food.
There were over twenty tables set up in the courtyard, with more than ten people at each. Every table would have a total of sixteen dishes, including both cold and hot ones.
As the dishes were served, the villagers couldn’t stop exclaiming in admiration.
"The An family has really made it big."
"Of course! You don’t even need to look at the food. Just look at An Guoming’s big truck and you’ll know."
"Isn’t that the truth? And what about the couplets they sold during the New Year? I’m telling you, I heard they made a huge amount."
"What? Ten thousand?"
"You bet. And that was just from the spring couplets."
"Oh, come on. How much do you think it cost An Ning to lease that mountain? You think she’s worried about ten thousand yuan?"
The crowd chattered endlessly. Most were amazed, and some were jealous, but none of them would act on that jealousy.
Just as most of the sixteen dishes had been served, several black sedans pulled up one after another at the courtyard gate.
They came to a neat stop.
