Transmigration: A Farm Girl’s Brocade
Chapter 157 - 135: Attending the Birthday Banquet_1

Chapter 157: Chapter 135: Attending the Birthday Banquet_1

Qian Yixiu really wanted to ask if Uncle Liang had accidentally given her the gift meant for his own child, but then thought better of it. Shopkeeper Cui was employed by her mother, and she didn’t want to offend him.

As she pouted in frustration, a young master in the Capital City was laughing heartily. Little Bean, who was both small and mischievous, well, that was something you should be toyed with. And you even dared to call me Uncle, huh!

Seeing Qian Yixiu staring blankly at the toy in front of her, Shopkeeper Cui chuckled helplessly. He didn’t know why the Young Master enjoyed both helping this family and never forgetting to tease this little girl.

After Shopkeeper Cui took out several packages for his own Young Master and Young Master Cousin (Song Huaijin), he took out another package, saying it was a token of his own goodwill.

He mentioned that Master Duke had already written a memorandum about the pitiful lives of the families of missing soldiers, and the Imperial Court should provide them with relief treatment, which he had presented to the Emperor himself. The Emperor had already instructed the Ministry of War to handle this matter, and it might not be long before the court distributed a certain amount of relief money to them.

This was a great deed done by Liang’s lineage for the soldiers of the Great Qian Kingdom. Even though their own family did not lack this bit of silver now, those families that had lost their loved ones might be waiting for this money desperately.

Qian Yixiu was also comforted by this thought.

Looking at the items before her, despite being toys, they were actually made of real silver and produced by the top silver workshop in the Capital City, Jade Kirin, with patterns engraved on them – definitely worth at least fifty or sixty taels of silver.

So Uncle Liang had a brain cramp, spending so much silver to make her annoyed – well, she wouldn’t fulfill his wishes.

Once she figured that out, she started smiling, saying to Shopkeeper Cui, "Please thank your Young Master for me, I really like this much silver."

Shopkeeper Cui laughed heartily.

Qian Sangui teased with a laugh, "Kids these days, always spouting nonsense." He then said to Shopkeeper Cui, "My apologies for Old Master Cui, the child of a humble family has no filter."

Shopkeeper Cui waved his hand and laughed, "Brother Qian is too modest. Yixiu is a likable and smart child."

The Qian family invited Shopkeeper Cui to stay for a meal and have some drinks before sending him off.

Upon opening the packages, they found that Song Huaijin had sent some snacks and four wolf hair brushes, Shopkeeper Cui had sent two jars of Iron Pot liquor and two pieces of fine silk – one pale pink and one apricot red, clearly meant for a young maiden’s clothing. Liang Jinzhao had sent the most: in addition to a set of silverware, there were also heaps of Capital City’s specialty snacks and several items from Scholar Building’s ink and inkstone sets.

The Capital City’s snacks were delicious, and their packaging was exquisite. She wouldn’t dare underestimate the ancient people who could create extravagant feasts like "Man-Han Banquet" or "Buddha Jumps Over the Wall"; "Old Brother’s" pastry skills could barely compete with these snacks.

Being amongst the middle-ranking in the pastry world of the Capital City, the political and cultural center of the Great Qian Kingdom, was already a great accomplishment for Qian Yixiu.

It seemed that if she wanted to win the pastry business with something unique, she would have to rely on cream cakes.

Qian Sangui had Lady Wu take some of each snack out and bring them to Qian’s Main Courtyard.

Qian Sigui returned to the provincial city at the end of January, and now only the main household remained in the big courtyard. They had hired five more workers to make pastries, yet the most important steps were still being handled by Lady Xu and Lady Xiao Wong. Although Lady Xiao Wong was pregnant, she was a hardy country woman used to working in the fields and gathering wood, so she continued to make pastries, only taking on lighter tasks.

Qian Manchuan and Qian Manhe had each rented a shop in Xishan County and Erliu Town, respectively.

Meanwhile, Lady Wong, during the New Year festivities, learned the craft of pastries from Lady Wei and others, and with forty taels of silver, she went to the provincial city to open a branch. Qian Hua took Lady Wei to the provincial city to help them, and they would return once the business was on the right track.

After the New Year, Qian Yixiu began preparing for the trip to Cave Sky Pool. She had to prepare everything: food, necessities, clothing, and at the same time, she racked her brains to come up with an excuse to be away for two days and a night.

Just as she was at her wit’s end, on the first of March, Zhang Mansion sent an invitation. The fifth of March was Old Lady Zhang’s fifty-eighth birthday, and they invited the Qian family to attend the birthday banquet.

Qian Yixiu was delighted; she had finally found an excuse to go out. Notably, the fifth of March was also Old Man Qian’s sixty-first birthday, and the family had been preparing for the birthday banquet.

Now that his children’s lives were better, he wanted to celebrate in a grand manner. Last month, Qian Sangui initiated the idea of celebrating their father’s birthday with splendor, contributing two taels of silver first, and then the first, second, fourth households, and Qian Xiang each contributed one tael of silver, determined to make the old man’s birthday banquet respectable.