Cui Hongyu shouted from a distance, "Brother Xiaobei, Sister Xiaoyue is here."
"She said she would help me cook at noon."
Chen Xiaobei suddenly remembered that Cui Hongyu had mentioned on the way back that he planned to set up a canteen in the village. He was tricked by that scoundrel Chen Sanqiu when he went to buy vegetables in the county town.
But honestly, he didn't have high expectations for it. He had never done anything like this before in his past life, and he had no idea if it would be profitable or how much profit it would make. However, after seeing Feng Xiaoyue, he felt more at ease.
After greeting Chen Xiaobei, Feng Xiaoyue stood beside Cui Hongyu without saying a word. Cui Hongyu naturally understood her meaning. She raised her voice and said to the busy crowd, "Brothers, I was delayed by some matters a few days ago. We talked about me organizing people to cook for you. Do you still want to eat?"
Upon hearing this, everyone immediately chimed in.
"Yes, of course! We've been looking forward to your return."
"Oh, in the past few days you weren't here, I had to drink cold water every day. My stomach can't take it anymore."
"Exactly. When we get home, we want to eat something hot, but we have to busy ourselves for a long time."
Hearing the chatter, Cui Hongyu was secretly pleased.
At this time, one of the men leading the soldiers also spoke up, "Miss Hongyu, can you cook for us too? We also spoke to Steward Liu a few days ago, and he said it was okay." Sudane Novel Network
Hearing this, Cui Hongyu smiled and nodded, "Of course. Since Steward Liu agreed, there's no problem on my end. Just tell me the number of people."
"The number of people is just us. The rest have gone into the mountains."
Liu Ce had only assigned about fifty people to help Chen Xiaobei and the others build houses; the rest were still focused on transporting supplies down from the mountain.
Cui Hongyu counted more than fifty soldiers and thirty to forty villagers and members of the back village team.
That made it over ninety people.
Adding Chen Xiaobei, Shen Ziyan, Huang Ying, and others, it was nearly a hundred people.
Cooking for a hundred people was a huge undertaking in this era. As soon as she returned to the courtyard, Cui Hongyu began to gather people, and Feng Xiaoyue was clearly more familiar with the business.
She divided the people into groups. Some were washing vegetables, some were heating water, and some were starting to cook rice.
Feng Xiaoyue directed people to chop up several large winter melons and put them directly into the large pot, adding water and salt, and then began to boil them.
Cui Hongyu watched this scene with her jaw dropped. She pointed at the large iron pot and asked, "Don't you add any meat to this? It will be bland and tasteless when cooked like this."
Feng Xiaoyue chuckled, stepped forward, and took a wooden box from the cart. Inside were jars and bottles of all sizes.
Feng Xiaoyue stepped forward and brought down a large porcelain jar.
As soon as the jar was opened, a rich aroma wafted out. Cui Hongyu couldn't help but take a few more glances. Inside the plate was white lard.
There were also meat scraps left from rendering the fat mixed in the lard.
Seeing this, Cui Hongyu was stunned. "Sister Xiaoyue, where did you get so much..."
Feng Xiaoyue chuckled, "I prepared this specifically for you this month."
"Oh, and I also brought two catties of pork."
To be honest, Feng Xiaoyue took out a large piece of meat from the wooden box again.
Then she handed the meat to the village women and instructed them to cut it into thin, large slices.
This way, it would look like there was big meat in the dish.
Seeing this, Cui Hongyu secretly sighed. It was true that those who know their craft can see the intricacies. She really didn't understand these tricks.
Soon, it was noon.
Chen Xiaobei returned with everyone, chatting and laughing.
Chen Xiaobei first gathered the villagers aside, letting the soldiers who were working eat first.
In the new house, the tables used for the wedding banquet were set up again. The soldiers squeezed together, filling the space.
According to the method taught by Feng Xiaoyue, Liu Rumei and the village women used large basins to serve the stewed winter melon, placing one basin on each table and accompanying it with some cold pickles.
The meat slices, one inch wide and two inches long, although very thin, had a great visual impact, causing cheers from everyone.
The soldiers ate in the courtyard, while Chen Xiaobei and the villagers set up several tables in the alley outside the courtyard.
As they were eating, Chen Dayong also arrived. Chen Dayong was making charcoal for the villagers, but today he was temporarily assigned to make wooden cages.
"Brother Xiaobei, the cages are ready. Let me know when you want to throw those three scoundrels into the river."
Hearing him, Chen Xiaobei pondered for a moment. "Since it's a rule set by the ancestors, we'll go ask him together later."
After saying that, he motioned for Chen Dayong to sit down and eat together.
Looking at the fragrant, hearty stewed winter melon with big meat slices, Chen Dayong also felt his appetite whet.
"I was planning to eat at home today, but I'll have a meal here first."
Before he could even pick up his bowl, he saw the Old Ancestor approaching in the distance, leaning on his cane. He said with a smile from afar, "I smelled the aroma from home and came to see what delicious food is being made."
Chen Xiaobei quickly put down his chopsticks and went to greet him. "Old Ancestor, you've come at the perfect time. Please join us."
The Old Ancestor found a place to sit but then smiled and said, "I've already eaten. I heard that eating here requires payment."
As he spoke, he reached into his clothes with a slightly trembling hand and took out a silver ingot, ten taels.
"This is my coffin money. I'll give it to you today."
Chen Xiaobei looked at him with surprise. "Old Ancestor, what, what do you mean by this?"
"Xiaobei, I know you have to spend real money to do this, and no one can eat for free. But in our Hetou Village, there are over a dozen elders who are childless. I was wondering if they could also come here to eat a few meals, and I will pay for their food."
Hearing this, Chen Xiaobei was deeply moved. The Old Ancestor's vision was truly higher than his own. He could think of things that Chen Xiaobei had not considered.
However, he felt uneasy about having the Old Ancestor pay for it.
"Old Ancestor, you are right, I didn't consider things thoroughly. But this money, you cannot pay." Chen Xiaobei said this, picked up the silver ingot from the table, and put it back into the Old Ancestor's hand.
"From tonight onwards, they can come and eat."
The Old Ancestor waved his hand. "How can that be? There are over a dozen mouths to feed."
Chen Xiaobei smiled calmly. "It's alright, it's alright. I'll discuss this with everyone later, and I believe they will all understand."
After speaking, he turned to look at Chen Dayong. "Brother Dayong, what do you think about this matter?"
Chen Dayong smiled and nodded. "Everyone gets old eventually. I have no objections. Let's do as you say."
Chen Xiaobei then asked everyone present one by one, and they all responded and supported Chen Xiaobei's opinion.