As Yu Ziyu changed clothes and returned to the inner courtyard, Li Weibai was already preparing the gift baskets.
Seeing the small gift baskets, Yu Ziyu's heart was filled with admiration: "These bamboo baskets are so beautiful."
Li Weibai smiled and said, "Every household has these kinds of baskets. There are many bamboos on the back mountain. When people are idle during the farming off-season, they weave these small things."
"Tomorrow, I'll take you to Zhangshan Village and Zhonghe Village to visit their markets. The markets have all sorts of woven goods and handicrafts."
Yu Ziyu's heart had been planted with a desire, and she couldn't wait until tomorrow: "Let's go this afternoon."
Li Weibai shook his head: "There are no stalls in the afternoon, only shops are open. The liveliest time is in the morning."
"Alright." Since it wasn't lively, Yu Ziyu could only wait until tomorrow morning.
Tian Jing browsed the nursery and urged the newly planted roses.
Then she sent Chen Suozhu and Li Liguo to drive the truck to buy materials and items needed for building the bathroom.
At ten o'clock, she strolled back to the courtyard house.
Xiao Yuan made the secret braised pork knuckle. Twenty large bowls were prepared, and 16 bowls were packed into gift baskets. The books were read from here.
The bowls were covered with a vegetable leaf.
Seeing that everything was ready, Tian Jing took her son and daughter-in-law to the village with the baskets.
When carrying the baskets, Yu Ziyu insisted that she also wanted to carry them.
With a shoulder pole carrying three small bamboo baskets in the front and three in the back, her six baskets seemed to be thrown in six different directions, and of course, her steps also twisted into a yangge dance.
Tian Jing pursed her lips and smiled, helping her hold down the three baskets behind her, and told Yu Ziyu to secure the three baskets in front.
Then she had Yu Ziyu spread her arms to grab the ropes of the three baskets in front and back before stepping, and not to shake her shoulders.
Finally able to control the shoulder pole from front to back, Yu Ziyu's eyes curved into a smile: "I've learned."
Li Weibai teased her: "If you can carry a shoulder pole full of water, then you'll have truly learned."
Yu Ziyu was having fun: "Okay! I'll carry it when we come back."
Tian Jing didn't care how the young couple fussed; she would deliver the thank-you gifts first.
After visiting 16 households and walking around the village, many tourists, smelling the aroma from the baskets, asked if they were for sale.
Li Weibai shook his head, indicating that they were for thank-you gifts.
When the three of them finished delivering the gifts and returned to the courtyard house, Li Min complained:
"Sister-in-law, Ziyu, why is there no thank-you gift for me?"
"Oh my," Yu Ziyu covered her mouth in surprise: "Aunt, I didn't treat you as an outsider, so I forgot."
Tian Jing pushed her sister-in-law aside: "There are four portions left at home. Take one for Xiao Fu."
"If you and your elder sister-in-law don't want to come over for dinner, you can each take one home."
"No, no, I won't take them." Li Min's eyes twinkled: "We'll come back for dinner."
Saying that, Li Min turned to Yu Ziyu, her face changing to a feigned angry expression:
"You little girl, you dare to joke with your aunt."
Yu Ziyu shook her head, her tone a little dejected: "I'm really not joking. I only counted outsiders who helped."
"Xiao Yuan even said to prepare a few more portions. I still didn't think of it thoroughly enough."
"It's already good," Tian Jing encouraged her: "Just don't think about saving money in the future."
"You should think that since you asked Xiao Yuan to make it again, you should take the opportunity to make more. Even if there are leftovers, we have so many people at home."
Yu Ziyu said sheepishly: "I, I thought the weather was hot, and there seemed to be leftovers yesterday."
"No more," Tian Jing shook her head: "They all took them proactively. This is a habit. They thought that if they took a little, our family wouldn't send gifts anymore."
"If you hadn't mentioned this, I wouldn't have made separate thank-you gifts for them again."
Yu Ziyu felt a little guilty. Had she done something wrong? "Mom?"
Tian Jing waved her hand at her and pointed to the large bowls on the counter, asking Li Min to take one to Chen Fu.
Li Weibai pulled the guilty Yu Ziyu and comforted her: "Mom isn't blaming you; she's praising you for handling the etiquette very well."
"Really?" Yu Ziyu's eyes were red.
Hearing Yu Ziyu's slightly choked voice, Tian Jing pushed her sister-in-law out of the kitchen and told her to go and come back quickly, and to inform her elder sister-in-law as well.
After Li Min left, Tian Jing said to Yu Ziyu: "Xiao Bo is telling the truth."
"I asked Sister-in-law Niu and the others to help, and it was all done with justification, but that was between them and me."
"This is your and Xiao Bo's matter. It's right for you and Xiao Bo to thank them personally."
Yu Ziyu's eyes curved into a smile: "Thank you, Mom. I'll work hard."
"Alright then," Tian Jing nodded: "For Lili's banquet next month on the 2nd, all these trivial matters will be handed over to you."
Yu Ziyu was very excited but lacked confidence: "Can I do it?"
Tian Jing nodded: "Yes, you've watched everything for this matter, haven't you? Just manage it the same way as this time."
"However, this time it's a direct invitation, with only five to six people per family. Reserve an additional five tables."
"Don't be afraid of having too many. If there are too many, they can be given away or eaten by ourselves. Calculate the thank-you gifts all at once, so Xiao Yuan doesn't have to work hard again."
"Mmhmm, mmhmm, mmhmm." Her mother-in-law trusted her so much that Yu Ziyu repeatedly agreed.
Then she asked Xiao Yuan to wait for her. She went back to the backyard and took out a red silk cloth red envelope:
"Xiao Yuan, this is for you as a thank you. Please accept it. I don't know how to express my gratitude to you, so I can only use this vulgar thing."
"No matter what agreement you and Mom have, this one is my thanks."
"Finally, I solemnly invite you to be the chef again, on June 2nd, for my sister's wedding banquet."
With Yu Ziyu saying this, Xiao Yuan could only accept the large red envelope: "Okay, I'll come down on the 31st."
Then, Xiao Yuan didn't linger. She had to go back to the hot spring valley to cook. She had been down for several days.
After seeing Xiao Yuan off, Yu Ziyu asked her mother-in-law why they weren't staying for lunch since it was already noon.
Tian Jing smiled and said: "If we ask her to stay for dinner, Xiao Yuan will never wait to eat prepared food. Are we keeping her for dinner, or are we keeping her to cook?"
Yu Ziyu understood. When you keep a cook for dinner, you have to consider the situation.
Xiao Yuan was eager to go back and learn culinary skills, so this meal was very important to her.
When Li Min and Ouyang Meihua arrived, they went into the kitchen to help Li's mother cook. Of course, Yu Ziyu and Li Weibai also participated.
The secret braised pork knuckle still needed to be steamed again. It would be inverted by covering the plate when it came out of the oven.
The Li family had three braised pork knuckles left, which were not enough to eat.
If Li Weibai hadn't been quick to put a few pieces on his and Yu Ziyu's plates, Yu Ziyu would have only gotten a few bites.
Li Weibai directly brought over a plate, and the pickled mustard greens at the bottom of the plate made the rice more delicious.
Li Min also scooped some pickled mustard greens into her bowl to mix with rice: "Xiao Yuan's dish tastes very good. Ah Feng has never made it." The books were read.
Tian Jing nodded: "Xiao Yuan's culinary skills have improved greatly. She must have learned a lot from Ah Feng."
"Ah Feng likes simple and light dishes, using a lot of broth."
"She rarely uses dishes that require repeated processing and deep-frying for large banquets."
Steamed pork knuckle requires boiling, then deep-frying, then cutting into pieces and marinating, and finally steaming. It takes a lot of time.
This dish was not on the menu yesterday. If it weren't for the thank-you gift, Xiao Yuan wouldn't have put in so much effort, going out before dawn to buy pork knuckles and processing them upon her return.
Tian Jing, just hearing about these four steps, felt it was troublesome.
It was rare for Xiao Yuan to make it in just one morning.