amaotonovel Chapter 317: Drinking
Chapter 317: Drinking
"Ying'er, take your children and sit down quickly. Your parents have prepared gifts for you."
Wang Ying'er turned around and looked at the villagers, then took the children to sit down. The villagers in the yard also lined up in order of seniority.
As the village head, Song Erhe stood at the front with Qi and asked his grandson to bring in a lot of things.
"Today is the day for raising the beam, happiness and good fortune, prosperity and wealth, and all things will flourish..."
Song Erhe first said some auspicious words, and then took out the gifts he had prepared.
A gift of six taels and six qian, a pair of blue and white porcelain vases, and a bag of grain symbolizing a good harvest...
Next came Song Dashan and his wife, who brought a red envelope worth eight taels and eight cents, more than a dozen pieces of fine furniture, and even several quilts.
Song An Ning knew that these were all made by her grandmother and aunt in recent days, using the best cotton, in the hope that their family would live more comfortably.
She sat next to Wang Ying'er, looking at the smiling faces, feeling sweet in her heart.
"Master has been in Banyue Village for two months, and the entire village has undergone earth-shaking changes. Master is the best. Please allow Xiangxiang to show off for a while..."
Wang Ying'er thanked her friends and family. The screen in front of Song Anning also turned a festive red. Countless fireworks exploded on the screen. After the colorful special effects faded, a large red gift bag appeared on the screen.
"Hey, Master, there's something happy going on. This is a gift from the system."
"Wow, the system is making progress today. Even it sent a gift."
"Of course. The owner is busy now. We'll open it in the evening."
Song Anning turned his attention to the villagers again. They were saying auspicious words and hurriedly presenting red envelopes.
No matter how much, they are the most sincere blessings from the villagers. Qin Yuanying and her daughter helped to receive the gifts. Wang Ying'er straightened his back and thanked them loudly.
When it was Widow Song and Hu Zi's turn, in addition to a red envelope, Hu Zi also took out two puppies made of mud.
He walked forward somewhat embarrassedly and stuffed the puppy into the hands of Song Zeyuan and Song Anyue, his chubby face flushed red.
"I made this for you guys to play with. I won't bully you anymore."
"Thank you, Brother Huzi. This puppy is so cute. It looks like Grandma's Dahuang."
"Thank you, Brother Huzi, for the gift! Ah Yue is so happy."
The two little ones spoke sweetly, Hu Zi's face was as red as a big apple. He glanced at Song An Ning and said shyly:
"As long as you like it, hehe..."
After the gifts were given, the next step was to hang the beams. The carpenter picked up the rope dropped from the roof, tied it firmly to both ends of the beams, and sprinkled rooster blood on the beams. This was called offering sacrifices to the beams.
After the ceremony, people on the roof will hoist the beams up and fit them into the mortise holes.
"When the golden hammer strikes, wealth and prosperity will come.
Knock on the top of the beam, and your descendants will be noble and powerful for generations. Knock on the tail of the beam, and your descendants will be prosperous and powerful for generations..."
Song Anning didn't quite understand these rules and rituals, but as he stood in the yard and listened to the carpenter's serious tone, he couldn't help but feel awe.
After completing these steps, the villagers bowed and gave their blessings, and the last step was the much-anticipated throwing of the beams and drinking.
"Aning, go up and scatter candies and copper coins. Go quickly."
Wang Ying'er used the excuse that she was not feeling well and pushed Song An Ning up to the room.
All the villagers looked up, ready to pick up more things to share in the Song family's joy.
The sound of firecrackers was deafening. Song Anning held the candy and copper coins in his hand and scattered them in all directions.
There were not many glutinous rice cakes and pancakes prepared, just a symbolic amount mixed in, and most of it was candy and copper coins.
The villagers exclaimed and scrambled for the coins until the basket was empty. The children, holding the candies they had snatched, jumped up and down and said thank you. The adults grabbed a lot of copper coins and loudly wished the host family prosperity.
"Open the banquet!"
The villagers took their seats one after another. Many people came to help yesterday, so they knew that today's feast would not be bad.
But when I saw the food served, I was still surprised.
"Good girl, white rice, mutton, pork, seafood, and a whole chicken per table...
Oh my god, this is such a great meal, and there's even wine!"
"If it weren't for Aning's family's beam raising ceremony, I would have never eaten these delicious foods in my life..."
At first, many people sighed, but when the dishes were served, everyone stopped talking and ate in silence.
"Hahaha, everyone is chewing, so cute..."
Xiangxiang looked around and couldn't help laughing. The little hamsters in the yard were eating seriously.
Song Anning sat next to Wang Ying'er, also enjoying her meal. It must be said that the big pot rice was really delicious!
The big iron pot that has been burning in the countryside for many years is filled with firewood, and the cooking oil is all animal oil. In addition, the aunts in the village are good cooks, so the food on the table is very delicious.
At this moment, Xiangxiang's laughter in her mind stopped abruptly. She scanned again with some uncertainty and said in surprise:
"Master, Sister Qiuyue's grandfather is here with your silly apprentice, as well as Xiaochuan and Xiaoyu..."
"Eh? No, that old fox, Shopkeeper Dong, is here too, bringing a cart full of gifts!"
Song Anning was enjoying her meal when she heard Xiangxiang say that. She hurried to the kitchen and asked the aunts to prepare two more tables.
Fortunately, when she prepared the ingredients, she calculated the approximate number of people and prepared five or six extra tables of food just in case.
When Chen Guanghui delivered something that day, he ran the road to the new house many times and was very familiar with it. He brought his father here, followed by more than ten servants carrying boxes.
After entering the courtyard, Song Dashan quickly put down his chopsticks and went forward with the Song family to greet them. After some greetings, Old Master Chen waved to the servants and said calmly:
"A small gift is not a sign of respect.
I, an old man, also came to share in the joyous occasion."
Today is a special day. No matter what gift the guests bring, the host cannot refuse it.
After the Song family expressed their gratitude, everyone just watched eagerly as box after box of gifts were carried into the yard by the servants.
"How much stuff does this require? Just the wooden boxes to hold the stuff cost less than a hundred coins.
Tsk tsk, people are incomparable. If I collected so many things, I would wake up laughing in my dreams."
As the villagers ate and discussed, the ribs in their mouths suddenly seemed less delicious.
After Song An Ning settled the Chen family, the waiter from Zuixianju shouted at the door:
"Zuixianju has come to congratulate the master..."
During the time it takes to eat a meal, except for the children, the rest of the Song family has been busy.
Wang Ying'er was busy giving tips to the carpenter, bricklayer, and kitchen chef.
Zhang brought Liu and Song Juaner to serve food and rice to the villagers.
Song Dashan and Song Nian were responsible for welcoming and seeing off guests, toasting some of the elders in the village and chatting.
Song Anning sent Xiaochuan and Xiaoyu to the children's table. The group of little ones were very eager and helped each other pick up food.
He was also busy greeting the Chen family and Manager Dong, and arranging wine and food.
Just as Song An Ning was almost settled, before she had time to sit down, she heard a voice behind her:
"Xiao Aning, I'm late."