HCB Chapter 251 This is the highlight of today
Chapter 251 This is the highlight of today
Everyone on the side covered their mouths and tried to hold back their laughter. This prefect's daughter really has a keen eye!
Cao Qianyu's face instantly became extremely ugly, her expression was stiff, and her eyes were staring at the girl in front of her. For a moment, she even forgot her original disguise of weakness.
"Wow! So many delicious foods." Zhao Yunxi didn't care about the embarrassment her words brought to others. She turned around and saw Yangyang eating with gusto. She wanted to try it, "Little brother, what are you eating?"
"Mung bean cake! Pretty auntie, do you want to eat some with me?" Yangyang took a piece of mung bean cake and handed it to her, saying, "The weather is hot, eating more mung beans can clear away heat and reduce internal heat." Yangyang has learned a lot of words by following Old Man Xin these days.
A call of "beautiful aunt" was better than any flowery compliment. Zhao Yunxi was delighted to hear it. This little baby was even more lovable than the brother born to her aunt.
"Okay! I'll try it too."
Zhao Yunxi didn't have the airs of a lady from an official family at all. She took the mung bean cake from Yangyang's hand and put it into her mouth. "Mm! Not bad, it's quite delicious."
If it was embarrassing that she had just exposed Cao Qianyu's pitiful face, then at this moment, when she ate the plate of cakes that Cao Qianyu's maid said was unclean, she was unknowingly slapping Cao Qianyu and his servant in the face.
Even the prefect's daughter ate these cakes, who would dare to say that these cakes are not clean at this time?
In the front yard, everyone stood up to greet the prefect and the county magistrate when they saw them arrive.
Zhao Kunshen opened his folding fan and said, "No need to be polite, everyone. Today is the home game of the Zhou Mansion. We are here to attend the banquet just like you all. Please feel free to do as you please."
Zhou Huan invited everyone into the flower hall for tea. Not long after, the housekeeper came to announce, "Master, the time has come."
"Okay, let's start the feast!" Zhou Huan stood up and invited everyone to take their seats.
As the prefect with the highest status among those present today, he was naturally seated at the main table, accompanied by the county magistrate and the county prime minister.
The other guests were also easy to deal with. The presidents of several academies in the county were arranged at one table, and the shopkeepers or owners of each academy were seated at other seats in order, without any particular order.
The young gentlemen were received by Zhou Ting personally and sat at the end of the main table.
On the other side, Zhou Ru received a notice from the servants to start the banquet, and led a group of ladies to the front yard.
City people have their own rules for banquets: men and women sit at different seats, so some flower beds are placed in the middle of the yard as a boundary to separate the seats for men and women.
The female guests were received personally by Zhou Ru.
The three officials did not bring their wives to the banquet, so among the female guests, except for Zhao Yunxi, the daughter of the prefect, who had a relatively noble status, the others had nothing to compare with, unless some people thought they were superior to others.
When Zhou Ru arranged for everyone to sit down, she was a little cunning and deliberately arranged Cao Qianyu to sit at the same table with some young ladies from merchant families. Didn't she look down on the children of merchants who were full of the smell of money? So she let her eat at the same table with the children of merchants, which would disgust her to death.
Cao Qianyu really felt humiliated, as if everyone was going to be her enemy today, but she couldn't get angry. Just now in the garden pavilion, those women attacked her in groups, but now she could only suppress her displeasure and get along with them.
Song Ning asked Zhao Yunxi, the daughter of the prefect, to sit at the same table with Yangyang because she liked her, which made Cao Qianyu very jealous.
After the guests took their seats, the servants of the Zhou Mansion soon began to get busy and set up the table one after another.
After Zhou Huan stood up and gave a speech, he drank the first glass of wine and told everyone to eat and drink as they pleased.
Today's banquet also invited the chefs from Zui Xiang Ju to come and prepare. Zui Xiang Ju is the largest restaurant in the county, and their chefs' skills are extraordinary.
Yangyang was the most considerate. After the food and wine were served, the little guy kept his head down to eat.
The proprietress of Zui Xiang Ju was lucky enough to sit at the same table with them. Seeing the child eating with gusto, she was very surprised and said, "This little kid is really adorable, like a New Year picture doll, unlike my grandson who doesn't like to eat and is as skinny as a monkey."
Song Ning said modestly, "Madam, you are too kind. It's because the chefs at Zui Xiang Ju cook well."
Being praised in person for the good food of her restaurant, the lady boss was very pleased and quickly introduced the name of each dish on the table, as well as the ingredients and cooking methods used. Of course, she only gave a rough idea of the cooking methods. It was impossible for her to describe her own way of making money in such detail. If someone stole her skills, it would be a loss.
Each dish has a nice and appetizing name. Just hearing the name of the dish gives people the impression that it is delicious.
"Oh my! Just hearing the names of these dishes, I can't help but want to try every one of them."
The proprietress of Zui Xiang Ju was a very good socialite. When she heard what Zhao Yunxi said, she quickly used her serving chopsticks to pick up a piece of food for the other party.
"Miss Zhao, this is our Zui Xiang Ju's signature dish, you should try it."
Zhao Yunxi took a bite of it politely and nodded vigorously, "Mm, it's delicious." As she spoke, she also put a chopstick into Yangyang's small bowl, "Come on, Yangyang, you eat too."
"Thank you, beautiful auntie." The little guy thanked politely.
The corner of Song Ning's mouth twitched. They had just been in the pavilion for a short while, but the two of them had developed a close relationship while eating pastries.
Today's banquet at Zhou's house was a great pleasure for all the guests except the Cao family father and daughter. During the banquet, many people stood up and said auspicious birthday wishes to Zhou Huan, and Zhou Huan responded to them one by one.
After three rounds of drinks, the guests had almost finished eating. Zhou Huan called the butler over and whispered something to him. The butler nodded and left.
About a quarter of an hour later, the butler came back and reported: "Master, everything is ready."
Zhou Huan stood up with his wine glass in hand and said loudly, "Everyone, thank you for coming to our mansion for the banquet today. I will drink this cup first as a sign of respect. It is a rare occasion for everyone to gather together, so I will take advantage of the birthday banquet to invite everyone to appreciate our new jade ornaments from Jubao Pavilion."
After saying that, he drank it all in one gulp and clapped his hands. Then the butler led a group of waiters from Jubao Pavilion in holding trays and stood in a row.
Everyone:...
This week the shopkeeper is really good at doing business. He has even brought the business to his birthday party. They want to see what good things the Jubao Pavilion has.
Hang Shuheng and Song Ning looked at each other tacitly, and they said, why hasn't Zhou Huan launched these new products yet.
It turns out that he was waiting here! Today's birthday banquet is only secondary. It is the most appropriate occasion to launch new products. This is the highlight of today.