Chapter 101: Housewarming Banquet

Chapter 101: Chapter 101: Housewarming Banquet

They had lunch at the new house. Afterward, Widow Xie and Hu Liang went home for a nap. By the afternoon, all the helpers had arrived.

Although the kitchen wasn’t small, two woks were hardly enough for a banquet, and there wasn’t enough space to work comfortably.

So, the day before, Hu Liang had built a few temporary stoves in the courtyard. This was common practice for events in the countryside; they would be dismantled once everything was over.

Aunt Wang and Aunt Gao got busy the moment they arrived, taking charge of washing the vegetables. Sixth Sister-in-law Feng and Second Sister-in-law Xu, both skilled with a knife, were responsible for chopping. Widow Xie, meanwhile, set about re-washing all the borrowed bowls and plates.

As for Ji Huan, she was in charge of portioning the ingredients and doing the final cooking. Sister-in-law Fu, meticulous and deft, was right beside Ji Huan, acting as her assistant.

The cutting board at home was too small and clearly insufficient. Hu Liang had cleaned several old door panels and set them up on trestles in the middle of the courtyard, creating a makeshift workstation. This way, after the dishes were cooked and plated, they could be arranged neatly on the panels, ready to be served a moment’s notice once the banquet began.

Dabao and Dacheng, the two little fire-stoking generals, were already at their posts. Ji Huan blanched the vegetables that needed blanching and started stewing the meats. By the time the prep work was done, the sky had grown dark.

Rural banquets didn’t have many strict rules. In town, they might worry about the balance of cold, hot, sweet, and savory dishes. But in the countryside, as long as there was meat and the portions were generous, everyone would be happy once they ate and drank their fill.

Ji Huan had originally planned for eight hot dishes and four cold ones per table. However, considering it was winter and most people viewed cold dishes as "nice to look at but not very practical," she decided to make all twelve dishes hot.

The people who had been invited started to arrive. That was the convenience of living in the same village. Only the carpenter had to travel early from town.

The tables for the male guests were set up in the two empty eastern side-rooms—two tables in one room, and one in the other. The women’s tables were in the reverse-facing building on the same side of the courtyard.

Hu Liang guided the guests to their seats. The two aunts in charge of serving brought out sunflower seeds and peanuts, along with warmed wine, so the guests could chat and nibble while they waited. It wasn’t like those things would fill them up anyway.

They hadn’t been chatting for long before the dishes started to arrive.

For vegetarian dishes, there was Mapo Tofu, Sweet and Sour Cabbage, Dry-Fried Green Beans, and Dried Radish with Fermented Black Beans.

For meat dishes, there was Dongpo Pork, Braised Assorted Meats, Four-Joy Meatballs, and Lion’s Head Meatballs.

Everyone at the table stared wide-eyed, looking from one dish to another. For a moment, no one dared to be the first to pick up their chopsticks.

"Wuan has really outdone herself! It smells divine, and it all looks so beautiful..."

For a housewarming banquet like this, having a simple dish like stewed pork with cabbage was usually considered good enough. A slightly fancier one might add another two meat dishes, and that would be plenty impressive.

When had they ever seen a spread with not only so many dishes, but each one plated like a painting?

"Isn’t that the truth... And look at these huge meatballs! They’re made of meat!"

"Look at this dish over here! This is pork, right? How come it’s so red? It looks... it looks..."

Uncle Wang Min was talking about the Dongpo-style braised pork, made by cutting pork belly into uniform cubes and simmering it with soy sauce, a little sugar, and wine.

The finished dish was arranged neatly on the plate, drizzled with a thick, reddish-brown sauce. With its thin skin and tender meat, glowing a rich, golden-brown, the mere sight of it was enough to make one’s mouth water.

Hu Liang encouraged everyone to start eating. After a moment of polite hesitation, he turned his head for a second, and when he looked back, half the plate of Dongpo pork was already gone.

Because it had been slow-cooked over low heat, the meat was rich but not greasy. It offered the slightest resistance before melting in the mouth. With a gentle prod of the tongue, the translucent fat simply dissolved.

That was the sensation, but if you asked them to describe it, they wouldn’t be able to. Beyond the word "delicious," they were at a loss for words.

The whole table was focused on eating, heads down, completely forgetting about the distilled liquor they usually loved to drink.

Someone at another table chimed in, "You all have to try these big meatballs! They’re just as good as that pork!"

"Really? Let me try!"

"And this cabbage! It’s sour and crisp. A bite of meat followed by a bite of this... now that’s heavenly!"

"And this tofu, it’s numbing and spicy..."

It was a similar scene in the other room. To say the food was being devoured like a storm sweeping through the clouds would be no exaggeration.

Hu Liang ran between the two rooms, tending to the guests. Worried Ji Huan couldn’t keep up, he quickly had someone bring out the steamed buns for everyone to nibble on.

In the courtyard, the helpers who had finished their tasks all gathered around to watch Ji Huan cook.

Decorative cuts, flipping the wok, stir-frying, plating—the series of movements flowed as smoothly as water, dazzling the onlookers. Before they could even process what they saw, she was already on to the next dish.

Aunt Gao shook her head. "And here I was, bragging about how quick I am with my work. After watching this, I see I can’t compare to Wuan."

Second Sister-in-law Xu laughed at her. "It’s more than just being quick. I bet even the master chefs hired from the neighboring villages can’t match Wuan’s skill."

"You can tell this was all honed through suffering at the Ji Family’s home. At such a young age, her skills in the kitchen leave so many adults in the dust..."

Sixth Sister-in-law Feng and Sister-in-law Fu happened to be thinking the same thing.

Aunt Wang spat in the direction of the old Ji Family residence. "That whole family is blind!"

The women chatted as they watched, but seeing Ji Huan sweating from the effort, they felt a little embarrassed.

"Look at us... we said we were here to help, but we haven’t been much help at all..."

They had originally intended to help stir-fry a few dishes, but once Ji Huan started cooking, they all decided it was best not to embarrass themselves.

Ji Huan smiled. "Aunts, what are you saying? Without your help chopping, prepping, plating, and serving, how could I possibly manage all this by myself? In fact, I’m the one who should be sorry for making you wait. You can’t even join the others to eat yet."

Because they still had to help serve the dishes, and Widow Xie was helping the two boys with the fires, and Ji Huan herself had to cook until the very end, the women had agreed to set up their own tables last.

"Don’t say that! We’re not that hungry right now anyway. We’ll eat later, and we’ll probably eat even more than them!"

The others chimed in, agreeing with Aunt Wang.

But it was a lie to say they weren’t hungry. The dishes were just too tempting. If they didn’t control themselves while carrying the plates, they’d start drooling.

Ji Huan didn’t say any more and simply picked up her pace.

She was currently working on a showstopper dish—braised pork knuckle.

It used a pork hind leg as the main ingredient, which was simmered over low heat with soy sauce, star anise, ginger slices, yellow wine, and brown sugar. It needed to be cooked until tender, but not overly so. If it was too soft, the meat would fall apart, which was not only unappealing to look at but also affected the texture.

This was one of the first dishes she had started, and it was only ready now, which showed just how much time it took.

Once it was done simmering, the meat was fall-off-the-bone tender and melted in the mouth. Plated, it looked plump and was coated in a deep, reddish-brown sauce, with steam carrying its fragrant aroma upwards.

As expected, the braised pork knuckle became the star dish of the evening.

That was a result reached only after intense debate and difficult deliberation, since every single dish was so delicious.

After that, three more dishes were served one after another: salt-and-pepper spare ribs, chicken braised with chestnuts, and steamed fish with ginger sauce.

Finally, Ji Huan made a sweet dessert soup with chestnuts and sweet potato balls, as well as a kelp and winter melon soup. Only then was the menu complete.

Next, it was time for the women’s tables.

Although the dishes were the same, it was much easier this time, because many of them had been prepared in four portions and set aside, including the final soups.

She only needed to stir-fry a few of the vegetable dishes fresh.

After all the dishes for the women’s tables were served, Widow Xie invited everyone to take their seats. Ji Huan rested for a moment in the courtyard, then took Dabao to wash his hands before going inside to join them.