Chapter 48

"Save your stomachs. I'll let you taste one of each in a while. This thing isn't very sweet, but quite a bit of sugar was added. To protect your teeth, you can't eat too much at once."

"Understood, Mother."

With this attempt, her confidence increased greatly. Next, twenty pieces per batch, start baking.

The fragrance emitted by the baked mooncakes made the neighbors on the left and right swallow their saliva non-stop.

What is Lady Qiao's family doing? It smells even more fragrant than the scent coming from the pastry shop in town.

They wanted to go over, but felt embarrassed, so they endured it for a whole day.

This whole day, she did nothing else but bake mooncakes. The family of three, except for cooking a little food to eat in the early morning, ate mooncakes for lunch and dinner.

It wasn't that she couldn't attend to it, but to taste the flavor of each mooncake.

In the evening, Qiao Mai cleared out several wooden boxes, wiped them clean, lined them with white cloth, and arranged the mooncakes inside.

One hundred pieces per box, three large boxes of mooncakes, a full three hundred pieces. There were also more than twenty different mooncakes outside, which she left for the children.

After she moved the boxes into her room, she put them directly into the space. Only in the space would they not change flavor and stay fresh.

Tired after a day, they were all exhausted. Qiao Mai put the remaining mooncakes in the children's room and also put several kinds of fruit for them.

"Eat some if you're tired. Mother won't cook tonight."

"Mother has worked hard."

"You have worked hard too."

Closing the door for the children, she tidied up the courtyard and returned to her room to sleep.

The next day, which was the day before the Yueyuan Festival.

She used rectangular wooden boxes ordered in advance to pack the mooncakes, twelve pieces per box with five types of fillings, six pieces per layer.

A full twenty-five boxes were packed, ready for gift-giving.

For the families who helped her catch the thief that day, one box each. She didn't deliver them personally but delegated the two sons. As long as they came to help that day, they were all sent.

Only the neighbor on the right was sent three boxes because that house was rented by three families together.

Yuan Jiaqi received the gift box and felt both surprised and unsurprised.

Although he didn't go to help catch the thief, he had explained the reason, and later personally made a sign for her, so receiving his gift was within expectations.

Chen Shi was also surprised to receive the gift. In short, everyone finally attributed Lady Qiao's gift-giving to a thank-you gift for helping catch the thief.

Just the neighbors alone were sent nearly ten boxes. Of the remaining fifteen, she kept three in the space, and she personally delivered five to the shop and handed them to Lu Sanniang.

Receiving the gift, Lu Sanniang was very happy and immediately opened it to share with her family, all saying it was delicious.

Qiao Mai smiled, holding five boxes in one hand and two in the other, and went to the Town Chief's house. She handed the five boxes of mooncakes to the guard.

"Trouble you, brother, to send this gift to the Town Chief. I won't go in."

"All right."

After the guard went in and came out not long after, Qiao Mai handed the two boxes of mooncakes in her hands to the two guards respectively.

"I've often troubled you two. A little token, it's a festival, homemade, taste and see."

"Aha, there's a share for us too?"

"Yes."

"Thank you!"

Qiao Mai bid them farewell and returned home. Don't look at the fact that she didn't set up her stall for two days; she didn't lose anything. The people in town all knew where she lived, and they found her at home to buy things.

Corn, peanuts, and such were fine, but fruit was indispensable for the festival.

If they wanted fresh and good ones, they could only find her, so she didn't sell less goods at home.

Especially since she added oranges, apples, pears, and grapes for the Yueyuan Festival, she had rested for two days, but sold even more goods than usual.

Fengyun and Yunfeng also benefited a lot. As long as Qiao Mai sold the goods, they could eat them.

The gifts were sent, and she began to prepare the ingredients for hosting guests tomorrow.

Many people were coming: five from the Lu family, two from the left neighbor, two from the right neighbor, and three from her own family, a total of twelve people.

The two tables needed to be pushed together to barely fit everyone.

Making do is making do, but eating well is the main thing. Twelve people, twelve dishes, and each dish must be in large quantities.

For this, she even made a list.

Setting aside the usual home-style dishes, she decided on a pork knuckle with garlic paste. They usually ate braised ones, so she changed the way of eating.

Then a red oil ear slice—she had pig ears in her freezer. Pork already accounted for two dishes. Dry-pot fatty intestines and steamed pork with rice flour replaced braised pork; this one isn't greasy.

Then garlic ribs. Pork accounted for five dishes, showing the pig's great contribution.

With pork, then a chicken. There are children, so try to have less spicy food. Braised chicken pieces, then a fish. The fish should be crispy fish, as the bones are soft and won't choke the children.

Seven dishes, still far from twelve.

These are all meat, so let's have some vegetarian ones.

Tofu, not Mapo, but a scallion oil tofu with soy sauce flavor. Mix green beans with sesame paste—this era doesn't have sesame paste, but it has sesame, which is not far from sesame paste. New things won't be too strange.

Three dishes left. Right, a fruit salad. The children will definitely like this.

There are dried shrimp sold in the market this season. Buy two catties, pick them clean, and stir-fry them with chives—also a good dish.

Still one dish short, which gave her a headache. The small town only sells these few things, no more.

Right, a cold black fungus dish. The dry goods store sells this, and making it yourself is normal.

The menu for twelve dishes was set, and she immediately carried a basket to purchase.

The sons wanted to follow to help her carry things, so the mother and two sons each carried a basket.

They purchased extensively in the market. For this meal, she truly put in a lot of effort.

Upon returning, she first let Fengyun steam half a pot of rice and cooked a braised pork and a green vegetable for the children.

After eating, the three didn't rest and began to organize the ingredients. Everything was packed, and Qiao Mai put them into the space to keep fresh.

Then, she washed a basin of each fruit and prepared them.

The Yueyuan Festival here is the modern Mid-Autumn Festival, just with a different meaning.

Modern times emphasize the reunion of the whole family, while here, it is the day when the moon is roundest in the four seasons, also called the Moon God Festival.

They celebrate it, so she just follows along. It's just a festival to gather together for fun.

That evening, Qiao Mai personally went to tell Chen Shi, inviting her to come to her house on the afternoon of the Yueyuan Festival to have a meal and celebrate the festival.

Chen Shi was pleasantly surprised by the invitation and happily agreed.

As for Yuan Jiaqi, he seemed to have something on his mind. "Lady Qiao, who all have you invited?"

"Shopkeeper Lu's family, the left neighbor Chen Shi mother and son, and then you father and son."

"They are all women. Is it inconvenient for Yuan to go?"

"Who said they are all women?"

"Are there other men?"

"My sons, you should have heard, right? And your son, and Chen Shi's son. Aren't these all men?"

Yuan Jiaqi then realized, revealing an embarrassed smile. Those two rows of neat, white teeth truly dazzled Qiao Mai's eyes; he looked very good when he smiled.

"I might not be able to come tomorrow, or I might come."

"Oh? Something at home?"

"Yes, I need to buy festival gifts and go home to see. I won't stay overnight, so I should be able to rush back in the afternoon."

"It's fine, we'll wait for you together. In addition, I have something else I want to discuss with you."

"Please speak!"

"I want to ask you to teach my two sons to study, can you?"

Yuan Jiaqi hurriedly waved his hand. "How can the little I've learned teach children?"

"Just enlightenment, reading and writing is fine. I haven't thought about them taking the imperial examination. If they are truly material for it, it won't be too late to send them to school. If you come to teach them, two taels of silver a month, just teaching for an afternoon or a morning is fine. It just so happens that your Chuan'er can also learn together, and if Chen Shi's son wants to learn, bring him along too. I just want the children to recognize characters."

"Why not go to the school in town?"

Qiao Mai rolled her eyes and couldn't help but complain.

"I wanted to send the children, but the grandson of my enemy is studying inside. His teacher, for his sake, is temporarily not enrolling students. This was after hearing about my affairs, which is truly laughable."

(End of this chapter)