Chapter 25 – Banquet
Bones Chapter
The banquet was exquisitely planned- where guests would sit, where the family should sit, and where the elders should seat have been deliberately arranged.
Wei Cheng is at the bottom.
The Wei family members are all at the same table, the main table is for the distinguished guests of the Wei family and the elders of the Wei family, the other two tables are for the old lady of the Wei family and their family members, plus his younger sister Wei Zhen and an unknown girl. They are gorgeously dressed and are definitely the most dazzling. The male relatives also sat at the same table, and he saw that his brother-in-law was also there.
Wei Cheng thought that there was nothing wrong with this.
Will Wei Cheng think of this as an insult? He won’t, the Wei family treats him like this, and the relationship with the Wei family is alienated so as not to get involved too much in the future. Regarding the elders- he is most afraid of them forcing him in the name of them being his elders, but with today’s situation, many relationships became much weaker.
He was delighted to see this.
“Husband, are you alright?” Zhou Yuan watched the Wei family sitting happily together, talking and laughing, while his husband sat far away like an outsider. He was very sad at this moment.
Only then did he know how his husband was treated in the Wei family.
The elders in the family don’t want to see him, the cousins are not polite towards him, and now—
When Wei Cheng saw the concern in his wife’s eyes and the look of sadness for him, a warm current surged in his heart, something that cannot be given by anyone but only those he cares about. He couldn’t describe it, but the joy and throbbing in his heart was very clear.
The one in front of him who occupies most of his heart is his family, the one he loves.
Every concern and every emotion of his touched the bottom of his heart.
“Yuan Yuan, I don’t care about them. After the separation, the Wei family is just an ordinary relative to me. You are my family, and you are the one I care about.”
“Well, I will be by my husband’s side.”
“That’s for sure. You are my husband. If you don’t accompany me, who will you accompany?”
Wei Cheng smiled at his wife, and the two talked in a low voice without disturbing anyone at the same table.
Not long after the feast, a table of delicious food was served, delicacies from the mountains and the seas.
Half of the people at the same table were people Wei Cheng didn’t know, and they didn’t know Wei Cheng either, so they didn’t need to exchange greetings. They just started serving the dishes separately, and they ate their own food.
Wei Cheng only cared about picking up food for his wife, if he didn’t pick up food for his wife, his wife would definitely only pick from the three dishes in front of him and would be ashamed to pick up other dishes.
Wei Cheng picked up food for his wife next to him, and this attracted the attention of those who were eating at the same table. It was not that they had no wives. It was just the first time they saw a husband serving his wife, and he was also a ger with a lower status than a woman.
Wei Cheng was responsible for feeding Zhou Yuan’s meals at home. He was also surprised at first, but he gradually got used to it. He also buried his head in eating, not paying attention to other people’s eyes, otherwise, he would definitely not let Wei Cheng continue to serve food.
A woman’s eyes were very hot when she saw it, her face was distorted with jealousy, and she muttered, “They’re really shameless, they won’t restrain themselves in public, that ger is just a ger but he can’t wait to draw other’s attention.”
The sound was not loud, but it was enough for everyone at the same table to hear it, and their eyes were watching the show.
Zhou Yuan’s hands which were holding the chopsticks froze and his expression tightened. He was afraid that his husband would be looked down upon, and even more afraid that his husband would think that he was embarrassing him—
“Yuan Yuan, this fish is very fresh, your husband will grab a piece for you.”
Zhou Yuan was relieved by Wei Cheng’s gentle smile and unchanging behavior. He smiled at his husband and continued to eat, but he became more restrained in eating.
We’re sorry for MTLers or people who like using reading mode, but our translations keep getting stolen by aggregators so we’re going to bring back the copy protection. If you need to MTL please retype the gibberish parts.
Wei Cheng’s heart turned cold, and he glanced over at the woman coldly. The woman with sharp eyes was frightened by Wei Cheng’s fierce aura and dared not speak.
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The talkative people shut up but Wei Cheng could see that his wife was uncomfortable, his eyes flickered coldly. In order to make his wife less restrained, Wei Cheng frequently served his wife food in front of the whole table and said spoke to him, not caring about the opinions of those present.
“Yuan Yuan, do you want some chicken? Your husband will pick it up for you.”
“Yuan Yuan, this braised meat is not bad, here’s a piece.”
“And this Xianggu Grilled Vegetables…”
Zhou Yuan let go of his trepidation slowly because he saw that his husband didn’t care. Seeing that his husband didn’t eat much, he also picked some vegetables for him.
“I have food, you should eat too.”
“Okay, I’ll listen to my Fulang.”
………
The people at the same table: “…”
They were gonna have a toothache!
This shameless couple made it difficult for people to eat well.
Wei Cheng ate casually while something happened at the main table.
In addition to the birthday gifts from the Wei family, there were also gifts from distinguished guests in the side hall, all of which were piled up together. The boy who took inventory of the birthday presents saw several boxes of exquisitely packaged gift boxes, and there was no letter or anything on them. He didn’t know which distinguished guest gave them, so he opened them privately to see if there were anything in the gift boxes for fear of confusion.
The boy opened the gift box and saw such exquisite cakes. He thought it was the birthday cake for the banquet, so he hurriedly asked the butler for instructions. But seeing such delicate and lifelike longevity peach cakes, he changed his mind. If such exquisite birthday peach cakes were placed on the main table, it would definitely be the first one, and it would add to the prestige and face of the Wei family.
After Wei Cheng’s aunt knew about it, she also felt that the housekeeper’s suggestion was very good, but she couldn’t make up her mind, so she had to ask Madam Wei for instructions. It was also the first time that Madam Wei had seen such a realistic longevity peach cake. And when she tasted a piece, it tasted better than all the other cakes she had ever eaten.
It was decided on the spot as she ordered the housekeeper to arrange a plate and send it to the main table later, while the other tables would have what they should’ve served before.
There are only a few boxes, only one plate can be placed on the main table, and the rest will be reserved.
The birthday cakes are served at the end of the banquet- all the other tables have common birthday cakes while the birthday cakes served by Madam Wei on the main table are outrageously exquisite, and everyone who sees it is surprised.
Even the Wei family head was equally surprised, thinking that the housekeeper made a mistake and put a plate of handmade birthday peaches on the table. Fortunately, the housekeeper explained in time that it was a pastry.
A birthday cake?
It was really food, not crafts?
As the birthday man, Master Wei was the first to eat. He took a bite, and then a satisfied smile appeared on his wrinkled face.
“Indeed, the filling is made of red beans. The longevity peach cake is soft and delicate, and the taste is several times better.”
The guests at the main table picked it up and tasted it, and it was really pastry, and the taste was really good.
“Master Wei, where did you order? This pastry is a veritable longevity peach, which has never been seen before.”
“My family has ordered birthday peach cakes for so many years, and the taste is just average. Compared with this birthday cake, they are not the same thing.”
“Old man, you’re really good, this is what longevity cakes should look like.”
“The old man is blessed to have such a real birthday peach to celebrate his birthday.”
Each person praised him, making Master Wei happy and his face bright.
“Butler Wei, where did you order this from?” Wen Fuzi asked, as Wei Jihui’s father-in-law and his master, of course, would come to celebrate his birthday. He is a first-class master of the county academy, he has seen all kinds of good things, and it is the first time he has seen pastries that can be made so realistically.
Not only Wen Fuzi asked, but other distinguished guests also asked. Steward Wei couldn’t say it was a gift from a guest as he didn’t know which guest sent it.
All the guests at the main table asked, and Steward Wei breathed a sigh of relief. At least the guests who sent the cakes were not from the main table. After weighing it over and over again, he said that the pastry was made by a master.
The distinguished guests said that they would definitely come to the Wei family’s residence to discuss the residence of the pastry chef.
On the other side, there is also a plate at the main table of the women’s family members. Considering that Miss Min’s family is there, Madam Wei placed an extra plate to curry favor with Miss Min’s family.
Min Yueting, the young lady of the Min family, and Wen Lanzhi, the wife of Wei Zhai, are good friends. She came to the birthday banquet because of Wen Lanzhi. The background of the Min family in the county is similar to that of the Cao family. They were a very wealthy family.
Min Yueting has never seen such a lifelike longevity peach.
After she ate it, she liked it very much and wanted to order some for the elders in the family. Since Min Yueting praised it, Madam Wei felt that she had some face.
They’ll turn around and search for the pastry master’s house.
Wei Cheng didn’t know anything about what happened at the main table. Wei Cheng didn’t care if what happened over there had anything to do with the cakes he made.
After the banquet, Wei Cheng found the butler of the Wei residence, told him they’ll be leaving, and did.
Just eating and drinking but still being hated by others? It’s better to leave first.
….
After the banquet was over, after the guests left- everyone in the Wei family was looking for the guest who delivered the cakes. There was no name listed on the box, so it was even more difficult to match the honored guests who gave this birthday gift.
The boy who was especially in the main hall to receive the gifts recognized the person who gave them- he told them but they didn’t believe him.
“Go back to the old man and old lady, this birthday gift seems to be sent by Master Wei Cheng.” He deeply remembered seeing the exquisite box of Wei Cheng’s birthday gift, and thinking that the things inside were worthless.
Everyone in the Wei residence fell silent.
Regardless of whether it is Wei Cheng or not, let the person from the second family ask. If it is really the longevity peach that he sent, then he must know the residence of the pastry master, and they’ll just ask him for it when the time comes.
“Housekeeper, tell the second family to ask their second son to inquire.” Master Wei said so and handed over the matter to the housekeeper for inquiry. It doesn’t matter which master did it.
No one thinks that Wei Cheng made the pastries himself.
….
“Jihui, regarding what Mother said before, you also met the young lady of the Wang family today. If you agree then Mother will arrange it immediately.”
Wei Sun, the head of the Wei household, called her son to the side hall and brought up the matter of taking concubines again, all this without telling Wei Jihui’s wife Wen Lanzhi.
The Wang family also came to attend Master Wei’s birthday banquet. The Wang family was the family Wei Sun had found to take concubines from for his son.
“The girl from the Wang family has good looks and good character, and your mother likes her too, so it’s very suitable to let her in.”
“Mother, that’s not good. Lanzhi has given birth to an offspring for our Wei family. Why have you brought up the matter of taking concubines again?”
Wei Jihui had a busy day of socializing, and his head was hurting. Hearing what his mother said, his headache got even worse.
If he knew that the Wang family was not his mother’s close friends, but something his mother arranged for him to take concubines, he would not have gone to meet them.
Madam Wei snorted, “She’s not a good wife. She doesn’t pay attention to me as a mother-in-law, and she only has face because of her natal family background. The family’s expenses depend on her face. Since she married in, she should be respecting her husband’s family and taking the initiative to give the money to subsidize the family. But because she has been bitter about the incident of you nearly taking a concubine before, the subsidy money for the family has been reduced by half. This is showing dissatisfaction with me as her mother-in-law. ”
Wei Jihui’s head continued to hurt. He knew that his wife had an estrangement from his mother in her heart. She hadn’t conceived for two years, and her mother had wanted to take a concubine for him. Back then, she ran back to her mother’s house, and his father-in-law even came to accuse him, saying that he had a bad and treacherous heart.
After being noisy for a period of time, the house became uneasy, and if the wife hadn’t become pregnant later, the two families would have been even more troubled.
If that incident didn’t happen, part of the profits from the land under his wife’s name would be allocated to subsidize the family. It was said to be filial piety to the elders. At that time, the family was harmonious, and the relationship between mother-in-law and wife was as close as mother and daughter.
Because of that incident, the mother-in-law and wife were at odds.
Now his mother is trying to give him a concubine again.
“Mother, I’m going to take the Juren examination next autumn, and I want to devote myself to the imperial examination. I’ll talk about taking concubines later.”
He has feelings for his wife. He has no intention of taking a concubine now, but it is not easy to go against his mother’s wishes. It is really difficult for him to be caught in the middle.
Wei Jihui didn’t directly refuse, Wei Sun thought that his son would have to wait until he was admitted as a Juren before accepting a concubine. With the title of Juren, the Wen family would have no objection. Didn’t the Wen family also have a Juren, and when her son passes the Juren examination, her family no longer had to look at the Wen family’s face.
The Wei family allowed him to take a concubine because they were dissatisfied with Wen Lanzhi’s cutting off half of the money to subsidize the family. Even with half gone, the family’s daily life would still be normal, but as the head of the house, she lost the luxury of buying as she did in the past.
The Wang family is a merchant, and Miss Wang’s family married with a generous dowry, which was enough for her to be careful of Wen Lanzhi.
Wei Sun left satisfied.
Because she was worried that her husband would get a headache from drinking too much wine at the banquet, Wen Lanzhi went to the kitchen to cook the wine soup and came back. After listening to the conversation between the two at the corner, she felt sad.
Didn’t her husband agree to never take a concubine, what about their future?
If there is such a day, what should she do?
In the beginning, Wei Jihui still swore that he would not take concubines, he had her and that was enough- they would grow old together, and there would be no one else. That’s why she put her heart on him, and she decided to marry into the Wei family regardless of her family’s objections.
In the beginning, her family deliberately made things difficult for him but they also hoped that she would be happy in marriage, so they said that he could only marry her if he was admitted as a scholar. Not only did her husband and the Wei family care about her, they were still very kind to her. After she married, they reciprocated. Afterward, her mother-in-law treated her like her own daughter, the family was harmonious, and her husband was caring. She thought she was married to the right person and that she married happily.
All because of her inability to conceive, the cloth covering her eyes was lifted—
She knew that the Wei family was dissatisfied with her family’s suggestion that her husband should be a scholar in order to marry her. Seeing that she hadn’t conceived for two years, they took advantage of it—
Wen Lanzhi leaned against the back of the wall, and a tear fell.
…
The affairs of the Wei family have nothing to do with him, as he is going to open his stall soon.
This time, his wife cannot be prevented from helping.
He thought about only doing the morning market and lunch market, he would not be able to cope if he did the evening market.
There are breakfast recipes for breakfast and lunch recipes for lunch.
For breakfast- rice rolls, soy milk, soybean dregs, oil cakes, thick white porridge, egg pancakes, stir-fried dried radish with special sauce, and pickles are provided. For lunch, they provide a variety of cold dishes, sizzling fried rice, fried flatbread, vegetarian flatbread, white rice, coarse-grain rice, and jelly.
There will not be a lot of food to prepare for the first day, he was afraid that it will not be sold out, and the weather will be hot and it will spoil.
Everything is ready and waiting for tomorrow’s opening.
Marriage is so scary…
True. Why promise something if you’re gonna break it later?
+these people are playing some 5D chess just for a wee bit o wealth
ya what if he:
Just when you think the bar can’t go any lower, the Wei family continue to proof us wrong 😑
There’s not a single decent person in there except Wei Cheng…
Darn, that family is TRASH!!! Everytime I think they can’t go lower, they do. It’s like a magic trick, always amazing 😐
Thanks for the chapters!!
Thanks for the chapter! A really trashy family the lot of them…
The poor girl.. I wish all these villains will get their retribution!
Thank You for the new chapter ♡(ӦｖӦ｡)