Allure of a Country Maiden
Chapter 661 - 659

Chapter 661: 659

Xiao’er’s family invited people from the village to feast on Buddha Jumps Over the Wall, but not everyone was invited, the Shen family’s old house and Aunt Wang’s family were not on the list.

Aunt Wang came over to talk with Mrs. Shen early in the morning. Her family was the only one in the village not invited; how could she not be angry?

In recent days, Mr. Shen, with the main family, had attempted several times to visit Shen Chengyao’s house but without success. Everyone in the village had seen this. However, everyone in the village was well aware of the things the Shen family’s main branch had done in the past. These were simply unbelievable acts. Therefore, it seemed reasonable for Mrs. Liu to refuse to see them now.

Of course, some elders felt that there were no unforgivable parents in the world, but they only thought about it and didn’t voice it out.

Many families in the village raised chickens and grew vegetables to sell to Xiao’er’s supermarket. Their daughters-in-law also earned money by making toy components. The revenue from these activities had made them the first to become rich and move into a new house in the village. They even bought several acres of farmland in the past two years; life was only getting better and brighter!

Of course, they wouldn’t want to offend Xiao’er’s family by saying anything unpleasant. This is, after all, someone else’s family business. And if they put themselves in that situation, they would probably avoid each other until death as well!

Aunt Wang knew that Mrs. Shen’s family hadn’t received an invitation, so she came to stir up trouble.

When Mr. Shen saw Aunt Wang coming in, he knew she was up to no good. Mr. Shen said to Aunt Wang, "Dafu’s mother, we have to go to the young master’s house later, and we don’t have time to take care of you."

Upon hearing this, Aunt Wang scoffed, "Mr. Shen, are you joking? These past few days, you’ve been knocking on their door and have been turned away. Who in the village doesn’t know about this? Are you planning to embarrass yourself in front of everyone by being turned away again today?"

Mr. Shen was somewhat embarrassed by her words, but it was not noticeable due to his dark skin. There was no way he could refute Aunt Wang’s words because he wasn’t even sure if he would be let into his son’s house today. "Anyway, we’re about to leave, so we don’t have time to entertain you. Please leave."

As soon as he finished speaking, a rumbling sound came from Mr. Shen’s stomach.

Aunt Wang heard it and laughed heartily at Mr. Shen’s stomach, "Haha...Mr. Shen, don’t tell me you’re going with an empty stomach to eat Buddha Jumps Over the Wall? I advise you to save your energy. Otherwise, you might end up looking at others enjoying their feast while you get turned away empty-handed!"

Mr. Shen’s face turned even redder. He grew angry from embarrassment and chased Aunt Wang away, "Leave! Leave quickly! We don’t welcome you in our house. Don’t come back again!"

In truth, Mr. Shen was indeed hungry. However, it wasn’t a hunger he had purposely subjected himself to; he simply didn’t have enough food to eat.

In the past, he had turned a blind eye to the hunger and cold suffered by his third and fourth sons’ families. Yet, he never expected that he would come to face such hard times himself. These days were damned hard to endure.

At this time, many villagers were walking past his home. It was almost lunchtime, and everyone was heading towards Xiao’er’s house.

Unable to consider anything else, Mr. Shen hurriedly followed the crowd. Mrs. Shen and the other members of the main family also emerged from the house.

Mrs. Shen said to Aunt Wang, "Aunt Wang, please go back first. I need to go to my third son’s house! That damned Mrs. Liu, I have to give her a piece of my mind!"

"I’m also going to see how delicious this Buddha Jumps Over the Wall is!" Aunt Wang had come here today with the intention of causing trouble, so the prospect of Mrs. Shen causing a scene—in the best case, even knocking over the pot of Buddha Jumps Over the Wall so that no one could eat it—filled her with delight.

...

After prepping the ingredients for a day and simmering the Buddha Jumps Over the Wall for one night and one morning, it was finally time to open the jar. Generally, Buddha Jumps Over the Wall takes six hours to cook. However, due to the large size of the wine jar and the particularly cold weather today, it took an extra hour just to bring the soup inside to a boil. Therefore, Xiao’er decided to keep it simmering for a few hours longer.

Xiao’er asked someone to bring a herringbone ladder and climbed up with a long soup ladle in her hand.

"Be careful not to burn yourself!" Mrs. Liu warned.

"I will be."

Xiao’er took off the lid of the wine jar.

Yang Liu hurriedly took it.

The aroma was already seeping out through the lotus leaves.

Xiao’er carefully lifted a small part of the layer of lotus leaves that sealed the jar. Steam rose from the opening, carrying a rich (meaty) aroma that made one salivate.

After checking the food’s color, Xiao’er happily announced, "It’s done, we can start eating!"

Then she removed all the lotus leaves.

The north wind that day conveniently carried the delectable aroma throughout the village. Even before reaching the entrance of the village, people could smell the robust fragrance.

Everyone sped up, the aroma alone stimulating their appetites. Saliva just wouldn’t stop dripping from their mouths.

Hungry children started to run, "Mom, hurry up! It smells so good, it must be delicious. If we’re slow, everyone else might finish it!"

"You silly child, they can’t finish all of it!" While saying so, they were still worried deep down.

Even the usually composed villagers, seeing their own kids running, used this as an excuse to run as well, "You silly child, wait for Mom. If you run too fast, you might trip. Wait for me, let me hold your hand!"

Seeing this, everyone else began to run too.

At Xiao’er’s front gate, several guards were stationed on each side, and the housekeeper was at the door, greeting guests.

He was the one who distributed the invitations. Having lived in the village for many years and taken in the villagers’ agricultural products every day, he was very familiar with the villagers. Therefore, he had a clear understanding of who was invited and who was not. Besides, when Miss Shen extended the invitation, she had consulted him about the villagers’ conduct over the years. Those who had submitted subpar produce were not invited. The housekeeper knew she wanted to make it clear that if villagers did good, the Shen family would not treat them unfairly. They would not tolerate those who acted dishonestly in their family.

Luckily, many villagers were honest people who didn’t want to lose such a profitable work opportunity with Xiao’er’s family. Hence, no one had submitted lesser quality products.

After all the villagers had gone inside, Mr. Shen and his family arrived a step late.

The housekeeper stopped Mr. Shen, and with a gentle tone, said, "Mr. Shen, our master is hosting a banquet for the villagers who have cooperated with us in business today. We really don’t have the time to entertain you. Please return home."

We don’t have time to entertain you! Mr. Shen nearly heard this line every day! He heard it every time he came!

He was Shen Chengyao’s father, and this house should be a place he could come and go freely! There was no need for someone to attend to him! Mr. Shen thought furiously.

However, he had been too cautious before and had accidentally signed a document severing their relationship. Later, too many things happened, turning a father not into a father, a son not into a son. Even the bond with his fellow villagers had altered.

"I am Shen Chengyao’s father. This relationship is God-given. I don’t need someone to attend to me. I can go in and help with greeting the guests."

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