In Fire Knife Village and throughout Fuzhe County, the old folks prefer to celebrate their birthdays according to the custom of "celebrating the ninth but not the tenth," which is believed to be because "nine" sounds like "longevity" in Chinese, while "ten" implies that perfect completion invites decay.
When Hua Xiaomai first arrived in Fire Knife Village, strictly speaking, she couldn’t be considered a real cook, just an apprentice at most. Back then, preparing a banquet was a trendous affair for her, necessitating full dedication and effort.
However, after spending more ti in the trade, she gradually got the knack of it.
In fact, the most difficult patrons for a restaurant to please were always the discriminating gourts. Having seen and tasted a lot, they could instantly critique every dish presented to them, easily noticing even a minor misstep in seasoning and not hesitating to comnt, or worse, to scold vehently if they were particularly bad-tempered.
Conversely, in a restaurant or tavern, the easiest events to prepare for were the various banquets.
Regardless of their usual thrift or isolation, those hosting a banquet would inevitably have to spend more money, allowing for a wider selection of ingredients and enabling chefs to creatively express themselves without restraint.
What’s more important, at any banquet, regardless of the purpose, people always looked forward to an auspicious and joyous atmosphere. An ordinary dish, with so adjustnts to the ingredients and cooking thod and given an auspicious na, could easily please the guests.
For instance, braised or stead atballs could be presented as "Ingot Delicacy" when served at a birthday feast; and "Hidden Jade Treasure," using fried winter lon with diced chicken and roast duck at, plus fresh mushrooms, lotus seeds, and simred in a rich broth, was indeed a fine choice to flatter the guests.
In the end, banquets mainly followed a set pattern, and understanding this, one could easily prepare a satisfying al for both host and guests.
That day, Qiao Xiong had been walking back and forth in Daoxiang Garden, admiring every corner, growing fonder with each look. He ca to the front to chat a bit more with Hua Xiaomai and left happily. The next afternoon, he returned with his relatives from the county.
What Hua Xiaomai didn’t expect was the number of people that ca.
The family of Qiao Xiong’s wife was famously populous; her parents alone had six children, and many close friends and relatives lived in Fuzhe County.
According to the elderly in Fire Knife Village, when Qiao Xiong’s wife was married into the Qiao Family, just the marrying-in relatives were twenty or thirty people strong, packing the then not-so-spacious courtyard so tightly that the aunts and uncles were stuck outside, shouting over one another. Although they spoke auspicious words, their tones made it sound as though they were arguing.
Fire Knife Village was usually quiet, and its folks, both young and old, had not often seen such a sight and were left agape. Even long after Qiao Xiong’s eldest daughter was born, people still spoke of that day with awe. While Hua Xiaomai couldn’t imagine exactly what it was like, today she glimpsed a fraction of it.
They were here just to check out the venue for the banquet, and already, six or seven people had burst into the front restaurant hall. Once they realized that Hua Xiaomai was the owner, they imdiately started discussing with great fervor.
One said, "Last year when I visited my sister and brother-in-law, there wasn’t such a big restaurant in Fire Knife Village. How long has it been? Look, seems like your village folks are doing well, with money to spend!"
Another said, "Get soone to show us around the garden, right? We can’t know if it’s suitable for the birthday banquet without seeing properly. The old man turns sixty next year; it’s a serious celebration that we can’t skimp on!"
Yet another called out, "Everything else is easy to talk about, but the most important thing is that the dishes taste good! We’re celebrating the old man’s birthday, and with so many relatives and friends coming, if the food isn’t up to standard, it would be truly embarrassing!"
Everyone had sothing to say, with no order to their words; Hua Xiaomai was squeezed in the middle, the roar of voices drowning her ears, hardly understanding what each was saying, let alone who to respond to, and couldn’t help feeling a bit exasperated.
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