Eating big melon is so refreshing

On the first day of September, good news came from the provincial capital that five people from Huangyang County passed the imperial examination and became successful candidates. This made the county magistrate, who was promoted not long ago, very happy. With this achievement, he would be able to keep the position secure.

"Guangning Town has produced five juren, and you still say it's not a Feng Shui treasured place?"

"It's because it's a Feng Shui treasure land, so we keep it secret from people!"

"How could there be five juren? Don't Lin Shaoxuan and Luo Xiaopang live in the county town?"

"What old almanac is that? The two of them have moved to Guangning Town for some time. Fatty Luo opened a Fatty Teahouse in Guangning West Village, and Lin Shaoxuan is a teacher at Sancai Academy."

"That's great. I'll find a way to send my kids there to study. If they do well, I can even buy a house there."

"The land for the house was sold out a long time ago. Guangning East Village and Guangning West Village were built some time ago. Why don't you rent a teahouse there? Or rent a fish pond and raise fish like the Miao family did."

Miao Sanhua performed exceptionally well in this exam, going smoothly from the county exam to the prefectural exam, and finally ranked third from the bottom!

The Miao family knew how to make wine and raise fish. By chance, they rented a fish pond in Xizhuang, Guangning. With the family's careful breeding, the fish in the pond were fat and energetic, and the supply was simply in short supply.

On the seventh day of September, Xiao Chunya and her group came back. After being exhausted from the last three-day and three-night buffet for the scholar's banquet, Xiao Qiulin didn't want to skip the buffet this time.

"... With so many candidates, each of them is hosting a half-month banquet. This is too big a move. Political enemies can use this to attack them without any defense."

Several elders looked at each other in bewilderment. Oh, they had all forgotten that five people had passed the imperial examination. If each of them worked for half a month, then these two and a half months would really be exhausting.

"Then let's do it together. A buffet for seven days and seven nights. No, half a month..."

"Three days!" Xiao Chunya popped up and made the final decision, "Think about the last buffet. The uncles and aunties who helped with the cooking had backaches and couldn't recover for half a month. The construction of the basement can't be stopped for too long. The potatoes and sweet potatoes are about to be harvested, and there is also the twenty miles of land on Phoenix Mountain. We don't have that much time to waste."

"Isn't it too stingy to have a three-day buffet for a banquet for a successful candidate?"

"No gifts will be accepted this time, so no one will say anything. The standard is eight large bowls, four vegetarian dishes, four meat dishes, plus two cold dishes, perfect." Seeing that the elders were still struggling, Xiao Chunya added, "If the grandfathers feel that it is not satisfying, wait until next year's spring boudoir brings good news, and then hold another lively one!"

"Xiao Qiuer ranked fifth in the local examination and has a great chance of going to the palace to meet the emperor." Wan Zi couldn't be too sure, so he said that everyone who needed to know knew it.

The eyes of several clan elders lit up. The Zhao family would soon produce an official, and at that time they would hold a buffet for a month!

Xiao Chunya curled her lips and said, “By that time, I still have a way to shorten the banquet to three days and three nights. One more day will drive people crazy!”

"Let's build a tent in the center of the square and invite a troupe to perform for three days and three nights, so that people who come to the buffet can also watch the show."

"That's a good idea!"

No matter the old men and women in Zhaojia Village or Xiaohe Village, they have only had some money in the past two years. They built houses, dug cellars, and made extra clothes for their children. When they have more money, they will send their children to school. Watching operas frequently was their wish when they were young. They never thought that they would be able to see operas at their doorstep in their old age!

Just do it.

A simple but hopeful stage was temporarily built in the center of the square, and the news spread throughout the village in an instant. When the old men and women who usually sat quietly at the door to bask in the sun heard the news, their eyes suddenly lit up, as if they had suddenly become decades younger.

"When does the show start?"

"The day after tomorrow, we'll watch the opera together on the day of the buffet."

"Great!"

The old men and women no longer have any arm pain, and their legs and feet are much more flexible. Many of them were so bored that they came to the square more than eight times a day.

Time flies

On the stage, the troupe wore gorgeous costumes and delicate makeup. Their every smile, every move, and every gesture touched the hearts of the audience. The graceful singing and melodious melody seemed to have a magical power that immersed everyone in the audience.

Several old men in the crowd could not hold back their excitement. They narrowed their eyes slightly, raised the corners of their mouths, and couldn't help humming a passage from the opera. The familiar melody came out of their slightly hoarse throats. Although it was not so perfect, it was full of their deep love for opera and their indescribable excitement.

For these old men and women, a three-day and three-night buffet might satisfy their appetite, but this drama truly touched their deepest emotions, awakened their memories of their youth, and brought them happiness and satisfaction that cannot be described in words.

This drama is not only a feast for the eyes and ears, but also a comfort to the soul. It allows these elderly people who have experienced the vicissitudes of life to find the long-lost passion and joy in the familiar melody and wonderful performance, making their lives full of color and vitality again.

As soon as the play ended, the banquet began and the troupe members got a chance to rest. They had to perform one more play, and their work for the morning was over.

"Fatty sister, come with me to toast." Xiao Qiulin pulled up the fat sister who was enjoying her meal and handed her a wine jug.

Gah! What's wrong with her? Just as Xiao Chunya was about to speak, she saw her brother's face with a fake smile. This stinky brother, is he going to give up?

Humph! The younger brother is getting less and less cute as he grows up. He knows how to enslave his own sister!

“I just took two bites…”

“I only had one sip of soup.”

In the distance, He Shuheng and Zhao Ming started toasting to others, and the fat boy also toasted to relatives and friends, so the siblings had to keep up.

Xiao Chunya felt aggrieved that she had to toast others with an empty stomach and a smile on her face. No matter whether she took the exam or not, she would still have to toast others in the end, right?

"It's the three-day and three-night buffet you mentioned."

"You have to thank me. If I hadn't stopped the buffet, it would have lasted half a month."

The brother and sister were bickering all the way, but when they got in front of people, they put on a smiling face. The connection was seamless. Their skill in changing faces was really admirable!

"This doesn't look like wine!"

"How can a child drink alcohol? This is plain water."

It’s terrible. They can’t even drink a sip of wine and can only smell other people’s wine. Children have no human rights!