"In my opinion, in the surrounding ten miles, there’s no girl’s more upright than our two daughters," Lady Zhang said cheerfully in a hushed tone to Lian Shouxin.

Lian Shouxin didn’t say anything, he just chuckled along foolishly.

As the month drew to a close, Lian Manman’s family became increasingly busy. The shops needed inventory records to be tallied, annual earnings calculated, and dividends distributed. At home, they still had to prepare for the New Year, along with gifts for a few families they needed to visit. Naturally, Lian Manman couldn’t slack off during this time. She went to town with Wu Lang for a few days. When they returned, they, of course, carried numerous large and small bags of New Year’s goods.

This year’s New Year was naturally more prosperous than ever before.

First, Lian Manman’s family bought three whole sheep and eighty pounds of beef. This was not only for their own consumption, but also for gift exchanges and hosting banquets. Naturally, they also bought a plentiful amount of firecrackers. As for other foods like chicken, duck, fish, eggs, vegetables, and fruits, they hardly needed to buy any.

Following the recipe Lian Manman recited, Lady Zhang tried making malt sugar from wheat. After Xiao Qi tasted it, he couldn’t stop praising it. One of the things that made Lady Zhang happiest was when the children liked the food she made. Therefore, Lady Zhang declared that she would take charge of making the sweet confections for the small New Year, promising they’d taste better than those bought outside.

The New Year’s pig also had to be slaughtered. This year, Lian Manman’s family planned to keep two pigs to slaughter for meat. The rest were not going to be sold to butcher shops but would be entirely kept to supply the kitchen of Lian’s Restaurant according to plan.

"Your pigs aren’t small, it should be about time to arrange for slaughter, right?" On this day, Lady Zhao and Lian Yeye visited Lian Manman’s house, and Lady Zhang brought up New Year’s plans.

"Yeye’s father has already discussed it with Butcher Zhang in town. They’re selling all the pigs to him," Lady Zhao said, "and then we’ll order a few pounds of meat from his shop to save for the New Year."

This meant they were selling all three pigs and wouldn’t be slaughtering a New Year’s pig at home. After all, not every farming family could afford a New Year’s pig every year.

With Lian Shouli’s family’s current income, they could afford a New Year’s pig. However, Lian Shouli and Lady Zhao lived frugally.

"We have a small family, and we don’t need much meat. It’s easier to sell them. We’ll just buy five or six pounds of meat, which will be enough," Lady Zhao added.

"If you’re selling the pigs, haven’t the elders said anything?" Lian Manman asked Lian Yeye on the side.

"They did. A few days ago, my second uncle and second aunt were already praising how fat our pigs are, even asking when my dad would slaughter them so they could help out at home. They said with just my dad, he’d definitely be too busy. But they have a lot of young men," Lian Yeye explained. "I could see my second uncle and aunt, and Si Lang were eyeing our pigs as if they wanted to eat them raw."

"Talking about helping out is just an excuse to have a good meal. They even asked my dad to save them a few extra pounds of meat."

"Yeye’s father did discuss the pig selling with the Old Master. He didn’t comment much, just said that for our farming family, living frugally makes sense," Lady Zhao continued.

"Sister Manman, are you killing a New Year’s pig at your home this year?" Lian Yeye asked Lian Manman.

"Yes, we are planning to slaughter two," Lian Manman nodded. Unlike Lian Yeye’s family, they had long-term workers and obligations for New Year’s gifts and hosting guests. Not having a New Year’s pig wouldn’t suffice. "Yeye, you and your third uncle and aunt should come early on that day."

"Okay," Lian Yeye agreed without hesitation. "Sister Manman, during that time, will you have to invite those from the old residence too?"

Lian Manman’s family had to invite guests when slaughtering the New Year’s pig, including the families of Wu Yugui, Wu Yuchang, Old Huang, the village Lizheng, and Old Jin.

"Estimating, there will be at least four tables this year. My brother’s school friends alone will occupy one table," Lian Manman said, "and that’s not including those from the old residence."

"So are you inviting them or not?" Lian Yeye asked, "Are we just inviting our grandpa and grandma or what?"

Since all the village folks were invited, it wouldn’t make sense to exclude the Lian family.

"We’ve discussed it and decided to invite everyone," Lian Manman said, "Whoever comes or doesn’t come, we won’t force it."

Lian Yeye nodded, indicating her understanding.

"The more you progress in life, the bigger the problems you face. For us, deciding not to slaughter pigs is simple. Not inviting guests, no one can fault us for that."

"That’s true," Lian Manman nodded. Despite being young, Lian Yeye sometimes had surprisingly mature thoughts. It showed how the children of poor families matured early. In this respect, Lian Yeye was no different from her sisters.

The day before the pig slaughter, Lian Shouxin personally went to the old residence to invite the whole family for the event the next day.

As a result, early the next morning, Old Master Lian arrived with Lian Shouren, Lian Shouyi, Lian Jizu, Erlang, Si Lang, and Liulang.

Lian Manman’s family had enough long-term workers, so additional help wasn’t necessary. However, Old Master Lian insisted on having his sons and grandsons help out before sitting inside.

With many guests invited to Lian Manman’s family home, everyone greeted Old Master Lian with respect, while Lian Shouren and Lian Shouyi were somewhat neglected on the side.

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This is the fourth update today, amounting to twelve thousand words. I plead for your monthly votes as encouragement!

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I recommend Ruoyan’s completed book: "The Brocade Screen Chronicles," a light house fight farmland tale about family matters, grudges, and entanglements inside a large mansion.

Book ID: 1771214

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