Especially the honeycomb, it seems that people from wealthy families are particularly fond of it, claiming it can nourish the skin!
Everyone asked her if she had eaten too much honey, how she managed to maintain such good skin, looking much more beautiful than when she was younger!
Mrs. Li believed that it was because her diet had improved in the last two years, and without the pressure of life, she looked even more elegant than a young woman at times.
Upon hearing her granddaughter’s words and seeing her son and daughter-in-law beginning to be generous again, Mrs. Lai smacked her lips, yearning for the food mentioned, she just wanted to eat!
"Sending honey should be done in moderation, just presenting a little as a gift is fine, don’t foolishly give them so much that everyone in attendance gets to eat. What good stuff could those people give us in return?"
Despite saying this, Mrs. Lai did not receive agreement from her old partner, who gave her a disdainful look and said,
"You’re known for being long-haired but short-sighted. Even if you are cloaked in gold and silver for all your wealth and glory, people will still see you as a peasant and look down on you. But if we bring something people like, it will be different, they will regard us more highly!"
Being rebuked by her husband, Mrs. Lai’s lips twitched, but she could not argue against such generosity!
There was some anticipation for the reaction tomorrow when their family’s gifts were presented, would those people salivate over their home-produced goods?
When she appeared before them the next day, if anyone dared to call her a country bumpkin or look down on her, she was determined to make them spit out her honey!
With this thought in mind, Mrs. Lai couldn’t help but chuckle with narrowed eyes, and the discussion came to an end.
It was getting late, and people who had washed up were starting to go to sleep.
Ye Shiqi secretly told her parents to take the honey she had stored in the underground cellar to give as gifts tomorrow!
Hongji and his wife nodded in silent agreement, deciding not to say anything more.
That night, as autumn had arrived, Ye Shiqi didn’t feel the grandeur of the Mid-Autumn Festival like before, nor was there the custom of giving mooncakes as gifts here!
There was just a simple ritual of moon worship, but over the past two years, she hadn’t felt that distinct Chinese cultural atmosphere, where Mid-Autumn was almost as important as the Spring Festival.
Perhaps the author simply overlooked this when writing the book, as only the Spring Festival was highlighted, with other prominent Chinese festivals like Qingming Festival, Dragon Boat Festival, Mid-Autumn Festival, Double Ninth Festival, National Day, and New Year not feeling as significant in this world.
Or maybe it was just that in ancient times, some ritual days for praying for rain weren’t felt here, perhaps because the water management was quite efficient even during the driest seasons, with several rainy days.
Even the water from rivers would flow out from their village.
The clear river water, but in the summer, on such scorching nights, many men would go swim in the river or reservoir!
Many of the men knew how to swim, but cultural customs restricted women’s skills, and they dared not go swimming in the rivers!
They were not close to the sea here, and the largest body of water was the reservoir. There were one or two boats on it, but these were not tasks required of women!
Their livelihood didn’t depend on fishing, but some would go to the reservoir to catch fish to add something delicious to their meals.
Even the irrigation ditches in some fields had loaches and small fish, which the village’s young boys would also catch!
A breeze blew in through the window, dispelling the heat with its coolness.
Their house was designed for good ventilation, and even the breeze blowing through the small windows could be refreshing.
Having come to ancient times for more than two years, the luxurious life she once enjoyed was replaced by a struggle to stay fed and warm; although life slightly improved later, it was not by much.
Especially during hot weather, one could feel as though suffocating!
The air quality here was good, and eventually, after they built a house, life got somewhat better.
But this did not satisfy some of her needs; she could no longer be a smartphone addict, play games on her computer, chat on QQ, or use WeChat or other apps for communication!
To read books she desired, she had to ask someone to buy them from a bookstore. Even the wild magazines just depicted local customs and narratives.
Gradually getting accustomed to this lifestyle, she found some of the local scripts here unrecognizable, even for her who had returned from studying abroad.
"Qing, aren’t you going to sleep?"
Ye Fengqi, who shared a room with Ye Shiqi, poked the sleepy-eyed Mengmeng.
While the two young ladies were still awake, the little maids who took turns looking after them stood by their sides; tonight’s appointed little maid stood vigil.
The beds had long been prepared, accustomed to the youngest Lady’s heavier thoughts.
The two sisters did not sleep in the same bed. The room had two beds laid out and an additional smaller couch-like bed, which was for the ladies to sleep on, while the small bed was where the maid could rest during her night watch.
Of course, the maids had their own rooms. After staying up at night, they could rest freely during the day or even visit home.
They never did so, however, because they were young and another reason was their families lived far from the village, to prevent kidnappers.
Ye Shiqi, snapping out of her memories and thoughts, nodded at her elder sister. There were things that couldn’t be discussed with family, secrets buried deep in one’s heart that must be kept to protect oneself!