Chapter 560. Planning Her Hairpin Ceremony (2/2)
However, the freedom in their eyes was just part of the struggles of the livelihood of a daughter born into a fisherman’s family. In the eyes of the daughters of fishermen, these girls who were born with a silver spoon in their mouths were the ones who should be envied. If one wasn’t a fish, how would one know how much a fish would envy a human’s joy?
Yu Xiaocao's circle of friends widened considerably after Princess Consort Duan's birthday banquet. There was the daughter of Imperial Prince Sa, the granddaughters of the Grand Preceptor and the Director of the Imperial Court Clan… By the time the gathering was held, some of their uninvited brothers also joined them, so the group attending this fall’s orchard gathering was more than twice the size of the group that attended last year. Their group was so big that the little animals around the hill had been too scared to come out, so the animals that were caught by the traps they had set were much lesser than the number they had caught last year. If it weren’t for Little Black and Little White, they might not even have had enough ingredients to carry out the orchard barbeque!
Just like this, these peaceful days slowly passed. Because she had been keeping such a high profile for the past two years, Xiaocao did not come up with any new ways to earn money. However, even just her pharmaceutical workshop, beauty spa and greenhouse vegetables were enough for others to envy her.
With the passing of fall, came winter; and with the end of spring, summer returned. Regardless of whether it was the imperial plant breeding center, or Yu Family’s farm in Tanggu Town, they all had a plentiful harvest of fruits. The seeds of winter wheat were enough to satisfy the plantation needs of the dozen states and prefectures in the north, and corn was already becoming a common crop in the northeast and northwest. The people of the northwest, which was known for its barren lands, were finally able to keep some extra grains after filling their stomachs because they planted high-yielding corn seeds.
Just as the Yu Family’s twenty thousand mu farm in Tanggu started to show some good results, they welcomed Xiaocao’s hairpin ceremony. Originally, Xiaocao only wanted to have a meal and eat a cake together with her family in Dongshan Village, but her godmother and Royal Prince Yang were unwilling!
Needless to say, it was such a rare occasion that Zhu Junyang actually had a valid chance to court Xiaocao’s favor, how could he miss out on such an opportunity? If things went according to his way, the ceremony would be held as large-scaled and as grand as possible!
Lady Fang was also of this opinion. Before, she was only able to attend the hairpin ceremony of the daughters of other people, and who knew how many gifts she had given away. But now she finally had the chance to hold one for her own daughter. So, of course, she wouldn’t let go of this chance to earn gifts!
Xiaocao’s best friends also excitedly chipped in their ideas. Although Xiaocao had already been in the capital for a few years, she was still completely clueless about the various etiquette of the hairpin ceremony. Not to mention, her godmother had arrived at her home a few months in advance to discuss with her about how they should decorate the place. It made her feel that the ceremony was too bothersome. She dearly missed the way she celebrated birthdays in her previous life, where she could just walk into a restaurant and they would take care of everything else for her.
Oh right! In her previous life, in order to save trouble, everyone did it like this, so why couldn’t she do it now? Didn’t she have Zhenxiu Restaurant’s boss as her friend? If they could successfully host her hairpin ceremony’s banquet, it might even be a new business opportunity for Zhenxiu Restaurant!
As such, she invited Third Young Master Zhou, who was in the capital, over and told him the gist of her idea. What? She wanted to hold her hairpin ceremony in Zhenxiu Restaurant? Turn the whole third floor into a big hall that could hold the hairpin ceremony? She wanted to hold the hairpin ceremony and the banquet together as a bundle?
This idea was very fresh, so without much thought, Third Young Master Zhou, who was always willing to experiment, agreed to the plan. As Xiaocao’s hairpin ceremony was only less than two months away, Third Young Master Zhou put off every other matter and focused solely on this.
Lady Fang was disapproving when she heard that her goddaughter wanted to hold her most important fifteen-year-old coming-of-age ceremony in a restaurant, but she ultimately gave in since Xiaocao insisted. However, she was even more invested in the renovations and decorations of the hall on the third floor where the hairpin ceremony was going to be held than her own home. She mulled over almost each and every decor for half a day.
With an expert like Lady Fang who watched them closely, Third Young Master Zhou was even more confident towards the success of the hairpin ceremony and banquet. Coupled with the help of Xiaocao’s friends who were of high status, the decoration of the main hall on the third floor was done in a quick and orderly manner.
Just a few days before the hairpin ceremony, Third Young Master Zhou invited Xiaocao to check out the results. The main hall, which appeared luxurious yet elegant, presented itself to Lady Fang and Xiaocao. It was looked simple, yet also exuded magnanimity,
Every drapery in the hall was top-notch in both pattern and texture, and even the pendants on top were embellished with pearls or gemstones (these were sponsored by Royal Prince Yang). The furnishings on the antique shelves were genuine antiques, and the paintings and calligraphy on the walls were also prized possessions of famous people. Even the floor was cut and polished from limestone that was brought back from Dali. The marble floor was as polished as a mirror, and the patterns on it were like a natural ink landscape painting... In short, the entire hall was decorated more beautifully than the couple's parlor room.
As for the hairpin ceremony’s banquet, that went without saying! In addition to all of the signature dishes of Zhenxiu Restaurant, Xiaocao also specially introduced several new dishes. These dishes were mainly Cantonese dishes: honey roasted pork, stewed shark's fin with vegetables, bird's nest with coconut milk and sugar, steamed striped bass, fried salt and pepper mantis shrimp, pineapple with sweet and sour pork, and steamed crabs. The head chefs of each branch of Zhenxiu Restaurant, led by Head Chef Wang, gathered together to learn and practice their culinary skills in order to make a splash at the banquet.