Su Xiaotian helped tidy up the house.
It hadn't been lived in for some time, and it looked quite messy.
Indeed, Su Xiaotian found a pile of stones, pottery jars, and similar items in the main hall, which her second father and second mother had helped bring in.
Su Xiaotian then found a basket and packed them all inside.
What she said was that she would hide them properly, but in reality, she was smuggling all these treasures into her space.
Su Xiaotian felt that she wouldn't be returning many times in the future, so she might as well take them all with her this time.
Grandma Su and the others were also busy with their own tasks. When they heard Su Xiaotian mention this, they didn't pay much attention.
After all, they were the child's own belongings, and it was fine for her to pack them herself.
Grandma Su, along with her three daughters-in-law, Su Xiaotian, Li Linlin, and the wife of Li Zhuzi, who had voluntarily come to help, spent more than half a day before finally making the house spotless and bright.
Looking at the dark walls, Grandma Su said, "Time is tight. Otherwise, it would be nice to whitewash the walls too."
"Grandma, we're just here to host guests," Su Xiaotian said with a smile. "Big Brother and Sister-in-law's house in the capital is very bright!"
Grandma Su gave Su Xiaotian a chiding look.
"You child, I was just making a casual remark."
Their family had lived in this old house for decades and had a deep emotional attachment to it. However, after this visit, she suddenly felt a sense of unfamiliarity.
When they left back then, they had thought they would return once the children grew up.
But now, she felt that they might return less and less in the future.
Wang Xianghua could understand Grandma Su's feelings and said with a smile, "Mother, people live to move forward. Our family has gone far now, and this place might just be a memory."
"I understand that, but it's hard to part with a home I've lived in for most of my life!"
"Grandma, home is where people are. Our whole family is outside."
"Mother, look at you, thinking of these unpleasant things on such a fine day?" Liang Xiu quickly tried to ease the atmosphere. "After we finish this, we still have many things to do."
"You're right, I was overthinking. Third daughter-in-law, how many tables of guests do you think we can accommodate? Will fifty catties of pork be enough?"
"Mother, our family is celebrating a double happiness this time, so we'll need much more. Fifty catties of pork might not be enough; at least eighty catties are needed," Qi Liangying calculated silently.
"So much?" Grandma Su initially thought it was a lot, but then she remembered that their entire family had made such a grand trip, and the travel expenses alone were considerable.
This amount of meat didn't seem like much then.
"Mother, with our family's joyous occasion, there will definitely be many people coming. I estimate at least twenty tables."
Liang Xiu hadn't calculated this before, but hearing Qi Liangying say so, she thought it made sense.
"Exactly. Most of the villagers will come, and they'll bring their families! Plus, we can't forget relatives and friends."
Hearing her two daughters-in-law speak, Grandma Su nodded. Seeing that they had a plan, she felt relieved.
"Mother, I think besides pork, we should also buy some chicken. I don't know if anyone has caught fish these past couple of days. If we add a fish dish, it would be very presentable!"
Qi Liangying, unlike her previous frugality, quickly listed out a menu.
"Oh my, I've never seen such a feast!" Li Zhuzi's wife exclaimed.
Things had improved in the past couple of years; a feast with two meat dishes was already good. Further back, in her childhood years, the feasts were even more meager.
"Alright, let's inquire and have Zhuzi help." Grandma Su, following Qi Liangying's suggestion, planned to prepare a proper banquet. "And get some wine so everyone can drink to their heart's content!"
"Mother, will the children have their own seats, or will they sit with the adults?" Wang Xianghua asked.
According to the village custom for banquets, adults sat at the tables, and children stood nearby to eat without their own seats.
In fact, this was only because the prepared food and drinks were limited, and they didn't dare to set up separate seats for the children.
"Let's give everyone their own seat. Our family isn't short of money for food and drinks now, so let's not be stingy and appear petty!" Grandma Su insisted.
All three daughters-in-law agreed.
Li Zhuzi's wife smiled and said, "Auntie, there are quite a few children in the village."
"Don't worry! Let the children sit and eat with dignity too!" Grandma Su said with a smile. "Zhuzi's wife, have Zhuzi pick up your father from the county town tomorrow."
Li Zhuzi and his wife were genuinely good to the Su family, almost like their own children. Grandma Su wanted to give Li Zhuzi's wife face and specifically brought this up.
"Let's not pick up my father!" Li Zhuzi's wife hesitated for a moment.
Although her father lived with her and Li Zhuzi, he wasn't from Nanling Village.
If he were to attend the banquet, someone might make fun of him.
"What's there to worry about? What kind of relationship do our two families have!" Wang Xianghua said with a smile. "Just go pick him up; no one will gossip."
Li Zhuzi's wife knew that the Su family was sincere and agreed.
"We have a breeding farm in our village, so we should be able to buy eggs and chicken. I'm just not sure if there are any suitable pigs. If there are, we might as well buy one," Grandma Su mentioned casually, thinking of the village's breeding farm.
The others naturally went along with Grandma Su's wishes. Since money had to be spent anyway, it didn't matter where it was spent.
"Okay, Mother, I'll go take a look this afternoon!" Wang Xianghua said.
She genuinely wanted to go back and check on the chicken farm she had put so much effort into.
As soon as they finalized these matters, some villagers came to help, carrying some of their home-grown leeks, radishes, and cabbages.
"We figured you just got back and might have trouble getting vegetables, so we brought some over," a young, talkative wife said with a smile.