Half a month passed in a blink of an eye, and the house was finally built.
The entire Red Mangrove Slope was immersed in the joy of Old Master and Madam's housewarming.
In the new kitchen, Tian Guihua and Liu Shi were in charge of cooking, preparing for the housewarming banquet, while Yang Shi and Granny Zhong assisted.
Under Du Min's arrangement, the others cleaned the rooms and organized belongings. In less than half a day, everything in the new home was ready.
Lu Hua, Lu Yun, and Lu Yu had never lived in such a large house, let alone imagined having a room each.
The three children were so excited that they screamed at the top of their lungs, their voices hoarse.
Lu Hua looked at her own room, already imagining how she would decorate and clean it. Most importantly, she had to prevent her two mischievous brothers from barging in and messing it up.
Lu Yun, pulling Tian Dou and Tie Zhu along, patted his chest and told them that they could sleep in his bed in the future; his room would be their room.
This made Tian Dou and Tie Zhu also shout with excitement. These two children had changed dramatically since being with Lu Yun, becoming as lively as a different person.
Lu Yu sat by the window table in his room, gnawing on a rabbit leg "begged" from the kitchen with a "crunch, crunch" sound, too busy to pay attention to anyone.
Granny Wu and Qing Feng also each had their own rooms.
Bai Sheng had originally kept a room for Du Min and Chen Pingyuan, but the couple flatly refused.
Although they managed the household, it was not entirely proper to live with their masters, and other servants would also have opinions.
Thus, Bai Sheng did not insist. Besides, the servant quarters below the sandbank were about to start construction, and apart from the room layout, the building materials were the same.
As it neared mealtime, Lu Ye invited Ji Chenhe and his mother, as well as the carpenter Boss Liu. Including all the members who dug the well, four or five tables were comfortably seated.
The dining tables were placed in the living room. As there wasn't enough space, two tables were placed outside the door.
The children from Hongliu Village and Caomiao Village had never attended a banquet before and felt quite reserved sitting at the tables. However, smelling the aroma of the food, their mouths watered uncontrollably, with slurping sounds echoing continuously.
Lu Hua, along with two other girls, Qian Zhaodi and Sun Gumei, had already become quite friendly. The three girls sat together, waiting for the feast to begin.
Li Qiang and Lu Fengshou sat at Old Man Ye's well-digging team's table. Smelling the aroma wafting from the kitchen, tears of excitement streamed down from the corners of their mouths.
Bai Sheng and his wife, Ji Chenhe and his mother, Granny Wu, Qing Feng, and Boss Liu sat at the same table.
Tian Guihua walked out of the kitchen and shouted, "Dinner is served!" Liu Shi, Yang Shi, and Granny Zhong then brought out basins of dishes one after another.
The variety of dishes was not large, but each one was substantial: braised chicken pieces, spicy rabbit meat, egg soup, and even fresh fruits and vegetables. These were more expensive than meat nowadays, and it was unexpected that Madam could procure them.
Even more surprisingly, Lu Ye produced a jar of wine.
This was a luxury among luxuries. With no surplus grain to even eat, how could there be extra grain for brewing wine? Therefore, as the men present smelled the wine, their souls seemed to have already entered the wine jar.
Ji Chenhe raised his wine cup and said to Lu Ye and Bai Sheng, "Brother Lu, Sister Xiao Sheng, your Red Mangrove Slope is truly a wonderful place. If not for my worldly affairs, I would truly wish to stay in this paradise forever."
Lu Ye laughed heartily, "Brother Ji, if you don't mind, you are welcome to come anytime. The house is yours to stay in, and the meals are yours to eat."
Bai Sheng also added, "Brother Ji, please consider this your home, no need to be polite."
Ji's mother smiled so widely that her mouth couldn't close, "It is truly my son's fortune to meet young master Lu and young lady Bai. If not for your frequent help, our lives would truly be unbearable. Son, you must never forget their kindness."
Ji Chenhe slightly lowered his smile and replied, "Mother's teachings are correct. Your son will certainly remember them."
Granny Wu looked at Ji Chenhe and smiled, "Young Master Ji is a person of great fortune. This time, he has merely gone through more trials than others. In time, he will surely rise to great heights."
Ji's mother chuckled, "Borrowing your auspicious words, old sister. Come, let me toast you."
Qing Feng looked at Ji Chenhe. According to the physiognomy his master taught him, his facial features did not indicate a great noble destiny.
However, insufficient facial features could be compensated by noble fortune. If nothing else, the fact that this mother and son met his junior sister was enough to prove that their fortune in meeting benefactors was extremely good.
As everyone was enjoying the feast, a discordant commotion suddenly arose from outside the door.
Bai Sheng and Lu Ye immediately went out.
Outside the door, two tables were occupied by the children from Hongliu Village and Caomiao Village, and the well-digging team, respectively.
A middle-aged couple with two young boys stood by the dining tables, their eyes fixed on the food with unconcealed extreme desire.
In a flash, the two young boys rushed to the table and grabbed pieces of meat, starting to gnaw on them.
"Hey, what are you doing?" Lu Yun immediately shouted.
Tian Dou and Tie Zhu clenched their fists, waiting for Lu Yun's command.
At this moment, Qian Zhaodi was extremely embarrassed. She frantically pulled away her two younger brothers and then, with a timid expression, looked at the couple, "Dad, Mom, why are you here?"
The woman suddenly became ferocious, raising her hand and slapping Qian Zhaodi across the face, "You cheap slut! You only care about yourself eating and drinking here, and you wouldn't even let your two younger brothers come with you today. You eat well and drink well every day, and you bring your brothers such trash! I raised you for nothing!"
Qian Zhaodi, with tears welling up, covered half her face and said, "Mom, we all came here to work for free. Usually, the employers give us some food out of kindness. Today, the employers are moving, so they let me stay for the meal. If I brought my brothers, I... I wouldn't have the face to come work here anymore?"
"Good! You unfilial, cheap slut! How dare you talk back!" the woman raised her hand again.
"Stop!" Bai Sheng shouted and walked in front of Qian Zhaodi, "Who are you? Why are you causing trouble at my door?"
Lu Ye, along with Ji Chenhe and others, also came over.
Seeing the hosts appear, the woman's expression faltered slightly. She said obsequiously, "Greetings, esteemed employers. Yesterday, I heard Zhaodi say that the employers were moving today, so I thought I would let her bring her two brothers to congratulate the employers. Isn't one more person more lively? Who knew this brat wouldn't listen."
Bai Sheng sneered, "My family is having a housewarming banquet today, and we have only invited those who work for us. We did not say we were inviting family members. Please leave."
"Dad, Mom, please, you... hurry and leave," Qian Zhaodi wished she could find a hole to crawl into.
The woman snorted, her thin, dark face looking even more spiteful, "If you want us to leave, fine, but I must take Zhaodi's portion of food!"
Lu Hua couldn't help but say, "Sister Zhaodi's meal, if you take it, will Sister Zhaodi still have food to eat when she goes home? Look at her, she's thinner than all of you!"
"What does a useless girl like her need to eat? It's a waste to eat!" the man behind the woman said sternly.
Qian Zhaodi wiped away her tears and looked at Bai Sheng, asking with a trembling voice, "Employer, my portion of the meal, can I... can I take it home to eat?"
Bai Sheng sighed and said to Tian Guihua, "Sister Guihua, pack a portion of food for her."
Lu Hua became anxious, "Sister-in-law, if it's like this, Zhaodi won't have food to eat. She always takes the food home."
Bai Sheng glanced at Qian Zhaodi and smiled, "That is her own choice, and she must bear the consequences. If she cannot stand on her own, no one else can help her!"