Chapter 59: The Final Meal Before the Journey

The so-called "First Meal" refers to the very first meal served after a person passes away.

Every single household in the entire estate would send funeral paper and condolence money to participate in the "First Meal," which was a long-standing custom in the Dayuan Dynasty. When the time came for the seventh-day memorial service, the host family would return the hospitality.

Generally, the first, second, and third seven-day periods were not celebrated on a grand scale; they would simply invite a few Buddhist monks to chant minor sutras and leave it at that. For the fourth seven-day period, the nephews of the family would take charge, contributing both money and effort to host the memorial at the main residence. The fifth seven-day period was handled by the daughters and granddaughters.

Dumplings were indispensable for the seventh-day memorials. Every household in the estate that had partaken in the "First Meal" had to be sent a portion of these dumplings. If any family was omitted, it would be considered a curse upon them, and even the most mild-mannered person would not let the matter rest easily.

However, the dumplings used for these memorial services were vastly different from those eaten in everyday life. When wrapping dumplings at home, people naturally tried every possible way to make them delicious. Yet the dumplings for the memorial service had to meet a standard of being "unpalatable"—the worse they tasted, the better. They were supposed to make people eat while cursing them as "memorial service dumplings." Consequently, people would often use "First Meal" or "Memorial Service" as curses when something tasted particularly poor at ordinary times.

Whether to invite the villagers for the fourth and fifth seven-day memorials was entirely up to the discretion of the hosts; it was not compulsory. After all, inviting the entire estate meant dealing with at least a hundred households, which was by no means a small expense, and one had to consider whether the hosts could afford such a burden. Naturally, extending invitations added a great deal of prestige and saved face.

As for the sixth seven-day period, it was the bounden duty of the sons and had to be observed on a grand scale. No matter how poor they were, they were required to invite every single household that had attended the "First Meal."

Logically speaking, this should have been hosted at the very first meal after Old Madam Qian passed away. However, funerary preparations involved numerous miscellaneous tasks and could not be rushed, especially since the Qian family had relocated from the Imperial Capital, which was a great distance away. Naturally, those households from the capital could not arrive on short notice. Under such circumstances, the host family was permitted to choose another auspicious day for the "First Meal."

This "First Meal" did not require formal invitations delivered to individual doors. Upon hearing the news, the villagers could come if they wished or stay away if they preferred, and there was no obligation to offer condolence money. After all, such matters were reciprocal, a continuous exchange of courtesy.

As the old saying goes, wealth in deep mountains attracts distant relatives. With the Qian family's business thriving and wealth pouring in from all directions, very few in the estate chose to stay away. Some individuals even set out the previous night, arriving at the Qian residence early in the morning.

Qian Shihai and Qian Shilin clearly had not slept well the night before; their eyes were bloodshot, yet they forced themselves to stay alert, waiting at the main gates to receive the guests. Madam Ding and Madam Wen were also running back and forth in the front hall, exchanging polite pleasantries when female guests arrived.

Qian Fangru and several of her sisters gathered together to fold gold ingots, occasionally calling out to the young boys of the family to burn paper currency and ingots in the ash urns. In the Dayuan Dynasty, society favored men over women, and females were forbidden from burning paper money. It was said that any money burned by women was wasted, transforming into worthless grass paper by the time it reached the netherworld.

There was also lore surrounding the folding of these ingots: those folded by men were considered the most valuable, followed by those folded by women, while ready-made ingots purchased from shops were utterly worthless.

Yunjiao instructed Guyouzi to fetch her older brother. Since her maternal grandmother's memorial rites would last seven days at the estate, her brother had more than enough time to arrive.

Watching Guyouzi leave and having nothing else to do for the moment, Yunjiao thought of joining the ingot-folding, though her real intention was to listen to her aunts' idle chatter. Ji Yaru was afraid of running into her mother and refused to go. With the front hall so crowded and bustling today, it was improper for young maidens to show their faces too much, and if she appeared before her mother again, she would likely invite another round of scolding.

Yunjiao agreed wholeheartedly, realizing she had been somewhat thoughtless.

The "First Meal" was scheduled for the evening. Since it was still early and the two of them were unoccupied, they discussed heading to the back garden, intending to find a wind-sheltered spot to sun themselves and catch up on old times.

Having not seen each other for a long time, the cousins naturally had many intimate words to share. They sought out a secluded thicket and sat facing the sun.

Jianjia, accompanied by Muxin and Huang, sat a good distance away from the two young ladies. One was mending the soles of shoes while the other two compared embroidery templates, looking thoroughly content and at ease.

Suddenly, a slightly pregnant woman hurried in from the east, making her way north along the small garden path.

Jianjia found this rather strange.

Muxin remarked, "Isn't that Senior Sister-in-law's concubine? Where is she going with such a big belly?"

Further north, there were no more residential courtyards; there was only a back door leading directly outside. At this moment, all the household servants were busy helping out front, and nobody was guarding the exit.

"Let her go wherever she pleases; she hardly looks like a good person," Jianjia said with a light sniff.

"Should we go and say something to our young miss?" Huang asked.

"No need. Where she goes is none of our young miss's business," Jianjia dismissed the matter indifferently.

That Yang Suhe had originally been born into a destitute family. Ever since she attached herself to Shen Changdong, enjoying luxuries came naturally to her, and even the once-straitened circumstances of her family had become quite prosperous. She cared little for Shen Changdong's character; as long as he could provide her with a good life, he was her pillar of support. No matter how viciously he behaved outside, she was merely a concubine and incapable of managing such vast affairs—as long as she was supplied with silver to spend, that was all that mattered.

Yet this pillar of support had suddenly and without warning collapsed, throwing her into a panic. How was she to live her life in the future? What would become of the child in her womb? In the past, she had constantly provoked Qian Xianglan, paying no regard to the aging legal wife. Now that Shen Changdong could no longer protect her, and she would have to endure Qian Xianglan's tyranny, how could she possibly survive?

Fortunately, Brother Dong had devised a plan, and she simply needed to follow his instructions.

In the blink of an eye, evening fell. The Qian residence was brightly lit and filled with boisterous noise. Because there were too many people and the front hall could not accommodate them all, a large canopy had been erected right outside the hall, where tables and chairs were set up in the same manner.

After conferring with Madam Ding, Qian Shihai saw that most of the expected guests had arrived and gave a grand wave of his hand: "Let the banquet begin!"

Everyone immediately tucked into the food with great enthusiasm.

The dishes served at the "First Meal" were also subject to specific conventions. The number of courses had to be odd rather than even. Ranging from a minimum of three dishes to a maximum of nineteen, it all depended on the financial strength of the host family.

Ordinary households consumed simple, everyday fare. For instance, braised tofu with Chinese cabbage, stir-fried dried bean curd with celery, braised arrowhead with garlic, or at most some stewed potatoes accompanied by mutton soup. Gathering as many as nine dishes was considered extremely prestigious.

Since the Qian family possessed ample wealth, they naturally served the most expensive items available. Nineteen dishes were presented, piling so high that the large round tables could no longer hold them, requiring plates to be stacked one upon another. Aside from everyday dishes, the banquet featured meats that the villagers could not afford to eat even once a year, such as steamed mutton trotters, roasted mutton chops, and boiled mutton—all of top quality.

Everyone loosened their collars and ate until their faces shone with grease.

Yunjiao sat at a table in the corner, alongside Aunt Qian and her elder maternal aunts. Lacking much of an appetite, she merely held her chopsticks in accompaniment, taking an occasional bite. Her aunts were entirely absorbed in conversation and paid her no mind.

She turned her head to look outside the canopy. Not far behind her was a side room—the very place where Qian Xianglan had held her clandestine meeting days before. Because so many guests had arrived today and the main Qian kitchen was overwhelmed, a temporary stove had been set up inside this side room.

Yunjiao had specifically inquired and learned that her Second Aunt had ordered two massive cauldrons of white rice to be steamed right there in that side room.

Just as she knitted her brows in contemplation, the previously clamorous canopy fell into a sudden, abrupt silence.

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(End of this chapter)