They returned early. The Ye family's banquet hadn't started yet. Qi Jiao first went to Jiang Yuniang's room to visit the new mother and the baby.
Aunt Ye named her beloved granddaughter Qin Jie'er. Her formal name was Ye Qin.
Qin Jie took after the Ye family in her facial features. Although her eyebrows and eyes hadn't fully developed, it was not hard to tell that she would surely be a beauty when she grew up. The tiny baby had fair and tender skin, which she inherited from Jiang Yuniang.
Since Ye Geng got this precious daughter, he had doted on her to bits. When he went to work in the fields during the day, he would go home from time to time to have a look.
Not to mention Aunt Ye and Uncle Ye's deep love for their granddaughter. If Qin Jie hadn't been too young, they would have taken turns holding and cooing at her.
Qi Jiao took out a brand - new rattle to tease Qin Jie.
Qin Jie was still too young to talk. She just opened her big, bright and black eyes wide, waved her little hands while making cooing sounds, looking extremely delighted.
After teasing the baby for a while, Qi Jiao placed the birthday gifts beside Qin Jie. They were a longevity lock made of pure gold, a pair of small silver bells with red ropes around them as bracelets, six sets of fine cotton baby clothes, two red silk bellybands, two cute tiger - head caps and a pair of tiger - head shoes.
Since baby clothes were small and stacked together, all these things only took up a small corner of the bed.
But how could Jiang Yuniang not know the value of these things and Qi Jiao's good intentions?
She thought the gifts were too precious.
Since Qin Jie was a girl, even her own family had only sent a basket of red - dyed eggs and a bag of white flour.
Jiang Yuniang quickly said, "How could she, a little kid, accept such precious gifts from her aunt?"
Qi Jiao laughed and said, "Qin Jie is my first niece, and she is so cute. Won't sister let me dote on her?"
Jiang Yuniang took Qi Jiao's hand. She was so touched that her eyes turned red. "Qin Jie is a girl. I originally thought..."
She originally thought that her in - laws would not like the baby and her husband would be disappointed.
But unexpectedly, everyone doted on Qin Jie so much.
Especially Jiao Niang and A Xia's family. They had spent money and effort, bustling around for them.
Qi Jiao took out a handkerchief to wipe Jiang Yuniang's face and said with a smile, "Sister Yuniang is a great hero in our family. You endured so much pain to give birth to the baby. It's only natural for me to dote on her to the sky! As for you, don't worry too much. Recovering your health is the most important thing."
Jiang Yuniang burst into laughter through her tears.
Due to the physical weakness after giving birth, Jiang Yuniang looked a bit haggard, but her complexion was still good, with a natural blush on her face.
"The postpartum recovery soup you asked Uncle to send back worked wonders on me! I've discharged all the lochia these days. And those snow clams and ginseng. Mother - in - law has stewed them for me to eat. You've spent so much money! How can I ever repay you?"
Qi Jiao said, "Giving birth is a dangerous and energy - consuming process. As long as you feel better after eating them, money is nothing."
Jiang Yuniang was extremely grateful in her heart. She wondered what good deeds she had done in her previous life to have such a wonderful younger sister - in - law.
In her mother - in - law's words, it was the blessing they had accumulated through generations of doing good deeds.
Jiang Yuniang stroked the yawning Qin Jie'er. Her heart was filled with tenderness. She wanted to recover quickly and take good care of the baby, and strive to go back to help Jiao Niang as soon as possible.
Aunt Ye felt sorry for Qi Jiao's usual busyness and tiredness, so she didn't let her help with the full - month banquet today.
The rural banquet was simple. Aunt Ye invited several experienced aunts in the village to cook. The neighbors all came to help. Coupled with the abundant seafood from Yinwan, it was easy to prepare eight meat dishes and four vegetarian dishes.
This full - month banquet was warm and sumptuous.
After the meal, Qi Jiao wanted to help clean up, but was stopped by Aunt Ye and Uncle Ye.
Qi Jiao couldn't help laughing. She sat down and chatted with the two elders, stuffing a bulging money - purse for each of them.
If she couldn't contribute labor when returning to her natal family, she could at least contribute money.
The two elders' expressions changed, and they were about to return the purses to Qi Jiao.
But Qi Jiao said, "If it weren't for mother helping me manage the birth process, how could I have sold goods in the city without a worry? If it weren't for father guarding the duck farm every day and taking care of all the matters inside and outside, how could I have been so smooth?"
"This is just a little filial piety from your daughter. Please just accept it!"
Since she had said so, Aunt Ye and Uncle Ye had no choice but to accept.
Qi Jiao usually paid them wages, but Aunt Ye and Uncle Ye mostly refused. Only during festivals and birthdays could Qi Jiao give them big red envelopes.
How could Qi Jiao not love and respect such parents who always considered her and did their best to help her?
Jiao Niang's words made Uncle Ye feel warm inside. Like most fathers in the world, he was a man of few words but solid and reliable.
Uncle Ye's face was creased with a smile. "Anyway, I can't go out to sea. I might as well help you look after the duck farm. It's like exercise for me."
He glanced at Aunt Ye. "While your mother and I are still in good health, Jiao Niang, just go ahead boldly. We'll back you up."
"Yes, yes."
Qi Jiao was deeply touched and replied repeatedly. She supported Uncle Ye with one hand and held Aunt Ye's arm with the other. The three of them went out together to greet and see off the guests.
*
Apart from attending Qin Jie'er's full - month banquet, Qi Jiao also had a bunch of tasks this time when she came back.
Seeing that Jiao Niang's restaurant was on the right track, after the birthday banquet at the Shu Mansion last time, many people in the county knew about Jiao Niang and came here admiringly.
Since the restaurant had a rule that only four tables of food and drinks were provided a day, the number of reservation requests had increased sharply, and the available seats were booked until after the Dragon Boat Festival.
After all, there were mostly ordinary people in the county, and the wealthy families were just a minority.
Although the business of the private rooms on the second floor was good, it was far less popular than the snacks and non - staple foods on the first floor.
Just the tea drinks managed by Shan Ge were extremely popular. As early summer came and the weather got hot and humid, there would always be a long queue outside the store around noon every day.
As the sales volume increased, the supply could hardly keep up.
Take milk tea for example. The demand for tea leaves and milk had increased sharply.
Previously, the milk in the store was purchased from the cow vendors on the street every day to ensure the freshest quality. After being bought back to the store in wooden barrels, it was boiled for sterilization and then processed into milk tea.
However, there were not many cow vendors in Lingle County, and the amount that could be purchased every day was limited.
Moreover, she couldn't buy all the milk in the county.
Qi Jiao wanted to expand the production and supply chain to avoid the dilemma of short supply.
Early the next morning, Qi Jiao and Pei Xia got ready and went to the families in Yinwan that raised water buffaloes for investigation.
Although there were several villages in Yinwan, there were very few families that could afford to raise water buffaloes.
A family like Granny Cai's, which had a strong water buffalo, was considered to be in relatively good condition.
The water buffalo in Granny Cai's family was left by her son. The old lady usually used it for farming. The buffalo only produced milk after giving birth to a calf, and the amount was extremely small.
So Qi Jiao gave up the idea and went to several other families with Pei Xia.
The sun was shining brightly. After running around for most of the day, both of them were sweating all over.
The result was very disappointing.
The situations of these families were similar to that of Granny Cai's. There were very few milk - producing water buffaloes, and they were scattered sporadically, not meeting the threshold for purchase at all.
Qi Jiao was a bit dejected. She was silent and didn't even want to talk on the way back.
Seeing that she was in a bad mood, Pei Xia simply stopped, stood in front of Qi Jiao, pointed to his back, and said in a deep and pleasant voice, "Are you tired from walking? Come on, get on my back."
Qi Jiao paused for a moment, then laughed. She jumped onto Pei Xia's back and wrapped her arms around him.
Pei Xia easily supported her under the knees, with the corners of his lips slightly curving up.
As they walked back, palm trees lined both sides of the road. The huge shades blocked the sunlight, making it a bit cooler.
She hugged his long neck. Suddenly, a ray of golden sunlight shone on his neck. Qi Jiao had an idea. She lowered her head and kissed it.
The warm and soft kiss landed on his chin. Pei Xia's Adam's apple rolled, and there seemed to be a fire in his heart.
He turned his head and was about to say something when he suddenly saw a figure of a girl in a white dress appearing at the end of the road.
From afar, she looked slender and graceful.