Chapter 440: Barbecue

Lian Fang Zhou stayed in the guest room with Lian Fang Qing while Third Aunt stayed alone in another room. Lian Fang Zhou could clearly see the unwillingness in Ah Jian’s eye when he left and couldn’t help but purse her lips and smile.

After breakfast the next day, everyone said goodbye to Master Su and Madam Su and went to Xiuyuan.

They could finally relax and unwind!

Last time, Lian Fang Zhou had been too busy observing Xiuyuan but this time she could just walk around and relax.

They stayed in the same guest houses they stayed in last time, which Su Jing He and Fang Qing had reserved for family members.

Fang Qing and Su Jing He shared one small courtyard, Lian Fang Zhou, Lian Fang Qing, and Third Aunt shared a second one, and Ah Jian and Lian Ze shared a third courtyard. The allocation was just right.

There were many rooms, which were all beautifully furnished and very comfortable. Lian Fang Zhou, Third Aunt, and Lian Fang Qing all choose one for themselves.

After she finished unpacking, Lian Fang Zhou went to see Third Aunt.

Third Aunt was sitting carefully on the edge of the bed and gently stroking the satin bed sheets embroidered with broken plum branches. She admired the blanket, tsking: “This kind of good material, we couldn’t even make clothes out of! The Su family is too rich! Oh, I never imagined that I would one day have such insight to this big word. It’s really worth seeing before I die.”

She looked at the various decorations of gold, jade, and porcelain in the room and only thought that they looked very good. She didn’t dare to touch them, even carefully, for fear of breaking them.

Lian Fang Zhou thought to herself, if Third Aunt knew that she owned several shares in Xiuyuan, what kind of surprised expression would she make?

Both Lian sisters laughed when they heard her words and Lian Fang Zhou said: “Our family’s good days have just begun! What big world? Since this house is really good, when we build our house on Xiaohuaguo mountain, let’s build something similar to this!”

“Yes, yes!” Lian Fang Qing clapped her hands and smiled. “If you come again, come and stay for a few days. It will be fun!”

Third Aunt smiled and narrowed her eyes: “How much money would that cost!”

Laughing, the three of them went out of the house and met with Fang Qing, Su Jing He, Ah Jian, and Lian Ze. The carriage was already waiting.

Yesterday, they had agreed to go to Xiuhu lake to eat barbecue.

At the east of the residential area, if you opened your windows and looked into the distance, you could see the vast, oval-shaped blue lake. This was Xiuhu lake.

Xiuhu lake was surrounded by all kinds of scenery, not just flowers and trees. On the west side was a camphor forest, which was perfect for barbecues. There were countless weeping willows and peach trees planted by the water, which was also a good spot for fishing. There were unique stone buildings on the east side, including a workshop and a stage. On the north side, there was a hill piled with mud from when they widened the lake. The reflections on the lake were very pleasing to the eye.

There was also a narrow and long river in the east and between the river and the bay, there was a delicate white marble bridge with 24 poles in the shape of a half-moon.

The mountains and rocks on either side of the river where covered in all kinds of vines, particularly flowering rose vines.

It was fun to travel through on a small boat!

Passing along the river, people’s eyes would lit up when they came to vast shallow pond. There were lotus flowers all over the place and it was easy to imagine how beautiful it would be when the lotus flowers bloomed in the summer.

Even if one was alone, it was not lonely. There were large reeds planted along the shore that fluttered in the wind and various waterbirds swam serenely between them, either foraging or playing. Sometimes they would dart across the water with their wings and chase each other, calling out happily. Other time they would stretch their wings and sweep over the water’s surface. They were all full of vitality and fun!

There was always something new around the corner!

In addition to Lian Fang Zhou and her party, Xiuyuan also had a lot of guests.

It didn’t matter to Lian Fang Zhou and her family but Su Jing He didn’t want to encounter an acquaintance who might disturb their fun, so he ordered the servants to close several corner doors around the camphor forest.

In the spring and summer, the walls around the garden were cleverly constructed of flowers which created an intimate world separate from the outside. There were many similarly designed gardens like this around the park, which guests could reserve. There were often female relatives who did not want to be seen by outsiders.

When the flowers shriveled and died in the winter, there were also curtains that could be puled up. Xiuyuan had many different styles of curtains, so guests could choose their favorites.

When Lian Fang Zhou and the others arrived, the servants had already set up the stove, wire rack, skewers, various seasonings, and all kinds of meats and vegetables for the barbecue.

On the side of the small red clay stove, a copper pot was boiling water for tea.

“This is really a good place! Though we also have mountains and rivers in the countryside, we can’t even compare to a rock here! Hey, how far do these mountains and waters go? They’re like a fairyland!” Third Aunt looked around and couldn’t help but praise everything, sighing emotionally.

Everyone laughed.

“Wait until next spring when the flowers bloom.” Fang Qing told her, “Although I haven’t seen it yet, myself, when I think about it, I know it will be even more beautiful then. Just like a real fairyland!”

This season was the end of the harvest season and there were no flowers at all, other than a few wild chrysanthemums that were still stubbornly fighting against the weather and some hardy wild roses.

“That’s good!” Third Aunt smiled, “Fang Zhou will take me and I will come!”

Everyone laughed again and Lian Fang Zhou smiled, “That is natural! It’s a pity that Che’er couldn’t come this time. When we come to enjoy the plums in winter, we will bring him too.”

By now, it was almost noon and everyone was a little hungry. They sat together around the stoves, joking and laughing.

Fang Qing smiled at Lian Fang Zhou: “The leeks, eggplants, green peppers, and mushrooms you asked to be prepared are ready. I have never seen these roasted before!”

Her cousin smiled back: “Just wait, you will see later. These things don’t taste as good when they’re baked.”

Since they would enjoy the delicious food themselves, several of them went to battle in person and didn’t let the maids and servants come forward.

The food was all very well prepared, there were all kinds of sliced meats, spare ribs, fish, shellfish, and even venison and wild game.

After a while, the sounds of sizzling oil dripping into the charcoal could be heard and the air was filled with the appetizing aroma of cooking meat.

Lian Fang Zhou collected enough ingredients to roast a bunch of leeks and put them on a plate for everyone to taste.

After trying a bite, everyone agreed that it was delicious and abandoned the meat to start roasting more of the vegetables!

The maid in charge of the picnic had worried that the masters would want to go fishing and had prepared several fishing rods and bait. When she saw this, Lian Fang Qing immediately begged to go fishing. Lian Ze was also eager to try.

It was just that the two of them were used to obeying their sister, so they didn’t dare to go without Lian Fang Zhou’s approval.

Lian Fang Zhou gave them a silly, pretend scowl before smiling: “Alright, then go! If you catch a fish, I will have to cook it tonight!”

“Really!” Both their eyes lit up and Lian Fang Qing laughed delightedly: “I haven’t eaten my eldest sister’s cooking for a long time! Today is a very good day!”

TN: One thing I love about a lot of Asian novels is that you can be in the most tense, dangerous point in the book and they will still stop to give a few paragraphs to describe the most delicious food you can imagine. I got so hungry writing this last chapter, haha.