Chapter 528 - 522_1
Beginning from the first day of the Lunar New Year, these past few days have been bustling with guests, some coming to pay New Year visits, others inviting us over for meals. It has been unlike the quiet of past years. By the second and third day, Lin Yue had already begun to plan the gifts to be sent to the Capital City for the Lantern Festival. With the weather as it was, the snow had not stopped falling, and the journey would take longer. We had to make arrangements early and set out sooner.
Talking about it now, social interactions have increased and relationships have become more complicated. Although there was support from powerful connections, the obligations, such as gifts for the New Year and other festivals, were indispensable and needed to be given. They were matters of social etiquette and could not be neglected, especially for those few most important families. Each time gifts were sent, she had to personally take great care in preparing them.
However, this time for the Lantern Festival gifts, Lin Yue had several boxes of foreign goods brought back from the west by Zhao Erhu, which saved quite a bit of trouble. She picked out a variety of foreign trinkets, and, following past practice, prepared assorted dried goods, fruits, vegetables, and food. She also included special festival lanterns and sweet dumplings. Although the journey would take about ten days, in such snowy weather, the dumplings would remain unspoiled if frozen.
Speaking of sweet dumplings, they were not particularly precious goods. Had it been another household, Lin Yue would not have prepared these, since any well-to-do family could make them. Yet, Princess Yongle, Commandery Princess Roujia, and Jiang Ziqi all enjoyed these treats. Unable to present anything overly expensive, Lin Yue wished to satisfy their tastes in this matter. She prepared twenty varieties of sweet dumplings, half sweet and half savory, in addition to other pastries. The most novel this time were fruit puddings and cakes. Before the New Year, Lin Yue had several ancient-style ovens made at the Blacksmith’s Shop, and now the household had added bread and cakes to the variety of snacks, which went beyond the monotony of just pastries.
Having sent the gifts for the Lantern Festival to the Capital City, Lin Yue was freed from one concern. With nothing else pressing these days, Zhao Erhu took the children to visit relatives and attend banquets, while Lin Yue stayed in her room, embroidering. She taught Lan Fang, Dong Xue, and Musheng’s wife the art of double-sided embroidery. Originally, their embroidery skills and foundations were not bad, but they lacked the instruction of a good teacher. With Lin Yue’s dedicated teaching, their skills improved significantly, even surpassing those of Lun Qin, who previously had been the best among them.
These last two days, Lin Yue looked at the heavy snow falling endlessly outside and was anxious. The weather this year was unusually cold, with the snow continuing until now, close to the Lantern Festival, and seemingly without end. In previous years, the snow would have started to melt by now, and the weather would gradually warm up.
Last year, Lin Yue spent the Lantern Festival at home, and she had agreed with Zhao Erhu to go to the city to see the festival lanterns this year. She had yet to see the ancient Lantern Festival and was a bit curious, but now it seemed out of the question. Not only was the weather uncooperative, but Xin’an City was in disarray. Lin Yue’s plans had to be shelved until next year.
After the Lantern Festival, Dalang and his brothers originally planned to attend school, but with the heavy snow, the academy sent a notice to postpone the start of the term. With Zhao Anyu teaching them at home, their studies would not be delayed.