Chapter 182: Guests from the Capital

Two friends?
Wen Yao and Wen Xiuyi exchanged glances and looked at Wen Jun, who gave a slight nod.
It seemed they were indeed the two people who had specially traveled all the way from the capital just to eat duck. As for their background, Wen Jun had no idea.
Madam Luo was slightly stunned. They were already starting to bring friends directly to the house; they certainly didn't treat themselves like outsiders.
Of course, the family didn't treat them as outsiders either.
"Alright, I understand. Make good preparations for tomorrow. Second son's wife, go to the duck shed later and catch two ducks—make sure they are plump. Yao Yao, have your second uncle tend the fire for you tomorrow morning to roast them for our guests.
Uncle Lu, tomorrow, catch a few larger fish from the fish pond, and see if we need to buy anything else. Oh my, we're out of wine. Yao Yao, do you still have any stashed away?" Madam Luo assigned tasks and looked at Wen Yao.
Uncle Lu quickly agreed.
Wen Yao also hurried to respond: "Grandma, yes, yes, I still have some." *Sigh, another expense.*
Having arranged everything, Madam Luo told everyone to disperse. Since guests were coming tomorrow, they should remember to tidy up the house and make themselves look presentable so as not to embarrass Shopkeeper Qiu and Doctor Jin.
Everyone nodded eagerly; in this household, no one dared to disobey the old lady.
By the next day, despite Da Tou's tearful pleas, he and two other hopefuls were still sent off to the academy.
Unsure when Doctor Jin and Shopkeeper Qiu would arrive, the Wen family members began preparing early in the morning. Even Old Man Wen changed out of the old clothes he had been wearing every single day lately into a brand new set.
Near noon, a carriage entered Gutong Village, and someone immediately came to the Wen family's house to deliver word.
"Madam Wen, take a look and see if that carriage is heading toward your place!"
Madam Luo led the others outside, and the driver was none other than Hong Hai.
"The guests have arrived," Madam Luo shouted toward the courtyard. Aside from Wen Xiuzhu, who was guarding the roasting oven, all the members of the Wen family came out.
"Grandma Wen, Uncle Wen, Third Uncle Wen," Hong Hai brought the carriage to a smooth halt, jumped down, and greeted them one by one.
Shortly after, Shopkeeper Qiu and Doctor Jin stepped down consecutively to greet Madam Luo and the others.
Wen Yao and Wen Xiuyi stood at the very back, both watching the carriage and waiting for those two mysterious guests to alight.
Hong Hai stood beside the carriage, carefully lifting the curtain, and soon a middle-aged man climbed out.
This man was slightly plump with a gentle expression, but Wen Yao and Wen Xiuyi both detected an aura of nobility about him—not the kind of presence an ordinary person could possess, even though he was smiling broadly after getting down from the carriage.
Following him, a boy of about twelve or thirteen jumped straight out of the carriage. Dressed in a crescent-white long robe, his eyes darted around with curiosity. Catching sight of Shopkeeper Qiu and the others, he trotted over briskly and smiled cheerfully, staying close to the middle-aged man's side.
"Uncle Wen, Auntie, this is my and Old Jin's good friend, Li Fu, and this is his son, Li Yi. They've come to disturb you today," Shopkeeper Qiu introduced.
Li Fu smiled like a Maitreya Buddha, cupping his hands in greeting to the two elders: "Sorry for the intrusion, sorry for the intrusion."
Facing Li Fu's smile, Madam Luo relaxed quite a bit more. After all, who wouldn't like someone who smiled so festively?
"We're all family here. Shopkeeper Qiu and Doctor Jin's friends are friends of the Wen family. Don't stand out here in the doorway, let's go inside first and talk inside," Madam Luo said promptly upon seeing that everyone was gathered.
By now, Madam Luo had even met the county magistrate, so she could more or less remain immune when facing two guests dressed with such refined nobility.
They had already prepared themselves mentally yesterday; considering the backgrounds of Doctor Jin and Shopkeeper Qiu, how ordinary could their friends be? Just as Wen Xiuyi had said, as long as the visitors didn't declare their identities, they should simply be treated with a normal mindset.
"Brother Li, please go first." Shopkeeper Qiu and Doctor Jin stepped back a half-step, yielding the lead position to Li Fu.
Wen Yao and Wen Xiuyi exchanged glances.
Wen Yao: 'Li Fu?'
Wen Xiuyi: 'Quickly rack your brain for any big shot with the surname Li.'
Wen Yao almost rolled her eyes. There were so many people surnamed Li in the original book, yet she had never heard of anyone named Li Fu. Could this be another character ignored by the original author?
Forget it, she would just take it one step at a time.
The group bustled back inside. Facing the guests, the Wen family members felt somewhat constrained, until that Maitreya-like figure twitched his nose and let out an exclamation of surprise: "How fragrant! Is this... the scent of Cloud Mist Roast Duck?"
Upon hearing this, Shopkeeper Qiu laughed heartily: "Hahaha, it has to be Brother Li's nose; he can tell just by sniffing. Yes, exactly the scent of Cloud Mist Roast Duck! However, the ones you eat at the restaurant might not be as authentic as the ones here."
"Oh? Is there a special story behind this?" Mentioning food immediately perked Li Fu up.
Shopkeeper Qiu smiled and waved at Wen Yao: "Yao Yao, come here."
Wen Xiuyi, standing beside her, also received everyone's collective gaze. Wearing his trademark smile, Wen Xiuyi silently gave his daughter a gentle push forward. Wen Yao could only approach with an awkward smile and respectfully bow to the group.
"That roast duck you've been yearning for is made by this young girl's hands," Shopkeeper Qiu introduced Wen Yao with considerable pride, much like an elder introducing his own daughter.
Wen Yao immediately curtsied to Li Fu with proper decorum and gentleness: "Good day, Mr. Li."
Her voice was so refined and cultured that even she herself found it a bit affected.
Looking at the young girl of barely ten-odd years standing before him, Li Fu found it hard to believe.
"Don't believe it? Then today you must truly witness the culinary skills of our renowned female chef." Shopkeeper Qiu let out two hearty laughs and said to Wen Yao, "Yao Yao, you don't need to be nervous. My friend here has no other vices; his absolute favorite thing in life is eating. Otherwise, he wouldn't have traveled all the way from the capital just to taste a bite of your family's duck. It's just a pity that the chefs at the roast duck shop still lack a bit of your skill, so I brazenly brought him along."
Wen Yao offered a sweet smile: "Shopkeeper Qiu is too kind. If you want to eat duck, just say the word to Yao Yao. Well, Shopkeeper Qiu, please have a seat while I go check on the ducks."
Shopkeeper Qiu nodded: "Are they roasting now? No wonder we smelled the fragrance as soon as we walked in. Go ahead then, I'll show them around."
"Mm." Seizing the opportunity, Wen Yao slipped away directly. With male guests present, Wen Di hadn't come out. Wen Ying had already seen the guests, and realizing that people from the capital didn't have two extra noses or eyes compared to anyone else, she quickly lost interest and went to the kitchen to help.
Madam Luo also took her two daughters-in-law and Aunt Lu into the kitchen to prepare the ingredients. For a moment, the courtyard was left with only the older gentlemen and Wen Jun, the young man who didn't need to work.
"Xiao Jun, take Young Master Li for a walk around, but don't go too far," Wen Xiuyi said, giving Wen Jun a meaningful look and assigning him the task.
Wen Jun wanted to say he didn't want to go, but since the young master was already looking at him, he had no choice but to bite the bullet, step forward, and lead the guests out for a stroll around the village.
Shopkeeper Qiu and Doctor Jin exchanged glances before stepping forward to chat idly with Wen Xiuyi, their conversation eventually drifting toward potatoes and sweet potatoes.