Chapter 549: Annual Banquet(1/2)
The annual banquet at the Sheriff's Mansion is a large banquet, and the serving work is done by monks, all of whom are Nascent Soul Lord.
In the past, it would be tantamount to wishful thinking to ask someone's Yuanying monk to take on the job of a waiter, even within a monk's family. If the monk who really needed to run errands would be a low-level monk below the Golden Core, let the Yuanying monk do the waiting work.
Human life is tantamount to humiliating people.
In the past, even if the emperor or the prince or grandson of the emperor came to Ning County, monks above the Jindan level of the Shang family had never done the job of waiting on them, and at most they were just accompanying them.
This time, the guardian of the Eternal Life Tree came to Ningcheng and celebrated the New Year at the Sheriff's Mansion. The monks from each family took the initiative to take on the work in order to have the New Year's Eve dinner at the Sheriff's Mansion.
The guardian of the sacred tree has a distinguished status. Even if it is impossible to sit at the same table with the fairy, if he can be under the roof of the county governor's mansion with the fairy, it is equivalent to spending a new year with the fairy.
For this honor, the monks in the monk family willingly took on all kinds of jobs.
Lord Shang Jun did not favor one or the other, and divided the work evenly among the various monk families in Ning County. Each family shared the responsibility for the meals and ingredients, and each family also arranged a team of Nascent Soul Lords to serve as kitchen workers.
There are many seats for the annual banquet, and each monk is responsible for a hundred tables.
The monks served the dishes in an orderly manner.
Xuan Shaoyan, who was frightened to death by the complicated New Year's banquet ceremony in Ning County, didn't feel numb until he saw the fireworks in the sky.
Ningcheng’s fireworks show is so grand!
The fireworks in the sky are more beautiful and brighter than the fireworks in the modern technological era on earth, and the colors are more colorful.
Of course, fireworks are not cheap. It is said that a bundle of fireworks costs one spiritual stone.
There are only nineteen fireworks in a bundle.
Fireworks are what they are called on earth, and Yunlan is called "fireworks".
When Young Master Yan Shaoxuan went to Ningcheng to purchase, he didn't initially pay attention to those gadgets, because the little Loli bought a lot of fireworks, and the excited beasts also bought a lot, so they got to know Yunlan's fireworks.
The colorful fireworks soothed Xuan Shaoyan's heart that was frightened by the New Year ceremony. When the dishes came, their attention shifted again and they were happily waiting for the feast.
The chef has prepared the dishes for each table and put them together in advance, so the food is served very quickly.
The storage container can keep the food warm when you put it away right after it comes out of the oven, and it will still be steaming hot when you take it out.
The meals at the main table are handled by a dedicated person, and the person responsible for serving the dishes is a Mahayana from the Luo family.
Originally, the person serving the main table was the Shang family of the Junjun family, but it was snatched away by Luo Shuyin's great-grandfather.
Those who serve food at the main table naturally sit at the main table.
Luo Shi Mahayana returned from delivering a speech to Lord Shang. He stood up and walked around to Lord Shang's left side. He first took out a set of jade products including bowls, chopsticks, soup spoons, wine glasses and bone plates and handed them to Lord Shang.
Lord Shang placed the tableware one by one in front of the fairy.
After Junzheng had laid out the tableware for the fairy, Luo Shi Mahayana took out dozens more sets of tableware and delivered them to the guests at the main table, each with a set of tableware.
The tableware is also different. The fairies use jade products, while the others use porcelain products.
After putting the tableware on, Luo's Mahayana took out a portion of braised lamb in a clay pot.
The stewed sheep was lying on a golden wooden tray, with a red silk flower tied on the sheep's head and a small dagger wrapped in red cloth next to it.
Lord Shang took the tray, placed the first dish in front of the fairy, and asked the fairy to order.
Le Yun took the dagger, untied the cloth, took off the red silk flower knot on the sheep's head, made nine cuts on the stewed sheep's back with the dagger, and handed the knife to Jun Jun.
Gengjun was flattered and took the knife and changed it for the braised sheep. He only made eighty cuts and handed the knife to Lord Shang.
Lord Shang changed his sword again for the braised sheep in a clay urn, and made ten more cuts, forming the auspicious number of ninety-nine.
The fairy ordered the braised lamb in earthenware jars, and Luo Shi Mahayana served the dish again. He also took eight braised lambs in earthenware jars and placed them on the round table, placing plates at regular intervals to ensure that everyone could taste the delicious food.
Then other dishes were put on the table one by one.
There are twelve dishes in the first round, and each dish has nine portions.
After the dishes were served on the table, more than a dozen jars of wine were placed on the flower plate in the center. Luo Shi Mahayana opened a jar of wine and handed it to Lord Shang.
Lord Shang took the wine jar, poured a glass for the fairy himself, and then poured a glass for Lord Genu.
Luo's Mahayana took the wine jar again, filled up a glass for Lord Shang, and poured another glass for Lord Ning, Princess Bo, and the heads of the monk family.
First the guest, then the host, and finally he poured wine for the monk who was accompanying the guests in Ning County, and finally himself.
When Luo Shi Mahayana returned to his seat, Shang Junjun picked up his own wine, dipped his ring finger into the wine, and flicked it onto the fairy's head three times.
Everyone at the same table also sprinkled it with their fingers and flicked it to the center of the table.
When the table full of people finished the ceremony, Le Yun picked up the wine glass, took a sip, and said two words: "Good wine!"
Shang Junjun quickly took a sip of wine and raised his glass: "We have distinguished guests on a good day and on a festive occasion. The fairy has given us words to start the banquet. Shang Jun drinks first as a token of respect. You are welcome to do as you wish!"
He drank the wine in one gulp.
Lord Shang's voice spread and could be heard in all districts of Manfu.
Everyone stood up and raised their glasses to drink together.
After drinking a glass of wine, everyone sat down and started the banquet!
Shang Junjun toasted all the guests and took their seats.
Luo's Mahayana once again poured wine for everyone.
No one touched the chopsticks.
Le Yun picked up the jade chopsticks, first took a piece of mutton tenderloin stewed in a clay pot, then added the sauce, took a bite, and her eyes lit up: "It is indeed a special dish of Ningcheng, the skin is crispy, and the meat is braised so soft and not chewy."
It sticks to the teeth, and the plum blossom fragrance penetrates into the meat, which is rich and delicious."
The fairy praised the local specialty braised lamb in earthenware jars for its delicious taste. Everyone immediately became proud and started to take action. Some cut the stewed lamb to eat, and some picked their favorite dishes.
"Sheep braised in earthenware urns has a long history. It is not only a specialty of Ning County, but also a specialty of An County, Ping County, Jing County, and some counties farther away. Each place has developed dozens of flavors, and Ning County is the most famous.
The one is braised lamb with plum flavor and mint..."
Everyone in Ningcheng immediately introduced the various flavors of Waweng Menyang.
Lord Shang said that after the banquet was started, each table started its own operations. The people at Xuan Shaoyan's table were also more particular. They asked the alchemist and the weapon refiner to cut the braised sheep first, and then they changed the cuts.
Mr. Xuan tasted Ningcheng's braised lamb in a clay pot, and his eyes gleamed with excitement. It tasted very authentic! It was almost comparable to the medicinal stone pot braised lamb that little Loli made on Earth!
Because the braised lamb tastes authentic, Mr. Xuan was not allowed to ask the local aborigines about the various ways to braise lamb in earthenware jars.
Luo Shuyin, Yu Zhen, Shang Miaoyin did not study cooking, and they did not understand the general steps. The other monks had their place and introduced the method of braised lamb one after another.
The atmosphere at their table was very good, and the main table was also very lively. Both the monks and the common people also relaxed their hands and feet, and the atmosphere became more and more lively.
The third, fourth, and fifth people who entered the main hall were not very restrained. After the banquet started, everyone was eating and chatting in a lively manner, which was very lively.
No matter which district, everyone chews slowly and eats elegantly.
Moreover, people in each district also roughly know how long the annual banquet will last, so there is no rush, especially since the guardian of the sacred tree is also in the county magistrate's mansion. It is equivalent to having a banquet with the fairies.
The longer it grows, the better, so naturally you should taste it slowly.
Shang Junjun was accompanying a guest. Seeing that the fairy did not drink wine, he took water to cleanse his hands, squeezed some fresh fruits into juice, and put them on the table for the fairy to choose.
Le Yun chose a glass of lemon juice.
Luo Shi Mahayana only poured wine for everyone at the table three times, and then everyone made their own choice.
If you like wine, you can choose wine according to your preference. There are many kinds of wine, which are brewed from grains such as grain, wheat, millet, millet and sorghum.
Whoever likes to drink can choose whichever wine he likes.
When the fairy chose to drink juice, Luo Shi Mahayana also added several jars of juice squeezed from fresh fruits and placed them in the center of the table. Anyone who doesn't want to drink the juice can also drink the juice.
Most of the monks drank two or three bowls of wine and also drank fruit juice.
The focus of this annual banquet is not on eating and drinking, but on getting the honor of sitting with the fairy.
Chinese netizens say that the meaning of New Year's Eve dinner is not what you eat, but who you go with.
The same is true for the New Year's Eve banquet of Jun'an Mansion. The significance is not that there are any delicacies at the banquet, but that they eat the New Year's Eve dinner with the guardian of the sacred tree.
When everyone is in a happy mood, everything they eat will naturally taste delicious.
Le Yun actually doesn't like to deal with big shots, but she is self-aware. Due to her special status, it is often inappropriate to show her emotions. On occasions like the New Year's Banquet, she must not favor one over another.
Therefore, no matter who at the same table is talking, she listens carefully, and when chatting, she will not just talk to one person alone, but to the public.
It is a technical job to take care of everyone's mood and not make people feel left out and ignored.
Eating a New Year's Eve dinner is more tiring than fighting with monsters.
No matter how tired she was, Le Yun remained calm and composed while talking to everyone while eating, and no matter how many rounds of dishes were served, she insisted on tasting every plate.
Because the fairy is unbiased, whether it is an ordinary meal or a spiritual meal, she takes a bite of every dish, which also allows the people sitting at the table to realize their beautiful wish of eating the same dish as the fairy.
A total of nine rounds of dishes were served for the New Year's banquet. Only three tables were served with ordinary meals, and the other six rounds were all served with spiritual meals.
Considering the food intake and health of the people, the level of the spiritual food ingredients is low and the people's bodies can digest it. Several spiritual meals on the main table use mid-level and high-level spiritual plants.
The nine-wheel dish symbolizes eternity, good luck and good fortune.
The opening dish of the New Year's banquet is braised lamb in a clay pot, and the final dish is fried golden and crispy fish, with one whole fish per person, which symbolizes abundance every year.
The annual banquet begins around the end of the Shen hour. Because the annual banquet ceremony is complicated, the banquet begins around the beginning of the You hour and the main banquet is finished around the middle of the Xu hour.
To be continued...