Outsider: The Fifth Young Master of the Kang Family

Chapter 168 Full Moon Wine

"You're back just in time. Come, come, take a full moon photo with us."

Kang Qirui and Zhu Wanling took their daughter to get vaccinated today. As soon as they returned to the Kang family, they were invited by the eldest and second eldest brothers to take photos together. Since Kang Qirui scolded them that day, they haven't talked to Kang Qirui for several days, but he has indeed changed a lot.

The eldest brother removed the paper on his door that said "Take medicine before seeing the baby" and no longer complained when Mazi and Xianglan's mother were taking care of Tianyou. The second brother and his wife also paid more attention to Tianxiu. Although they didn't treat him equally, at least they never ignored Tianxiu's feelings.

"It's already one month old so soon?" Kang Qirui asked in confusion. Isn't the full moon date the day after tomorrow? No one told him to hold the full moon banquet in advance.

Big Brother Guang also knew that Kang Qirui had misunderstood, and clarified: "No, we will take photos of the full moon banquet today, and then the day after tomorrow. Isn't this done together with Tianyou and Siyu? We were too busy that day so we took photos in advance."

So that's it! Kang Qirui refused to admit that he had misunderstood. He said stubbornly, "I thought you weren't going to have a full moon banquet."

"Haha, no matter how much the boss wants to save, he won't save this much." A Zu said with a smile while holding the camera, "Besides, if he doesn't want to do it, how can the old man agree to it?"

"Of course. A child only has one full month in his life, and as parents we have to celebrate it no matter what." The eldest brother responded with a smile. Kang Qirui brought Kang Siqi over, and the three brothers took a photo together holding their children.

While they were taking photos of the full moon, the old man was writing invitations for the full moon banquet. Tian Xiu was bored so he picked up one of the invitations and looked at it. He looked at it for a while but didn't understand it. So he asked, "Liang Shengguan? Who is that?"

"What Liang Shengguan?" The old man thought for a moment before reacting: "Oh, Liang Shenghuan!"

"Go to Yu Yu Hotel? Grandpa wrote it wrong. This is not the hotel that my uncle and his father booked." Tianxiu thought that his uncle had written the wrong hotel name and quickly reminded him.

"What? There is nothing wrong with it. Grandpa will read it to you." Dad snatched the invitation from Tianxiu's hand, "I want to invite Mr. Liang Shenghuan to come to Xingxing Hotel at No. 58 Xinyu Street to celebrate the full moon of my grandson Tianyou and granddaughter Siyu. You are so confused that you don't even know traditional Chinese characters. You are uneducated."

Tianxiu frowned. He couldn't recognize half of the words in the short sentence. He said, "Our teacher said we can't write traditional Chinese characters. Now we use simplified Chinese characters. How can I know how to write it if I haven't learned it?"

"Uncle, you're the same. It's just an invitation to the neighbors. Why do you have to write it in such a flowery way?" The nanny also felt that the old man was a little too pretentious.

"What do you mean by flowery? This is called literary talent. Now it's the full month celebration for my eldest son and grandson, or maybe it's the full month celebration for my grandchildren as well. Of course I have to write something that's cultured and classy." The old man has his own reasons and persistence.

The mother said helplessly: "Then you have to make people understand it. If they don't understand it, how can they know where to go to congratulate you?"

My father waved his hand and said, "If you can't even read traditional Chinese characters, then it doesn't matter if you come or not. You are of a different cultural level."

"Grandma doesn't understand either, so she doesn't have to come, right?" Tianxiu knew the key points. His father was so angry that he grabbed a pile of invitations and went back to his room to write.

On the day of the full moon banquet, the father called everyone to the hotel before ten o'clock in the morning. The mother was so urged by him that she put her shoes on the wrong way. She complained: "The banquet will start at five o'clock in the evening. What time is it now? Do you have to go so early?"

"We are the hosts, what if those relatives from far away arrive early? Go and call Xianglan and Achan to come out." The old man felt that people who had traveled far away might arrive early as well, and it would be embarrassing if there was no one to receive the guests at the host's house.

After an hour of procrastination, at 11 o'clock everyone was ready to go. Xianglan's mother took out a patchwork quilt and said, "Xianglan, help the child put on this dress."

"What is this?" Mazi, a Cantonese, had never seen a patchwork quilt. The custom of wearing a patchwork quilt was more popular in the four provinces of Shanhe, but it was not common in the south. Even Da Laoguang, the son-in-law from southern Henan, didn't know what it was. He asked, "Where can I find such a shabby piece of clothing?"

"What rotten clothes are these? These are patchwork quilts. Your brother-in-law went door to door to get them for me." Xianglan's mother explained.

"Mom, why are you doing this? This is not popular in Cantonese." Xianglan stopped her mother from putting clothes on Tianyou.

The old man also advised, "Mother-in-law, today is my grandson's full moon banquet, you have to dress nicely. If you wear this dress, others will think we are shabby." He didn't know what patchwork clothes were, so of course he didn't want Tianyou to wear him.

Xianglan's mother still insisted on putting it on Tianyou: "Why are you so shabby? Let me tell you, if we hold a hundred-day banquet, we must wear this hundred-family dress. This is the rule."

"It can't be changed. If I go there, I'll have to take him to Baijiafan with me."

Although A Zu was not good at other things, he had a very strong ability to understand. He said, "A hundred-family meal? Isn't that going door to door to beg for food?"

"Yes." Xianglan's mother nodded, "We just go door to door to eat."

"How can you do this, Mom? Please don't do this. Even in the old society, our Kang family has never begged for food." Da Lao Guang shook his head and firmly objected.

“Boss, don’t just give this dress to Tianyou. Anyone who wears this dress can live a worry-free life by just sitting under the overpass, not to mention begging for food.” A-Zu likes to joke.

"Mom, please don't make things difficult for me." Xianglan said helplessly, "I will be embarrassed when Brother Niu and the others come." Xianglan was also unwilling to let her child wear patchwork clothes.

"It's even more important to wear it when fellow villagers from southern Henan come. If you don't wear it, they will laugh at you. They know it better." Xianglan's mother insisted.

Kang Qirui looked at the time and saw that they had been arguing for half an hour. He thought for a while and persuaded: "Xianglan's mother, how about this? When the 100-day banquet comes, we can specially invite relatives from southern Henan to have a meal, okay? Then we can wear this hundred-family dress. Today is the full moon banquet, and there is no such custom, okay?"

"Okay." Xianglan's mother nodded and agreed. She felt that Kang Qirui's words made sense. Today was a full-month banquet according to Cantonese customs, so she would not wear it. She could wear it at the 100-day banquet.

Everyone finally went out to the hotel smoothly, but no one showed up until the dinner started, when the first guest, Cousin Bing, arrived.

"Cousin, why did you come just now? The dinner is almost about to start." Kang Qirui looked at his cousin Bing who came with two chickens.

"Alas, I have no choice. I received the invitation last night. I asked many people but no one knew the words on it. It was not until I went to school early this morning to ask the teacher that I found out that they were going to hold a wedding banquet here." Cousin Bing also said helplessly with a painful look on his face.
"It's all your uncle's fault. He said that writing in traditional Chinese characters would show his literary talent." The old maid said dissatisfiedly. She had been very opposed to it when the invitations were written before. Now, there was only one guest coming.

Many people in this era are not well educated and may not even be able to read simplified Chinese characters. There are still many illiterate people. Even if they can read, many people stop studying after elementary school or junior high school.

"Cousin, please go in and sit down first." Kang Qirui extended his hand to invite his cousin Bing to come in. A guest had to be entertained well.

"By the way, these two chickens are for my two cousins' wives to nourish their bodies." Cousin Bing picked up the chicken in his hand and handed it to Kang Qirui.

(End of this chapter)