Chapter 142: Modern People Heading Up the Mountain
“Hello, Auntie Lu? It’s Xiaxia.”
“Auntie, there are a lot of guests on the mountain today, and the bowls and plates I prepared aren’t enough. Could you help me ask around the village to see if anyone has any new bowls? It would be best if they are the large sea bowls used for rural banquets, rooster bowls, or clay bowls—the simpler and more rustic, the better.”
Auntie Lu was currently sitting at the village entrance. Although it was approaching noon and the guests were gradually thinning out, it was rare for such a major event to happen in the village, so everyone was happy to sit together, boisterously discussing and helping out.
The moment Auntie Lu picked up the phone, several ears instantly leaned in closer.
Before Auntie Lu could even speak, one auntie piped up, “My house has some! I bought twenty large sea bowls at the market last time and haven’t used them yet! I’ll bring them to you… Actually, forget it, I’ll have Little Hu Liu deliver them over!”
The auntie kept the village Party secretary Hu Da’s strict instructions firmly in mind—they absolutely could not ruin Xiaxia’s “immersive ancient-style manor.” She didn’t know what immersive meant, but ancient style? That she understood. It was just like those period dramas on TV.
Following that auntie, someone else called out, “Are semi-new ones okay? My family used them during the New Year last year and put them away afterward.”
“When I got married… standardly, it’s been almost thirty years, but there’s a set of bowls and plates in my dowry that has never been used.”
Hu Da caught the key points from the side and chimed in, “They must be ancient-style and rustic! No cartoon dolls or messy modern patterns printed on them!”
Listening over the phone, Jian Xingxia couldn’t get a word in edgewise at all. However, she fully felt the villagers’ proactive enthusiasm to help and brainstorm for her.
In the end, she still chose to let Qi Shan vet the items. “Hello, Sister Shanshan, please help me look over which bowls are suitable. Semi-new ones are fine too; we can just bring them up, wash them clean, and sanitize them with boiling water.”
Qi Shan accepted the task. “Alright, Xiaxia, rest assured. I will definitely screen them carefully.”
With the matter of collecting bowls arranged, Auntie Lu hadn’t hung up the phone yet. She was a bit worried. “Xiaxia, if you don’t have enough bowls and plates over there, can you wash them fast enough? Is there anyone helping you wash dishes?”
Jian Xingxia hesitated for a moment. She understood that Auntie Lu was worried she was shorthanded and wanted to come up the mountain to help her wash dishes.
Truth be told, she really was shorthanded. Even if she borrowed enough bowls, they still needed to be scrubbed and sanitized, which required labor.
However, Jian Xingxia was highly hesitant. Villagers and tourists were different. When tourists inside the manor heard A-Feng, Lin Sanniang, and the plump auntie speaking in a bizarre, ancient way, they would only assume it was an operational gimmick required by the business. They would play for a day or two and leave; they wouldn’t care when Sanniang and the others came or went, or how many times they visited.
But Auntie Lu lived in Lu’an Village year-round. It would be very easy for her to find out who was inside the manor.
Jian Xingxia bit her lip, her heart slightly conflicted. But very quickly, she still made a decision: “Alright, Auntie Lu, are you free today? Can you come up the mountain to help me wash dishes? I’ll pay you according to short-term laborer rates.”
Auntie Lu was utterly delighted. “Oh, you child, talking about money for what! Hu Da said that whoever is free these two days has to help out. The village committee will even issue a commendation during the general assembly later.”
Auntie Lu chuckled happily. Xiaxia was indeed still closest to her; when others couldn’t go, she could.
And Jian Xingxia had also chosen Auntie Lu to be the very first person to interact with the ancient temporary workers.
The village quickly gathered a collection of bowls and chopsticks and had Little Hu Liu deliver them. Sent along with them was Auntie Lu.
A dozen or so minutes later, Jian Xingxia met Little Hu Liu and Auntie Lu at the barrier gate. But the moment they met, Jian Xingxia was completely stunned.
Because Little Hu Liu was wearing an old-fashioned, middle-aged style frog-buttoned tunic.
As for Auntie Lu—whoever had picked her outfit had selected a chest-high ruqun dress which, due to her body shape, was forced to become a half-length maxi skirt tied around her waist. On top, she wore a Tang suit tunic similar in style to Little Hu Liu’s, featuring silver-gray patterns, looking like a men’s version. On her feet were the black cloth shoes that Old Grandma Hu and her generation loved to wear.
The most astonishing part was that Auntie Lu was wearing a cute imperial princess headband on her head… Jian Xingxia had seen this before; her university roommate had bought one to use as a hairband for washing her face.
Now, fitted onto Auntie Lu—who was clad in a men’s Tang suit, a ruqun modified into a long skirt, and black cloth shoes with tucked-in skirt corners—it truly carried a type of… messy, patched-together cuteness.
Jian Xingxia blanked for a long moment.
Auntie Lu stepped down from the tricycle, her face flushing red as she looked at Jian Xingxia. “Xiaxia, does it look okay for me to wear this? Will the guests accept it?”
Jian Xingxia truly couldn’t hold back anymore, bursting into a pfft of laughter. “Who on earth dressed you up like this!”
Auntie Lu’s face grew even redder. “A few old sisters in the village told me to wear it. The tunic belongs to your Uncle Lu, the skirt is one that Old Chai’s granddaughter outgrew and sent back, and the thing on my head belongs to Xiao Xiaofu.”
Jian Xingxia understood instantly—Uncle Chai’s granddaughter was only in middle school, so the ruqun was likely from when she graduated elementary school, which happened to fit Auntie Lu as a half-length skirt. Xiao Xiaofu was only in the fourth grade this year, about the same age as Hu Ming, and had gone to the place where her parents worked for the summer holiday. It was probably unearthed by Xiao Xiaofu’s grandmother.
Jian Xingxia felt like laughing and crying at the same time. She wanted to laugh because Auntie Lu looked truly adorable and a little bit funny. She wanted to cry because, to prevent the villagers from rashly entering the mountains and causing misunderstandings, she had given them advance notice that she was running an immersive ancient-style farmhouse. And the villagers, purely because of her words, would find ways to dress up as ancient people whenever they came to deliver things.
During this period, to prepare for the trial run, Jian Xingxia had been run completely off her feet, having to schedule a specific time just to grab a sip of water. Yet there were two distinct groups of people silently backing her up from behind.
Jian Xingxia rubbed her eyes, looking at Auntie Lu and Little Hu Liu with a smile. “Sweat got into my eyes…”
Little Hu Liu helped unload the bowls, while Jian Xingxia tidied Auntie Lu up a bit.
“The headband is too small, it’ll cause a headache from squeezing. Don’t wear it. Just twist your hair up into a bun.” Aside from having slightly longer hair and a slightly larger, fuller bun, the plump auntie didn’t look any different.
The bun didn’t need any special decorations either. Jian Xingxia plucked two wild flowers from the roadside and pinned them beside the bun, making it look highly simple and crisp.
There was no need to wear the skirt either, as Auntie Lu was already wearing loose, comfortable cotton-silk trousers. Jian Xingxia untied her own apron and fastened it around Auntie Lu’s waist. Looking at it this way, she actually resembled a poor family from ancient times.
Ancient people didn’t have to be wrapped up completely airtight all the time. Ordinary people had to perform farm work and live their lives; their skirts didn’t drag on the ground, their trousers had to be bound at the ankles, and they even made sleeveless tunics. Auntie Lu’s ensemble of a Tang suit tunic paired with blue cotton-silk trousers and an apron wasn’t out of line at all—it was just right for both ancient and modern people to accept.
Bidding farewell to Little Hu Liu, Jian Xingxia and Auntie Lu carried two large baskets of bowls and plates, quickly heading back to the old house.
Along the way, Jian Xingxia told Auntie Lu, “Auntie Lu, I hired an auntie to help out in the kitchen. We all call her the plump auntie. However, the auntie has a firm, unyielding personality, and she oversees everything in the kitchen by herself. We only need to provide support.”
Jian Xingxia reminded her repeatedly, “For the guests’ immersive experience, let’s avoid talking too much. If anything comes up, try to come find me directly.”
Auntie Lu nodded like a chicken pecking at grain. “I understand, I understand. Shanshan told me, this is called… role, role-playing!”
“We have to speak and act according to our assigned roles, right?”
Auntie Lu indicated that she had already received training and was highly clear-headed. “The plump auntie is the head chef, and I am the kitchen helper. I’ll just focus honestly on washing the dishes. Go ahead and tend to your busy work, Xiaxia, you don’t need to worry about me!”
Jian Xingxia felt deeply moved, but she still held her breath, wondering what would happen once Auntie Lu and the plump auntie finally met face-to-face.
