jdhmnovel Chapter 718 New Year's Banquet Gift 3
Chapter 718 New Year's Banquet Gift 3
After the Lunar New Year, Jiang Weier and Tan Hao's wedding will be just around the corner.
Therefore, the Chiang family was especially busy at the end of the year; the freezing weather couldn't dampen the bustling activity within the Chiang family compound.
They need to prepare New Year's gifts for each family and also check for any omissions or deficiencies in all expenses for Jiang Weier's wedding.
After registering and cataloging everything, the items were stored in the warehouse and guarded by designated personnel.
Winter is dry, so fire prevention is of utmost importance. Every storeroom in the Jiang family, large or small, has a water tank outside.
At this point, the water tank only had a layer of ice on its surface, and the water underneath could be taken out at any time after breaking through the ice.
If you go further north, this method of storing water in a water tank for fire prevention will not work, as the water in the tank will freeze into a solid block of ice, which will act as a natural refrigerator.
Slaughtered cattle and sheep, and fat fish caught, can be kept for almost the entire winter.
Women who enjoy making noodles will also save up enough dumplings to last almost the entire winter at this time.
Wrapped dumplings can be placed on a mat and then poured with water outdoors to quickly freeze them into dumplings with an ice shell. They can be cooked as needed without cracking.
This method is not applicable in the capital city, since the daytime temperature there is not low enough for water to freeze instantly.
Especially at noon, the sunlight even had a false sense of warmth.
"Young master, the New Year's gifts for the cats are all prepared, and the little tabby cat that was released to the south has also been brought back."
Xiao Hei and his gang have already taken some of them, but the rest are probably still with me. These guys still don't have a fixed place to stay.
Wandering around the streets in the dead of winter, how cold must it be? They're all so stubbornly persistent.
Eleven complained about the members of her cat team, her tone filled with heartache.
“I know you feel sorry for them, but they are used to their freedom. They refused when we offered them a place to stay in the side courtyard.”
Here's what we'll do: order some insulated cat beds from the system store later, and then place them in the areas where they frequent.
We won't restrict their freedom, but we can't let them go through the winter cold and hungry either.
Jiang Xiaoqi thought of her past life, how every spring, a few of the stray cats she had rescued would disappear.
They didn't move to another place to wander; they simply didn't survive that winter.
"Host, oh no, young master, use my points to buy it. I don't want to continue leveling up. Who knows what kind of species I'll become if I keep leveling up?"
Let me use these points I don't need to redeem a few hundred cat houses to shelter them from the wind and rain. It's just a small token of my appreciation as the leader.
"Okay, then you can buy the cat bed, and I'll cover the cat food and canned cat food."
"can!"
Before the Lunar New Year, all the stray cats in Beijing received New Year's gifts.
The arrangement of the hundreds of cat houses was naturally done by Eleven and Li Mo. Jiang Xiaoqi really wanted to participate, but he still had to think about the New Year's gifts he would give to the Crown Prince and the Empress.
It wasn't that he hadn't prepared in advance, but he didn't really want to send the usual things.
The Empress was even more familiar with the products of Liuxiang Pavilion than he, the supplier, could only overlook those produced by Liuxiang Pavilion.
The Crown Prince does enjoy food, but I've already shared so many dessert recipes; sending more would be unoriginal.
Jiang Xiaoqi browsed through the system store. It was winter, and the system store had already put many items for keeping warm on the shelves.
A solar-powered hand warmer, foot bath basin, gloves, scarf, and earmuffs three-piece set—it's quite practical, but it's not exactly presentable.
These items are suitable for casual, private gifts, but they are not appropriate as formal New Year's gifts.
However, it's worth preparing one set for each family member. Jiang Xiaoqi thinks the point price for these items isn't too high, so it's worth it!
Moreover, he was now barely considered a "nouveau riche" in terms of points, so he bought dozens of sets of solar-powered hand warmers, foot bath basins, and thermal insulation sets.
Grandparents, parents, aunts, sisters and brothers-in-law, and several nephews and nieces—that's more than twenty sets.
In addition, Liu Peng, Lord Qiu, the Tan family, and the Lin family also sent several sets of gifts along with other New Year's gifts. There will always be people who know their stuff.
After finishing the New Year's gifts for those around her, Jiang Xiaoqi also managed to find some reasonably suitable gifts in the system's shop.
The solar-powered mini sun has a very simple and rustic design, which is very suitable for the current environment and aesthetics of the Great Zhou Dynasty.
Although there was enough charcoal in the palace to keep the Empress and the Crown Prince from getting cold, even with the best precautions, carbon monoxide poisoning could not be completely avoided when burning charcoal.
The key issue is that many people are unaware that they have been poisoned by charcoal, so they cannot receive timely treatment.
Even without carbon monoxide poisoning, charcoal combustion requires oxygen from the air. Staying in a charcoal-burning room for a long time can lead to oxygen deficiency, causing mild symptoms like chest tightness and shortness of breath, or even fainting.
This little heater only needs to be placed in the sun to charge for one hour when there is sunlight, and it can keep heating up all night.
Two were sent to the Empress for replacement, four to the Crown Prince, and the extras could be given as rewards.
As for the emperor, Jiang Xiaoqi still chose something similar to what the other officials had done.
What was particularly innovative was that he included the latest glass ornaments made by the Ministry of Works in the New Year's gifts. This was both a way of reporting on his work and a way of presenting something of value to someone else.
Of course, a full-length mirror as tall as a person was also sent to the Empress's Palace and the East Palace along with the little sun, but still no one was prepared for the Emperor.
After all, His Majesty the Emperor is currently emaciated and not suited to such a clear glass mirror; it's best not to spoil his mood.
According to the rules, officials of the fifth rank or above could attend palace banquets and present gifts on the spot.
However, Jiang Xiaoqi still chose to send it in advance, not wanting to wait in line at the palace banquet.
Of course, that wasn't the main reason. The main reason was that he felt something strange would definitely happen at the palace banquet, and that his glass artifacts were very delicate and couldn't withstand any impact.
For safety's sake, and to avoid wasting anything, and even more so so that His Majesty could see the Ministry of Works' research results as soon as possible, Jiang Xiaoqi still submitted a memorial, sending several large boxes of tightly wrapped New Year's gifts into the Imperial Study ahead of schedule.
The glass cups and saucers are just the most insignificant items; the glass vases, glass ornaments, glass cabbages, and glass figurines are the main attraction and the main force for reaping wealth for the Great Zhou in the future.
"Your Majesty, Minister Jiang has arrived outside the palace, carrying several large boxes of things."
"Yes, let him in. I suppose there have been some results from the Ministry of Works."
"Yes~"
Jiang Xiaoqi followed the chief eunuch into the imperial study, followed by ten junior eunuchs carrying boxes.
Once the items were on the ground, they withdrew.
"Greetings to our Emperor, long live His Majesty!"