I relied on a system to prolong my life in ancient times.

Chapter 186 Birthday Banquet 1

July 20th

It was Xiao Siyue's birthday, and the entire Xiao family started preparing early in the morning. Although they didn't plan to hold a big celebration, Lin Qin still took it very seriously.

In the kitchen

Lin Qin looked at the prepared dishes and mentally calculated whether there was anything else that needed to be added.

"Let's add a whole roasted lamb, and remove this one," Lin Qin said, pointing to a braised pig's trotter.

She felt that this dish was not suitable. It was fine for just her family to eat it on ordinary days, but today there were several guests.

"Yes, Madam." The servant immediately took the dishes away.

Lin Qin looked at the others and thought they were pretty good, so she nodded in satisfaction.

"Alright, you all get ready. I'm going out now. Remember, nothing can go wrong." After giving these instructions, Lin Qin left the kitchen.

Arriving at Xiao Siyue's courtyard

"Yue'er, how are your preparations going?" Lin Qin asked when Xiao Siyue mentioned that she was going to make a cake. She had eaten cakes before, and they tasted much better than pastries.

"Mom, Chun Tao and the others are making it." Xiao Siyue was sitting on a recliner in the yard watching Chun Tao and the others make a cake when she saw Lin Qin coming over, so she quickly got up.

Meanwhile, Chun Tao and the others were on one side of the yard, adding fuel to the oven.

By noon

People started arriving at the Xiao family's residence. Actually, there weren't many guests. Xiao Siyue found it troublesome and only invited a few of her close friends.

However, after arriving in Qianyuan County, Xiao Siyue didn't make many friends. If she had to say who she was closest to, it would be Mu Li.

Today, the first person to arrive was Mu Li.

"Yue'er, come and see what gift I brought for her." Mu Li winked at Xiao Siyue as soon as she came in.

However, Mu Li was accompanied by Madam Mu and Mu Li's sister-in-law, Ma Wanying.

Madam Mu was invited by Lin Qin.

Xiao Siyue returned Mu Li's smile.

At this moment, Lin Qin spoke up: "Sister, let's go to the main hall. Let Yue'er take Wanying and Lili to Yue'er's courtyard."

When these elders are together, the younger generation always feels a little uncomfortable.

"Alright, let them go and have fun on their own," Madam Mu said with a smile.

After saying goodbye to Mu Li, Xiao Siyue went to Xiao Siyue's courtyard.

"Yue'er, you have no idea how bored I've been lately. I've been kept at home by my mother all day learning how to manage a household," Mu Li complained as she walked, holding Xiao Siyue's hand.

She is now fourteen years old and will be of marriageable age in another year, so Madam Mu has stopped indulging her in her play. She can skip learning talents and skills, but she must learn housekeeping, otherwise what will happen after she gets married?

"Hehe, then you should relax today." Xiao Siyue said with a helpless smile, thinking to herself that it was good that she was still young and didn't need to learn these things for the time being.

"Yes, Yue'er, hurry up! I've been thinking about this gift for a long time before I prepared it. Come and see if you like it." Mu Li nodded happily and pulled Xiao Siyue to quicken her pace.

As soon as she entered Xiao Siyue's courtyard, she smelled an extremely strong sweet fragrance, which immediately attracted her attention.

"Yue'er, what's that smell? It smells so good!" Mu Li said, looking around.

She saw Chun Tao and the others busy with something in the corner, but she could also smell that the fragrance was coming from there.

Mu Li turned and headed towards Chun Tao, and Xiao Siyue had no choice but to follow.

Ma Wanying naturally followed behind her two younger sisters. She also smelled the scent and was very curious.

Mu Li stared at the strangely shaped oven, her face full of question marks.

"Yue'er, what is this?"

"Oh, this is an oven, it's used to make pastries," Xiao Siyue explained.

Upon hearing this, Mu Li's eyes lit up instantly: "Snacks? What kind of snacks are they? They smell so good!"

"It's a cake, it should be ready soon. We can eat it in a little while. Let's go inside first." Xiao Siyue knew that Mu Li was a little glutton, so in addition to making the cake, she also specially baked some bread, planning to give it to them to take home when they left.

"Alright then." Mu Li's tone was full of reluctance, and she kept turning back as she left.

Xiao Siyue couldn't help but burst out laughing, and Ma Wanying, who was standing next to her, couldn't help but laugh as well.

"Ah, sister-in-law, Yue'er, what are you two laughing at?" Mu Li blushed instantly, looking at the two of them with annoyance.

"We didn't laugh," Xiao Siyue said, feigning ignorance and avoiding eye contact.

"You're all clearly laughing at me," Mu Li said, feigning anger.

"Hehe, we weren't laughing at you. It's just that a greedy little kitten appeared out of nowhere and couldn't move when it saw the food." Ma Wanying's eyes were full of teasing.

"Haha, haha," Xiao Siyue laughed uncontrollably.

"Yue'er." Mu Li called out to Xiao Siyue and reached out to touch Xiao Siyue's armpit.

Xiao Siyue quickly dodged and ran into the house.

Just as the two were laughing and joking, the maid arrived in the courtyard with several people.

"Siyue, what are you doing?"

When Xiao Siyue went over, she saw that it was Wang Shuyuan, Yuan Yi, and Li Qi. It was Yuan Yi who was speaking.

Li Qi was the girl who was kidnapped by human traffickers with her before. The two would occasionally meet after that, so Xiao Siyue sent Li Qi an invitation this time as well.

"Xiaoyi, you're here. Come in quickly, I was just playing around with Lili." Xiao Siyue stopped smiling and welcomed the group into the house.

Xiao Siyue welcomed the group to the small living room in her courtyard, and then instructed Lan Yi to bring out pastries and tea.

"Try this, it's a new pastry we made. It's softer than what we usually eat. Try it and see if you like it." Xiao Siyue pushed the plate of bread towards the center.

"Then I won't be polite." Mu Li picked up a piece first; she was already quite impatient, attracted by the aroma of the bread.

"Don't be shy, eat more if you like."

None of them stood on ceremony; each of them picked up a piece and began to taste it.

"What's this pastry called? It has a rich milky flavor." Yuan Yi's eyes narrowed as she ate, showing how much she really liked it.

"This is called bread. It's made with milk, eggs, and flour," Xiao Siyue explained the ingredients.

"No wonder it smells like milk," Wang Shuyuan chimed in.

Xiao Siyue looked at Wang Shuyuan. Ever since Wang Shuyuan came in, Xiao Siyue had noticed that Wang Shuyuan was completely different from before.

In her eyes, Wang Shuyuan used to be like Lin Daiyu, sentimental, weak and thin. But now she has not only gained some weight, but also become more radiant.

"Yue'er, I really like this bread." Mu Li looked at Xiao Siyue with an expectant expression, and Xiao Siyue instantly understood.

"Don't worry, we made a lot. When you go back, take some with you to eat at home."

"Hehe, thank you Yue'er. I knew Yue'er was the best. Then I won't be polite." Mu Li was overjoyed.