I Became the Eldest Daughter of a Fallen Family - Chapter 62

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This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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Episode 62. The Beam-Raising Ceremony (2)
‘Wait—weren’t those the very people who claimed they’d stick to Wang’s side and cut ties with our household? What’s gotten into them, swarming over here like this?’
On the day of the beam-raising ceremony, a feast was customarily held.
But it was far more than a simple gathering to give thanks for the solid framework of the building and to pray to heaven for blessings.
It was a ritual designed to properly reward all those who had labored so intensely in erecting pillars and raising beams.
Yet here were people who hadn’t lifted a finger during construction, now shamelessly pushing their faces forward for a taste of the festive meal?
So Yeon-hui thought it rather galling, truth be told—but she willingly emptied her purse to spread a lavish banquet table.
Where there is generosity, there is return.
She meant to gain both the villagers’ goodwill and Good Deed Points in one stroke.
“Is the meatball soup ready? We won’t run short on portions, will we?”
“Not to worry. I’ve whisked plenty of egg into the broth, so even if we ladle fewer meatballs, no one will say we’re stingy.”
“Aren’t those vegetable slices too thin? They need more substance to bring out the flavor.”
“These are worth two hundred cash per serving at retail prices, remember? And I’ve seasoned them saltier than usual, so this thickness is just right.”
With far more people gathered than expected, the So Household’s great pots had been boiling without rest since morning.
Two aunts from the Shim Family had eagerly rolled up their sleeves to help, making it far from difficult to set out tables for dozens of guests.
But instilling the aesthetic of cost-effectiveness into her mother and grandmother—who had once presided only over lavish aristocratic banquets when the So Household’s wealth was overflowing—proved far more taxing than she’d imagined.
After all, no matter how delicious, did it make sense to use so much meat given their present circumstances?
So Yeon-hui spent a solid half day talking Hong out of braising quality pork belly to make a So Household specialty meat braise.
Yet this did not mean the menu was shabby or meager.
Hyangjiang Vegetable Stir-fry, the vegetables tossed with thin slices of the spiced sauce until kissed by flame, alongside Pork Biji Meatball Soup. And then Tofu Jeon and Twhoa on top of it all.
Though materials costs were trimmed, the table appeared abundant and full when the dishes were laid out on the trays.
As soon as the meticulously prepared dishes were arranged on the small tables and chopsticks carved from bamboo were distributed, gasps erupted from among the assembled crowd.
“Wow, what is this? Two different meat dishes?”
“Wait, this fritter has egg in it too, doesn’t it? That makes three altogether, doesn’t it?”
Three meat dishes, even right after harvest season! Had the So Household discovered a nugget of gold buried in the mountains?
Someone’s muttering spread quickly through the crowd.
The truth was, though the beam-raising ceremony had been performed several times in Mangok Village before, a table this abundant was something no one had ever heard of or seen.
“Come now. Would they really serve three meat dishes? It’s probably just impressive to look at, but bland when you actually taste it.”
“Right. Those meatballs in the broth might not even be meat—just grain mashed together like some kind of cake.”
Even as such skeptical voices rippled through the crowd, an old man who had just taken a spoonful of the Pork Biji Meatball Soup widened his eyes in astonishment.
“Heavens above! Such a savory, delicious meat meatball! It reminds me of the braised meat I had in Jin-seong years ago!”
“Really, grandfather? Is that truly meat meatball in the soup?”
At the old man Ju’s words, Yang—who had been picking out only the hyangjiang from the vegetable stir-fry—asked eagerly.
The old man stroked his white beard once and nodded in reply.
“It tastes distinctly of meat. But it’s far softer and richer than the meat we usually eat, so they must have done something to it. Or perhaps… used a fine cut like tenderloin.”
“Tenderloin? Not pork belly?”
“A cut as greasy as pork belly is what we farmers eat. The fine gentlemen of Jin-seong don’t often eat it. They prefer to have it steamed gently rather than simply boiled or grilled like we do. They favor a cleaner, more refined taste.”
Old man Ju launched into a tale of how he had once helped with work at the Cheongpyeong Wi Estate years ago and had eaten braised meat there.
According to his story, noble families sliced fine cuts of meat thin and prepared them, or made them into meatballs for soup.
Comparing the aristocratic dishes from old man Ju’s tale with what lay in the bowls before them, the villagers’ chopsticks began to move noticeably faster.
* * *
What made the So Household’s feast special was not merely that it offered two aristocratic meat dishes.
One woman, tasting Twhoa for the first time—the sweet confection the twin children of the So family had personally served in small dishes—paused with her spoon suspended and let out a gasp of wonder like a child.
“What is this? My goodness! How can something taste so good? How much yetdang did you use?”
“Confections made with yetdang? How much wealth could this household possibly have?”
In this remote region where rice was precious, yetdang—made by boiling rice and barley sprouts in large quantities—was truly a luxury. So much so that it was scarcely used even in cooking, reserved mostly for medicine.
And here they were, lavishing confections drenched in yetdang?
Exclamations of admiration for the So Household’s generosity rippled across the gathering.
Thanks to this, the twins responsible for distributing the Twhoa felt their shoulders straighten with pride.
Having always been treated as an afterthought because of their youth, they now found themselves properly entrusted with real responsibility.
“Form a line properly. If you don’t maintain order, I won’t distribute any Twhoa.”
“That’s right. I’ll only sprinkle a tiny bit of black sugar on yours.”
As So Yeon-su and So Yeon-u stood side by side with ladles in hand, the village children who usually pestered them fell into orderly lines and watched carefully.
More than that—they bent over backwards trying to win a larger portion of Twhoa.
“Hey, Yeon-u. Remember when I showed you how to play a whistle made of reed?”
“Yeah. But weren’t you close with Wang Dae-seok?”
“N-no way! We’re just neighbors who see each other a lot because our houses are close!”
“Really?”
“Of course!”
Yang Gwang, known for his shrewdness, rubbed his hands together eagerly, and So Yeon-u, satisfied with the answer, ladled him a full scoop of Twhoa.
Though So Yeon-su’s expression showed some reluctance, she too helped her twin maintain his dignity by sprinkling an extra generous helping of black sugar on top.
And so, as the size of Twhoa one could receive varied depending on one’s friendship with the So children, who would dare not try to win their favor?
The So twins had suddenly become the most popular stars in the village. It was around this moment that Wang Dae-seok, standing at the back of the line, approached hesitantly.
“You weren’t even invited. Why are you here if you’re not a guest?”
So Yeon-su’s eyes narrowed.
Her voice cut sharp and clear through the crowd. At her pointed accusation, Wang Dae-seok flinched and lowered his head. So Yeon-u quietly touched his twin sister’s arm.
“Little sister.”
‘He never calls me sister normally—and now he’s trying to butter me up at a moment like this?’
So Yeon-su saw through her scheming yet oddly endearing twin and pouted.
Realizing that So Yeon-su would yield to him, So Yeon-u finally gathered courage and spoke.
“There is an ancient saying: Gunmook-ja-heuk. A gentleman must not carelessly associate with wicked people.”
Wang Dae-seok, the grandson of the village headman who had begun his studies three years prior, frowned at the lecture.
Yet what followed was something even he, who endured his grandfather’s cane daily as punishment during his studies, had not yet learned.
The chubby boy with bright, sparkling eyes spoke to Wang Dae-seok with unusual eloquence.
“But the Master said that what the gentleman practices throughout life is Seo, Forgiveness and Consideration. And further, ‘Do not do unto others as you would not have done unto yourself.’ If you will simply apologize to Wan-ui, then according to the Master’s words, I will share Twhoa with you too. And you must also promise not to speak ill of our father.”
The refined countenance of young So Yeon-u, uttering such weighty words, drew the quiet attention of the surrounding adults.
The manner of So Jin, who wrote the beam-raising inscription, was equally uncommon. Now even this child knew characters?
Could the So Household truly be of noble birth? Perhaps they should cultivate favor while they still could?
What if his banishment were lifted? They might yet suffer ill treatment from a house he held a grudge against.
While the adults focused their gaze on So Yeon-u for such pragmatic and crude reasons, Wang Dae-seok, suddenly thrust into the spotlight, felt his face flush to his very ears.
Conscious of the crowd’s attention, he hunched his shoulders and spoke in a voice so small it seemed an ant might crawl through it.
“……I promise.”
Then, lowering his head toward Shim Wan-ui, who stood nearby eating Twhoa, he spoke again.
“I’m sorry to you too.”
“Good. Then I’ll forgive you completely now.”
So Yeon-u broke into a wide smile, ladled Twhoa heaping full into a dish, and quickly signaled his twin to drizzle on extra black sugar.
So Yeon-u handed the white Twhoa, dark with slowly seeping black sugar, to Wang Dae-seok.
“Here, take it.”
Wang Dae-seok took the dish and stood vacant for a moment before hurriedly leaving at So Yeon-su’s call of “Next!”
Then Shim Wan-ui cautiously approached and whispered to So Yeon-u, “Thank you, Yeon-u.”
“Ha! Leave it to me from now on. Your older brother will handle everything!”
Who could maintain composure at such bold proclamation? The surrounding adults burst into hearty laughter.
So Yeon-su, having just witnessed the embarrassing romantic antics of the two brothers, made a face as if chewing something sour—but that was unavoidable, wasn’t it.

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This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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