sinovels Chapter 1729 Preparatory Meeting for Li Baoyu's Wedding Ceremony
Chapter 1729 Preparatory Meeting for Li Baoyu's Wedding Ceremony
Chapter 1729 Preparatory Meeting for Li Baoyu's Wedding Ceremony
The day after the Liu family held their banquet, Zhao Jun received a call from Chu Anmin early in the morning.
Over the phone, Chu Anmin asked Zhao Jun about the golden bear bile.
These days, it's convenient for foreign businesses to do business in China. It's just that golden bear gallbladders are extremely rare; otherwise, Kei Ishii wouldn't have bothered to keep targeting Zhao Jun.
Zhao Jun used the same words as Zhang Yuanmin and Li Ruhai when speaking to Chu Anmin.
Chu Anmin's call was likely made on someone else's behalf. After Zhao Jun told him that the Golden Bear Gallbladder had been bought by the Zheng family, Chu Anmin smiled and then told Zhao Jun to contact him if he found any more Golden Bear Gallbladders, but not to force him if he didn't.
As for the Zheng family, father and son, since the evidence was conclusive—the two of them had eaten peanuts before the Lunar New Year—Zhang Yuanmin and Li Ruhai's statements were essentially unverifiable.
After hanging up the phone, Zhao Jun put the matter out of his mind. He hurriedly walked into the East Room and gestured to Wang Meilan.
At this moment, Wang Meilan sat on the edge of the kang (a heated brick bed), holding a small notebook in her hand. She glanced at Zhao Jun, then cleared her throat and said, "Everyone's here, so let's continue the meeting."
Today's meeting is not the Zhao Family Chamber of Commerce's shareholders' meeting, but rather a preparatory meeting and preparation session for Li Baoyu's wedding ceremony.
Today is April 13th, and this Sunday, the 17th, is the day Li Baoyu gets married and the Li family holds a banquet.
Li Baoyu's father-in-law, Liu Yunfeng, has many students in Yong'an. Yesterday, the Liu family held a grand banquet, second only to Zhao Jun's wedding.
The Li family doesn't have as many social obligations, so they can only afford to hold two banquets at most, which puts them at a disadvantage compared to the Liu family in terms of social standing.
Li Dayong and Jin Xiaomei were both people who cared about their reputation, and they had already decided that this banquet would be the last time they spent money on Li Baoyu.
Last night, the couple called Li Ruhai, and the three of them had a small meeting in the east room of their house. They decided to hold a big celebration and make up for lost face at the banquet.
Jin Xiaomei lacked experience in handling things independently, so she specifically asked Wang Meilan to help her decide on the menu for the banquet.
Jin Xiaomei made it clear that there would be twelve dishes on the table that day. Moreover, they all had to be substantial dishes, the more substantial the better, and she didn't care about the cost, telling Wang Meilan not to have any concerns.
Wang Meilan was willing to do this job. Today, she deliberately set off a firecracker to gather several families who were not working or going to school in the east room of the Zhao family to deploy the work.
“Everything’s ready at Baoyu’s new house. We have all the tables, chairs, benches, bowls, plates, and chopsticks for the banquet. We can just move them over there.” Wang Meilan said, holding a small notebook. “The only things left to decide on are the food and drinks, like this… rice, flour, soybean oil, pork, eggs, vegetables, snacks, cigarettes, alcohol, sugar, and tea. I’ve divided these things into four main parts…”
“Nephew, look at my sister, she’s divided into four main parts.” At this moment, Wang Qiang nudged Zhao Jun and whispered, “Last night we were watching TV, and they said that even the United Kingdom, which is so big, is only divided into four parts…”
"What are you doing, Qiangzi?" Wang Meilan's stern voice rang out at that moment: "No whispering! If you have any opinions, speak them to my face!"
“I have no objection.” Wang Qiang quickly raised his hand and said, “I firmly support the spirit of our meeting.”
Upon hearing this, Wang Meilan glared at Wang Qiang, then continued reading from her notebook, saying, "Cigarettes, alcohol, candy, tea, snacks, and firecrackers—we'll do it the same way we did last time, have Wang Fu buy them for us, so we don't have to worry about it ourselves. Otherwise, our truck won't be able to carry them all in one trip."
And then there are vegetables, so we go down the mountain a day early to the city to buy the freshest and best ones!
Pork, chicks, and eggs—we'll order them from Yongxing Brigade today and have them prepare them for us well in advance. Then, before we come back from grocery shopping, we'll pick up a bunch of them on our way back.
And then there's Uncle Zhao, Jin Hui's dad. He just called to say they're coming with us on the 16th. Uncle Zhao said he's generously sponsoring Bao Yu with 200 catties of shrimp, plus 100 sea fish!
At this point, Wang Meilan closed her notebook, clasped her hands together, and said, "Now let's give a warm round of applause to Uncle Zhao for his generous donation!"
After she finished speaking, Wang Meilan led the applause.
Amid the applause, Zhao Jinhui clapped and stood up. After the applause subsided, Zhao Jinhui grinned at Wang Meilan and said, "Auntie, my father isn't here. May I say a few words on his behalf?"
"Go ahead and speak," Wang Meilan said without stopping him, while Zhao Jinhui waved his hand with a smile, saying, "We're all on the same side, no need to be polite, no need to be polite, hehe..."
Amidst laughter and applause, Zhao Jinhui raised his hand and spun around to signal before sitting back down on the stool.
"Ahem." Wang Meilan cleared her throat, picked up her notebook, and continued, "The guests that day included people from our village, farm workers, Baoyu's relatives and friends, and guests from the bride's family."
Dayong, Xiaomei, and I did a count, and we think we can get about seventy tables. We'll prepare for eighty tables. When it comes to a banquet, it's better to have too many than too few!
It was so hot the other day, even the wild animals we hunted wouldn't keep long, and the meat would get stale. So Dayong and Xiaomei said that this time we wouldn't use wild animals; besides shrimp and seafood, we'd use pork for everything else in our main dishes.”
At this point, Wang Meilan looked at Jin Xiaomei, who raised her hand and stood up, asking Wang Meilan, "Sister-in-law, let me say a few words."
Seeing Wang Meilan nod, Jin Xiaomei puffed out her chest and said loudly, "We'll prepare five pigs weighing over 200 jin each!"
"So much stuff?" Upon hearing Jin Xiaomei's words, the old lady exclaimed in surprise, "Can we eat it?"
Jin Xiaomei must have heard her. Immediately, imitating Wang Meilan's usual manner, she waved her hand outward and said, "If you can't finish it, let's make some salted bacon and eat it slowly!"
"Good!" Wang Meilan led the applause, and applause filled the house, startling the dogs in the backyard into barking again.
After the applause subsided, Wang Meilan looked at Zhao Jun and said, "Zhao Jun!"
Wang Meilan got into character and even stopped calling her son.
Zhao Jun quickly raised his hand and stood up, then heard Wang Meilan say, "I appoint you as the chief purchasing officer. You guys can decide what to buy. Whether it's going down the mountain to buy things, or the small shops in Yongxing, you're in charge of all the contacts and arrangements!"
"Yes, sir!" Zhao Jun pressed his finger to his temple and saluted, saying, "Mission accomplished!"
"Xiaoyun!" Wang Meilan called Li Tongyun again. Li Tongyun stood up excitedly, clasped her hands in a fist salute to Wang Meilan, and said, "Here!"
"You're the accountant!" Wang Meilan said. "You're in charge of all the money. You have to keep a clear record of how much they spend, how much they spend, and how much is left!"
"Please rest assured, Chairman! Please rest assured, fellow shareholders!" Li Tongyun clasped his hands in a fist salute to the surrounding crowd and said, "If there is even the slightest discrepancy, please behead me!"
Li Tongyun's words were powerful and resonant, but there was no applause, which made everyone laugh heartily.
"Sit down quickly, daughter!" Wang Meilan pressed her hand down, gesturing for Li Tongyun to sit down.
Li Tongyun, sitting back down on the bench, excitedly tugged at the old lady's sleeve and whispered, "Grandma Jiang, this is so much fun, so much fun!"
The old lady looked at Li Tongyun with kindness, touched by the little girl's joy.
“Baoyu’s great-uncle.” At this moment, Wang Meilan patted Zhao Youcai, who had been watching coldly from the side, and said, “You’ll have to take care of cooking and all the things in the kitchen.”
Zhao Youcai glanced at Wang Meilan sideways, then nodded his chin at Li Baoyu and said, "My nephew is getting married, what else is there to say?"
Upon hearing this, Li Baoyu stood up and repeatedly bowed to Zhao Youcai. Wang Meilan rolled her eyes at Zhao Youcai, then said to Li Ruhai, "Ruhai!"
"Finally, it's my turn!" Li Ruhai stood up and looked at Wang Meilan with anticipation.
"Ruhai, you're in charge of the hospitality. Besides the band, you also need to manage things inside and outside the courtyard," Wang Meilan said. "I know you're meticulous, so you must keep an eye on things on the 17th. Everyone who comes is a guest, and we absolutely cannot neglect anyone. Especially the guests from my family, they must be treated very well!"
"Don't worry, Auntie!" Li Ruhai puffed out his chest and shouted, "Ruhai swears to complete the mission, even at the cost of his life!"
No sooner had Li Ruhai finished speaking than Jin Xiaomei berated him and Li Tongyun, saying, "What are you two doing? One of you is acting like you're going to die, and the other is talking about having your head chopped off."
Amidst the laughter, Li Ruhai said, "Mom, this shows our determination to complete the mission!"
As the laughter subsided, seeing Wang Meilan close her notebook, Xie Chen quickly stood up and raised his hand, saying, "Auntie, I'm the driver."
"Ah!" Wang Meilan looked at Xie Chen and asked, "What's wrong?"
"Then you have to say something!" Jie Chen muttered, "My brother Jun is the chief purchasing officer, and there's also the accountant and the receptionist. Why don't you give me the title of chief driver too?"
"Alright, I'll appoint you as the chief driver." Zhao Jun said this, patting Xie Chen on the shoulder and saying, "You'll be driving for the next few days, no one will be there to cover for you."
Xie Chen was taken aback, and Zhao Jinhui beside him said, "Auntie, don't leave my dad behind."
"Hmm?" When Wang Meilan looked at Zhao Jinhui, Zhao Jinhui said, "My dad is the main sponsor!"
As soon as Zhao Jinhui finished speaking, Wang Qiang pointed at him and laughed, "If your dad is going to sponsor everything, then he should also pay for the pigs and vegetables."
Laughter erupted, and Jin Xiaomei repeatedly said, "No." At that moment, Xie Sunshi raised her hand.
"Mom, what are you doing?" Liu Lanying asked, and then saw Sun Shi shout to Wang Meilan, "Sister, give me a job."
“You have something to do!” Wang Meilan said with a smile. “We all have to entertain guests. What are you thinking? There are some elderly ladies on your daughter’s family’s side. You and Aunt Jiang can keep them company and chat.”
Last time, Madam Jie accompanied Old Lady Chu quite well, but I wonder if the old lady got diarrhea when she got home.
“This…” Xie Sun thought for a moment, then asked Wang Meilan, “Sister, how about you let me be the chief security guard?”
"What kind of security would you be providing?" Wang Meilan laughed. "They're all relatives, friends, colleagues, and people from this village. Who are you going to be protecting?"
"What if someone tries to cause trouble?" Xie Sunshi tilted her head and said seriously, "That little roast chicken, that kid is quite naughty!"
“He can’t come,” Wang Meilan replied, then smiled at Jin Xiaomei and said, “Xiaomei, the Zhang family has been disrespectful to our family, hasn’t they?”
"How rude!" Jin Xiaomei said, "Ever since Xu Meihua led you to Heixiazigou that year, we haven't had any dealings with their family."
Hearing Jin Xiaomei's words, Wang Meilan was deeply moved. At this moment, Xie Sunshi said, "How rude! Doesn't this indicate a grudge?"
As she spoke, Xie Sunshi pointed at Li Baoyu and said to Jin Xiaomei, "I heard that before our Baoyu started dating Liu Mei, that little roast chicken even came to our house and caused a scene!"
"Oh dear!" Upon hearing Sun's words, Wang Qiang laughed from the side, "Sister Sun, that was ages ago! Zhang Laibao wouldn't be thinking about that now."
"Hahaha..." Everyone burst into laughter, they all knew what was going on with Zhang Laibao.
“Auntie!” At this moment, Li Tongyun said to Wang Meilan, “What my Aunt Sun said is not entirely unreasonable. Why don’t you let me work as a security guard? Aunt Sun and I can guarantee that everything will go smoothly and peacefully on the 17th.”
Hearing Li Tongyun's words, Xing San's eyes lit up, and he was also eager to try.
"Xiaoyun, stop it already," Wang Meilan stopped Li Tongyun, saying, "What do you mean it's not completely unreasonable? It's just unreasonable!"
“That’s right!” Wang Qiang chimed in, “The fact that you two don’t cause trouble is better than anything else.”
As soon as Wang Qiang finished speaking, he was glared at by Xie Sunshi. Then Xie Sunshi and Li Tongyun sat down sullenly, listening to Wang Meilan say, "And then there are some miscellaneous things, like setting off firecrackers, which will be handled by Yuanmin and Jinhui. And driving before the wedding..."
As she spoke, Wang Meilan looked over and saw Zhao Jun raise his hand and say, "I'll drive!"
"And me!" Jie Chen said, "My brother Jun drives the car to pick up the bride, and I drive the car for the band!"
“Okay!” Wang Meilan nodded and said, “After that, let Shunzi borrow a Jiefang truck to pick up the guests from my family.”
After saying this, Wang Meilan closed her notebook. Just as she was about to announce the end of the meeting and its dissolution, Li Ruhai noticed that Li Baoyu's lips moved slightly, as if he had something to say.
"Brother!" Li Ruhai asked Li Baoyu, "What's wrong with you?"
As everyone looked at Li Baoyu, Li Ruhai continued to ask, "Do you also want our aunt to arrange a job for you?"
“I…” Li Baoyu was stunned for a moment, then realized what was happening, and grabbed Li Ruhai in a fit of rage, ready to hit him.
Everyone burst into laughter, and Li Baoyu lightly punched Li Ruhai twice before letting him go.
Just then, the phone rang in the small east hut next door, and Zhao Jun hurried over to answer it.
……
"Zhang Laibao, get on the phone!" Zhao Jinshan shouted loudly outside the Zhang family's courtyard. They grew up in the same family, but Zhao Jinshan treated Zhao Jun and Zhang Laibao with completely different attitudes.
"Jinshan, is that my phone?" Zhang Laibao, who came out of the house, looked completely bewildered.
"Hurry up, let's get to the village headquarters!" Zhao Jinshan said and left. Zhang Laibao, swaying his body, clung to his legs and walked towards the village headquarters.
When Zhang Laibao arrived at the village headquarters, the village head Zhao Guofeng and the accountant Tan Chaoyang both looked at him with strange eyes.
"Hello, who's calling me?" Zhang Laibao picked up the phone and said this. But when he heard the voice on the other end of the line clearly, his expression suddenly changed. He said, "Mr. Ishii!"
At the same time, Zhao Guofeng and Tan Chaoyang's expressions changed, and the way they looked at Zhang Laibao immediately became different.
Zhao Guofeng winked at Tan Chaoyang, then got up and walked towards the door. After closing the door, Zhao Guofeng blocked the entrance.
There will be an extra chapter at 11 PM tonight. This will be the pattern from now on: a guaranteed update at 2 PM, and any extra chapters will be posted in the evening. Extra chapters will be announced in advance.
Brothers, the tiger bone wine I've been drinking this month is amazing. My tennis elbow and Achilles tendonitis are no longer painful, and the cervical spondylosis that's been bothering me for over a year hasn't flared up recently either. Otherwise, how could I have been able to update more these past few days?
I found it effective and wanted to share it with you guys. This stuff is good for replenishing Yang energy. I don't dare drink it myself; I just use it externally to treat my musculoskeletal problems.
Like the previous Sanyang liquor, this is only smoked once a year. Brothers, don't miss it!
(End of this chapter)