At the end of July, Xia Minmin and Xia Jianguo both received their admission notices. Xia Jianguo applied to a local finance and economics college in Shenzhen, while the notices from the second-tier universities came later.

"Jianguo, when are we going to hold a celebration for Xiaomin's college admission? The neighbors in the community asked me again today; everyone wants to share in the joy."

Xia Minmin felt a headache coming on at the mention of a banquet. There were too many trivial things to do when organizing a banquet, and she would feel embarrassed with so many people watching her.

"Mom, it's not a big deal, why don't we just let it go?" Xia Minmin said slowly to Li Chunmei.

“That won’t do. If it were an ordinary school, that would be one thing, but this is Peking University, a university that so many people dream of attending. We must run it.” Li Chunmei’s attitude was very firm, and Xia Minmin knew she couldn’t persuade her otherwise, so she could only go along with them.

After discussing it, Xia Jianguo and his wife decided to hold a banquet in the open space of the community. There were no large banquet halls nearby, and it was not cost-effective to hold a graduation banquet at a nearby five-star hotel because the price was too high.

"Manager You, my family would like to hold a banquet in the open space of the community to invite our neighbors for a casual meal. Is that convenient for you?"

Manager You didn't think much of it, "Great! That's wonderful. Is there anything we can help you with?"

"No, we plan to hire a professional team to prepare large banquets and entrust them with the entire process. You can come and eat together too, and there will be plenty to eat."

Manager You later calculated the number of people in the entire community, which was at least sixty tables. Including drinks, the entire banquet cost at least seventy or eighty thousand yuan. He never expected that such a small banquet would cost more than his annual salary.

With the venue issue resolved, Xia Jianguo finally breathed a sigh of relief. He called Wang Aimin, who had previously mentioned having a familiar team.

"Hey, Brother Wang, the venue is all set, it's in the open space in the neighborhood."

"Okay, here's the phone number for the banquet team leader. The chefs on this team are very skilled at preparing large banquets, and the whole team is very efficient. You won't have to worry about anything, and they'll even clean up the mess afterwards."

"Thank you, Brother Wang. Once the time is set, please come to the neighborhood for dinner."

“Great! This is a happy occasion for Xiaomin, I will definitely be there.”

"Brother Wang, this is just a meal, so please don't buy Xiaomin any more gifts."

Xia Jianguo recalled that not long ago, after his daughter received her admission notice from Peking University, she had a five-table dinner at a five-star hotel, and Wang Aimin directly gifted her an 180,000 yuan mechanical watch.

"Haha, I got it! I definitely won't be giving a gift this time."

After hanging up the phone, Xia Jianguo hurried home, where Li Chunmei was still waiting for news.

That evening, after discussing the time and confirming the menu with the banquet team, Xia Minmin immediately began writing the invitations.

"Mengmeng, are you free tomorrow? Come with me to hand in the invitations."

"no problem!"

The flip phone in Xia Minmin's hand was a graduation gift from Li Chunmei and Xia Jianguo, along with a huge, thick Fruit brand notebook.

Tang Meng accompanied Xia Minmin as they walked through the neighborhood, stuffing invitations into the mailboxes of each household.

"Xiaomin, can I borrow your watch? I've never seen such an expensive watch before. You're a woman who wears an entire house on your wrist, no, you should be called a girl."

Tang Meng held the watch in her hands. The silver strap and dark green dial immediately attracted attention when she wore it. She loved the green dial so much, and wondered when she would be able to afford one.

Seeing her best friend's obvious delight in the watch, Xia Minmin suggested, "How about I go to the boutique and get the strap fitted so you can borrow it for a while?"

Tang Meng handed the watch back to her best friend, saying, "Going to the store to get the watch strap adjusted is too much trouble, and this watch is so expensive, I wouldn't know how to explain losing it."

"It's okay, I don't mind."

Looking into her best friend's sincere eyes, Tang Meng took her hand and said, "I'm not just being polite. If my wrist were as thin as yours, I would definitely take it and wear it for a few days. Anyway, I'll treat you to lamb skewers from your favorite place."

Tang Meng pulled Xia Minmin's hand and walked out of the residential area.

In the lead-up to the banquet, Xia Jianguo and Li Chunmei would verbally invite guests whenever they encountered neighbors in the community.

"Then it's settled. We'll all have dinner in the neighborhood tonight."

"I'm not going to miss such a good opportunity to be lazy. I'll definitely eat your family out of house and home."

The residents were very excited, as this was the first time their community had held such an event. With the cooperation of the property management staff and the residents, the dining area was redecorated, and even the trees were wrapped with colorful lights.

At noon, the chef and his team, along with tables, chairs, and semi-finished dishes, came to the community and got busy under the scorching sun.

In less than half an hour, twenty large round tables and chairs were set up, and three portable gas stoves were placed on the other side. A double-layered folding counter, one meter wide and two meters long, was filled with prepared semi-finished dishes, and a tall electric rice steamer stood to the side.

Once the dining area was shaded, the retired grandpas and grandmas from the neighborhood came out and helped with some simple tasks.

"This is the first time I've seen such a harmonious atmosphere in a residential community," one of the helpers said.

"The people in our community are all very nice. We help each other out whenever we need something. A close neighbor is worse than a distant relative, and even a neighbor can't compare to someone across the street."

The three chefs worked at full capacity, and in less than an hour, the semi-finished dishes were cooked and served on the round table. The elderly and children, who didn't have to work, were the first to eat. The banquet lasted until eight o'clock, with more than sixty tables set up.

The catering team was truly professional. Less than half an hour after the diners left the table, all the things they brought had been packed up, loaded into the car, and taken away. They even washed the floor with laundry detergent.

"Chunmei, the banquet you've put together is quite interesting. When my son takes his college entrance exam, we'll also have a banquet in the neighborhood to celebrate."

“We’ve all lived together for so many years, we’re like family. Everyone’s usually busy, so we can’t get together like this. This is such a great opportunity.”

"OK."

It was getting late, so everyone stopped chatting and called the children who were playing to go home.

Back home, Xia Minmin saw the two of them, having just finished their banquet, resting on the sofa. She poured two glasses of milk and placed them on the coffee table.

"If I had known it would be this tiring, I would have preferred not to have the banquet."

Xia Minmin wasn't physically tired, but she was mentally exhausted. People in the neighborhood, both acquaintances and strangers, would come over to greet her. Borrowing books was a piece of cake, and some even asked her to tutor their relatives, even though she didn't know any of them.

Li Chunmei and Xia Jianguo listened to their daughter's complaints with a smile and made no comment. To them, this was a matter of bringing honor to their ancestors and had to be celebrated in a grand manner. Other families held banquets for their children who were admitted to vocational colleges.

"I'll put the milk on the coffee table for you. I'm going to take a shower now."

When Xia Minmin came out of the shower, the milk on the coffee table was finished. The two of them were resting with their eyes closed, looking quite exhausted. Anyone would get tired after four or five hours without their feet touching the ground.