Chapter 173: Admission Banquet

Chen Jintao bought a Shanghai watch for each of her two younger brothers. In fact, she prefers Rolex and Patek Philippe because they are good value-for-money and may even appreciate in value in the future. However, since they are both students, it is not appropriate for them to be too ostentatious.

A Rolex or Patek Philippe would cost at least several hundred dollars. As the saying goes, wealth should not be shown to others. It would be too ostentatious for a student to wear such a watch.

Huo Beichuan prepared a camera for Shen Jidong, and gave Huo Dongsheng a big red envelope of the same value as the camera.

The two were so generous that everyone else was stunned.

"I don't know what you like, so I'll give you a red envelope. You can take it and buy whatever you want. This is a reward for you."

Huo Beichuan gave the red envelope to Huo Dongsheng, then turned around and gave the camera to Shen Jidong, "I found that you seemed to like cameras very much when I came back this time. The previous one was given to your sister by me, and I definitely can't give it to you, so I bought you a new one."

Shen Jidong was shocked, “Brother-in-law, this is too expensive!”

Huo Beichuan patted Shen Jidong on the shoulder and said, "Keep it. Getting into college is a big deal in life. As sisters and brother-in-law, we should show some appreciation."

Chen Jintao also took out two watches she had bought, which were packaged in wooden boxes, which was very high-end in that era.

"Congratulations on getting into the university you wanted to go to. This is for you."

Chen Jintao handed over two watches of the same model, impartially.

The onlookers all gasped, God, the gap between this couple’s hands is too big, isn’t it just going to college?

It would cost more than a thousand dollars to prepare all these things, but it is too outrageous to give them away as gifts, even if they are your brothers.

Tsk tsk tsk…

They are reluctant to even buy a watch or a camera. It's really frustrating to compare yourself with others.

"Thank you, sister and brother-in-law!"

"Thank you, brother and sister-in-law!"

Huo Dongsheng and Shen Jidong thanked the two of them.

After Chen Jintao and Huo Beichuan delivered the gifts, they got busy.

Chen Jintao is going to be the chef, so naturally she needs to be busy.

Xu Xuemei and Liu Guifen also walked towards the two boys and gave each of them two big red envelopes, which was obviously a pre-arranged agreement.

After that, more people sent gifts over one after another, for example, Mr. Shen and Mrs. Xu also presented their own gifts.

The two young men were so overwhelmed with gifts that they smiled so happily that their teeth were showing.

The time came to half past ten, and Chen Jintao and Huo Nanxi also started cooking. They made cold dishes first, and then started to stir-fry hot dishes around eleven o'clock.

People who wanted to eat arrived one after another. There were fifteen tables filled with people from the entire village and relatives from both families.

There were even several large tables set up on the road outside the yard.

Compliments flowed towards Huo Dongsheng and Shen Jidong as if they were free, making the two young men feel embarrassed.

The meal started at exactly twelve o'clock, and many people were shocked by the dishes on the table.

Rabbit with double peppers, pheasant stewed with mushrooms, braised chicken nuggets, braised wild boar meat, mushroom slices, grilled roe deer meat, scrambled eggs with tomatoes, and three vegetarian dishes, making a total of exactly ten dishes.

The ten dishes symbolize perfection, which is basically how everyone holds a banquet. However, seven of the ten dishes are meat dishes, which is already very shocking.

Not to mention that there is a cup of milk tea in front of everyone, regardless of whether they are adults or children.

This stuff costs one dollar a cup in town. It is a very expensive drink for rural people and they usually can't afford to buy it for themselves.

I heard that this thing contains milk powder, tea leaves and sugar, all of which are good things.

Coupled with the craftsmanship of Chen Jintao and Huo Nanxi, it is really enough to make people dizzy with the fragrance.

"Oh my god, how much meat did it take? I suddenly feel that the one dollar I spent is not worth it. I even want to add a little more."

"I...my family only gave fifty cents..."

Not only are the dishes on each table rich in oil and meat, but the portions are also generous.

It is enough for a table of ten people. I don't say that everyone will be 100% full, but 70% or 80% full is no problem.

This banquet was more sumptuous than everyone’s New Year’s Eve dinner, and it was because of this meal that they saw the current strength of the Shen family and the Huo family, which they could not catch up with even if they tried their best.

However, the attitude of these two families was obviously that they did not plan to arrange a marriage for Huo Dongsheng and Shen Jidong for the time being. For a while, families with young people of the right age all had the idea.

However, he did not dare to ask a matchmaker to come to his house casually. He planned to have a good talk with his children at home after returning and have as much contact with the girls from the Huo family as possible.

Huo Dongsheng and Shen Jidong received such generous gifts just by being admitted to university, so it goes without saying that Huo Nanxi will need some kind of dowry when she gets married.

Some people are like this. Instead of considering whether they need to pay a bride price to marry a girl, they worry about her dowry.

Anyway, there are quite a few people who have something interesting to do at today's banquet.

However, everyone was very conscientious in hosting the banquet, and after the banquet, each family found the tables, chairs and benches they had borrowed.

Many women stayed to help with cleaning and washing dishes. Many of the bowls, chopsticks and plates were borrowed from various families and had to be returned after washing.

Because there were so many people, everything was cleaned up quickly with the help of everyone.

When everyone had left, only the Huo, Chen, and Xu families were left in the Shen family's yard.

Old Mrs. Xu's face was red. She was really happy today. She also had a few sips of wine. She hadn't drunk alcohol for many years and felt a little dizzy, but the smile on her face never faded from beginning to end.

Finally, I lay in the rocking chair, my head nodding.

Chen Jintao quickly helped the old lady to the guest room to rest. The others were talking and laughing, all talking about Huo Dongsheng and Shen Jidong.

Shen Jidong fiddled with the camera, recording all these harmonious and beautiful scenes.

He liked this feeling very much. After the photos were developed, he would make an album and take it to Beijing. He would be very happy.

It is no exaggeration to say that Huo Beichuan's gift touched his brother-in-law's heart. If he liked this brother-in-law very much before, he probably likes him twelve times more now.

The Xu family did not stay long. After all, today was New Year's Eve, and everyone had to go home to prepare for the New Year's Eve dinner. They definitely could not spend it at the Shen's house.

But the Chen and Huo families didn't care. They lived close to each other, so they could have the New Year's Eve dinner together and go home on time to celebrate the New Year.

So after the Xu family left, Xu Xuemei and Liu Guifen started preparing dinner.

Of course, the New Year's Eve dinner cannot be compromised, and a lot of delicious food must be prepared. Fortunately, Huo Beichuan and Shen Jintao had a great harvest this time, so there is no need to worry about not having enough ingredients. In the end, Shen Jintao and Huo Nanxi left some for food when they prepared the banquet.