Chapter 508: Full House
After dinner, the group declined Lin Weimin’s offer to send them off and wandered the streets of Yanjing.
Jiang Zilong patted Cheng Shixu on the shoulder and asked earnestly, "Shixu, you are forty this year, right?"
"Forty-one." Cheng Shixu thought Jiang Zilong cared about him.
"You are already in your 50s, it's time to understand things!"
"What do you mean?" Cheng Shixu looked confused.
Several classmates watched the joke from the sidelines.
Jin Ying asked, "Just now everything was fine, why did you mention An Yi?"
Cheng Shixu was puzzled, "I saw that she didn't come!"
He has now realized, "You guys are really not pure at all now."
Everyone laughed, as if they were back in the days at the Institute of Literature.
"So many years have passed in a flash!" Huang Zonghan sighed.
Jiang Zilong and Huang Zonghan were of the same generation. He asked, "Old Huang, I remember your son was born in the 1960s, right?"
"Those born in 1965 are 24 years old now."
"Is it time to get married?"
"I just started dating someone. Let's see how things go. Who can say for sure about young people's affairs?"
"It's scary when I think about it. I'm already fifty years old!" Jiang Zilong said.
"You're still two years away."
Jiang Zilong smiled and said, "Isn't that just a matter of seconds?"
"It's still good for the people! I've been famous for so many years, but when I count carefully, I'm not even thirty yet! I'm almost the same generation as my son."
After hearing what Huang Zonghan said, Jin Ying couldn't help but burst out laughing, making everyone laugh for no apparent reason.
When she had almost finished laughing, she said to everyone, "When I was in the station before, Weimin always said that his dormitory was the father of the dormitory!"
Everyone couldn't help laughing when they heard this.
There was a big age gap between the students of the fifth session of the Institute of Literature Research. The oldest, such as Jiao Yundian, was fifty years old when he came in, while Lin Weimin and Aibaier were only in their early twenties. They were completely two different generations, but they were put in the same class and became classmates. Fate is sometimes so wonderful.
It was a cold and frosty night in Yanjing in March, but everyone didn't feel cold at all as they walked and talked all the way back to the guesthouse.
The next morning, the Shizhu Courtyard on Xi'anmen Street opened its gates early in the morning.
At around eight o'clock in the morning, Lin Weimin and Tao Huimin stood at the door in casual clothes.
Yu Hua was the first to arrive. He was extremely excited when he saw Lin Weimin. "Haha, Teacher Lin! Congratulations! Congratulations on your wedding!"
Those who didn’t know might have thought he was the groom. Mo Yan followed behind him and calmly gave Lin Weimin his blessing.
There were few guests at the moment, so Lin Weimin had time to chat with the two of them. "Why did you two come so early?"
Mo Yan's eyes seemed to have never woken up, and she said helplessly: "He woke up too early, and was so anxious, he kept urging me."
"Why aren't you taking any initiative at all in Teacher Lin's lifelong event?"
"Teacher Lin's lifelong event is not your lifelong event, so what can you be positive about?"
Ignore the two quarreling elementary school students and send them into the yard.
Not long after Yu Hua and Mo Yan entered the yard, the people from Haima Studio arrived.
Then there are my colleagues from the Guowen Press.
Lin Weimin's wedding was different from others. There was no ceremony, no worshipping of parents, and no bridal chamber pranks. Lin Weimin and Tao Huimin just stood at the door to welcome guests. When everyone entered the house, they had to write the gift bill but couldn't find the place. After explanation, they found out that the couple didn't charge for the wedding banquet.
"Oh, Weimin, how can we feel embarrassed about this?" Meng Weizai and Lin Weimin laughed and led a few retired old men into the yard, showing no sincerity at all.
Today, several main rooms in the courtyard were all cleaned up to entertain guests. Unfortunately, there were too many people coming and there was not enough space. Some respected seniors were asked to stay indoors.
A group of middle-aged and young people were chatting in the yard in groups of three or five, watching Lin Weimin and his wife welcoming guests at the gate and guessing the identity of the visitors.
Feng Xiaogang is now standing under the eaves of the east wing, with Zhao Baogang and Li Chengru beside him. Li Chengru heard that Lin Weimin was having a wedding today and came here specially to join in the fun.
"I only heard that Mr. Wan was Teacher Lin's teacher before, but today I finally met him." Li Chengru said, looking towards the main room.
Zhao Baogang asked, "Have you seen those old men?"
"Um?"
"There are quite a few level 9 and 10 cadres in there!"
"How do you know?"
"I just heard someone greet them. They are all presidents and editors-in-chief. They are all high-ranking officials."
While a few people were chatting, guests were still coming in.
Lin Weimin was a little surprised by the arrival of the border officer. He didn't expect the old man to come.
"Old comrade, I'm here to join in the fun, for the people, congratulations!"
As soon as Bian Shu entered the courtyard, Teng Jinxian led a middle-aged man to the gate.
"Director Teng! This..."
"Xiao Han, Han Shanping."
Lin Weimin apologized, "I'm really sorry, there are so many people here right now, I can hardly remember who is who."
"Today is your big day, so you must be busy. I wish you and your spouse a loving and happy marriage!" said Han Shanping.
"Thank you, thank you, please come in!"
When Zheng Guo's family came, they were followed by an old man. Lin Weimin was surprised and asked, "Uncle, why are you here?"
"How can I, your uncle, not come and participate in your happy event?" Zheng's father said with a smile.
Zheng's father and son usually keep a low profile. The fact that Zheng's father came to attend Lin Weimin's wedding represents an attitude and proves that the two families are close friends.
"Please come in! Please come in!" Lin Weimin let the Zheng family into the yard.
As more and more guests arrived, the atmosphere in the courtyard became more and more lively. Everyone automatically divided into several small groups. This year's guests can be roughly divided into several categories.
One category is Lin Weimin’s teachers and classmates, headed by Mr. Wan, plus a group of people from the Institute of Literature Research, about twenty people in total.
Then there were my colleagues from the Guowen Press, not only those from the Contemporary Editorial Department, but also those from other editorial offices in the Press, including retired veterans. There were more than a dozen people in the Contemporary Editorial Department alone, and with the acquaintances from the Press, there were about 40 to 50 people.
Then there are the authors that Lin Weimin has been responsible for, including Yu Hua, Mo Yan, Er Yue He and others, totaling more than ten people.
Finally, there are Lin Weimin’s social connections; this group of guests has the most diverse composition.
There are people from the People's Art Theatre. This time, Yi Shizhi brought six or seven people, all of whom are familiar with Lin Weimin.
There is Haima Studio, headed by Wang Shuo and Zheng Xiaolong, Ma Dudu, Feng Xiaogang, Zhao Baogang, Hai Yan, Ge You, Liu Heng... a group of about twenty people.
The rest of the people are scattered, such as Shi Tiesheng's family, Li Xiangyang, a reporter from the Yenching Youth Daily, the retired border guards, Teng Jinxian, Chen Xiaoer, Zhou Meiying and his wife from the Film Bureau, Liu Shuhua and his brother, Wang Feng and Ren Hao from CCTV, Wu Tianming, Zhang Yimou, and Gong Li from the Xi'an Film Studio...
Although the guests who came today each formed their own small groups, many of them knew each other.
For example, the authors that Lin Weimin is responsible for are mostly familiar with the editors of the editorial department. Many editors of Guowen Press also know Lin Weimin’s classmates. Mo Yan, Tong Zhonggui and others know most of the people in Haima Studio. Zheng Xiaolong has business dealings with CCTV...
While the guests were chatting with each other, the chefs and waiters invited by Lin Weimin from Huifengtang were busy working.
Everyone has worked at Huifengtang for almost half their lives, and they have taken on some private jobs for weddings and funerals, but this is the first time that the entire restaurant has come to a guest's home to help.
There's nothing I can do. Who told me to give so much money?
In early spring in Yanjing, the temperature during the day and at night is two different degrees. At night, the temperature is normally only a few degrees, sometimes even below zero, but during the day, the temperature is often above ten or twenty degrees.
There were about one hundred forty or fifty guests today, and nearly twenty tables were occupied, all in the second courtyard.
It was sunny and windy outside. Half of the tables were placed in the yard. Considering that some old comrades were in poor health, the other half were placed in the main house and the side rooms.
The chef over there has prepared the dishes and can be served at any time. The manager of Huifengtang came over to ask Lin Weimin for instructions.
"No need to wait, serve the food right away!"
The waiters were nimble and brisk, serving the dishes skillfully with plates in their hands and arms.
Lin Weimin stood in the courtyard and said loudly: "Today is Huimin and I's wedding day. Thank you all for visiting our humble home. We didn't plan to have this wedding, but then so many people asked about it that I decided to just go for it.
Getting married is a happy thing, and we won’t do those clichés. Today, we have nothing else to do but treat everyone to a meal. I hope everyone can eat and drink well! "
The yard was only about 20 meters in radius, so everyone could hear Lin Weimin's simple speech clearly. As soon as he finished speaking, there was a warm applause in the yard, and many people whistled. The scene was very lively, and the old comrades who came to attend the wedding shook their heads and laughed.
Lin Weimin waited for everyone's applause to stop and shouted, "Alright, pick up your chopsticks! You won't be allowed to leave until you're full today!"
There was a burst of laughter in the yard and everyone started eating with their chopsticks.
While everyone was enjoying the meal, Lin Weimin and his wife toasted one after another.
Although we don't want to follow red tape, we still have to follow the proper etiquette. There are so many guests today. When they come in, they just say hello. Now when they toast, they naturally have to chat a little more to show courtesy.
While everyone was eating, Li Chengru and his friends at the table were still discussing the previous topic.
"That round-faced old man was the former top leader of the Press and Publication Administration!" Zhao Baogang heard the news from the table next to him and shared it with his friends at the same table.
"I also asked the two people over there. They are the leaders of the Film Bureau." Li Chengru also said.
Ma Dudu sat at the same table with the two men. He looked at their inexperienced looks and said with disdain, "Did you see that tall, skinny old man?"
Several people at the table looked in the direction Ma Dudu said, and Ma Dudu said anxiously: "Constrain yourself!"
Everyone turned around and asked, "Who is that?"
"You don't know? Shangshu level! Ministry of Education."
Wow!
Everyone glanced at the table again, and Zhao Baogang asked, "Dudu, do you know him?"
Ma Dudu shook his head and said, "No, I just heard it from someone when I was in the toilet."
The other people looked at him with contempt, thinking that you were so well-informed, but it turns out you are just like us, with super hearing!
Li Chengru sighed: "At least a dozen senior officials came to Teacher Lin's wedding, right?"
"What's the big deal? Haven't you seen that there are so many writers, such as Jiang Zilong, Lu Yao, Er Yuehe, Zhang Yimou and Gong Li..."
Speaking of Zhang Yimou, two people started gossiping, "Hey, do you think there's something wrong between Zhang Yimou and that guy?"
Everyone quietly glanced at the table where Zhang Yimou and Gong Li were sitting. "How did you know that? They were just attending a wedding together."
"Director and actress, don't you know how to avoid suspicion?"
"Now that you put it that way, it's true."
The topic at the table gradually shifted from discussing the guests' identities to erotic gossip.
(End of this chapter)
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