Tonight's dinner is a family affair, with only close relatives invited: my second uncle, third uncle, Liu Mingxin's family, Tan Jing and his grandson, and Zhang Jianguo's family. As for the cowshed, we plan to deliver the reserved vegetables later, since there are still people coming and going in the village at this time.
First to arrive were Tan Jing and his grandfather, who came after Tan finished work. Then came Zhang Jianjun and his family, who arrived after get off work with their wives and children.
As soon as Zhang Jianjun and his wife entered, they congratulated Feng Minghao and Lin Yuwei, and presented them with gifts they had prepared. After exchanging pleasantries, Zhang Jianjun took a burlap sack from his bicycle and handed it to Zhao Xiuxiang.
"These are some defective products and scraps of fabric from my wife's textile factory. Take a look and see if you can tidy them up and make some clothes and diapers for the baby. Last time I visited Mingfeng and his wife, she had just returned from her hometown and couldn't get any of these defective products from the factory,"
When Zhao Xiuxiang saw Zhang Jianjun handing her such a large bag, she assumed he was giving her a gift and initially said she didn't want to accept it. However, since Zhang Jianjun said it contained some defective products and scraps of cloth, she didn't refuse.
You know, Liu Mingshan and his brother were originally the youngest among all the brothers. When Liu Mingshan got married and had a child, the urine rings and other items used by Tiedan'er and Da Y were all left over from those used by Nanxiong, Xibei, and Zhong. Who knew that Cai Shufen would go so far as to take them all away? Now that Mingyi's child is about to be born, these are still not enough.
"These things Zhang Jianjun brought are really a great help," Zhao Xiuxiang said, quickly accepting the cloth.
“Jianjun, then your aunt won’t refuse. What you’ve brought is exactly what we need right now. You’ve really helped me a lot. You know, I’ve tried everything to gather these things over this period of time.”
As she spoke, she tried to take out some money to give to Zhang Jianjun, since even though it was a defective product, it was still something his wife had paid for. Zhang Jianjun refused to accept it, so Zhao Xiuxiang decided to bring them more wild boar meat when they returned. They certainly didn't lack meat down in the mountains. Before Feng Minghao and his group came, Lin Yuwei often brought back game from the mountains. Now that Feng Minghao and his group were here, they could hunt some every few days, so they weren't short of meat.
Zhao Xiuxiang knew that Zhang Jianjun and his men were keeping watch in the town, and that the supplies they received didn't provide them with anything of value. The fifty jin of wild boar meat they received this time was intended to be made into meat sauce or jerky for Li Yuyang and the others to take on the train back home. Because of the hot weather, the wild boar meat couldn't be taken to Shanghai, so they planned to make extra jerky for Lin Yuyang to take to his father-in-law.
Zhao Xiuxiang decided to give Zhang Jianjun a little extra of the remaining wild boar meat, and then give Feng Mingxin a little extra as well. She would then give the rest to Tan Jing to give to his friends in town.
Once everyone had arrived, they began preparing for the meal. The younger generation first toasted the elders, and after that, everyone started drinking and exchanging toasts.
Suddenly, laughter came from the children's table. Everyone turned around and saw Liu Mingfeng and Wu Qiaoqiao sitting there. Liu Mingfeng was frantically helping the children pick out food for him, while Wu Qiaoqiao sat next to him, hugging a pregnant woman, laughing so hard she could barely hold her chopsticks.
Everyone couldn't help but laugh at Liu Mingfeng's appearance. Those who didn't drink could only sit at the children's table, and Liu Mingfeng and Wu Qiaoqiao, due to their injuries and pregnancy, couldn't drink either, so they had to sit with the children. The children, with their short arms, couldn't reach the other dishes, so they had to rely on the only two adults at the table for help. However, they usually spent more time with Wu Qiaoqiao and less time with Liu Mingfeng, and seeing Wu Qiaoqiao's condition, they were worried about making her tired, so they mostly asked Liu Mingfeng for help.
Wu Qiaoqiao, watching Liu Mingfeng's flustered movements and his frequent glances at everyone drinking, couldn't help but laugh. Suddenly, she stopped laughing, got off the kang (heated brick bed), and ran outside. Everyone present, seeing the married men and women with children, smiled knowingly; they all understood it was a symptom of late pregnancy. Then, seeing Liu Mingfeng put some of Wu Qiaoqiao's favorite foods in her bowl after she left, they couldn't help but smile as well.
In the eyes of the elders, as long as the couple has a good relationship, nothing else matters; everything will be fine. When everyone had almost finished eating and drinking, Lin Yuyang brought a bowl of wine to Feng Minghao's side. Seeing his brother-in-law arrive, Feng Minghao quickly stood up, also holding his wine.
“Feng Minghao, I’m entrusting my sister to you. You must take good care of her. If you ever do anything to wrong her, I will come and punish you no matter how far away you are.”
"Big brother, don't worry, I will definitely take good care of Wei'er. I will never let her suffer. I will always be with her and take care of her."
Hearing Feng Minghao's words, Lin Yuyang didn't immediately believe him. After all, he was a man himself and knew the inherent flaws of men—they wouldn't cherish what they had. However, he was determined not to let Lin Yuwei suffer any injustice. So, he raised his wine bowl, and the two clinked it together and drank it all in one gulp. Liu Mengmeng also assured Lin Yuyang that she would treat Lin Yuwei like her own daughter, and if Feng Minghao really bullied Lin Yuwei, she would break Feng Minghao's legs without Lin Yuyang even needing to intervene.
The meal was quickly finished. Since most people had to go to work the next day, they didn't stay overnight.
When Zhang Jianjun and Liu Mingxin were about to leave, Zhao Xiuxiang put seven or eight catties of wild boar meat and a pheasant on their bicycles. Liu Mingxin didn't mind and took it, but Zhang Jianjun was about to refuse. Zhao Xiuxiang said that if Zhang Jianjun refused, she would return the things he brought to Zhang Jiannian, or she would give Zhang Jianjun money directly. Seeing Zhao Xiuxiang's words, Zhang Jianjun simply kept the meat.
After both families returned home, Zhang Jianjun's family, being assigned to work here far from their hometown and without relatives or friends around, ate the meat.
When Liu Mingxin got home, she gave the wild boar meat to her mother-in-law, while she kept the pheasant for herself. As for how her mother-in-law distributed the meat, she didn't care. She didn't want her sister-in-law to say anything more; sometimes she was really annoyed by her sister-in-law.
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com
