An Baogen waved his hand to stop the villagers from continuing to talk about Luo Qiuping.
"Alright, stop mentioning Luo Zhiqing. She's no longer part of our brigade! What she did wasn't good! Don't spread rumors about her! We can't let anyone follow her example!"
The villagers thought the brigade leader's words made sense, and some of them spoke up.
"Let's not talk about it anymore. The brigade leader is right. Let's just pretend that Luo, the educated youth, never came to our brigade!"
Immediately, others echoed this sentiment.
"Yes, yes, let's just pretend that Luo, the educated youth, never came!"
The other villagers echoed loudly, all indicating that they would no longer mention Luo Zhiqing.
An Baogen nodded in satisfaction.
"That's the right way to think. I've finished explaining everything to you. If there's nothing else, the meeting is adjourned!"
An Baogen's meeting was surprisingly effective; no one in the village talked about Luo Qiuping anymore, as if she had never been to the brigade.
As the month of their engagement approached, Zhuang Zhimeng and An Qingbai became noticeably busier. With their engagement at the end of the month, they had to consider all aspects carefully.
That day, An Qingbai came specifically to find Zhuang Zhimeng.
"Zhizhi, shouldn't the engagement banquet be hosted by the bride's family? Should it be held here?"
Zhuang Zhimeng looked around the courtyard; it was big enough to fit four tables.
"Brother Qingbai, I can fit four tables here. Is that enough space? We don't need to invite too many people, right?"
An Qingbai thought about it for a moment and felt that it should be enough.
"That's enough. You don't need to invite too many people. Just set up four tables here. Your family can sit at one table, my family at another, and the rest of the guests can sit wherever they like!"
Zhuang Zhimeng agreed, saying that it was just an engagement and they should just have a simple banquet with a few tables.
The venue for the banquet was thus decided.
Next, Zhuang Zhimeng and An Qingbai went to find An Hongbin, the master chef in the village who makes banquet dishes.
Zhuang Zhimeng spoke first.
"Uncle Hongbin, could you help us prepare the catering for our engagement banquet on the 27th at noon?"
Then Zhuang Zhimeng gave An Qingbai a wink, and An Qingbai understood, took out a cigarette from his pocket, lit it for An Hongbin, and handed it to him.
"Uncle Hongbin, please have a smoke! We won't let you work for nothing, so we'll give you 20 yuan as a tip!"
An Hongbin took the cigarette, took a drag, exhaled a smoke ring, and then looked at them before speaking.
How many tables are you planning to have?
An Qingbai replied.
"Uncle Hongbin, let's have four tables!"
An Hongbin nodded.
"Okay, I understand. The 27th, right? I'll make time for you to come on that day!"
Zhuang Zhimeng and An Qingbai both thanked An Hongbin happily.
"Thank you, Uncle Hongbin!"
An Hongbin agreed so readily not for the 20 yuan, but because he was happy to host a feast for Zhuang Zhiqing and An Laosan. He quite liked these two young men; otherwise, he wouldn't have done it if he wasn't willing, let alone for 20 or even 30 yuan.
The master chef in the village holds a prestigious position, and everyone has to speak kindly and be careful around him, otherwise there's nothing you can do if he's unwilling to cook for you.
When she returned home, Zhi Meng gave An Qingbai the clothes she had made for him.
"Brother Qingbai, this is the outfit I made for your engagement. I specially made a matching men's suit for you based on the wedding dress my grandmother gave me. Try it on when you get home!"
An Qingbai smiled and took the clothes.
"Okay, I'll try it when I get home!"
The men's version, made by Zhuang Zhimeng, is a two-piece set, matching hers, but both are individual pieces.
It's summer now, so it's not convenient for An Qingbai to try on clothes here.
An Qingbai still felt a little regretful, thinking that he could show off his figure to Zhizhi! But he dared not say that, otherwise he probably wouldn't get away with it.
The village loudspeaker suddenly blared.
Hello! Educated youth Zhuang, educated youth Zhuang, come to the brigade headquarters immediately, there's a phone call for you!
Zhuang Zhimeng and An Qingbai exchanged a glance, and Zhuang Zhimeng quickly said something to An Qingbai.
"Brother Qingbai, go back and try on the clothes. I'm going to answer the phone."
Then she quickly ran out of the house.
An Qingbai watched helplessly as Zhuang Zhimeng ran out the door. He wondered if it was possible that he wasn't in a hurry to go home to try on clothes and could accompany her to answer the phone.
Zhuang Zhimeng ran to the brigade headquarters and waited for a while before she received the call.
Hao Caiyun told her very quickly.
"Yaya, it's all set. Your dad and I will go first. We've taken half a month off. Your grandparents, your older brother and sister-in-law, Junjun, and Ping'an will go a week later!"
"Okay, Mom, I..."
Before Zhuang Zhimeng could finish speaking, Hao Caiyun urged her to hang up.
"Alright, stop it, hang up now, we're about to time out!"
Hao Caiyun hung up the phone immediately!
Zhuang Zhimeng put down the phone and shook her head. She knew this would happen; she was used to it! Her mother's phone calls never lasted more than a minute.
Zhuang Zhimeng gave the money to Aunt Tian and then left the brigade headquarters.
Before she even got home, the loudspeaker blared again.
Educated youth Zhuang, educated youth Zhuang…
Zhuang Zhimeng quickly ran back.
This time it was Shu Xinzhu who called.
Zhuang Zhiwu and Shu Xinzhu held their wedding at the military base last month, and now Shu Xinzhu is his de facto second sister-in-law.
"Little sister, your second brother asked me to tell you that he can't attend your engagement. He's on a mission and asked me to convey his apologies. But he also asked me to mail you the engagement gift!"
"It's alright, Second Sister-in-law. Second Brother's mission is important, and we all understand. It's no big deal that he can't attend our engagement! And thank you for the gift, Second Brother and Second Sister-in-law!"
"Little sister, you're too kind. It's only right for your brother and sister-in-law to give you a gift for your engagement. The postman should deliver it in a couple of days!"
"Second sister-in-law, I understand!"
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