After a while, Li Chunlai took a wine glass and went from table to table toasting.
"Auntie, you've come all this way, don't be shy, make sure you eat your fill."
"Uncle, drink up! How much have you had?"
"Only two ounces? That's not much. Give me some more. There's plenty of wine."
"Eat, eat, eat less rice, eat more meat!"
When they arrived at Chen Feng's place, Li Chunlai, holding a wine glass, was at a loss for words, his eyes slightly reddening.
"Sister-in-law, thank you for coming to support us today. I'd like to offer you a toast." Li Chunlai said, downing the glass of wine he hadn't drunk yet in one gulp.
He's not stupid; Xia Yingying's presence at the banquet today is a huge honor for him.
"It's alright." Xia Yingying nodded with a smile.
"Brother Feng, this is a toast to you. I won't say anything more; it's all in the wine." Li Chunlai filled his glass and drank it all in one gulp.
"Hey, I don't have any alcohol here, give me a beer." Chen Feng stood up, holding a bottle of beer in his hand, and clinked glasses with him to make up for it.
"Brothers, thank you all for coming to support me today. If there is anything I can do for you in the future, just say the word, and I, Li Chunlai, will be there."
"I'll drink first as a sign of respect."
Li Chunlai poured himself another glass and downed it in one gulp.
"Alright, drink less. You still have to see your relatives off later. We're all brothers, why say so much?" Huang Fei advised.
"Eat up, eat up! There's more if you're not full. I prepared way too much; we can't possibly finish it all, haha." Li Chunlai waved his hand, his face flushed, and laughed as he urged them to eat.
As he turned to leave, Li Chunlai wiped the corner of his eye with his sleeve and took a deep breath.
He turned to look at his father in the distance, who was holding a wine glass, talking loudly and smiling, no longer the shy and self-conscious man he used to be. He took out a cigarette, lit it, and took a deep drag.
As he exhaled thick smoke, Li Chunlai slowly smiled.
A meal was finished in just over an hour, which is considered slow.
According to the village's past practice of holding banquets, most of the guests would probably leave within half an hour.
After all, Li Chunlai's meal was quite substantial, and if he ate too quickly, there were probably still dishes he hadn't had enough of. It's normal for him to eat slowly.
"Go to your neighbor's house later, Auntie, why are you in such a hurry to go home?"
"I still have to go home to pick up the kids. Chunlai has really grown up and is different from before. Haha, he's become so successful. I'm so happy to see him like this."
"Haha, it's alright. Auntie, when you pick up the kids, what should you pack to take home? Pack some groceries for the kids."
"Yeah, I'll just decorate it casually."
"Uncle, you should go. You've drunk so much, slow down."
"It's nothing, it's nothing. You go ahead with your work, don't see me off."
These relatives were busy with their own things: some were packing up food, some were stealing drinks, and some were carrying cigarettes.
"This bull's head smells delicious. We're only eating the surface; there must be a lot of meat inside. Why don't you guys pack it up and take it home to eat?" Huang Fei said regretfully, looking at the bull's head.
"If you want to eat, just go ahead and order. We're all brothers, there's nothing to be embarrassed about," Lin Nian said with a smile.
"If that's the case, then I won't be polite, hehe." Huang Fei stood up, took a plastic bag, and stuffed the cow's head into it.
"Whoever wants to eat something, hurry up and pack it up, otherwise it's a waste to throw it away." Chen Feng asked the aunt who was in charge of the catering for a lot of plastic bags and started distributing them.
There's nothing shameful about taking leftovers home. Even in the city, people take leftovers home these days. It's part of the "Clean Plate Campaign" to prevent waste.
However, some people are a bit unethical, deliberately taking home half-finished drinks and unopened cigarettes, which is a little...
"I want to eat that stuffed sausage," Xia Yingying whispered in Chen Feng's ear.
"Which one?" Chen Feng asked, looking at the plate of sausages that was almost finished.
That's a sausage platter. They make all kinds of sausages themselves, like meat sausage, egg sausage, solid egg sausage, and some others that Chen Feng couldn't name.
Although I don't know their names, they were all delicious.
Chen Feng didn't know which kind of sausage Xia Yingying wanted to eat.
"I want them all, they're all delicious." Xia Yingying smiled shyly upon hearing this, and gently shook Chen Feng's hand.
"There's not much left on the plate. Wait here while I go ask Li Chunlai for a whole one. The kitchen definitely has extra."
Chen Feng looked around, then spoke softly, having made up his mind.
"Mmm." Xia Yingying nodded in satisfaction.
After most of the people had left, Chen Feng went to find Li Chunlai, who was in charge of Rong Chukong.
"Spring, do you still have any sausages left? I think they're quite delicious," Chen Feng said.
"Yes, yes, there are plenty. Brother Feng, bring me a bag, I'll pack it for you." Chunlai was taken aback when he heard this, and quickly went to the kitchen.
Chen Feng, carrying a plastic bag, followed Li Chun to the kitchen, where they saw that the basin was still more than half full.
"Come on, which kind of sausage do you want?" Li Chunlai said as he stuffed sausages into the bag. They were all whole and uncut.
"Just give me a little of everything," Chen Feng said, opening the plastic bag.
"Here, this is delicious. I'll give you a few. Have some of these too. Open your mouth wider, and I'll stuff two more in." Li Chunlai didn't care how many there were and just grabbed them and stuffed them in.
"Alright, alright, that's enough. We can't even fit it all in the plastic bags," Chen Feng quickly said.
"It's okay, take another bag. If all else fails, you can have the whole basin. Just take the basin and go." Seeing that he couldn't fit it all in, Li Chunlai simply picked up the basin himself.
"Get lost! I can eat all that, you keep it." Chen Feng quickly pressed him down and left with the bag.
As soon as he stepped out of the room, he felt that everyone else was watching him.
After all, if you're going to pack it up, it's just leftovers; why would you just grab a bag of finished food?
"Quick, take this, it's all your favorite food." Chen Feng came out and handed the plastic bag to Xia Yingying.
"I don't want to, it's too embarrassing." Xia Yingying covered her mouth and laughed, then quickly walked ahead.
"What's shameful about that? It's not shameful at all. Take it." Chen Feng also felt embarrassed, as there were a bunch of people standing outside the door.
"No, no!" Xia Yingying ran away, with Chen Feng chasing after her.
Huang Fei, carrying two plastic bags of cow heads, had a flushed face. Although they were leftovers, there seemed to be far too much of them.
"You've finished the feast? What's this? There's quite a lot here." Someone who hadn't eaten at the feast but recognized Huang Fei asked with a smile, head bowed.
"This is a bull's head, I'm packing it up... to feed my dog at home," Huang Fei said with a grin after a moment's hesitation.
"Wow, this bull's head is amazing. It's a waste to feed it to the dog," the man said with some regret.
"It's alright, there are plenty of bones, perfect for feeding the dog." Huang Fei picked up the plastic bag and walked forward with a smile.
"You're back! What did you pack?" Huang Fei asked as he entered the yard, and a neighbor greeted him.
“Bullhead, the mat is really hard, haha, go home and feed it to the dogs.” Huang Fei said, almost believing it himself.
Once inside the house, he placed the cow's head in front of his father, who was eating.
"Eat."
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