Chapter 280
Lei Tingjun invited Ji Wanmei's roommates and classmates to dinner, so he definitely booked the best restaurant in the area.
To make things more formal, I would never eat at a casual street food stall.
This Yucai Restaurant is where professors and teachers from East China University sometimes book tables for entertaining guests; the food is of a decent standard.
As mentioned before, in Ji Wanmei's dormitory, apart from Ji Wanmei herself, only Fang Xiaoqin and Zhou Yuejuan come from relatively well-off families.
The other five students all came from other remote towns and villages.
Although they might not be as poor as Zhou Min's family, they were still from ordinary working-class and peasant families.
Lei Tingjun calculated the approximate number of people and ordered two cold dishes, five meat dishes, two vegetable dishes, and two soups for one table.
So many dishes were served and placed on the table in the private room; they looked quite high-end.
Ji Wanmei warmly greeted her roommates: "Everyone, please don't be shy. There are only a few of us, so please make yourselves at home."
The other roommates hadn't been to a restaurant with private rooms much before, and they seemed a bit reserved and awkward when they came in.
Ji Wanmei first pulled Zhou Min to sit down next to her, and then everyone else took their seats in turn.
Zhou Yuejuan had seen many such occasions before, and she was very outgoing. She found a seat, sat down, and began to fiddle with the bowls and plates in front of her.
Seeing that everyone was hesitant to eat, Ji Wanmei picked up her chopsticks first and said, "Everyone, please eat. We're classmates, so don't be shy. If there's not enough food, we can add more."
"Uh, no need, there's plenty of food, that's enough!"
Actually, everyone was a little unsure where to start when they saw the beautifully presented dishes on the table.
A table full of dishes like this must have cost a lot of money.
Everyone quietly glanced at the man sitting next to Ji Wanmei, who seemed rather silent and deep, guessing that he must be very rich.
Just as they were thinking this, Zhou Yuejuan spoke up for everyone and asked the question that had been on their minds.
"Ji Wanmei, what did your boyfriend do before he got into East China University?"
Lei Tingjun took a sip of tea and said calmly, "I'll start my own small business."
"Oh, you're in business?" Zhou Yuejuan's eyes darted around. "Then you must be a big boss, what industry are you in?"
Ji Wanmei interrupted her question directly: "He works in building materials, so he took the civil engineering exam this time. Okay, everyone, stop talking and start eating."
Civil engineering is a tough major to get into, especially since it requires passing the nationally recognized entrance examination.
Ji Wanmei's refusal to discuss the matter only fueled everyone's curiosity about Lei Tingjun's profession.
Let Lei Tingjun, this rough-around-the-edges man, decide on the dishes; he prefers meat and staple foods.
The steamed pork with rice flour and the braised pork knuckle on the table were very popular.
Poor students from rural areas are used to being frugal when eating in the school cafeteria, and they would never spend a few extra cents to buy meat and vegetables.
The steamed pork with rice flour and braised pork knuckle are very oily and plentiful, and they are quite satisfying.
Ji Wanmei ate a few bites and then felt it was a bit greasy. She subconsciously put a piece of steamed pork that she couldn't finish into Lei Tingjun's bowl.
Lei Tingjun didn't care that she had eaten before; he picked it up and put it in his mouth in one bite.
When Ji Wanmei's roommates across the street saw this, they all secretly cast envious glances at her.
Zhou Min was also eating her fill, her mouth dripping with oil, barely having time to talk.
At this table, only Zhou Yuejuan seemed unfazed by the meat dishes and elaborate meals that were rarely served.
She had something more she was curious about and wanted to learn from Ji Wanmei.
"Ji Wanmei, I heard that you also attended the birthday banquet of the Lu family's matriarch?" Zhou Yuejuan asked.
"Yes, I went. What's wrong?" Ji Wanmei said casually.
"You really went?" Zhou Yuejuan was so surprised she almost stood up from her seat. "I heard from a cousin that there was a female student from East China University at the Lu family's old lady's birthday banquet, named Wanmei. I guessed it was you, but I didn't expect it to actually be you?"
To Zhou Yuejuan's surprise, according to what she and Fang Xiaoqin had learned last time, wasn't Ji Wanmei just an ordinary apprentice at Shuxiutang?
What makes her so special that she was invited by Lu Zhuoxuan's grandmother to her birthday banquet?
Moreover, it is said that at the birthday banquet that day, quite a few people from the social circle of wealthy women expressed their admiration for Ji Wanmei.
Even the wife of the president of Huadong Bank seemed to know Ji Wanmei very well.
Ji Wanmei wiped her mouth with a napkin and said, "Madam Song is my master. It's only natural for me to attend her birthday celebration."
Zhou Yuejuan stared in astonishment for a long moment before managing a dry laugh: "So you're Old Madam Song's personal disciple? I thought..."
"What did you think?" Ji Wanmei glanced at her with a half-smile. So the reason she insisted on coming along today was to ask about this.
She thought she was up to something again.
Zhou Yuejuan looked embarrassed, but her attitude immediately softened: "It's nothing, it's nothing."
Zhou Min had almost finished eating. She looked up from her tableware and said, "You probably don't know this yet, but Meimei is the fourth-generation successor of Shuxiutang and the last disciple of Old Madam Song."
"Really? I've never heard Wanmei mention this before!"
"Ji Wanmei, you're amazing!"
"That's right, no wonder you always wear such beautiful cheongsams, so you're a direct disciple of the Shu Embroidery Hall's lineage!"
Ji Wanmei glanced helplessly at Zhou Min, then smiled at everyone: "It's not that exaggerated. I only learned a little bit from the old lady."
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