Chapter 147 Six Joys (Subscriptions, Monthly Tickets)
It was a sunny day and Li Xiang's house was crowded with guests.
I have to say that having money really makes the decoration of the house quicker. Originally, after the house was decorated, Li Xiang planned to keep a low profile and not have to hold a banquet or anything like that. But his grandmother said that the family hadn't held a banquet for many years, and there hadn't been such a big happy event. The house was built and decorated beautifully, which was one, the driving test was passed successfully, which was two, and he bought three new cars, which was three, and he was elected as a member of the county CPPCC and appeared on TV news, which was four. These were four happy things coming together, so how could he not hold a banquet? The old lady was in a very eager mood to treat everyone to the fireworks, and she was looking forward to it, so Li Xiang gave her this sense of ritual.
In fact, Li Xiang secretly said in his heart, this is not just four good things happening together. If he also has a breakthrough in his realm and the three despised elixirs are sold at a sky-high price, then this is "six good things happening together", which is indeed worth celebrating.
Grandma is right, life needs a sense of ritual. Even if the end of the world comes, so what? Is it time to just live your life? You should be happy when you should be happy! He was anxious every day, his hair was pulled out, and he lived in stress and sorrow every day. He would rather die immediately if he lived like that. Some "end of the world" are natural disasters and inevitable, while some "end of the world" are completely self-inflicted.
Besides, he was confident that he could reach the Saint level before the end of the world. Wouldn't it be a good life for a Saint level, or even a higher level, in the end of the world? What does he have to worry about? What is so urgent? To put it bluntly, the end of the world has come, and strength is everything. That's when he will truly soar to the sky.
Heroes emerge in troubled times.
The one who should be worried and under pressure is not him, but other ordinary people, but those ordinary people are not aware of it.
Li Xiang didn't have any big goals. He thought that if he could save at least 100,000 people, he would be doing his duty to the human race. As for the rest, we can only take it one step at a time. The strength of a Saint is at this level. He dare not even think about saving the world.
It is still a peaceful time now, so if grandma wants to be happy, then she will be happy.
So he decided to make a big fuss about it. Apart from sending paper invitations to some important relatives, he didn't make any special invitations to anyone else. He just sent an electronic invitation letter on WeChat Moments three days in advance, and clearly stated that no money would be collected. If anyone was free to come, it would be a great honor for his humble home, but if they didn't come, it wouldn't be a blame.
In addition to the electronic invitation, there was also a picture of his newly renovated "mansion" and a photo of his grandmother's happy smile as she sat on the stone steps basking in the sun.
After I posted this circle of friends, many relatives, friends, and acquaintances congratulated me and liked the post. It was so long that I had to scroll through several pages to get to the end.
As for the banquet, it was contracted to a team of chefs in the county. According to the standard of 100 tables, there will be two meals, lunch and dinner, which adds up to 200 tables.
He felt that there should be more than this number, even if all those who liked the post came, it would be enough. It doesn't matter. Since you're treating us, we should definitely calculate the excess.
Including the villagers, basically everyone in the village came.
Everyone visited Li Xiang’s newly built house and three new cars, and drove around and praised them non-stop. In fact, many villagers have seen these three cars before, but that does not prevent them from saying something nice about them now.
The old village chief Li Jinyu took the initiative to act as the "accountant" and took a notebook, responsible for collecting gifts from Li Xiang's family and keeping accounts.
Although Li Xiang said he would not accept gifts, almost every family sent some money, and everyone persuaded Li Xiang to accept it, because many of them were given out by Li Xiang's family in the past. They gave more times than they paid back. Li Xiang asked his grandmother, and his grandmother said just accept it. Interpersonal relationships are all about reciprocity. If you don't accept it now, will they accept yours next time they treat you to a meal? Do you want to go? You go empty-handed but others give you gifts. Wouldn't that be embarrassing for you?
In fact, although Li Xiang said that he would not accept gifts, everyone just thought it was a polite remark and no one took it seriously.
Li Xiang just let them do as they pleased. Anyway, there was no mandatory requirement on this matter. If they gave, they would just keep a record so that they could pay it back later. If they didn't give, he wouldn't mind. Of course, if he doesn’t give it to you, he won’t return it next time because there is nothing to return. Grandma is right. An old person in the family is like a treasure.
Li Jintang and his wife also came. Li Jintang recalled the mocking words he said to Li Xiang when he just came back last year. He really wanted to slap himself in the face. Why did he get so excited at that time and say such impudent words?
However, thanks to Li Xiang's magnanimity, the relationship between the two families had long been eased, so Li Jintang and his wife quickly joined the ranks of praising.
Li Xiang has helped their family a lot in the past six months.
Last year I helped sell winter bamboo shoots, and this year I helped sell spring bamboo shoots. Before that, the bamboo shoots at home couldn’t be sold and I ate so much that I wanted to vomit. Fortunately, Li Xiang came back and brought good days to everyone.
Li Xiang is really capable. In just half a year, he has built up such a huge fortune and even became a member of the county's CPPCC. He is much more successful than his son, who is a contractor.
The real estate market is in recession now, and his son is not doing very well in the provincial capital. He called home a few days ago and said that he had lost a lot of money in stock trading. He asked if the family had any money so that he could cover his position or something. He asked his old father for money. His life is getting worse every year.
Li Jintang scolded his son and didn't give it to him. After all, is stock trading reliable? On TV, many powerful people jump off the rooftop when they fail in stock trading. Can his son be more powerful than those TV characters? No amount of money is enough to fill that bottomless pit. His wife was also very supportive. The old couple couldn't rely on their son, so they needed to save some money for their retirement.
Grandma was dressed very formally today, in a new red dress embroidered with many golden peonies, which looked very festive. It was from the "Flowers Blooming and Fortune Brings Good Fortune" series that Li Xiang bought for her last Chinese New Year, and this was just one of the spring outfits. During the Chinese New Year, we wear winter clothes, and the embroidery is of plum blossoms blooming proudly in the snow.
There are also summer clothes embroidered with lotus flowers, and autumn clothes embroidered with chrysanthemums.
Grandma's family, Li Xiang's grandparents, my younger aunt and cousin, my eldest aunt, eldest uncle and their daughter, my second aunt, second uncle and their two children. Since today is Saturday, most of the cousins who work close to home and those who have not attended high school are here.
Shen Zimo came as well, naturally. After not seeing him for a few months, the little guy seemed to have grown a lot taller.
Shen Wenqian didn't come. She is in the first year of high school and, like Jiang Caier, she has a day off once a month.
Li Xiang took a look at what his uncle was carrying and found that it was actually two bottles of good wine, the kind that cost around five or six hundred yuan a bottle. Then my aunt also brought a box of milk, a real big brand, not the six nuclear bombs from before.
"Congratulations, this house is so magnificent!" The uncle was very thick-skinned. When he saw Li Xiang, he greeted him with a smile.
Li Xiang naturally let it go and pretended nothing had happened. He handed the cigarette over and exchanged a few words with the other party. After all, it is not advisable to hit a smiling person.
During the Chinese New Year, because his eldest aunt came to visit his grandmother, Li Xiang, as a "return gift", also took some things to his eldest aunt's house to pay New Year's greetings. His eldest aunt invited him to stay for dinner, but he didn't eat it. He sat for a while and then left. My uncle was not at home at the time, so this was the first time we met since the last unpleasant incident.
"Xiang, you are getting more and more handsome, now so tall! You are a good-looking man! You even became a member of the County CPPCC, which really brings honor to our Li family!" The eldest aunt was short and plump, with a smile on her face. She grabbed Li Xiang's hand and praised him.
Second Aunt was tall and thin, and was about the same size: "Come, let Second Aunt touch it. Your hair is so nice, so black and shiny, like satin, and your skin is smoother than my daughter's. Second Aunt held you in her arms when you were a child. How come you are so distant from us after not seeing you for a few years?"
The eldest and second aunts were "touching" Li Xiang in a very exaggerated way, using words and expressions that gave him goose bumps.
The younger sister-in-law couldn't help shrugging her shoulders at the back and wanted to laugh. She thought to herself, what were these two sisters doing all this time? In comparison, the younger aunt was much more normal, and Li Xiang didn't get too polite with her. After all, she was one of his family members, so he asked her to help greet the relatives.
Moreover, there were many relatives who came today, but Li Xiang didn’t know any of them, so he didn’t know how to address them. He also didn't know how those people knew that his family was having a dinner party today.
But my aunt knows him. She works in real estate sales and is best at dealing with people, so she is very suitable for this etiquette job.
The aunt-in-law didn't need Li Xiang's instructions. She went to the living room to get tea leaves, disposable cups and a kettle to make tea for the guests who came to congratulate her. Her son was also there to help his mother by putting out some snacks and fruit plates to entertain everyone. Everyone said that the boy was much more sensible now.
The chef team from the county that contracted the banquet brought their own ingredients and folding tables and chairs, which have now been set out. Fortunately, Li Xiang did not seal off the yard, and the space in front is wide enough to accommodate a hundred round tables, which is quite impressive.
This team set up a stove and chopping board in an open space farther away. They drove a large truck and brought several gas tanks with them. As for drinking water, it was brought from Li Xiang’s home through a long water pipe.
Many guests enthusiastically visited Li Xiang's house, some vegetable plots in the front yard, and three new cars.
Three luxury new cars were parked in the yard in front of Li Xiang’s house. Even the cheapest-looking pickup truck looked super domineering.
"This car is so good that he actually bought three at once. Everyone said Xiangya had made a fortune, but I didn't believe it. Eventually, he appeared on TV and became a member of the CPPCC."
"Fame and fortune, fame and fortune. As expected, fame and fortune come at the same time."
"This vegetable garden is great. The lettuces are so thick and tender. Auntie, are you the one who takes care of it?" A relative whom Li Xiang didn't know started chatting with Li Xiang's grandmother.
Grandma was so happy today that she couldn't stop smiling.
After a while, the town leaders and some county leaders also came, led by the county governor.
This surprised Li Xiang a little. I was like, I'm just hosting a party after the house is built. It's not a big deal. How could I dare to trouble several leaders to come? Moreover, the other party was not empty-handed, but was carrying something, so he hurriedly went to greet him, entertained him well, and chatted with him.
Li Xiang would naturally not look down on others just because he is a supernatural being. That would be rude. Face is given to each other. Didn’t you see that when these leaders arrived, many guests looked at them sideways and talked about them?
Li Xiang had sharp hearing and heard everyone talking about how Li Xiang was so powerful now that he could build a house and invite guests, and even the county magistrate came. He was so awesome. Something like that.
Some people may not know other county and town leaders, but the county governor often appears on TV, so naturally many people know him. Moreover, the clothes worn by this group of people are different from others. They are basically executive jackets in navy blue, black or dark gray. Their temperament and aura are very different from those of ordinary people.
The county chief laughed and said, "Firstly, I came to congratulate you, and secondly, I wanted to visit Lijia Village. As expected, the environment is much better than before. And we also want to take a look at your tourist attraction project that is under construction."
"Thank you, thank you. It's my honor!" Li Xiang led the leaders over.
The construction party felt like they were facing a great enemy, wondering why so many senior leaders came without any prior notice. They hurried out to greet them and took out spare safety helmets and safety shoes and distributed them to each leader.
The manager in charge asked Li Xiang quietly, "Boss Li, what's going on? Why did the county magistrate come to inspect all of a sudden? This makes me feel a little guilty."
Li Xiang said, "What are you afraid of? Didn't I make strict requirements before and follow the most stringent procedures? Didn't you do it well?"
"No, no, that's not the case." The manager hastily assured. He thought to himself, no wonder Brother Xiang was so strict before, it turns out that a senior leader is coming to visit. Fortunately, I have repeatedly emphasized it according to Brother Xiang's requirements. Otherwise, if something is found out today and it says that I am not good here or not standard there, it will be terrible.
Well, environmentally friendly, there seems to be no problem.
Then, the leaders went to visit and were quite satisfied with the construction site.
After the group left, the manager wiped a cold sweat, fortunately, nothing was wrong. It seems that stricter management will be needed in the future to ensure safe construction and project quality, because some big shots might come to visit and inspect.
After coming back, Jiang Jianguo waved quietly, and Li Xiang apologized and followed Jiang Jianguo into the room.
"What's wrong, Uncle Jiang?" Li Xiang asked.
Jiang Jianguo said, "You didn't prepare enough banquets. There are too many people coming today. It exceeds the budget. We need to add eleven tables."
"Uh," Li Xiang was surprised. Are there so many guests? He looked up and saw that there were people everywhere. After a moment's hesitation, he said, "Take the food and drinks for the afternoon and have them go back to replenish the supplies after lunch. As for the lack of tables and chairs, borrow some from the village."
"Okay, I'll just tell you."
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(End of this chapter)
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