The buffet was held in the military dependents' auditorium, which is a large space and close to the canteen, making it a perfect place for a buffet.
Yu Yao and her New Year's Eve dinner decoration team finished setting up the venue yesterday.
The huge auditorium was surrounded by two rows of long tables, one after the other, with a passageway in the middle for people to pass through.
The long tables were covered with printed tablecloths borrowed from various households. In the center of each table was a vase made of bamboo tubes, filled with various wildflowers picked by the children of the residential compound from the roadside and mountains. The yellow, red, pink and green leaves were particularly beautiful.
Some even had branches laden with bright red persimmons, with ribbons cut from leftover red paper used to write the character "福" (fortune) tied to them.
The entire auditorium was filled with a festive and warm atmosphere, making people feel happy just looking at it.
Around 5 p.m., the area outside the auditorium was already packed with family members who had come to attend the New Year's Eve dinner.
At the front was a children's army made up of children from the compound, each wearing new clothes and with pride on their faces.
As soon as the auditorium doors opened, the group of children rushed inside. Upon entering and seeing the meticulously decorated auditorium, their eyes widened in surprise.
"Wow, so pretty! Look, these are the flowers we picked!" The child said proudly, puffing out his chest.
"And the persimmons I picked from the tree, Aunt Yuyao said they would bring me good fortune."
Not only did the children exclaim in surprise from time to time, but even the adults who came in later couldn't help but widen their eyes in astonishment.
This decoration is so festive and beautiful!
The military dependents looked around but couldn't find a single dish. One of them couldn't help but ask, "Wasn't this supposed to be a buffet? Why isn't there a single dish? What's the point of this buffet?"
Some people are skeptical of buffets, finding them unreliable. "Is it not ready yet? It's almost time. I told you we shouldn't let such young people run it. What's the point of just making it look nice? Making everyone perform on an empty stomach, isn't that ridiculous?"
The person speaking was Qin Lamei, Ning Hongjun's wife. Her husband, Deputy Regiment Commander Ning, and Lu Ze were rivals and never got along. Consequently, she also didn't have a good impression of Yu Yao, Lu Ze's wife, and would seize any opportunity to make sarcastic remarks.
"I don't think so. I've met Commander Lu's wife; she's not that irresponsible."
Qin Lamei continued, dissatisfied, "So what's going on now? Our DouDou is starving and is waiting in line for food, but we haven't even seen a glimpse of it. What kind of situation is this?"
"You've all misunderstood. I've had this buffet before at the Guangdong Foreign Guests Hotel. It's different from the usual queuing for food. All the food is prepared in advance. See the long tables around here? The prepared food will be placed on the long tables in a while. You can help yourself to what you want to eat."
"So this is what a buffet is. I didn't expect it to be a method that came from abroad. It sounds very different."
Qin Lamei was embarrassed, but she stubbornly retorted, "It's just a method that came from abroad. What's so great about it? Don't make it sound mysterious."
After saying that, she turned around and led her daughter, DouDou, to find a seat.
The remaining military dependents looked at each other, not understanding why she had such a strong opinion about the New Year's Eve dinner.
It was only after the military family member who had worked as a waiter at the foreign guests' hotel explained the reason that everyone understood.
"Don't worry about her. Her husband is a rival to Comrade Yu's lover, so of course he can't stand seeing Comrade Yu being praised."
"Oh, I see. Never mind, let's not talk about her anymore. Sister-in-law, tell us more about this buffet."
...
Qin Lamei was furious. She was confident in her abilities, being a teacher in a government agency and having influence in the compound. Why did Sister Dan choose Yu Yao as the person in charge instead of her?
When she was looking for the person in charge, she had a fight with her husband and went back to her parents' home; she wasn't in the military.
In the military, a couple shares both honor and disgrace. If Yu Yao tries so hard to perform well, won't she outshine her?
Qin Lamei felt uncomfortable. Now that she thought about it, she realized that she had been too reckless. There was no need to argue with Yu Yao over this.
Her chance was just around the corner.
Her husband revealed that the military supplies were tight. Although Guangdong Province had allocated funds, all the troops in Guangdong were in short supply, so it was impossible to allocate too much.
Commander Zheng submitted an application to his superiors, who told him to figure out a solution himself.
I heard that Commander Zheng is interested in starting a side business, and he will definitely need someone to take the lead. She has experience; the leader of a military factory is not someone who is in charge of a New Year's Eve dinner.
Thinking about it that way, Qin Lamei didn't mind as much anymore.
Let Yu Yao and her husband have their fun first; the one who laughs last is the winner.
People gradually arrived at the auditorium, and the air was filled with the sounds of laughter from small groups. The most discussed topic among them was the upcoming New Year's Eve dinner.
Yu Yao has become a hot commodity that everyone talks about.
As everyone was talking animatedly, they suddenly smelled an enticing aroma of food.
Immediately, a child exclaimed, "It smells so good! Mommy, Mommy, it smells like braised pork. I want to eat it!"
"I want to eat braised pork too."
This time, Yu Yao used a slightly different method for making braised pork than the usual one used in the cafeteria, resulting in a different flavor. Both were delicious, but this was something no one had tried before, making them even more eager to try it.
Besides the braised pork, the aromas of several other foods appeared one after another. Some I had smelled before, and some I was smelling for the first time. Without exception, just smelling them made my mouth water.
The back door of the auditorium.
Yu Yao stood in front of everyone in the New Year's Eve dinner team, her face beaming with smiles: "Everyone, are you all ready?"
The military dependents below all spoke in unison, their voices filled with pride and confidence: "Ready!"
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