Chapter 66
Grandma immediately said, "How can we just drink tea? This is your father, an in-law, we should treat him well! Don't let him eat at your place, let him sit in your small courtyard and drink a cup of tea first, then come here for lunch at noon, let Xiaoliu cook, and we will all come to talk to your father. Chengye, you can't work overtime that day."
Xie Chengye nodded quickly: "Qingtang, you decide which day to go. I will definitely not work overtime that day and will stay at home to drink with your father."
"Yes, it's a rare opportunity for you to invite him to come over, so he must come to our place for dinner." Xie's mother said, "If we don't invite your father to dinner, he doesn't know what he will think of us. He might think that we are not good to you and look down on you. So, that meal must be eaten here. Don't worry, we will definitely not be rude."
"Then..." Xia Qingtang exchanged glances with Xie Jinxuan, and seeing that the expressions of the whole family were very sincere, he said, "Then come to my house for dinner and drink tea at my place. The specific date has not been decided yet. I will discuss it with my father on the day of the wedding banquet. Once the date is confirmed, I will come back and tell everyone."
"Okay, come back and tell me when you've set a time. It would be best if the old man is home by then." Grandma smiled and said, "Xiao Liu, we still need to clean up in advance."
"The house is very clean every day, there's no need to clean in advance. Grandpa is busy with work, so don't disturb him. Besides, if Grandpa were here, my dad might be nervous. He can see Grandpa's name when he reads the newspaper. Let him take it easy first, and he'll have a chance to see Grandpa again in the future." Xia Qingtang laughed.
Xie's mother said, "If your mother knew that your father came here to eat alone, would she quarrel with him when she got home?"
"It should be fine. On my mother's side, even though my dad usually doesn't care about anything and doesn't say anything, neither Xia Qinghai nor his mother dare to do anything to him. Especially Xia Qinghai's mother, she still puts her husband first. Although she loves her son, she doesn't want to lose her husband. After all, the family still wants to be together." Xia Qingtang said.
Everyone was not surprised that she called her own mother "Xia Qinghai's mother", nor did they think she was impolite.
Xia Qingtang also knew this, so he dared to speak like this in front of the Xie family.
Xie's mother said, "That's good. What does your father like to eat? Although I can't cook, I can go shopping for groceries."
"He doesn't like leafy vegetables. He said that he hurt his stomach when he ate wild vegetable porridge when he was 58 years old. He hardly picks up leafy vegetables when they are on the table. He doesn't have any special preferences for other things." Xia Qingtang said.
Aunt Six said quickly, "Then I won't cook leafy vegetables. I'll just make some carrots, peppers, bamboo shoots and the like. I'll definitely buy some meat, as well as tofu and bean curd sheets. It would be even better if we could buy a chicken in advance that day. This is the first time the in-laws are coming to visit, so we have to make it more grand."
"Sixth Aunt, there's really no need to be so grand. My dad hasn't seen much of the world. In my opinion, the food we usually eat will be enough. If we prepare chicken and meat, he will be uncomfortable." Xia Qingtang said sincerely: "I know everyone attaches great importance to this matter, but the environment at home is too good to begin with. I'm afraid he will be too nervous to pick up his chopsticks."
Aunt Six said, "That makes sense. Let's buy some meat, some tofu, and cook some rice. What do you think?"
"Yes, very much so." Xia Qingtang said with a smile: "Thank you, Aunt Six. I'll have to trouble you again when the time comes."
"Why is it so hard? Isn't this what I do?" Aunt Six looked at the time. "Yesterday, Xiaoyun said she wanted to eat hand-rolled noodles with mixed sauce. I'll go cook now. Qingtang and Jinxuan don't go back. You can eat here at noon."
"Okay." Xia Qingtang agreed and went to the kitchen to help Aunt Liu.
Xie Jinyun didn't come downstairs until lunch time. He said, "I saw my sister-in-law's brother upstairs. They look quite similar, but my sister-in-law is prettier."
"They are siblings, of course they look alike." Xie's mother said as she scooped some mixed sauce into Xie Jinyun's big bowl.
Aunt Liu’s mixed sauce is made with diced carrots, celery, mushrooms, and dried tofu, plus eggs, peanuts, and green onions. It has a moderate taste and is great whether mixed with noodles or rice. It’s also especially delicious when used to sandwich steamed buns.
Xia Qingtang had made mixed sauces before, but the taste was not as good as that of Aunt Liu’s, because Aunt Liu’s own pickled bean sauce was of better quality, but Xia Qingtang was not very good at making sauces.
Fortunately, she doesn’t have to make the sauce herself now. Aunt Liu will bring the chili sauce and bean sauce directly to her kitchen. After she finishes eating, she will send it back to her. It’s such a blessing.
Xie Jinyun clumsily stirred the hand-rolled noodles with chopsticks and said, "Didn't they say they were going to have a baby? Why isn't that lesbian pregnant?"
"The month is young and the baby is small, so of course the belly won't be big." Grandma said, "It will only start to look big when the baby is five or six months old."
"Then when will the baby be born?" Xie Jinyun couldn't wait for the mixture to be mixed, so she took a big bite and said, "It smells so good."
Grandma said, "It takes nine months for a baby to be born. It can happen earlier, but the baby will be in danger."
"Once the baby is born, my sister-in-law will become an aunt."
Xia Qingtang said: "Why are you so interested in the little baby? Do you want to be an uncle?"
"No, no, I'm just curious. Who told you not to let me see guests?" Xie Jinyun continued to stir the food while eating. Xie's mother couldn't bear to see it, so she simply took his big bowl and helped him stir it evenly before giving it back to him.
Xie Chengye said: "Comrade Wu was a little crazy before. It doesn't matter to us adults, but you are still a child. If she suddenly goes crazy and says something crazy, it will be bad for the growth of the child."
"She's crazy, why did my sister-in-law's brother want to marry her?"
Xia Qingtang smiled and said, "I don't really know the reason. Otherwise, when you grow up and have a chance to meet my brother, you can ask him in person. After all, for this kind of thing, other than himself, we don't know what's going on in his mind."
"That's right, that makes sense. Anyway, I have to wait until I grow up." Xie Jinyun immediately buried his head in eating, "I want to grow up quickly."
Aunt Six scooped him a bowl of noodle soup: "Eat slowly, don't choke. There are noodles and mixed sauce. We can use this mixed sauce to mix potatoes and rice to eat in the evening. What do you think?"
Potatoes cooked with rice is a staple food eaten by every household. When grain is insufficient, potatoes and sweet potatoes are used. Potatoes have no taste, but they are more palatable when eaten as rice than sweet potatoes. Therefore, Xie Jinyun nodded immediately: "Okay, let's mix potatoes with rice tonight."
Aunt Six looked at Xia Qingtang again: "You guys are going to eat here tonight too."
Xia Qingtang smiled and said, "I soaked some dried vegetables at noon. We also have a handful of green vegetable moss at home. If we don't eat it, it will go bad tomorrow. We will eat it at home tonight."
Grandma smiled and said, "Xiao Liu, if the young people want to have dinner alone, just let them be and don't disturb them."
Xie Jinxuan immediately said, "Thank you grandma, you are the one who understands us the most."
"Okay, okay, it's my fault. I just hope you can save some trouble." Aunt Six snorted.
Xia Qingtang said quickly: "Sixth Aunt is good too. Sixth Aunt is really worried about me. If I wasn't afraid that the food at home would go bad, I would definitely be lazy and not cook at night."
Only then was Sixth Aunt happy, and everyone continued to eat hand-rolled noodles and drink hot noodle soup.
After dinner, Xia Qingtang went to Xinhua Bookstore with Xie Jinxuan. She needed an English-Chinese dictionary, but this dictionary was in great demand and might not be available.
Guan Chenxiang told her that if she wanted to learn English well, she needed an English dictionary, but it was difficult for college students to buy one nowadays. Usually there were only a few in a class, and everyone needed to borrow from each other.
I asked the clerk in the store, and it turned out that they didn't have it ready-made. If I wanted to buy it, I would have to wait until it was available. As for when it would arrive, they didn't know.
And once the goods arrive, they will be sold out immediately. Unless they come and wait every day, it will be difficult to come across them.
Xie Jinxuan smiled and said, "Comrade, we need this dictionary for study. We really need it. We will come to you every Sunday to ask if you have one. If you can buy the dictionary, we will thank you very much."
As he spoke, he shook hands with the clerk.
The clerk smiled and retracted his hand, then naturally put it in his pocket. He smiled and said, "Since you need this dictionary so much, I will try my best to help. OK, come and have a look every Sunday. As long as it arrives, I will definitely keep a copy for you. Even if I am not at work, I will ask my colleagues to bring it to you. My name is Li Ming. If you come and don't see me later, just say you are Li Ming's relative. They should know if I have kept a dictionary for you."
"Thank you, comrade. You really serve the people wholeheartedly." Xie Jinxuan flattered him a few more times before leaving with Xia Qingtang.
When they walked out of the bookstore, Xia Qingtang held his big hand and whispered, "Did you slip him something when we shook hands just now?"
"Yes, it's nothing, I just gave him a dollar." Xie Jinxuan said, "I don't know him, but I want his help. How can I not give him some benefits? Students are fighting for this dictionary now, and it's hard to buy. If I can solve this problem with just one dollar, it's not expensive at all."
"That makes sense. I hope we can buy the dictionary earlier. When you go to college, we can use it together." Xia Qingtang laughed.
If Xia Qingtang is not short of money and can solve some small problems by spending money, he is willing to do so. However, this matter must not be known to Grandpa Xie, otherwise Xie Jinxuan will be criticized.
After walking from the bookstore, they stopped by the department store to replenish their soap and toothpaste, and went to the cinema to watch a new movie released this year before happily going back to make dinner.
The days passed in such a happy routine and busy work, and in the blink of an eye it was the day of Xia Qinghai's banquet.
After breakfast, Xia Qingtang finished the homework assigned by Guan Chenxiang at home, and then memorized the text. Then she said goodbye to Xie Jinxuan and rode her bicycle slowly to the cotton mill.
The guard saw her and greeted her, "Secretary Xia, congratulations."
"Thank you. Do you want to have a drink later?" Xia Qingtang replied casually.
"I'm at work, so I can't go. Your brother invited me to go, but it's a pity. But he sent peanuts and wedding candy, so it's nice for us to drink tea here."
Xia Qingtang nodded and pushed the cart further inside.
When we arrived at the canteen entrance, we saw two big red wedding characters on the wall. There were several relatives standing there, including Zhao Zhiqiang and his wife, and Xia Daguang and his wife, Xia's eldest uncle whom we hadn't seen for a long time. Xia Daming was standing there, wearing his best spring jacket, holding a cigarette in one hand, and chatting with everyone a little awkwardly.
Xia Qingtang was locking her bicycle when she heard her aunt shout, "Isn't this Qingtang? She's riding a bicycle! She's become rich!"
My aunt is a woman who knows how to live very well. She spends every penny carefully and is equally stingy with herself and others. Even though she was attending a wedding banquet today, she was still wearing an old dress with several patches on it, and she didn't seem to care about the occasion at all.
Only then did Zhao Zhiqiang notice Xia Qingtang. When he turned around and saw her, his expression changed immediately. Fortunately, everyone was staring at Xia Qingtang, so no one noticed that his expression was wrong.
Xia Qingtang walked up the steps to the dining hall with a smile on her face, then called out to her relatives one by one and said, "Yes, aunt, you have good eyesight. I am now richer than when I was at my mother's house."
Xia Daguang sneered and said, "It seems that just because you have money you look down on your poor relatives. You didn't even tell us about your marriage, and you didn't even visit us for the New Year. I was just talking to your father about this. I don't know how he educates his children. A daughter turned out to be like this! If this were my child, I would have beaten you to death a long time ago!"
Xia Qingtang still smiled, and she said nonchalantly: "Then uncle, please talk to my dad. They both really don't know how to educate their children. Anyway, I can't teach them well. But it doesn't matter. I'm a daughter. I'm married and it won't affect my family. Besides, I'm not uncle's daughter. Uncle is an outsider. Why should he get angry about other people's affairs? Calm down and drink a few more glasses of wine. You see, Xia Qinghai married the daughter of a cadre family. It will bring honor to your Xia family!"
"You! If your father doesn't teach you a lesson, I will! Don't think you won't be under supervision after you get married. Your surname is Xia, you can't run away!" Xia Daguang obviously didn't expect Xia Qingtang to say such a thing. He was so angry that he even raised his hand to slap, but was stopped by Xia Daming next to him.
"Brother, this is Qinghai's wedding day!" Xia Daming whispered, "Brother, if you don't like Qingtang, don't sit at the same table with him. Why are you getting angry with a child on such a happy day?"
"Am I mad at her? Isn't she making me angry? Your daughter has become like this, how do you still have the nerve to stop me from educating her? Daughter, daughter, you should be the one who dares not say otherwise. You are so proud that our Xia family's daughter has become like this!" Xia Daguang became even angrier, and the veins on his forehead began to jump.
Xia Daming said, "She's not my eldest brother's daughter anyway. If she's ruined, then so be it. I'll only see her once, so why make everyone unhappy?"
Xia Daming's behavior was unexpected. He kept holding Xia Daguang's sleeve and stared at him to prevent him from making a sudden move.
"You are becoming more and more useless! I have nothing to say to you! For Qinghai's sake, I won't argue with you! Let go!" Xia Daguang waved his hand and went straight in.
The eldest aunt said sarcastically, "Daming, it's really shameful for a daughter like you to be raised like this. You have seen my daughters. They are so respectful to us. Can't you learn from them?"
After saying that, she followed Xia Daguang in.
Xia Daming turned around, looked at Xia Qingtang and said, "Don't sit at the same table with them later. There are a lot of people here today, and many people from the factory have come too. Just sit at the same table with the people from the factory."
"Okay, Dad, you don't have to worry about me. I know everyone here and I feel very comfortable. You continue to greet the guests and I'll go in and take a look." As he said that, Xia Qingtang also walked in.
Speaking of which, in her previous life, Xia Qinghai's wedding banquet was also held in this cafeteria. Many people from the factory went there at that time, but because more relatives from the bride's family came, she remembered that her second uncle and aunt did not come to the banquet. Only her eldest uncle and eldest uncle came to eat as representatives of the groom's family.
It was exactly eleven o'clock now, and the wedding banquet would start at about half past eleven, so most of the guests had already arrived. Everyone was either standing or sitting, chatting happily.
Although times are difficult, when it comes to happy events like getting married and having children, everyone is still willing to join in the fun.
Giving a red envelope of thirty or fifty cents and coming here to have a bite to eat is considered a nice thing to do.
Because Wu Jinfeng had no relatives coming, Xia Qinghai invited four tables of guests to his wedding banquet. They were all relatives of the groom and friends and leaders of the factory. In that era, four tables of banquets were considered a relatively lavish gesture.
In fact, more young people do not hold wedding banquets when they get married, because banquets cost a lot of money, and they would rather save the money for their future life.
Some wedding banquets are just families from both sides getting together, and then inviting a few leaders from the unit to set up two tables, which is considered very good.
As per custom, the cafeteria was also decorated for them. A big red wedding character was pasted on the south wall and a big red flower was hung. Under the wall were four tables for the banquet. They were all octagonal tables, each accommodating eight people. If there were more than one or two guests, an extra stool could be added so that everyone could squeeze together.
The table was covered with a dark red tablecloth, and in the center were four white porcelain plates filled with fried peanuts, fried melon seeds, wedding candies and candied fruits. Whether the guests were standing or sitting, they were all holding some food on the table and tasting it.
In her previous life, Xia Qingtang had attended many wedding banquets with Kong Liangchao. When she saw the four porcelain plates on the table, she knew that Xia Qinghai's banquet this time would be of good standard, and pork and fish would definitely be indispensable.
Xia Qingtang walked slowly over there and saw her grandmother Chen Hongxing, her second uncle Zhao Zhiwei and her aunt Zhao Meiyan at a glance, but Zhao Meizhen was not there. She wondered if she was busy somewhere.
As for her aunt, that family definitely wouldn't come since they were out of town, but her uncle wasn't there either, so it was unknown whether he would arrive later or not come at all.
It is normal that he doesn't come. After all, the conflict was so serious before that the families have not had any contact for more than ten years. In the previous life, when his uncle was hospitalized for surgery, Xia Daming took Xia Qinghai to visit him once. Later, when they saw that no one was taking care of him, they helped to accompany him for two days and nights. Only then was the conflict between the two resolved.
Many acquaintances from the factory also arrived. Although Xia Qinghai and Wu Jinfeng were both newcomers, Xia Qinghai was a factory employee. Xia Daming's old leaders and old friends had to be invited, as well as their respective leaders. Director Huang was sitting there talking to the warehouse director.
Director Ji from Workshop 3 didn't see anyone, but the deputy director had already arrived and was talking with Director Huang and the others.
Xia Qingtang walked over to greet her aunt and uncle, and without paying any attention to Chen Hongxing rolling his eyes at her, she turned around and walked around them.
Afterwards, Xia Qingtang found a table at the bottom and sat down. On his right was Xia Qinghai’s workshop colleague.
Seeing her sitting here, the colleague said, "Why are you sitting here? You are a family member, you should sit at the first table."
Xia Qingtang smiled and said, "My brother and I are both from the factory, and we are all family members. It's my right to sit anywhere. I'm young, so it's good for me to sit here."
The colleague laughed and said, "You are quite sensible."
"It's my brother's wedding banquet, so I have to be sensible."
After saying that, she grabbed a handful of melon seeds and started to eat them. Before she had eaten a few, she saw Zhao Zhiqiang walk in from outside. He walked to her unnaturally, sat down next to her, and whispered, "Why didn't Xiao Xie come today?"
"I told him not to come. What's wrong? Uncle, do you have something to do with Xie Jinxuan?" Xia Qingtang said deliberately.
Zhao Zhiqiang said, "It's okay, I'm just asking. Your brother's wedding is such an important matter, and Xiao Xie is your lover, how can you not come? This is too disrespectful."
"My uncle is right. They never give me face. You know, my parents are that kind of people. With my family background, why should Xie Jinxuan give me face? Who am I?" Xia Qingtang said happily.
Zhao Zhiqiang was choked for a moment, he sighed and said: "You can't go on like this, it's not easy to get close to such a family, you have to hold on to Xiao Xie and make him treat you better."
"Why does my uncle care about me so much? Whether I live a good life or not has nothing to do with my uncle. For so many years, my uncle has never cared about me. What's wrong now? Seeing that I'm married to Xie Jinxuan, he is flattering the powerful and bullying the weak?" Xia Qingtang whispered.
"No, what do you mean by that? Am I that kind of person? And what do you mean by flattering the powerful and looking down on the weak? What's so great about Xiao Xie? Why should I flatter him?"
Xia Qingtang said with a smile: "My uncle is just that kind of person. He despises the poor and loves the rich. He flatters the powerful and bullies the weak. Am I wrong? Didn't he follow us to the compound last time? What did you find out? If you didn't find out anything, you wouldn't come over to talk to me."
"You!" Zhao Zhiqiang said with a dark face, "You are such a bad talker. No wonder Xiao Xie didn't even show up for your brother's wedding! What good will it do if you marry into a family? Don't think you have power just because you ride a bicycle. When you are old and ugly, be careful that they won't want you!"
"Then wait until I'm old and ugly. I estimate that it will take at least 20 years. As a woman, as long as she takes good care of herself, keeps a happy mood, and doesn't work too hard, she will look good even at the age of 40. Look at me in the Xie family, living in a big house, eating good food, drinking milk powder and malted milk as much as I want every day, and eating an egg every other day. How can I get old?"
Zhao Zhiqiang glared at Xia Qingtang with his eyes slanted, and realized that she was deliberately targeting him.
"Qingtang, no matter what, I am still your uncle. Your grandmother was not nice to you, but I have never offended you. I came here to talk to you in a nice way, why are you so ruthless? Will you really not leave any relatives behind in the future? Although none of us are cadres, we are all your support if you encounter any problems!" Zhao Zhiqiang said hypocritically.
"Uncle, who are we talking to? You're still pretending in front of me. Do you think I don't know that you have instigated your sister Zhao Meizhen to force me to divorce and even said that you wanted to kill my husband. You said that it would be better for me to remain a widow so that I could marry an old man with status and help the family in the future. You said this, didn't you?" Xia Qingtang still had a smile on his face, but his eyes had turned cold.
It’s true that her second uncle Zhao Zhiwei didn’t have any deep hatred against her, but Zhao Zhiqiang had been her enemy for two lifetimes. How could he still have the nerve to come here and pretend to be sympathetic?
Zhao Zhiqiang trembled all over. He looked a little flustered, but he quickly calmed down and whispered, "What are you talking about? How could I say such a thing to your mother? I didn't say that. Don't accuse me!"
"This is what Zhao Meizhen said herself. How could she wrongly accuse you? She is such a stupid person. She can only speak directly. She will not wrongly accuse anyone, but you, my uncle, are a liar." Xia Qingtang said coldly: "I don't know how you dare to sit next to me and talk to me, but I tell you, I will never get rid of your relatives in the future, not for the rest of my life."
Zhao Zhiqiang was so angry that he was breathing heavily. He slammed the table and was about to speak when he was stared at by a colleague from the third workshop opposite.
Thinking that this was Xia Qinghai's wedding banquet, Zhao Zhiqiang could only swallow his anger and said, "Don't be so proud. If a villain like you succeeds, I don't believe you will have a good life in the future. Just wait, if you don't give me face, you won't get face either!"
"Well, I'm waiting." Xia Qingtang said, "Then uncle, please take care of yourself and live a long life. Otherwise, how can you see how I live happily and joyfully until I'm ninety-nine?"
"Bah!" Zhao Zhiqiang didn't expect Xia Qingtang to become so shameless, but he couldn't win the argument with her, so he could only stand up angrily and walk to Chen Hongxing.
Xia Qingtang smiled lightly, continued to eat melon seeds and observed other people in the cafeteria, looking very happy.
After a while, almost all the guests had arrived and her table was full. Although everyone was wondering why Xia Qingtang was sitting here, they were all from the same factory, so no one said anything.
Xia Qingtang finished her melon seeds and started eating peanuts. While she was eating, she saw Zhao Qinghai coming over.
He was wearing a brand new dark blue jacket, straight black trousers, and a pair of black work shoes. The uppers were polished to a shine so bright that they could almost be used as a mirror.
His black hair was neatly combed with hair oil, his face looked very happy, and he had a big red flower on his chest, which made him look even more handsome than usual.
Xia Qingtang heard someone whisper, "This old Xia looks ordinary, but his son is quite good-looking."
"Yes, she's not good-looking. How could the daughter of the Ministry of Personnel like her? Our family is not so lucky. None of our children are good-looking."
"His daughter is prettier, so why didn't she marry into a better family?"
The man glanced in Xia Qingtang's direction and happened to meet Xia Qingtang's eyes. The two of them quickly lowered their heads and dared not continue talking.
Xia Qinghai walked in, followed by someone. It turned out to be Director Qi. Director Qi was also wearing half-new clothes and looked very energetic.
Everyone in the factory sat up straight immediately. They obviously didn't expect that Xia Qinghai would invite the factory director to his wedding. This was a huge honor.
When Xia Qinghai and Director Qi came over, Director Huang and the others took the lead and stood up, and everyone shouted "Director Qi" together.
"Everyone, please sit down. We are here to attend a wedding today. No matter if you are a factory director or an employee, you are all guests. Please sit down." Factory Director Qi said with a smile.
Xia Qinghai and Xia Daming invited Director Qi to sit at the main seat at the first table, and Zhao Zhiqiang and others hurried over to greet him.
Only my aunt and uncle did not move, still sitting there eating melon seeds.
Xia Qingtang couldn't help but laugh secretly, feeling that her aunt Zhao Meiyan really didn't seem like a member of the Zhao family.
Now that the groom was in place, the bride had to come over as well. After greeting Director Qi, everyone began to look outside and asked when the bride would arrive.
As he was speaking, he saw Zhao Meizhen walking in from outside, supporting Wu Jinfeng.
Wu Jinfeng was wearing a new crimson coat today, with a big red flower on her chest. She looked almost the same as usual, except that she had a smile on her face, which made her look much more pleasing to the eye than when she was at work.
"The bride is here!" Someone stood up and cheered, and everyone started applauding.
Wu Jinfeng actually showed a somewhat shy look and secretly lowered her head. Then she found Xia Qinghai's gaze in the crowd, smiled slightly, and walked to his side with peace of mind.
From this small detail, we can also see that, at least at this time, Wu Jinfeng was dependent on and liked Xia Qinghai.
In a marriage, if one person likes the other and the other is willing to be perfunctory to her, no matter what the outcome is, the first few years will definitely be sweet, at least it will appear that way on the surface.
Zhao Meizhen also walked over, greeted everyone and accepted everyone's congratulations.
She was also wearing new clothes today. They might have been made specially for this wedding banquet and ironed. The creases on the clothes were straight, and she probably put them on just before going out.
He was wearing a pair of brand new black cloth shoes. Although his pants were worn, they didn't have a single patch on them, which made him look quite stylish.
Her hair was also combed with hair oil. When she walked past Xia Qingtang, she could smell the scent of floral water on Zhao Meizhen's body, and she couldn't help but marvel at it.
When Xia Qinghai got married in his previous life, Zhao Meizhen was not so grand. Obviously, she also arranged her dress according to the status of her daughter-in-law.
When passing by Xia Qingtang, Zhao Meizhen deliberately ignored her. Xia Qingtang also pretended not to see her and just lowered her head to eat peanuts.
"Everyone is here, shall we start now?" Director Huang walked over and asked Xia Qinghai.
Xia Qinghai raised his left wrist to check the time, and Xia Qingtang's colleague at the same table immediately said, "Xiao Xia bought a watch!"
Xia Qinghai said: "It's not even half past eleven yet. My father-in-law and mother-in-law should be here soon. Let's wait a few more minutes."
As they were talking, Xia Daming came in with Wu's father and mother. They were both wearing cadres' uniforms, shiny leather shoes, and carrying leather bags in their hands. They looked quite stylish.
Xia Qinghai hurried over and spoke to the two elders with a smile, then led them to the main table and invited them to sit with Director Qi.
At this point, all the hosts and guests have arrived and the wedding banquet officially begins.
The first ceremony was a speech by Director Qi, which was like hosting their wedding.
For the sake of Wu's father and mother, Director Qi also praised Xia Qinghai a lot. From what he said, it was obvious that Xia Qinghai would have a bright future. Moreover, not only Xia Qingtang understood what he meant, but Xia Qinghai's co-workers also understood it.
The person on the right was whispering to the person next to him: "Did you see that? If you marry a cadre's daughter, you will be rich in the future."
"People who want to climb the social ladder must be good-looking. It's useless for you to envy them."
"We are just talking. Even if I am handsome, I can't do this kind of thing. I can't bow and scrape to serve my father-in-law."
Several people laughed. An old warehouse employee sitting at the same table as Xia Daming was a friend. He felt a little embarrassed when he heard this, but he didn't say anything to his face.
After Director Qi's speech, the wedding ceremony ended.
A few years ago, if you wanted to get married, you had to have a portrait of the leader and recite the leader's quotations. Since last year, this process has been discontinued and the next step is to directly serve the food.
The cafeteria staff came over with large trays to serve the food. A burst of aroma hit us in the face. They quickly placed eight dishes on each table and put several large bowls of white rice on the empty table next to them, so that everyone could help themselves to the rice, as there was more left after they finished eating.
These eight dishes include both meat and vegetarian dishes. The meat dishes are braised pork with potatoes and braised small crucian carp. The braised pork is cut into large pieces, with exactly eight pieces for each table. Each person can get one piece without having to fight over it.
The small crucian carps were also very small, and there was one for each person, and the number was clear.
In addition to fish and meat, there were also large plates of fried tofu and dried tofu, which were dishes that ordinary people would only eat during festivals. Therefore, before the meal was announced, the braised pork was divided equally at the table where Xia Qingtang was sitting. The male worker on the right also quickly picked up some fried tofu for himself, while the others hurried to get white rice, filling their bowls.
Xia Qinghai took out a few bottles of not-cheap liquor, opened them and served one bottle to each table so that everyone could enjoy the food and drink.
With wine and food, the young workers had no time to ridicule Xia Qinghai for climbing up the social ladder. They all just focused on eating and drinking, fearing that they would miss a bite.
Xia Qingtang usually had good meals, so she wasn't greedy. She waited until everyone had served their meals before going over to get a bowl of rice. Then, without snatching any dishes, she ate a bowl of rice with a plate of stir-fried bean curd sheets with pickled mustard greens nearby, then put down her chopsticks and sat still.
Later on, the bride and groom will come over to each table with their wine glasses in hand to toast. After they finish their toasts, Xia Qingtang can go back early.
Xia Qinghai and Wu Jinfeng were also sitting at the main table eating. Because Wu's father and mother and Director Qi were sitting at their table, everyone's eating manners were relatively gentle, and there was not the grand feeling of the other tables.
After the two newlyweds finished a bowl of rice, they quickly stood up. Wu Jinfeng held the bottle of white wine and accompanied Xia Qinghai to toast at each table.
When it was time to toast, Xia Qingtang also picked up a cup of tea and said congratulations, being quite generous.
Xia Qinghai smiled and said, "Is the food okay?"
"Not bad. Your banquet is quite impressive, using so many meat coupons." Xia Qingtang took out a red paper bag from his pocket and handed it to him, "I wish you a long and happy marriage."
Xia Qinghai was very surprised: "You came here, why did you give me a red envelope? Last time you said you wouldn't give me one."
"I'm not going to give it to you. This is what Xie Jinxuan prepared for you. He said that since he can't come, at least a small red envelope should be given. I didn't see how much money it is. You can take it as you like. You don't care about this little money now."
Xia Qinghai put away the red envelope and said, "Thank my brother-in-law for me. I'll treat him to a meal at the state-owned restaurant when I'm free some other day."
"Okay, I'll go back and tell him." Xia Qingtang said, "I'll be leaving in a moment. I won't be involved in the rest of the process."
"Okay, go ahead and do your thing." After Xia Qinghai finished speaking, he chatted and laughed with the others for a while, then took Wu Jinfeng back to the main table.
The two brothers Zhao Zhiqiang were sitting in the seats of the two newlyweds, toasting Mr. and Mrs. Wu. The wine today was better, so Zhao Zhiqiang and Zhao Zhiwei drank a few more glasses. Now that they were drunk, their speech was a little lisp.
Wu's mother is a cadre and usually does not come into contact with such people. Now she has to endure all this for her daughter, so she doesn't say anything, but her face shows disgust.
Zhao Zhiwei was better off not drinking, but he would talk nonsense when he drank. He was not a fool. The disdain in Wu's mother's eyes was so obvious that he simply asked directly: "Mother-in-law, what's with that expression? Do you look down on us? You are a cadre, so what? Isn't your cadre's daughter going to marry my eldest nephew?"
As soon as these words were spoken, the originally lively scene became a little quieter.
Xia Daming quickly stood up and pulled Zhao Zhiwei over there: "You've drunk too much. Let's go over there and sober up."
Zhao Zhiwei was very drunk. He pushed Xia Daming away and said loudly, "Who is drunk? I am telling the truth! Look at your in-laws' face. They rolled their eyes when they were talking to us! What are they rolling their eyes for? What right do you have to look down on others? If you have the guts, don't marry your daughter to a family like us!"
"That's right! Your family is just a small cadre, and they live in another place!" Zhao Zhiqiang, who had been silent, suddenly stood up. With his bare face and eyes wide open, he said, "My niece Xia Qingtang is Xie Qiming's granddaughter-in-law! A small cadre like you is not worthy of looking down on us?"
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