Jiang Hexi worked until four o'clock in the afternoon. After distributing the last piece of meat on the stall, she finally collapsed into a chair, exhausted.
Jiang Wenjing drove an RV to pick her up.
As soon as she got on the bus, she found a seat and fell into a deep sleep.
She didn't wake up from the bed in the RV until her phone alarm rang. Then, she slowly came to her senses and realized that the RV didn't seem to belong to Jiang Wenjing.
She got out of the car and went outside to find a tent pitched at the campsite. Shi Jianan was sitting on a camping chair, drinking tea and watching an old movie on the screen.
Charcoal burned in the barbecue fireplace, a pot of water was warming on the stove, and the ambient light emitted an old-fashioned yellow glow, making the atmosphere inside the tent exceptionally elegant.
"woke up?"
Hearing the commotion, Shi Jianan turned around and saw her. He got up from the camping chair, picked up the water bottle, and poured her a cup of tea, saying, "Come and have some tea to soothe your throat."
Jiang Hexi took the cup of tea and asked, "Where is my second brother?"
"He was just sitting here watching a movie when he saw some children playing in the shallow water ahead, so he went over to watch."
Shi Jianan unfolded a folding chair and gestured for her to sit down, but she politely declined.
"The banquet for a thousand families is about to begin, I need to hurry over there."
"We'll go together when your second brother comes back."
Jiang Hexi figured it wouldn't make a difference to leave in a little while, so she wasn't in a hurry to go.
"I accidentally fell asleep in the car. I'll find a new sheet for you later."
"When I go camping, I like to sleep in a tent."
Shi Jianan eased her embarrassment by saying, "Second Brother will sleep on the big bed at the back of the car tonight. He doesn't sleep on the folding bed on the sofa, so it's okay."
Jiang Hexi could only pretend that it was nothing, otherwise she would be extremely embarrassed.
After Jiang Wenjing returned, the three of them set off together for the Cultural Square.
Jiang Hexi kept urging them to walk faster along the way:
"Second brother, the banquet will start in five minutes. If you don't hurry up, you'll only be able to eat empty plates when you get there."
Jiang Wenjing didn't take her words to heart, thinking she was just talking nonsense. "Are banquets in the countryside really this unruly?"
“The people sitting with you are all from the city; they have nothing to do with us from the countryside.”
Jiang Hexi led them forward quickly, muttering to herself as she went:
"Each round table seats fifteen people, and a total of eighteen dishes are served. Half of the hot dishes will be served within the first five minutes after the banquet starts. If you arrive late, you won't even get a drop of soup."
Shi Jianan didn't care how many dishes were served at the table; what he cared about was hygiene: "Are there serving chopsticks at the banquet?"
"Each dish will be served with a pair of serving chopsticks, and soup will be served with a serving spoon."
Jiang Hexi dispelled his concerns, saying, "The entire banquet uses disposable tableware and tablecloths. Yan Jie is a clean freak, so you can rest assured about hygiene when he's in the catering business."
Shi Jianan couldn't bear to hear her praise Yan Jie in front of him, not even a single word.
The group was about to reach the entrance of the cultural square.
Jiang Hexi suddenly turned around, pulled them aside, and solemnly instructed them:
"Now I'm going to tell you about the experiences of the grandmothers and great-grandmothers when they eat at banquets. You all need to remember them."
"No rice, no soup, no vegetables are allowed at the table. Today's signature dishes are braised beef, sweet and sour pork, beef balls, steamed chicken in bamboo tube, and braised beef brisket with tomatoes. You should focus on eating these dishes."
"One more thing, when you're spinning the wheel, remember to work in pairs. One person should keep the wheel in place and smile politely, while the other gets up and quickly grabs the food. Don't try to do it alone, or you won't get the food you want."
Jiang Wenjing gave her a look of disdain:
"Listen to what you're saying. It's just a banquet, why are you being so petty? You're just a commoner."
Shi Jianan nodded to her, indicating that he understood, but he didn't take her words seriously.
Jiang Hexi watched the two figures disappear into the distance, calling out anxiously:
"In the countryside, it's a shameful thing to not have enough to eat at a banquet. People will look down on you when you walk down the street. Don't blame me for not warning you then."
She didn't care whether they listened or not; she had already done her best.
When Jiang Hexi arrived at the open-air plaza, Yu Xiangwan was organizing the waiters to serve the dishes.
The auntie loaded plates of food into a cart, pushed it out in an orderly fashion, and began serving the dishes in sections.
She didn't care what dishes were served, only whether there was any food left.
Jiang Hexi approached Yan Jie and politely asked, "Your Highness Yan, have you had dinner yet?"
Yan Jie was explaining things to Li Youtian when he glanced at her briefly. After finishing his business in a few words, he turned back and asked her:
Why are you so late?
"I took a nap at my second brother's place, and it was this time when I woke up."
She persisted, asking relentlessly, "Have you eaten?"
He deliberately changed the subject: "Everyone rushed back to help serve the food, but you're the only one who showed up now. Don't you feel any remorse?"
Jiang Hexi looked at him directly and said to herself, "I didn't eat."
Yan Jie almost burst out laughing when he saw her starving appearance, but he managed to hold back.
He deliberately avoided the live broadcast camera and walked towards the steps behind the square.
Jiang Hexi followed closely behind him.
"I'll just eat what I have left over from the banquet."
There are no leftovers.
Yan Jie clearly told her, "There is indeed a portion of food that was specially reserved for you."
He rummaged through a pile of bamboo baskets and pulled out a lunchbox, handing it to her.
Jiang Hexi took the insulated lunchbox and was moved to tears.
Her partner is so reliable. Although he can be a bit sharp-tongued and assertive, he has never abandoned her when it matters.
Yan Jie gestured for her to open the three-layer lunchbox.
Jiang Hexi lifted the lid. The first layer was sweet and sour pork, the second layer was braised bamboo shoots—all unremarkable dishes. The third layer—
She glanced at it only once before guiltily closing the lid: "Snowflake steak?"
Yan Jie glanced to the left and right, then teased her, saying:
“There aren’t many pieces of Wagyu beef in total. I secretly snatched this piece from you. Only Chef Liu, who cooks the steaks, knows about it. You can eat it secretly.”
"Do Wanwan and Chai Fei have them?"
"There weren't enough to go around, so I didn't dare let them know."
Jiang Hexi had never done anything like secretly eating alone behind everyone's back. She said nervously and flusteredly:
"Then I'll... eat it for Wanwan and Chai Fei."
Yan Jie finally couldn't help but laugh silently above her head.
Jiang Hexi took out the third layer of the lunchbox, and before officially starting to eat, she asked, "Do you have a knife?"
Yan Jie handed her a folding knife.
Jiang Hexi was cutting and slicing in her lunchbox with a small knife. After cutting off two slices of steak, she picked them up with chopsticks and looked up to eat them when she was met with a live-streaming camera filming her face.
It's better to just let her die than to let her die like this.
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