manynovel Chapter 231 The Xu Family Banquet
Chapter 231 The Xu Family Banquet
The dishes were all served: braised carp, glistening twice-cooked pork, trembling braised pork, fragrant stir-fried cabbage with sliced pork, golden home-style tofu, tender yellow scrambled eggs, plus several refreshing cold dishes and a large bowl of cabbage and tofu soup, filling Xu Damao's octagonal table to the brim with delicious aromas.
Everyone took their seats, and Xu Damao, as the host, enthusiastically opened two bottles of Xifeng liquor, filling the men's glasses: "Come, come, this liquor is really good stuff. I borrowed it from my father-in-law; I was originally saving it for the New Year. But today Gangzi is back, and Xiaoyan is better, so we have to bring it out to celebrate and welcome them back! Everyone, don't be shy, start eating!"
For a time, the house was filled with clinking glasses and laughter.
The rich aroma of wine and meat wafted into the backyard of another household—the home of Uncle Liu Haizhong, the second eldest. Liu Haizhong sat at his deserted dining table, which contained only a dish of pickled vegetables and a few cornbread buns. His face was so gloomy it seemed to drip water. He, the second eldest eldest man in the courtyard, hadn't even been invited to a meal by Xu Damao's family? This was clearly a blatant disregard for him! He instinctively reached for his belt, wanting to find a pretext to vent his anger, but the stern warning from Director Wang of the neighborhood committee—"Be mindful of your image, don't hit your children or flaunt your official power"—flashed through his mind, and his raised hand fell limply to his side. The two brothers, Liu Guangtian and Liu Guangfu, exchanged a secret glance, both secretly relieved.
Over at the Xu family's house, after several rounds of drinks, the atmosphere became increasingly harmonious. Third Uncle Yan Fugui took a sip of wine, picked up a piece of braised pork, and finally asked the question everyone had been most curious about: "Gangzi, Cuihua, this time you're back... is Xiaoyan's illness completely cured?"
The table fell silent for a moment, and everyone instinctively pricked up their ears.
Lin Gang put down his chopsticks, his expression complicated. He sighed, "Uncle, thank you for your concern. As for Xiao Yan's illness... well, you could say it's cured, or you could say it's not completely cured."
These words caused everyone present to feel a pang of anxiety.
"When we arrived in Guangzhou, we were completely unfamiliar with the area. We asked around everywhere, but couldn't find a single hospital staffed by foreigners that could perform surgery. We had no choice but to grit our teeth, exchange all the money we had on us for small silver dollars on the black market, and then sneak off at night on one of those small fishing boats, hoping to try our luck in Hong Kong. Goodness, that was a close call! We almost got caught by the patrol! Finally, we arrived in Hong Kong and found a big hospital, but they wouldn't treat us! Why? Because we didn't have Hong Kong identification!"
He took a swig of his drink, shook his head, and seemed to still be lamenting the hardships they had faced: "We had to spend money to get Xiaoyan a fake identity before we could even get into the hospital. But the medical bills were astronomical! My wife and I had no choice but to go out and work illegally. Fortunately, they allowed small businesses there, so my wife Cuihua learned to cook Cantonese food. During the day, we would set up a small stall and sell boxed lunches, wonton noodles, and the like. To be honest, business was alright; we could make a living."
He changed the subject, his voice filled with indignation: "But those thugs over there are such bastards! We worked hard from dawn till dusk for a month, and half of our earnings had to go to them as protection money! Later, we were lucky enough to meet a local Hong Kong boss who really liked Cuihua's wonton noodles. He was kind-hearted and saw how hard things were for us, so he took us to his house as maids, giving us a stable job. It was also thanks to that boss that Xiaoyan's surgery was connected with a British doctor."
At this point, he looked at Lin Yan, his eyes full of "heartache": "But that foreign doctor said that Xiao Yan's congenital heart disease can be operated on, but the risks are also very high. Even if the surgery is successful, he will have to take medication for life to ensure that it does not recur. However, the advantage is that he will not be able to breathe easily and need oxygen like before, and he can basically live like a normal person."
His words, half-truth, full of detail and bitterness, moved everyone to tears. Sha Zhu, a sentimental man, seeing Lin Gang's slightly reddened eyes, felt a lump in his throat and quickly raised his glass to smooth things over: "Come on! No matter what, Xiao Yan's surgery is done, that's fantastic news! From now on, she'll take her medicine properly and be just like a normal person! This is worth celebrating! Everyone, let's have a toast to Xiao Yan's new life!"
Let's have a drink!
"Celebrating Xiao Yan's recovery!"
Everyone raised their glasses, temporarily setting aside their complicated thoughts and immersing themselves in the atmosphere of reunion and joy for Lin Yan. Only Lin Yan sat there quietly, a barely perceptible smile on his lips, slowly sipping the tea in his cup.
A series of knocks on the door interrupted the lively atmosphere inside.
"Who is it?" Xu Damao called out impatiently.
A soft, weak female voice came from outside the door: "Da Mao, it's me, your Sister Qin."
The people inside looked at each other, their faces showing an expression of "I knew she was here." Everyone knew why Qin Huairu had come.
Sha Zhu, who was closest to the door, stood up and opened it. There stood Qin Huairu, holding her "family heirloom" large bowl, her eyes slightly red, looking pitiful. Her gaze quickly swept over the table full of meat and vegetables, she swallowed hard, and then looked at Sha Zhu, her voice choked with emotion:
"Shazhu, your...your cooking smells so good. Banggeng smelled the meat and is now rolling around in the house crying and insisting on eating it. I can't coax him no matter what I do. Can you...can you get me some meat to nourish Banggeng? He's growing up..." she said, tears welling up in her eyes.
Xu Damao, Yan Fugui, and the others inside almost simultaneously rolled their eyes in disdain. What kind of era is this? Daring to ask for meat so readily? And with such righteous indignation! Do they really think other people's meat comes from the wind?
Although Sha Zhu usually helped Qin Huairu a lot, he knew this wasn't the right occasion. He scratched his head awkwardly, turned to the side so Qin Huairu could see Lin Gang inside, and said, "Sister Qin, it's not that I don't want to help you. Gangzi bought all the fish and meat today. I'm just helping with the cooking; I really can't make that decision."
Qin Huairu immediately looked at Lin Gang with a pitiful expression, her voice even more sorrowful: "Brother Gangzi, I know this is a bit... but the child is really making a fuss. Please, do me a favor and help me this time. Just give Banggeng a few pieces of meat to taste. Thank you!" She even bowed slightly as she spoke.
Lin Gang hesitated to be polite, but his attitude was firm: "Sister-in-law Jia, it's not that we're stingy. Look, there are so many of us at this table, mostly men, and only five or six dishes. To be honest, it's barely enough for us to eat ourselves, it's really not enough. And this meat... you know, it's hard to buy now, it's quite expensive. I'm sorry, Sister-in-law Jia, please go home this time."
Seeing that Lin Gang wouldn't listen to reason, Qin Huairu pinned her hopes on Sha Zhu again, looking at him with pleading eyes and drawing out the last syllable: "Sha Zhu—!"
Sha Zhu, despite his reckless and carefree nature, did have some principles when it came to taking other people's things to show off his generosity. He sighed, pulled two crumpled bills from his pocket, and stuffed them into Qin Huairu's hand: "Sister Qin, this is all I have left. Take it and buy some snacks for Bang Geng and Xiao Dang. This meat... is really inconvenient."
After saying that, without waiting for Qin Huairu to say anything more, he almost half-pushed and half-invited her to leave with the large bowl outside the door, and then slammed the door shut, cutting off the resentful gaze from outside.
Once the door closed, the atmosphere inside the room livened up again. Xu Damao chuckled, "Well, this meal was so bad, we almost had a mouse steal a piece of meat!" Everyone smiled knowingly and continued drinking and eating, but they felt even more resentful towards the Jia family's daughter. Meanwhile, Qin Huairu, outside the door, looked at the two yuan in her hand and smelled the lingering aroma of meat in the air. Her expression changed several times, but in the end, she bit her lip and reluctantly returned to her room in the central courtyard.