Chapter 732: Returning to Nature (Part 2)

You don't know until you look; it's a shock.

The relatives and friends accumulated over so many years had unknowingly filled more than a dozen pages, some from Grandpa's side and some from Grandma's side.

Then the two families spread out like tree roots, with complex branches.

The key was that they weren't unfamiliar relatives. Luo Quan had impressions of many of them herself, having visited them often when she was a child. They were all people who had to be invited.

"If each family comes with five or six people, the total will probably be over four hundred." Grandpa adjusted his glasses and studied it, not expecting there to be so many.

The last time they hosted a banquet was over a decade ago. At that time, there were only a little over a hundred people, and they didn't need to invite neighbors or anything.

Luo Quan reassured her grandfather: "Then invite them all. Don't think about saving money for me. Just singing a song is enough to host several banquets."

Having said that, the old man felt relieved and boldly called those relatives he hadn't been in touch with for a while.

The chat format was basically fixed: after some pleasantries, he invited them to come to the banquet the day after tomorrow.

Calling one by one, tossing and turning for a whole morning, the phone was almost out of battery.

While the old man was making calls, Luo Quan wasn't idle either. She took the time to go to the Oscar Hotel located in the city center, five kilometers away.

The name sounded very impressive, but it had nothing to do with the Oscar ceremony. It was said that the boss who opened the hotel liked watching movies, so he named it Oscar.

This five-star hotel was good at Sichuan and Cantonese cuisine, especially seafood, which was quite good.

However, the characteristic of seafood was that it was expensive, and there was relatively little meat.

The meat of lobsters and crabs was certainly fresh, but eating it wasn't as satisfying as hard dishes like braised pork or pork knuckles.

Considering the tastes in Yuzhou, Luo Quan prepared to go to the hotel to customize the dishes herself.

Although the set meal the hotel gave her was slightly cheaper, 70% of it was seafood, so she wasn't particularly satisfied.

Experiencing the wild speed of a Yuzhou taxi once again, the journey that was originally scheduled for twenty minutes took her there in thirteen minutes.

To be honest, Luo Quan wouldn't dare to drive that fast even in a sports car in the suburbs of Night Shanghai, and this was in a busy street. You have to know that the traffic flow in Yuzhou is no less than in Night Shanghai.

"Master, your driving skills are truly wild." Luo Quan got out of the car from the back seat and sighed while scanning the code.

"I'm considered a slow driver in this line of work. Others laugh at me as if I just graduated from driving school." The driver was quite humble, but it sounded like a humblebrag.

After paying, the driver stepped on the gas and disappeared in a flash.

Luo Quan stood at the hotel entrance and observed the environment here first.

The exterior was grand, with several sculptures standing, and the walls were covered with exquisite reliefs, which seemed to tell the story of the Odyssey.

The interior of the hotel was also magnificent, and there was a golden Cupid wishing pool in the center of the lobby, filled with coins from various countries.

And the design of Cupid in the pool was also quite ingenious; he held a bow, but the arrow on the bow was replaced by a water flow.

However, what she didn't expect was that with such Western-style decoration, the employees' attire inside was completely Chinese-style: the women were all in cheongsams, and the men were all in Zhongshan suits.

"Hello, may I ask if you are here for dining or attending a banquet?" A waitress saw Luo Quan standing at the hotel entrance for a while and walked up to ask kindly.

"I have a reservation. I'm here to book a banquet." Luo Quan showed the order on her phone.

"Ah, you must be Miss Luo." The waitress suddenly realized.

Luo Quan was wearing a mask, so she didn't recognize her at first glance.

But seeing the blonde hair and being called Luo Quan, it would be too ridiculous if she still didn't recognize her.

"I will notify the manager immediately. Please rest on the sofa first. Also, would you like tea or a beverage?" The waitress reached out and led Luo Quan to the rest area on the left side of the lobby, her attitude quite enthusiastic.

"A bottle of mineral water is fine." Standing at the entrance for a while, Luo Quan already felt a bit hot.

Beverages and tea didn't quench thirst; mineral water was still the best.

"Okay, please wait a moment." The waitress turned and left quickly.

A minute later, the mineral water and the hotel manager arrived in front of Luo Quan.

"Hello, Miss Luo. I am the manager of this hotel. What specific arrangements do you have for the banquet the day after tomorrow?" The manager held a notebook, and the waitress behind him placed a bottle of imported mineral water in front of Luo Quan.

"First is the number of tables. It might only sit fifty tables, but there might be more, so let's book fifty-five tables." Luo Quan estimated the number of relatives and friends who might come and gave a compromise number.

Originally, she wanted to say sixty tables, so there would definitely be enough seats.

But it would likely cause unnecessary waste, so she reduced it by five tables.

"Okay, fifty-five tables. A total of one hundred and ten tables for lunch and dinner. We will increase them according to the actual number of diners at lunch, and then make the final calculation. Is that okay?" After the manager finished recording in his notebook, he looked at Luo Quan and asked.

"No problem, that's it." Luo Quan approved of this plan.

"Also, you said you don't want the dishes provided by our hotel. What suggestions do you have? Although we are better at Sichuan and Cantonese cuisine, we can do all eight major cuisines, including French and Japanese."

"No need for that much trouble." Luo Quan tapped her phone a few times, and a menu appeared on it.

"Three soups, four vegetables, five cold dishes, sixteen meat dishes, a total of twenty-eight dishes. Also, add two desserts after the meal and a fruit platter."

Luo Quan listed all the dishes in great detail, even writing down the specific flavor of each dish.

"You are an expert." Although the manager wasn't a chef, he had studied quite a bit after working in this line for so many years.

This menu of Luo Quan's was basically famous and hard dishes of Huaxia. They were difficult to make, and wanting to make them delicious was even more difficult.

"You are only in our hotel. If you go to another place, it's hard to say if they can make even half of them." The manager said with pride.

"So, you can handle all of them?" Luo Quan smiled.

"Of course, but compared to the discounts provided by the hotel set meal, these dishes need special preparation, and the time is relatively tight, so the cost will be slightly higher."

"How much?" Luo Quan asked straightforwardly.

Then the manager started calculating. He didn't even need a calculator; his fingers were virtually using an abacus, writing down numbers one by one behind each dish.

After all calculations, including all expenses and hotel venue usage, it was 7,888 per table. For 110 tables, it was about 870,000.

"What about the wine?" Luo Quan looked for a long time and didn't see the type of wine.

The manager smiled slightly: "You need to provide the brand of wine, and we will prepare it. With your status, I suggest Burgundy winery's red wine, low-key, luxurious, and meaningful."

Why don't you mention Royal Salute?

Luo Quan rolled her eyes in her heart: "Huaxia people won't drink foreign wine. Let's use all Moutai Cellar 1988, one bottle per table. After all, not every table will drink, and we can add more if it's not enough."

"This model of Moutai is 3,000 per bottle, and we will give one bottle each of 2L orange juice, cola, and soy milk as a gift. In this way, the price per table is 10,888, and 110 tables is 1,197,680."

The manager used a calculator to verify it again, and it was the same number as the one he calculated with his virtual abacus.

"Are there any activities or discounts?" Luo Quan picked up the account details and looked at them, then asked.

"The Dragon Boat Festival hasn't passed for long. For every table you book, you will receive a box of premium zongzi, with a market price of 888." The manager smiled like a shrewd fox.

It was said to be a market price of 888, but it would be good if it could be sold for 300.

"If only it could be discounted." Luo Quan muttered in a low voice.

The manager pretended not to hear and promoted: "If you apply for a VIP card, you can enjoy a 15% discount, and there are grand gifts for every festival. You only need to consume 1.5 million annually."

"Just prepare it like this." Luo Quan also pretended not to hear, returned the account, and then paid a 20% deposit of the total amount.

If there was a breach of contract, the hotel would keep a portion of these deposits to compensate for the loss.

After getting it done, Luo Quan returned home, just in time for her grandparents to finish making lunch.

Because they were a bit busy, this lunch didn't start until one o'clock.

"Is it booked? How much did it cost?"

Grandpa poured a full cup of medicinal wine into his glass and asked.

The last time Luo Quan's father came, he brought a lot of wine for his father-in-law, both domestic and foreign.

However, those were all locked in the cabinet by the old man, saying he would drink them when guests came.

He usually drank medicinal wine made by soaking various Chinese herbal medicines in white liquor, and these white liquors, whether in taste or quality, were honestly far inferior to the good wine his son-in-law bought.

However, the old man had been drinking this flavor for decades and was already used to it. No matter how good the taste of other wines was, it was fine to taste occasionally, but he would get tired of drinking them long-term.

"Why are you having such a big cup again?" Luo Quan saw Grandpa pouring a full cup for himself and said with some reproach: "Don't you know that drinking hurts the liver? Even if you like it, you can't have so much."

"I usually only drink half a cup. Isn't it because I'm happy today?" Only at this time would the old man admit his mistake like a child.

Since she was a child, Luo Quan didn't like her grandpa drinking. Mainly because the husband of the neighbor couple upstairs was also a drunkard. Whenever he got drunk, he would beat his wife. Every few days, she could hear the roars and wails coming from the ceiling, which gave Luo Quan psychological trauma.

Fortunately, although Grandpa drank every day, his alcohol tolerance was good, and his drinking behavior was also good. In her memory, she had never seen him get drunk. At most, his face would turn red, and he never said nonsense or made strange movements.

Just this point alone was better than countless drunkards in the world.

Speaking of which, Luo Quan really envied this ability.

Because she herself was the type who would fall down as soon as she touched alcohol; alcohol was as effective as anesthesia for her.

If she had Grandpa's alcohol tolerance, she could save a lot of trouble when attending banquets in the future.

Hearing Grandpa's explanation, Luo Quan softened her tone: "I know you like this, but you still have to control the amount.

Also, the physical examination cannot be sloppy, especially the liver and pancreas, which must be checked carefully. These are the parts most easily damaged by alcohol."

Grandma explained: "The community hospital notifies us every time, and we go, but they can't find anything every time."

Luo Quan smiled slightly: "If they can't find anything, that's a good thing, but it must be a report from a large hospital."

After eating and drinking, Luo Quan and her mother went back to the room and sat down.

"Daughter, how much did you spend this time?"

Just now outside, when Grandpa asked, Luo Quan said she spent less than 100,000, which made the old man feel distressed.

However, Aunt Luo Ni had seen much more of the world than the old man and knew that a five-star hotel couldn't be that cheap, so she asked again in the room.

"About a million." Luo Quan reported truthfully.

"Hiss!" Aunt Luo Ni gasped, "If your grandparents knew about this, if they didn't pass out on the spot, they would break your legs on the spot."

If you're going to be a spendthrift, you have to be one like this.

Luo Quan originally wanted to learn from Dali Ge and say that, but facing her mother, she didn't dare to be cheeky: "Five-star hotels are at this price. After all, there are many guests invited this time, so the total price went up, didn't it?

Besides, people have been inviting us for so many years, and we have almost never invited them. Now that we are paying it back all at once, it is indeed a bit exaggerated."

"That's too exaggerated." Aunt Luo Ni muttered in a low voice.

"You are already such a rich young mistress, with a husband, daughter, and son all earning money like money-printing machines. Why are you worrying? Enjoying the second half of your life and raising this little one is what you should care about." Luo Quan said, her fingers gently touching Luo Xi's round, chubby little face.

This face full of collagen was even more Q-elastic than her own, and it bounced back quickly after being touched, as dynamic as jelly.

"Ya ya ya." Luo Xi grinned and smiled like a flower.

"Speaking of which, should Luo Xi wear festive clothes when the time comes? After all, it's a birthday banquet, although it's not her birthday yet."

Luo Quan said, counting with her fingers: "Born in early 2019, Year of the Dog. Should I get you a red dog-head hat then?"

"Bia!" Luo Xi pouted in disgust, and the "bia" sound sounded like she was saying no.

"But you are born in this year. Even if you calculate by the new calendar, you are born in the Year of the Pig. Which one do you like?" Luo Quan pinched her younger sister's face again. She herself was born in 1998, the Year of the Tiger, so she felt no pressure saying this.

Luo Xi didn't speak, just turned her head and hugged her mother tightly.

"Why wear that hat? It's so ugly." Aunt Luo Ni looked at her daughter reproachfully: "When she turns one year old, it will be the New Year. Wear a red dress then. Now, just wear what she usually wears."

For her younger daughter, Aunt Luo Ni was even more doting than for her elder daughter.

Perhaps because of the debt she owed Luo Quan in the past, it was all transferred to this little one.

However, Luo Quan didn't have anything to be jealous of.

After all, Luo Xi was a full twenty years younger than her. She was a younger sister, and could also be said to be half a daughter.

After all, an elder sister is like a mother.

When the age gap is too large, the situation of competing for favor is unlikely to happen.

After all, when Luo Xi is over ten years old, she will be over thirty. How could she still have such thoughts? ===== CHAPTER 733 =====