Chapter 602: Celebration Banquet, Farmhouse Fun?

VG's new base isn't ready yet, the old base isn't spacious, and being surrounded by a few hundred people is already an exaggeration. To avoid any mishaps, the crowd that returned from Ba Xi can't go back.

"It's over, our place was stolen."

After bidding farewell to the fans, the VG party left the airport and got on the bus. Onboard, they learned via Gao Jun's relay about the situation at the base, and Gangzi then threw out that teasing comment.

Xiao Duan, still full of himself, said: "Ah, this is giving me a headache, guys. We've really become big stars now—do we have to wear sunglasses and masks when we go out from now on?"

Fu Lan Duo, who can't resist retorting, shot back: "Exactly, Xiao Duan, that face of yours isn't fit for public exposure—it's corrupting the morals."

Xiao Duan let out a grunt, jumped up, and lunged at Fu Lan Duo, starting a playful scuffle.

The others got down to discussing the matter at hand.

Gao Jun habitually sought Liang Yan's opinion: "What do you think? Should we first find a place to grab a meal, then head back once Boss Lu calls?"

Liang Yan replied: "Then the bus would be a pain to park; we'd have to go to a mall…"

Zhu Xiaolong immediately shook his head: "No way, the mall would have even more people."

Liang Yan nodded.

Gao Jun furrowed his brow deeply, torn.

The others remained silent as well.

Aside from Liang Yan, basically nobody present had experience dealing with this sort of thing, since we used to have no fame and never imagined we'd one day be inconvenienced by our own popularity. It's a happy yet painful worry.

After a moment of silence, Tabe suddenly said: "Why don't we just meet with the boss and hold a celebration banquet? Once it's over we should be able to go back."

Upon hearing that, Gao Jun's eyes lit up. "Ah, that's a great idea!"

The original plan was for everyone to rest tonight after landing, since we'd be tired from the long flight, and hold the celebration banquet tomorrow.

But now our place has been taken over by fans, so we can't go back for the time being. Although we could get a hotel room to rest, overall Tabe's suggestion is clearly the better option.

So Gao Jun contacted Lu Wenjun, who quickly agreed. The bus then loaded up a bunch of people and headed straight for a farmhouse restaurant not far from the VG base.

The venue had been booked by Lu Wenjun in advance; only the date was moved up a day. The location was certainly available, but everyone wondered why there would be a farmhouse restaurant in the city.

Upon arriving, we understood.

There were trees, a fence, and the house was made of bamboo strips and wooden planks—that's what a farmhouse restaurant is!

The group that came from the airport arrived first, gave Lu Wenjun's phone number, and a waiter led a bunch of us into a large private room.

After sitting down, Easyhoon idly picked up the menu and glanced at it, his eyes instantly glazing over. He then looked around the private room's surroundings, which didn't seem all that upscale, so he lifted his gaze to the others, full of doubt:

"Why is it so expensive?"

A waitress in a cheongsam—having a fair-skinned, beautiful girl in a cheongsam at a farmhouse restaurant is already quite absurd—standing in the corner as a decoration, immediately walked over with a blooming smile, stood beside Easyhoon and bent at the waist, her bosom hanging heavily, a faint fragrance drifting straight into Easyhoon's nose. The cheongsam beauty spoke in a soft, sweet voice:

"Sir, our ingredients are all high‑end stuff hauled down from the mountains, blah blah, pure and natural, blah blah, vastly different from the industrial ingredients used in ordinary restaurants, blah blah, the cost is high, blah blah…"

Easyhoon rubbed his nose, muttered "oh oh," nodded, and felt a bit embarrassed.

After she finished, Gao Jun waved a hand and laughed: "You don't need to stay here; we'll call you when we're ready to order."

The cheongsam beauty then went out.

Only then did Easyhoon relax.

Gao Jun then looked at him and smiled: "Marquis might not realize that in a place like this, the flavor of the ingredients is secondary; such a high markup is really just paying for the service."

Gangzi smacked his lips twice, reluctantly pulling his gaze away from the departing cheongsam beauty, and said: "Not bad—I think this place is all right!"

But as soon as he turned his head, he saw Fu Lan Duo and the others looking at him with teasing gazes, even Liang Yan wearing an ambiguous smile. Gangzi's old face flushed:

"Hey, what's your problem, you lot? What's wrong with looking at a pretty girl?"

Everyone was chatting and laughing when, not long after, Lu Wenjun arrived, and Boss Ding came along as well.

"Boss Lu, good! Boss Ding, good!"

As soon as the two bosses entered, Xiao Duan was the first to shout, his voice so loud it made the old‑style lights in the private room tremble slightly.

"Good, good, no need to stand on ceremony—everyone, have a seat."

Lu Wenjun laughed, waved a hand, his gaze sweeping over everyone and finally landing on Liang Yan,

"Oh my, you all seem to have slimmed down a bit. Are you used to the food over in Ba Xi? I've seen the photos you've been posting in the group lately—it's either fried rice or barbecue every day."

Ding Jun then laughed: "Hahaha, then today let's have some soup and watery dishes."

Gao Jun smiled helplessly: "That really can't be helped—hotels are all buffets, and that means mountains of meat and seas of flesh…"

Tabe finally chimed in, speaking quickly: "I've scoured the whole restaurant for leafy greens and found only one bowl of salad, and it's cold—I, a Hong Konger, am not used to it."

"Then eat more of it tonight."

Lu Wenjun passed the menu over,

"Order whatever you like—today we're letting loose, dig in!"

Tabe took the menu, flipped through it, clicked her tongue inwardly, didn't dare to make a decision on her own, and handed it to Liang Yan beside her. Liang Yan opened it, also a bit speechless, knowing why Easyhoon had reacted so strongly earlier, and, flipping through the menu, exclaimed in surprise:

"The dish names look ordinary enough, but the prices… Country‑style big‑pot chicken, 2,888; fish‑fragrant shredded pork eggplant casserole, 1,688… erm."

"And you call this a farmhouse restaurant?!"

"The dish names are farmy enough, but this price is just fucking ridiculous!"

Liang Yan hadn't checked his stock portfolio in a while; his net worth now probably exceeded the combined wealth of the two bosses, yet he also thought eating at this kind of place was pure brain‑damage.

Lu Wenjun, however, kept a straight face: "No problem—if you want it, just order it."

"Fine, anyway the bosses are willing to be the suckers," Liang Yan said unabashedly, shouting toward the door. The cheongsam beauty came back in, Liang Yan calmly named two dishes, then passed the menu down.

With Liang Yan taking the lead, the others stopped hesitating; at least each picked a dish, and in the end we ordered a dozen or so, after which the waiter went to place the order.

Soon a few plates of complimentary salted peanuts were brought out, and the crowd ate while chatting.

Ding Jun, shelling peanuts, suddenly interjected: "This year each of your bonuses is worth far more than the total cost of this table's dishes—if you pinch pennies, you're actually denying me face."

As soon as he said that, the private room fell silent for two seconds.

Then Xiao Duan led off with a loud shout:

"Boss Ding is awesome!"