Chapter 725: Banquet ends

Ye Yaodong didn't care about other people's complicated thoughts. He walked behind Lin Xiuqing, leaned over, and asked, only to find out that it was a disturbance caused by the two children each occupying a seat.

"Don't care about her, anyway we paid for it separately, sit in our own seats openly, whoever comes over, show them the post and drive them away."

Lin Xiuqing smiled and nodded, "You quickly go up and return to your seat, it's almost time to serve the dishes, I see someone carrying dishes up on the steps, you also quickly go eat."

"Do you want to give the children to me? These three are all with you..."

"It's okay, Chenghu eats by himself, Yangyang has Mom on the side, Mom will help him pick up dishes, don't need to trouble you, you quickly go up

"Hmm, okay, then I'll go up first."

Ye Yaodong saw that they had started serving dishes on their side, so he didn't delay their meal. Before leaving, he also touched Ye Xiaoxi's head in passing.

Looking at the table, the few cold dishes placed out in advance were already empty, and everyone had a few items in front of them, so he knew they had already been divided up.

In this day and age, that's how eating at a banquet is; as soon as you sit at the table, you divide up the cold dishes, each person taking a little, regardless of whether you want to eat it yourself or take it back.

But most people are reluctant to eat them; they save them for the end, gathering a few more types to take back together for the children at home who couldn't come to the banquet.

His table was the same; after everyone was seated, someone took the lead to divide the cold dishes on the table, each person taking a little.

However, the leaders at the other tables didn't do that; the cold dishes were placed properly there, and perhaps they hadn't even touched them with their chopsticks. They were people of some status, so how could they be embarrassed to take the lead in dividing the food?

Of the six tables placed on the stage, except for the one he was sitting at, which was basically local village cadres, the other tables were all outsiders. He didn't know who they were or what their status was.

Except for the few who came to his house earlier whom he might recognize, there were also a few who were clearly reporters from the cultural center and the newspaper office. As for the others, he was ignorant and didn't know what big shots the Village Committee had invited. Looking at their attire, their status shouldn't be low.

But he didn't have time to think about it; the dishes were starting to be served, and the empty plates on the table were just right to be cleared away.

The first dish served at their banquet is traditionally longevity noodles. Longevity noodles have a better meaning and are also a staple food. This bowl was filled with plenty of ingredients; shredded meat, large shrimp, mushrooms, oysters, and razor clams were sprinkled on top, making one's appetite increase at first sight.

The people at their table could be considered to have some standing in the village, and everyone was very modest. They didn't stand up and scramble for food as soon as the dishes were served, especially since there were some leaders at the tables nearby.

But it was different off the stage...

As soon as the dishes were brought up and placed in the middle of the table, everyone stood up, impatiently stretching out their own chopsticks to scrape food into their own bowls, fearing that if they were slow, there wouldn't be any left.

Although they were a bit impatient, most people knew when to stop. They didn't pile their bowls high, and they would leave some for others, not making it look too ugly, except for a few individuals.

However, the plates were indeed empty as soon as they were served.

It looked even more chaotic down below, not as civilized as it looked on the stage.

Ye Yaodong wasn't in a hurry to pick up food at all; instead, he looked toward his wife and children below.

Fortunately, their table was all family, and they ate just like they did at home, not scrambling like the tables around them.

Ye Mu was afraid that Aqing wouldn't be able to pick up food while holding the child, so she helped her pick up a large bowl and put it in front of her, and also picked up a bowl for each child.

It was fine for the family table; they would still be a bit modest. Ye Dasao and Ye Ersao weren't shameless people either; they would happily tell Lin Xiuqing to pick up more and tell the two children to eat more.

After all, their family was doing well now, and Ye Yaodong had paid half of the banquet money for the whole table.

After Ye Mu found out that Ye Yaodong had paid for them all, she had long been shouting it everywhere, smiling and saying the opposite to lead people to praise them voluntarily.

And Lin Xiuqing, sitting at the banquet with three children, naturally received care from everyone at the table.

However, how could the two children sit still?

Ye Chenghu ran off after eating only a few mouthfuls, and Ye Yangyang also hurriedly put down his chopsticks, nimbly climbed off the stool, and followed, unable to be called back.

In the middle, he did run back a few times and ate a little more.

Ye Yaodong only glanced at them occasionally, focusing on eating his own food, chatting and bragging with the village cadres at the same table, and occasionally turning his head to listen to the leaders at the next table.

"Illegal and criminal activities must not be done. Smuggling crimes should be severely cracked down on. We should also strengthen management locally, and we must also dispatch more patrols at sea..."

"Otherwise, if the farmers don't work the fields and the fishermen don't catch fish, wouldn't it be a mess?"

"Your village looks much better than those on Luzhoudao. Those people don't have good fruit to eat; a large amount of smuggled goods were searched out on the island..."

"These will all have to be uniformly processed and destroyed when the time comes..."

He didn't know if they had drunk too much at the banquet, but they were all talking big there, and Ye Yaodong just pricked up his ears to listen.

He didn't believe they would be destroyed; he guessed they would be digested internally.

If he could go and sail the boat when the time comes, he would see if there were any bargains to be picked up. He would also add some small household appliances to his home in passing.

Actually, what he wanted to change most was the bed; if only there could be a Simmons mattress. But that was too big an item, and there was no possibility of that. Now that the standard of living had improved, those small household appliances were the first choice for smuggling.

Today's banquet had quite a lot of dishes, sixteen bowls, not counting the 4 cold dishes. There were chicken, duck, fish, meat, shrimp, and crab. The crab was red-paste blue crab steamed with sticky rice; this was the bowl Ye Yaodong liked the most, and it made his belly round.

The fellow villagers were also extremely satisfied; it was rare to be able to eat a big meal once. They even wiped the sauce under the braised pork with mantou.

By the end of the banquet, there were fewer people. It was one thing that the children had left the table, and another was that the dishes that should be divided up had all been divided, and the remaining food in the bowls was taken directly home.

That's how the bowls used for banquets were lost.

Ye Yaodong basically ate everything into his stomach, except for some dry things that were easy to pack, which he picked up from the table.

Some people even specially kept those with soup, like fish balls and braised pork, which looked a bit disgusting.

The last dish of the banquet was canned oranges, which could also be considered a substantial dish. Some people didn't know and left early. Some people ran out to ask and found out there was still canned food, so they came back.

Ye Yaodong watched those people lick their spoons and reach down to scoop the canned food, so he didn't eat it. He wrapped the dry dishes with a handkerchief and then walked down to find Aqing.

There were no dishes left on their table either. In this day and age, there was only not enough to eat; how could there be leftovers?

"Are you full? Don't be in a hurry; let's wait until others leave before we leave."

She was holding the child, and she probably only managed to eat a little later on.

"I've been full for a long time; I just thought there was still some in the bowl, so don't waste it." Lin Xiuqing smiled, swallowed the food in her mouth, and spoke.

Ye Mu, holding Ye Xiaoxi, said from the side, "It's okay, you eat yours slowly; we'll leave last anyway."

"Okay."

Just as they were standing there packing and talking, Chen Shuji brought over a fruit platter of loquats and a duck, which made Ye Yaodong look a bit surprised.

"The roof beam has already been raised, so these can be taken down. I'll bring you a portion; you can also stew it when you take it home. There's also brown sugar cake; this hasn't been cut yet. I'll bring it to you after it's cut later."

Ye Mu was pleasantly surprised; there was such a good thing.

"Oh my, Chen Shuji is really too polite. I didn't expect that there would be a share for us in such a good thing."

"It's nothing. There are still chicken, goose, fish, and pig heads up there, and a pile of other things. Everyone can divide them up."

"Okay, okay, thank you very much." Ye Fu smiled, his face glowing, and thanked him repeatedly.

Ye Yaodong also hurriedly thanked him, "Thank you, Chen Shuji, for thinking of us."

"No need to thank me, no need to thank me. These aren't much for your family."

"It's meat too. The chickens and ducks at home have almost all been slaughtered. Uh... are those leaders leaving directly? They drank alcohol just now; didn't they stay for a nap?"

"Yes, yes, we've already sent those who drank too much back."

"If there's not enough room, just say the word. We can't treat the leaders poorly; we can also clear out one or two rooms."

"It's okay, almost all of them left just now, except for two or three who drank too much and stayed to take a nap."

"That's good."

Chen Shuji waved his hand, "Alright, go back early; everyone has already left."

"Okay."

After the others left, the old lady smiled and said, "Dongzi still has face."

Ye Dasao also smiled and complimented, "Adong is now a famous person in our ten miles and eight villages. It's normal to have things to share. We also have face when we go out."

Ye Ersao also smiled and said, "Yes, when we go out, people know that our Bai Sha Village has an Adong who sells dried salted fish. It's rare to be able to divide a duck after raising the roof beam today; even Mother didn't..."

Can we stop talking about Adong who sells salted fish?

He had already heard people calling him Salted Fish Dong behind his back...

Damn it, it sounds so bad!

Ye Yaodong, who was originally a bit proud and feeling beautiful inside, was instantly depressed.

"What's so great about selling dried fish? There's almost nothing to sell lately. Let's go, let's go, everyone has left, why stay here?"

Ye Mu also said, "It's inconvenient for me to hold the child; you all have your things."

"I didn't know earlier, otherwise I would have brought a basket to pack them. There are so many things, and there's a small plate of loquats here, plus what was left on the table just now."

"Just go and borrow one. They are cleaning up at the entrance; there are baskets."

"Okay, okay..."

The family ran back and forth happily and busily before they packed everything.

The entrance of the Goddess Mazu Temple was full of children running and jumping. Although the adults had all left, the children hadn't played enough yet.

Ye Yaodong called his two children back, but they were still unwilling, and despite various threats, they were still reluctant to leave.

"Aren't you going back to tell your Brother Ahai and the others what you ate at noon? They were still eating at home at noon."

"Oh, right~"