Chapter 420: The Banquet

"That works. Everyone pack up. I'll take you all to a banquet the day after tomorrow. Bring a change of clothes; we might be staying for two or three days."

"Dad, since there's still plenty of time, why don't we play our way there? There aren't many days left of summer vacation anyway."

"Fine, then we'll set off tomorrow."

The group usually hung around Xiangjiang and Sijiucheng year-round and rarely went to other cities. This trip south would be a chance to broaden their horizons. Previously, the country hadn't been very peaceful, and Zhang Ping'an hadn't felt at ease letting them run around everywhere.

The next morning, Zhang Ping'an called everyone together, and they each carried their own small suitcase.

Except for Weidong, Weijun, Weiping, Weibing, and Wanqiu, the other eight went along. Including Zhang Ping'an, Li Aihua, and the security detail, five cars headed south.

The first stop was Jinmen, but they had all been there several times, so they didn't linger. After that, they reached the Lu Province border. However, there was no barbecue like in later generations, so after resting for a day, they entered the territory of Handong Province.

Everyone climbed the first peak of Handong—the one with the monkeys—and after playing there for two days, they arrived in Yantai.

"Dad, the monkeys in Handong are too fierce. They aren't as docile as the ones in the zoo."

"..."

"How could they be the same? One is domesticated, the other is wild; naturally, they are full of ferocity."

"Wandong didn't get scratched, did she?"

"No, it couldn't reach me."

"Alright, we'll stay at the Reception House tonight and get a good rest. We'll head to Qi Family Village first thing tomorrow morning."

"Okay."

At 9:30 the next morning, Zhang Ping'an and his party arrived at Qi Family Village. At the entrance of the village, they saw large red lanterns hanging high. The whole village was filled with joy, all busy with this event.

"Brother Zhang, Sister-in-law."

"Godfather, Godmother, younger brothers and sisters, you've come."

"Mm, so lively, isn't it?"

The entire Brigade Headquarters was filled with tables; a rough count showed thirty of them. There were five large earthen stoves with big pots, and the cooks were preparing cold dishes.

"Brother Zhang, Tongwei is the Top Scholar of our city. I was thinking we should make it a proper celebration. The school leaders and the city's Education Bureau will be coming over too."

"Mm, Tongwei, you did well on the exam."

Zhang Ping'an knew the difficulty of the national college entrance exam; it was even harder now, so being the Top Scholar spoke for itself.

"Hehe."

"Qi Qinghai, you and Tongwei go greet the others. I'm not an outsider."

"Alright, Brother Zhang. Then you and Sister-in-law sit and rest for a while. Qi Tongren, come over and chat with Uncle Zhang."

"Oh, okay."

Qi Tongren couldn't sit still at all. He looked here and there from time to time, and seeing others playing made him restless.

"Go play," Zhang Ping'an said, finding it amusing. This kid couldn't stay idle for a second.

"Alright! Uncle, if you need anything, just call me. I'll be right on the side."

Not long after, Yang Jianming, the person in charge of the breeding farm, heard that Zhang Ping'an had arrived and came over with a group of the leadership team.

"General Manager Zhang."

"Mm, don't worry about me. Go do what you need to do."

"This... alright, General Manager Zhang, then we'll head back first. Most of the villagers are here helping out, and the breeding farm is indeed a bit short-handed."

"Mm, go ahead. Thank you for your hard work."

Just like that, the group came in a rush and returned in a rush.

At 10:30, Qi Tongwei's school leaders, teachers, and the people from the Education Bureau also arrived. They were startled when they saw Zhang Ping'an's license plates—Beijing A "leopard" numbers, all five cars in a row.

"Comrade Qi Qinghai, these cars are..."

"Oh, these are the cars of Tongwei's godfather."

"Then is his godfather a foreign businessman or from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs?"

"Ah?"

Qi Qinghai didn't understand these things and was a bit bewildered by the question. He only knew that Zhang Ping'an was from Sijiucheng.

"Oh, he's a foreign businessman. The breeding farm we have here is his."

Qi Qinghai then remembered that the meat they raised was all Foreign Exchange Meat. Every holiday, their households could get two jin of it. And honestly, it was more authentic than local pork and worth the price.

"Oh, I see." Director Zhao breathed a slight sigh of relief; it was better that he wasn't in officialdom.

At 11:30, more than half of the thirty-two tables were already full, and the cold dishes were being served one after another.

Shredded Jellyfish, cold tossed tofu skin, garlic-flavored century eggs, deep-fried peanuts, cold tossed pig ears, sausage, smashed cucumber, and dried bean curd.

Zhang Ping'an had eaten them in his past life, but this was his first time seeing them now—eight cold dishes, with twelve hot dishes to follow.

The children were also eating this kind of banquet for the first time and were very curious.

"Brother Wei Chun, this is our local specialty. No matter the weather, we serve the cold dishes first. You don't have this custom in Sijiucheng, do you?"

"No, let alone Sijiucheng, even Xiangjiang doesn't have it."

But fortunately, it was summer, so eating cold dishes was fine. They were a bit puzzled by the idea of eating cold dishes in winter.

"You all try this. This Shredded Jellyfish is crunchy and chewy. These century eggs and this dried bean curd are all delicious."

Qi Tongren knew that Zhang Ping'an's family certainly didn't lack meat. These century eggs and dried bean curd were their local specialties, so he pushed these.

"Mm, it's crunchy and quite tasty."

"Right? There will be hot dishes later. They are all our local specialties. I'll introduce them to you one by one."

"Okay." It wasn't that it was exceptionally delicious; Wei'an and the others were likely just trying something novel.

The Qi father and son were the protagonists today. Once the four hot dishes were served, Qi Qinghai took Qi Tongwei to toast table by table, the smile on his face never fading.

"Brother Zhang, Sister-in-law, I've neglected you today."

"Eh, Qinghai, we aren't outsiders. You are the protagonists today, so don't get drunk."

Although they were using small wine cups, after thirty tables, it must have added up to about three taels of liquor.

"It's nothing, Brother Zhang. I'm happy today; I've never been this happy before."

"I understand, I understand. Tongwei is a promising child; you'll be able to enjoy your blessings from now on, brother."

"Let us enjoy them together, let us enjoy them together."

"Hahaha!" Zhang Ping'an was stunned for a moment, then burst into loud laughter.

In the evening, Zhang Ping'an gave Tongwei a large red envelope, and the group returned to the Reception House.

That night, the Qi family was counting the gift registry; everyone from Qi Family Village had given ten yuan, which was considered a generous gift at the time.

"Right, Godfather also gave me two red envelopes, and I haven't looked at them yet."

"Hiss!" The red envelopes were opened, revealing nothing but hundred-yuan bills, interspersed with a few smaller notes.

"Dad, it's eight hundred and eighty-eight yuan and eight cents in total."

"What about the other one?"

"One hundred and forty yuan. Oh, that should be the wages from my summer job."

"Uncle Zhang is generous; one person equals half our village. Big brother, with your scholarship added in, you've already earned over twenty thousand; you won't even be able to spend all your tuition."

"Second brother, you need to work hard too; strive to bring back a scholarship when the time comes."

"..."

Qi Tongren glared at his little sister, but when Qi Qinghai and his wife looked over, his scalp immediately went numb.

"I'll strive, I'll strive." I'll strive to at least get into high school... Qi Tongren muttered in a low voice.

"Oh no, Dad, I forgot to give the pastries to Godfather," Tongwei said, slapping his forehead.

"Right, right, right, I forgot too."

The father and son had drunk quite a bit of alcohol in the afternoon, and when Zhang Ping'an gave him the red envelope, he had been a bit dazed.

"I say, wouldn't it be fine if you just went over early tomorrow? Brother Zhang's family definitely won't be leaving today."

"That's true, that's true."

So, early the next morning, the father and son set off at four o'clock, each pedaling a Bicycle, and arrived at the Reception House just after six.

At this time, Zhang Ping'an was practicing Taiji in the courtyard of the Reception House; he saw the father and son approaching from afar and only finished his practice ten minutes later.

"Qinghai, Tongwei, what are you doing here so early?"

"Godfather, last time Sister Wanqiu and the younger siblings all liked eating the pastries from here. I had them ready yesterday, but then I forgot."

"My dad and I were afraid you would leave Yantai early, so..."

"You..."

Zhang Ping'an was somewhat moved. Regardless of anything else, Tongwei had kept this matter in his heart and even rode his bike for dozens of kilometers early in the morning to deliver them. For this sincerity alone, Zhang Ping'an felt his affection had not been wasted.

Fortunately, he had the habit of waking up early; otherwise, who knows how long this father and son would have had to wait.