Chapter 55: Mid-Autumn Festival Family Banquet

At this moment, Wang Jianguo had just returned from a meeting in town and was in the courtyard tinkering with an oil can to grease his bicycle chain.

"Uncle, are you busy?"

"Oh, it's Xiaofeng. I'm just putting some oil on the chain! What's up?" Wang Jianguo frowned, wondering if the Zhu family was stirring up trouble again.

Yue Feng grinned. "Any plans for tonight? My family made a couple of dishes; my parents sent me to invite your whole family over for a casual meal!"

Yue Feng was being a bit clever with his invitation; he wasn't just inviting Wang Jianguo, but his entire family of four.

Yue Feng knew full well that Wang Jianguo wouldn't agree to just himself.

According to Northeast Chinese customs, unless they were close relatives or friends with a deep, long-standing bond, the head of a household wouldn't bring his wife and children along when going to someone else's house for drinks.

But this was exactly where Yue Feng's brilliance lay. If he only invited him, Wang Jianguo might find an excuse to decline. But by inviting the whole family, it signaled a very sincere desire to build a relationship with his household; to refuse would require serious consideration.

Even if he felt it was inappropriate, wouldn't he have to send a representative to the feast? If so, Yue Feng's goal would be achieved.

"I don't have plans, but your younger brother hasn't finished his homework yet! If a villager has something urgent, there has to be someone at home! Besides, your aunt has already finished making dinner. If they don't go, we'll catch another chance next time!"

Wang Jianguo was a seasoned veteran of grassroots life. Such social subtleties were easy for him to see through at a glance. Instead of calling him out, he played along with Yue Feng's lead.

"That works too! We'll be waiting for you. My dad said if you don't come, we aren't starting the feast tonight!"

"Alright, let me wash my hands and I'll head over right away!"

"Deal! I'll head back then!"

Wang Jianguo watched Yue Feng leave, unable to help but feel a sense of wonder.

They say that when a person finally "gets it," sometimes it only takes a good night's sleep; it really was like that.

Ever since the Yue family's second son first came to borrow a bicycle, Wang Jianguo had discussed it privately with his wife. How much time had passed? The Yue family had already, almost imperceptibly, established themselves in the village.

Wang Jianguo knew about Yue Feng organizing people to go into the mountains to catch wild game to sell in the city. The fact that he had bought a bicycle in such a short time spoke volumes.

Coupled with his performance during today's confrontation with the Zhu family, Yue Feng's demeanor was exactly to Wang Jianguo's liking.

Village life had its own survival rules; constant yielding and accommodation would only encourage more aggression.

Especially for a family like the Yues, who lived in a single household and had no deep roots in the village, the optimal solution to facing bullying from villagers was to fight back with clear conviction. You strike one blow to prevent a hundred more from coming.

Today, Yue Feng was neither humble nor arrogant. Though he seemed to have lost the spotlight to Li Wentong's son, Xiao Tao, Wang Jianguo knew that Yue Feng was the core of the team, calmly sitting in control of the entire situation.

Wang Jianguo already had a very good impression of the Yue family, and now that their son had come to invite him, he had no reason to refuse.

With that thought, Wang Jianguo washed his hands, went inside to change into clean clothes, said goodbye to his wife, took two bottles of wine from the dresser, and headed straight to Yue Feng's house.

It wasn't dark yet, but the Yue house was already extremely lively. Kerosene lamps from several neighboring houses had been brought over to Yue Feng's; looking through the window from the courtyard, the place looked almost brightly lit.

Entering the main room of the north house, several older women were chatting and laughing while making dumplings. A large pot of catfish and eggplant was simmering on the stove; though it wasn't ready yet, the aroma was already spreading through the room.

Wang Jianguo pushed the door open and entered. "Oh, everyone's busy! It's quite lively in here!"

"Uncle is here! Quick, get to the heated brick bed in the east room! Yue Lei, Mingyu's dad is here!" Seeing Wang Jianguo arrive, Meng Yulan immediately shouted toward the room.

Yue Feng, who was sitting by the edge of the heated bed serving the guests, heard the call and immediately opened the door to welcome him.

"Uncle, this way! Come up to the bed, we've saved a spot for you!" Yue Feng ushered Wang Jianguo directly up.

At this moment, on the low table by the bed, the "Five Tigers" from today's fight were all present. Various heavy dishes were already on the table, with only the final catfish and eggplant and the last batch of dumplings left to be served.

As the village secretary, Wang Jianguo had seen many such social gatherings. He usually prided himself on having eaten and seen everything, but after seeing the Mid-Autumn feast laid out tonight, he was momentarily stunned.

There was almost not a single green vegetable on the table; it was all meat, all kinds of meat. The only vegetarian dish was braised tofu, but in these times, tofu wasn't something an ordinary family could eat whenever they pleased.

"Uncle!"

"Uncle!"

"Grandpa!"

...

A group of juniors hurriedly greeted him.

"Jianguo! Quick, get up on the bed, we've been waiting for you. My legs aren't working well so I couldn't come out to meet you, don't hold it against me!!" Yue Lei stood up to greet him.

Wang Jianguo replied, "Don't be silly, would I be formal with you? The standard tonight is quite high; I've arrived! Xiaofeng, warm up the wine I brought. We're going to have a good drink tonight!"

"Yes! Will do!" Yue Feng responded, grabbing the wine bottles and heading to the outer room.

Soon, the final dish of catfish stewed with eggplant was served, and dinner officially began!!

Initially, the people at the table were a bit reserved, but after a few cups of wine, the atmosphere became increasingly harmonious.

Yue Feng spoke very little at the table. Most of the time, he listened to the elders chatting, refilling wine when needed and pouring water when necessary; he served the family feast flawlessly.

As the alcohol and the atmosphere took hold, Wang Jianguo's usual formal air gradually relaxed. During the meal, he praised Yue Feng for being a promising young man at least five times.

With his son showing such promise, Yue Lei felt a sense of pride. He used that momentum to drink heavily with Wang Jianguo and Li Wentong. By the time the pork and sauerkraut dumplings were served, each of them had consumed nearly a pound of alcohol.

...

At around two in the morning, Yue Lei felt thirsty. He rolled over, and his wife, Meng Yulan, reached out to feel his forehead.

"Lan, give me some water!"

Soon, a mouthful of lukewarm water was poured in, and Yue Lei regained a bit of clarity.

"Is Xiaofeng and the others alright?" Yue Lei's memory was a bit fuzzy; he rarely drank, and a heavy drinking session like today's was even rarer.

"Don't worry, our son didn't drink too much. I sent them all home one by one! He even said that he told you to drink less, but you ended up out-drinking everyone at the table! Your uncle usually has such a high tolerance, but today you actually managed to out-drink him! Not to mention Wentong." His wife, Meng Yulan, said with a hint of complaint in her voice.

"I was happy today! Our son is making something of himself. The Yue family has finally stood up in this village!" Yue Lei's eyes were bright, his voice full of pride and triumph.

"Fine, fine, fine! If you're happy, drink a little, I won't stop you! Do you want more water?"

"No more. Starting tomorrow, I have to abstain from alcohol. I need to heal my leg wound quickly so I can go hunting in the mountains with my son!"

"So you do know that drinking affects your leg injury! We'll talk about hunting once you're healed! It's only two in the morning, go to sleep!"

On the heated bed, Yue Lei was full of ambition. Outside the window, the moon hung high in the night sky amidst scattered cold stars, as the autumn insects chirped all through the night.