Chapter 435: Six Tables
Chapter 435: Six Tables
As the cold winter days passed, the busy season arrived, and it was the eve of the New Year's Eve celebration.
The auspicious time for the event was between 3 pm and 5 pm, so Zhou Chenglei woke up at 1 am and helped his father load the tractor.
Zhou Mu carefully checked everything, afraid that they might have forgotten something.
"It's almost time; go and wake up Xia Xia and the children!"
"Okay." Zhou Chenglei glanced at his watch; it was 1:45 am. He went upstairs to wake up Jiang Xia, Zhou Zhou, Zhou Ying, and the rest of the brothers, and they all set off together.
Zhou Chenglei still had to drive to the pier later to pick up some people, and he was worried that there might not be enough space if they waited, so he took the brothers along.
They didn't plan to invite the entire village for the housewarming of their city home; they only invited the brothers and Great-Grandmother's family.
For the others, Zhou Chenglei only wanted to invite Zhang Rong, Doctor Gao, Fan Bianzhu, and a few others for a meal.
But since they had purchased the unit housing from the shipyard, they had to invite Zhou Factory Director and Xu Factory Director, and when the factory directors from the textile factory, plastic factory, and machinery factory heard about it, they all wanted to come.
With Jiang Father there, they knew they had to attend.
In the end, the factory directors and deputy directors of all the factories qualified to participate in the Guangzhou Fair showed up.
Some of Jiang Father's friends and colleagues also attended.
Jiang Father was delighted about his daughter's move and invited them all.
This time, neither Jiang Xia nor Zhou Chenglei accepted any gifts or money from the guests.
The celebration at Jufufu Restaurant was lively, with six tables set up.
Although there were only six tables, it still amazed Xu Wen'an and the owner of the opposite Fumanlou Restaurant.
Zhou Chenglei and Jiang Xia went from table to table, offering toasts and tea to the guests.
Li Xiuxian sat there, watching everyone speak to Jiang Xia with warm smiles and admiration, and talking to Zhou Chenglei with appreciation and respect.
At that moment, she deeply realized that she and Jiang Xia were different.
Zhou Chenglei remained the same as ever. Even though he had retired, his achievements were forever etched in the hearts of some people.
Those who truly appreciated him would always admire him, and their admiration wouldn't change due to his status. Just like the elderly gentleman who came last time and many others present.
Zhou Chensen's status meant nothing here.
And she was even less significant!
Even though her profession was respectable, and she was respected by her students and villagers.
Even if her partner's profession was also respectable, and it made her stand out at school, causing her colleagues to both envy and flatter her.
But in the city, she was nobody.
And Zhou Chensen was nobody as well.
After the meal, Jiang Xia and Zhou Chenglei personally saw everyone off, doing their best to attend to Jiang Father's colleagues, friends, and their own relatives and friends.
When they finished seeing off the guests and went to settle the bill, Xu Wen'an quoted a price.
Jiang Xia said, "That's not right, you've calculated it wrong."
Xu Wen'an smiled, "This is a gift from the restaurant, a 50% discount, wishing you a prosperous and harmonious new home."
Jiang Xia directly paid the price they had agreed upon when booking the tables. She had negotiated the price earlier, and with the additional discount, she didn't need to pay less.
Jiang Xia smiled, "Thank you, Manager Xu, we appreciate your kind gesture. However, we are not accepting gifts or money for our housewarming. We just want to celebrate and bring joy to everyone. So, we accept your kind thoughts, but we don't need the discount. Thank you! The food was delicious, and we will come again next time! See you!"
After Jiang Xia paid, she and Zhou Chenglei left together.
The rest of the family waited outside for them, including Jiang Father and Jiang Mother.
Jiang Father was chatting happily with Zhou Fu, Zhou Chengxin, and Zhou Chensen.
Jiang Mother was smiling and chatting with Zhou Mu, Tian Caixia, and Li Xiuxian.
Jiang Dong drove Zhang Fuyan and the couple, Fan Bianzhu and her husband, home.
Jiang Xia had known that Zhang Fuyan's parents had returned to China and were spending the Chinese New Year in Jing City.
So, she came to visit her maternal grandparents before the New Year and stayed for a few days.
It was likely that she wanted to personally understand their family's situation.
Because Zhang Fuyan had mentioned that her parents would have another work transfer next year, and they would likely be abroad for the next three to five years, only returning for official business.
As parents, it's only natural to be particularly concerned about their child's potential partner and personally visit to investigate the other party's family.
When Mr. Jiang saw Jiang Xia come out, he walked into the room and took her coat from Zhou Chenglei's hands, holding it up, "It's windy outside, put on your coat before going out."
"Dad, did you and Mom drive here? I'll have Ah Lei drive you home first," Jiang Xia said, reaching out to put on her coat.
"No need, Xiao Dong will come pick us up soon."
Mrs. Jiang also came in and asked, "You'll be staying in the city for three days, right?"
"Yes, we'll stay for three days."
Mrs. Zhou mentioned the new home inauguration, and it's customary to stay in the new house for three days.
Mrs. Jiang continued, "Editor-in-Chief Fan invited both our families to have a meal together the day after tomorrow. Xiao Yan's parents will return to Jing City the day after that and then leave the country after the New Year. They might not come back for a few years, so they want to meet the parents of both families before they leave. Will you and Ah Lei be available?"
Jiang Xia looked at Zhou Chenglei.
It seemed like he had plans with Zhang Erge that day.
Zhou Chenglei replied, "I'm available."
Both sets of parents had met.
Unless something unexpected happened, this meal would be equivalent to the engagement banquet of Jiang Dong and Zhang Fuyan. Nothing else was as important as this.
Mrs. Jiang added, "Xia Xia, tomorrow, accompany me to the mall to buy some gifts for Xiao Yan's parents. Will Xiao Dong come along?"
"No, he's not going. He, Xiao Yan, and her parents are going hiking in the neighboring city," Jiang Xia replied.
Jiang Dong had been waiting in Jing City for his vacation, and the day after he returned, he took her to the mall to buy gifts and then met Xiao Yan's grandparents.
Every day, he drove them around to have fun.
Mrs. Jiang didn't even know how filial her son was.
Jiang Xia could tell that Mrs. Jiang was feeling a bit jealous, so she said, "It's all thanks to you, Mom and Dad, for teaching us well from a young age! Xiao Dong knows that Xiao Yan's parents are rarely home, so he's showing his sincerity towards Xiao Yan, so they can be at ease abroad."
Jiang Xia spoke to Jiang Dong and Zhang Fuyan on the phone every week and often corresponded with them. She knew that Jiang Dong had just returned the day before to wait for Zhang Fuyan's parents to come back and visit them.
Jiang Dong also frequently visited Xiao Yan's grandparents with her.
Jiang Xia knew all about it. He was doing this to show his sincerity to Zhang Fuyan's parents, who were often away, so they could feel at ease about their daughter's relationship while abroad.
Mr. Jiang felt that his daughter was even more sensible than Mrs. Jiang, "Xia Xia is right. These are things Jiang Dong should do. Comrade Xiao Yan's parents are only back once in a long while. If Jiang Dong doesn't do these things, what family would dare to marry their daughter to him? Comrade Xiao Yan has high standards; is it that she can't find a suitable partner, or is there no one better than Jiang Dong?"
Mrs. Jiang felt much better after hearing this, "I didn't say anything. Why are you all saying so much? It's like I'm being unreasonable. I just asked Xia Xia to accompany me to buy gifts tomorrow."
Mr. Jiang laughed, "I'm not talking about you. Xia Xia and Jiang Dong are so sensible and polite because they learned it from you. Whenever we need to send gifts, you're the one who takes care of it all. You prepare everything so well. Now, you should also guide Jiang Dong on how to properly host Xiao Yan's parents. After all, they'll be leaving in a couple of days, and we can't lose face for the Jiang family."
Mrs. Jiang was truly delighted, and she did need to take charge. How could Jiang Dong understand these matters?
Mr. Jiang and Jiang Xia exchanged a glance and smiled.
(End of Chapter)
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