Chapter 355: The next step

Chapter 355: The next step

Chapter 355: Hosting a Grand Banquet, Next Step

"not me……"

Before Lin Ling'er could finish, Li Jiayi interrupted her and said, "We are still young now, but don't worry, you are my wife and you will be my wife for the rest of your life."

"Thank you!"

"You don't have to say thank you to me. There's no need to say it." Li Jiayi turned his head and looked at her and said.

"Ok!"

"Okay, go to bed! We have to get up early tomorrow."

"I know."

On the first day after marriage, one must get up early to pay respects to the parents-in-law.

There are not so many rules now, but getting up early is a must. Of course, this is only now. In the future, even this will not exist.

Yes, it was the wedding night, but the two of them did nothing.

It’s not that Li Jiayi didn’t want to, but that neither of them was ready.

In any case, Li Jiayi is also a person from the future. To be honest, for him, getting married at the age of 18 is a bit too early.

You have to know that in his previous life he was in his thirties and still unmarried!

The two of them lay like this all night.

The next morning, the two woke up early. Lin Linger blushed and said, "Awake."

"Ok!"

"Then let's get up quickly!"

"it is good."

Li Jiayi took a set of clothes into the bathroom and changed them there.

When he came out, Lin Linger had already changed her clothes.

The two of them came down from upstairs together and happened to meet Ye Xin coming out of the room.

"Why did you two get up so early?" Ye Xin asked.

"Mom, good morning." Lin Ling'er didn't know how to answer, so she shouted quickly.

"Good morning."

"Mom, it's so late now. It's time to get up." Li Jiayi said with a smile.

"All right!"

Mom was going to the kitchen to cook, so Lin Linger quickly followed and said, "Mom, I'll help you."

"You?" Ye Xin asked doubtfully, "Can you cook?"

You have to know that Lin Ling'er is a big lady! She is the one who is not afraid of water.

"Mom, I can learn!"

"Okay! Then you help me light the fire first. When you learn how to light the fire, you can help me cook."

"Okay mom."

Looking at Lin Ling'er's well-behaved appearance, Li Jiayi smiled, but he did not stop Lin Ling'er.

Lin Ling'er doesn't have a job now. If I don't find her something to do, she will probably be very bored!
If she really learned how to cook, that would be great. Since everyone in the family is at work, she can help with cooking at home.

This doesn't mean that Li Jiayi married a wife just to cook, it's just that everyone has his or her own duties.

Li Jiayi couldn't go to the kitchen, and he didn't know how his mother taught him, but when the meal was ready, Lin Linger ran out with a gloomy face.

This person’s face is black, really black, with soot all over his face.

"Hahaha! Are you making a fire or warming yourself by the fire?" The second sister asked with a smile when she saw her like this.

"Second sister, this is my first time to make a fire. But I have learned it." Lin Ling'er said.

"Just learn it."

Knowing that Lin Ling'er was learning to cook, the second sister did not go into the kitchen after getting up.

After dinner, everyone in the family went to work, and suddenly Li Jiayi and Lin Ling'er were the only ones left at home.

"Don't you have to go to work?" Lin Ling'er asked.

"No, my time is very flexible. I just need to complete my tasks every month. I don't need to go to the factory."

"Oh! That's very good."

"How are you? It's your first time making a fire today. What do you think?"

Hearing Li Jiayi's question, Lin Linger said with a bitter face: "I didn't expect that making a fire would be so difficult."

"This is normal. After all, this is your first time making a fire. Next time you make a fire, remember not to add so much firewood. Just add a little more firewood if the fire gets smaller."

"Hey, you can make a fire?" Lin Ling'er asked Li Jiayi in surprise.

Hearing Lin Linger's words, Li Jiayi's forehead was black. What did she mean? Was it strange that he could make fire?

"No, my elder sister and second sister told me that mom doesn't allow you to enter the kitchen, so you have never been to the kitchen since you were a child."

"I have never been in the kitchen, but that has nothing to do with whether I can light a fire or not. I light all the fires for our sauna in winter."

"Oh! I see."

"Okay, I don't have anything to do today, I'll take you out for a walk!"

"Ok!"

The two people came outside, Li Jiayi opened the jeep, let Lin Linger sit in the passenger seat, and then drove out of the city.

Yes, Li Jiayi wanted to take Lin Linger for a walk outside the city.

Of course, Li Jiayi also had a camera. Throughout the morning, Li Jiayi took Lin Ling'er to take pictures.

Although she had a camera at home, she had never taken photos like this before.

There is no need to worry about film at all, just shoot as many photos as you want.

There are photos of Lin Ling'er sitting in a jeep, and there are also photos of Lin Ling'er pretending to drive a jeep.

There are even photos of Lin Ling'er sitting on the hood of a jeep.

Of course, there are also various landscape photos.

At noon, Li Jiayi took Lin Ling'er out for a meal, and then went to the Forbidden City for a tour, also taking a lot of photos.

In the blink of an eye, it was the morning of the fifth day of the New Year. Today Li Jiayi had to go back to Lijia Village, and not only that, he had to take Liao Kai, Nan Yi and He Yuzhu with him.

Because the wedding will be held in my hometown tomorrow, I have to make preparations in advance today.

As for my parents, and my older sisters, they plan to go there tomorrow morning.

As for how to get there, don’t we have a truck at home?

There are two cars in the family. After so long, both the eldest and second brothers have learned how to drive long ago.

After breakfast in the morning, Liao Kai and the other three came over, each with his own stuff.

In this way, there will be no need to prepare when the time comes, and each chef will be able to use his own things easily.

"Let's go plus one."

"Okay, Uncle Liao."

After agreeing, Li Jiayi called upstairs, "Ling'er, are you ready?"

"coming."

They were going to stay in the countryside for two days, so of course they had to prepare some clothes. Besides, they were going to have a wedding, so they definitely had to prepare wedding clothes.

"Son, you guys go over there and get ready today. We'll go there early tomorrow morning."

"Oh! By the way! Let me give you the car keys first." After Li Jiayi finished speaking, he handed over the keys to the truck.

He had already filled the truck with gas, so it was such a short distance that he could easily make two round trips.

"it is good."

Soon Lin Ling'er came down carrying a big bag containing clothes for her and Li Jiayi.

"Let's go, Uncle Liao."

"it is good."

Five people came outside, Li Jiayi opened the back door, put the bag in, and then helped Lin Linger open the passenger seat.

At this time, Liao Kai and the other three had already gotten in the car.

"I never thought that I could enjoy this treatment in my lifetime." Liao Kai said with emotion.

"Come on! You talk as if you have never ridden in a Jiayi jeep. Among the three of us, you've ridden in it the most." He Yuzhu said.

"Uh!" Liao Kai was stunned for a moment and said, "I say, Zhuzi, can't you let me feel a little emotional?"

"Okay, okay, you can continue to sigh."

"Forget it, there's no such atmosphere anymore."

"Giggle!"

Lin Linger laughed. She felt that these three uncles were quite interesting.

However, she would not underestimate Liao Kai and the other two, because she knew that these three were all great chefs!

Even in the past, when their family invited a chef to cook at home, his father was always very polite.

"Uncle Liao, Uncle Nan, and Brother Zhuzi, when we get here, I will first arrange a place for you to stay, and then you can see what you need to prepare so that I can get it for you."

"Plus one! There's no rush for a place to live. We're not that squeamish. We can just find a place to live."

"That's right plus one, let's get ready first!"

"That won't do. Never mind. Just listen to my instructions when the time comes."

"OK then!"

More than two hours later, the jeep arrived at Lijia Village.

"Jiayi, your hometown is in front, right?" Liao Kai asked.

"Yes, this is Lijia Village."

"This place is great! It's perfect for retirement, like a paradise."

"Okay!"

If the three of them were allowed to walk around the village, they would probably have even more feelings.

You know, people in Lijia Village now live better than in the city. At the very least, they have enough food and clothing.

Every household in the village raises pigs, chickens, ducks, etc., and some villagers also raise sheep.

They grow their own food in their own fields, and the food produced every year is more than they can eat.

As for wearing it, it goes without saying that the villagers didn't have cloth coupons, but Li Jiayi did!

Sometimes villagers would ask Li Jiayi to exchange supplies for tickets, and they were all kinds of tickets.

However, there is one thing: the villagers did not ask him to exchange their bicycle tickets. It was not that they did not want to exchange them, but that they were not allowed to do so.

In the words of the village chief, we in Lijia Village must keep a low profile and not let others know that we are wealthy, so we cannot accept anything that shows off our wealth.

Look, up to now, there are only two bicycles in the village, one of which is the party secretary’s old bicycle which is more than ten years old.

There is also a bicycle that Li Jiayi bought for his grandfather, but that bicycle is now basically ridden by his uncle.

Now my uncle is the team leader. Sometimes he has to go to the commune for meetings or for other matters.

The jeep quickly drove to my grandfather's house. Yes, the wedding would be held at my grandfather's house.

Moreover, grandma cleared out the house and transformed their room into a new home.

As for where my grandparents will live temporarily, of course they will live at my uncle’s house!
Besides, Li Jiayi and his family will only stay at home for one night, so after they return to the city, grandparents can move back.

When the jeep arrived at grandma's house, grandpa and grandma were already waiting at the gate.

But they were not waiting for Li Jiayi! They were waiting for their granddaughter-in-law.

Yes, Li Aimin still wrote a letter to his family regarding Li Jiayi’s marriage, and it was an urgent letter.

So grandpa and grandma knew they were coming today, and they were waiting at the gate.

In fact, it’s not just grandpa and grandma who are waiting, but also uncle and aunt.

Li Jiayi parked the jeep and got out of the car.

"Grandpa, grandma, uncle and aunt."

Unfortunately, no one paid any attention to him and walked towards Lin Ling'er who had just got off the jeep.

"Oh! This girl must be Ling'er! She is so beautiful." said grandma.

Li Jiayi touched his nose awkwardly.

Just at this time, Liao Kai and the other three also got out of the car. Seeing him like this, He Yuzhu said, "How about Jiayi? You've fallen out of favor, haven't you?"

"Go away, you are the same." Li Jiayi rolled his eyes at He Yuzhu.

In the past, the deaf old lady doted on He Yuzhu! But since He Yuzhu got married, the deaf old lady has put her doting on Qian Meilin.

"You kid, you still won't suffer any loss."

At this time, grandpa and uncle also saw Liao Kai and the other three, and hurried over.

Grandpa and uncle knew Liao Kai and the other two, because they were the ones who prepared the banquet for my eldest brother's wedding.

"Hey! Why did we invite you three here?" Grandpa came up and asked quickly.

"Grandpa, this is what we do. There is no such thing as inviting or not. Are you feeling well?"

"Very good, everything tastes delicious."

"That's good."

"Quick, please come inside."

"No, old man, you're embarrassing us by doing this." Liao Kai said quickly.

"Hahaha, fine, then sit inside."

"it is good."

When he arrived at the yard, Li Jiayi saw that a stove had been set up in the yard. Needless to say, this should have been built by his uncle.

At this time, grandma and aunt also pulled Lin Ling'er into the house, one on each side.

"Grandpa, uncle, how many tables do you want to set up this time?"

Li Jiayi had not made any preparations except to know how many tables to set up, because he had no idea before that.

"At least forty tables are needed!"

"Ah! So many?" Li Jiayi asked in surprise.

"This is still too little. It's better to prepare for fifty tables," said the uncle.

"No way, uncle, there are so many tables, Liao Kai and the other three can't handle it!"

"Kid, you know how popular you are in the village. Every household will definitely come over when the time comes!"

"This……"

"Don't worry! We will have help when the time comes. Your uncle Liao and the others only need to cook and don't need to worry about anything else."

"Uncle Liao, how is it? Can you handle it?" Li Jiayi turned his head and asked.

"If it's just cooking, the three of us should be fine."

"Yes, plus one." Nan Yi nodded.

"Well! Then tell me how much stuff is needed to prepare fifty tables, and then write me a list and I'll get it back."

"Okay, let's discuss it, and then I'll give you the list."

"Ok."

After some discussion among Liao Kai and the other two, they gave Li Jiayi a list.

Li Jiayi was speechless when he saw the items on the list! This required too much.

It's just him. If it were someone else, there wouldn't be any way he could do it. I guess even the director of the meat processing plant wouldn't be able to do it.

Fifty chickens, fifty pork elbows, fifty fish.

Three hundred kilograms of pork, two hundred kilograms of beef, and one hundred kilograms of mutton. In addition, eggs, various vegetables, even green onions and garlic sprouts are needed in large quantities.

Holding the list, Li Jiayi asked, "Uncle Liao, do you need anything else besides these?"

"Other? What else?"

"For example, old turtles, lobsters, crabs and so on."

Hearing Li Jiayi's question, Liao Kai asked, "Can you get these too?"

"of course."

"A plus one! If that's the case, that's even better. I'm just researching a dish that combines chicken and old turtle."

"Uh! Isn't that Farewell My Concubine?"

"Farewell My Concubine, what a good name!" Liao Kai said with his eyes lighting up.

In later generations, this dish is available in almost every restaurant, but in this era, it seems that it has not been cooked this way before.

In fact, this is very normal. Many dishes in later generations were developed bit by bit, and there were very few dishes at that time.

"Okay, then I'll go prepare it and it will be here before noon."

"Ok!"

Li Jiayi came out of the yard, drove the jeep and left directly without even saying a word to Lin Linger.

But it doesn’t matter. With grandma and aunt around, Lin Linger will not be without someone to talk to.

Li Jiayi drove the jeep around the commune, then found a place to rest for a while and drove back.

When they got close to the village, Li Jiayi stopped the jeep and started putting things into it.

What was left was what Liao Kai and the others had written, and then Li Jiayi took out more than fifty old turtles weighing three or four kilograms.

There were more than fifty lobsters and five to six hundred crabs.

After checking to make sure there was nothing missing, we drove into the village.

With so many things, not only the back was filled up, but even the red seats were piled up, otherwise there would be no room for them at all.

After parking the car in front of his grandfather's house, Li Jiayi shouted to the inside: "Uncle Liao, Uncle Nan, Brother Zhuzi, come out and unload the things."

After Li Jiayi shouted, a group of people quickly came out of the yard.

Yes, it was a group of people. It turned out that the people my uncle had asked for help had come, and they were all villagers.

"Sure, Jiayi, getting married so soon."

"Myna, why are you here too?" Li Jiayi asked.

"I'm here to help!"

More people means more work! With so many things, it didn't take long for everyone to unload them all.

At this time, the stove in the yard was already lit.

Seeing this, Li Jiayi knew that there was nothing left for him to do next.

So he went straight back inside.

When he got into the house, he found that there were many people in the house, most of whom he called sisters-in-law, and of course, there were also nieces and nieces-in-law.

"Is my eldest grandson back? Are all things ready?" Grandma asked when she saw him come back.

"Yes grandma, everything is ready, including all kinds of seasonings."

"That's good."

In fact, these sisters-in-law and nieces-in-law also came to help. They were just chatting in the house when they didn’t have anything. Now that everything has been brought back, they are going out to help.

"How is it? Are you not used to it?" Li Jiayi asked Lin Ling'er.

"No." Lin Ling'er shook her head and said, "I feel pretty good. I didn't expect that there would be someone calling me aunt, and someone who is so much older than me."

"This is normal, because my grandfather is the youngest in his generation, so my generation is relatively high in the village."

"So that's how it is! All right then!"

"By the way, you ran so far to bring things back, you must be thirsty! I'll get you some water."

"No, I'm not thirsty. Are you thirsty?"

"Yeah! A little bit."

"Then wait a minute. I'll make you some tea. Grandpa has some good tea leaves here! Uncle usually doesn't let me drink it."

"Ah! That's better not to do."

"It's okay, drink as much as you want. At worst, I'll get some more for grandpa when you finish."

"Ah! Did you give this tea to grandpa?"

"Yup!"

"Then why don't you give some to uncle?" Lin Ling'er asked.

"I gave it to him, but my uncle was reluctant to drink it himself and always came to my grandfather to drink tea for free."

Hearing what Li Jiayi said, Lin Linger smiled and said nothing more.

At noon, Liao Kai and the other two each cooked a few dishes, and everyone had a meal together with those who helped.

The helpers were delighted with the meal. They had never imagined that food could be so delicious.

At the same time, I don’t understand why they are the same things but the taste is so different.

All that needed to be packed up has been done throughout the afternoon, and tomorrow will be much easier.

After dinner in the evening, uncle took Liao Kai and the other two away, along with grandparents.

Originally, Li Jiayi thought that everything in this yard had to be taken care of by him!
Unexpectedly, grandpa had already arranged for people to sleep in the yard, so he didn't need to worry about it.

Silent all night.

Early the next morning, Li Jiayi was still asleep, but the yard was already bustling with activity.

At around eight o'clock, my eldest brother came back driving the truck.

My parents, my eldest sister, my second sister, my second brother, my cousin, and of course, my sister-in-law Sun Qingmin also came back with them.

At this time, I saw villagers rushing here, and many of them were carrying round tables.

There were also some people carrying long benches.

My uncle also had people move all the long benches from the school over, but even so, there were only more than thirty large round-shaped tables.

It seems that it is impossible to finish the meal in one sitting, so we can only let some people eat first.

The village accountant came early in the morning, moved a small round table over, asked the old man for red paper, and made an account book.

Li Jiayi changed into a new Zhongshan suit at this time, and Lin Linger also changed into a red wedding dress.

"Li Jiayi, congratulations."

"Uh! Teacher Wang, why are you here?" Li Jiayi hurriedly went up and asked.

"You little brat, I'm in the village. How could I not come for such a big event as your wedding?"

"No, I mean, I haven't asked you yet!"

Of course Li Jiayi knew that Teacher Wang was in the village, because he was the one who sent Teacher Wang here.

Li Jiayi originally planned to go over and invite Teacher Wang over later, but he didn't expect that Teacher Wang would come over by himself.

"Hey, you're so busy today, why are you asking for help? I can do it myself."

"Li Jiayi, congratulations!"

"Teacher Liu."

In fact, not only Teacher Wang and Teacher Liu, but all the teachers he sent here came at this time.

"Teachers, I'm so sorry. I was planning to invite you later, but I didn't expect you to come here on your own."

"It's all the same, it's all the same, we don't need to invite you."

"Then please take a seat first." Li Jiayi hurriedly took Lin Ling'er to invite all the teachers to sit down.

Of course, an introduction is also necessary.

"You are so lucky! You found such a beautiful wife." Teacher Liu said jokingly.

"Teacher Liu, you are also very beautiful." Lin Ling'er said.

Lin Linger was not being polite, because Teacher Liu was naturally very pretty, and she was definitely a great beauty when she was young.

"No, I'm old now."

"You're not old at all."

Hearing Lin Ling'er say this, Teacher Liu smiled and said, "This little mouth is really sweet."

At this time, the eldest brother, the second brother, the eldest sister, the second sister, and even the cousin were all putting peanuts, melon seeds, and candies on each table.

They came back to help, so of course they should be the ones to do these small things.

As for my sister-in-law, she was talking to my aunt and grandmother at that time.

They are all grandsons' wives, so the old lady cannot favor one over the other. In this regard, the old lady did a particularly good job.

That's how it is in this era, many things have to be borrowed, but Li Jiayi didn't even need to borrow anything.

The villagers brought the bowls, plates and other things over themselves.

This is probably unique to him, and this is how famous Li Jiayi is in the village.

Apart from him, I guess even if the village party secretary was hosting a banquet, he would have to go there in person to borrow it.

At around eleven o'clock, more than thirty tables were full and the meal began.

Because Li Jiayi had to drive, even though he was drinking wine, he only took sips.

If every table had a drink, after all the rounds, even if he could drink, he would probably get drunk.

Everyone understood, so no one forced him to drink.

But even so, Li Jiayi drank almost two cups after this round.

Rural people eat fast, and the meal made by the three of them was delicious, so they finished the meal in less than half an hour.

Then someone started to clear the table and then came the second time.

The tables are not in the yard, as there is not enough space for so many tables in the yard, so they are all on the road outside.

Sure enough, there were more than a dozen tables for the second banquet. Fortunately, the old man asked us to prepare fifty tables, otherwise it would not be enough.

After everyone finished eating and left, Liao Kai and the other two got busy again, because their own families hadn't eaten yet! The same was true for the helpers.

But even so, it was already past one in the afternoon when we finished our meal.

Fortunately, it is summer now, the days are long and the nights are short, and it doesn’t get dark until around seven or eight in the evening.

This way there is no rush, and after dinner everyone sits in the yard drinking tea and chatting.

As for the tables, chairs, benches and so on, there is no need to worry about them. They will come and move them by themselves later, including the bowls and plates.

It was a little after three in the afternoon, and seeing that it was almost time, the family rushed to the city. There was no other way, as they had to go to work the next day.

On the way back, Lin Linger turned around and looked at Liao Kai and the other two and said, "Uncle Liao, Uncle Nan, Brother Zhuzi, can you teach me how to cook later?"

"Uh! Why do you want to learn how to cook?" Nan Yi asked.

“I want to cook for my family!”

"If you want to learn, have some ingredients ready. We can come over and teach you anytime."

If someone else wanted to learn cooking from them, they would at least have to hold a ceremony to celebrate their apprenticeship, but Lin Linger didn't need that.

Because she just wanted to learn how to cook, not to be a chef.

"Yeah! Thank you Uncle Liao, thank you Uncle Nan, and thank you Brother Zhuzi."

"Need not."

More than two hours later, the group returned to the city. At this time, many people in the hospital had just returned from get off work.

"Oh, Uncle Liao, Uncle Nan, and Brother Zhuzi, we're going to hold a party on the 12th, but it's going to be a small event, with only four or five tables at most."

"We already know this. Your father has already told us."

"Ok!"

After returning home, my mother handed a box to Lin Ling'er and said, "This is for you."

"Mom, what is this?"

"The gift money I received today!"

"Ah! Why are you giving me the gift money?" Lin Ling'er was a little confused.

"You guys do the work, so of course the gift money will be given to you!"

"I don't want this, Mom, you should keep it!" Lin Ling'er shook her head and said.

"Are you sure you don't want it? This gift money is quite a lot!" Ye Xin said with a smile.

"No." Lin Ling'er shook her head this time.

How much money can you charge for a wedding banquet in the countryside? Life in the countryside is so hard now.

There was one thing that Lin Linger had not expected, and that was that life in Lijia Village was not hard at all, and was even quite wealthy.

Also, this banquet was hosted by Li Jiayi, and Lin Linger didn't know how famous Li Jiayi was in the village.

"Mom, how much gift money did you receive in total?" the second sister asked at this time.

"I collected more than a thousand dollars in total."

"Ah! So many!"

Even Lin Ling'er was stunned for a moment and didn't react for a moment.

You know, this is a rural area! Can a village have so much money?
"Every household gave a gift, and the minimum amount was ten dollars, and some even gave twenty dollars."

In fact, it was very normal. Li Jia gave the village job opportunities once or twice, and also helped the village sell pork, chickens, ducks, etc.

It is estimated that those who gave more money were children who came to the city to work. Those who gave ten yuan, although their children did not come to the city to work, all lived a good life because of Li Jiayi and his family.

Of course, this only applies to Li Jiayi's banquet. If it were someone else, the most it would cost would be one or two yuan, or even three or two cents.

"Sister-in-law! It's more than a thousand yuan! You really don't want it?" asked the second sister.

"No, just give it to mom! Let mom keep it for use."

"Mom! Since Ling'er doesn't want it, why not give it to me!" said the second sister.

"Get away from me, you're everywhere." Mom patted my second sister on the head and said.

Lin Linger had seen money before, and although more than a thousand yuan was a lot of money, it was not enough to make her excited.

And she knew that the family was not short of money at all. For example, the money spent on the banquet held today was more than what was earned.

Also, although she didn't know how much money Li Jiayi had, she knew that Li Jiayi was not short of money.

If she really needed money, Li Jiayi would definitely give it to her.

"Son, since Ling'er doesn't want it, then the money will be given to you." Ye Xin turned and said to Li Jiayi.

"No need, Mom! Didn't Ling'er say that you can use the money? In that case, just keep it!"

"Okay, since you don't need money anyway, I'll keep it for you. Just ask me for it when you need it."

"Yeah!" Li Jia nodded.

I thought to myself that I would probably never be asked for money in this lifetime.

We ate too much at noon, so no one was very hungry. Mom just cooked a little bit and we took a rest after the meal. We were indeed a little tired today.

Two people were lying on the bed, with the electric fan blowing, but they didn't feel hot at all.

Li Jiayi turned over, faced Lin Linger and asked, "Are you tired today?"

"It's okay, not very tired." Lin Ling'er also turned over and said to him.

"That's good, I thought you would be very tired today!"

"well enough!"

As they were chatting, the two of them fell asleep. In fact, they were a little tired, otherwise they wouldn't have fallen asleep so quickly.

(End of this chapter)