Chapter 322: Chapter 199: Fried Fish Fillets! This Crystal Sugar Pork Knuckle is Delicious! Happy Engagement! [Request for Monthly Ticket]_3
Haven’t eaten yet?
Lin Xu glanced at the Boiling Fish and the Fried Fish Fillets on the workstation.
There’s a place to handle these two dishes now.
He said with a smile, "Just now, Chef Dai from Building 18 and Chef Guo from Building 10 each taught me a dish using Dragon meat. Both are freshly made. If you don’t mind, I..."
He hadn’t finished speaking when his sister-in-law’s urging voice came through the phone, "Stop talking! Hurry and bring it over. I need to eat and leave before they arrive; I can’t stay too long."
Lin Xu: "..."
She sounded so listless just now. How come she’s so energetic the moment food is mentioned? Doesn’t she care about her figure anymore?
He placed the two dishes on a large tray, then asked the steamed foods department for two servings of rice noodles and a bowl of seaweed soup, and carried them all to the lobby.
At the lobby entrance, Chen Yan, dressed in a blue floral print dress, saw Lin Xu approaching and quickly walked towards him.
Lin Xu led her to a dining area. As soon as he set the food down, his sister-in-law pulled out a thick red envelope and placed it on the table; it looked like it contained over fifty thousand.
"Wow, that’s thick, huh?" Lin Xu remarked.
Chen Yan took a bite of rice and said helplessly, "Yesterday, Yueyue threatened to play matchmaker for me in front of all the relatives if I didn’t give a big red envelope. I managed to dodge Yueyue, but I couldn’t escape my own mom!"
"Ah, this..." Lin Xu was surprised. He hadn’t expected the pressure from the elders to get married to be so intense. He laughed and said, "I don’t even know how to comfort you..."
"Having these delicacies is the best comfort for me! Brother-in-law, you go ahead and get busy. This Dragon meat is really delicious. Next time our company has a group meal, I’ll buy one too, and you can help me cook it then, okay?"
"No problem!"
Lin Xu found his mother and handed her the red envelope. "This is from Sister Yan. Give it to Yueyue when she arrives. I need to hurry back to the kitchen to prepare the Qingshui Furong; Yueyue’s relatives want to see it being made."
「Back in the kitchen.」
Lin Xu no longer had the inclination to learn how to prepare the Giant Grouper. He quickly started preparing the Qingshui Furong and White Jade Lotus Root Strips. There were many guests today, so two servings of each wouldn’t be nearly enough; he made six servings of both dishes.
「It was past eleven in the morning.」
The Shen Family relatives had all arrived. Lin Xu came out from the kitchen with Shen Baobao to greet the guests.
Shen Baobao said, "This is my aunt."
"Hello, Aunt," Lin Xu greeted.
"And this is my uncle."
"Hello, Uncle."
"..."
The Shen Family didn’t have many relatives. Years ago, when the Shen Family had declined, interactions with relatives were few. Now that they had prospered, some past relatives tried to reconnect, but Shen Guofu didn’t give them a warm reception, and so, over time, those ties were severed.
Han Shuzhen’s family, however, had many relatives. The Han Family was a renowned medical family in Beijing. After retirement, Grandfather Han had been rehired at Jishuitan Hospital, and Grandmother Han at Xiehe Hospital. Han Shuzhen’s siblings also worked in various major hospitals in Beijing. When the large family gathered, one might think Building 10 was hosting a high-profile medical seminar.
Apart from relatives from both sides, others close to Shen Guofu, like Tan Yajun, also came, each bearing a hefty red envelope.
Also present were Geng Lishan and Geng Lele; the family of his senior apprentice-brother, Xie Baomin; and a host of friends including Panda, Wu Kexin, Yue Liyue, Guo Xinghai, and Wei Qian.
Some brought red envelopes, while others brought gifts. The most valuable was a piece of calligraphy, "A Hundred Years of Happy Union," personally written by Geng Lishan. When these four characters were displayed, they drew everyone’s attention, even attracting Grandfather Han.
Geng Lishan is notoriously hard to please, yet his granddaughter’s husband gets along with him as if they were close friends despite their age difference. This young man is truly remarkable!
When the pleasantries were mostly over, the front desk manager of Building 10 led everyone into the "National Unity" private room. Upon entering, everyone was stunned by the enormous dining table at its center.
Once all the relatives had taken their seats, Shen Guofu picked up the microphone from the table. He thanked his friends and family, and then lavishly praised Lin Xu.
"Yueyue and Xiao Xu hit it off back in college. However, they both approached their relationship very cautiously and only truly got together after graduation..."
Yes, that needs to be explained clearly, he thought. To prevent anyone from saying later that his daughter rushed into an engagement right after graduating.
After Shen Guofu sat down, Lin Hongqi also stood up to give a speech. Old Lin had previously worked at the Investment Promotion Bureau, responsible for receiving foreign investors, so he was no stranger to such formal occasions. Furthermore, since this marriage alliance was agreeable to both families, the atmosphere was naturally very harmonious.
When all the requisite pleasantries had been exchanged, the banquet officially began.
First, various cold appetizers were served. Each type of appetizer was presented on four separate plates, placed simultaneously at the four corners of the large table. This was done to prevent the awkward situation where guests seated earlier might finish a dish before it could be rotated to those seated further along, leaving them with an empty plate.
After the cold appetizers were served, Lin Xu quietly got up, intending to head to the kitchen to start on the dishes he was responsible for. Just as he reached the door of the private room, he saw a pile of parting gifts stacked at the entrance.
There were "Queen’s Gifts" from Building 2, "Prime Minister’s Gifts" from Building 10, "President’s Gifts" from Building 6, and "Saudi King’s Gifts" from Building 15, among others. These were all gifts prepared for various international dignitaries who had previously stayed at the Fishing Platform, intended for them upon their departure.
To bolster his junior brother’s standing, Xie Baomin had gathered all these pre-prepared parting gifts from the various buildings.
Xie Baomin explained, "Previously, Mr. Shen said one gift per family would be enough. But these parting gifts are too rare. When I mentioned it to Master just now, he immediately scolded me. He insisted on one for each person, so the bride’s family can’t say we’re being stingy!"
"Thank you! Thank you, Senior Brother! And please thank Master for me!" Lin Xu said gratefully.
Today was Lin Xu’s engagement ceremony, yet Xie Baomin seemed to be the busiest person there.