Since its opening, the Oriental Hotel has been in business almost every day. It is probably because of its location, service, and reputation that it is a hotel near the port city. The morning of the 18th was full of sunshine, which dispelled the strong chill.
Today, the deputy director of the city's Public Security Bureau, Xiao Hongwei, held a banquet here. The hotel manager personally asked about the details and tried his best to leave a good impression on Xiao so that they could talk to each other when they met again in the future.
At the main entrance, a bright banner has been hung.
"Happy 20th birthday to Xiao Rongyu, the beloved daughter of Xiao Hongwei and Lu Yuqing!"
This is the custom in northern Jiangsu. 20 years old is a very important day, second only to weddings and funerals.
Around 9 o'clock, a group of people appeared in front of the hotel. Some were old ladies wearing gray and white cotton jackets, some were women holding children, and some were old men smoking dry tobacco. Of course, there were also young people wearing only thin leather jackets in the cold weather. They shook hands and greeted each other from a distance, calling each other affectionately.
These are all Xiao Hongwei's relatives. Although Lao Xiao and Lu Yuqing have a good family background, some of their relatives are just simple farmers. However, they are very enthusiastic. They heard that their younger generations or cousins who are over 20 years old would take a car to the city very early.
In fact, rural people attach more importance to etiquette and have a deeper sense of family.
After 9:30, another group of relatives came.
Most of them drove here. They all looked like middle-aged couples with successful careers. They brought their children and dressed neatly. The cigarettes they took out were all over 20 yuan, and there were even many Zhonghua cigarettes.
In fact, it is also very strange. Obviously, everyone is a relative, but the rich relatives will go to Xiao Hongwei's house first to sit, as if to show their appearance; those who are more ordinary, everyone has a tacit understanding to come to the hotel first.
This is also a very interesting manifestation of the social rural outlook.
Around 10 o'clock, Lao Xiao's family also came, because there were relatives coming to the door continuously, which delayed them for a long time.
Lao Xiao is a well-known figure in the small city of Gangcheng, so some relatives will not be angry even if they wait for an hour, especially the hotel manager who is very good at dealing with people and keeps asking the waiter to serve tea and water.
Lao Xiao apologized one by one after getting off the car: "Sorry, sorry, we are late."
"It's okay, cousin, where is the eldest niece?"
"It's not late, it's only 10 o'clock."
"That's right, we just arrived too."
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The relatives comforted him considerately. While Xiao Hongwei was chatting, he took out Zhonghua from his pocket and started to distribute cigarettes. At this time, Xiao Rongyu's grandmother, mother and herself got out of the car.
Grandma was wearing a bright red cotton jacket with pearls dotted on the cuffs, which looked very festive;
Mom was wearing a coffee-colored woolen windbreaker, which made her look more luxurious;
Xiao Rongyu was wearing a pink down jacket with a little makeup on. Her delicate face was as crystal-like as jade, her curled eyelashes were flickering, her mouth was pink and shiny, and her iconic ponytail swayed left and right with her body, showing the liveliness and youth of a 20-year-old.
The relatives gathered around with smiles.
"Second grandma, you are going to celebrate your birthday."
"Sister-in-law, your windbreaker is so beautiful."
"Xiao Yu'er is already 20 years old, and she is always so beautiful."
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Next, Xiao Hongwei took Xiao Rongyu to greet the relatives.
Because some relatives rarely come and go, and because she is in school, they may not have met a few times, but since they are attending the banquet, they must be politely addressed.
Xiao Yuer is good at talking and has a sweet voice. In addition, she has a good family, so many elders wanted to give her red envelopes. Lu Yuqing quickly stopped them. It has been more than a month since the Spring Festival, so how could she accept red envelopes?
The brothers of the same generation in their 20s responded a little shyly when they saw how beautiful their sister was.
Before she finished greeting, a group of little brats followed Xiao Rongyu, all of them were elementary school students and kindergarten students. When they saw that their sister was beautiful, they all circled under her thighs and looked up at Xiao Rongyu with their little faces tilted up.
The hotel manager knew that Director Xiao was coming, so he hurried out of the hall to greet him. He took out the Jianye Nine Five Supreme and said respectfully and warmly: "Director Xiao, there are quite a few people here today."
"Yeah."
Xiao Hongwei was so busy that he felt a little dizzy. He asked in a short sentence: "Is everything arranged?"
"Okay."
The hotel manager patted his chest and assured: "There won't be any problems."
Xiao Hongwei was relieved and shook hands with the hotel manager: "Then I'll leave it to you."
"By the way."
Old Xiao took out a red envelope from his pocket: "This is for the MC, please help me convey it."
The hotel manager took the red envelope and was very puzzled: Isn't it the MC you invited, and not the hotel, why do you want me to convey it?
However, Xiao Hongwei didn't have time to explain, because around 10:30, he and Lu Yuqing's colleagues came over.
These are all "big shots", at least big shots in Hong Kong City.
Various titles of director and chief are flying everywhere. Now that the eight regulations have not been issued, the children of leaders can still hold birthday parties. Old Xiao quickly left his relatives behind and took Xiao Rongyu to greet this group of uncles, aunts and uncles.
The relatives did not feel left out, but rather a little envious, because how well a person is doing can be seen from the friends he associates with.
Old Chen and Liang Meijuan also came over. Their units are close, and the two agreed to walk here.
"Why did you show up just now?"
Xiao Hongwei said hurriedly: "I'm hoarse from talking."
"Uncle Chen, Aunt Liang."
Xiao Yu'er also came over to say hello.
"My daughter~"
Liang Meijuan didn't know what to say, so she reached out and hugged Xiao Rongyu. Xiao Yu'er also obediently leaned her head on Liang Meijuan's shoulder.
They all knew that Chen Hansheng would be absent from this banquet.
But Xiao Hongwei didn't know. He even looked back: "Where is Hansheng? Where did this kid go to play again?"
"He, he..."
Liang Meijuan stammered, not knowing how to explain.
Fortunately, Xiao Hongwei just asked casually. He absolutely didn't believe that Chen Hansheng would be absent today. He turned to Chen Zhaojun and said: "Old Chen, I have to take care of my relatives. Please help me comfort my colleagues at the unit. Xiao Yuer, you follow your father. There are still some elders here who need to be met."
After Xiao Hongwei left with her daughter, Liang Meijuan looked at her husband: "What should I do? The bastard is not answering the phone now. Why don't we leave the gift money and go back..."
"What nonsense are you talking about?"
Chen Zhaojun interrupted his wife directly: "If the son runs away, can his parents run away again?"
Old Chen took out his social cigarettes and began to help Xiao Hongwei greet the guests.
If we ask where Chen Hansheng learned his social skills, half of it was from his independent character, and the other half was from what he had seen and heard from Old Chen.
Chen Zhaojun quietly "infiltrated the inner circle". When he met guests in the system, he would first introduce his identity and then talk about some anecdotes in the officialdom of Hong Kong City; occasionally when he met Xiao Hongwei's rural relatives, he would talk about this year's harvest; when he met those richer relatives, Old Chen would talk to them about the changes in the market economy system.
Old Chen has practiced calligraphy for many years, and he has a good upbringing and temperament. In addition, he works in a good company, so everyone gives him some face when he greets him.
They stood in the sun until 11 o'clock. The hotel manager said it was almost time, and the banquet would officially start at 12 o'clock. Xiao Hongwei then called everyone to enter the main hall.
"Hurry up, girl, you are the protagonist today."
Old Xiao saw Xiao Yuer standing at the door, his eyes fixed on the south.
"Got it."
Xiao Rongyu responded silently. There was no red Xiali in his sight, only a gray bus slowly drove in.
This bus is very inconspicuous, with only a Jianye license plate with "Su A".
In the car, all the discussions were about the life of college students.
"We moved dormitories this semester. I have been suffering from insomnia in the new dormitory. I didn't expect to sleep very comfortably in Gangcheng."
"I didn't expect that I would be a sophomore in the blink of an eye. Time flies so fast."
"Xiao Meng, how many points did you get in the CET-4 last December?"
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A dark-skinned boy also asked his companions: "How many points did you get in the CET-4?"
"More than 100 points."
A voice replied with a smile: "In short, everyone has three digits, and the difference is not that big."
"Can a CET-4 score of more than 100 be the same as a CET-4 score of more than 500?"
The dark-skinned boy said dissatisfiedly: "I didn't answer the listening questions well, but fortunately I barely passed the CET-4."
"Awesome, I can't get many points in English listening even with headphones, so it's better to rely on my feeling to guess."
The boy who scored over 100 points in the CET-4 stood up. He was wearing a formal suit and leather shoes. He glanced out the window and said, "We've arrived at the hotel. Everyone, please be careful. Enter the village quietly. Don't shoot."