Chapter 424: The Full-Moon Banquet!
March 6, 1981—the first day of the second lunar month!
Today was Yun Rui and Yun Jin’s full-moon celebration. Li Yi got up early in the morning, went out to buy a dozen or so large meat buns, and brought back a small bowl of millet porridge.
After a simple breakfast, Li Yi took his parents and Juanzi to the Jiang family’s old residence.
He planned to take Jiang Xue, the babies, and both sets of in-laws to a photo studio in town to have some pictures taken.
In those days, without smartphones, people couldn’t snap photos of their loved ones anytime, anywhere, so they could only go to a studio to have pictures taken on special occasions.
In the car, Li Yi said as he drove, “Dad, Mom, how did you sleep last night?”
“Not bad!”
In contrast to his father’s terse reply, his mother, Zhang Yuehong, was quite different. She smiled and said, “I think it’s more comfortable and warmer than our house back in the village, though it does use a lot of coal!”
“Mom, if you’re cold, just keep adding coal to the stove—we certainly don’t lack the money for it!”
To be honest, even though it had been nearly a year since his rebirth, Li Yi still hadn’t quite adjusted to the prices of this era.
Take coal, for example: a ton of top-quality refined coal cost just over thirty yuan, which worked out to an average of one fen and five li per jin.
Keep in mind that forty years later, the price of a single ton of coal easily exceeded 1,000 yuan, and at its peak, it even briefly surpassed 2,000 yuan.
Back in those days, apart from industrial goods, the prices of everything else were really quite affordable.
“I see, but I think it’s a lot warmer here in the capital than back home!” said Mother.
“Heh, that’s because the dimensional level here is lower…”
“What dimension?”
Hearing this, Li Yi was instantly stumped—how was he supposed to explain this to his mother?
Just then, Juanzi, who was standing nearby, suddenly said, “Auntie, ‘dimension’ here means ‘north-south.’ We all know that the further south you go, the warmer and more humid the climate gets. The capital is located a bit further south, so it’s warmer!”
“Oh, I see!” Mother said, looking as if a light bulb had gone off in her head.
Li Yi quickly added, “Besides the influence of latitude, there are also all these tall buildings in the capital blocking the wind. Most of the wind gets blocked out, so the temperature naturally stays warmer!”
“That makes sense…”
As they chatted and laughed, the car arrived at the Jiang family’s old mansion.
Li Yi asked his parents and Juanzi to wait in the car while he went into the Jiang family’s old residence alone.
Inside the old residence, Jiang Shiying and his wife, along with Jiang Xue, were already waiting.
When they saw Li Yi enter, Ye Lingyun first asked him if he had eaten yet.
After receiving an affirmative answer, the group prepared to set off.
Li Yi and Jiang Xue each took a child in their arms, while Jiang Shiying carried a cloth bag filled with clean clothes and diapers, and the group set off in a grand procession.
Actually, regarding the photo shoot, Li Yi had considered bringing the old man along as well.
But Jiang Shiying thought it wasn’t appropriate—after all, the old man’s status was special, and it wasn’t suitable for him to go out.
She also mentioned that the old man’s 80th birthday was coming up soon, so if Li Yi wanted to take a photo with him, they could do it at home then!
For this very reason, the old man wasn’t included in the family portrait this time.
After seeing Jiang Xue and the child off in his father-in-law’s car, Li Yi returned to his own small SUV, started the engine, and led the way.
Li Yi had already picked out the location for the photoshoot—a state-run photo studio near Wangfujing Street.
Rumor had it that this studio not only boasted state-of-the-art equipment but also employed master photographers whose craftsmanship was second to none; the photos they produced were not only sharp but also had a warm, inviting feel.
Soon, the car arrived at the studio!
Today happened to be the start of the Jingzhe solar term, so there were more people coming to have their photos taken than usual.
When Li Yi and his group walked in, they found several families already queuing up at the counter, so they joined the line inside.
They waited until past nine o’clock before it was finally their turn.
As Li Yi requested, they not only took a family portrait but also individual photos of every family member, including Juanzi.
On top of that, Li Yi gave the two children special attention, taking individual shots, sibling photos, and pictures of them being held by their grandparents and maternal grandparents.
All in all, the whole family went through a massive amount of film today.
On top of that, Li Yi insisted on having three copies of every photo developed. When the final bill came, the entire photo session cost Li Yi over eighty yuan—nearly equivalent to a worker’s two months’ wages—leaving Li Shankui, his wife, and Juanzi utterly stunned.
Li Yi, however, didn’t seem to mind at all. Eighty yuan was no small sum, but compared to these photos capturing such precious moments, it was practically nothing.
By the time they finished taking photos, it was nearly 11 o’clock. Li Yi discussed it with his father-in-law and decided not to go home, heading straight to Beiguan Village instead.
When Li Yi led the group into the shop, he found that quite a few people had already arrived—all familiar faces.
Besides Jiang Longcheng and Zhang Xinyao, Ye Jianhua and Lin Ying were there as well.
Also present were Lin Yi, An Hong, and Lin Jianguo from the foundry—no one knew where that guy had gotten the news.
As soon as Li Yi, Jiang Xue, and the others walked in, everyone came over to greet them.
After a round of pleasantries, Li Yi seated his parents and in-laws at the table at the very front—as it was a formal gathering, family members were naturally supposed to sit there.
Just as he had settled his family, he saw more people coming in—it turned out to be his eldest uncle’s family.
In addition to his eldest uncle, Jiang Shirong, and his eldest aunt, Wu Yongmei, Li Yi was surprised to see his eldest sister-in-law, Xu Qiuman, and his eldest brother’s two children.
Seeing this, Li Yi immediately went to greet them!
Just as he had ushered them in and settled them down, his second older brother, Jiang Longyin, walked through the door with his wife, Yang Rong, and their children.
Soon after, Uncle Jiang Shiming’s entire family arrived as well—another group of over ten people.
Right after that, the entire Ye family arrived. Just as Li Yi thought the guests had mostly arrived, a large group of people walked in—it turned out to be the group of officials from the cotton mill, including He Tianming, Chen Rui, Sun Feng, Director Tan, Xu Taofang, and others.
Later on, even Fat Jin—who had somehow gotten wind of the gathering—rushed over.
As the crowd grew larger and larger, Li Yi couldn’t help but worry whether the food they had prepared would be enough.
Although he had already instructed the chefs he’d hired to prepare as much as possible, the number of guests had clearly exceeded his expectations, and he was genuinely worried the food wouldn’t be enough.
As soon as he entered the kitchen, he saw that most of the restaurant’s staff were helping out there, including Long Zhanjun and Third Sister Li Na.
“Da Long, how’s everything coming along?”
Hearing Li Yi’s voice, a flicker of unease crossed Long Zhanjun’s face, but he quickly replied, “Most of the dishes are ready; we just have to stir-fry the greens now!”
“There are far more people here today than I expected. I’m not sure if we’ve prepared enough food,” Li Yi said.
“How many more than you expected?”
“At least three tables!”
Long Zhanjun replied immediately, “Three tables shouldn’t be a problem. I had Chef Liu and Chef Zhao make extra portions of every dish just in case!”
“That’s good. What about the drinks? We don’t want to run out, do we?” Li Yi asked again.
“I’ve prepared ten cases of Moutai, plus 500 liters of beer and over twenty cases of orange soda. That should be plenty!” Long Zhanjun replied.
“Alright, then. Try to prepare enough food for a few extra tables just in case—we wouldn’t want to run out. That would be awkward!”
“Alright, I’ll talk to the head chefs about that!”
“Mm-hmm!”
With Long Zhanjun’s assurance, Li Yi felt more at ease and went outside to greet his family and friends!
Just after noon, Li Yi and Jiang Xue each carried a child onto the stage. After a few brief remarks, they announced the start of the full-moon banquet for little Li Yunrui and Li Yunjin!