Chapter 123: Birthday Celebration
The carriage weaved through the narrow alleys of the county town. After a full twenty minutes, it finally came to a stop in front of a cluster of mud-brick houses near the outskirts of town.
“Bro, this is my second uncle’s house. He should be home at this hour!”
With that, Liu San pushed open the door!
However, Li Yi didn’t go inside; instead, he told Liu San’er to go in and bring the man out.
He had no choice—there were quite a few things in his carriage, and he couldn’t leave them unattended.
Don’t even mention public safety—no matter the era, you should never test human nature and the human heart with money or valuables.
Soon, Liu San’er emerged with a middle-aged man in his forties.
Upon seeing Li Yi, the man looked him up and down and said, “Comrade, is your family having a wedding?”
“Yeah, I’m getting married!”
“Then why aren’t your parents here? Are you really the one making the decisions?”
These days, newlyweds usually live with their parents, so the parents are the ones who make all the decisions, big and small.
Li Yi immediately replied, “Don’t worry, I’m in charge in our household!”
“Alright then, since you’re in charge, what do you want to do? Do you want to buy the ingredients yourself and have us cook, or should we handle everything—ingredients and labor?”
Li Yi thought for a moment and asked, “If you handle everything—materials and labor—how much would it cost per table?”
“Normally, a table includes four cold dishes, seven hot dishes, and one soup—12 dishes in total—plus a plate of steamed buns and a plate of fried cakes. That comes to about 18 yuan!”
Hearing this quote, Li Yi immediately frowned.
18 yuan for 12 dishes—that averages out to about 1.5 yuan per dish.
In an era when a pound of meat cost no more than 80 cents, that was indeed not cheap.
“Do you have a menu for these 12 dishes? What percentage of them are meat dishes?” Li Yi asked again.
“Apart from two cold dishes and one stir-fried green vegetable, the rest are all meat dishes, including mainstays like braised pork belly, preserved vegetable-stuffed pork belly, and Four Joy Meatballs. In short, the spread will definitely look impressive!”
“So if we provide the ingredients and you do the cooking, how would you charge us?”
“One yuan per table—you pay for however many tables we prepare. Plus, two meals a day are included!”
One yuan per table for labor—that really isn’t expensive.
However, compared to having them handle both labor and ingredients, this approach does save some money.
But relatively speaking, it’s a lot more trouble!
After all, there’ll definitely be plenty of guests, and having to prepare the exact right amount of ingredients is such a hassle!
Perhaps sensing Li Yi’s hesitation, Liu San’er, standing nearby, immediately said, “Second Uncle, this is my friend. Could you give him a discount?”
The middle-aged man thought for a moment and said, “Since he’s my eldest nephew’s friend, I can give you a discount. It just depends on whether you plan to provide your own ingredients or…”
Before the middle-aged man could finish his sentence, Li Yi cut in, “Just have you guys handle everything—labor and ingredients included!”
“Oh, I see. In that case, I’ll knock another yuan off the price per table. Does that work for you?”
Li Yi smiled and said, “I don’t need the discount, but please make sure the dishes are top-notch. First, they have to taste good; second, the portions have to be generous; and third, they have to be impressive!”
“Alright. As for what dishes to serve the day before and on the big day, we can figure that out together. We’ll only start preparing the ingredients once the host is satisfied!”
“Alright, then. It’s settled. I’ll come back tomorrow to confirm the time and the menu. How does that sound?” Li Yi said.
“No problem!”
“Oh, and we don’t have enough pots, pans, bowls, or tables and chairs. San said we could rent them from you—how does that work?”
“We rent by the table. That includes tables, chairs, and all the plates and bowls—the whole set costs 50 cents a day!”
Li Yi thought about it. Fifty cents a day for two uses—that wasn’t too expensive!
“Alright, please help me make the arrangements, but I’ll need to go home and figure out exactly how many we’ll need!”
“Sure!”
After that, the two chatted a bit more about the details of the wedding, and then Li Yi drove his horse-drawn cart away.
……
County Bureau, Criminal Investigation Division!
Wang Anguo glanced at his watch with some anxiety. It was already past eleven, and Li Yi still hadn’t shown up. He was starting to worry that the kid might have forgotten about it.
He considered going to the textile factory to look for him, but felt that might not be appropriate.
Just then, a horse-drawn carriage suddenly pulled into the courtyard, and to his surprise, the driver was none other than Li Yi.
Wang Anguo quickly gathered his things and headed outside.
Li Yi was looking for a place to tie up his big black horse when he saw Wang Anguo striding out from inside. He stopped immediately.
“You finally showed up, you rascal. I thought you’d forgotten all about this!” Wang Anguo said with a laugh.
“How could I forget something this important!”
“Huh, why are you here alone? Where’s your wife?”
Li Yi replied immediately, “She’s a bit shy. We’re not married yet, so she felt awkward coming!”
“Haha, what’s the big deal? Everyone’s all for free love these days!”
“Alright, enough about her. When are we heading over?” Li Yi asked.
“I’ll go get Li Gang. Let’s head over right now!”
“Alright!”
Soon, Wang Anguo called Li Gang out, and the three of them left the county bureau, one in front and two behind.
Since the horse-drawn cart moved slowly, Wang Anguo and Li Gang didn’t ride their bikes either.
The two of them walked ahead, pushing their bicycles, while Li Yi drove the horse-drawn cart behind them.
Before long, the three arrived at a large compound in the southeast corner of the county town.
Although Li Yi didn’t know what organization this compound belonged to, judging by the architectural style, it was the kind of residential compound originally built for employees of government agencies.
This alone suggested that Wang Anguo’s father must be someone of considerable standing.
After entering the compound, the trio soon arrived at the gate of a detached house with its own private courtyard.
The entrance to the courtyard was already filled with all kinds of vehicles—bicycles, sidecar motorcycles, and even two small Jeeps.
Compared to these, Li Yi’s black horse-drawn carriage stood out like a sore thumb.
However, Li Yi didn’t pay it any mind; he was there to celebrate someone’s birthday, not to compete with others.
Besides, in his previous life, he’d seen every kind of vehicle imaginable—even private jets—so a few motorcycles and small Jeeps were nothing to him!
After unloading the cart and tying the horse to a large poplar tree nearby, Li Yi picked up a bundle of fresh grass from the cart and placed it in front of the big black horse.
Only after finishing these tasks did he pick up the bottle of Maotai and follow Wang Anguo and Li Gang into the courtyard!
Upon entering the courtyard, Li Yi was immediately taken aback. The vast space was completely filled with tables, chairs, and benches.
Although he hadn’t counted them, Li Yi’s keen eye could tell there were at least ten tables in the courtyard.
Assuming ten people per table, that meant there were no fewer than a hundred guests today!
Clearly, most of these guests knew Wang Anguo; as he entered, they all greeted him one after another.
While Wang Anguo returned their greetings, he led Li Yi toward the inner room!
Just then, an elderly man in the inner room spotted them and, overcome with excitement, jumped to his feet!