Chapter 52

Finally, a group of four or five people arrived at Grandpa's house, and the host came to offer a toast. Everyone at the table stood up.

The five people who entered were all the sons and sons-in-law of the birthday celebrant. The eldest son held a cup in one hand and a bottle of wine in the other. Behind him, one person carried a box of white wine, another held an aluminum pot filled with rice wine, and the remaining two carried baskets, one with cigarettes and the other with a string of short firecrackers.

The last person set off a string of firecrackers first. The eldest son of the birthday celebrant then went around the table, filling everyone's cups. When he reached Feng Yiping, who was also called Uncle, he patted Feng Yiping's shoulder, telling him not to be shy and to eat well and get full. He also asked Feng Zhenwu and the others if they had called recently and how their business in the provincial capital was doing. These were questions he would normally ask, but today, at the dinner table, he was especially polite. Feng Yiping handled the conversation with ease, responding with a few light words and wishing the old man well.

Meanwhile, the person carrying the wine added two more bottles of the best white wine from the county distillery to the table. The person with the cigarettes distributed a pack to each person, all of which were the Swimming brand.

Uncle San and the others removed the lids from the bowls, revealing two dishes: one was a steamed meat cake, layered and stacked into a square; the other was fatty pork, cut into thumb-thick cubes and also stacked into a square.

Then, the uncle at the main seat raised his glass, representing the guests at the table, to wish the host a happy birthday—this was the duty of the person sitting at the main seat. He said the usual things, wishing the host longevity and prosperity, praising his children for being capable and successful. The host thanked everyone, and then everyone drank their glasses dry.

With this, the toasting ceremony came to a temporary end, and the guests at this table began to eat. The five people moved to another table to offer toasts.

Feng Yiping didn't particularly like either of the two dishes on the table. He rarely ate the meat cake, and the pork was very fatty, cut into thick slices, which he found too greasy.

In recent years, as life had improved, everyone had a bit more fat in their bellies, and there wasn't much movement with the chopsticks. The meat cake was still mostly intact, and only the top one or two layers of the pork had been eaten. These two dishes would remain on the table for a while.

The adults at the table commented that just a couple of years ago, when everyone was less well-off, these two dishes would be devoured in no time. Now, so much was left over.

After the two covered dishes were served and the host had offered toasts, guests who wanted to leave could do so.

Although Feng Yiping was the youngest, he was the one who ate the most at this table. He was not satisfied with the meal and was only half full. He wanted to eat rice, and Uncle San told him to find Aunt San, who was helping in the kitchen.

The front yard of Grandpa's house was the kitchen, which was easy to find by following the smell of cooking and the aroma. Everything was outdoors, with two stoves made of earth bricks, blazing with fire and large pots on top, known as "big sea pots." Two chefs, wearing only undershirts, were vigorously stirring with small shovels.

Next to the stoves were two long cutting boards, where three or four housewives, including Aunt Da, were cutting vegetables. The sound of knives hitting the boards was rapid and continuous, and they had to shout to be heard.

Beside the cutting boards were several large basins where people were washing dishes.

Along the outer wall of the house, seven or eight coal stoves were lined up, each with a pot on it, either frying or stewing. The scene was bustling and lively.

Aunt San was watching over three stoves, all of which had stewing dishes. Seeing that Feng Yiping wanted to eat, she served him a bowl of rice and scooped a large spoonful of braised pork from a pot on one of the stoves, piling it high in the bowl. She found a small stool for him to sit on and eat.

The braised pork was perfectly cooked, tender and not greasy. Feng Yiping had a good appetite and finished the bowl in a few minutes. Aunt San, seeing this, offered to give him another bowl, but Feng Yiping was truly full. "If you don't want rice, how about some soup?" Aunt San then served him a bowl of chestnut and chicken stew. There wasn't much broth, just chestnuts and chicken. He ate this bowl much more slowly.

After finishing this, he was really full and couldn't eat anything else. He asked where the kids were, and Aunt San said they were at Uncle Da's house.

Feng Yiping went to Uncle Da's house and found that the hall was filled with three tables, all with families. The children had mostly finished eating and were running around with fried fish and fried soybeans.

Feng Yiping thought it would be better to go back to his table and say hello before joining the others, otherwise, he would be stuck there. At this table, they were serving braised pork and winter melon with spareribs. After eating for a while, the pace of eating slowed down, and everyone was encouraging each other to drink. Feng Yiping said he needed to leave, but the uncle at the main seat wouldn't let him go, insisting that he drink at least one cup with him.

In the countryside, it wasn't yet common to say that children couldn't drink. Uncle San tried to help, but it was no use. Seeing the uncle's flushed face, Feng Yiping knew it was pointless to argue.

Since there was sweet rice wine on the table, he filled his cup to the brim and said, "Uncle, I'm still young and can't drink white wine, so I'll offer you this sweet rice wine. One cup of rice wine for your one cup of white wine, okay?"

The brother-in-law of Uncle San said, "That won't do, he should drink three cups of white wine."

The table erupted in cheers. The uncle, who had already drunk a lot, spoke with difficulty, saying that at the dinner table, there was no seniority, and they should drink one cup for one cup. He also mentioned that he had heard about Feng Yiping and knew he would be successful in the future, so this was a rare opportunity to drink with him.

In the end, they drank one cup for one cup. Feng Yiping downed his cup in one go. The sweet rice wine was delicious, sweet, smooth, and rich. He wanted a second cup, so he filled another and offered it to everyone at the table, fulfilling his obligations.

Uncle San tried to stop him, but it was too late. Feng Yiping didn't know that this was the first batch of sweet rice wine made by Grandpa after the New Year, which had been mixed with grain wine and had a strong aftertaste.

Feng Yiping realized something was wrong when he stood up to leave. His mind was clear, but his limbs were uncooperative. He immediately understood that he had drunk too much. Both Uncle Da's house and Grandpa's house were noisy, so he went to the inner room, found the key, opened the door to Uncle Er's house, went to the guest room, threw a blanket over himself, and fell asleep. The noise around him had no effect on him, and he started snoring as soon as his head hit the pillow.

By three in the afternoon, all the guests had left. Mei Jianzhong, after eating, spent time drinking tea and chatting with some old friends and played a few rounds of mahjong before leaving with a net bag of apples, fried fish, and fried soybeans.

Inside the house, the young waiter had already cleaned up. He looked around but didn't see Feng Yiping and wasn't too concerned, thinking he had gone to Wang Changning's house.

Dinner was ready, but Wang Changning hadn't returned. Mei Jianzhong thought Feng Yiping was eating at Wang Changning's house. By seven, when he still hadn't returned, Mei Jianzhong went to Wang Changning's house, only to find out that Feng Yiping hadn't been there all afternoon.

Wang Changning accompanied him to Uncle San's house, but Feng Yiping wasn't there either. Mei Jianzhong started to worry. He knew his nephew couldn't have been kidnapped, but he was ready to mobilize the whole village to search.

Uncle San joined them, and the three of them set out to find Feng Yiping. As they left Uncle San's house and reached the main road, Mei Jianzhong gave Mei Guoxing a stern lecture, but he did it out of respect, not in front of Mei Guoxing's wife and children.

Mei Guoxing had nothing to say and could only accept the scolding. Wang Changning tried to comfort him, saying that Feng Yiping would be fine, but he couldn't figure out where Feng Yiping was or what he was doing. The three of them had no choice but to call out Feng Yiping's name throughout the village.

Feng Yiping slept soundly and didn't know how long he had been asleep. He vaguely heard someone calling his name and struggled to open his eyes. It was dark, and he was disoriented, unsure if it was night or early morning.

He didn't want to think too much, as it was a holiday, and he was about to turn over and go back to sleep when he heard several people calling his name. He focused and realized they were indeed calling him. He sat up quickly, realizing he had slept from the afternoon until now. His family must have been looking for him because they didn't know he was sleeping here.

Thank you all for your support! Today, the book has made progress on the new book chart! I won't say more, but I'll keep writing and try to add another chapter, which I'll upload after ten. Please continue to click, read, and collect the book!

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