Banquet at night (1)

  Collect and recommend!

  ****

  "Hmm..."

  Lifting his head from the desk, Li Yifan stretched and let out a long sigh. For the past two days, he hadn't gone anywhere, even declining Chen Peng's invitation to play a couple of rounds at the PS game hall, instead burying himself at home to review his lessons.

  From Tang Tian's trial papers, he did the answers one by one. Indeed, some of them were difficult, but when he stood at a commanding height to look at the problems, found out the hidden connections between the questions, avoided the traps set by the questioner, and with his super strong memory, broke through these difficult questions one by one, this kind of pleasure was not inferior to PK-ing down the opponent's team in a game hall.

  It's like being the protagonist of a martial arts novel, suddenly obtaining a secret manual of martial arts, and feeling invincible.

  In two days, I will show my true skills in the battle that is considered one of the most important turning points in life, and I believe it will surely surprise those guys who are wearing colored glasses.

  "Yi Fan, have you finished your homework? If so, hurry up and change your clothes. Your uncle is treating us to dinner tonight."

  Zhang Shu stood outside Li Yifeng's door and shouted to Li Yuanhang, "Li Yifeng's eldest uncle, Zhang Shu's younger brother Zhang Yong, is the pillar of the old Zhang family and also the best one among Zhang Shu's siblings."

  The Zhang family in Longtou Village is a big family, compared to the Li Lisheng family with few people, it's a giant. There are many brothers and sisters, and among them, the one who is doing the best now is Zhang Yong.

  Zhang Yong is currently the deputy director of the Binhai City Investment Promotion Bureau, in charge of a series of foreign guest reception and investment promotion work in Binhai. These two years are when major cities across the country are most enthusiastic about attracting foreign investment, so this year happens to be Zhang Yong's 50th birthday. Due to his previous success in building a tourist city and attracting major tourism companies to settle in Binhai, he is now a hot figure in Binhai's official circles.

  Zhang Shu is the eldest sister in the family, followed by Li Yifeng's second aunt Zhang Ying, then this big uncle Zhang Yong, then Li Yifeng's little aunt Zhang Xuan, and finally Zhang Shu's little uncle Zhang Shan. These people also formed the family system of the Zhang family in Bin City.

  Zhang Yong, as the pillar of the Zhang family, is also one of the most sociable people. He often organizes some family gatherings to strengthen family cohesion. Every time he organizes such a family gathering, all members of the Zhang family will definitely be present.

  So despite Zhang Shu and Zhang Ying having some reservations about today's business, they still decided to take a day off and attend the family gathering organized by their third brother.

  For Li Yifan, his uncle Zhang Yong can be said to be the most grateful person in his growth experience. No matter how uncomfortable Zhang Yong's words make his parents feel, he still hopes from the bottom of his heart that he can have great development and great success, which is different from other family members.

  Second Aunt Zhang Ying, in Li Yifeng's heart, is simply a petty person. Second Uncle Wang Hu is even more of a hypocrite, while Little Aunt Zhang Yuan is an old good person, and Little Uncle Cai Ming is simply a scoundrel.

  And Zhang Shan, the younger uncle, was even more of a sly and cunning fellow with a silver tongue.

  This summer, the Li family will experience a series of changes, and this change is an earth-shattering event that left a deep impression on Li Yifan. It was this incident that almost destroyed the Li family, and his mother, Zhang Ying, fell ill as a result, leading to her passing away before the age of 60. Everything originated from the dramatic change that occurred this summer.

  Li Liqiang, like Zhang Shu, is also from Longtou Village, but his family has fewer people and cannot be compared to the Zhangs. Moreover, he has always been mediocre in his life, and every time he attends a banquet at the Zhang's house, he will inevitably be lectured by Zhang Yong for a few words, so actually he doesn't really want to attend the Zhang's family banquets.

  But he couldn't afford to lose face in front of his wife, so every time he had to grit his teeth and attend such family banquets. In fact, according to his true thoughts, he would rather stay at home and cook in the restaurant, earning money.

  However, Zhang Yong's invitation was one that couldn't be refused. After packing up at home, the whole family rushed to the Baiyun Hotel in the city. As the deputy director of the Municipal Bureau of Commerce, responsible for receiving foreign guests and businessmen, Zhang Yong directly managed several hotels under the bureau, including the Baiyun Hotel, which was a subsidiary of the Bureau of Commerce. Therefore, the Zhang family's banquets were usually held at this hotel.

  The Baiyun Hotel has a long history, it was one of the first hotels built in Binhai after the founding of the country. With decades of ups and downs, it has received many national and international big shots, so it has given this hotel a legendary color.

  Although from the outside, this building is just a five-story small building built in the 50s, it looks very ordinary. However, the internal environment is extraordinary, with red wood decorations everywhere, reflecting the unique temperament and grandeur of this place. Generally, people of status and reputation in Bin City consider it an honor to hold banquets here.

  Li Yifeng's second aunt, Zhang Ying, went back to collect her belongings in the afternoon, so they set off on their own and took a taxi to the Baiyun Hotel. When they arrived at the hotel and found the private room reserved by Zhang Yong, almost all of the Zhang family members had already arrived.

  Big Uncle Zhang Yong, at this time was sitting in the first seat, he was just over forty years old, having been in official circles for many years, and with his long tenure in office, he naturally had an air of superiority about him.

  Next to her was Big Aunt Zhao Ping, a straightforward and efficient woman who liked to get straight to the point. Next to her was Zhang Yong's precious daughter, Zhang Qian.

  Although Zhang Yong is the third child in his family, he was born earlier than Li Yifan. As a result, Li Yifan still has to call Zhang Qian "sister". Zhang Qian is now one of the star students at No. 1 Middle School and she's currently in her third year of high school with absolutely outstanding grades, so it's definitely not a problem for her to get into a top university in the future.

  According to Li Yifan's memory, Zhang Qian later enrolled in the Medical University of Beijing, pursuing a master's and doctoral degree consecutively. She then went abroad to study in the United States, where she furthered her studies for several years before returning to Beijing, becoming one of the city's most renowned doctors.

  In high school, Zhang Qian looked down on her younger brother Li Yifan, especially since he was always struggling in his studies. It wasn't until they grew up and became adults that Zhang Qian's relationship with him improved significantly, often calling to chat, and every time she expressed concern over the phone, it warmed Li Yifan's heart in the cold city of Beijing.

  Er Yi Zhang Ying was slender and considered one of the most beautiful among Zhang Shu's sisters, but Er Yi Fu Wang Hu's image was not so commendable. He was short in stature, with a square build, red face, and a nose like a wine stain. When speaking, he had a slow and drawling tone, always smiling at everyone he met, but Li Yifan knew that beneath this smiling face hid a heart as black as coal.

  Next to them was their family's Li Yifan's cousin, Wang Guang. This kid was born with a lot of shortcomings, including a squinty eye, pigeon chest, and flat feet. In short, he had many flaws. Later on, the second aunt's business became quite large, but this guy still couldn't find an object, mainly because his image and character were really too poor.

  Aunt Zhang is a well-known good person in the family, who likes to help with difficulties in any household. She is also one of Li Yifan's relatives that he thinks highly of. Aunt Zhang's husband, Cai Ming, has a tall and strong build, thick eyebrows and big eyes, and judging by his appearance alone, you would definitely think he is a positive character.

  But Li Yifan, who had experienced the previous life, knew that he absolutely couldn't judge people by their appearance. This Cai Ming was absolutely a despicable person, and what's more, he was the kind of person who would become arrogant when successful. At this time, he was working hard with Er Yi Fu, Wang Hu, to flatter Da Shu Zhang Yong, calling him "Third Brother" in a very affectionate way. But who could have thought that a few years later, after Zhang Yong lost power, what kind of face would he show?

  Then there was Chai Qiang, the cousin of their family. In his previous life, Chai Qiang's relationship with Li Yifan had been pretty good. He was a down-to-earth and honest kid, but unfortunately, his academic performance wasn't great. Before Li Yifan's rebirth, he seemed to have been idle and wandering around in society.

  Young uncle Zhang Shan, looks similar to big uncle, with a sleepy eyebrow and a pair of eyes that seem to be forever drowsy, fair skin, medium build. Now he is also working at the Municipal Foreign Trade Bureau arranged by Zhang Yong, after several years, he ventured into business and managed quite well.

  Xiao Shu Mu Feng Li, also a well-known good person in the family, petite, kind-hearted, and one of the few elders respected by Li Yi Fan, was now sitting with Er Yi and Xiao Yi chatting.

  The young son of my wife's sister is still small, so he didn't come to attend this family dinner.

  Zhang Shu's family arrived a bit late, Zhang Yong gave his older sister and her family a scolding look, then said.

  "Alright, everyone is here, let's have the waiter bring in the dishes."