Reception 044

  Zhang Jin was busy in the kitchen until after one o'clock in the afternoon when he finally heard the sound of a car engine getting closer and closer.

  If it were only Wei Feng and Lan Fei who came, Zhang Jin would not have come out to greet them. However, this time, there are not only the two of them, but also their elders, so even if Zhang Jin is not very welcoming in his heart, he cannot put on airs just because of Wei Feng's face.

  So Zhang Jin wiped his hands on his apron twice and then pushed open the back door at exactly the right moment.

  Ten people in a row, just enough to fill two large off-road vehicles. The driver of one is naturally Wei Feng, the son-in-law of the Mao family; while the driver of the other car is much higher in rank, and it's actually Mayor Lan himself driving. The lineup of drivers is luxurious!

  Six old men groaned and complained as they traveled the bumpy mountain road, even having second thoughts halfway through. But when the car turned over the mountain pass, seeing a lush green vegetable field, seeing the distant rolling green hills, seeing a line of yellow sandy beach in the distance, and seeing an endless blue sea even further away, they were like Zhang Jin who came here for the first time, suddenly feeling that their eyes weren't enough, and the fatigue and soreness on their bodies instantly vanished.

  "No wonder Zhang Jin chose this place to live in seclusion, it's simply a paradise on earth!" Blue Feifei's mother, He Manli, muttered to herself.

  Under the guidance of Wei Feng, the two cars stopped one after another under the only tree shade in Zhang Jin's backyard. Before they even got off the car, they saw Zhang Jin and Qi Bing walking towards them from the back door to greet them. The little yellow dog 'Hei Shui Jing' was already two months old and had grown to almost half a meter long, following closely behind its master.

  "Which one is Zhang Jin?" Looking at the two people standing together with a big difference in stature, He Manli gently pulled her daughter and asked softly.

  "That short one is our boss. The one standing next to him should be the cousin of that aunt's family he told me about. He's said to be here to lose weight, looking at his figure, he really needs to lose some."

  Wei Feng and He Manli were quite familiar with each other in the driver's cabin, and He Manli was also very fond of this future son-in-law, so he spoke more casually. If it were Lan Zedong, Wei Feng wouldn't dare to be so casual.

  The first one to push open the car door and get out was Lan FeiFei, who saw the clever 'Hei Shui Jing' and immediately cheered and rushed over. She didn't care whether Hei Shui Jing was willing or not, and she tightly hugged Hei Shui Jing's head to her chest, kissing and touching him affectionately, with a look of extreme fondness.

  Lan Fei felt that there were no outsiders, so she didn't need to pay attention to her image. But Wei Feng couldn't do the same. As he helped Zhang Jin escort everyone out of the car one by one, he introduced them individually: "Grandpa Lan, Grandma Du... this is our dorm's eldest, Zhang Jin, the owner of this place; Eldest, this is Grandpa Lan, this is Grandma Du..."

  "Old Man Lu, Old Man Zhang...... Old Man Lan, Grandma Du, Mayor Lan, Director He..."

  Following Wei Feng's introduction, Zhang Jin greeted everyone one by one before turning around to pull Qi Bing over, who looked a bit stiff, and said: "Let me introduce myself. I'm Zhang Jin, Wei Feng's old classmate, good friend, and brother. This is my aunt's nephew, Qi Bing. He just arrived from the Northeast a few days ago. Welcome, everyone, to my home."

  After politely greeting each other, He Manli smiled and said: "It's better to call Mayor Lan and Director He, just like a gentle breeze calling them Uncle Lan and Auntie He."

  On the other side, Lan Ze Dong also nodded slightly in agreement. In fact, he had a pretty good impression of Zhang Jin from the bottom of his heart. A young man with an ordinary family background would feel very unnatural when meeting a local high-ranking official for the first time, even if he had no desires. But Zhang Jin was different, with a warm and friendly face, neither arrogant nor humble, much stronger than Wei Feng when they first met.

  After exchanging pleasantries, Wei Feng started to bustle about again. First, he opened the trunk of both cars and then moved out a dozen or so large and small boxes and bags from inside.

  These people are figures who have been crawling and rolling in the officialdom for decades, with a deep understanding of China's ancient "rites". They are different from Wei Feng and Xiao Fei's relationship with Zhang Jing, so they naturally cannot go empty-handed.

  The gifts they brought as guests are also quite rich! Special supply cigarettes in strips; although the packaging is small, but the value is astonishingly high-end special supply tea; ……

  Even Zhang Jin, who is very particular about the quality of life, couldn't help but secretly sigh at the gifts brought by everyone. These things are worth tens of thousands of dollars just in market value! Not to mention that these things are actually priceless goods?

  Zhang Jin, who also understood the meaning of "etiquette", hypocritically declined several times before finally accepting with relish. Zhang Jin's smooth wrist and refreshing efficiency once again earned the silent admiration of Lan Zedong and the other old gentlemen.

  When Zhang Jin led the guests to the second floor hall prepared as a dining room, he apologized and went downstairs to cook. These old men and women, like Lan Fei and Mu Xinran when they first arrived, began to praise with admiration.

  "Look at Little Zhang, he really knows how to enjoy life. This life is much better than ours, us retired old folks." Old Master Lu fired the first shot.

  Mr. Liu nodded in deep agreement, saying: "Isn't it? This air..." After taking a deep breath, he said: "Fresh! This view..." He pointed to the floor-to-ceiling doors that opened onto the balcony and said: "Beautiful! I think it's even better than the environment of those old sanatoriums for high-ranking officials in our country!"

  Several elderly people sat in the second-floor hall, sighing and admiring, when Wei Feng and Lan Feifei, temporarily acting as small servants, carried two trays up from downstairs. On the trays were not the pre-dinner desserts 'Ice Plum Soup' they had last time, but 'Coconut Granule Medicinal Tea', a warm, milky white drink specially prepared by Zhang Jin for the elderly.

  She took a sip of the "Coconut Rice Tea" that was mixed with medicinal, milky and fruity aromas. Lan Feifei's grandmother smacked her lips, revealing a comfortable smile, and exclaimed: "Even the tea before meals is so exquisite! Xiao Zhang's life is indeed refined! Truly refined!"

  The old lady's words were not without reason. She was the recognized health authority among her older sisters, so she could see a lot from Zhang Jin's pre-dinner tea arrangement.

  This tea before meals is appetizing and refreshing. However, although the effect is the same, the choice for different groups of people is different. Young people with good stomachs, plus the hot weather, can use icy, sour, sweet drinks; while older people, due to spleen deficiency, cannot have food that is too cold or too hot, nor can they have extreme flavors.

  And this 'coconut tea' is just right in terms of temperature and medicinal properties. Moreover, the taste of this tea is also incredibly good, so it's no wonder that it has received the old lady's endless praise who is well-versed in the way of nourishing life.

  Because Wei Feng had informed him in advance, Zhang Jin was also well-prepared for their arrival. Although Wei Feng suddenly notified him two hours ago that the number of people would increase, Zhang Jin did not panic. He simply added a few more dishes and borrowed a 12-person table top from Hai Jufu's house.

  Under Zhang Jin's quick and nimble service, everyone had just put down their empty teacups when dish after dish of fragrant and delicious food was brought out one by one.

  As a result of the previous conversation, it was decided that this meal would be a family dinner.

  So, the old men naturally had to wait for Zhang Jin to bring up all the dishes and sit down at the table before they could start eating. And although Wei Feng was close enough to ignore Zhang Jin until he arrived, with so many elders present, he didn't dare to be presumptuous and was the first to pick up his chopsticks due to his gluttony.

  I had no choice but to follow the crowd at the table, quietly taking a deep breath and letting my nose savor the aroma first, while admiring the beautiful presentation of each dish, and wondering what the final dish would be.

  Whether it was the first 'Three Fresh Mushroom Stew' or the second 'Xuanwu Play Water', they were all fresh in his memory, and absolutely top-notch dishes that could suppress the table.

  When Zhang Jin brought up a more than half-foot high Qinghua white porcelain stew pot, he also sat down at the table edge and politely said: "Everyone, seniors, this dish is considered complete. You don't have to be polite, you can start."

  It's rare, this time the gluttonous Wei Feng actually calmed down and smiled: "Don't be in a hurry, boss. According to normal order, when the dish comes up, shouldn't we introduce the style of the dish first?"