Chapter 289: The Wedding Feast

Ever since Yinggan Tang relocated, friends from all over gather at my shop toward the end of the year. When it gets crowded, they take up every last chair I have. I don’t understand why these people brave the wind and snow just to come drop in on me. Maybe they’re afraid I’ll suddenly drop dead, so showing up at the end of every year has become their routine inspection.

Chen Canghai sat silently behind the counter as usual, typing away on the laptop on his lap. When Han Cheng walked in, bringing a gust of cold wind with him, Chen Canghai didn’t even lift an eyelid. He’s been like this ever since he started working as a clerk in my shop. I’ve received four or five complaints about him already, but I’ve grown used to it.

Sipping my tea, I had wrapped myself into a ball in the inner foyer, squinting through the bead curtain at the street outside. He Yu sat next to me. His legs always acted up in weather like this, so he thumped his leg while asking me, “Aren’t we supposed to be heading to a feast? Why hasn’t Old Lu arrived yet? Damn it, if I sit here any longer, I’m going to freeze into a block of ice.”

I pressed an index finger to my lips. “Could you quit blabbering in my ear? Whether he comes early or late, aren’t you going to end up eating instant noodles on the train for two days anyway?”

“Wait, what?! A train?” He Yu jumped straight out of his chair.

He startled me so much that my drowsiness vanished in an instant. I sat up straight and barked at him, “The feast is in the Northeast! Don’t we happen to have a job over there anyway? We’re going a few days early so we can make it to the Lu Clan’s feast. What on earth were you thinking?”

“Huh?! The Northeast?” He Yu repeated.

I didn’t bother answering him and slumped back into my chair with my chin resting in my hands. Once He Yu realized what was happening, he rushed into the back room to pack his things.

I took a deep breath. The end of the year is always the busiest time. Last month, my shop in the Northeast took a big order that paid very well, but the staff over there felt they couldn’t handle it alone, so they asked me to make a trip over.

Somehow, word of this got out to Lu Ayao, and he uncharacteristically said he wanted to come along. After asking Linggu, I learned that a childhood friend of his had gone to work in the Northeast and met a girl. His friend was dead set on not going back, intending to settle down in the Northeast and get married. The job I took was scheduled just a few days before his friend’s wedding, making it a perfect chance to drop by and give a wedding gift.

Originally, I thought I wouldn’t join the commotion and just stay at the hotel, leaving the gift money with Lu Ayao for him to deliver. But He Yu made a huge fuss, insisting on dragging me along and droning on about how we were a team and no one could be left behind.

Unable to wear him down, I had no choice but to agree, thinking to myself, Team my ass, I just bloody want to catch up on sleep at the hotel!

In the end, we decided to split up into two groups. I would go finish reviewing the shop’s ledgers, while He Yu, who loves lively gatherings, would go with Lu Ayao to help out with the wedding preparations. I would head over to join them around eleven, just as the feast was about to start.

When I arrived at the shop at six and the clerk pulled up the ledgers on the computer, my head started buzzing.

Damn, business here was way too good!

I didn’t drink a single drop of water, staring at the screen full of incoming payments with a grin I couldn’t wipe off my face. It wasn’t until my phone alarm went off that I realized I hadn’t moved for four or five hours. I grabbed my down jacket, hailed a cab, and sped off to the dinner.

The wedding banquet was held in a hotel. At the entrance, I spotted several groomsmen with the surname Lu. They were all young, familiar faces. They had been fooling around, but the moment they saw me, they all stood as stiff and upright as welcoming pines. I shook my head inwardly and headed straight into the banquet hall.

The bride and groom were greeting guests. The groom was Lu He, a handsome young man. He was quite tall with bright, piercing eyes. I hadn’t seen him back in Suzhou; he likely belonged to the generation that had left the Lu Clan earliest. However, it’s said that the Lu Clan’s ancient totem is the crane, and many carved cranes can be seen in their ancestral compound. For him to have the clan’s totem in his name, Lu He’s status within the family couldn’t have been low back then.

Seeing me arrive alone, he stepped forward to greet me. “And you are…”

Before I could speak, He Yu came trotting out. Lu Ayao followed behind, though he wasn’t as fast. He Yu slapped the groom on the shoulder, his accent already starting to pick up the local Northeastern twang. “Brother, oh brother! This is my buddy, Gan Ji, the head of the Gan Clan. The one I told you about this morning.”

A look of realization dawned on Lu He. He stepped forward and shook my hand. “I’ve heard so much about you, Master Gan! I’ve heard many stories!”

Just as he seemed ready to launch into those stories, Lu Ayao gave a cough from behind. Lu He stopped abruptly, glanced at Lu Ayao, and immediately pivoted. “Hahaha, all old news, old news! Come, take a seat, please, take a seat!”

As soon as he let go of my hand, I pulled a red envelope from my inner pocket and handed it over. “We’ve come from far away. It’s just a small token of my regards. May you have a long and happy marriage.”

Lu He took the envelope and quickly called someone over to record it. He practically escorted me inside with a fanfare. He Yu immediately pulled me aside, hooking an arm around my neck as we walked into the hall, and whispered, “What’s the deal? Did you strike it rich? That red envelope looked pretty substantial.”

He used his fingers to gesture the thickness.

I glanced at him, thinking of the screens full of revenue back at the shop, and couldn’t help but start acting smug. “When have I ever been short on cash? A tiny red envelope like that? Is that something my Gan Clan can’t afford?”

“You can afford it, you can afford it. You’re the greatest, alright? Pull it back a bit, your tail is about to fly into the sky.” He Yu and I found a table at the very edge of the room.

Lu Qianshan was originally on the opposite side, but the moment he saw us, he prepared to switch tables to join us. Sensing trouble, I quickly grabbed Lu Ayao and pulled him into the seat next to me. As soon as Lu Qianshan saw Lu Ayao, he put his glass back down.

“What’s that for? The kid just wanted to come over and join the fun, and you’re already annoyed?” He Yu poured some water and started cracking melon seeds.

I took the pitcher, poured myself a cup, and started shelling peanuts. “You don’t understand. That kid is too noisy. He chirps away like a parrot. If he starts up, he’ll make so much racket you won’t even be able to finish your meal.”

Before long, the table was full. Not many people at this table recognized me; most were likely outsiders to our trade. The insiders were at two other tables. Several of them had been staring at me for a while and would probably come over to offer a toast soon.

Once the banquet started and the dishes were served, I was stunned. More than half of the food was loaded with chili peppers. The only non-spicy options were a single plate of sweet and sour pork and a few plates of green vegetables, though that was enough to fill my stomach. I looked at the plate of greens, but just as I reached out with my chopsticks, someone suddenly spun the lazy Susan.

The dish slipped away from right under my nose to the opposite side of the table. I set my chopsticks down, telling myself to wait, as it would eventually rotate back. After two minutes, seeing that no one was taking food, I spun the plate back toward me. I was about to grab a bite when He Yu suddenly nudged me. My hand shook, and the vegetable leaf dropped onto the table.

I turned around. “What was that for?”

He dropped a chopstickful of chili peppers onto my plate. “Try this, it’s delicious!”

The pungent peppers made my nose itch. I quickly pushed his chopsticks away. “You know I’m on medication, I can’t eat that.”

“Oh, right, right! My bad. No spicy food, no oily food… damn it, I completely forgot,” He Yu said, moving the peppers to his own plate and starting to eat.

I turned back to the lazy Susan, only to find the greens had slipped away again. I was forced to resort to gorging on wood ear mushrooms. Finally, when the greens rotated back for the third time, the bride and groom came over for the toast. I hurriedly set down my chopsticks and stood up to accept the drink, then explained my situation and had He Yu drink it for me.

By the time I sat back down, the greens were on the opposite side again.

I was rendered speechless, tempted to just reach across the table with my bare hands. Right then, I saw the lazy Susan begin to spin again. This time, Lu Ayao was the one turning it. I kept my eyes glued to that plate of greens until it stopped right in front of me. I glanced at Lu Ayao; he was unhurriedly ladling some chicken soup into a bowl next to it.

I told myself the time had come. I raised my chopsticks and snagged two or three helpings of greens onto my plate. Just as I finished, Lu Ayao finished ladling his soup. He let go, and the turntable began to spin once more.

I had just finished chewing the vegetables on my plate when I looked up to find the dish stopped in front of me again. I glanced at Lu Ayao. He was ladling soup again. I quickly grabbed some more vegetables.

I ended up quite full. By the time we finished and caught a taxi back to the hotel around two in the afternoon, I was dead tired. Sitting in the car with my down jacket hood pulled up, my eyelids were fighting to stay open. He Yu buckled his seatbelt, gave the driver the address, and then turned to me. “Go ahead and sleep. I’ll wake you when we get there.”

I shifted around, finally finding a relatively comfortable position. Suddenly, a thought flickered in my mind. I turned my head to the side and asked groggily, “Don’t you usually avoid soup during meals?”

He Yu, sitting in the passenger seat, heard me. “What? What did you say?”

Lu Ayao, sitting beside me, answered, “I just felt like having some today.”

I pulled my hood down, gave a muffled “Oh,” and fell fast asleep.

The timeline is 2013. This is just a short side story for Gan, Lu, and He. There is another one titled “Hunting” that I will post once it’s finished.