Chapter 517: Why Did She Come?
Chapter 517 Why Is She Here?
"Hehe." Manager Zhao laughed awkwardly.
"But you can skip the invoice for the two hundred yuan processing fee. Also, if there’s extra boar meat, your hotel staff can keep some for themselves to eat."
Manager Zhao immediately beamed again: "Thank you, Student Jiang."
When Mengyu arrived on a tricycle with a wild boar weighing about one hundred and fifty pounds, Manager Zhao was even happier, as the pig could yield at least one hundred and twenty pounds of meat. Each table at the banquet would only need eight pounds of meat, plus some offal would be sufficient.
There would be over forty pounds left, enough for the staff to each get one or two pounds of wild boar meat.
Fearing there wouldn’t be enough supply, Mengyu took some vegetables she had grown for her own consumption out of her space and brought them along on the tricycle.
Sure enough, Vice County Magistrate Wen brought far more people than Mengyu had originally anticipated.
He brought Magistrate Jian, the office director, secretaries, and others, requiring an entire table just for his group.
Chairman Huang brought all five members of the County Women’s Federation; the Youth League Committee also sent three members, making almost another full table.
Vice Town Chief Jing only brought the main leaders from their town;
But when Mr. Lai arrived, he came with a city bureau leader and all secondary leaders from the county, making yet another full table.
Mengyu patted her chest in relief, thankful she had prepared for ten tables.
Before the banquet began, Vice County Magistrate Wen delivered a short speech, followed by the city bureau leader, and then by the Magistrate.
Mengyu found these kinds of official speeches the most tedious, making everyone salivate over the table of food and drink without actually being able to indulge.
Fortunately, the leaders understood the attendees’ eagerness, so these impromptu speeches didn’t last more than two minutes each.
At last, Vice County Magistrate Wen added, "Today’s celebration banquet is sponsored by our student Jiang Mengyu. Let’s give her a round of applause to express our gratitude."
Mengyu really wanted to roll her eyes. Her dinner invitation turned into a celebration banquet, and now she was presented as a sponsor.
Moreover, afraid she might speak out against him, he didn’t even let her say a word, simply expressing gratitude towards her.
Mengyu stood up amidst the applause, bowed to everyone, then picked up her cup and said, "I thank all the comrades who participated in the rescue of the abducted women. Please raise your glasses! Cheers!"
Vice County Magistrate Wen was taken aback, wasn’t it his role to propose a toast?
But as everyone attending the dinner heard that it was Mengyu footing the bill for the evening, they all found it quite normal. Hence when Mengyu called for a toast, everyone filled their glasses and raised them in unison.
Seeing that everyone was raising their glasses at Mengyu’s suggestion, Vice County Magistrate Wen had no choice but to lift his glass and join in the toast.
Mengyu had ordered a keg of beer and two bottles of red wine for each table; keg beer was a specialty of this era. Although Mengyu wasn’t fond of it, many others were, especially the men.
"Why is there only beer? Waiter, bring a box of liquor," Mr. Lai, who was not accustomed to beer, preferred the stronger spirits.
Not just him, but the city bureau leader sitting next to him also preferred strong liquor.
Manager Zhao found himself in a dilemma upon hearing Mr. Lai’s request for liquor; the money for the banquet had already been paid. Who would pay for the extras?
Mr. Lai, accustomed to regular dinner parties, was unaware of Manager Zhao’s predicament. After a while, uncomfortable with the delayed service, he grew displeased.
"Manager Zhao, why hasn’t the liquor arrived yet?"
Remembering the two hundred yuan processing fee Mengyu gave him, Manager Zhao reluctantly decided to deliver two bottles of eighteen-yuan Three Flowers Wine in porcelain bottles to Mr. Lai’s leadership table.
Because he knew that Mr. Lai only drank porcelain-bottled Three Flowers.
Seeing Manager Zhao deliver Three Flowers Wine to the leadership table, Mengyu instructed him, "Put one bottle on each table."
Manager Zhao was overjoyed and had the waiters bring the wine to the tables.
Just then, a man in his thirties came in with a young girl: "Sorry, comrades, I’m late due to some work."
Upon seeing the girl the man brought in, Mengyu’s heart skipped a beat: Why is she here?