140: The Engagement Banquet

Because they were still relatives, Mama Wang asked Wang Cheng to go with them to Wang Ningkai's engagement banquet that day.

Originally, the eldest uncle did not plan to hold the engagement banquet in the Guan’s Village, but later they somehow didn’t change their minds, so they sent invitations to relatives: the place was still set for Fortune Hotel. People didn’t need to pack a red envelope to participate in the engagement banquet, but they needed to bring gifts. After Mama Wang informed him of this, Wang Cheng went to buy two happy little golden pigs the next day. They were good-looking, but they were actually not worth a lot of money.

According to the Guan’s Village customs, relatives usually invited relatives to help when they had a wedding/engagement banquet. However, the eldest uncle's family did not invite Mama Wang; it was said that they only invited Zhang and several other relatives.

When Third Aunt Guan next door talked about this incident and also secretly observed Mama Wang for a moment, she saw that Mama Wang had no reaction and found that she didn't care about the incident. She was happy to watch, because she felt that the more she looked, the more she felt that Wang Hongwei's family was really too petty.

The engagement banquet was on the afternoon of the 6th. Wang Cheng went to work in his family’s shop in the morning and did not return home until the afternoon. On the way, Wang Cheng received a call from Chu Yifeng.

"What have you been doing lately?"

Wang Cheng remembered that he had forgotten to tell Chu Yifeng that his eldest uncle's son was about to get engaged, so he simply said, "I just came out of the jam shop and I’m going to my elder cousin's engagement banquet in the evening. The subject of engagement is the woman we saw last time."

"Nothing has happened around you recently?" Chu Yifeng showed no interest in his elder cousin and his future sister-in-law.

"What could happen?" Wang Cheng was baffled by him.

"It's fine then."

Wang Cheng couldn't figure out his attitude, and said, "My family is coming, let's talk about it next time. I'll hang up first."

Papa Wang and Mama Wang were already at home. Both of them had changed into a set of clean clothes. It was now five o'clock, and the time on the invitation was five-thirty. However, the formal start of the engagement banquet had to be pushed back for a while, so they didn’t have to be on time.

Wang Cheng didn't change his clothes. The clothes he wore were very clean, and they were all luxury items that he bought in the shopping mall with Chu Yifeng last time. If he wore cheaper clothes after wearing these, the fabric would feel rough and uncomfortable all over.

After parking the car in the lot, Wang Cheng and his parents went to the Fortune Hotel.

Fortune Hotel had been rented out by the eldest uncle today. Because it was only an engagement ceremony, there was no need for it to be as complicated as a marriage, and the engagement banquet hosted by the eldest uncle’s family was more Western-style. The wedding banquets in the Guan’s Village were generally Chinese, and rarely had such Western style.

The guests successively went to the Fortune Hotel. When Wang Cheng and his parents arrived, his uncle and Li were smiling at the door to greet them. Although their smiles faded a lot when they saw them, they couldn’t make faces on such a good day.

In addition to the future groom’s family, the future bride’s family had also arrived. Wang Cheng saw that Li was talking to a woman who was very richly dressed. In fact, it was just a visual effect, piled shiny gold and silver hand ornaments, which had nothing to do with temperament. After thinking about it, Wang Cheng guessed that this person was mostly Wang Xiaoyan's mother.

If they weren’t family, they wouldn’t enter the house.

Seeing them approaching, the woman and the middle-aged man next to her looked around. When Li turned her head and saw them, she secretly swore in her heart that she had bad luck. She didn't really want to invite Wang Cheng's family. However, if she really didn’t, the spittle of the people of the village was estimated to drown their household.

"My dear, I'll introduce them to you. This is my uncle and his wife. Next to them is their youngest son, Wang Cheng." Li introduced with a smirk.

As soon as Wang Xiaoyan’s parents heard Wang Cheng’s name, their eyes immediately moved to him. Looking at the expressions, Wang Cheng knew that they had heard of him from others. Wang Xiaoyan’s mother was less likely to conceal her emotions, her contempt and dislike clear on her face.

"Turns out to be my brother-in-law and sister-in-law. Not that great." Mother Wang revealed a smirk exactly like Li's, as if she was saying something good, pretty hypocritical.

[T/N: I was confused for so long until I realized it was the other Wang mother orz. Mother Wang and Father Wang are Wang Xiaoyan’s parents, Mama Wang and Papa Wang are Wang Cheng’s parents.]

Both Papa Wang and Mama Wang had bad expressions.

Wang Cheng casually glanced at her and looked at her from top to bottom, saying: "Really not that great. As I thought, people who act like noble ladies are still rustic village women in nature. Even if they wear gold and silver, it can't hide the tackiness."

"You!" There was a moment of anger on Mother Wang's face, and was finally caught by her husband.

"What, today is a good day for your daughter and son-in-law." Father Wang said with a low voice in her ear. Mother Wang could only mutter and go to find her daughter with her husband.

Li's face was cold after they left. How enthusiastic they were before, and how indifferent he was now. She said a few false greetings to them, but neither Wang Cheng nor his parents responded, instead setting Li back. She was unreasonably troublesome and was seen by those who came behind them, some of whom were relatives from Wang Xiaoyan's side.

The three then came to the place where the gifts were collected. The people responsible for receiving and registering the gifts were the second uncle and Zhang. The two did not have opposite words and actions like Li. Zhang smiled and accepted Wang Cheng's gifts from his hand, even opening it in front of them. It would usually not be suitable, but many people in the countryside were like that.

Zhang couldn't guess what Wang Cheng would give, and felt that it was quite weighty to start with. After opening it, it turned out to be two ceramic gold pigs, which were worth one or two hundred dollars. It was an okay price. Compared to the gifts from others, it was indeed stingy, but considering the relationship between Wang Cheng and the eldest uncle's family, at least he even bought two golden pigs.

Thinking about it this way, Zhang was no longer jealous. Instead, she felt a hint of schadenfreude. Although they held an extra engagement banquet, the gifts they received were just worthless gadgets.

"This entrepreneur is different, such a generous bigshot." Zhang said jokingly, who knew if she was sincere or pretending.

"In the end, it's still family. My sister-in-law’s son is about to get engaged, of course this aunt will come." Mama Wang said with a smile.

There were still a few guests waiting behind to give gifts who heard their conversation, and their expressions became very weird. The aunt and uncle even came here as a guest to the engagement banquet? [T/N: Instead of helping out as close relatives.] The Wang family was too outrageous. It was clear that this was to cut ties with the third family, and even if they invited the third family, their attitude had been made clear. This was the rhythm of drawing a clear line with the third family.

Fortune Hotel had two floors, the second floor was where his uncle had reserved space. After greeting, Wang Cheng and his parents went to the second floor for the banquet. Many people had already arrived at the banquet, and the older generation and the younger were divided into two camps.

Wang Cheng followed his parents toward the several village elders. This engagement banquet invited relatives as well as some elders in the village, and their family had better relationships with these elders.

Li handed over the task of greeting guests to her husband, and went to the bride's dressing room on the second floor of the hotel alone. Wang Xiaoyan and her mother were talking inside. She didn’t see Father Wang, he must be chatting with guests outside.

Seeing Li come in, both Wang Xiaoyan and her mother enthusiastically pulled her over to chat, and Li smiled so hard that one couldn’t see her eyes. This was the so-called ‘turtle seeing mung beans’. It's not surprising that they were in-laws.

[T/N: It is referencing a story, but means when someone is satisfied with something because it reminds them of themselves.]

"What were you talking about just now, why do you look so unhappy?" Li asked.

Speaking of this, Wang Xiaoyan became upset and complained: "If only it weren’t for that Wang Cheng. Today is the day when Ningkai and I are getting engaged. He dared to say that to my mother, really getting on my nerves. Unqualified people don't know how to teach.”

"Don't be angry, don’t be angry, today is a good day. Don't spoil your good mood for something irrelevant." Although Li's eyes are on her eyes, she didn’t like Wang Cheng. However, she didn’t want to let Wang Cheng ruin the good day.

Wang Xiaoyan suddenly hesitated, "Aunt Li, there is something I know about Wang Cheng, but I don't know if I should say it. Sorry, this fact is a bit unspeakable."

"About Wang Cheng? You can just say it," Li said.

"Alright." Wang Xiaoyan gave a smug smile. "I have a cousin studying at Shanhai University. Two days ago, a scandal happened at Shanhai University with a professor. It was exposed on the forum that the professor was gay, and the photos also testify. My cousin shared it with me and said it was interesting. As a result, guess who the person in the photo was.”

Li froze: "Could it be Wang Cheng?"

"That's right, it was Wang Cheng. The man who got together with that professor was Wang Cheng. The photos clearly show Wang Cheng's face. If you don't believe me, I have the photos to prove it."

Wang Xiaoyan immediately picked up her phone from the dresser and brought up the few pictures that she had saved. She told Wang Ningkai about this before and wanted to expose the incident so that Wang Cheng could not live in the Guan’s Village. However, Wang Ningkai told her not to mess around for the time being; their engagement banquet was getting closer and closer, and if this affected the wedding banquet, they would lose more than they gained.

Wang Xiaoyan remembered Wang Ningkai's words, but when she recalled what Wang Cheng said to her mother, she became angry. When Li had just entered, she couldn't help saying it, and didn't even regret it. Seeing the photo with the fake angle, Li immediately believed that it was true. Her face suddenly changed, and her voice was sharp: "How could that be? How could Wang Cheng be gay?"

"This makes people look unattractive." Mother Wang sneered.

Li’s mind was numb; she said she didn’t believe it, but she already believed it. She had heard that Wang Cheng has not had a girlfriend until now, and Mama Wang might have already discovered this. She remembered that the mother and son had a quarrel, and at the time, Mama Wang said very harsh words, most likely because she found that her son was gay.

"Wang Cheng is gay?"

The closed door was suddenly opened, and Zhang appeared in the doorway with a shocked and incredulous face. Obviously, after hearing their conversation, she was no less surprised than Li.

Li's eyelids twitched, she didn’t expect Zhang to hear her. She turned to Wang Xiaoyan and said, "Don't spread this beforehand. Today is your engagement banquet with Ningkai. It's not good for us if this gets bigger." She pulled Zhang next door.

***

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