Tian Jing pressed the speakerphone, and both Li Zhengguo and Mother Li heard Shen Jianrong's words.
After her younger daughter-in-law hung up the phone, Mother Li sighed, "I never expected the woman who always called us hicks to be so devotedly cared for by her husband."
"The seemingly formidable old lady couldn't protect her own daughter."
"Alas! Fortunately, Lu Shi has no family, so Lili doesn't have to deal with her in-laws."
"Dà Mai has no in-laws either, only a master to support. As for Xiǎo Mai..."
"Alas! I'm a mother-in-law myself, yet I still think it's better for our girls to marry into families with no mothers-in-law."
Li Zhengguo glanced at his wife and advised his mother, "Mom, don't say this out loud. Tiántian is already a mother-in-law."
Mother Li gave an embarrassed smile, "People are hypocritical. Tiántian, I'm just saying, you..."
"It's alright." Tian Jing waved her hand, "Mom is just soft-hearted. Let's not get involved in other people's affairs."
While saying she wouldn't get involved, once her husband went to work and her mother-in-law went for her nap, Tian Jing called Ouyang Lei.
She had originally planned to suppress the Huang family. Whether Shen Xiaoping was instigated by Huang Zongliang or not, such an ill-mannered junior deserved to be taught a lesson.
Unexpectedly, Shen Xiaoping was pushed forward. That was good; she could act more decisively.
Ouyang Lei was speechless. "Heroine Tian, you've once again assigned me a despicable task."
Hearing no response from the other end, Tian Jing asked, "Are you going to do it?"
"Yes!" Ouyang Lei nodded. He wasn't a good person to begin with, and Huang Zongliang was eager to sell him building materials, so this was an opportunity knocking on his door. "To what extent?"
Tian Jing said coldly, "Bankruptcy."
Because of the Huang family's despicable nature, after Shen Xiaoping was formally imprisoned, they would surely force Huang Zongliang to divorce Shen Xiaoping.
"You lay the groundwork first, complete two or three small deals. Once Shen Xiaoping is divorced by the Huang family, then do something big to bring them down in one go."
Ouyang Lei's mouth twitched, "We'll have to forfeit the deposit."
"So be it," Tian Jing said indifferently, "Huang family's building materials are not to be used."
Ouyang Lei: "Then we'll forfeit even more."
Tian Jing: "I don't care."
Ouyang Lei was convinced. "You have money, you're the big boss, you call the shots. I'll go talk to Lili and Lu Shi about how to handle this loss."
Tian Jing smiled and said, "Your share, I'll cover it."
Ouyang Lei hung up the phone immediately. Did Heroine Tian look down on him?
...
Two days later, Li Weibao and Yu Ziyu came down from the Hot Spring Valley.
Xiao Yuan came down with them.
Xiao Yuan needed to discuss the menu with Tian Jing.
Tian Jing waved her hand at Xiao Yuan, "Just list the 16 dishes you're most skilled at."
"The villagers don't want refinement; they want quantity and taste."
"Serve each dish in a large soup bowl, and make sure each dish is shocking enough to their taste buds."
"There will be lunch and dinner, sixty tables for each meal. When you buy the ingredients, also buy sixty large soup bowls, soup tureens, and disposable chopsticks and rice bowls for sixty tables."
"And also large basins for serving, cleavers, cutting boards, and spoons."
This time, Tian Jing did not intend to borrow the villagers' bowls and basins again, only their tables and stools.
Because the banquet for her daughter's wedding next month would also use bowls and basins, and there would be more happy occasions in the future, it was more appropriate to prepare her own.
Xiao Yuan nodded repeatedly. Xiao Yuan already knew from her great-aunt the kindness Tian Jing had shown the Yuan family.
She also knew that her great-aunt was supposed to be Tian Jing's lifelong cook, but Tian Jing and Mayor Li had granted her freedom...
And Auntie was from the Li family...
Tian Jing gave Xiao Yuan ten thousand yuan. Two thousand yuan should be enough for the bowls, basins, and chopsticks.
Buying ingredients at a standard of 80 yuan per table was sufficient.
Ouyang Meihua drove the pickup truck to go shopping with Xiao Yuan.
Tian Jing personally went to invite Sister-in-law Niu and Sister-in-law Gui Lan to help at the courtyard in three days.
Sister-in-law Niu and the others readily agreed.
Then Tian Jing went to borrow tables and stools from the villagers, and told them that the entire family, young and old, had to attend, divided into two meals, lunch and dinner.
The villagers all agreed, saying they would bring their tables and stools when they came for lunch.
The banquet, of course, would be held on the road in the first village.
The space above the village committee office was large enough, but carrying things up and down to serve dishes and clear bowls was tiring. It would be more fun to eat, drink, and chat together on both sides of the road.
Li Liguo and Chen Suozhu were sent by Tian Jing to buy outdoor iron bucket wood-fired stoves, large iron pots, large steamers, as well as sunshade nets and high-power industrial fans.
Outdoor iron bucket wood-fired stoves were a new product in recent years. They were wider and shorter than ordinary oil barrels, capable of holding a 90cm large iron pot.
The iron bucket had three raised iron legs, a separate ash drawer under the stove opening, and a sheet metal chimney. The design was very reasonable, a good helper for outdoor banquets.
Li Liguo and Chen Suozhu drove a large truck out to purchase the items.
A lot of purchased items were moved into the Li family's courtyard.
Li Min, with her eldest son, was washing pots, bowls, and utensils.
Yu Ziyu, pulling Li Weibao along, also joined in the washing. Everyone was busy with their affairs, so they couldn't go out to play anymore.
Lin Hua'er was arranged by Mother Li to rest on the lounge chair under the corridor of the main house.
Amidst the busyness, Saturday, the 24th, arrived.
Sister-in-law Niu and Sister-in-law Gui Lan brought several women to help with washing, chopping, and other preparatory work.
Seeing Xiao Yuan, they were confused. Wasn't Ah Feng the chef?
Xiao Yuan understood their expressions and, before the Li family could explain, she introduced herself.
Sister-in-law Niu chuckled, "They are all Yuan family, their cooking skills should be very good too."
Xiao Yuan dared not accept the compliment, "Yuan Feng is my great-aunt, and has the most authentic cooking skills in the entire Yuan family."
"You've all tasted the banquet prepared by my great-aunt. I'm afraid I'll disappoint you, and disappoint my great-aunt."
"Don't worry," Sister-in-law Niu comforted her, "Captain Tian wouldn't have asked you to handle this banquet if she didn't approve of your cooking skills."
"Didn't you say you studied under your great-aunt for a while? You must have improved."
"We only know what tastes good and what doesn't. We can't discern the subtle differences."
"Your concern now should be whether you can manage cooking sixty tables at once. Large pot dishes are different from small stir-fries."
Xiao Yuan pointed at two stacks of large steamers, "Captain Tian has thought of that for me. I'll appropriately arrange some steamed dishes. Rice will be handled by you all."
"Don't worry," Sister-in-law Niu patted her chest, "The few of us once cooked for hundreds of people for over a year."
"Even when this courtyard was being built, the villagers were still very lazy then..."
Listening to Sister-in-law Niu's chatter, Xiao Yuan's worries vanished.
A truckload of firewood was brought in and piled at the edge of the open space in front of the courtyard, which was the outdoor kitchen.
...
The next day, tourists discovered that both ends of Village Road in Kushan Mountain were blocked, and they could only go to the scenic area from Village Road Two.
Tourists generally disliked taking Village Road Two. Why?
Because Village Road Two was lined with small Western-style houses, offering nothing to see.
Whereas the old houses on Village Road One had a strong sense of history.
Even though the "Bitter Recollection and Sweetness Gratitude" game was no longer played, the furnishings in the old houses remained largely unchanged.
Returning tourists always liked to look at the old houses on Village Road One, and would occasionally go in to take pictures.
The TV station's "Bitter Recollection and Sweetness Gratitude" program was still ongoing, and sometimes they could even encounter the crew filming on location.
First-time tourists also knew that Village Road One was worth seeing, but since it was blocked, what could they do?
They asked the villagers and learned that it was only blocked for one day, so they went to the Hot Spring Valley with peace of mind and planned to visit Village Road One on their way down.