The great dining hall was indeed great, capable of accommodating three thousand people for a meal.
Being too large, it was naturally quite spacious. Leaving half of it empty wouldn't look good.
Not short of money, Tian Jing waved her hand and decided to decorate it all, with designated areas of focus.
Shen Jianrong held her hand, "Stop waving your hand like that. To decorate the venue, we can only ask for help from people we know."
"Such a large place, stringing up ribbons and blowing up balloons, it's too much work, and the ceiling is so high."
"Heh heh," Tian Jing chuckled lightly, "Comrade Shen, apart from the balloons which will require help, for everything else, you truly don't need anyone else. I can handle it all by myself."
"Oh my," Shen Jianrong exclaimed softly, "Look at my memory, yes, yes, shall we create an archway like they do for Western weddings? Those rose vines are very beautiful."
"Let's go with roses," Tian Jing, even without waving her hand, could make extravagant decisions. "Find a florist and order ten thousand roses."
Shen Jianrong: "..." Ten thousand? Fifteen thousand yuan?
Tian Jing continued, "We'll inflate the balloons with hydrogen. Tie a rose to the bottom of each balloon and let them float around the ceiling randomly. That way, we won't need to string up any garlands."
"I will decorate the stage. The archway you want will be placed in front of the stage, and the '喜' character on the backdrop will be made of roses."
"The red carpet aisle leading from the main entrance to the stage will be bordered by dozens of small rose arches."
"Other than that, let's skip it. Too much would invite too much jealousy."
Shen Jianrong: "..."
It was already enough to invite jealousy. She even felt like re-doing her own wedding with this setup.
The head chef, informed by his assistant that the leaders Yu and his wife were touring the dining hall, came out to inquire if the menu had been finalized.
Yu Jinghai glanced at his wife, who was engrossed in discussion with Tian Jing, and called the head chef aside for a private word.
As he spoke, the head chef's expression changed:
"Sir, if you replace the chef here, how can I possibly stay?"
Yu Jinghai dangled a bait, "The other party's surname is Yuan, their ancestors were imperial chefs."
The head chef asked in surprise, "Really?"
Everyone in their industry knew that only the Yuan and Wang families had passed down the tradition of imperial chefs intact.
Wang family's private cuisine was run by descendants of the Wang family. For some unknown reason, it closed down at the peak of its popularity.
Yu Jinghai nodded, "Yes, really. The other party has already agreed."
The head chef asked hesitantly, "Then, can I be an assistant?"
As Tian Jing had guessed, artisans truly were eager to learn (or steal techniques):
"This matter needs to be decided by my in-laws. That Yuan family descendant was invited by them."
Yu Jinghai, a burly man, brought the head chef to find Li Zhengguo.
Li Zhengguo couldn't make any guarantees, "We have a connection with the other party, which is why we were able to invite them."
"We will make a suggestion, but whether she agrees or not, we cannot guarantee."
"Her husband has always been her capable assistant, and she has a junior relative here, so that makes two assistants."
The head chef persisted, "I can work as a prep cook or on cold dishes, as long as I can stay in the kitchen."
Li Zhengguo nodded, "That should be fine. I will try my best to secure it for you."
"Thank you, thank you," the head chef expressed his gratitude repeatedly.
When Tian Jing and Shen Jianrong arrived, the matter had already been settled.
The venue rental fee was three thousand yuan, and the kitchenware and gas rental fee was four thousand yuan. Since the kitchen rental was for at least two days, the chefs would start their prep work the day before.
Shen Jianrong glared at her husband. It wasn't a star-rated kitchen, and it cost two thousand yuan a day.
Tian Jing, however, found it acceptable. Given that they didn't know how much gas would be used, and other seasonings weren't charged separately, it was quite reasonable.
Once the deal was done, Yu Jinghai went to the logistics department to pay the fees and, incidentally, to start his workday.
Li Zhengguo drove his excited in-laws to the flower shop to pre-order the roses.
Upon arriving at the flower shop, Shen Jianrong realized how her mother-in-law spent money.
"Ten thousand red roses and ten thousand branches of pink baby's breath, how much would that be?"
The flower shop assistant, stunned, confirmed the quantity multiple times before running to the back to fetch the owner.
The flower shop owner also confirmed it repeatedly.
Tian Jing nodded at the owner repeatedly.
The flower shop owner took out a calculator and pressed it, "A total of sixteen thousand yuan."
"We'll charge you one yuan and two jiao per rose, and three mao per branch of baby's breath. The packaging fee will be one thousand yuan."
"No packaging," Tian Jing shook her head. "Just get the flowers delivered, trim them slightly, and I'll pick them up on the 14th."
The flower shop owner deducted the price, "Then it's fifteen thousand yuan."
Tian Jing added it back, "No, it's sixteen thousand yuan. You have to guarantee the quality, and also make a bouquet for the bride, and eight corsages for the groom, bride, both sets of parents, the officiant, and the celebrant."
The flower shop owner nodded enthusiastically, promising to make the corsages the most beautiful.
After paying a deposit of five thousand yuan, the three of them left the flower shop. Shen Jianrong didn't understand:
"Why did you add the money back to the owner?"
Tian Jing explained to her, "Trimming the flowers takes time and effort. If you don't add some money, they won't be as meticulous."
Shen Jianrong didn't believe it, "Ten thousand pairs of flowers, even if you only earn two mao per pair, that's still two thousand yuan."
"Alright," Tian Jing admitted honestly, "I just felt sixteen thousand sounded better."
"When she first quoted that number, it sounded so pleasant to my ears. I didn't want packaging not because I wanted her to reduce the price, but because I genuinely didn't need it."
Shen Jianrong: "..." Spending money on auspicious numbers? Should she believe it or not?
Back at the Yu residence, Tian Jing immediately wanted to commandeer Shen Jianrong's yard and flower pots to plant roses.
Shen Jianrong pointed to the vegetable patch in the yard. When Xiao Yuan was here, she had planted quite a few vegetables.
Shen Jianrong didn't know how to tend to them, and Xiao Yuan's nephew wasn't very skilled, so the few rows of vegetables were wilting.
Tian Jing unceremoniously pulled up the vegetables. She not only intended to create the backdrop for the stage and the archway in front of it,
but also dozens or even hundreds of small arches to serve as roadside fences. The small area here wasn't enough for her.
She also occupied Shen Jianrong's flower pots, barely managing to get enough space.
Yu Ziyu and Li Weibo returned after trying on their wedding attire.
Upon hearing from her mother what her future mother-in-law was doing for her, Yu Ziyu, touched, hugged Tian Jing's arm and promised,
"Auntie, please don't worry. With Xiao Bo, no matter how difficult things get, I will never regret or retreat."
"Good, good, good," Tian Jing nodded. "With your words, my efforts are worth it. This work won't tire me out."
Was this just a matter of work? It was the sentiment, the intention of her future mother-in-law wanting to give her an unforgettable wedding.
Yu Ziyu said no more but kept it in her heart.
Although her marital home was a villa, she lived outside the compound, and many of her childhood friends mocked her.
They mocked her for being about to leave their circle.
Did it matter?
Who could be certain that the person they married would definitely be from their circle?
How could a woman marrying outside the circle be as happy as she was?
Perhaps women marrying within the circle weren't as happy as her.
Moreover, she wasn't leaving the circle; she was ascending to a higher level. These childhood friends just didn't understand.
From their taunts, she also heard envy and jealousy.
It was all because of her villa marital home and the generous betrothal gifts.
Those who mocked her had already been blacklisted by her.
...
After dinner, Tian Jing finally revealed what her daughter had encountered:
"...This weekend, I still have to go to Kyoto to take Lili for a prenatal check-up."
Shen Jianrong then learned that Tian Jing was also a reason for the Gao family's downfall:
"When Lou Caiyun was picked up by her son, she still looked so arrogant. As if her son was her sole support."
"Yes, her son is her support," Tian Jing regretted not having more time to witness Lou Caiyun's misfortune.
However, she still had to see it with her own eyes: "Her two sons, I've repaid them in kind..."
Tian Jing nonchalantly described what she had done to both Gao Mingfei and Gao Mingxue.
"Good riddance!" Shen Jianrong clapped her hands in delight. "You're still too kind. Those two haven't completely fallen to the bottom yet."
"It's alright," Tian Jing smiled and shook her head. "Life and time will slowly corrupt the brothers."
"And the building is also a test. If the plump girl can hold onto it, then she and her sister will be clear-headed individuals, and the brothers will definitely not have an easy time."
"If they can't hold onto it and it falls into the brothers' hands, they will surely try to gamble again. With their personalities, if they succeed, then anyone in the world could succeed."
Shen Jianrong agreed. Those two brothers were completely spoiled by Lou Caiyun.
Unfortunately, she didn't know when she would be able to witness Lou Caiyun's 'happy' life.