Chapter 14 Birthday Banquet
"Brother~ I guess you are here. Uncle asked me to let you go downstairs. It's getting late. I want you to go downstairs to receive the relatives!"

Su Chen, who had just closed his eyes for a while, opened his eyes helplessly when he heard the voice ringing beside his ears.

Looking at Su Qingya who was smiling in front of him, Su Chen wanted to punch her.

Su Chen was extremely tired these past two days and had hardly had a good rest.

He was busy running around all the time, either driving to buy something or picking someone up.

Fortunately, the birthday banquet was contracted out, so the host didn’t have to buy food and wine, otherwise Su Chen would have run himself to death.

"Oh, I really admire you, old man!" As the eldest grandson of the Su family, Su Chen must take on the responsibility of receiving relatives.

When I went downstairs, I saw that the whole yard was busy with activity. The tables had been set up early, and the villagers who came early were all looking for friends they knew to play mahjong.

A few years ago, it was the villagers around who helped with the chores, unlike now when everything is outsourced and we don't have to worry about anything.

Before Su Chen could fully appreciate the lively scene, a strong hand patted his shoulder.

"Su Chen, when did you come back?"

Su Chen looked back and saw a middle-aged man, about 170 cm tall and with a round figure, looking at him with a smile.

"Hey, second uncle, when did you come? Why didn't I see you just now? Come, have a cigarette!" Su Chen quickly took out a box of cigarettes from his pocket and handed it over.

The second uncle was also amused by Su Chen when he heard this. He took the cigarette and scolded with a smile: "You haven't seen me yet? I have been here for a long time and walked around for several times but didn't see you. Later, I asked your father and found out that you were sleeping upstairs."

"Hehe~ I haven't had enough rest in the past two days. Let's take a rest."

"Well, go and entertain your relatives first. I'll talk to you later."

"Okay~"

Su Chen greeted them and walked into the crowd. He went up to the relatives he knew and greeted them, handed them a cigarette as a simple gesture, and asked them to find a seat.

But most of them were relatives Su Chen didn't know, which was very embarrassing. He didn't know how to address them and could only chat with them.

There were also some who stated their identities right away, saying that they hadn't seen Su Chen for a long time and that they still remembered when he was this big as a child, and they used to speak and gesture at the same time.

The naughty side of Su Chen when he was a child was brought back to his memory.

After experiencing a lot of things, Su Chen became thicker-skinned. When he saw older people, he would approach them and treat them as elders and start chatting with them.

"Oh, I'm really exhausted. If I had known how tiring it would be, I would never have agreed to my dad's suggestion." Near noon, Su Chen had some rare free time.

Birthday banquets in rural areas are very simple. Originally, the fathers in the family wanted to find a band to sing and have fun.

In the end, it was grandpa who spoke up and said there was no need to spend this money. Father Su and the others argued for a long time, but finally lost to the old man.

There was no need for any etiquette, Su Zhiyun could just go up as a representative and say a few words and that would be it.

“I welcome all my friends and relatives to take time out of your busy schedule to join me…”

Looking at Su Zhiyun standing not far away and reciting the eulogy, Su Chen felt mixed emotions for a moment. Perhaps in a few years he would be standing in that position and saying the same words.

.........

"Hey, it's finally time to eat!" After waiting for two rounds, Su Chen finally sat down at the dinner table.

Looking at the braised tiger skin pork knuckle on the table, Su Chen swallowed his saliva several times. This was his favorite at the table, especially the skin of the pork knuckle. He felt satisfied after taking a bite!

Seeing that everyone had started eating, Su Chen also picked up his chopsticks and stretched out his evil hands towards the pig's trotter.

The moment the soft and chewy pork skin enters my mouth, all my childhood memories come to my mind.

"Yeah, that's right, it tastes like this, delicious!"

When Su Chen came back to his senses from the aftertaste, he looked at the pig's trotter in the middle of the table, and there was only a bone and some lean meat left. As for the pig skin... Su Chen glanced at Su Qingya who hadn't eaten yet, and was also a little annoyed.

How could I have time to reminisce about such an important occasion? What a failure!

Despite his thoughts, Su Chen still obediently joined the group of people waiting for the feast.

Speed ​​is the key when dining in the countryside. The food is served quickly and eaten quickly. In less than ten minutes, Su Chen was already squatting on the open space next to him, smoking.

"Xiao Chen~"

Su Chen looked in the direction of the voice and saw his second uncle walking towards him slowly with a big belly, wiping the sweat with a tissue in his hand.

"Uncle, why don't you go inside and rest for a while? It's quite hot outside."

Although there is a sunshade in the yard, the weather is still quite hot, which is particularly unfriendly to people with slightly plump figures.

"I came to tell you something, then I'm leaving!"

"Leaving? Second uncle, why don't you stay a little longer? It's fine if your eldest uncle and his family are out of town and can't come, but why are you leaving right after dinner? Someone who doesn't know would think we didn't entertain you well enough!"

The second uncle also laughed when he heard this, "You little brat, you're even trying to be clever with your uncle!"

"Hehe~ I just want to keep you for a while!" Su Chen had originally planned to chat with his second uncle in the afternoon, but he didn't expect that he would leave now.

"You kid..."

The second uncle patted Su Chen's shoulder, paused for a moment, and then continued: "Are you going to the Magic City again this time?"

"Well, if there's nothing else, I'll just go there in a few days. My sister got admitted to Magic City University, so I want to go there early to get familiar with the environment."

"Well, if you have time, go see your grandma. She's always talking about you!"

"Of course I did. I was planning to visit my grandmother after I finished the birthday party. I missed her so much after not seeing her for a few years."

The second uncle nodded with satisfaction, "Okay, when you come, I'll make you something delicious!"

"Then it's a deal, I want to eat river fish!" Su Chen said with a slight smile on his face.

"Jiang... river fish? No problem!" My second uncle hesitated for a moment, but still nodded and agreed.

Su Chen also knew that his second uncle was distressed, but there was nothing he could do. This river fish was expensive, costing eighty or ninety yuan per pound, and there was no demand. He could only find acquaintances to make reservations in advance.

The two exchanged a few more pleasantries, and then my second uncle left in a hurry, saying that the company had called him several times and asked him to attend a meeting in the afternoon.

Su Chen's mother has three brothers. The eldest and the youngest both work in Suzhou and Hangzhou. They have been away for many years and only come back during the Chinese New Year.

Only my second uncle and his family work in a local factory and take care of the elderly at home.

The couple's combined monthly salary is less than 8,000 yuan, but it seems they live a good life.

In reality... I can barely make ends meet.

Su Chen's second uncle's son, that is, his second brother, has only been married for two years and his child is only about one year old. It is the time to spend money.

His second brother's job had just stabilized and his monthly income was just enough to cover his expenses.

As for the mortgage, it fell on my second uncle.

Su Chen knows Sa so well, all thanks to his mother Chen Shufen.

Chen Shufen talked about this with him some time ago, and specifically asked him to let Su Chen help more when he has the chance!

(End of this chapter)