Fresh pig offal was indeed delicious, slippery and springy, and the porridge it cooked was exceptionally sweet.
Liang Minfeng heard they were out for a late-night snack in town and wanted to join. However, it was quite inconvenient to travel there, and he had many important rituals to perform in the middle of the night, so he didn't come. Although he couldn't be there in person, he still had to pay for the late-night meal.
He sent Chen He an 888 yuan red envelope to cover the bill. While everyone was well-off now, it was still important to do things properly.
After the late-night snack, it was only about nine o'clock. As Chen He was paying, he asked the waitress for information.
"Miss, are there any other amusements in town?"
The waitress looked at Chen He and his two companions with a different expression.
"Bosses, the masseuses in town all left years ago. The ones left are older than me, and I don't know if they still take customers. I can give you a call to ask..."
"Stop, stop! What are you talking about? We're asking about entertainment, like singing and drinking."
The three of them’s mouths twitched at the waitress’s words. Older than her meant over fifty, and she had the nerve to mention it, even having a contact number. She might have been a madam back in the day.
"Singing and drinking, you should have said so! Of course, there is. Turn right outside here and walk a few hundred meters, and there's a dance hall. It's quite lively at night."
"Oh, thanks."
Upon hearing there was a place for entertainment, the three of them became interested. They left the restaurant and eagerly headed to the right, having been bored to death all day.
They didn’t walk far before they could faintly hear music from a distance. Li Haochen and the others quickened their pace. As they got closer, something felt... strange.
After walking for a while and arriving, all three were stunned. This was the dance hall?
There was a screen about seventy to eighty inches, an unknown projector below it, and a half-meter-tall speaker on each side. To the left, there was a small stage, with the words "2 yuan per song" prominently displayed.
The dozen or so small tables around it were all full. People were casually cracking sunflower seeds, shelling peanuts, and drinking small bottles of beer.
The waitress hadn't lied. You could see an old woman singing on the stage, with many old men fans swaying to the music below. Around the perimeter were peanuts, sunflower seeds, and beer. What else could it be but a dance hall?
"Alright, let's buy some beer, peanuts, and sunflower seeds and head back to the hotel."
"That's the only way."
They had important matters to attend to the next day. In the hotel, they drank two bottles of beer and then stopped. After showering and reconfirming the next day's schedule and the locations for decorating the wedding cars with Liang Minfeng, they covered themselves with blankets and went to sleep.
The next morning, they were groggily awakened by the deafening sound of their three mobile phones' alarms.
The three of them quickly washed up, changed into the matching "brother suits" they had bought, and went down to the hotel's back parking lot to get their cars.
It seemed to be a good day. They arrived at the town's only flower shop. The entire street was lined with wedding cars waiting to be decorated. The arrival of Li Haochen and his two cars immediately drew everyone's attention. Indeed, with a Range Rover and a Navigator, such cars were not just high-class in town but even in the city.
After waiting for more than half an hour, it was finally their turn. As they were decorating, the two flower shop employees were a bit cautious and very careful, as if afraid of scratching the paint.
"Ladies, it's fine, be bolder, we're in a hurry."
Chen He, that fellow, started showing off again. With his words, one would think these were his cars.
More than ten minutes later, the wedding cars and decorated cars were all finished. They didn't need to pay; Liang Minfeng had already arranged it, so they could just leave.
The road to Liang Minfeng's village was not very good. While not completely dilapidated, it had many small potholes. Fortunately, the rented cars had high chassis and excellent performance, so they didn't feel very bumpy when driving over them.
If it were a car with a lower chassis, their bottoms would likely have been shaken apart.
"These cars are quite good."
What Li Haochen considered good wasn't their appearance, but how comfortable they were to sit in.
"They are good, aren't they? Over 200,000 yuan, hehe!"
"If you like it, buy one."
Chen He rolled his eyes at Haochen and said with a smile, "You think I'm like you, a rich guy?"
"With an income of hundreds of thousands a month, you're crying poor to me."
Chen He was just joking. For him, buying a car worth one to two million yuan was not difficult now.
"Old Fourth, we're planning to open a few more branches. What do you think?"
"Are you going all in?"
"Yes, in life, you have to go for something big. If it succeeds, we'll be enjoying the view from the mountaintop. If it fails, well, we'll just be carrying bricks at the bottom."
"You've already made up your mind, why are you asking me?"
Chen He smiled and changed the subject, continuing their conversation.
As they talked, they had already arrived at Liang Minfeng's village. Seeing the low, dilapidated houses made of mud and stone, their noses involuntarily stung.
When Liang Minfeng first enrolled, he had described how poor their village was, and they had thought he was joking. Now that they saw it for real, it felt like a weight was pressing down on their hearts.
As Li Haochen and the others arrived, many villagers poked their heads out, looking with great curiosity, especially at the two large cars they had never seen before. They looked truly magnificent.
Many children boldly gathered around, touching and looking at everything, their minds filled with yearning.
"Kids, these are for you."
Li Haochen took out many snacks and candies from his backpack. The children wanted to take them, but they were hesitant.
"Tiger and Dog, you can take them. They are Uncle Feng's friends."
"Yay! Thank you, big brothers!"
Each child received some snacks and candies, thanked them happily, and then left with great joy.
"You've worked hard, brothers. Come in and have something to eat, then we'll head out."
The small house was filled with villagers who had come to help, all busy, with barely any standing room.
Liang Minfeng led Li Haochen and the others into the inner room. A table laden with a sumptuous meal was already set, and there were seven or eight young men dressed in the same "brother suits" as them.
After introductions, they were all Liang Minfeng's paternal and maternal cousins.
It was a bit awkward at first, as they were unfamiliar with each other. However, Chen He and Liu Dehui, who worked in the shops every day, had already developed excellent social skills.
They distributed cigarettes and chatted for a while, quickly becoming familiar with each other.
"Brothers, let's go."
After a while, Liang Minfeng came in and called out, and the seven or eight men strode out with high spirits.
A total of six cars were ready. After everything was prepared, Liang Minfeng gave each driver a red envelope.
With the sound of firecrackers, the convoy set off.
Zhang Guifang's family was not from Jinyuan, so they had to come to the city in advance to find a good hotel for the wedding.
"Old Fourth, how are you feeling?"
"How to put it? I'm about to become a husband and a father. It feels like a burden has been added to my shoulders, but it feels good, hehe!"
"Flower boy turned adult, becoming a henpecked husband, trapped from now on, hahaha!"
"Hmph, who isn't a henpecked husband!"