Rebirth Counterattack with Space
Chapter 144 - 139: Welcome Banquet

Chapter 144: Chapter 139: Welcome Banquet

Having tasted the flavor of the chips and learned that such a delicious snack was made from the lowly priced, abundantly produced potato, everyone was surprised and felt as if they had taken a huge reassurance pill. No longer did they take seriously the "hardships" Lu Aiguo talked about—the concern vanished for Xie Jiang, Lu Aijiao, Wu Tan, Lin Weisheng, and Zhang Ming.

Having been in the city for only a few days, Lu Aiguo and Shitou had become quite wealthy thanks to these chips.

With such a house before them, they couldn’t help but be inspired. Enduring hardship was one thing, but who wouldn’t dream of a comfortable life? Who wouldn’t love the opportunity to make money and see a prosperous future? With hope in sight, how hard could any hardship really be?

Suddenly, everyone was filled with longing for the future, eager to roll up their sleeves and start working hard.

"Treat this place like your own home for now, and in the future, you’ll certainly be able to buy an even better house in the city," Lu Aiguo said with a smile, "The sixty yuan a month is just temporary. If you work with me and can’t live a good life later, wouldn’t that be a loss of face for me?"

"We don’t need anything better than this, half as good would be enough," everyone burst into impassioned agreement upon hearing this.

It wasn’t until they were sitting in the back of the tricycle again that Lu Aijiao smiled and asked, "No wonder you sent a telegram specifically telling us not to bring our bedding. Did your wife take care of all this?"

"Yes. She ran here to take down, wash, and air out all those sheets and quilt covers. We have a rooftop on the top floor—I forgot to show you. You can see it for yourselves later. It’s great for airing out clothes and bedding, much better than drying them on the balcony of your little rooms," Lu Aiguo nodded.

"She really went to a lot of trouble," Lu Aijiao agreed.

"Indeed, she’s worked hard," the others echoed.

"It wasn’t hard," Lu Aiguo said modestly, but he was telling the truth. They had come over together and he had installed the solar panels ahead of time, using a washing machine. With several people lending a hand, they finished everything in just two and a half days amidst laughter and chatter.

"All those sheets and quilt covers—how about you try it for yourself? When did you become so inconsiderate?" Lu Aijiao chided as she watched Lu Aiguo eagerly pedal the tricycle.

Lu Aiguo raised his right hand to touch his nose, laughing awkwardly, "Big sister, I didn’t mean to."

"Still arguing back."

Lu Aijiao, unsatisfied, feared deep down that Lu Aiguo might become like some men who lose themselves once they get rich, ending up with a broken home. To her, wealth without happiness meant nothing; it was better to be poor.

Although it was Xia Yuan’s second marriage, Lu Aijiao had long recognized her as a good woman capable of living a decent life. Conversely, she distrusted those women who might flock to her brother just because he had money. Even if they were unmarried, she saw them as despicable, caring only about money and not about people. It’s easy to share wealth, but sharing hardships is difficult. And who doesn’t face adversity in life?

"I’ll change," Lu Aiguo muttered, his mouth twitching. He could tell from his sister’s tone that she was overthinking. But he didn’t argue; instead, he immediately "admitted" his mistake with a good attitude.

"That’s more like it. But you’re a man, you’re bound to be inattentive when busy with important matters—I understand that. In the future, I’ll definitely help my sister-in-law more," Lu Aijiao was pleased with her brother’s response. In fact, she was reluctant to blame him at all, always believing he was capable of great things. She quickly found him an "excuse" in her heart.

Meanwhile, Shitou, hearing the conversation, couldn’t help chuckling softly, and hurriedly pedaled a bit faster.

The new house was soon reached.

"Everyone’s here," Xia Yuan said with a smile, greeting them with Lu Yun; she looked around and was taken aback. "Elder sister, why didn’t Jifu come?"

"Aunt, we even prepared lots of delicious food for our little brother," Lu Yun also felt a bit regretful not seeing Xie Jifu; as a child, Xie Jifu was quite adorable. Especially when he ate, clutching with his two hands just like a little hamster, the way his little cheeks puffed up was simply too cute.

"Taking him along was feared to cause a delay, so he was left at home," Lu Aijiao actually had some regrets already.

"It’s alright, there will be chances in the future to bring him for a stay," Xia Yuan sighed with a sense of loss.

After a round of greetings was over, everyone entered the small building together.

The moment they stepped through the front door and saw the large courtyard, they were all a bit stunned. The two-story building appeared ancient and weathered from the outside but exuded an air of simplicity. Yet, once inside, the feeling was completely different.

The atmosphere inside, whether it was from the furniture or decorations, or even from the expansive dark red curtains that fell from the ceiling to the floor with a satin-like sheen, radiated a subdued yet luxurious air.

The five visitors were all wide-eyed and speechless.

This must have been a place where only wealthy families used to live, right?

Even with the stimulus of Jingtou Village’s house, they tried not to lose their composure but felt their eyes weren’t enough to take it all in.

Once everyone had finished touring up and down, they couldn’t stop expressing their awe. When they heard that the money for both houses actually came from the ginseng Shitou had dug up, everyone joked about going to the mountains to dig up ginseng too.

"Come eat, isn’t it better to talk while we eat?" Xia Yuan saw everyone had come downstairs and hurriedly invited them to make sacrifices to the temple of the stomach.

Everyone touched their bellies, indeed all were growling in protest.

The dining room had already been set with a large round table for ten, specially taken out by Lu Yun, with a glass turntable in the center. Dishes were placed on it, and anyone who wanted to eat something would just spin it toward themselves; this table, which would be quite common in later years, was a novel sight for everyone.

The welcoming feast arranged by Xia Yuan was sumptuous, with more than a dozen dishes crowding the large table, which didn’t seem to hold them all, and the side table was brimming as well, to be rotated in after finishing the dishes on the main table.

Most of the dishes were meaty, with beef with cauliflower, steamed crabs with mushrooms, braised pork, egg-foo young chicken slices, clear soup sea cucumber, kung pao chicken dices, steamed bass, fried lotus root with sauce, black pepper beef tenders, a barrel of the world, codfish soup, fish ball soup... and finally, a bottle of Moutai liquor and glasses filled with cucumber juice and corn juice were served.

Seeing such a bountiful array of dishes made everyone suddenly feel even hungrier. So without ceremony, they sat down and heartily ate their fill first, and the men slowly sipped their drinks and chatted. The meal lasted two to three hours.

Late into the meal, while the men were drinking, Xia Yuan and Lu Aijiao began clearing away the dishes, consolidating the leftover food onto a few plates, and then cleaning everything. Xia Yuan brewed a pot of flower tea and went with Lu Aijiao to the living room to talk; Lu Yun also stayed in the living room to do her homework and listen to their conversation.