1391 How Kind Can One Be



Shao Yin panicked. She only meant it as a casual remark and did not expect Qiao Mei to take her seriously. She quickly said, "I'm sorry, I didn't mean to say that!"

Qiao Mei was not in the mood to make things difficult for Shao Yin. She waved her hand and said, "Just say what you are here to say. I was just joking with you just now. You don't have to take it too seriously."

Shao Yin swallowed nervously and whispered, "It's like this… Xia Xing and I are getting married soon, but we haven't confirmed the venue yet. As you know, my house is small and can't accommodate so many people. So I'm wondering if we can hold the banquet at your house…"

Qiao Mei already knew that such a day would come. During this time, wedding banquets were usually held at the couple's house, just like Qiao Mei's wedding in Foshan Village. If the couple held it in a restaurant, it would attract too much attention and may even lead to trouble.

At a wedding banquet, there would usually be five to six people from the bride's maternal family, usually the bride's closest relatives. At most, there would be a dozen people from her side of the family. This was also the gauge which Xia Wen used when he rented a house for Xia Xing.

No one expected more than 40 people from the Shao family to be here. Xu Lan definitely would not agree to let Shao Yin and Xia Xing hold their wedding banquet at her place. It was not possible to do it at Grandfather's place either.

Even the largest restaurant in the capital did not have the capacity to accommodate so many people. After all, on that day, there would also be many of the Xia family's relatives and friends coming to congratulate the couple. This was a matter that was closely tied to the Xia family's reputation. In the eyes of the Xia family, it was just the third son's family getting a new daughter-in-law, but in the eyes of outsiders, it was the Xia family gaining a new daughter-in-law. It was a huge difference in perception!

For the sake of the Xia family's reputation and given that it was just a one-day banquet, she decided to lend her place to the Shao family as a show of respect for Grandfather. Other than her house, there was no other place that could accommodate so many people at the same time.

"Alright, I agree," Qiao Mei said after thinking for a moment.

"What?" Shao Yin did not really hear what Qiao Mei said and thought that she was hallucinating.

"I said I agree to your request," Qiao Mei repeated.

Shao Yin did not expect Qiao Mei to agree so readily, but since she had agreed to this request, then she should not mind holding another banquet here.

"Um… there's one more thing. My family and Xia Xing's family haven't formally met one another yet. Can we organize a dinner for that at your place as well?" Shao Yin said.

"What? Another banquet?" Qiao Mei looked at Shao Yin in shock. These 40-odd people from the Shao family were not satisfied with only the wedding banquet, but wanted an engagement banquet as well?

"No, no! It's just my parents and elder sister attending! Only them! Not the rest!" Shao Yin quickly explained.

"You can't even fit such a small group in your house? I don't see why you need to hold it at my place," Qiao Mei questioned.

"Well… we don't have enough crockery and cutlery at home, nor do we know anyone who can cook well. Besides, our house is so far away from Grandfather's house…" Shao Yin listed all the reasons she could think of. She was just short of saying that the air in her house was not as fresh as the air in Qiao Mei's house.

Qiao Mei thought that since she had already agreed to help, she would go the extra mile. After all, it concerned the Xia family's reputation. It did not really matter to her if it was one banquet or two. She would just treat it as… as… as a show of respect for the Xia family!

Qiao Mei hoped that Shao Yin would not make any more requests. If Shao Yin were to continue, Qiao Mei did not know what other excuse she could use to convince herself. Fortunately, Shao Yin knew her own place and did not ask for anything else.

Following that, Qiao Mei sat there and listened to Shao Yin ramble on for more than half an hour. If Qiao Mei had to put a subject title to the monologue, it would probably be "Describing how kind Qiao Mei can be". If Shao Yin wrote down everything she said, she would definitely win the Most Outstanding Essay Award.

"Alright, alright. I have other things to do. If there's nothing else, you can go back. We'll talk another day," Qiao Mei said impatiently.

"Oh, there's one last thing! Third Cousin-in-law, can you give Grandfather and the rest of the family a call? It would be best if everyone can attend the dinner," Shao Yin said tentatively.

"Do my mother-in-law and father-in-law have to come too?" Qiao Mei asked.

"Yes, yes! It's best if your two siblings-in-law can come too! This will also show my parents that the Xia family really thinks highly of me and they will feel much more at ease. Third Cousin-in-law, am I making things too difficult for you?" Shao Yin said.

Shao Yin was simply asking to make use of Qiao Mei's courtyard, money and favors to make herself look good. Qiao Mei almost wanted to curse out loud at her.