1400 Light Drinker
Then again, the Xia family and the Shao family did not owe each other anything and their ancestors also never had any interactions. The Zhou family should be considered the one who had betrayed the Shao family!
"Sit down. There's no need to be so restrained," Xia Fang said with a smile.
"These dishes look so good that I can't bear to eat them!" Bian Duo looked at Qiao Mei and praised her.
Shao Yin immediately said, "I think Third Cousin-in-law had made nicer dishes at the Xia family residence during the Spring Festival. We even had prawns and abalones that day."
Hearing this, the expressions of everyone in the Xia family darkened. Only Qiao Mei was still smiling away and did not look angry at all.
Prawns! Abalones! The Shao family had never even heard of such things before. Bian Duo looked at the 18 dishes in front of her. Although there was a lot of meat, who had never eaten meat before? They all knew what meat tasted like, but they had never tasted seafood before!
"Third Cousin-in-law, why didn't you show off your skills today?" Shao Yin said meaningfully.
"You don't like the dishes I made? Then we can remove them." Qiao Mei turned to the table behind her and said, "Auntie Xu! Please go to the state-owned restaurant at the entrance of the alley and ask them to send over a few dishes. Do it quickly. Let's not starve Shao Yin and her mother."
"No need, no need! These dishes are already good enough! There's no need to go and buy more!" Bian Duo said immediately.
"How can I allow that? We must be hospitable today. Don't stand on ceremony with us. The food will arrive in a while," Qiao Mei said nonchalantly, as if she was just trying her best to be a good host.
The Shao family members really thought that the Xia family respected them a lot! They were all overjoyed and Qiao Mei immediately arranged for Chi Ze and Mao Hang to bring out another big table so that the women from the Shao family and Zhou Luo could sit there separately.
"Oh my, we've made you spend so much money," Bian Duo said hypocritically.
"It's fine! Xia Xing is a member of the Xia family. Getting married is a big thing, so of course we can't be careless about it! Just wait patiently. The people from the restaurant will send the food over soon," Qiao Mei said.
Xu Kang had worked for Qiao Mei for so long and she was also Xu Lan's relative. She had long felt annoyed with the Shao family's attitude. The two women had been employer and employee for so long that they could read each other's mind. Xu Kang ordered a table full of vegetarian dishes without any meat at all. There were still 18 dishes served, but in the end, the dishes were not as nice as what Qiao Mei made!
Xia Mao rushed over immediately after dealing with the outstanding matters in the army. The Shao family was sensible enough not to pursue the matter of Xia Mao being late, but Zhou Luo did not intend to let Xia Mao off easily.
"Eldest Brother Xia, you're here early! You only arrive when we are almost done eating," Zhou Luo mocked sarcastically.
"I wonder who's talking, so it's you. Why are you here today?" Xia Mao asked as he looked at Zhou Luo with a sincere expression on his face. Xia Wen and Xia He turned away and snickered. Xia Mao was very adept at mocking people. This simple sentence from him made Zhou Luo blush and she could not even refute it.
Zhou Luo was neither the daughter-in-law of the Xia family nor the daughter-in-law of the Shao family. Xia Xing had been brought up by Xia Guang and Zhou Hua. The event today could be said to have nothing to do with her. The Shao family did not invite her here either. She was the one who invited herself and insisted on tagging along.
Qiao Mei originally thought that Zhou Luo would behave as unreasonably as the last time they met, but she was very well-behaved today. Qiao Mei even thought that it was another person who had come today!
Xia Fang took the opportunity to stand up and raise her glass as she said, "Since everyone is here, let's have a toast together! Let's celebrate this day! Let's celebrate the upcoming marriage between Xia Xing and Shao Yin!"
Everyone drank a toast together. The Xia family had long heard that everyone in the Shao family was a very good drinker, be it the men or the women. Shao Yin took advantage of the chaotic moment during the toast to move to the table where the Xia family's womenfolk were seated. She did not want to eat those dishes full of only vegetables!
Not long after, Xia Fang and the rest all became a little tipsy and Xu Lan's vision became a little blurry. Qiao Mei had been drinking with Qiao Qiang since she was young, so she had built up a capacity for alcohol. However, she told everyone that she was still breastfeeding and that it would not be good for the children if she drank, so she managed to avoid the whole shenanigan. Xia He had encountered many such drinking sessions when she used to go around to perform, so her capacity for alcohol was also slightly better than the rest.
If even the women had already drunk so much, then let alone the men. Shao Tu and his son kept toasting Xia Xing. Soon, Xia Xing was so drunk that he fell asleep with his head on the table.
