Chapter 172: No Matter Whether It's a White Cat or a Black Cat, a Good Cat Is One That Can Catch Mice
Morning.
About two to three hundred people gathered in front of Deng Shirong's house. Some were busy building a row of temporary stoves with mud bricks. After all, with sixty to seventy tables to serve simultaneously the next day, Deng Shirong's kitchen alone wouldn't be able to handle the load.
Another group was constructing a stage for the county theater troupe to perform.
Others were helping with chopping wood, while some carried tables and chairs.
These tables and chairs weren't borrowed from the village but were instead moved directly from the school.
In later generations, clans would purchase hundreds of tables, chairs, bowls, and chopsticks and store them in the ancestral hall. Whenever someone hosted a wedding, they could simply use these items, making it very convenient.
But in this era, not only did the clan lack the resources to do so, but there was also no need.
Nowadays, whether it was a wedding banquet or a full-month banquet, most families only invited a few tables. Very few families hosted more than ten tables. Therefore, when holding a banquet, it was common to borrow tables, chairs, bowls, and chopsticks from neighbors. There was no need to purchase so many items specifically.
This time, to celebrate Deng Yunheng's admission to Peking University, the clan funded the celebration. With sixty to seventy tables at once, it broke the record for banquets in the entire Double Prosperity area.
Borrowing and returning so many tables and chairs from villagers would have been troublesome, so moving them directly from the school was the most practical solution. Coincidentally, the tables and chairs used by students now were double desks, the kind students could sleep on, and they could be returned after use.
In Deng Shirong's memory, this practice was most popular in the 1990s. At that time, whenever there was a wedding in the village, they would carry tables and chairs from the school during summer or winter vacations. Even in the early 21st century, this was still common.
It wasn't until the clan purchased hundreds of tables and chairs that the school finally had a stable supply.
There is strength in numbers, and this was absolutely true. In just one morning, the villagers completed the preliminary preparations.
At noon, Director Zhou arrived with a dozen experienced members of the county troupe to Thatchfield Village. Seeing the hardened ground in front of them and the row of striking blue brick and tile houses, all the troupe members wore expressions of surprise.
Clearly, the family circumstances of this year's city's top scorer in liberal arts were beyond their expectations.
Deng Shirong immediately went to greet them, smiling warmly, "Captain Zhou, you've had a long journey. Welcome."
Director Zhou shook his hand and said with a smile, "It's no trouble at all, Comrade Deng. You've been very efficient. Even the stage has been set up."
"It was all built with the help of the young people in our village."
At this point, Deng Shirong gestured and said, "Captain Zhou, please bring your luggage inside first. The rooms have been prepared, and lunch is ready. You can come out to eat after settling in."
"Sure, thank you!"
After arranging for the county theater troupe, Deng Shirong's father-in-law and mother-in-law arrived with their children.
In the afternoon, the third sister's family, the two brothers-in-law's families, Zhang Xiuping's eldest brother and his wife, and second brother and his wife also arrived.
The entire day was spent on various preparations.
…
The next day.
Early in the morning, hundreds of people from Thatchfield Village gathered at Deng Shirong's house and began working.
Typically, when hosting a wedding banquet in the countryside, the pig would be slaughtered the afternoon before. However, this time, with so many people helping, there was no need to slaughter the pig in advance. They could slaughter and cook it that morning, ensuring the meat was fresher.
The same went for the chickens and ducks, all of which were killed and cooked that morning.
Various vegetarian dishes were also brought from home by each household. Many people volunteered to pick, wash, and cut the vegetables.
Deng Shirong oversaw everything, arranging the villagers to help in an orderly manner while also receiving special guests like Bu Wanhui.
By noon, every household with the surname Deng from other villages sent a representative to attend the grand celebration. Needless to say, the entire village of Nana turned out, gathering at Deng Shirong's house.
Fortunately, the open space in front of Deng Shirong's house was large enough. If it had been another family in the village, there wouldn't have been enough space to set up sixty to seventy tables at once.
Before the meal began, Deng Shirong stood on the stage that had been set up the day before and gave a brief speech, mainly welcoming relatives and friends and thanking the clan for their support.
Then, the brigade secretary also took the stage to say a few words, expressing the clan's care and expectations for Deng Yunheng.
Finally, the protagonist, Deng Yunheng, came on stage to express his gratitude.
He kept the details brief , lest the villagers waiting for food grow impatient…
At twelve noon, sixty-six tables began eating simultaneously.
Six of the tables were inside the house, while the remaining sixty were set up outside.
The long table in Deng Shirong's house was reserved for distinguished guests. Sitting with him were the director of the credit union, more than a dozen members of the county drama troupe, cadres from the brigade and production team, elders with high seniority in the village, and more prominent villagers like Deng Yungui.
Originally, Deng Shirong wanted his in-laws to sit at this table as well, but they declined, choosing instead to sit at another table and enjoy the meal at their leisure.
When the meal began, Bu Wanhui raised his glass and said, "Uncle Jiu, I'd like to toast you. I want to learn from you when it comes to educating children. My kids don't do well in school. They don't even have much hope of getting into a technical secondary school, let alone university. It's really a headache!"
Deng Shirong raised his glass and clinked it with Bu Wanhui's, then smiled and said, "Director, you're too kind. I'm actually a layman in this area. I'm not afraid of you laughing at me when I say this, but I always set standards for them. As long as they meet the requirements, I give them bonuses directly.
This method of using money to encourage children to study isn't ideal, but I really had no other choice but to try it."
Bu Wanhui was momentarily stunned, then laughed and said, "Uncle Jiu, you don't have to be modest. Didn't a great man say that no matter whether the cat is white or black, a cat that can catch mice is a good cat? No matter what educational method you use, as long as you can raise a son who gets admitted to Peking University, that's the best method."
No one present had expected that Deng Shirong had used this approach to raise a son who was admitted to Peking University. While everyone outwardly agreed with Bu Wanhui's statement, they secretly wondered whether they should try this method themselves.
They didn't expect their children to get into Peking University like Deng Yunheng, but if they could get into a technical secondary school, it would all be worth it.
After lunch, there was a short half-hour break, and then the much-anticipated drama The Legend of White Snake officially began!
(End of this chapter)