Before long, nearly every table in the restaurant was filled with guests.
Except for the two tables reserved by Shen Jianguo.
Each square table seated eight people. Aside from Old Master Luo and his two grandchildren, and Su Jiaojiao’s group of four, the other invited guests had yet to arrive.
Old Master Luo frowned and asked Shen Jianguo, “What kind of guests did you invite? They have such airs—it’s already mealtime and they still haven’t shown up?”
Shen Jianguo explained, “They might have been delayed by some matters.”
He then whispered to Liu Dongmei, “What’s going on? It’s a holiday today, no one has to work. Why are they so late?”
Liu Dongmei replied quietly, “Exactly because it’s a holiday, everyone in the apartment building went out. It took me quite some time to gather eight people.
When I invited them, they promised they would definitely arrive before 12 o’clock. How was I to know they still wouldn’t be here when it’s almost mealtime?”
Meanwhile, downstairs in the apartment building, the several employees invited by Liu Dongmei had gathered together.
“Hey, Zhang Sanyong, did Accountant Liu invite you to her daughter’s birthday banquet too?” Li Sibing asked.
“Yeah, I was just about to go out when she stopped me and said I should attend her daughter’s birthday banquet.”
“Same here. It’s really strange. We’re just ordinary employees, and we usually don’t have a close relationship with Accountant Liu. Why would she invite us to her daughter’s birthday banquet? And even if she did invite us, she shouldn’t have called us at the last minute like this, right?”
“Exactly. We finally get a day off from the factory. I planned to visit my aunt’s place, but got held up. She’s a supervisor—I didn’t dare refuse.”
“But if we’re going to celebrate her daughter’s birthday, do we need to buy gifts or give red envelopes? How much money should we put in the red envelope?”
“There’s no time to buy gifts now, we can only give red envelopes. How much do you think is appropriate? Two yuan? Three yuan?”
They really didn’t want to go, but since Liu Dongmei had suddenly invited them, they found it hard to refuse. After all, Liu Dongmei represented not only herself but also Deputy Director Shen Jianguo.
If they had lowered themselves to invite ordinary employees like them, how could they dare refuse? What if they faced retaliation later?
However, they had some disagreement about the amount to put in the red envelopes.
Usually, when they attended banquets, the standard gift was two yuan.
But these were the factory’s top leaders. They considered giving more to curry favor.
In the end, they decided on ten yuan per red envelope.
This was equivalent to over ten days’ wages—a significant financial blow.
Due to some delays on the way, by the time they arrived at the State-Run Restaurant, it was already mealtime. Shen Jianguo and Liu Dongmei’s faces darkened considerably when they saw how late the guests were.
After arriving, they greeted Shen Jianguo and Liu Dongmei, then turned to Shen Qingyu and said, “Comrade Shen, happy birthday! We didn’t have time to prepare gifts since it was so rushed, but here are our red envelopes for you.”
“Comrade Shen, happy birthday!”
One after another, the eight people offered their blessings to Shen Qingyu and handed her their red envelopes.
Shen Jianguo and Liu Dongmei had no time to explain or correct them before the group finished their greetings and gave away the red envelopes.
Smack!
Old Master Luo slammed his palm heavily on the table, his face dark and expression stern as he demanded angrily,
“Shen Jianguo, are these the guests you invited to celebrate the girl’s birthday? They don’t even know who the birthday girl is today. How can they be considered guests when they show such insincerity?”
Hearing Old Master Luo’s words, Li Siyong and the other seven people froze in astonishment, their eyes turning questioningly toward Liu Dongmei.
Had they congratulated the wrong person?
How could that be?
Wasn’t Accountant Liu’s daughter Shen Qingyu, the clerk from the propaganda department?
Now that the red envelopes had already been given out, could they ask for them back? Or should they prepare new ones?
Seeing the situation escalate, Shen Jianguo’s expression grew even darker and more severe.
He coldly addressed Li Siyong and the others, “The birthday girl today is my daughter Su Jiaojiao, not Shen Qingyu!”
As he spoke, he pointed toward Su Jiaojiao.
“Xiao Yu, return the red envelopes to them,” Shen Jianguo said to Shen Qingyu.
Shen Qingyu, her face dark, handed back the red envelopes.
Li Siyong and the others, “…”
Didn’t Deputy Factory Director Shen only have one daughter, Shen Qingyu? How did another daughter suddenly appear, and why did this daughter not share his surname?
Puzzled, Li Siyong and the others turned to Su Jiaojiao and offered their blessings anew, “Comrade Su, happy birthday! May you enjoy many more years like this one!”
“Comrade Su, happy birthday! This red envelope is for you—please be sure to accept it.”
As they spoke, their expressions were slightly awkward, but they had no choice but to press on.
Su Jiaojiao responded politely, “Thank you for coming to celebrate my birthday. Please have a seat—dinner will be served soon.”
She glanced at the eight of them and immediately guessed that Liu Dongmei had dragged them here at the last minute.
But it didn’t matter. What she wanted was a crowd—it didn’t matter who they were.
Li Siyong and the others sensed the strange atmosphere and sat down at the table with unease. Exchanging glances, they were filled with confusion about Deputy Factory Director Shen’s family affairs.
Su Jiaojiao looked at Shen Jianguo and Liu Dongmei and asked, “Dad, Stepmother, are all the guests here? If so, let’s have the servers bring out the food so we can eat.”
Liu Dongmei nodded somewhat guiltily, “Yes, everyone’s here. We can start the meal.”
Inwardly, she cursed the eight of them—useless fools who only made things worse.
But truthfully, it was her own fault for not explaining clearly.
She had only asked them to come to her daughter’s birthday banquet without specifying which daughter. Besides, ordinary factory workers had no understanding of Shen Jianguo’s family situation and had assumed it was just the three of them.
Hearing Su Jiaojiao call Liu Dongmei “Stepmother,” Li Siyong and the others exchanged glances again, their eyes revealing something unusual.
They never would have guessed that the gentle, beautiful, and elegant Accountant Liu they knew was actually someone’s stepmother.
Before the meal began, Old Master Luo presented his gift to Su Jiaojiao, “Jiaojiao, Grandpa Luo didn’t know what you’d like, so I prepared a bracelet for you. Open it and see if you like it.”
Su Jiaojiao opened the box and saw a jade bracelet with excellent translucency.
Someone who knew about jade immediately exclaimed, “This bracelet has pure texture and high transparency, showing exceptional clarity and luster, just like ice. Wow, this is a high-ice grade jade bracelet! It’s extremely expensive—this bracelet must cost at least eight hundred to a thousand yuan!”
“So expensive…”
…
Su Jiaojiao glanced at it and returned the gift to Old Master Luo. “Grandpa Luo, this gift is too precious, I can’t accept it! Your presence at my coming-of-age birthday celebration is already the best gift I could ask for. I’m truly happy and content.”
Old Master Luo pushed the bracelet back toward her, smiling. “Ah, dear Jiaojiao, since Grandpa Luo is giving you this gift, you should accept it. One should not refuse an elder’s gift.”
Su Jiaojiao smiled and said, “Then thank you, Grandpa Luo. I’ll gratefully accept the gift.”
Shen Qingyu’s eyes were fixed intently on the box in Su Jiaojiao’s hand, staring at the lustrous bracelet with such jealousy that sparks seemed to flash in her eyes.
Su Jiaojiao, you wretched woman, just wait. After you finish this sumptuous lunch, you’ll never be able to put on your young lady airs again.