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The company's grand opening ceremony was something Wang Xiaoqiang wanted to make quite impressive, and he felt that it was necessary to show some pomp. As his business grew, it inevitably attracted jealousy, and even fellow villagers couldn't be kept at bay.

Therefore, not only did he invite Tang Mingyuan, but he also called Xu Qingxue, hoping she would grace the event with her presence—and she agreed on the spot.

As for Zheng Shuang, Aunt Big Mouth conveyed the message, informing her of the exact date.

Finally, Wang Xiaoqiang called Zhong Ping, but once the call went through, he didn't dare to bring up the company's opening, suddenly feeling it was too abrupt.

"Little Qiang, is there something you want to talk about?" Wang Xiaoqiang rarely called Zhong Ping, so a sudden call, where he hesitated to speak, immediately made her sense that he had something to say.

"Uh, Sister Ping, it's nothing much, just... my company is opening, and I wanted to let you know..."

"Oh, congratulations! When is the opening day? I must personally come over to support you!" Zhong Ping said joyfully.

"Sister Ping, you're so busy, I really can't take up your time..."

There was a silence on the other end of the line, and then Zhong Ping spoke softly, "Little Qiang, it seems you still regard me as an outsider. I've always seen you as a younger brother. Now tell me, as an older sister, how can I not attend my brother's company opening?"

Wang Xiaoqiang's heart warmed at her words, "Sister Ping, if you really come, of course I welcome you. How about this, I'll drive over to pick you up!"

"No need, just give me the address."

"Alright!" Wang Xiaoqiang gave her the address.

What followed was the preparation for the celebration. However, just when he was about to start planning, he didn't know where to begin. Wang Xiaoqiang had never been involved in such an event, let alone organized one. He was about to ask the village secretary Liu Mingshan for advice at the new village committee office when unexpectedly, Zheng Shuang arrived.

Zheng Shuang, after hearing from Aunt Big Mouth that Wang Xiaoqiang's company was opening and a celebration was planned, booked a troupe of gong and drum players over the phone. Then, she arrived a day early, not alone but accompanied by two clerks from Shunfeng Driving School, who were Feng Xiaoyu and Li Chunmei that she had met at the donkey meat noodle restaurant.

Zheng Shuang was still sporting an ear-length bob, makeup-free, with a white shirt and denim shorts. She looked fresh, capable, and pleasant to the eye.

Li Chunmei was the same as always, dressed properly and conservatively, still wearing long pants despite the heat. By contrast, Feng Xiaoyu's clothes were somewhat fancy,

perhaps deliberately dressed up before coming, with heavy makeup and more revealing clothes,

though Feng Xiaoyu's gaze towards Wang Xiaoqiang seemed somewhat resentful.

During his time at Shunfeng Driving School, she'd made several overt and covert attempts to express her feelings for Wang Xiaoqiang, even calling him later to say she wanted to switch jobs and work at his Chicken Farm.

But Wang Xiaoqiang neither accepted her confession nor agreed to hire her. This left her rather dejected.

Wang Xiaoqiang shook hands with each of them, offering his greetings, when Zheng Shuang said, "Little Qiang, have we come too early and intruded... But don't worry, we won't eat your food or stay over."

Wang Xiaoqiang replied, "Not at all, I wish you would eat my food and sleep in my bed... heh heh..."

"What?" Li Chunmei, who was rather proper, exclaimed in surprise.

Knowing that Wang Xiaoqiang wasn't as honest as he seemed, Zheng Shuang immediately clenched her fists encouraging the other girls, "Ladies, Wang Xiaoqiang is taking advantage of us with his words, let's go flatten him..."

Feng Xiaoyu immediately responded, waving her fists, ready to join Zheng Shuang in pouncing on Wang Xiaoqiang.

Wang Xiaoqiang quickly put up his hands in surrender, "Sisters, I was wrong, please spare me this time."

The two women refused to let him go, pounding on Wang Xiaoqiang's back and shoulders as if giving him a massage before they finally stopped.

"Just to be clear, I've never paid for a massage!" Wang Xiaoqiang cheekily got the last word as the women relented.

"Hmm," Zheng Shuang glared, "You're asking for another beating, aren't you?!"

Wang Xiaoqiang raised his hands again, "I dare not, I dare not. Please, take a seat and rest for a bit, I need to find the village secretary."

"Why do you need to see the village secretary?" Feng Xiaoyu, having finally gotten to see Wang Xiaoqiang, naturally hoped he would stay with them and couldn't help but ask a question she shouldn't have.

"It's about the preparations for tomorrow's celebration. I'm not sure what to do... I'm going to ask for his advice."

```

"Pfft, idiot, I'll do it for you!" Zheng Shuang waved her hand authoritatively. In the Zheng family, Zheng Shuang had always been treated like a boy. Whenever Zheng Dana's factory held celebrations, Zheng Shuang was in charge of the preparations. Plus, whenever there were events of any kind, her father would take his daughter with him.

"You know how to set it up? That's great, then I'll treat you to dinner tonight..."

"As if you have a choice?!" Zheng Shuang shot Wang Xiaoqiang a sideways glance.

Wang Xiaoqiang shrank his neck and said, "Of course."

So, the three girls got busy. Following Zheng Shuang's instructions, Li Chunmei and Feng Xiaoyu cleaned up the lobby of the office building, both inside and out, and then proceeded to arrange the venue for the meeting. As for her, she went with Wang Xiaoqiang to the county town to purchase celebration essentials such as firecrackers, colored paper, and the company's promotional flyers.

By the way, they also arranged the banquet. They chose a restaurant in Bluestone Town that catered banquets. This so-called catering meant bringing their own tables, chairs, benches, cutlery, drinks, dishes, and even waitstaff to serve the guests. In short, they provided everything and were very attentive. The host just needed to pay, and as for the dishes, there were different levels to choose from.

The lowest was two hundred yuan per table, then three hundred, and even higher were five hundred, eight hundred, and one thousand, which was the most expensive. After all, they mainly catered to countryside weddings and funerals, so one thousand yuan per table was indeed the highest tier available.

Wang Xiaoqiang and Zheng Shuang personally visited the restaurant to inspect the dishes. Truth be told, an eight hundred yuan table was already quite respectable for a rural banquet, but Wang Xiaoqiang still found it lacking. In the end, he checked the one thousand yuan option and felt it was passable.

The restaurant owner's surname was Ma, and Boss Ma had spent his whole life as a chef. His cooking skills were renowned within a ten-mile radius, and his business had always been good. He was also quite perceptive; noticing how well Wang Xiaoqiang and Zheng Shuang seemed to get along, he naturally assumed the pair was arranging a wedding banquet.

Seeing that they were not entirely satisfied with the one thousand yuan table, he couldn't help but suggest, "Young man, miss, the one thousand yuan table is already very good. Do you know the Bluestone Town Mayor's son? He got married last year and used my banquet services, the same one thousand yuan tables. Unless you two are from the city..."

Upon hearing this, Zheng Shuang's face turned a shade redder.

"Uncle, we're not having a wedding; it's a company opening." Wang Xiaoqiang interjected to clear up the misunderstanding as he saw where the owner's thoughts were headed.

"Oh, and here I thought you were planning a wedding!" the owner said. "A company opening does need to be grand, but a one thousand yuan table is quite remarkable already, comparable to the dishes of a big city hotel."

Convinced by Boss Ma's words, Wang Xiaoqiang reluctantly nodded and booked twenty tables. His intention was to invite the entire village, including his staff and various guests. The villagers were used to bringing gifts in the form of cash when attending banquets, but for this meal, Wang Xiaoqiang decided it would be on the house and had already spread the word not to bring any gifts.

Wang Xiaoqiang and Zheng Shuang returned to the office building, where Feng Xiaoyu and Li Chunmei had already finished setting up the scene for the celebration. Situated just outside the lobby of the building, the venue looked simple but presentable, especially with the three-story building as a backdrop, giving it an imposing air.

The three girls continued to put the finishing touches on the scene, while Wang Xiaoqiang brought in a few more people from the village: Little Xu Xiaoya from the village health station, Wang Deyun, a well-respected elder, and then Wang Xiaoqiang went to the new village committee building to find Liu Mingshan and asked him to host the meeting the next day.

Suddenly, Liu Mingshan said, "Little Qiang, I think it's necessary to invite Mayor Lou..."

"Oh, sure!" Wang Xiaoqiang was a bit surprised. Mayor Lou's full name was Lou Kunshan, and Sanmiao Village was under his jurisdiction in Bluestone Town.

Liu Mingshan continued, "Little Qiang, don't get me wrong, this isn't my idea. This morning, Mayor Lou called me, inquiring about your matters. He mentioned you've rented land from the farmers but haven't fulfilled your initial promise..."

"What do you mean by that?" Wang Xiaoqiang asked, astonished.

"I have already looked into it, and it's Xu Erpa up to his tricks again. Xu Erpa wanted to work at your Vegetable Base but wasn't selected. Since his land is part of what you are renting, he's making an issue out of it. You might have heard, Xu Erpa's wife is cousins with Mayor Lou's wife, so I think he might have complained to the mayor about you..."

"I see." Wang Xiaoqiang said, "It's all my fault for speaking too soon before. However, I will not hire Xu Erpa; he's simply not a worker..."

As the village's Party Secretary, Uncle Liu knew the character of the villagers well. Xu Erpa was notoriously a layabout; he didn't work outside the village, didn't tend his crops, spending his days drinking and gambling. When he ran out of money, he would demand it from his wife—if she refused, he would beat her.

It was no wonder his wife led such a miserable life, otherwise, she would have left him long ago.

"Then, about Mayor Lou..." Liu Mingshan showed a look of difficulty.

"Please!" Wang Xiaoqiang said decisively, "It's just a meal, don't you worry, Uncle Liu. I won't make this difficult for you. When Mayor Lou arrives tomorrow, I'll explain it to him personally..."

Seeing Wang Xiaoqiang's confidence, Liu Mingshan also inwardly relieved. He gave Wang Xiaoqiang Mayor Lou's phone number.

Wang Xiaoqiang immediately dialed the number.

After the call connected, a lazy voice came from the other end: "Hello, who is it?"

"Is this Mayor Lou? It's Wang Xiaoqiang, Wang Xiaoqiang from Sanmiao Village..."

"Ah, Wang Xiaoqiang? What do you need?"

"My company is having its opening ceremony tomorrow, and I would be honored if you could attend..."

"Ah, I've been quite busy these past two days, but since you've asked, I'll have to show you this courtesy... Alright, I'll be there! It just so happens I have something to discuss with your village Party Secretary anyway..." Mayor Lou might have sounded haughty but was careful with his words. He also subtly reminded Wang Xiaoqiang—that the issue with Xu Erpa wasn't going to disappear just like that.

(To be continued. If you enjoy this work, you are welcome to vote and support it at Qidian (qidian.com). Your support is my greatest motivation. Mobile users, please visit m.qidian.com to continue reading.)

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