Chapter 91: Celebratory Feast Amidst Crisis

Fourth Aunt had already washed a basinful of grapes and set them on the table.

“Help yourselves to fruit. The banquet won’t officially start until four o’clock!”

According to local custom, people grab a light lunch of noodles around noon to tide them over, then reconvene at four or five for the real feast, which can stretch into the night.

“Where’s Dad?” Xu Chen asked.

Fourth Aunt replied, “He insisted on setting off firecrackers and fireworks—and he insisted on buying them himself!”

Xu Chen laughed.

His father, Xu Zhiquan, must truly be overjoyed.

……

After a short while, raucous commotion rose from the courtyard outside.

Then came the sharp crackle of firecrackers.

Xu Chen and Zhang Yongqing stepped out of the house to see Xu Zhiquan returning.

Long strings of firecrackers were strung by the gate. Xu Zhiquan held a cigarette and had already lit two bundles.

A crowd gathered, cheering and applauding.

Xu Zhiquan laughed heartily, looking utterly delighted.

Xu Chen hung back, watching his father from across the yard.

He hadn’t seen his father this happy in a long time.

Xu Zhiquan spotted Xu Chen, handed the colorful firecrackers to Li Rui, and strode over smiling.

“Dad!” Xu Chen called out.

Xu Zhiquan laughed, ruffling Xu Chen’s hair with his large hand.

Nearby, the head cook had started preparing dishes, and savory aromas drifted over.

Xu Zhiquan tugged Xu Chen along, stole a freshly fried meatball from the platter, and stuffed it into Xu Chen’s hand before happily popping one into his own mouth.

Fourth Uncle Xu Zhilin, cigarette dangling from his lips, walked over.

“Second Brother…”

Xu Zhiquan noticed his brother’s uneasy expression.

“What’s wrong?”

Fourth Uncle took a drag of smoke. “Let’s go inside.”

He pushed open the door and stepped into the office.

Xu Zhiquan, still holding Xu Chen’s arm, followed him in.

Once the door closed, muffling the outside clamor, Fourth Uncle spoke quietly:

“Over at the neighboring factory, a group of debt collectors arrived. They’ve splashed red paint on the gate and walls…”

That neighboring plant was the one Third Uncle Xu Zhihai had sold two units of.

Naturally, the collectors were there to chase Third Uncle’s debts.

Xu Zhiquan said,

“The Mechanical Factory collapsed? I didn’t expect it to affect Third Brother so soon.”

The door creaked open as Fourth Aunt stepped in.

Her face looked unsettled—she’d heard the news too.

Fourth Uncle exhaled a plume of white smoke and said in a low tone,

“Second Brother, thankfully we pulled out of bidding at the Mechanical Factory early,

or we’d be facing this mess ourselves!”

Fourth Aunt chimed in with a sigh,

“True. After we cleared out of the foundry business and switched to seedlings, we really dodged a bullet.

Had we still been tangled up in metal parts, we’d be the ones getting splashed with paint and hassled right now!”

Fourth Uncle said, “Second Brother, you have vision. I’m glad I trusted you back then.”

Xu Zhiquan put a cigarette between his teeth. Fourth Uncle pulled out a lighter and flicked it, sparking the tip.

“Actually, it was Xu Chen who had the foresight…” Xu Zhiquan smiled and glanced at his son.

Xu Chen stayed silent, just smiling back.

Xu Zhiquan inhaled deeply,

“What’s the situation over at the other plant now?”

Fourth Uncle replied,

“How bad could it be? Two trucks showed up—collectors, splashing red and white paint, scrawling filthy insults.

They’re still out there shouting right now…”

He sighed and continued:

“Third Brother got cocky after landing that big order from the Mechanical Factory. He borrowed everywhere to expand production.

Now that the factory’s gone under, his creditors know it too.

They’re afraid he can’t pay up, so they’re racing over to demand their money…”

Xu Zhiquan asked, “Is anyone inside the plant?”

Fourth Uncle said, “The big iron gate’s locked. It’s probably empty. I bet Third Brother’s hiding somewhere.”

Fourth Aunt spoke up,

“Last month, Third Brother strutted around like he owned the place after scoring that order.

He looked down on our seedling business, sneering and mocking us…”

“Now here we are celebrating, and he’s got debt collectors at his door. Talk about a reversal of fortune.

He never imagined he’d end up like this, I bet…”

Fourth Uncle took another drag,

“Serves him right. When we split the family business years ago, he nearly ruined Second Brother!”

Xu Zhiquan waved his hand,

“Enough about that. It’s out of our hands now…

Come on! Let’s enjoy our celebration!”

With that, he took Xu Chen’s arm again and laughed as he left the office.

Fourth Uncle and Fourth Aunt shared a smile, their gloom dispelled, and followed suit.

……

The celebratory banquet began.

Platters of meat and vegetables piled each table.

Laughter and chatter filled the air.

Xu Zhiquan sat at the head table as guests approached to toast him.

He accepted every drink, one cup after another.

Before long, his face was flushed red.

Xu Chen sat beside his father, quietly eating.

Xu Zhiquan, clearly tipsy, glanced at Li Rui and said,

“Li Rui, no driving today—drink up!”

Li Rui, clutching a glass of orange juice, awkwardly scratched his head.

Xu Zhiquan grinned, grabbed a clean cup from the table, filled it with baijiu, and handed it to Li Rui.

Startled, Li Rui stood, cupping the cup carefully as he accepted it.

“President Xu, I toast you!”

Xu Zhiquan laughed heartily, clinked cups with Li Rui, and downed the shot.

Fourth Uncle Xu Zhilin, already a bit drunk, leaned back with a cigarette, smiling as he gazed around.

He looked at the dozen-odd tables and said,

“Second Brother, at our current projects, we’re about to run out of manpower.”

Xu Zhiquan laughed,

“That’s a good problem! Then we’ll hire more people.

I’ve lined up two engineering jobs in the southern part of the city. The leaders trust us and will advance half the payment in a couple of days.”

Fourth Uncle said, “Is that possible? Second Brother, you’re amazing!”

……

The drinks had gone around more than three times, yet Xu Zhiquan seemed just warming up.

With a cup in his right hand and half a bottle in his left, he strode to the next table.

The guests rose, cups in hand, when they spotted their “boss” approaching.

Xu Zhiquan had always loved a lively crowd.

Xu Chen remembered when they first opened the foundry: back then it was just a small rural workshop. They fired up the furnace about once a month.

“Lighting the furnace” meant building a tall hearth, stoking it with coke, and adding pig iron to melt into scalding molten metal.

Workers then poured the molten iron into sand molds prepared beforehand.

Once cooled, they had the rough castings for various parts…

Furnace openings were truly “blazing hot.” You couldn’t work during the day.

So they scheduled it at night.

As dusk fell and the air cooled,

Xu Zhiquan would flick on the factory grounds’ big lights, strike a rusty iron plate with a hammer, and roar,

“Furnace’s lit!”

The workers shed their outer clothes, revealing sturdy, sun-darkened torsos, and marched to the furnace singing their work chants.

They kept at it all night.

By five or six in the morning, when the sky turned gray, one batch of molten iron was all poured into the sand molds.

Third Aunt was still at the workshop then. Fourth Aunt, newly married into the family, and two other women workers had set up a large spread of food and drink to greet the men after a night’s toil.

Xu Zhiquan would always be like he was now, bottle of baijiu in hand, weaving through the crowd, slurring and laughing.

The clang of the finger-guessing game and boisterous shouts pierced dawn until the sun rose.

……

“President Xu, we’ve already thrown this celebration—won’t you say a few words?”

Fourth Aunt teased, prompting cheers.

Xu Zhiquan chuckled, poured himself half a cup of baijiu, and said,

“I, Xu Zhiquan, didn’t get much education. But getting to work alongside all of you is my blessing! Here’s a toast from me to everyone!”