Chapter 309: Chapter 309: Treating Guests Treating Guests
As soon as they left the school gate, their parents started making phone calls: Dad called the provincial government, while Mum used Feng Yiping's mobile to call Grandpa. At the hotel, Huang Jingping had already told Zhang Qiuling, who then told her father when she received the call. So soon after, all the third-year students at Liangjiahe Middle School received a notice from their teacher that the first student from the school to get into the city's No. 1 High School had recently scored first in the province in the arts.
Feng Yuxuan was in the large kitchen arranging for two cars to deliver wheat cakes, glutinous rice chicken and cleaned vegetables to various shops. She happily stood there after answering the phone. Several of the kitchen staff were from the village, and one young wife asked her as she was loading things into the car, 'What's the matter, Yuxuan?'
'Yiping got first in the province!'
'Oh my, that's amazing! Congratulations, finally our village has a university student!'
Mei Yiliang was still at the hotel construction site, and he walked with Xu Bin, the general manager who had already been hired and who was Jin Ling's classmate from Cornell University. He kept saying, 'That's great!' and immediately reported the good news to Cai Hong.
Xu Bin overheard a clue, 'Our young boss ranked first in the province?'
'Yes, first in the arts.'
'That's really worth celebrating,' said Xu Bin, who had also studied his way through the exams. He knew how hard it was to get top marks in the province. Back then, he had just passed the line for the top universities and was nowhere near the top of the province.
The noodle workshop also had a telephone installed, and it was the second aunt who answered it. They all knew that the results would be released that day, and they asked, 'Sister, how did Yiping do?'
'Not bad, and Dad?'
Mei Jianzhong heard his second daughter-in-law calling him, and he was not as composed as usual. He came running over, 'What's the news?'
'Dad, Yiping got first in the province, with 686 points.'
'Good, good!' Mei Jianzhong said repeatedly.
The two uncles and three aunts all gathered around, and when they heard the news, they all burst into laughter. Third Auntie said with a smile, 'In the past two years, Feng's family has really been blessed.'
She was not the only one to say this. Uncle Feng, the most generous of the four uncles, went straight to the nearby convenience store and bought 5,000 firecrackers, which he set off in front of the village office. When the villagers heard the noise, they came out to find out what was going on. When they heard the reason, they were all proud.
They didn't have a direct understanding of being ranked first in the province, but they all knew that their village would finally have a university student. After this started, their own child, who is still in junior high school, might be able to go to university in the future.
Some people who heard about this also said, when comparing Feng Zhenchang's family's situation a few years ago with the present situation, that in recent years, Feng Zhenchang's family's ancestors' graves have really been emitting smoke.
On the way home, Feng Yiping's phone kept ringing non-stop. Those who had heard the news at the company called him, and Zheng Jiayi, who had been following the news, also learned of the news and called to congratulate him. Li Jia kept shouting at him to treat everyone, and Feng Yiping said, 'No problem with the treats, but you'll have to prepare a big gift!'
After arriving home, he received a phone call from Xiao Zhijie and the others, who were all very happy for him. 'Congratulations, Yiping! In the future, when others ask, we can brag that we were the classmates of the top scorers. And, get your money ready, you'll just have to treat us!'
Their scores were a little higher than they had achieved in the middle school entrance exam: 515 for one and 518 for the other. In most other provinces, such scores would not be enough to get into a first-tier university, but in their province, which is a major education hub, the cut-off scores are consistently higher than in other provinces . With these results, they would barely get into a third-tier university. The teacher estimated that the cut-off score for a third-tier university this year should be between 510 and 520, for a second-tier university it should be above 530, and for a first-tier university it should be above 560. So it would be very nerve-wracking when it came to filling in the application form.
The next day at noon, my uncle also rushed to the city with Feng Yuxuan. There were a total of three cars, picking up five teachers from the school, and two directors followed in a car from the school.
This time, my parents were very generous. They booked the biggest private room in the city's most luxurious restaurant, Jufengyuan, and also invited Ding Qiang from the metal products factory and the person in charge of sales to be their guests, determined to make sure the teachers had a good time.
After three rounds of drinks, Teacher Chen took advantage of the alcohol to ask, 'I wanted to ask you earlier in the car, Yiping, is this car yours?'
'Yes, my parents bought it for me.' There was no need to hide it anymore.
'Really, we heard that you drove to school before.'
'We have a small business in the province. Yiping, you are good in every other way, but you like this car. This is the first time he has asked us for something. His mother and I gritted our teeth and bought him one.' Feng Zhenchang raised his glass after he finished speaking, "I'd like to propose a toast to everyone!'
'Isn't that right? We parents work hard all our lives just to satisfy our children's every request," the head of the teaching staff said with a smile.
However, after hearing Feng Zhenchang's words, the teachers' attitude became more enthusiastic. They would never look down on these two unadorned-clad husband and wife again. They said that they could buy Feng Yiping a car like that with one bite, but they could never afford to buy it even if they broke their teeth.
After eating and drinking their fill, Feng Yuxuan took out seven envelopes from her bag. The director of the political education office saw the gesture and immediately declined, saying, 'Today's meal has been very generous, and this is enough.'
Feng Yuxuan smiled and took out a few coupons printed with the name of Jiajiayuan from her bag. 'We also have some shares in Jiajiayuan. These shopping coupons are a small token of our appreciation. Teachers can use them to pay for things like oil, salt, soy sauce, and vinegar. They're not really worth much.'
The idea of printing the coupons was of course also Feng Yiping's idea. For example, on such an occasion, it would be too vulgar to just give money directly, but the coupons are just right. Although a 50 yuan coupon is no different from 50 yuan, it is more acceptable to the recipient, after all, it is not money.
'Youjia Convenience, right? There are many of them in the city now. My family is a loyal customer of Youjia. It turns out that your family is also one of them,' the director of the political and educational affairs department said with a smile.
After a few refusals, the two directors took the lead in accepting it.
Feng Yiping wanted to sneak out in the afternoon to spend some time with Huang Jingping, but after finishing eating, they only rested at home for a while before everyone hurried back to the provincial capital, where there were even more people waiting to be entertained. Feng Yiping heard that when they entertained guests, Wang Changning's parents rushed over, along with a few company executives and a few people from the Cai family, and three tables were set up.
On the morning of the 25th, Feng Zhenchang and the others got up early and returned to Fengjiachong. Fourth Uncle had already called a few times to urge them to hurry, as everyone was waiting for them to host a banquet.
As for Feng Yiping, he couldn't go back yet, as he had to fill in his college application tomorrow. He would be home the earliest tomorrow afternoon. However, Huang Jingping could finally move back home.
This time, she was especially enthusiastic. As soon as Feng Yiping closed the door of the hotel, she pounced on him and hung around his neck, cooing and kissing him, 'You're amazing, I like you so much!'
This kid, it seems, is just like he was in school, he likes those with good grades.