Chapter 57 Family Banquet

Chapter 57: Chapter 57 Family Banquet

"Xiaoru, come here, let me introduce you," Third Aunt warmly pulled Song Xiaoru toward a man in his thirties and said, "This is Shen Ping, the Deputy Director of our neighborhood. He is young and promising, successful in his career. In the future, he will definitely achieve great things in his official career."

Shen Ping wasn’t very tall, only about 1.70 meters, with a somewhat chubby face and glasses. He then reached out his hand and said, "Xian Ping has always told me how beautiful his cousin is, and I hardly believed it until now. Seeing is truly believing. Meeting Miss Song, I now understand that there are indeed such beautiful women in the world."

Song Xiaoru shook hands with Shen Ping and offered a polite smile, saying, "Thank you for your kind words, Mr. Shen." She was actually quite puzzled as her uncle had only mentioned a family dinner over the phone, and now suddenly a Deputy Director of the neighborhood office had appeared.

Third Aunt then said, "Come, come, let’s not all stand here, everyone please sit down. Xiaoru, sit here by Deputy Director Shen. You young people have common topics, it will be convenient for you to chat together."

Shen Ping pulled out a chair and gestured with his hand, smiling as he invited, "Miss Song, please sit." He indeed seemed very polite.

Song Xiaodong furrowed his brow but didn’t say anything; there seemed to be plenty of undercurrents here. He wanted to see what these people were really up to, and he promptly pulled out another chair on the other side of Song Xiaoru and sat down.

Shen Ping looked at Song Xiaodong and asked, "And this gentleman is...?"

Third Aunt quickly said, "This is Xiaoru’s younger brother, Xiaodong."

Shen Ping uttered an "Oh" and extended his hand toward Song Xiaodong, saying, "Hello, Xiaodong."

Song Xiaodong shook hands with Shen Ping, smiling mischievously as he said, "Good thing you asked, otherwise I wouldn’t have felt my presence here at all."

Several people from the families of the Second Uncle and Third Uncle felt a bit awkward by now. From the moment Song Xiaodong had arrived, none of them had spoken a word to him.

Third Aunt, Li Xuelian, a rather tactful person, giggled and said, "Xiaodong, it’s just that your sister has been attracting all the attention, so everyone’s focus has been on her. Are you jealous of your sister?"

Song Xiaodong grinned and scanned the room, saying, "Of course not. In this world, as long as someone is good to my sister, I am ten times, a hundred times better to her. And if anyone dares to harm her, I’ll return it tenfold."

As everyone met Song Xiaodong’s gaze, they instinctively avoided his eyes.

Song Xiaodong chuckled darkly to himself and said no more, quietly waiting to see how things would unfold.

Third Aunt, Li Xuelian, said with a smile, "Xiaoru, we’ve already ordered the dishes. We were thinking of starting earlier, but Deputy Director Shen insisted on waiting until you arrived before serving."

Shen Ping smiled and said, "Is this not a family banquet? Naturally, we’ll also serve when everyone is here. By the way, Miss Song, you haven’t ordered anything yet. Look at the menu and see what you’d like, we can add a couple more dishes."

Song Xiaoru smiled and replied, "No need, I’ll just have whatever everyone else is having."

"Miss Song truly has the demeanor of a lady from a distinguished family," Shen Ping immediately complimented.

Song Xiaoru replied, "You flatter me, Deputy Director Shen."

Third Aunt then chimed in, saying, "Deputy Director Shen, our Xiaoru is really knowledgeable and sensible. Moreover, she’s excellent at managing household affairs. Her parents passed away early, and her brother is not very reliable, so she has been supporting the family all by herself. It’s really not easy at all."

Shen Ping immediately said, "Such qualities in Miss Song are indeed rare, wonderful!" He nodded repeatedly as he spoke, his gaze toward Song Xiaoru turning even more fervent.

At this moment, the elders had a look of joy written all over their faces.

Sitting next to Xiaodong, Second Uncle cleared his throat and said, "Xiaodong, I heard from Xiaoru that you’ve also come back from the army. Didn’t they assign you any work there?"

Xiaodong replied, "They didn’t arrange anything."

Shen Ping immediately said, "So Xiaodong has transitioned from the military, huh? Finding a job won’t be difficult, many organizations favor ex-military personnel."

Second Uncle immediately added, "Yes, yes, Xiaodong, Deputy Director Shen is a very capable man. Just let him help you find a job, and there definitely won’t be any issues."

As soon as Second Uncle finished speaking, Third Aunt secretly glared at him. He then awkwardly laughed and stopped talking.

Xiaodong noticed this and was momentarily puzzled by what was wrong with Second Uncle’s remark that made Third Aunt unhappy.

Shen Ping laughed heartily and said, "Finding a job is just a minor issue, it all depends on what kind of job Xiaodong would like to have."

With narrowed eyes, Xiaodong responded, "Can you really find me a job?"

Third Aunt immediately interjected, "Of course, what did you think? Deputy Director Shen is highly capable, getting you a job is just a matter of words for him. But it also depends on your own ability. If you were like our Xian Ping, a proper university graduate, you could, of course, get a civil service position. But for someone like Xiaodong, who lacks educational qualifications, Shen Ping, you don’t have to put yourself out too much, just find him a job that allows him to support his family and stay out of trouble."

Shen Ping, with a grand gesture, confidently said, "Xian Ping’s matter is easy to handle, I will definitely help him secure a permanent position after this month is over."

Third Aunt’s eyes brightened instantly, and she said, "Then we really owe Deputy Director Shen a big thank you."

Deputy Director Shen waved his hand dismissively and replied, "Aunt, you’re being too formal. After all, we are going to be family soon. Isn’t Xian Ping also my brother? I’d surely take care of such a trivial thing."

Hearing this, Xiaodong suddenly realized that the reason his cousin, Song Xianping, was buttering up Shen Ping was because of his job regularization, and also why Second Uncle mentioning his job made Third Aunt uncomfortable—it was because she feared Shen Ping’s interference might affect Song Xianping’s job.

"Wait, what does becoming one family mean?" Xiaodong squinted his eyes and looked around at everyone.

Third Aunt, giggling, said, "Actually, the reason we invited everyone for dinner today is for a wonderful reason—it’s to help arrange a match between Xiaoru and Deputy Director Shen."

Xiaodong had already sensed this might be the situation, while Xiaoru froze for a moment and then glanced at Shen Ping with slightly furrowed brows.

Still laughing, Third Aunt said to Shen Ping, "So, Deputy Director Shen, what do you think of our Xiaoru?"

Shen Ping eagerly looked at Xiaoru and proclaimed, "Very good, I’m really satisfied. If Miss Song agrees, then I, Shen Ping, will treat you well in the future. I’ll let you manage the household finances, and I’ll even add your name to the property deeds."

Xiaoru suddenly found herself at a loss for words out of embarrassment, and Third Aunt quickly intervened, "Deputy Director Shen, you’re being too hasty; our Xiaoru is tender-faced, don’t scare her off."

Shen Ping laughed heartily and said, "Yes, yes, my mistake, my mistake."

Xiaodong snorted and, with wide eyes, exclaimed, "Wait, since when did someone else decide on my sister’s lifelong matters?"