As five o'clock in the afternoon approached, the guests began to gather in the plaza.
Ye Jingxing and Nuannuan had spent the afternoon at the arcade in the mall and even caught a movie. Chen Yi, on the other hand, had spent the afternoon at a spa with her daughter, emerging feeling refreshed and energetic.
The others had worked diligently throughout the day.
Everyone, except Chen Yi, returned to the car feeling fatigued (Ye Jingxing and Nuannuan were tired from playing). No one felt like talking on the way.
Upon returning to the courtyard, they lined up, awaiting the director's announcement of the results.
"Alright, everyone has had a tiring day. We will now announce the results and see who will receive tonight's grand banquet!" the director declared, building suspense.
"Director, hurry up and tell us! I'm starving," Zhuo Fan said, his voice hoarse as he rubbed his stomach with a distressed look.
"The first group, Fang Zhongwen and Fang Lei, distributing flyers for six hours, earned a total of 300 yuan.
The second group, Zhuo Fan and Zhuo Wenxing, busking on the street, received 658 yuan in public tips.
The third group, Ye Jingxing and Ye Nuannuan, earned 0 yuan.
The fourth group, Li Yueyao and Li Xinyue, working as sales assistants in a clothing store, earned a commission of 438 yuan.
The fifth group, Chen Yi and Zheng Jiajia, pawned a child's gold bracelet for 2,000 yuan. This amount is not included in the competition earnings, thus resulting in 0 yuan."
The director announced the results group by group. Everyone was surprised to hear Ye Jingxing's group earned 0 yuan, while Chen Yi even chuckled. However, when she heard her own earnings were also zero, she immediately felt indignant.
"Director, how is that fair?"
"Teacher Chen, today is 'A Day of Hard Work.' All income must be from labor. Pawning your own belongings cannot be considered income."
"But that's still something I earned!"
"Teacher Chen, in this day and age, who doesn't have a few valuable items on them? If we did that, we might as well compete on who is the richest." Zhuo Fan replied with a hoarse voice.
"Sister Chen, you're married into a good family. How can our hard day's work compare to a single bracelet or ring of yours?"
Li Yueyao, who had been trying to sell clothes all afternoon, was also feeling agitated, and her words were laced with sarcasm.
"Alright, I now announce Zhuo Fan and Zhuo Wenxing as the winners of today's grand banquet," the director announced, not bothering to engage further with Chen Yi.
"Wow! Thank you, thank you everyone. You're too kind," Zhuo Fan said happily, showing off to everyone.
"We also want to commend the performance of the two children, Fang Lei and Zhuo Wenxing, today. Fang Lei followed his father and distributed flyers under the sun. Zhuo Wenxing accompanied his father by dancing while he performed. Both children worked very hard and were very diligent today!" the director said, leading the applause.
"Therefore, this grand banquet also has a portion for Fang Lei."
"Really?" Fang Lei exclaimed with surprise.
"Dad, don't worry, I'll definitely eat my share for you!" Fang Lei turned and shouted proudly at Fang Zhongwen.
Fang Zhongwen, who had been touched by his son's thoughtfulness that day, had his fragile father-son bond shattered by this remark.
"Leilei, please stop talking [laughing emoji]"
"I saw Brother Fang's eyes welling up, but then one sentence broke him completely."
"Poor Li Yueyao, many of the male customers who came later were with their wives, so she couldn't sell any clothes."
"Director, why was Jingxing and Nuannuan's group also 0 yuan?" Zhuo Fan suddenly remembered to ask.
"Because we didn't go out to earn money. Nuannuan had money on her, so we just spent the day eating, drinking, and playing," Ye Jingxing admitted generously.
"Good heavens, if I knew you had money, why would I have bothered distributing flyers?" Fang Zhongwen retorted irritably.
"The director said we couldn't help other guests, otherwise I would have treated you all to a meal."
"Director, you're going too far!" Fang Zhongwen exclaimed indignantly, pointing at the director.
"I simply don't want anyone to gain without earning. Therefore, Director Ye's group serves as a negative example, and everyone should not emulate them," the director replied righteously.
"Wait, can we see our grand banquet first?"
"Yes, Director, please bring it out quickly! We're also very curious about what the grand banquet looks like," Ye Jingxing said.
"Nuannuan wants to know too," Nuannuan said, blinking at the director.
"Please proceed to the restaurant."
Everyone then entered the dining area and saw the table covered with numerous dishes.
"Director, is it steak, foie gras, or giant Australian lobster?" Zhuo Fan asked excitedly, his eyes shining.
"It's Chinese cuisine, ten dishes provided by a well-known domestic chain restaurant."
"Chinese food is great! Chinese food is great! May I uncover them?" Zhuo Fan reached out excitedly. Fang Lei and Zhuo Wenxing, the two children, were also very excited.
"Uncover them!"
"..."
There was a moment of awkward silence.
"What... what is this?"
"It's a grand banquet! There's meat, vegetables, and soup, with all sorts of staple foods like rice and noodles. Isn't it luxurious?" the director replied.
"Pfft~ It's indeed very luxurious. We won't be able to eat it. Fortunately, Nuannuan and I packed two meat dishes and one vegetable dish from a restaurant," Ye Jingxing said, unable to stop his mouth from curling up in a wide grin.
"Son, eat slowly! Dad will be fine with what he brought," Fang Zhongwen said, his face beaming with a smile.
"Hahaha, I'm dying of laughter, this is the grand banquet!"
"Why does this look so familiar?"
"Of course, it looks familiar. Didn't Father and son Fang Zhongwen eat this for lunch today?"
"It really is luxurious. There are dishes, meat, soup, and a variety of rice and noodles, hahahaha!"
"So the set meal portions are standardized nationwide? I thought they varied by region!"
"I usually eat the duck leg set meal because duck legs are bigger than chicken legs."
"Director, doesn't your conscience hurt?" Zhuo Fan's hands, holding a plate, were trembling.
"Although it's not what you imagined, one shouldn't be too picky about food. There are meat and vegetables, and several types of staple foods. Isn't that enough? Food shouldn't be judged by its status," the director said righteously.
"Well said, Director!" Fang Zhongwen led the applause, his face showing unconcealed schadenfreude.
There was nothing else to be done, so Zhuo Fan obediently sat down to eat. In any case, it was better than the food from the previous night, and the portions were generous.
The others, having earned money today and unsure if they were in first place, had all brought food with them.
Only Chen Yi, who was so confident she would be first that she returned empty-handed.
"I almost pity Chen Yi. She earned the most money and will have to go hungry tonight."
"She's just too confident. How can she be sure that 2,000 yuan is enough for first place?"
"I saw her, an adult and a child, ordering over four hundred yuan worth of food in the restaurant at noon. That kind of spending is too wasteful in such a small county town."
"That kind of spending is high in any city! It's not even a high-end restaurant."
"She's probably forgotten her own name after being a wealthy wife for so long!"
"Director Ye and Nuannuan are the real wealthy ones. They aren't as wasteful as her."
"People tend to show off what they lack the most!"
Chen Yi didn't know what was being said in the barrage of comments, but she knew she could barely maintain her composure.
In the end, Zhuo Fan suggested that since there was too much food, everyone should share it, so Chen Yi and Zheng Jiajia wouldn't have to go hungry again.