Chapter 252 Family Banquet
Peng Hao stood at the gate of Daronghe Restaurant, looked down at the map on his phone, and confirmed that it was this restaurant.
So he walked in, and immediately a receptionist came up and asked: "Sir, who are you?"
Peng Hao said: "Jinjiang Private Room."
"Please follow me." The welcoming lady in cheongsam turned around and led the way.
After taking Peng Hao to the door of the private room, she knocked on the door first, and then opened the door and let Peng Hao in.
As soon as the private room door opened, everyone in the room saw Peng Hao standing at the door. Someone waved to him: "Haohao is here? Come in, come in!"
After Peng Hao entered, he greeted the elders in the room one by one. He first walked to a white-haired old man sitting at the table and said respectfully: "Hello, grandpa."
Then he turned to another white-haired old man sitting next to grandpa and said, "Hello, grandma."
After a serious illness, my grandfather was a little tired. He sat on the chair without moving. He just nodded and said yes, which was considered to be a response to him. The grandmother next to him smiled and waved to Peng Hao: "Haohao, you come from home alone." Are you afraid of coming to Jincheng?”
A middle-aged woman with permed hair next to her complained to her grandmother: "Hey, Mom, don't treat Haohao like a child. He will be a college student soon..."
Peng Hao turned around and greeted the middle-aged woman and the middle-aged man standing next to her: "Hello, aunt, hello, aunt."
"Okay." The eldest aunt nodded and said, "Our mother is right. No matter how big Haohao is, he is still a child in her eyes, isn't he?"
Then he turned around and asked Peng Hao: "When did you come to Jincheng?"
"I've been here for several days. I've already registered at school." Peng Hao replied politely.
"Why didn't you tell me in advance? I'll pick you up at the airport..." My aunt laughed and "blamed" Peng Hao.
"I specifically asked my mother not to tell you that I am a college student and should learn to solve problems independently."
"Good, promising. Much better than your brother!" the aunt praised, and then turned to a child behind him and shouted: "When your cousin is here, he doesn't even know how to come up and say hello. He just hugs him all the time. Play games on your mobile phone! ”
A fifteen or sixteen-year-old boy sitting on the sofa in the private room heard his father's roar and reluctantly stood up. He pouted and said hello to Peng Hao from a distance: "Hello, cousin..."
After saying that, he buried his head in the phone screen again, without even waiting for his cousin to return the gift.
Seeing their son being so perfunctory, Peng Hao's aunt and uncle were also helpless: "This child..."
Peng Hao laughed and didn't care about his cousin.
Not only this cousin, he also has two older brothers. He has not been able to play with them since he was a child, and his relationship with them has been very indifferent. If they suddenly become passionate, he might not know how to get along...
Peng Hao arrived a little early, and the large round table in the private room that could accommodate twenty people was empty.
He sat next to his grandma and chatted with her and his aunt.
But mainly when his grandma and aunt asked him questions, he answered them without taking the initiative to talk about anything.
After a while, another family came, my brother-in-law, his aunt, and his cousin.
When my uncle and aunt saw Peng Hao, they sighed that Peng Hao had grown up. The last time they saw him was when he returned to his hometown after graduating from the third grade of junior high school three years ago. At that time, the younger sister came back with her son Peng Hao to play around, but she never saw him again. Unexpectedly, Peng Hao was admitted to Andong University in Jincheng, and now he would be able to see him more often.
After seeing Peng Hao, my cousin greeted him and chatted for a few words.
Peng Haodu responded with a slightly shy smile, far from being enthusiastic.
He sat there, and if no one came to talk to him, he would sit quietly and never take the initiative to talk to anyone.
In the eyes of the elders, Peng Hao is still as quiet, well-behaved and obedient as when he stayed at his grandparents' house.
In the eyes of his peers, Peng Hao is still as boring as he was when he was a child. So after the cousin chatted with Peng Hao for a few words, he ran to find his younger cousin and chatted with him about games.
The last ones to arrive were the uncle and his cousin's family. Peng Hao greeted them in turn.
The uncle asked what university Peng Hao was admitted to. After hearing that it was Anton University, the leading local university, the expression on his face changed, and then he glanced at his son, who had just graduated from university this year.
Peng Hao knew that his uncle was unbalanced because his son, Peng Hao's eldest cousin, went to a junior college...
The uncle, who was feeling uncomfortable, remained silent. It was the aunt who came out to smooth things over: "Oh, when I was young, among the brothers, Haohao was the best at reading, and now he is really successful..."
The eldest cousin who came in with his parents heard what his mother said and couldn't help but rolled his eyes and muttered in a low voice: "What's so great about being a bad boy..."
He said it very quietly, but he happened to say it when he was walking past Peng Hao, so Peng Hao heard it.
I don’t know if it’s a coincidence or intentional.
But Peng Hao didn't react at all and just pretended not to hear.
Everyone is here, so naturally they sit down to eat.
Today is a family dinner, and the convener is the head of the family, Peng Hao's grandfather, who is also the father of his uncles, aunts, and aunts.
The name is to welcome Peng Hao, who comes to Jincheng to study at university.
As the son of a younger sister who married far away, Peng Hao can be considered a member of this big family, although he rarely comes back and does not have a deep relationship with these relatives.
However, when he was a child, because his parents were working, he went to elementary school in Jincheng for two years and stayed with his grandparents, who took care of his food and daily life. So he still has deep feelings for his grandparents.
But in fact, those two years in Jincheng were not pleasant at all for Peng Hao.
A child in the second grade of primary school leaves his hometown and parents to come to his hometown to attend primary school and depend on others. This is pitiful enough in itself. After coming here, he was bullied by his cousins from time to time, as well as the occasional disdain expressed by his uncle and aunt - maybe they had forgotten all of it, but Peng Hao still remembered it.
The elders' evaluation of him as "honest and obedient" actually means another meaning of "timid and cowardly".
His parents were not around, and no one stood up to help him when he was bullied by his cousins - the parents of his cousins are naturally biased towards their children, it is human nature - in this case, don't they have to be honest and obedient?
What else?
Do you want to do it like cousin Hu Lai did?
But after his cousin finished the fight, his mother stood up and lifted the table and took him home.
After fighting on his own, without his mother or father to stand up for him, he will only be bullied even worse...
Peng Hao still remembers that one time he had a conflict with his eldest cousin and was yelled at by his drunken uncle. He felt so wronged that his pillow towel was soaked when he was lying alone in bed crying at night. The next day I sneaked outside to find a public phone and called my mother.
Smartphones had become popular at that time, and there were very few public phones on the streets. He searched for a long time and walked several streets before he found a working public phone at the entrance of an old alley.
After the call was connected, he did not tell his mother about his grievances, but only said that he missed her.
Because in the process of looking for a public phone, he also figured out, what's the use of telling his grievances to his mother? It's impossible for his mother, who is busy with work, to come to Jincheng to take him away now, otherwise he wouldn't have been sent here to stay under someone else's roof.
Since it's impossible to come and take him away, and telling her will only make her mother feel worried and anxious, then just don't tell her.
So he forced a smile and dealt with his mother's surprised inquiries on the phone, trying not to let her know that he was actually not happy at all living here...
Later, everyone knew that he ran out and looked for a public phone to contact his mother. His relatives teased him about it, or praised him for being smart and sensible. He actually remembered his mother's phone number and knew to call her if he missed her. Mom calls.
But no one knows the story behind his cleverness.
In that environment, he must be smart and sensible, even if in the eyes of his cousins he is actually timid and cowardly - when Hu Lai and his cousins fought, he watched the whole process from the side. He knew that it was not Hu Lai who robbed their toys, but that Hu Lai wanted to play with them, but they were unwilling. Instead, they insulted Hu Lai's father with words.
But when the fight between the two parties alerted the adults, in front of my grandfather and a room full of adults, my cousins complained first, saying that Hu Lai had robbed their toys and broken them.
At this time, Peng Hao, who was hiding in the crowd, knew the cause and effect of the incident. If he had come forward, maybe Hu Lai would not be accused. But he chose silence, huddled quietly in the corner, and did not come out to say a word of justice for Hu Lai. In the end, the deceived grandfather punished Hu Lai severely, and Hu Lai's mother, his aunt, gave everyone an unpleasant experience on the first day of the new year...
That was the first Spring Festival that Peng Hao celebrated after arriving in Jincheng, and it was also the last time he saw his aunt and his family.
When he graduated from the third grade of junior high school, he once went back to Jincheng Laojiang with his mother. The relatives also gathered together, eating, drinking, and chatting. But he did not see his cousin Hu Lai and his aunt and their family on that occasion.
Although his mother didn't explain it to him, he still knew from the words of adults and cousins that his aunt and his family seemed to have a very unhappy relationship with his grandfather and uncle, and they had not been back for a long time, and they were like strangers.
It was at that time that he started to envy his cousin's family. At least they didn't have to act pretentiously with people he didn't like just because they were all relatives.
For example, until now, he can only try to maintain his "quiet and well-behaved" persona in front of relatives he doesn't like, so as to avoid interacting with relatives too much.
The cousin is different, he doesn't have to look at their faces here at all.
※※※
The waiters came in and out, bringing the dishes ordered in advance to the table one after another. After introducing the dishes to the guests, they exited the private room so that the guests could chat and dine without being disturbed by outsiders.
Everyone's topic naturally turned to Peng Hao, because he was the nominal protagonist of today's dinner party.
Everyone talked about Andong University, the university Peng Hao was admitted to.
This topic was brought up by my uncle: "Haohao, Anton University is pretty good too, but it's still a little behind nationwide. Why didn't you get admitted to Huaqing Yan University?"
He seemed to be speaking casually, as if he was asking casually.
But Peng Hao still smelled the sourness in his uncle's tone.
It was clear that the university his son went to was inferior to Andong University back then, so why did he look down on Anton University now? Maybe if your son could have been admitted to Anda University, you would have wanted to have a big banquet for guests in this Daronghe Restaurant, right?
Why didn't you get admitted to Huaqing-Yanda University? Do you think Huaqing and Yanda are pheasant universities that your son can go to by paying money? Can you pass the exam casually?
With this thought in mind, Peng Hao still answered his uncle with his usual politeness: "I'm thinking of coming to Jincheng to go to college so I can see my grandparents more often..."
Grandma was very happy after hearing Peng Hao's answer: "Good grandson!"
Grandpa also smiled and nodded.
Seeing that his parents had this attitude, my uncle couldn't say anything more, so he just nodded without saying a word.
Seeing him like this, Peng Hao had no intention of continuing.
In fact, his parents have also asked this question before, because his score is indeed more than enough to go to Andong University. He does not necessarily have to go to Andong University, and there is no problem in going to a slightly better university.
So why choose Andong University?
This university was not in his application plan at first.
After all, Jincheng, as his hometown, actually didn't leave many good impressions in his memories. If he came to Jincheng to go to college, he would be in a situation like today, and he might often deal with these annoying relatives - although his uncle is rich, he is stingy and mean, and his younger uncle follows his lead and tries to please his uncle every day. , hoping that the other party can arrange a job for his son in the future; only the aunt's side is slightly better, perhaps because the aunt and his mother are sisters, and the relationship between sisters when they were young is better than the relationship with their brothers.
But when he saw that his cousin Hu Lai had joined Jincheng's Flashing Stars, he immediately changed his mind and wanted to go to college in Jincheng to be closer to his cousin.
So he chose Andong University, and when faced with his parents’ questions, he gave the exact same answer as today.
In order to see my grandparents often.
He could indeed see his grandparents often, but there was another reason that he didn't say out loud.
※※※
Starting from the topic of Peng Hao's college entrance examination, the conversation at the dinner table gradually turned to another person.
The uncle was still the uncle. After drinking a glass of wine, he put down the glass and said: "Haohao is indeed promising, much better than the one from Sanmei's family. I remember Hu Lai also took the college entrance examination this summer, right? I don't know if he passed the exam." How about it, did you waste the money I lent to their family..."
"Third sister didn't notify us, so she must have failed in the exam. If she really did, why don't she tell us everywhere?" My uncle helped.
"I knew it. When I borrowed the money, I knew it was a meat bun beating a dog..."
Peng Hao frowned when he heard the word "dog" next to him. In any case, it is a bit excessive for the uncle to talk about his sister's family like this.
Just then he heard his aunt complain: "Brother, what are you talking about? The majority of the money was from our father, and he didn't say a word..."
Peng Hao was a little surprised - he knew that his uncle had lent a huge sum of money to Hu Lai's family, because his uncle had mentioned it more than once in the family WeChat group. But what he didn't know was that the bulk of the money was given by his grandfather? Didn't it mean that grandpa and aunt had a falling out? My aunt is now unwilling to join the group and go home to celebrate the New Year. It is obvious that she cannot easily untie the knot in her heart... How could she ask her grandpa to borrow money?
The uncle didn't expect that his elder sister would prick his hide. He coughed, glanced at Peng Hao and said, "Then I also paid for it!"
The aunt smiled and said: "If dad hadn't forced you, could you have taken it out?"
Seeing that the atmosphere at the dinner table was starting to move in the wrong direction, my grandfather, who had been sitting still without moving, finally spoke: "Okay, don't say this."
His voice was hoarse and out of breath.
In Peng Hao's memory, his grandfather was a person who spoke very loudly. He stood at the door and chatted with his neighbors, which could be heard clearly in the rooms upstairs and downstairs...
That serious illness had a profound impact on my grandfather.
The head of the family spoke, and both the uncle and the aunt were silent.
But it was obvious that the uncle was unhappy. Maybe I felt unhappy when I heard that my second sister’s son did better than my own son when I came in...
So the topic turned to Hu Lai's family.
But this time we won’t talk about college entrance examinations or university.
We talked about the children's work. After all, my uncle's son graduated from college this year.
"I planned to let him come to my company." The uncle patted his son sitting next to him, "But he refused and insisted on starting a business. I thought to myself, isn't starting a business popular now? Doesn't he have this idea? It is also good to chew on the old, so I supported it..."
By the way, you also supported a lot of money to build a startup fund, right?
Peng Hao complained in his heart.
After being frustrated on the topic of college, the uncle really tried his best to win back a victory for his son...
I just opened a small company and earned the same hard-earned money every year, but when I say this, it makes people feel as if they are talking about hundreds of millions of dollars in business.
"...After all, these days, young people just need to try more and try other paths. Don't be afraid if you fail, I'm here. I told my son, the sea and the sky are bright, just go out and try your best. No matter what, you will still have something to eat when you go home. If you have a house to live in, what are you afraid of? You can’t stand guard for others, right?”
"Brother, what you said...how could Miaomiao be a security guard..." my uncle agreed. "He is going to work as a security guard. Didn't you work all these years in vain?"
The uncle laughed happily.
Peng Hao lowered his head. Although neither his uncle nor his uncle named him directly, he knew that he was making fun of his cousin and his family.
Because my cousin's father, who is my uncle, is a security guard.
"So what's the future of playing football? At the end of the day, I just have to be a security guard. I have to borrow money to pay for my children's schooling... I'll leave it here anyway. It's natural to pay back debts. Dad doesn't have to mention it. I have to Remember it for him. That’s our dad’s pension money...”
The uncle really drank too much. Grandpa had just told him not to mention this topic again, so he brought it up again.
Peng Hao thought so in his heart, then raised his head and looked surprised: "Hey, isn't it? Uncle, haven't you heard of it?"
The uncle who was having a deep conversation was a little unhappy when Peng Hao interrupted him. He glanced at his nephew and said, "What did you hear?"
"Cousin Hu Lai is a star now."
When everyone at the table heard what Peng Hao said, they all turned their attention to him.
"What star? Acting?" my aunt asked in surprise.
"Football star, you succeeded." Seeing everyone's surprised looks, Peng Hao widened his eyes and pretended to be shocked, "What? Don't you all know? As long as you are a Jincheng fan, who doesn't know about An Dongshan now?" The star’s top scorer Hu Lai is famous...Hey, don’t you usually watch football?”
Seeing a room full of stunned people, especially his dumbfounded uncle, Peng Hao deliberately asked another question.
The uncle reflexively replied: "I'm not a football fan, what kind of football do I watch..."
"Oh, no wonder. Hu Lai is very popular now." Peng Hao nodded.
At this time, my uncle's son also suddenly remembered something, his eyes widened and he exclaimed: "I have heard of this! But at that time, I didn't connect this name with that Hu Lai at all..."
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But the eldest cousin snorted: "There are so many people with the same name in this world, how do you know that it must be the 'Hu Lai' we all know?"
Peng Hao did not answer his question, but stood up and called the waiter outside the private room in and asked her to turn on the TV hanging on the wall of the private room.
"Why are you turning on the TV?" my cousin asked impatiently.
Peng Hao was not annoyed, and patiently explained: "I originally wanted to show everyone the photos on my phone, but I was afraid that everyone could not see clearly. After all, I took the photos from the stadium stands. It was too far away and the light was dim... …I just happened to think that a TV program about Cousin Hu Lai will be broadcast recently, and today’s time happens to be when the trailer is broadcast...”
He shook his phone, and in a QQ group of Hu Lai fans he joined, someone was talking about this matter, reminding everyone to watch TV.
The TV was quickly turned on, and when the screen turned on, it defaulted to the Anton TV channel.
The screen first showed a stadium filled with cheers, and a figure leaped high in the field and made a celebration gesture.
At the same time, subtitles were printed on the screen: "The new hero of Flashing Star"
Then the noisy stadium scene faded to black, and a close-up of Hu Lai's face gradually appeared on the black screen.
In the close-up shot, the voice-over sounds, it is Hu Lai's own original voice: "It's never too late to pursue your dreams."
Peng Hao pointed to the close-up of Hu Lai's face on the TV screen and asked his eldest cousin: "Cousin, please help me see if this person is the one we all know...your cousin, my cousin?"
His cousin was speechless and could not utter a word.
The uncle who was so proud before looked at the TV screen as if he had seen a ghost.
Everyone else, one by one, was staring at the TV screen, with colorful expressions on their faces.
Just at this moment, grandma exclaimed: "This is Hu Lai's!"
Stopped the mouths of all those who were unwilling to be convinced.
After Hu Lai's face disappeared, the program trailer was played on the screen. A rich baritone that was very familiar to the people of Andong Jincheng said: "Hu Lai: It's never too late to pursue your dreams! Stay tuned for the new episode Issue of "Characters", Wednesday night at 8:30, locked on Anton TV..."
""Characters"? How is this possible..." The uncle's question blurted out.
How could the older generation of Jincheng people not know the significance of the program "Characters"? It was precisely because of this knowledge that he found it difficult to accept this reality - Hu Lai, who he had just laughed at, actually appeared in the program "Characters"!
Is there something wrong with this world?
Hearing what his uncle said, Peng Hao also frowned and said doubtfully: "That's why I'm surprised. My cousin can be on a program like "People's Chronicles", but you guys don't even know about it? Although I'm a human being, I'm not in Jincheng, but I've heard of my cousin's deeds before. ——The champion of last year’s National High School Football Championship was my cousin’s Dongchuan Middle School. He also won the top scorer and best player in that competition, and then entered the professional echelon and went to the Chinese Super League team. Youth team!
"In July this year, he transferred to Flash Star and became a real professional player. Now he has played six games in the Chinese League One and scored seven goals. Before he came, the whole team of Flash Star only lasted half a season. After scoring sixteen goals, his goals alone are now almost half of the total goals scored by the Flash Star team in half a season! Otherwise, why would the TV say that he is the 'New Hero of Flash Star'? You can’t say this nonsense...
"Just in the last game, he completed a hat trick! Oh, uncle, you are not a fan, let me explain to you. The so-called 'hat trick' refers to a player scoring three goals in a game. It is very Not everyone can achieve such a great performance. My cousin was able to perform like this because he was a genius! I was at the scene during this game, sitting among the fans of the visiting team, and my cousin’s performance was criticized. The fans of the visiting team he defeated were all convinced, and when his cousin was replaced When the game came off, all the fans of the visiting team stood up and applauded him! Let me tell you, the scene was so shocking that it’s hard for me to describe it in words... Anyway, Wednesday is "Character Chronicles"! ", I thought that this game will definitely be mentioned in the program. The celebration video in the trailer just now is the celebration after my cousin scored in the last game. You will know how good my cousin is after watching it. La! ”
While everyone was in a daze, Peng Hao poured out everything he wanted to say in one breath. After he finished speaking, he let out a long breath and his thoughts became clear.
As a cousin who has always watched his cousin's games secretly and admired him silently, he had never had the opportunity to express all the words in his heart like today.
He wanted to tell the relatives who looked down on his cousin and let them know what an amazing person his cousin was!
Then he gasped and looked around at everyone in the room, his eyes passing over each of their stunned faces. He was stunned until he saw his grandfather - when everyone was stunned, he was sitting on the chair. Grandpa, however, looked at him calmly. (End of chapter)