Chapter Fifty: Setting Up the Banquet (Part One)

Secretary Tao was, in truth, not pleased to see Sha Le’er appointed as the village assistant. In the past, the Tao family had dominated, oppressing the Sha family, and even now, they were unwilling to witness any chance for the Sha family to rise. Upon receiving a call from Secretary Huang, Tao immediately phoned his third brother, Tao Shirong, who worked in the county government, to inform him of the matter. Tao Shirong instantly instructed him not to obstruct this appointment, but instead to win over Sha Le’er, assist him, and draw him into their camp.

Though he was the eldest, it was the third brother, Tao Shirong, who made the decisions in the Tao family. Tao Shirong did not say much, but made it clear: as long as they did not target Sha Le’er, Secretary Tao’s position would remain secure. On the contrary, if they tried to block Sha Le’er from joining the village committee, not only would Secretary Tao lose his post, but Tao Shirong’s own position in the county would become precarious.

Family interests came first; he could not spare much thought for the rest of the Tao clan’s concerns.

Thus, he resolved to host a banquet without delay to congratulate Sha Le’er on becoming the village assistant, making a grand display of his support. The village chief, Tao Wen, a distant nephew of his, was far from pleased.

“Uncle, do we really have to roll out the red carpet for Sha Le’er?” Tao Wen said gloomily. “With all this attention, won’t he grow arrogant? Will he even respect us then?”

“If you don’t want to curry favor with him, plenty of others do,” Secretary Tao shot him a glare. “Do you think your balls are so grand? Didn’t you see Secretary Huang’s attitude toward him? Are yours bigger than Secretary Huang’s?”

“But… isn’t this going too far?” Tao Wen grumbled, still unwilling.

“Wen’er, let me put it bluntly: it’s not just us who want to support him—even your third uncle Shirong wants to. With thinking like yours, what am I supposed to say? I was hoping you’d succeed me one day, but how can I trust you like this? We’re not doing this for Sha Le’er’s sake, but for Secretary Huang, and for Secretary Feng of the county committee. Do you understand?”

Tao Wen shook his head. He was not only frustrated, but his mind was in a haze.

“That’s enough, I won’t say any more. Just do as I say from now on. If I tell you to show support, you do it. If you don’t listen, you can fend for yourself.”

Since his uncle had spoken so clearly, even though Tao Wen was still confused and full of grievances, he dared not object. He respected Secretary Tao above all—he was not only a distant uncle with significant seniority, but also had two brothers in official posts at the county. Who in Tao Sha Village would defy him? Without Secretary Tao’s backing, could he have become village chief?

Thus, he followed behind Secretary Tao to deliver the news to Sha Le’er. But when he saw Tao Haiying’s face scratched and her clothes torn from being attacked by Luo Yinxiang, his anger flared. Tao Haiying was his cousin, the daughter of his second uncle. When had anyone from the Tao family ever been humiliated by the Sha family?

He was ready to explode, but Secretary Tao’s cold, forbidding gaze forced him to swallow his rage. Still, Tao Wen could not muster the cordiality of Secretary Tao; his face was devoid of any smile.

Sha Le’er, of course, noticed his expression, but he acted as if he hadn’t seen, his own smile as radiant as peach blossoms in spring.

“Uncle Secretary, Brother Tao, why don’t you go on ahead? I’ll go call my uncle.”

Since Secretary Tao insisted on hosting a banquet, Sha Le’er decided to go along—especially with his uncle. If the villagers heard that the secretary was treating his uncle to a meal, his uncle’s standing in Lower Sha Village would rise significantly. He was happy to fulfill his uncle’s vanity.

“Le’er, make haste. Secretary Huang said he’ll be coming too, to personally congratulate you.”

This, in fact, was what vexed Secretary Tao the most. Sha Le’er was just a lowly village assistant, yet Secretary Huang, a township party secretary, intended to come in person to celebrate. The village chief, Tao Wen, who had not heard this before, was also stunned.

“Uncle, Secretary Huang is really coming?”

“Yes, he said so himself on the phone—he’ll definitely be here.”

Tao Wen furrowed his brow. What was going on? A mere assistant without a real post, and yet the township secretary would personally visit—how could this be? He clearly felt threatened; with Sha Le’er around, would his own position as village chief remain secure?

“Uncle… is Secretary Huang really coming?”

“Would I lie? Secretary Chen made it very clear on the phone—do you think I’d make this up against the township secretary’s word?”

Le’er’s cheeks flushed. He hadn’t expected Secretary Huang to give him so much face; at dinner last night, there had been no hint of it.

“Well then, Uncle Tao, I’ll prepare a dish that Secretary Huang loves.”

“What will you cook?” Secretary Tao smiled. “Afraid there won’t be enough for you?”

“No, Uncle, I don’t have anything fancy—just some snake here. I’ll make a snake dish for everyone to try.”

“Snake meat… wonderful! I haven’t eaten snake in years. With snake, the banquet will be even richer—if we have any specialty here, it’s that.”

After Secretary Tao and his party left, Le’er went to the snake garden, caught two male snakes, slaughtered them, and prepared snake whip wine and snake gallbladder wine. He then asked Luo Yinxiang to fetch his uncle and have him bring a rooster from home.

Luo Yinxiang’s face still bore several scratches from Tao Haiying’s nails, as did her chest, yet she was elated. For Le’er’s sake, she had suffered these wounds, but instead of pain she felt satisfaction. Hearing Le’er’s instructions, she happily hurried off.

Soon, his uncle arrived. He had already heard from the villagers who had come to watch the commotion that Le’er was to be the assistant. He had set out to confirm the news, and on the road met Luo Yinxiang, who gave him the definite word. Overjoyed, he began singing the mountain songs of his youth, startling Luo Yinxiang, who thought he’d gone mad with happiness.

Fortunately, the fit passed quickly, and he returned home to catch a large red rooster and brought it over. Le’er had Luo Yinxiang kill the chicken while he handled the snakes.

“Le’er, are you really an official now?” Uncle Shengtian still felt uncertain, asking over and over.

“How could I be an official? I’m just a village assistant, that doesn’t count.”

“Who says it doesn’t? As long as you have the title, you’re an official.” The old man was sure of himself, chuckling. “And your position was conferred by Secretary Huang himself—who would dare say you’re not an official? Is it true that Tao Shirong invited me to his house for a banquet?”

“Of course. Why would I lie?”

“Haha… Uncle is basking in your glory today.” His uncle’s face was wrinkled with laughter. “That old miser, always eating at others’ tables, never letting anyone eat at his own. Today I finally get to eat at his house, and I’ll have some pride at last.”

Le’er said nothing, focused on preparing the snake. He chopped it into pieces, rinsed the blood off with water, and placed it in an earthen pot.

Luo Yinxiang had finished with the chicken and stood to the side.

“Le’er, let me do it—you’re a man, what do you know about cooking?”

“And you do? Can you make ‘Dragon and Phoenix Auspiciousness’?”

Luo Yinxiang had heard of the dish, but had never made it herself. So she watched Le’er intently, determined to learn so she could help him in the future. She watched as he placed the whole chicken in the earthen pot, head on top, then arranged the pieces of snake around it.

“Sister Yinxiang, feed the fire—make it as hot as possible.” With his uncle present, he called her “sister-in-law.”

“Alright.”

Yinxiang stoked the fire until it blazed, and soon the meat in the pot was bubbling. After more than ten minutes, Le’er instructed her again.

“Now lower the fire a bit.”

Luo Yinxiang looked at him in confusion. First he wanted the fire high, now low—what was he thinking?

“Just do as I say.”

Luo Yinxiang obeyed, lowering the flames. Uncle watched, smiling to himself.

“Yinxiang, you’re the hero today.”

“Uncle Shengtian, how am I a hero?”

“You scolded the Taos for Le’er’s sake—of course you’re a hero. In the future, if anyone dares to make trouble for Le’er, just do as you did today, even if you have to fight tooth and nail.”

Luo Yinxiang blushed. But when the “Dragon and Phoenix Auspiciousness” was ready and Le’er served her a bowl of broth to taste, her face glowed with more than just a blush—it was happiness.