Chapter 470: 443 Wen Family Family Banquet (4) Four Thousand Words
"Life is your own, even if it’s just the two of you left in this banquet hall, I hope you will persist in doing what you believe worthwhile."
Song Jiayu stood up, raising his glass to toast Wen Nian and Lili,
"I’m not suited to say these kinds of things, after all, I myself am a failure in life..."
"Dad, thank you."
Song Lili stopped his self-deprecation; she leaned in, clinking her juice glass against his.
"Dad, thank you."
Wen Nian also spoke, "Lili and I only have you as an elder."
Song Jiayu shook his head gently,
"Xiaonian, don’t say that."
Wen Nian smiled, understanding Song Jiayu’s intent; he fell silent and downed his drink in one gulp.
Lili sat down first, while Wen Nian busied himself pouring drinks to toast everyone present,
"It’s rare that we gather for a family feast and it turned out like this; it’s my fault, I hope the brothers and sisters, uncles and aunties still here will forgive me."
"You haven’t done anything wrong, what is there to forgive or not forgive?"
The one who spoke was Wen Nian’s third uncle, Wen Liangyu’s brother, Wen Liangyi. Among the elder generation’s four siblings, only Wen Liangyi remained at the banquet.
He filled his glass to the brim and downed the drink in one go!
"Dad! Drink less!"
Wen Liangyi’s daughter hurriedly advised from the side.
"You all usually forbid me from drinking, and now, when I’m so happy today, you still won’t let me enjoy myself?"
After speaking, Wen Liangyi filled his glass with liquor again.
Wen Nian saw this and let out a light chuckle; Song Lili also started to laugh, muttering softly,
"Old drunkard, Third Uncle..."
Wen Nian was surprised but quickly recuperated; he took Lili’s hand and walked up to Wen Liangyi,
"Third Uncle."
Wen Liangyi raised his eyebrow; standing up, he carefully lifted his brimming glass and gently clinked it against Wen Nian’s,
"All is said in the drink, I won’t say more!"
With that, he tilted his head back and "gulp gulp," the glass was emptied again.
The youngest aunt hurried over, "Dad, if you keep this up, I’m going to get angry!"
"Alright, alright, I’ll finish these last few drops in the glass and then I won’t drink anymore, okay?"
"Geez, you really love your drink, you’ve forgotten everything the doctor advised..."
The youngest aunt grumbled from the side.
Song Lili couldn’t help but laugh; she remembered that among the Wen family branches, besides Wen Liangyu’s, there were three other major lines.
Altogether, the Wen family had more than forty members, yet only Wen Liangyi’s line was different from the others.
"Ah Nian, Lili, sorry to cause amusement."
It was their first formal meeting, and the youngest aunt, Wen Qin, still showed great tolerance and magnanimity.
"Third Uncle is still the same as before... Didn’t he say he was quitting drinking?"
"Does he look like he’s succeeded?"
The youngest aunt shook her head, appearing helpless with the elderly man who behaved child-like.
"Brother Wen Nian, you’ve really stirred up trouble this time!"
Leaning back in his chair along with the whole unit, revealing a face eager for amusement, was none other than Wen Yan, Wen Nian’s five-year-old cousin. His thin arms dangled behind the chair back, playfully swinging.
Wen Nian narrowed his eyes,
"Are you also stirring up trouble by talking to me like this?"
Wen Yan immediately widened his eyes, looking for rescue towards his father, Wen He, "Dad, wasn’t this family banquet Brother Wen Nian’s idea? Now he’s bringing the President’s authority into it, isn’t that a bit... wuwu!"
Before Wen Yan could finish, Wen Nian had already moved behind him to cover his mouth,
"Little Wen Yan, you’re twenty-five, right?"
"Mmmf!"
"Still haven’t found a partner, have you?"
Wen Yan’s eyes grew even wider.
"Don’t worry, from tomorrow on, your cousin will start arranging blind dates for you."
"Mmmf! Mmmf! Mmmf!"
Wen Yan’s face showed resistance, but the firm look in his eyes gradually softened to an admission of fault: I was wrong, I was wrong.
Wen Nian then let go of his mouth, whispering particularly softly, "Brute force enforcement..."
With Third Uncle and little Wen Yan causing a ruckus, the previously tense atmosphere suddenly became lively.
Third Uncle had three sons and one daughter, one of whom was adopted, leading to a total of four grandsons, one granddaughter, and one step-grandchild.
He indeed contributed greatly to the population of the Wen family.
"Let’s see... that makes twenty-one people; come on, everyone squeeze in, just gather around this one table, that’s fine!"
Wen Liangyi looked around and then started to wave his hands, drawing the remaining twenty-one people together.
Although the long table only had sixteen seats, they were spacious. With the help of the servants, they moved the chairs a bit, and squeezing in five extra people did not feel crowded; on the contrary, those who had been sitting further away even dragged their chairs towards the center.