My happy life in a courtyard house with triplets.

Chapter 427: Yan Fugui Fawns Over Him

Soon, more than half a month passed in the blink of an eye, and the day of the baby's one-month celebration finally arrived.

Zhang Lei got up before dawn and began preparing for the wedding banquet. The storeroom in the front yard was already piled high with all kinds of ingredients and drinks, a dazzling array and more than enough.

Not long after, Liu Hongchang arrived with his men and apprentices, and Nan Yi also arrived with Ma Hua and several kitchen helpers. Zhang Lei looked at the two of them and said politely, "Thank you both for your hard work today. Go to the warehouse and see if you need any ingredients. We've already discussed the dishes, so you can arrange the specific tasks yourselves."

After saying that, Zhang Lei took out two red envelopes from his pocket and handed them over. Liu Hongchang and Nan Yi quickly waved their hands in refusal.

Liu Hongchang said with a smile, "Zhang Lei, take the red envelope back quickly. If I take your money today, my wife won't let me sleep in the bed when I get home."

Nanjing University of the Arts chimed in, "Yeah, Zhang Lei, didn't we agree before that I'd help you without taking a penny?"

Zhang Lei shook his head and insisted, "That won't do. We still have to follow the rules. Otherwise, if word gets out, people will say that I, Zhang Lei, don't give benefits when I ask people for favors, which will ruin my reputation. Besides, you've all worked so hard. It's not just you, but also your apprentices and helpers. You don't have to accept bribes, but they still have to show some appreciation."

Liu Hongchang and Nan Yi exchanged a glance, then looked at the group of people following behind them. After a moment's thought, they finally accepted the red envelope. Liu Hongchang immediately promised, "Thank you very much. I will definitely use all my skills to ensure that everyone eats and drinks well at today's banquet."

After settling the kitchen staff, Zhang Lei went to check the arrangement of the tables and chairs. He had specifically rented nearly thirty sets of tables and chairs for the wedding banquet. If he had borrowed from various households, the varying sizes would have made the arrangement neither neat nor convenient. Zhang Lei himself didn't realize that his approach was setting a precedent in the entire Nanluoguxiang area.

Zhang Lei had only been busy for a short while when he saw Ye Shuqin come out of the house. He quickly went up to her and asked with concern, "Why are you up?"

Ye Shuqin replied softly, "Honey, seeing you running around all by yourself, I wanted to come and lend a hand."

Zhang Lei smiled and instructed, "Go and look after our son. Have they dressed him in his new clothes? The weather is neither too hot nor too cold now. There will definitely be a lot of people coming in to see the baby later. Tell the postpartum nanny to keep a close eye on him and not let anyone with ill intentions hurt the child."

Ye Shuqin nodded: "Don't worry, sir, I've already explained all of this."

As soon as she finished speaking, Lou Xiao'e, heavily pregnant, walked over and asked softly, "Husband, why are you up so early? Isn't the feast at noon?"

Zhang Lei smiled and helped her up, saying, "You still have the mind to worry about this? Go back inside and rest."

Lou Xiao'e shook her head: "I can't sleep. It's so noisy outside, it's making me anxious."

Zhang Lei said helplessly, "Then find a place to sit down and talk to someone. The reason we got up so early to prepare is because there are just too many miscellaneous things to do. It may look simple, but with people coming and going and many people helping out, and people coming to ask for instructions at any time, we have to consider all aspects, otherwise it will easily fall into chaos."

Lou Xiao'e listened and thought for a moment before saying, "It seems we need to hire a housekeeper for our family, otherwise you'll have to worry about all these big and small matters by yourself."

Zhang Lei reached out and gently tapped her forehead, laughing, "You really dare to think like that, hiring a housekeeper? If we have a housekeeper, many things will become inconvenient in the future."

Lou Xiao'e nodded and said no more: "Then you go ahead and do your work, husband. I can't sleep anyway, so I'll go for a walk."

Just as Zhang Lei was about to leave, he ran into Yan Fugui.

Zhang Lei asked, "What's wrong, Teacher Yan?"

Yan Fugui said with a smile, "Zhang Lei, I can tell you must be extremely busy today. I just wanted to ask, have you arranged for someone to collect the gifts yet? I was thinking, there are a lot of people in courtyard number 95, why don't I help you collect and register the gifts?"

Zhang Lei looked at Yan Fugui and smiled as he agreed, "Since Teacher Yan is so kind, then I'll trouble you. Just set up a table over at No. 95 courtyard, and you can come here to get any candy, cigarettes, or anything else you need."

Yan Fugui nodded repeatedly: "Okay, okay, don't worry, I guarantee that every single gift I receive here will be recorded clearly, down to the last penny."

Zhang Lei then called over a nanny and asked her to prepare everything Yan Fugui needed. He even gave Yan Fugui two packs of cigarettes. Yan Fugui took the cigarettes, his face beaming with joy. He happily took the candy and cigarettes, went back to his front door, set up a table, and prepared to receive the gifts.

As soon as Yan Fugui entered the house, his wife Yang Ruihua asked, somewhat puzzled, "Husband, why did you insist on taking on Zhang Lei's job? And why were you so eager to do it? What will the other people in the yard say about us if they see this?"

Yan Fugui looked at his wife and said with exasperation, "You're all talk and no action. Do you even know what kind of show Zhang Lei's family put on today?"

Yang Ruihua asked curiously, "What's going on?"

Yan Fugui lowered his voice: "Zhang Lei's family has a full thirty tables for their wedding banquet today. Do you know what thirty tables means? In the entire Nanluoguxiang area, who else has ever hosted such a grand event? Even ten or eight tables are considered quite impressive. He's just a purchasing agent, and he's married so many wives—is that something most people can do? We need to build a good relationship with them now; you never know when it might come in handy. If we wait until we need something to curry favor, who will listen to us?"

Yang Ruihua suddenly realized and nodded: "Old Yan, you've thought of everything."

Yan Fugui smiled smugly: "Of course. Don't underestimate Zhang Lei just because he's an only man. Look at his family now, so many wives, several of them pregnant, and now he has nine sons. When these nine sons grow up, who in our neighborhood can compare to the Zhang family? And he'll have even more children in the future. When these children grow up, they'll be in all sorts of jobs, and the Zhang family will definitely prosper."

Yang Ruihua listened with a mixture of belief and skepticism, saying, "Really? He has so many children, they could eat him out of house and home, right?"

These words angered Yan Fugui, who retorted, "Eat them into poverty? Don't you know whose family they are? Do you think Lou Xiao'e's family is an ordinary family? Just wait and see, today's meal will absolutely shock you."

Yang Ruihua was still skeptical: "How good could the food be?"

Yan Fugui whispered, "He just had someone take me to the warehouse. It was full of spare ingredients, chicken, duck, fish and meat, all kinds of good stuff."

Listening to Yan Fugui's description, Yang Ruihua's mouth watered.

Looking at her spineless appearance, Yan Fugui instructed her, "I'm only telling you about this. Don't tell anyone else, or our family won't get any of the benefits."

Yang Ruihua nodded quickly: "Don't worry, Lao Yan, I promise I won't tell anyone about this."

Not long after, the neighbors in courtyard number 95 got up one after another and saw a table set up in front of Yan Fugui's house. They all curiously gathered around to ask questions. After finding out what was going on, they learned that the people in the courtyard wanted to give gifts to Yan Fugui.

Yan Fugui smiled broadly as he watched the neighbors come and go, patiently explaining things to each one. Although everyone had some doubts, no one thought he would lie about such a joyous occasion, so they all followed the custom and stepped forward to give gifts and register.