sbdcsierra Chapter 1917 Serving the Dishes
Chapter 1917 Serving the Dishes
Chapter 1917 Serving the Dishes
Ye Yaodong noticed it was already two or three o'clock, so he came over to check on the progress. It was getting late, and they needed to finish quickly.
"Are you done?"
"Will Mr. Ye come over and test the microphone right away?"
Ye Chenghu responded, then ran onto the stage, took the microphone, and cleared his throat: "Hello? Hello?"
"I'll play a song, you sing it and see if it stutters or breaks?"
"Huh? I'm not a good singer."
In front of so many people, Ye Chenghu still had some self-awareness. He quickly went down to grab Ye Chengyang and said, "Let my brother sing! He's good! Let him sing a try."
Ye Chengyang was forced to take the microphone that was shoved into his mouth, "Hello, hello, then play 'Ninth Sister'."
This is a song with a strong local flavor. It became incredibly popular as soon as it was released this year because it's catchy and played everywhere. Everyone can hum a few lines.
As soon as the melody started, the surrounding area became lively. As soon as the workers heard the intro, they walked to the front of the stage and started humming along.
"Ninth Sister, Ninth Sister, beautiful little sister, Ninth Sister, Ninth Sister, rosy flower bud..."
Ye Chenghu waved to him from below the stage, mouthing, "Sing! Sing!"
After the prelude to the music ended, Ye Chengyang immediately began to sing: "You are like a painting in spring, a painting of red peach blossoms covering the mountains..."
His voice is clear and bright, and he has a unique charm when singing these folk songs.
The workers in the audience got even more excited; some sang along, some clapped and kept the beat, and some whistled.
"Ninth Sister, Ninth Sister, my little sister, Ninth Sister, Ninth Sister, my lovely little sister..."
When the chorus came, the audience turned into a huge sing-along, with dozens of people shouting "Ninth Sister" at the top of their lungs. People from all over came to watch the excitement.
When the song ended, applause and laughter mingled together.
"It sounds great!"
"One more!"
Ye Chengyang handed the microphone back to the sound engineer, "It should be fine, right?"
The master gave him a thumbs up, "Young man, you sing well."
"Just singing whatever comes to mind."
As soon as he jumped off the stage, Ye Xiaoxi excitedly rushed over, "Second Brother, you sang so well!"
"Sister, you are Ninth Sister!"
"Hahaha……"
"If you laugh again, your lipstick will get all over your teeth."
Ye Chengyang's words poured cold water on her, and Ye Xiaoxi immediately shut her mouth, then took a handkerchief and handed it to Pei Yu.
"Can you wipe it for me?"
"Your cousin is lying to you; he didn't get it."
"Damn, second brother, you're really inhuman. I was even praising you."
"I'm just reminding you to be careful. You just finished your makeup at noon, and it's not even evening yet, so don't ruin it."
Ye Xiaoxi didn't normally need makeup, but seeing how beautiful Pei Yuzhuang looked, she asked the makeup artist to do it for her too.
She was vain about her makeup for a long time and was happy for half a day.
"What time do we start? The sun is almost setting."
"Ask your older brother."
All of them turned their eyes to Ye Chenghu.
"The sun sets early in winter and it's cold, so we'll start earlier. We expect to have dinner at 4 o'clock, eat for a while, and then start around 4:30."
"It'll be soon."
"Would you like to practice your erhu some more? How proficient are you?"
"Of course I'm good at it, no doubt about it, I could do it with my eyes closed."
Once the sound system on the stage was set up, the music played continuously, and more and more people gathered around. Before the bowls and chopsticks were even set out, people had already found seats and taken their places.
Each table has a number plate indicating its number.
A few days ago, the factory asked the employees to go to the logistics department to collect meal ticket numbers. Each table number was counted as ten people. People who knew each other could also collect their tickets together, which also served as a way to count the number of people.
After everyone had received their numbers, they knew exactly how many people had been served, how many tables needed to be set up, and how much food needed to be purchased.
After all, there are thousands of people in the fishing boat processing plant and the fishmeal factory, and not everyone is known. Moreover, some of them have taken leave early to go back to their hometowns.
Therefore, this method is still the most accurate way to count the number of people and tables. We should also prepare three to five extra tables and have helpers to prevent any omissions.
After watching the workers find their seats at their respective tables, Ye Chenghu and the others also took their seats.
The managers from the two factories arranged two tables, and the boat captain also arranged three tables, all in the front row.
Lin Xiuqing naturally sat with Ye Yaodong, while Ye Chenghu and the others sat in the second row behind them.
The music was mixed with noise, and people were shouting to talk.
After everyone found their seats, the cold dishes began to be served one after another.
They were all workers from the same factory, and everyone politely waited until the table was full before starting to eat.
After Ye Yaodong saw that most people were seated and checked the time, he went up onto the stage.
Today he changed into a navy blue Zhongshan suit, his hair was combed meticulously with mousse, and he looked energetic and mature, not at all like someone who was 40 years old.
He picked up the microphone, glanced at the audience, and said with a smile, "Good afternoon, fellow workers!"
The audience erupted in applause, interspersed with cheers.
"I am Ye Yaodong. I came here with my fleet in 1986 and officially founded Dongsheng Fishery in 1987. Along the way, I am grateful to all my relatives, friends, neighbors and fellow villagers, as well as the employees who have contributed their efforts. It is because of everyone's concerted efforts that Dongsheng Fishery is where it is today."
"Today is January 26, 1997, the 18th day of the 12th lunar month. Counting it up, our factory has been around for ten years. Thank you all for your contributions."
"Today marks the first annual year-end celebration and Spring Festival gala for Dongsheng Fisheries. Everyone has worked hard this year and this decade! Whether you're fishing at sea, processing fish in the factory, handling sales, or providing logistical support, everyone has put in a lot of effort and sweated a lot!"
"On behalf of the factory, I would like to extend my early New Year greetings to everyone! I wish you all a prosperous New Year, all the best, good health, and a happy family!"
The applause grew even louder.
"Enough with the small talk, today is all about making sure everyone eats, drinks, and has a great time! The food and drinks will be served shortly, let's eat for a while and warm up before watching the show."
"There's a lucky draw tonight! The draw starts in half an hour. One first prize is a color TV; three second prizes are washing machines; five third prizes are bicycles; ten lucky draw prizes are four-piece bedding sets; and there are also several cash prizes, including 20 x 100, 10 x 200, 5 x 500, and 3 x 1000 cash grand prizes waiting for you!"
These words immediately caused an uproar in the audience; everyone was excited.
"Wow!!!"
"The boss is so generous!"
"So many prizes!"
"If I win the grand prize of 1,000 yuan, I'm sure I'll have a great year!"
"The grand prize of a thousand yuan is definitely mine!"
"Cash rewards are still the most practical, hahaha..."
Ye Xiaoxi and the others were also excited when they heard this, exclaiming "Holy crap!" repeatedly.
"So many cash rewards!"
"Can I be selected? I want the grand prize of a thousand yuan too!"
"I want one too!"
"Hey host, when are we going to do the prize draw?"
"Then you wait for me to eat. After I eat for a while, when it's almost time, I'll go up and say a few words as an opening speech, and then we'll draw lots for the first round. There will be 4 rounds, with 4 performances in each round. It will start at 4:30 and is expected to end around 7:00."
It's cold in winter, and since it's outdoors, it's not suitable to stay out too late. After the show, it will take a long time to clean up.
Considering the lack of atmosphere during the day, we decided to have dinner before dark and watch the performance after dark, organizing the activities according to the schedule.
Ye Xiaoxi asked in a low voice, "Is there something fishy going on?"
"Don't even think about it. They just pull out the numbers from the big box. The numbers are the table and seat numbers they got from the logistics department."
"Never mind then, I'd rather go and appease Dad."
Ye Chengyang poured cold water on her enthusiasm, saying, "No matter how much I coax you, I can't get a thousand or two thousand yuan. At most, I can get 50 yuan. Or, if Dad is in a good mood, he might raise the price this year and give you 100 yuan as a New Year's gift."
"It was only 50 yuan last year."
"So let's see if you can make Dad even happier this year, so I can raise the price of your New Year's money."
"And then you can benefit from it."
Ye Chengyang smiled, "You already said 'by the way'."
Ye Xiaoxi rolled her eyes. Every word he said was a trap, leading her in so that he could naturally benefit from it and get a share of the profits.
Zheng Shuya said with a smile, "There are hundreds or even thousands of people here, but there are 57 prizes, so the winning rate is quite high."
Ye Chenghu chimed in, "Yes, on average one or two people can be drawn from every two tables. The worst prizes are lucky draw prizes and a hundred yuan in cash, which is pretty good."
"I'd be lucky to win! I don't care what the prize is, I'd be happy as long as I win, and I'd be happy for a whole year!" Ye Xiaoxi clasped her hands together and began to make a wish with anticipation.
Ye Chengyang: "Everyone wants it, and the cash prize is exactly what everyone wants."
"It was Dad's decision. He said there's nothing more practical than cash. Winning a bunch of random prizes might make you happy on the spot, but they're useless afterwards, so it's a waste. Originally, the plan didn't include 20 x 100 or 10 x 200, but he added them. He said the amount of money isn't much, maybe enough for two color TVs, but it translates to a lot of cash, which means we can win for dozens more people and make dozens more people happy."
Ye Chenghu had been at the factory longer than them and knew these things better.
Ye Chengyang agreed, "Dad is right. We should have the grand prize, but giving out more cash rewards will make more people happy."
Pei Yu looked at the stage expectantly, "I wish it could happen every year."
"Pray that my dad earns more money, and even more next year, so that we can have a share of the New Year's Eve feast next year," Ye Xiaoxi said to her with a grin.
"You can pray all you want! I need to pray more that my parents earn more money."
"Everyone makes money, everyone makes money, hahahaha..."
As they were talking, the sound of firecrackers crackled outside the factory, and soon hot dishes were served.
After making his polite remarks on stage, Ye Yaodong called out for the food to be served and then went down to sit down and eat.
The music playing at the venue was still "Tian Mi Mi," "Guo Da Nian," "Gong Xi Ni," and Ye Chengyang's "Jiu Mei," as well as "Da Hua Jiao"...
Everyone was discussing the upcoming performance and the grand prizes in the raffle, eating their food while gazing at the stage, all looking forward to it.
(End of this chapter)