Years: Salted fish life since going to the countryside.

Chapter 1128 Overtime at the Lunch Banquet

At first, Zhang Manyu was very unhappy that Han Li didn't let her accompany him to today's banquet, thinking that the staff member had stolen her away.

But when she saw Han Li's expression that did not tolerate rejection, she agreed with a pitiful look.

Zhang Manyu sat in the room feeling uncomfortable after Han Li left, but it wasn't long before the sound coming from outside stopped the tears from falling from her eyes.

It turns out that Joseph, who always claimed to be of English royal descent, was usually very strict with himself and his family.

Every move in their daily life is based on the rules and behavior of the royal family. Even when they entertain guests, they are very deliberate and old-fashioned.

If a guest behaved in a slightly impolite manner, Joseph would give him a cold look. If the guest was seriously impolite, he would simply put down his cutlery and end the banquet.

The banquet had just started at noon today, and the female companion of a member who came to attend the seminar was dissatisfied because the noise made by moving the chair when she was seated was a bit loud.

This sound made Joseph and his wife's faces change immediately. Everyone scolded the butler, saying that he did not take good care of the guests and even let the guests make such rude noises when they took action.

Joseph and his wife's words seemed to be scolding the housekeeper, but everyone present could see the meaning behind their words. They were criticizing the female companion, which made the atmosphere cold for a moment.

When Han Li saw this situation, he recalled the training at the Jing* Hotel, when teacher Zhou Zikai taught them some of the English royal family's dining habits and taboos.

At this time, Han Li already had the answer in his mind as to why the fifteen mentors did not come to attend this seminar.

It is true that people in England yearn for a royal life, but not everyone can accept so many old-fashioned rules.

Han Li and his mentor must be aware of the situation at Joseph Richardson's home. If they came, and if they were impolite during the meal, Joseph and his wife would definitely embarrass them. If they brought their students with them, the situation would be even worse.

Moreover, some proposals regarding England and Kent came from the House of Lords. Joseph only got the opportunity to host the event. His role should only be to be responsible for paying the money, and he had no power to decide the direction of things.

Combining the above two situations, this is why the mentors were reluctant to hold this seminar in Joseph's manor, which talks about royal bloodline but keeps royal rules to itself.

This is when the students led by the tutors came into play, which is why Han Li and his group were able to participate in this seminar without a tutor leading the way.

What happened next at the banquet confirmed Han Li's guess. This banquet was extremely luxurious and grand, with everything from tableware to ingredients being of the highest quality.

From the taste and presentation of the food, it can be seen that the chef in charge of the kitchen today is not the same person as before. He should be brought here by Joseph today. I just don’t know if he is their exclusive chef.

However, if anyone behaved impolitely at the banquet, Joseph and his wife would immediately express their dissatisfaction.

For example: leaning back on the chair while dining, the knife and fork make scraping sounds on the plate, the wine glass makes collision sounds with other tableware, people hold the knife and fork in their hands while talking, chewing and drinking soup make sounds, and so on.

These are nothing. According to the custom of the English royal family and aristocracy, the meal starts with wine as an appetizer, followed by appetizers, soups, main courses and many other dishes paired with champagne.

When the desserts and after-dinner wine were served, I realized that the banquet was almost over. The banquet would last about two hours.

However, all guests are not allowed to leave without permission before the host puts down his tableware and announces the end of the banquet.

What? You want to go to the bathroom?
If you haven't dealt with it before sitting down, then just hold it in. It will only take about two hours anyway.

Also, you can talk about the weather and friends at a banquet, but you must never talk about topics such as money, work, health, and politics.

In addition, at the banquet, you should occasionally praise the dishes arranged by the hostess, praising the deliciousness and exquisiteness of these dishes, as well as the luxury and sophistication of the tableware, etc.

(Praising the tableware is related to the aristocratic system's face, and praising the dishes is a compliment to the hostess.)
This is just a normal situation, but today's situation is a little unusual.

Maybe it was because Joseph Richardson drank a little too much today, or maybe it was because he had a bad habit of talking about his royal bloodline but not royal rules. Usually, few people were willing to contact him, and it was rare for him to speak freely like he did today.

There could be other reasons as well. Anyway, today's banquet lasted for nearly three hours.

Whether Han Li and his people like it or not, they have to try their best to stay here to deal with Joseph and his wife.

Because these people represent their respective instructors. If they fail to handle things well, it would be a small matter for the instructors to lose face, but a big matter for themselves to have credits deducted.

During the extra time, Joseph talked about the hard struggle of his family, and also talked about the many situations of the second sons who were in similar situations to his family, some of whom had even been completely extinct. At that time, after the division of the family in England, the second sons were driven out of the family castles and manors.

Although these people who were driven out were children of nobles, they generally would not get any property unless they had a particularly good relationship with the eldest family.

They have aristocratic status, and those poorhouses and churches that accept civilians and the poor will not accept them.

Moreover, they grew up in aristocratic families and knew that those were places where people were eaten without leaving any bones, so they would not go there.

In this case, those noble descendants who were driven out, if they had not sought an official position outside or married a wealthy wife before the division of the family, and if they had no skills or craftsmanship.

Those who were driven out could only gather around the manor and survive on a little charity from the elders living in the manor.

Even this treatment is not something that ordinary people and the poor can enjoy.

(So, if you have the opportunity to travel back to that era, don't be surprised if you see a large group of beggars around the noble castles and manors who have not been expelled, because these people are relatives of the nobles living in the castles.)
After Joseph had said enough, he finally put down the cutlery and ended this unbearable banquet.

When everyone saw this, they breathed a sigh of relief and quickly thanked the host for his hospitality.

Han Li and his companions had been going through so many rules and regulations for more than three hours and were almost depressed. During this time, many of them were ridiculed by Joseph and his wife in a roundabout way and with hidden meanings because of trivial matters.

The men were better at holding their urine, but two of the female companions couldn't hold it during the banquet. They didn't care about being rude or offending others, and they found an excuse and hurriedly left with their legs twisted.

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After the banquet, when everyone walked out of the restaurant, several people didn't even bother to say hello to others and rushed to the bathroom in quick and small steps.

These few people inspired the rest of the people, and at this time everyone also wanted to go in to control themselves, shake off their body, and shake around a bit, which instantly made the bathroom the place everyone looked forward to the most.

When Han Li returned to the room, Zhang Manyu had already heard from other female companions about the stereotypes of Joseph and his wife, as well as what happened at the banquet.

What no one else could do, Zhang Manyu certainly couldn't do either. She could imagine the scene of herself being clumsy and being mocked for wasting time.

So, at this time, Zhang Manyu was no longer depressed about Han Li not allowing her to attend the banquet. All that was left in her heart was gratitude for Han Li's care and concern for her, and his unwillingness to let her suffer any grievances.

So, the moment Han Li stepped into the room, Zhang Manyu came up to him with a smile and gently helped him change out of his very formal clothes.

Just when Han Li was about to change into comfortable clothes, Zhang Manyu reached out and grabbed him.

Han Li certainly would not be polite to Zhang Manyu's provocation, so the unique chirping of the robin soon came from the room.——
However, Han Li did not have too much fun, because at around four o'clock, the manor's service staff came on the orders of Joseph and his wife to invite them to join in the afternoon tea later.

Han Li asked Zhang Manyu to go for afternoon tea but she refused. Firstly, she felt sore all over from being scolded just now and didn't want to move at all.

Secondly, the rules of English afternoon tea are more than many banquets, and Zhang Manyu doesn’t want to go there and be ridiculed by others.

Therefore, Han Li still went to have afternoon tea alone after changing his clothes.

However, after Han Li followed the staff here, he found that almost none of his female companions who had come to attend the seminar with him came. They were all scared by the situation at the banquet.

Afternoon tea in England is more complicated, has more rules, and includes a wider variety of snacks than that in Hong Kong.

There weren't too many rules for the men. They just changed their clothes and environment and then listened to Joseph bragging about his hard-earned history and his determination to take back his title and the name of his eldest lineage.

But it's not the same for women. When they drink tea, they not only care about what kind of tea to go with it, what snacks to go with it, and how much milk and sugar to put in.

When drinking tea, you can only use your index finger and thumb to gently pinch the ring on the handle of the teacup. When stirring, you can only stir the spoon back and forth at the 12 o'clock and 6 o'clock directions, and so on.

Mrs. Joseph also said a famous saying that has been circulated among the English elite for a long time.

“Only when you drink afternoon tea properly can your soul be filled with fragrance.”

After the experience at the lunch, Han Li now regarded afternoon tea as a place to listen to storytelling. He sipped his tea and listened to Joseph chattering on and on about stories.

The afternoon tea was normal, but Han Li did not expect the experience after the dinner.
(End of this chapter)