The growth system comes at the age of 30

Chapter 288 Li Beixing: I can help with the betrothal gifts (6.7K long chapter)

The next day.

Chen Jingle brought Li Beixing to Daming Prefecture to try out the dishes.

When the two families meet, they can't just talk about business; they'll definitely be eating, drinking, and chatting. Therefore, the quality of the food at the meal is equally important, and it's best to avoid any mishaps.

The deliciousness of food has a significant impact on how things develop.

Dissatisfaction with the food or feeling that the other party doesn't value you enough can lead to a breakdown in the conversation.

Chen Jingle strives to satisfy both sides, so he can't be careless. He plans to try the dish himself first, so that he can make changes in advance if there are any unsuitable parts.

"Do your uncle and aunt have any dietary restrictions?" he asked Li Beixing.

Li Beixing thought for a moment: "My mom doesn't like celery, and my dad doesn't eat it either."

"Where are your grandparents?"

"As the elderly get older, it's best to avoid things like sharp bones."

Chen Jingle nodded slightly.

He knew what Li Beixing didn't like to eat.

Then there's my own side. Apart from my grandfather having bad teeth and my grandmother not being able to eat beef, everything else is pretty much the same.

In summary, try to avoid sharp bones piercing internal organs.

So he made selections based on the menu provided by the restaurant, combined with the local Jiangbei people's eating habits, and according to the scale of the banquet.

When I finally finished and thought about it, it seemed like I wasn't quite there yet; I was still a few dishes short.

He then said to the manager of Damingfu Restaurant who was standing to the side, "Manager Zheng, I'd like to write down a few dishes. Could you ask the kitchen if they can make them?"

"Okay, no problem!" Manager Zheng nodded hurriedly.

Restaurants that host high-end business banquets generally have strong culinary teams; they can cook most dishes, as long as they aren't too complicated.

It's not on the regular menu; the restaurant simply wants to cut costs and avoid wasting ingredients.

Chen Jingle wasn't one to make things difficult for anyone. The dishes he ordered weren't expensive; they were just prepared in a rather unique way.

Including the dishes he wrote himself, a total of 20 dishes were ordered. There were 16 guests, so the N+2 format should have been sufficient. The extra two dishes were for comparison, and we would see later whether to remove or keep them.

After ordering, he handed the menu to the manager: "Please bring the food."

"Okay, please wait a moment, we'll arrange it for you right away!" Manager Zheng said with a smile, respectful and polite.

This is the daughter and son-in-law of a big boss. It's the first time the two families are meeting. If things go wrong, he won't even need anyone to tell him; he can pack his bags and leave.

After Manager Zheng left, Li Beixing smiled and grabbed his hand, shaking it gently.

This guy has long, slender fingers with prominent joints, and clear veins under his fair skin—the type women love most.

Although Li Beixing isn't a hand fetishist, who could resist the perfect qualities in their boyfriend?

Chen Jingle's lips curled up as he turned around and took out the betrothal gift list he had spent the whole night thinking about it from his bag, handing it to her: "Take a look and see if there's anything that needs to be revised in this betrothal gift list?"

Li Beixing took it with a puzzled look, and frowned after reading it: "Wouldn't this be too much of a burden for you? Or can I help you out a bit?"

She still has over a million yuan in pocket money in her account, but she doesn't use it much anyway.

Chen Jingle chuckled and patted her head: "Silly girl, there's no reason for you to help with the betrothal gifts. Don't worry, it's not even 100 million, I can handle it. Besides, your dad should know how much I have. If I try to put on a show of wealth, he'll just laugh at me. I'll give you whatever I can. There's no need to go bankrupt and borrow money to get married."

Li Beixing pondered for a moment, then pouted slightly: "Including the paintings and calligraphy, it seems to be more than 100 million. Just the 500g gold brick alone, at the current gold price, is worth more than 40. And then there's this pair of pure icy jadeite bracelets. I don't know much about these, but I know they're not cheap."

"The calligraphy and paintings are my own work, they're not worth much. Gold bricks have only gone up in price recently, when I bought them they weren't worth this much. Most people don't know the market for jade bracelets and easily overpay, but if I go looking for them, I can get them for a much lower price."

Chen Jingle smiled broadly.

The gold bricks and bracelets were added later to show the future mother-in-law.

After all, Ms. Li's mother doesn't like calligraphy and painting, but she has a special fondness for gold and jewelry, though she doesn't wear them often and prefers to collect them.

Or rather, almost all women are powerless against these things.

So Chen Jingle added a large gold brick and a pair of bracelets to the original set.

For an ordinary family, this dowry would be astronomical, but Li Beixing's family's dowry consisted of a villa and a luxury car worth millions.

Even the cheapest villas in Jiangbei still cost four or five million yuan a unit, not counting renovations.

Compared to other people's dowries, Chen Jingle's betrothal gifts seemed rather meager.

In other words, even if he went all out, the betrothal gifts could never compare to the dowry, so he might as well abandon the comparison of value and just show his sincerity.

As for whether it will drain his family's savings...

Actually, it's not bad. I've taken quite a few orders lately, and the income is decent.

As long as you don't buy another house, there shouldn't be any major problems. If you have enough savings, you can still save a considerable amount.

He doesn't have high material desires. He can be self-sufficient in food, clothing, housing and transportation. What could he possibly need to spend money on?

……

"Is there anything else you'd like to add?" Chen Jingle asked with a smile.

"Huh? Do I need to add anything?"

"That's why I'm asking for your opinion."

Li Beixing thought for a moment, then smiled slightly: "Even without the calligraphy, paintings, gold bricks, and jade bracelets, I would still marry her if I only had the first few."

Chen Jingle didn't say anything, but just smiled and held her little hand.

My heart feels warm.

He might not have been so brave as to risk everything if it were someone else, but Li Beixing was different. She was the kind of person who only had eyes for Chen Jingle and loved Chen Jingle more than herself.

She wouldn't let Chen Jingle lose, and Chen Jingle naturally couldn't let her lose either.

No matter how many hardships you face on the road of life, it's not a problem. The most important thing is to have someone who is willing to walk with you steadfastly.

Going it alone and going it together are two completely different experiences, not to mention sharing joys and sorrows and weathering storms together.

In terms of wealth creation, he will probably never reach the level of Lao Li in his lifetime.

As is well known, the ways to quickly accumulate wealth are exploitation and collecting "intelligence tax".

Chen Jingle can't handle either of these situations.

Playing the stock market is fine, but getting rich through it is too risky and requires constant vigilance. Besides, he doesn't have a strong desire for huge wealth; he always feels that enough money is enough.

After much thought, he realized that he was better suited to honestly pursue the path of artistic creation.

In my lifetime, accumulating nine figures shouldn't be a problem; anything more is hard to say.

In terms of family background, Li Beixing was clearly marrying down.

However, she herself doesn't think so.

In her eyes, Chen Jingle was not only perfect in appearance and figure, but also multi-talented. Every skill he possessed was a level that others could hardly reach in their entire lives, and he was proficient in everything.

Such a polymath would rank among the best in human history; anyone who wants to achieve something cannot remain unknown forever.

She was lucky to meet Chen Jingle before he took off completely, and she managed to hold on to him tightly.

Otherwise, Chen Jingle could have found someone who was similar to her, or even better, than her, except for her economic conditions.

Being with her also means enduring a certain amount of pressure.

Money is good, but for many people it is not the first choice.

In marriage, people value altruism more: whether it benefits others, the family, and future children. These are the things that need to be considered.

Compared to Chen Jingle, Li Beixing realized that he was quite inferior.

It's so good that they didn't look down on her.

Li Beixing is not a career-oriented woman and is not interested in so-called powerful alliances between wealthy families. Her parents also have no plans to expand the family business.

Including her grandparents in the countryside, there are only five people in her family. She is the only daughter in the third generation. Is there any need for family inheritance?
As for her cousins, what do they have to do with her family? Aren't they all outsiders?
For her, as long as she's happy, that's all that matters.

Li Qiguang once joked, "What I fear most is that rich kids are too arrogant to know their place and want to start their own businesses."

If one day he becomes too tired and decides to retire, and Li Beixing is unwilling to take over, then he should sell off part of the company's business, leaving only the core business.

Even if the remaining money is put in the bank to earn interest, it will be enough to ensure that two generations of his descendants live comfortably. As for what comes after that, he won't live to see it. His children and grandchildren will have their own blessings.

This was the route he originally planned for Li Beixing.

As for now——

The situation has changed, we'll have to see what happens next, but it can't get any worse.

……

After a while, the kitchen began to serve the dishes one after another.

Except for a few dishes that must be served whole, most of them are served in small portions.

Chen Jingle and Li Beixing offered their opinions while eating.

"There's nothing wrong with the grouper itself, it's just that it was steamed a little too long. If the steaming time were shortened by another minute, the residual heat after steaming would have been enough to cook the fish. The seasoning, however, is quite good."

"Please simmer the conch and winter melon soup for an extra 10 minutes."

"This braised abalone was not very good; it lacked the desired soft, fluffy texture."

"..."

When it comes to food, this is Chen Jingle's forte.

Manager Zheng, who was taking notes, kept nodding and wiping his sweat. He never expected that his future son-in-law would be such a top-notch gourmet. His comments on each dish were clearly not just empty talk, but were well-reasoned and based on evidence, down to every detail of the cooking process. He was just like a judge in a culinary competition.

Although he wasn't a chef, he felt the pressure just as much.

Just then, there was a knock on the door of the private room. Chen Jingle turned around and saw a short, stout middle-aged man wearing a chef's hat standing outside the door. When he saw Chen Jingle looking over, the man quickly nodded and smiled politely.

Upon seeing the other party, Manager Zheng quickly said, "This is Chef Deng Peicai, the head chef in charge of your banquet that day."

Master Deng then walked in with small, quick steps.

Chen Jingle nodded slightly and smiled, saying, "Hello, Master Deng."

It was clearly the kitchen staff who came to test his satisfaction.

Deng Peicai asked politely, "Mr. Chen and Ms. Li, hello. I'm here to see if there's anything I could improve on."

I dare not be arrogant.

From the other dishes Chen Jingle ordered, he knew that even if the other person wasn't in the same industry, they must be a connoisseur of food, and it would take a lot of skill to make them.

Chen Jingle gestured to Manager Zheng, who then handed the notebook to Master Deng.

When Chef Deng saw the densely written notes, he frowned slightly, but said nothing. He picked up the empty chopsticks on the table and began to taste the dishes.

As I tasted it, I started sweating.

It's not hot; the room is cool with the air conditioning on at 24 degrees Celsius.

It's simply because I'm nervous and guilty.

You don't know until you try it. He originally thought Chen Jingle was there to find fault, but it turned out that several dishes did indeed have some minor issues, just as others had said.

Ordinary people might not care and think that "good enough" is fine, but for those who know how to eat, this is a real disaster.

He quickly replied, "You're right, we'll definitely improve."

Chen Jingle remained noncommittal, pointing to one of the dishes and asking, "Did you make this Hong Kong-style pork tenderloin?" This pork tenderloin was a dish he ordered separately. It was originally supposed to be made with beef tenderloin, but since someone in his family doesn't eat beef, he used pork tenderloin instead.

Deng Peicai answered cautiously, "Yes, I cooked it myself. It tasted alright?"

Chen Jingle nodded slightly: "The sauce is well made. Li Pailin can add more, and also some vegetable juice, such as bok choy or loofah juice. Just a small spoonful diluted with water will make the flavor more complex."

Vegetable juice?
Master Deng was taken aback at first, then his eyes lit up, and he quickly said seriously, "I've learned a lot!"

Hong Kong-style beef tenderloin is a signature dish in many high-end hotels, especially 2 or 30 years ago when many Hong Kong businessmen came to invest. These dishes were popular in provincial capitals, Shenzhen, and Beijing, and they are still presentable today.

Especially the Tianlun Dynasty Hotel in Beijing, which has a very famous reputation.

This recipe used to be a closely guarded secret, but now people just casually tell him about it. You can't help but admire it.

Chen Jingle smiled and said, "You're welcome. Just don't mess up my game this weekend."

"I will definitely make improvements when I get back, and I promise to give it my all!"

Deng Peicai thumped his chest so hard he was practically standing at attention and saluting.

In this way, the problem of the dishes was basically solved.

……

On April 20th, the day finally arrived for both families to meet.

It happened to be Grain Rain, but it only rained lightly last night. This morning the sky was clear and the temperature was pleasant.

This should be one of the most widespread spring rains in the Jiangbei area since the beginning of spring. It's a welcome relief after a long drought, a good omen.

Early in the morning, my mom started bustling around, making final preparations.

Actually, there was no need to prepare anything else, but she just insisted on making a fuss here and there, she couldn't stay still.

After finishing, he walked up to Chen Jingle and said, "Help me see if there's anything else wrong."

"Okay, okay, this is fine."

Chen Jingle sighed: "As long as it's clean, tidy and presentable, that's fine. Beixing's parents also came from a hard life, and things only got better later. They usually dress very modestly and plainly, so there's no need to worry about them looking inferior."

"I'm just afraid of embarrassing you," Mom said, slightly displeased.

Chen Jingle shook his head: "What do I have to be ashamed of? What you consider face is completely different from what I consider face."

His parents had been worried that they wouldn't look presentable, so he took them to buy several new outfits made of good quality fabric and had them altered to fit them better.

My mother also wore the gold bracelet that Li Beixing bought for her and the gold necklace that Chen Jingle bought for her.

Chen Jingle also bought his father a Rolex Explorer, which his father loved. After all, people of their generation have a certain affinity for Rolex.

Although it's not a high-end Rolex, it's still good enough. For ordinary people like them, a high-end Rolex would be too conspicuous.

"Alright, it's about time, let's get ready to go!" Chen Jingle said.

In his opinion, there was nothing left to prepare; the small gifts he had prepared for today were already in the car.

Grandpa, Grandma, Uncle, and Aunt are also ready.

Uncle's car could only seat five people, so Chen Qiyun rode in his car.

Chen Jingle parked his car outside the yard. After seeing his second uncle's car come out, he lightly stepped on the gas and led the way.

The two cars headed towards the Damingfu Restaurant, one after the other.

Daming Prefecture was closer to Li Beixing's house, but Chen Jingle still chose to leave early to try to arrive as soon as possible and not keep them waiting.

He kept in touch with Li Beixing; almost as soon as they parked their car, Li Beixing and his family arrived.

Apart from a few young people, the elders on both sides were meeting for the first time.

Chen Zhenwei and Liu Yuehua were inevitably nervous, but looking at the family of five opposite them, although Li Beixing's parents had an elegant demeanor, they were not dressed in a lavish manner. If they hadn't driven a Maybach, they would not have known that they were a wealthy family.

I breathed a sigh of relief.

"A Maybach!" Chen Jinghao exclaimed, his eyes wide, as he whispered to his sister, Chen Xiuyun.

Sister Xiu said calmly, "I saw it."

Well, he's really hooked up with a rich woman now.

Those who can afford to drive a Maybach are not ordinary families.
Grandpa, Grandma, Uncle, and Aunt all focused their attention on Li Beixing, their eyes lighting up simultaneously.

Her appearance and demeanor are truly incomparable to those ugly and deformed people. Coupled with her subtle scholarly air, she is clearly well-educated and is indeed the type that elders like the most.

Li Beixing's grandparents were also surprised to see Chen Jingle for the first time.

Her grandfather asked, "Is it the tall, thin, fair-skinned one?"

He took a liking to Chen Jingle in the crowd at first glance. Only someone like him is worthy of his granddaughter and deserves his son and daughter-in-law's constant praise.

“Yes, Dad,” Jiang Zhiqin answered her father-in-law softly.

The old man nodded: "Not bad, not bad, judging from his appearance, he seems reliable."

Physical appearance alone is not enough; the key is temperament, which can only be cultivated over ten or eight years.

When we talk about judging a person, we are often really just looking at their temperament and physique.

Then he looked at the others and felt that they were all very nice. This family should be easy to get along with as relatives.

He originally wanted to suggest finding a son-in-law to live with the family, but his son said he respected his granddaughter's opinion and that it was fine as long as she liked it. After trying to persuade her, he gave up.

Now it seems not so bad.

We'll have to see how it goes.

……

The two sides greeted each other in a friendly manner, and after Chen Jingle and Li Beixing introduced themselves to each other, they got to know each other briefly and then went to sit down in the private room to talk.

The arrangement of seats in the private room was quite particular, and Chen Jingle had made a reasonable arrangement after careful consideration.

The main thing is to arrange the seats for the elders; the younger generation can sit together.

This is where Teacher Li's excellence shines through. She didn't let Chen Jingle fight alone, but instead worked hard to keep up and help him from the side.

The two of them were responsible for introducing the topic and keeping the atmosphere lively from beginning to end.

The biggest problem for many couples who reach this point and still break up is that they feel the other person is responsible and leave everything to their partner to solve.

If it's resolved well, it's a matter of course; if it's not resolved well, it shows a lack of sincerity.

Little did they know that this was a matter between two people, not a matter of "you" and "me".

At this moment, both sides were praising each other's children. If it weren't for the parents saying it, Chen Zhenwei and Liu Yuehua wouldn't have known that their own sons were so outstanding.

There were many things they had never known before.

Li Qiguang and Jiang Zhiqin could also clearly sense the satisfaction that the elders of Chen Jingle's family had with their daughter.

However, to Chen Jingle's surprise, his grandfather actually got along very well with Li Beixing's grandfather.

Grandpa Chen Jingle: "Are you from Liuge Village in Wutang? The Liuge Village next to Jiujiang, near Longtou Mountain and the lychee orchard?"

"Huh, you know where it is?" Grandpa Li Beixing asked in surprise.

Grandpa Chen Jingle: "Sigh, when I was young, I could say I traveled all over the surrounding cities and counties on my own two feet, and even as far as Nanliu in the neighboring province. I don't know if you know Shuisheng from your village, but his mother was a good person. I was delivering a message to the brigade and was passing through there when I got dizzy from the scorching sun. I sat under a longan tree and couldn't walk anymore. She saw me and asked if I wanted some water, and even ladled me a bowl of thin porridge. I still remember that to this day."

"His mother's reputation was truly impeccable; everyone around her knew she was a good person. She passed away many years ago, and even Shuisheng passed away a few years ago," Grandpa Li Beixing said with a sigh.

"..."

And so, the grandparents from both sides got together, Chen Jingle's parents chatted with Li Beixing's parents, and the second uncle and aunt accompanied them.

The three Chan sisters, along with their brother-in-law Lam Yiu-hang, gathered at Chan King-lok and Lee Pak-sing's place. They had different topics to discuss, but the atmosphere was friendly.

This is a good start.

Seeing that it was almost time, Chen Jingle asked Manager Zheng, who was waiting outside, to notify the kitchen to serve the dishes.

As dish after dish was served, everyone picked up their chopsticks and chatted as they ate.

The culinary team, having received guidance from Chen Jingle, produced significantly better dishes this time than during their last tasting session, and everyone raved about the food.

Even Li Qiguang and Jiang Zhiqin, who were used to Aunt Wang's cooking, couldn't find anything wrong with today's dishes.

This is all the result of Chen Jingle's prior taste test and suggestions for improvement.

……

After everyone had eaten and drunk their fill, they gradually put down their chopsticks and continued chatting.

At this moment, Liu Yuehua took out the betrothal letter and gift list that Chen Jingle had prepared for her in advance, and handed them to Jiang Zhiqin next to her with a smile: "This is the betrothal gift that our family has prepared for Beixing. Please see if you can accept it. If not, we can add more."

Jiang Zhiqin smiled and said, "Sister Hua, don't worry. From what I know of Jingle, he is an excellent child. With my Beixing by his side, at least I don't have to worry about him suffering. As long as the child is happy and they are both happy, everything else is secondary."

"That makes sense, but we still need to follow the rules and procedures."

Liu Yuehua responded with a smile.

So Jiang Zhiqin took it, opened it, and took a look.

Both the appointment letter and the list of gifts were written by Chen Jingle in small regular script, with pleasing, orderly, and elegant handwriting.

Jiang Zhiqin was very satisfied just by looking at the employment letter.

Although she doesn't understand calligraphy, her husband and daughter both praise Chen Jingle's calligraphy highly. It is said that a single calligraphy work can now sell for 8 yuan, which is quite remarkable.

A true calligrapher.

This letter of appointment should be carefully preserved; its value might increase dozens of times over a hundred years from now.

As for the betrothal gifts, she never expected Chen Jingle to give a high dowry. Their family backgrounds were different; there were few families in Jiangbei better off than the Li family. As long as her daughter liked it, that was enough.

However, after reading it, she was a little surprised and looked at Chen Jingle with a hesitant expression, asking, "Won't it be too much pressure? I think it's okay to write it down, but there's no need to say that I'll actually get that much."

After all, this betrothal gift is no small sum for a young man.

While other people have their parents to support them when they get married, Chen Jingle's parents don't have a high income, so he has to rely on his own efforts.

Chen Jingle smiled and shook his head: "It's not that bad. Besides, these are all material possessions. You can't take them with you when you die. It's better for everyone to be healthy and safe. I have Beixing, that's enough."

For him, material possessions were never the ultimate goal in life; happiness was.

Li Beixing, who was sitting next to him, smiled and his eyes narrowed when he heard this.

Chen Jingle may not be rich, but he can at least live comfortably. What is there to worry about?
Upon hearing this, Jiang Zhiqin's gaze softened even more: "Alright, then let's do it your way."

She would definitely have Li Beixing take all of these back with him. The family didn't lack these things, so how could she let the young couple tighten their belts and live a hard life?

They might even have to provide additional subsidies.

Liu Yuehua also smiled, and everyone who had been secretly watching their conversation breathed a sigh of relief.

It's finally all sorted out!

The happiest person was Li Beixing, because it meant that both sets of parents had agreed to their marriage, and he had already stepped into Chen Jingle's family home with one foot in the door.

I feel happy.

Next, it's time to seriously prepare the specific details of the wedding.

Wedding dresses, wedding photos, car fleet, banquets, new home decorations, etc.

If you really think about it, a month is actually a stretch; most people prepare six months or at least three months in advance.

Therefore, Chen Jingle and Li Beixing don't have much time left.

(End of this chapter)