Returning to the small mountain village of '86, intelligence updated daily.

At this point, Zhou Jian's eyes sharpened, no longer showing the tenderness he had displayed when he was with the elderly man.

Seeing this, Zhou Rui was about to explain the reason when Zhou Yong'an interrupted him with a cough.

However, this was the first time Zhou Rui had disregarded the old man's objections and spoke his mind freely.

"Grandpa, why are you stopping me from speaking? I'm going to say it. Wasn't Dad replaced by that person through underhanded means? Is it because we can't afford to offend them?"

"After all these years, I still can't swallow this insult."

When Zhou Yong'an saw his eldest grandson spilling these things like beans, he could only sigh deeply and then pick up the boiled water on the table and take a sip.

Upon seeing this, Prosecutor Zhou's expression turned stern, and he then pressed for details.

Zhou Rui, no longer wanting to keep it to himself, recounted the events of that year, word by word. At this moment, Zhou Shiwei and Zhao Jianjun also came into the inner room and watched silently.

"The original choice should have been the father, but Li Dehua's family spent a lot of money, and they also had a close relationship with a very important person, which we couldn't afford to offend."

"In the end, forced by circumstances, my father's position was taken by one of Li Dehua's relatives."

"My father also went to look for it, but he was stopped by the villagers, and in the end, nothing came of it."

After Zhou Rui said these words, the cold and stern look on the face of the fifty-something-year-old Prosecutor Zhou did not fade, but he did not say anything else, and it was impossible to tell what his attitude was.

At this moment, Zhou's father interjected:

"Xiao Rui, why bring this up? It's all old news. Besides, our family has no connections, how can we possibly compete with them?"

Over the years, Zhou Shiwei's inner sharpness has been worn down considerably. He then continued:

"Besides, that person made a big mistake back then and could never make any progress in his life, but Li Dehua has now turned to business and seems to have made quite a bit of money."

Zhou Rui's expression remained unchanged; he already knew what his father, Zhou Shiwei, was saying.

However, Zhou Jian then said coldly, "I understand. You don't need to worry about it. That person should still be in office..."

Zhou Jian did not continue speaking. He then looked at Zhou Shiwei with a deep gaze, and then looked at Zhou Yong'an.

Just then, Zeng Jiamei had finished cooking and called out loudly:

"Xiao Ming, come and serve the food!"

None of them said anything more, and Zhou Jian's expression returned to normal. Pointing to the wine he had brought, he said:

"Old sergeant, I brought that liquor especially for you. Drinking wasn't allowed in the army before, but I really enjoy it. Let's drink until we drop tonight."

Zhou Yong'an looked at the wine, then chuckled and shook his head.

"Xiao Jian, your wine is good, but I'm afraid it can't compare to ours."

Upon hearing this, Zhou Jian immediately became interested. "That can't be right. I brought the best wine from the supply and marketing cooperative. It's not cheap."

Zhou Shiwei then smiled mysteriously, "You'll find out soon enough..."

Zhao Jianjun was forced to stay. He was originally planning to leave, but after hearing everyone talking about Li Dehua, he became interested and listened.

Then, when he tried to leave, he couldn't. Zhou Rui even planned to call Aunt Li and Zhao Qingya over, but Zhao Jianjun stopped him.

In the end, Zhou Rui couldn't go and had to give up.

What caught Zhao Jianjun's attention was Li Dehua, who was now suppressing his textile factory. That's why Zhao Jianjun became interested.

Dinner was very lavish tonight, and Zhou Ming kept bringing out dishes.

There were six or seven dishes, both meat and vegetables! It was comparable to the food served during the Chinese New Year.

Because there were so many people tonight, we made two portions of each dish and then put together another table so that everyone could sit down.

Fortunately, we have enough woven rattan chairs at home, so we don't have to stand.

Several younger brothers had already gathered around the table, looking at the dozen or so bowls filled with fragrant food.

There were three meat dishes, three vegetable dishes, and a meat skewer.

There's not much to say about stir-fried musk deer meat. As for stewed deer tendon, the deer tendon is stewed until it's very tender before adding some side dishes before serving.

The deer tendons had been stewed until the collagen had dissolved somewhat, and two large bowls of rich, nourishing soup were served.

Then came a stir-fried pork tenderloin dish, which was very tender and looked incredibly appetizing.

The last meat skewer is a soup made with pork cracklings and some vegetables. This dish is Zhou Xing, the youngest son of my second uncle, and he loves rice soaked in soup.

However, the old man often nagged Zhou Xing: Soup-soaked rice is bad for your stomach, you should chew slowly and carefully.

The rest are just ordinary vegetarian dishes, but they are all stir-fried with lard, so even the vegetarian dishes have a unique aroma.

These dishes are in no way inferior to the New Year's Eve dinner during the Spring Festival. In this time when meat is extremely scarce, ordinary families would not be willing to eat like this.

However, this time, thanks to the musk deer and the pork tenderloin brought by Zhou Shiping, this Manchu Han Imperial Feast was finally made.

Zeng Jiamei invited everyone to sit around two tables pushed together, with light bulbs emitting a yellow glow overhead.

Bowls and chopsticks filled with white rice were already placed along the edge of the table, waiting for the guests to take their seats.

A large group of people were gathered, creating quite a lively scene. Next to Meng Dan sat her granddaughter Zhou Guo'er, while next to Zhou Yong'an sat Zhou Shiwei and Zhou Jian, the two eldest members of the family.

Next to him was Zhao Jianjun. Zhou Shiwei originally wanted him to sit next to the old man, but Zhao Jianjun politely declined.

This time, Zhou Rui did not sit next to his grandfather again, because there were guests today and he had to be mindful of etiquette.

At this moment, Zhou Shiwei asked Zhou Rui to fetch some wine, and Zhou Rui naturally did so. Soon, a wine jug filled with bright red liquid was placed on the table.

Without hesitation, Zhou Shiwei picked up the wine pot and poured a full bowl for each of the few people present who knew how to drink.

Upon seeing the bright red liquid in the bowl, which emitted the aroma of wine and had a peculiar smell, Zhou Jian quickly realized what was happening. He stared wide-eyed at Zhou Shiwei and said:

"Brother Zhou, this is... deer blood wine?!"

Zhou Shiwei wasn't surprised that this "younger brother" who was a full twelve years older than him would recognize this good thing at a glance, and he nodded with a smile.

Upon receiving confirmation, Zhou Jian disregarded everything else, picked up the bowl, took a sip, and quickly gave it a very high rating.

"Indeed, it's pure deer blood wine. This is a fine product. No wonder you were talking about my two bottles of wine; it really can't compare."

Zhou Jian was well-informed and knew that deer blood wine was a rare find. Nowadays, if a family could offer you a little bit of loose wine, you were considered a very good guest.

Not to mention something this good.

Zhou Jian immediately felt ashamed and said:

"I'm the one who's here to freeload..."

Zhou Shiwei smiled and shook his head, "Don't say that. Although you call me big brother, you took good care of me back in the army. We're all family, so don't be so formal."

Zhou Yong'an's face was already full of smiles. He watched the younger generation chatting and looked at Zhou Xing, who was picking up a soup spoon and ladling soup into his bowl.

He moved somewhat cautiously, as if afraid of being criticized.

Seeing this, the old man spoke up, but not to stop him; instead, he offered a reminder:

"You must chew slowly and carefully, and not swallow it whole, otherwise, it will upset the baby's stomach."

Upon hearing the voice, Zhou Xing first put down his spoon, then looked up at his grandfather with a hint of timidity. When he heard that his grandfather was reminding him, he nodded sensibly.