HLM -Chapter 1366 The “Flowing Banquet”

The wedding date wasn’t chosen at random—it was selected after Mother Bo consulted someone to check Wang Bo’s birth chart.

Eva was under God’s protection, so her chart didn’t need checking; all that mattered was that the date matched Wang Bo’s chart.

A convoy of Mercedes S600s rolled down the road, carrying Wang Bo and Eva. The convoy had been arranged by Song Zijun; the wedding company could only provide one Mercedes as the lead car. To gather an entire S600 fleet like this was no easy task—it required a wealthy patron.

On the wedding car, Wang Bo held Eva’s hand and said, “Isn’t this a bit odd? Traditionally, I should be riding a horse and you should be in a sedan chair.”

Eva tilted her head and said, “Really? I don’t quite understand, but I thought according to your tradition, we should enter your village by boat.”

Wang Bo shook his head with a laugh. “That won’t work. Here, weddings can’t use water routes—unless you’re poor. In the past, only families too poor to marry off their sons would secretly bring a bride into the village by boat.”

Eva was surprised. “If they were so poor, how could they afford a bride?”

Wang Bo shrugged. “Because there are always families even poorer. Sometimes just the right things could be traded for a bride.”

Four drones followed from above, divided into two batches—two drones flew together at a time, capturing cross-angle video and photos, leaving no blind spots. On the ground, cars with cameras also tracked the convoy. It was quite a grand spectacle.

Many onlookers stopped to watch the procession; after all, a convoy of eight Mercedes S600s was rare. But to Wang Bo’s eye, it was a little tacky. Song Zijun had once suggested hiring a wedding company from Linhai City to make it more modern and stylish. Wang Bo refused. If they wanted something fancy, they could have stayed in New Zealand. Since they were back home, they would follow local customs; the “tacky” touch would actually stir up the villagers’ enthusiasm for the wedding banquet.

Following the auspicious timing, the cars entered the fishing village and slowly stopped at Wang Bo’s home. The spacious yard had already been cleaned and arranged, offerings placed, and festive candles lit.

Because Eva had no parents, Father Bo and Mother Bo sat on either side. Unlike the complicated wedding of Zhou Haojie, this ceremony was like a simple village wedding—the procedures were straightforward, avoiding unnecessary trouble for Eva.

Though simple, when the bride appeared, her appearance—radiant yet spirited, graceful yet enchanting—still won full applause.

Guided by the host, Wang Bo and Eva bowed and paid respects to each other. The ceremony was smoothly completed under the watchful eyes of the villagers.

Su Dongdong sighed, “That was over so quickly! I remember Haozi’s wedding was ridiculously complicated.”

Zhou Haojie said, “Our weddings are always like that. But Wang Bo’s is really simple—so after the ceremony, it’s done?”

With the wedding concluded, it was time for the banquet.

Wang Bo’s family held the banquet in a neighbor’s yard. Houses in the fishing village all had large courtyards, and by squeezing the space, they could accommodate over a thousand people.

Father Bo and Wang Zheng arranged the guests—relatives, friends, and villagers. The seating had already been pre-arranged, so guests could simply sit down.

Wang Bo changed into a neat Zhongshan suit, and Eva switched into a qipao. Both outfits had been custom-made, fitting perfectly and enhancing their elegance.

Seeing his classmates still lingering in the yard, Wang Bo said, “Why are you still standing here? Come on, let’s eat. This banquet is famous around here.”

“Flowing banquet?” Zhou Haojie perked up.

Wang Bo nodded. “Yes, a flowing banquet.”

Their version of a flowing banquet was literal. A water channel ran through the yard, constructed from half-open plastic pipes, snaking like a giant python.

People sat on both sides of the pipe. The water constantly flowed, carrying wooden bowls with dishes from the start of the channel downstream.

Father Bo had coordinated with neighbors, requisitioning all kitchens for cooking. The women in Wang Bo’s family helped serve the dishes. The wooden bowls floated down the water channel, just like a real “flowing banquet.”

Dale held a camera, taking photos. Wang Bo asked, “Hurry up and eat—what are you filming?”

She replied, “I want to make a video to show everyone what a Chinese wedding looks like. This is spectacular!”

Mr. Lang, representing Ye Qipeng, nodded. “Indeed, Mayor Wang, your flowing banquet is unique. This is what a real flowing banquet looks like.”

Song Zijun, sitting with Mr. Lang, understood just how much energy this seemingly refined middle-aged man possessed. Frankly, for a tycoon from Linhai City, he was just a small-time upstart in comparison to someone like Mr. Lang, who commanded far more resources and connections.

Hearing Mr. Lang’s words, Song Zijun laughed. “It’s been a while since I’ve eaten a flowing banquet. Mayor Wang, you’ve restrained it—if it were traditional, the water channel would stretch from one end of the village to the other.”

Wang Bo shook his head. “That would be excessive. Our country now values thrift, remember?”

Whole chickens and ducks, stewed beef, roasted lamb, braised beef, cured pork leg, plates of crabs and prawns, steaming fish, scallops, clams, oysters… countless dishes floated downstream.

Of course, those sitting near the top of the channel would get first pick, while those downstream risked only getting leftovers. But this rarely happened, as each batch of dishes was identical. Everyone knew which dish was coming for their seat. Even at the end of the channel, some dishes remained untouched.

Seating order mattered. The bride and groom and VIPs sat at the top, Wang Bo’s classmates sat next, and to guide them in starting, Wang Bo and Eva sat down too.

Qingyang pushed him away. “Do you need to teach us? We’ll just eat whatever you eat.”

Zhang Rui rubbed his nose. “Wang Bo, can we start with a bowl of soup first? It feels a bit chilly eating at a flowing banquet today. Summer would have been better.”

Wang Bo said, “Wait a bit. Right now, it’s cold dishes, so the water is cold. Soon it will be replaced with hot water—but don’t stick your hands in.”

Sure enough, after about ten minutes, once the cold dishes were served, the water channel began flowing with hot water. A boiler had been set up in the yard to heat the water for the banquet.