After Boss Yao picked up Yang Fan and his group and took them to the hotel, they did not have dinner in the hotel but went to another place to welcome Yang Fan and his group.
Modern banquets are much simpler than those in ancient times.
In ancient times, if there was only one guest at a banquet, the host and the guest would sit opposite each other.
If there are many guests, the host will sit in the middle and the guests will sit on both sides.
Seats are also divided into different levels of honor. Generally, the seats in the hall are the upper seats, and the seats below the hall are the lower seats.
The seat facing east is the honorable seat, and the seat facing north is the inferior seat.
There is also a set of rules for placing dishes on the table.
On the left are cooked bones and staple foods, on the right are large pieces of cooked meat, wine, and drinks; the innermost is placed with sauces and cheese seasonings, the outer side is placed with grilled meat, and the right side is placed with steamed onions; dried meat dishes are placed with curved ones on the left and straight ones on the right; if it is roasted fish, the fish tail should face the guest; if it is dried fish, the fish head should face the guest; in winter, the fish belly should face the guest's right, and in summer, the fish ridge should face the guest's right.
There must be wine at every banquet, as the saying goes “no wine, no banquet”, but there are also many rules for drinking.
Not taking off shoes when entering the house and chatting while drinking is called "etiquette"; taking off shoes and drinking on the ground is called "banquet"; those who can drink drink, and those who cannot drink do not drink, which is called "fermentation"; everyone drinks together, which is called "sinking"; drinking so much that you cannot leave the house is called "drunk".
A gentleman can enjoy the rites and feasts, but he cannot indulge in them.
At the banquet, after the food offering ceremony, the drinking ceremony will follow.
The host raises a flag to toast the guests, which is called "xian"; the guests toast the host in return, which is called "zu"; the host drinks first and then persuades the guests to drink, which is called "chou".
When drinking, you should take small sips and not drink in big gulps, and certainly not get drunk.
After the banquet, the guests must kneel before the tableware, put away the tableware and leftover food, and hand them over to the host's servants. Only when the host tells them that they don't need to do it themselves, will the guests stop and sit down again.
Generally speaking, after attending a banquet, one must return the invitation, and the custom of reciprocating and feasting has formed. Therefore, some people may not attend the banquet because they cannot afford to return the invitation.
However, many of the fine traditions of the ancients have been completely forgotten when passed down to later generations. At banquets, there are many people who are self-righteous, countless people who urge others to drink, and countless people who brag and compete with each other.
Some people, once they sit at the table, just do nothing but sing and urge others to drink.
At lunch today, Yang Fan, Boss Yao, and Secretary Wang had some drinks.
This was extremely rare for him, simply because he got along very well with Boss Yao.
When drinking with a close friend, a thousand cups are not enough; when talking to an unfriendly person, even a single word is too much.
I know there is a bottle of wine on the lake, which can remind me of the person thousands of miles away.
At the dinner table, after two glasses of wine, Boss Yao was not drunk, but the topics he talked about with Yang Fan became more and more casual.
Boss Yao traveled far away to study when he was young, left his hometown to find a job when he was young, and in his middle age, the tree wanted to be still but the wind did not stop, and the son wanted to support his parents but they were no longer there.
He had a smooth career, a virtuous wife, filial children, and a happy family. His life seemed impeccable, but he had many regrets in his life that outsiders had no way of knowing.
"Thank you, Boss Yao, for sharing your life experience. I have benefited a lot from it." Yang Fan wanted to toast Boss Yao, but Thirteenth Auntie forcefully pushed the glass down.
Yang Fan was not embarrassed, he was used to it.
The embarrassed one was Boss Yao, who just smiled awkwardly.
Thirteenth Aunt’s rank is lower than that of Old Wang who follows Boss Yao.
But first of all, they are from Shancheng, and Boss Yao has nothing to do with them.
Secondly, and most importantly, Thirteenth Aunt is the granddaughter of Old Lady Wen from Yanjing.
Mrs. Wen and her group are the ones at the helm of the aircraft carrier.
In front of the captain, people like Boss Yao are just boilermen and chefs, and cannot be compared with him.
"It's noon now, this bottle of wine is enough for the three of you to drink. If you want to drink more, open another bottle in the evening." Thirteenth Aunt spoke as if she was at an ordinary dinner party. Everyone present was an ordinary person, and no one was more noble than anyone else, but drinking too much wine is not a good thing, so drink less.
"Yes, yes, yes, let's drink in the evening. Drink to your heart's content in the evening, and then go to the scenic spot in the afternoon." Secretary Wang echoed, and changed from urging people to drink to preventing them from drinking.
For Boss Yao and Secretary Wang, sharing a bottle of wine among three people was almost the same as not drinking it at all.
"Okay, just this one glass." Yang Fan's alcohol tolerance is not very good, but it's not to the extent that he can't walk in the afternoon because of this bottle of wine.
After lunch, Yang Fan and his party drank tea and chatted for a while, then drove to the most famous scenic spot on the Hanyang River.
The main body of this scenic spot is a building.
It is located in the southwest corner of Hanyang City, tall and majestic, towering over the river.
Viewed at night, its top seems to be leaning against the Milky Way, and its bottom is close to the river. It has two layers of eaves, and the flying eaves are like bird's wings, high above the houses.
The four gates are tall and spacious. Sitting upstairs, you can overlook the urban and rural scenery, and when you look down, you can seem to be able to pat the clouds and smoke.
This is the most beautiful place among the mountains and rivers of Chu and Wu.
In ancient times, local officials liked to take a rest here after work, and sometimes they would get on their cars and send guests to faraway places.
When they are sightseeing, high-ranking officials will definitely come here, and when they hold a banquet, they will definitely come here.
When the literati in the court wanted to express their feelings, they would often come here.
If you want to find the traces of immortals, you can find the place where the immortals arrived on cranes.
When the country was prosperous and wealthy, people often sang praises of this magnificent building together. But when the country declined, when they saw this building, they often felt that things had changed and people had changed.
There is also a legend about this building.
According to legend, this building was a hotel opened by a woman named Xin.
Xin women do not despise the poor and love the rich, they are kind and generous.
For a period of time, a Taoist priest who was dressed in rags but had an extraordinary demeanor came to ask for wine every day. Xin woman was as enthusiastic as ever and had no complaints.
One day, the Taoist priest said that he was going on a long journey and could not repay the wine money he owed for the time being, so he painted a crane on the wall for Ms. Xin to help her business prosper.
The orange crane painted on the wall is very magical. Whenever a visitor sings, it will fly down from the wall and dance to the rhythm.
Word spread quickly, and people from near and far came to watch. After ten years, Xin made a lot of money and became a wealthy person.
One day, the Taoist priest came back, and Xin told him sincerely that she was willing to serve him.
To offer offerings means to be responsible for living expenses.
The Taoist priest laughed and said, "I'm not here to offer sacrifices." Then he took out a flute from his arms and started to play.
Hearing the sound, the crane flew from the wall to the Taoist priest, and then the Taoist priest rode away on the crane.
The tour guide arranged by the scenic spot gave explanations for half an hour and then left. Yang Fan and his group continued to climb and look into the distance.
From the upstairs, you can see the mighty Yangtze River and numerous high mountains.
In the setting sun, the water flows with the sky and there are many tourists.
Herons fly over the reeds on Parrot Island, and gulls rest on the solitary boat.
Yang Fan was thinking about what to eat tonight. Boss Yao and Secretary Wang followed him without saying a word. They thought that this young man had started to think about how to write an inscription. Good job. I hope it turns out to be good.