Chapter 146 Gathering
In the afternoon, Xiao Shan, his family and a small team of guards arrived at the east gate of Taoyuan Village.

This was his first time to come to this strange village. The smooth walls were built higher than the walls of Yaocheng and looked very majestic.

Seeing them coming, an old man with a small hammer on his waist came out of the small room behind the iron gate.

The confidant passed the note through the gap. After confirming that it was correct, the old man waved his hand, and people on both sides immediately slowly opened the heavy iron door.

The carriage slowly drove in, and the old man called a boy of about twelve or thirteen and asked him to take the guests to the gymnasium.

The boy let out an "ouch" and put down the strange board on his back.

The board was rectangular with four wheels at both ends.

"Dear guests, please follow me. The carriage will take this road." The boy said, making a "please" gesture towards the dirt road next to the smooth road.

"Horses are precious. Walking on the curb will hurt your feet." He explained, then stepped on the board with one foot and pushed hard with the other foot, then slid out standing on the board.

Xiao Shan's ten-year-old daughter, Xiao Baoping, exclaimed in surprise and quickly pulled her mother over to look.

The city lord's wife is named Xue Zhen. Her father used to work in the Ministry of Works, but now he has retired and returned to his hometown to retire.

Xue Zhen's eyes lit up. He didn't know who had the ingenuity to make such a skateboard.

She looked at the so-called "curb". It seemed that the trick of the skateboard lay in this special road.

"Mom, I want one too, I want one too!" Five-year-old Xiao Baoyu shook Xue Zhen's arm and pointed at the boy who was leading the way on a skateboard through the small carriage window.

Xiao Shan patted his head and said, "Dad will ask him to give it to you later."

Xue Zhen rolled her eyes at him, took the little boy into her arms and taught him softly, "Don't listen to your father. We can borrow it from that little brother and see if we can try to make one ourselves."

Xiao Baoyu pouted. He didn't like making things because it was tiring and troublesome.

But Xiao Baoping was very interested, and his eyes lit up when he heard his mother say this.

The carriage slowly moved along the dirt road for two incense sticks and finally arrived at the gymnasium the old man mentioned.

From a distance, the gymnasium is a large oval, all gray, made of the same material as a fence, with a few large golden characters on top - "Taoyuan Village Gymnasium."

The family of four had just been helped out of the car by their maids and servants when the voices of Jiang Qinghe's two sons were heard from the other side.

It turned out that they went through another door.

"Hey! City Lord Xiao! How are you?" Jiang Qinghe began to greet him from a distance with a bow.

Xiao Shan brought his wife and children to greet him.

Yaocheng and Ningyuan helped each other in Tongguan, which was coveted by the Tartars, and the relationship between the two city lords was naturally good.

After all, Chen Qingzhi was indebted to Xiao Shan, and Jiang Qinghe was Chen Qingzhi's man.

The two families were led into the stadium by Shitou and Bisheng.

Xiao Shan noticed the large frames held in the arms of several of Jiang Qinghe's personal guards.

He suddenly had an ominous premonition.

“City Lord Jiang…what are these…?” Xiao Shan’s expression changed several times, suspicion welling up in his eyes.

Wouldn’t these…

"This is our Ningyuan's specialty. Village Chief Yu specially invited us. I can't come empty-handed. It would be so rude!" Jiang Qinghe said with a smile, completely unaware of the stiffness on Xiao Shan's face.

Xiao Shan turned his head to glance at his confidant's empty hands.

I have to admit that he was the one who was rude. But who knew that he only regarded coming to Taoyuan Village as an outing and only prepared generous gifts for the young prince and his wife, so how could he possibly want to get other insignificant people?

Xiao Shan: ...

I was really sweating profusely.

The "Little Fortune Cake" that Jiang Qinghe brought is a kind of cake with red dots. It is as big as a child's fist and looks very festive. It contains sweet red bean paste and is a specialty of Ningyuan City.

The stadium has been decorated, with nine large bowls on each table, all of which are delicious dishes.

There were dozens of empty tables nearby, which were reserved for people performing on stage.

Everyone sat together with people they knew, cracking peanuts and sunflower seeds while chatting happily.

At this time, Yu Chaosheng, wearing a scarlet robe embroidered with golden phoenixes and gold edges, spoke on the stage covered with a red carpet.

"Let us warmly welcome Lord Xiao of Yao City and his family."

"There is also Lord Jiang of Ningyuan and his family."

The sound came from the big speakers on both sides of the stage, which scared Jiang Qinghe.

Xiao Shan calmed down a little and didn't react so strongly.

Shitou and Bisheng invited the two families to sit at a table in the front, and asked their maids, old women and guards to sit aside, so that they could protect the host family at any time and fully feel the cultural charm of Taoyuan Village.

Yu Chaosheng wore a golden crown and held a golden microphone, looking festive and noble.

There is a hint of evil in his eyes and brows, which can suppress such a strong red.

Pan Yingying sat in the audience, wearing a fairy skirt embroidered with a golden and white unicorn, and the hem of her skirt was covered with layers of auspicious clouds.

Although it was crowded and not cold in the gymnasium, Yu Chaosheng still forced her to put on a white crane fur coat.

This white crane fur coat was sent by Long Qi, who said it was a family heirloom from a wealthy merchant in Shuzhou who was hit by a disaster.

In order to survive, he exchanged it for food from the Taoyuan caravan.

Otherwise, how could people say that Long Qi was a flatterer? This White Crane Fur Coat touched Yu Chaosheng's heart and saved him from having to go through a lot of male ethics education.

Everyone in Taoyuan Village put on their newest clothes and best jewelry, and the young wives even put on powder and lipstick.

Han Zhen and Jiang Qinghe's wife Chen Dan sat together. They greeted each other and said at the same time, "It's really lively."

After saying that, the two of them laughed at each other.

After one stick of incense, the four gates closed at the same time and everyone arrived at the gymnasium.

Yu Chaosheng took the microphone and gave an impromptu speech with great emotion.

"This is the first time we celebrate the Spring Festival in our new home, and it is also the first time we hold the Spring Festival Gala. What I want to say is -"

"--I hope that next year will be even more prosperous and our bonus will double!"

Below the stage, the Xiao and Jiang families asked the people next to them about the prize money. They learned from several elderly people that there was a prize money in the competition. They also heard that the whole village participated in the competition, but many people did not make it past the preliminary round and did not get the chance to go on stage.

"It's bound to be exciting!" Xue Baoping looked at the stage with anticipation.

"Then, the first program will be performed by me, Yu Chaosheng, and my most beautiful wife Pan Yingying, singing the love song "As Long as I Have You". I would like to thank the band teacher of the North District."

Yu Chaosheng originally wanted to buy a computer or VCD or DVD so that he wouldn't have to hire someone to buy them. However, he didn't know that the system mall didn't have these things, only microphones and large speakers.

(End of this chapter)