Just be more careful next time

The meal lasted for nearly three hours.

After the gathering ended, Yang Yong immediately took Qin Ning and his group to the best hotel in town.

Although it was much worse than the hotels in big cities, the conditions were relatively decent.

They stayed at the hotel for one night.

Early the next morning, the car arranged by Xia Fei was already waiting at the hotel entrance.

Because Yang Yong and Yu Yongchang still had some matters to handle, Qin Ning and the others drove a commercial vehicle to Huayun County first, leaving a car for Yang Yong and Yu Yongchang so they could head over once they were done.

The distance from Xin'an Town to Huayun County was about fifty or sixty kilometers.

Because they took the national highway, it took Qin Ning and his group almost an hour to arrive.

The county's development was much better than Xin'an Town, with more prosperous commerce and a good flow of people.

Pan Xinran's parents used to be government employees in the county. They had just retired two years ago and were living a comfortable life.

Her older brother's name was Pan Jun, who had just turned thirty this year and had three children in total. This one-month-old celebration banquet was held for his youngest daughter at a relatively high-end hotel in the county.

The commercial vehicle parked downstairs at the hotel.

After getting out of the car, Pan Xinran saw her parents and her brother Pan Jun not far away.

She quickly led Tang Yuan, Qin Ning, and the others over to greet them.

"Xinran is back."

Mother Pan came over when she saw her daughter and gave her a smiling hug.

Her daughter was nearing her due date, and coming back with such a big belly was indeed a bit troublesome.

She originally wanted Pan Xinran to stay well in Xin'an Town, but Pan Xinran insisted on coming back.

"Dad, Mom."

Tang Yuan stepped forward and greeted Father Pan and Mother Pan, then added, "This is my younger sister Qin Fei, my younger brother Qin Ning, and these others are all friends."

"Hello, Uncle and Aunt."

Qin Fei politely reached out her hand to them, and Qin Ning, Xia Fei, and the others also shook hands with Father Pan and Mother Pan one after another.

"Hello, you must be tired from the journey, right? Hurry upstairs to sit and rest a bit."

A couple walked over; it was Pan Xinran's older brother Pan Jun and her sister-in-law Li Xiufang.

"Dad, Mom, you take Xinran and the others up to sit first. Xiufang and I will stay here to receive the other guests," Pan Jun said.

Father Pan nodded, then instructed, "Secretary Chen is coming later, you must receive him well, understand?"

"I know, Dad. Don't worry," Pan Jun nodded.

Chen Zhien, the top leader of the county and Father Pan's direct superior before retirement. For this granddaughter's one-month-old banquet, Father Pan had specially invited this Secretary Chen over.

"Let's go, Xinran. Everyone, follow me upstairs to sit for a while. The banquet will start soon," Father Pan said with a smile.

Soon, Qin Ning and his group, led by him, arrived at the banquet hall on the second floor of the hotel.

This full-month banquet was quite grand. Because Pan Jun's first two children were boys, the Pan family had always wanted a little princess. Now that their wish had come true, they were naturally very happy, so they specially held such a grand full-month banquet.

"Tang Yuan, Xiao Fei, I'm sorry to make you sit here. Secretary Chen from the county is coming later, along with some of my former colleagues. There are quite a few people, and the main table has to be used to entertain them, so there's no room,"

Father Pan said apologetically. It wasn't that he didn't value the Tang family, but with important leaders coming soon, they naturally had to be received with the highest standards.

"It's fine, Dad. We have quite a few people too, sitting here is just fine," Pan Xinran said.

She and Tang Yuan, plus Qin Fei, Qin Ning, Wang Er, Xia Fei, and Cai Cheng, made seven people already.

Yang Yong and Yu Yongchang would be coming later, and they would probably sit at this table too, making the number just right.

She just didn't know if Yang Yong and Yu Yongchang's appearance later would cause too much of a stir.

"Alright, then you guys sit first. Dad will head downstairs now, and let your mom stay here to keep you company."

After saying that, Father Pan left Mother Pan there and walked back downstairs alone.

About half an hour later, Pan Jun, his wife, and Father Pan led several middle-aged men upstairs, talking and laughing. At a glance, it was obvious the county leaders had arrived.

"Secretary Chen, come, come, take a seat. The dishes will be served in a few minutes."

Father Pan smilingly welcomed them to the main table.

"Old Pan, we are guests. It doesn't seem quite right for us to sit here, does it?"

The one who spoke was a middle-aged man wearing glasses, who was none other than Secretary Chen Zhien.

"It's fine, Secretary Chen. These seats were specially prepared for you," Pan Jun said with a smile.

Eventually, under their arrangement, Chen Zhien and the others sat down at the main table.

A few minutes later, the food was served one after another. Qin Ning and the others ate and chatted. Xia Fei had drunk a lot of water earlier and felt an urgent need to urinate, so he stood up to go to the restroom.

But just as he stood up, at the main table nearby, Chen Zhien also happened to stand up, and the two coincidentally bumped into each other.

Xia Fei had cultivated now. Although his physique had not changed much, he had cultivation base in him. With this bump, he directly knocked Chen Zhien to the ground.

He was slightly taken aback and quickly helped the other party up. "I'm sorry, are you hurt?"

Chen Zhien frowned, looking somewhat annoyed. He stood up from the ground and looked at Xia Fei.

If it weren't for his status, he would have definitely started cursing.

"Secretary Chen, are you alright?"

Pan Jun and his father, who were at the same table, also hurried over. Judging by their expressions, they were clearly quite frightened.

"Young man, why don't you watch where you're walking?"

Chen Zhien's expression was not very good, but in the end, he didn't say much else.

Pan Jun and his father helped him sit back down. A middle-aged man who had come with Chen Zhien spoke up at this moment. He looked at Xia Fei, "Young man, hurry up and apologize to Secretary Chen. If you injured him from the fall..."

"I already apologized just now, and it was just a bump. It shouldn't be enough to hurt him, right?" Xia Fei frowned slightly.

He had merely stood up just now and hadn't even taken a single step before Chen Zhien bumped into him on his own.

It was clearly the other guy who bumped into him. How did he suddenly become the one at fault?

He felt baffled.

"What kind of talk is that? You knocked him to the ground, how could it not be enough?"

The speaker was Director He Jiannian from the county. He looked at Father Pan, "Old Pan, is this your relative? Why is he so lacking in manners?"

"This..."

Father Pan felt put on the spot, not expecting such a mishap to occur.

Although he didn't know Xia Fei, this person had, after all, come with his daughter and son-in-law.

"Forget it. He's a young man, just pay more attention in the future."

Chen Zhien waved his hand. For Father Pan's sake, he clearly didn't want to blow the matter out of proportion.