"So, you’re Wu Jun? I don’t like to talk business on personal time, but forgive my asking—how did you meet my father?"
After hearing what Wu Jun had said, Luo Zhengang seamlessly changed the subject.
"Your father and I..." Wu Jun opened his mouth, but he froze.
’I can’t exactly tell Luo Zhengang that I met his father when we were spray-painting someone’s car together, can I?’
If he did that, Luo Zhengang would definitely think he was some kind of punk, and he could forget about the deal.
"Wu Jun is the grandson of an old friend of mine. Why all the questions? Is this an interrogation?" Luo Weimin, his own face flushing, cut in from the side.
His son didn’t know about his late-life romance, and he was terrified Wu Jun would let it slip.
"Alright, I won’t ask." Luo Zhengang gave an awkward laugh and stopped pressing the issue. He reached out and pulled an overturned cup on the table toward him.
"Director Luo, let me pour for you." Ever perceptive, Xu Fei picked up the bottle to pour a drink for Luo Zhengang. Awkwardly, she held the bottle over the rim of the cup, but not a single drop came out.
Xu Fei’s face flushed, and she shot Wu Jun a pleading look.
The mouth of a Flying Fairy Maotai bottle has a special design with two glass marbles inside. People pouring it for the first time often end up in Xu Fei’s awkward predicament, unable to get any liquor out.
"Xu Fei, let him do it himself! Why is he putting on such airs?" Luo Weimin snatched the bottle from Xu Fei’s hand and, with a THUMP, slammed it down in front of Luo Zhengang.
Luo Zhengang seemed long accustomed to his father’s temper. His expression didn’t change as he grabbed the bottle, gave the bottom a light tap, and a viscous stream of smooth liquor poured into the glass in front of him.
Luo Zhengang’s one line, "I don’t discuss business after hours," had left Wu Jun speechless.
’By the time you’re at work, you’ll be signing the contract with Meng Zalang. It’ll be too late to talk then.’
Luo Weimin spoke up for Wu Jun. "Zhen Gang, it’s just an order of rice, isn’t it? What’s the difference who you buy from? Wu Jun’s grandfather and I are like blood brothers. For my sake, just place the order with him."
Wu Jun gave Old Luo a mental thumbs-up. ’What a pal. It makes all those trips to the hospital to secretly take photos of Auntie Xu’s daily life for him worthwhile.’
Luo Zhengang sounded troubled. "Dad, this is official business, a decision made in a meeting at the bank. It’s not like our family owns the bank; I don’t have the final say. It’s a multi-million-yuan deal. I can’t just bend the rules and pull strings for him just because he’s your old friend’s grandson."
Hearing this, Wu Jun grew unhappy. ’You sure talk a good game. Isn’t the agent for Meng Zalang your classmate?’
But of course, Wu Jun wouldn’t say this out loud. If he did, the conversation would be over.
Luo Weimin also knew his son’s stubborn nature. Feeling he couldn’t help Wu Jun much more on this matter, he let out a "Heh," sighed, and picked up the glass of water Xu Fei had poured for him, taking small sips.
"Director Luo," Wu Jun said after some thought, "you’ve misunderstood. I asked Old Luo to invite you today simply because I wanted to talk to you properly, as a potential supplier. I assure you, I never intended to go through Old Luo’s back door."
"PFFT—" Hearing Wu Jun’s words, Luo Weimin whipped his head around and sprayed a mouthful of tea onto the floor.
"COUGH, COUGH, COUGH..." Xu Fei also choked, turning away and covering her mouth to muffle a few coughs.
Wu Jun: "..."
Luo Zhengang: "..."
Wiping his mouth, Luo Weimin shot Wu Jun a glare. "You kid, watch your words! What’s all this about front doors and back doors!"
Luo Zhengang shook his head with a few soft chuckles, smiling for the first time since he’d arrived.
"Wu Jun, as I said before, I don’t talk business on personal time," Luo Zhengang said. "However, I’m a man who enjoys his drink. If you can keep up with me, I can make an exception and give you a chance."
When Wu Jun heard this, his eyes lit up.
’You passed up the road to heaven and instead burst through the gates of hell. When it came to drinking, he’d never yielded to anyone—except a wall.’
In his 27 years, he had conquered hundreds of banquets, large and small. With a capacity of two and a half jin of liquor, he could hold his head high among drinkers nationwide, putting him ahead of 99% of his peers.
However, because of his job running a small supermarket, he was constantly greeting and serving customers. It obviously wouldn’t be appropriate to speak to them with the reek of alcohol on his breath.
Over time, people would find out he was a drunk. They would rather walk a little further to another store than shop at his.
And if they had bad luck one day and ran into him on a drunken rampage while shopping, they might even get beaten up. The very thought was terrifying; it was better to stay as far away as possible.
When he first started the supermarket, Ma Dongmei had warned him repeatedly, laying down the law: absolutely no drinking. Wu Jun had taken her words to heart and strictly followed the rule, especially since he’d lost his previous job precisely because of drinking.
Ever since then, he had learned his lesson. He never touched a single drop of alcohol during business hours.
But tonight, for this 1.25 million yuan deal, Wu Jun was ready to close up shop. If he landed this order, it would be equivalent to over a month’s sales at the supermarket. It was worth letting loose and having a real drinking session with Luo Zhengang.
From the way Luo Zhengang talked, it sounded like he could really hold his liquor. One bottle between the two of them was clearly not enough—it wouldn’t even be a warm-up.
Wu Jun handed the keys from his pocket to Xu Fei and said, "Xu Fei, take a taxi back to the supermarket and bring me the case of liquor from under my bed."
Xu Fei asked in surprise, "Brother Wu, one bottle isn’t enough for you and Director Luo?"
"It’s not enough. Just listen to me and go get it." Wu Jun pressed the keys into Xu Fei’s hand.
"I’ll just walk back then, it’s not that far. I can carry it over." Xu Fei wanted to save Wu Jun the taxi fare and turned to leave.
"Xu Fei, no need to go to all that trouble." Luo Zhengang stopped her, handing a Mercedes key fob from the table to her. "My car is out front. There’s a case in the trunk. I’ll have to trouble you to go grab it."
Xu Fei looked at Wu Jun, asking for his opinion.
Seeing that Luo Zhengang wasn’t just being polite, Wu Jun nodded. "In that case, let’s do as Director Luo says."
"That’s enough." Luo Weimin glared at his son and tried to stop them. "You have dinner parties all day long, practically living in a wine vat. Making Wu Jun try to keep up with you is just bullying! By the time you were sitting at tables drinking, Wu Jun was probably still in the womb drinking amniotic fluid! You’re a grown man, what’s the fun in bullying a kid!"
Wu Jun turned to look at Luo Weimin, his expression slightly awkward.
’Old Luo’s words were crude, but he had a point. Still, why did it sound so demeaning!’
Luo Zhengang looked up at Wu Jun and asked, "Wu Jun, what do you think? Maybe we just have a casual drink today and chat?"
Just as Luo Weimin said, Luo Zhengang had absolute confidence in his own drinking capacity. While he said he was giving Wu Jun a chance, in reality, that chance was incredibly slim.
"Old Luo, I’m fine," Wu Jun said to reassure Luo Weimin, then turned to Luo Zhengang. "It’s a rare pleasure to meet a fellow enthusiast like Director Luo. As the saying goes, ’When drinking with a true friend, a thousand cups are not enough.’ How could we possibly just have a casual drink?"
"You two are really going at it. Fine, I’m not getting involved. If you want to compete, then compete." Seeing both of them were fired up, Luo Weimin stopped trying to dissuade them, picked up his teacup, and started drinking by himself.
"Xu Fei, go ahead. Bring the liquor over." Wu Jun’s refusal to back down had piqued Luo Zhengang’s interest, and he once again urged Xu Fei to go get the case.
"Brother Wu, I’m going then." Seeing Wu Jun nod, Xu Fei finally took the keys from Luo Zhengang’s hand and headed out the door.
Five minutes later, Xu Fei returned, carrying a case of liquor.
The case was identical to the one Luo Weimin had given Wu Jun—a case of Flying Fairy Maotai.
At the next table, the few customers who had earlier looked down on Wu Jun were about to pay and leave after finishing their meal. But when they saw Wu Jun was about to have a drinking contest with Luo Zhengang—with a whole case of Flying Fairy Maotai, no less—they sat right back down.
Even if they couldn’t participate in such a grand spectacle, just witnessing it would give them bragging rights for a year.