"Xu Fei, you should team up with Wu Jun. This kid can really hold his liquor," Luo Weimin suggested to Xu Fei, recruiting allies for his son’s opponent from the sidelines.
"I’m fine with that." Luo Zhengang agreed with a smile. ’Xu Fei is just a young woman; she probably can’t drink much anyway. Her joining in or not will hardly make a difference. Agreeing just makes me look more magnanimous.’
"Uncle Luo, I’ve never had alcohol before. I can’t drink," Xu Fei said, turning to give Wu Jun an apologetic look. "Boss Wu, I..."
Wu Jun patted Xu Fei’s shoulder and smiled. "It’s a good thing for a young woman not to drink. Don’t listen to Old Luo teasing you. Just drink water with him."
"Manager Luo, shall we begin?" Wu Jun asked, turning to face Luo Zhengang.
"Ready when you are." Luo Zhengang raised the glass on the table, signaling the start.
The battle horn had sounded. The two men began their drinking competition, trading shots one after another.
Xu Fei took on the role of pouring the drinks. After a few rounds, she’d gotten the hang of it, avoiding the awkwardness of her first attempts.
The two of them drank quickly, downing each glass as soon as it was poured. In less than ten minutes, four empty bottles stood on the table. Four jin of liquor had found its way into their stomachs.
Luo Zhengang’s expression hadn’t changed at all; his face looked the same as when they started, and his speech wasn’t slurred. Wu Jun finally realized that Old Luo’s son was playing dirty. ’He never intended to negotiate with me at all.’
’This Manager Luo’s tolerance for alcohol is probably even higher than mine. I’ve really met my match today.’
’My own 2.5-jin capacity puts me ahead of 99% of all drinkers in the country. Old Luo’s son is probably part of the 1% who can outdrink me!’
Luo Zhengang was also astonished by Wu Jun’s tolerance. They were each pouring from their own bottle, and so far, Wu Jun hadn’t drunk a single drop less than him.
Although Wu Jun’s face was a little flushed, his thoughts were still clear and he wasn’t slurring his words. He obviously wasn’t at his limit yet.
"Xu Fei, open more bottles." Having finished four, Luo Zhengang felt he’d found a kindred spirit. He also wanted to test Wu Jun’s true limits, so he told Xu Fei to keep opening more.
"Boss Wu, Manager Luo, please don’t drink anymore. You’ve had so much already," Xu Fei said, looking at the four empty bottles on the table with a worried expression.
’These two can really drink. In just a short while, they’ve drunk more alcohol than Uncle Luo and I have drunk water.’
Seeing the two locked in an intense competition, Luo Weimin waved his hand impatiently. "Xu Fei, don’t worry about them. Just let them drink. Let them drink ’til they drop."
"Xu Fei, open the bottle. I’m fine." Having come this far, Wu Jun didn’t want to give up halfway. He fumbled for a bottle from the case under the table and handed it to her.
’I’m a good ten years younger than Old Luo’s son. If I back down now, how could I ever show my face at a drinking table again?’
"Look at that, just look! Now that’s what you call a couple of heavyweights!"
"I’m in awe. There are six of us, and we’ve only finished two bottles. They’ve each had two bottles by themselves. Their tolerance is just out of this world!"
The customers at the next table, who were watching the show, whispered among themselves, completely in awe of Wu Jun’s and Luo Zhengang’s drinking prowess.
People who can handle two jin of liquor are already rare, but for both of them to have drunk two jin each and still be able to continue... incredible!
Xu Fei reluctantly opened two more bottles. Without wasting any words, Wu Jun and Luo Zhengang went at it again. Soon, those two bottles were also empty.
Wu Jun had brought one bottle with him, and Xu Fei had carried in a case from Luo Zhengang’s car. That was seven bottles in total. Now, six empty bottles sat on the table, with only one remaining.
With three jin of liquor down, both Wu Jun and Luo Zhengang were struggling to keep up. Both had already pushed past their usual limits.
"Three jin each! I’m not worthy! My three-liang tolerance makes me feel embarrassed to even be sitting here."
"I’ve never seen anyone drink like that before. And today I get to see two of them at once!"
The onlookers at the next table were at a loss for words to express their admiration.
"Ma-Manager... Luo... can you still drink? Th-the order... can we talk about it now?" Wu Jun asked Luo Zhengang, his face crimson and his tongue thick in his mouth.
Luo Zhengang pointed at the last bottle on the table with hazy, drunken eyes. "Isn’t... there... still one more? Finish this bottle, and we can talk about anything."
"Feifei, start the car!" Wu Jun waved his arm grandly. He was going all in. ’I’ve already drunk three jin, what’s another half?’
’As long as I get a chance to negotiate, I can definitely land this order. That’s 1.25 million safely in my pocket.’
’Meng Zalang is nothing compared to my Hongyun Rice. I’ll crush it in a heartbeat.’
"Boss Wu, you’ve had too much. Please don’t drink anymore," Xu Fei urged, seeing that he was calling her "Feifei" and talking about driving. He was obviously very drunk.
"If you can’t finish it, all bets are off," Luo Zhengang added, fanning the flames. He rarely met an equal in drinking and felt the loneliness of an unrivaled master. Now that he had found someone on his level, he naturally wanted to drink to his heart’s content.
In reality, as for the order Wu Jun wanted to discuss, Luo Zhengang had already given him the green light back when Wu Jun finished his second bottle.
It was just a chance to talk, not to sign a contract on the spot. Whether the deal would go through or not still depended on the product’s quality.
"Feifei... o-open... start the car," Wu Jun urged again. By now, his mouth didn’t feel like his own, and he had no idea he was misspeaking.
Xu Fei held the liquor bottle and looked at Wu Jun, his face and neck flushed red. Her heart was in turmoil.
Although she hadn’t known Wu Jun for long—only two short days—she felt very comfortable around him. She didn’t feel like just another employee.
Wu Jun felt like a big brother to her. No job had ever made her feel so at ease.
Seeing Wu Jun fighting so hard for this order, she really wanted to help him.
Having made her decision, Xu Fei twisted off the bottle cap, took a clean glass from the table, and poured it to the brim.
"Big Brother Luo," she said, addressing Luo Zhengang, "earlier, Uncle Luo asked me to drink with you alongside Boss Wu. It would be disrespectful of me to refuse. Allow me to have a drink with you." Before anyone could say a word, she pinched her nose, tilted her head back, and GULP, downed the entire glass of baijiu in one go.
"Fei—" Wu Jun had drunk so much that his movements were stiff. He failed to stop her. By the time his hand shot out and grabbed her arm, she had already finished the drink.
Neither Luo Weimin nor Luo Zhengang had expected such a sudden move from Xu Fei; they were caught completely off guard.
The glass of baijiu went down, and Xu Fei choked until tears streamed down her face. After a few violent coughs, she turned aside, covered her mouth, and began to retch.
Watching Xu Fei’s pained reaction, Wu Jun froze. It was as if he’d been transported back more than three years in time.
Back then, he hadn’t yet opened his little supermarket. He was a salesman for a steel mill.
One time, he was treating a group of clients to dinner, taking on a whole table by himself. He drank about as much as he had tonight—more than two jin—and was completely wasted.
Ma Siyu and her colleagues happened to be dining at the same restaurant. Seeing how incredibly drunk Wu Jun was, she came over to help him out of the situation.
One of them, a big, heavyset man, pointed to the glass of liquor in front of Wu Jun and told Ma Siyu that if she finished it, he’d give his order to Wu Jun. The other clients at the table immediately started hooting and egging her on.
Just like the scene that had just unfolded, Wu Jun had only just managed to grab Ma Siyu’s arm when she—who never touched a drop of alcohol—downed a large glass of baijiu in a single gulp. Her reaction afterward was identical to Xu Fei’s.
Wu Jun had cursed, "Son of a bitch!" and flipped the table. He’d stormed over, beaten the hell out of the fat man who started it all, and ended up in a full-blown brawl with the entire group of clients.
Afterward, Wu Jun was fired. He then scraped together enough money to open the small supermarket he ran now.
That was more than three years ago. Now, watching a similar scene play out again, Wu Jun felt an uncontrollable rage surging within him.
He snatched the empty glass from Xu Fei’s hand and, without looking, hurled it to the side. It shattered against the wall with a loud CRASH.
He reached out again, grabbing Xu Fei’s arm and pulling her around to face him. He stared at her pained face, tears streaming from her eyes as she choked.
Wu Jun’s eyes blazed as he roared, "Who told you to drink that! Is that something you should be drinking?!"
’This is the second time. The second time a young woman who can’t drink has had to chug liquor because of one of my business deals.’ Wu Jun felt like a total failure.
"I’m sorry, Boss Wu... I... I’m a little dizzy." As soon as the words left her lips, Xu Fei’s eyes rolled back in her head, and she slumped forward, collapsing against Wu Jun.