Chapter 123 Why Are You Drunk?
"Alright, boss!" Yu Lin and Yi Tengyun nodded their heads and told the employees to get to their seats.
A total of three tables were placed in the hall. Yu Lin led nine people to sit at a table, Yi Tengyun led another nine people to sit at a table, and Chen Fan led Zhang Lele and seven others to sit at a table. The waiters were very efficient, so it didn"t take long before all kinds of exquisite dishes were served, the favorites being those plates of golden yellow "squirrel-shaped Mandarin fish," which had been fried until it looked like a squirrel"s tail!
The most particular things about this dish, besides its shape, were the knife skills and the control of heat that were required to prepare it. As such, only a few chefs dare attempt to create the fine cuisine.
All the dishes were served on the table. The waiters then came in with three portions of marinade. One each came to a table and poured the reddish orange marinade on top of the fish.
"Sizzle, sizzle, sizzle."
A burst of tempting aroma, accompanied by sounds similar to squirrels" chirping, truly awakened the antic.i.p.ation of everybody"s taste buds. The golden yellow mandarin fish turned into a delicate red color immediately after the tomato marinade was poured onto it. Sour, sweet, fragrant, crunchy and tender were just a few of the adjectives that were flas.h.i.+ng in the minds of those men seated around the table.
"Eat it, while it"s hot!" Chen Fan shouted at the two tables next to him. He then took the lead, picking up a pair of chopsticks and diving into the squirrel-shaped Mandarin fish.
When the boss spoke, everyone stopped hesitating and raised their chopsticks to joyfully attack the main dish that had just been placed at the center of the table. Including Chen Fan, there were a total of thirty-seven men, all of who were in their twenties, at the feast.
So, to say that they each had appet.i.tes would be a gross understatement! With a few slight moves of their chopsticks, the three main mandarin fish dishes were left with only three bare fish heads on the plates!
"Zhang Lele, tell the waiter to serve another two "squirrel-shaped Mandarin fish" on each table!" Chen Fan said to Zhang Lele, who was sipping on a beverage next to him.
"Alright, boss!" Zhang Lele put down the cup in her hands and stood up.
"Boss, cheers to you!" At Yu Lin"s table, a man in his early thirties stood up and took the gla.s.s of wine in his hand.
Slurp...
His name was Zhou Jun, and he was the captain of one of the container s.h.i.+ps. He was 32 years old and had strong features. He was also a guy who had served in the army for several years.
"Sit, sit. Do not bother with formalities, as we are all friends here. Don"t you find it inconvenient to keep standing?" Chen Fan stood up, took the gla.s.s in his hand and said to the man, before drinking most of what was left in his gla.s.s.
One person took the lead, while the other employees also made an uproar, clamoring over one another to be the first to toast each other. Even Yu Lin joined in the fun as well.
Cough, cough.
Chen Fan stood up again and coughed twice. "I can"t afford to toast you all one by one. We don"t have to do the unnecessary and uber-elaborate formalities. Let"s drink six cups together and then find our match."
More than 30 men then took turns toasting. Even if Li Bai had come, he would have been dead drunk, not to mention Chen Fan, whose alcohol tolerance level was much lower than the average man"s!
Next, a nest of men all stood up mirthfully, quickly downing the drinks in their gla.s.ses.
Slurp, slurp...
Sitting down after one or two more gla.s.ses, Chen Fan creased his eyebrows and burped.
"Boss, why don"t you drink some milk?" Zhao Shujie, who was sitting beside Chen Fan, picked up the gla.s.s next to her and filled it with milk. She then pushed it in front of Chen Fan.
Zhao Shujie was the accountant, who was introduced to her job by Zhang Lele. At the age of 22, she had just graduated from school and was very interested in the job, as it paid very well. Hence, she had been very happy to be hired!
"Yeah!" Chen Fan nodded and reached for the cup.
The expression in his eyes was a little dazed, so instead of taking hold of the cup, he accidentally grabbed Zhao Shujie"s hand!
"Boss, boss..."
Perhaps her skin was too fair, but a blush quickly spread from Zhao Shujie"s face to her neck. She had a shy look on her face that showed that she wanted to pull back, but did not dare to do so.
"Ah, oh." Chen Fan"s eyes returned to their normal alertness at that moment. He released Zhao Shujie"s little hands, then finally reached the cup.
Glurp, glurp…
After a few long gulps, he finished the milk in the cup.
It was obvious that, after a few gla.s.ses of strong wine, he had gotten a little excited. He was clearly reaching out for the cup, but had somehow ended up grabbing Zhao Shujie"s hands!
"Eat, eat." Chen Fan laughed to conceal his embarra.s.sment. The saying "alcohol strengthens bravery" definitely fit this situation.
After the wine was in their bellies, the group of men were losing control. Their good ole" days in the military as a "rascal army" seemed to have returned via nostalgia again. They were loosening the b.u.t.tons on their tops and looking for people to drink with, as if they were hungry wolves hunting their targets.
Chen Fan"s table was slightly more restrained. Since he was the boss, when the men drank around him, they would scratch their heads and babble some "toast-worthy words," hoping to show that they were somewhat refined.
"Boss, I wish you a prosperous business and a rich flow of money, year after year!"
The toast was offered by an employee of Chen Fan, who was about 22 years old. Once he held up his gla.s.s, everyone knew that what would follow would be tacky and short toast words!
This group of men did not lack anything, except for a bit of literary knowledge. Seeing the few words that they could think of being taken by someone else, they scratched their heads. At the end, after not being able to think of any better words, the rest simply stood up and said the exact same things!
"Alright, everyone. Let"s not toast anymore. I am starting to get drunk!" Although the effect of drinking did not show on Chen Fan"s face, it did not mean that he could actually hold his drink. After half a bottle, his head felt like it had been filled with glue, mixed and chaotic. Pretty soon after that, he could not think at all anymore!
"Boss, the person who says that he is getting drunk is often not drunk!" Zhang Lele smiled, a small dimple showing on her face. The expression in her eyes was full of glee.
Burp!
Chen Fan belched, emitting a heavy alcohol smell. "Say…say it again, and I will deduct your pay!"
Zhang Lele stick out her pink tongue, quickly pretending that she had not said anything. After exchanging words back and forth, Chen Fan led a large group of men to drink once more...
"You Dong, are you sure that is the person who was s.n.a.t.c.hing the ladies away from us on the Princess Cruise last time?"
In the elevator, Lei Zhuo was wearing a hat and looking straight ahead, his finger subconsciously swaying the b.u.t.terfly knife in his hand. His eyes were looking satisfied with himself, as if he has done a good deed.
Although it was a few months ago, whenever he remembered the scene from the Princess Cruise, it seemed that something was blocking his heart. As a leader of the Shuangxian Road rascals, he could not tolerate being beaten up like a dog, but he also could not bring himself to take revenge. And, this time, the opportunity had finally come!
Just now, Yu Dong called and told him that, he had encountered that man at the Haitian Hotel. He was at this moment heading to the fifth floor, and the man with superb skills was not with him!
As he had been ambushed outside for nearly an hour, there were no signs of the guy leaving. He could not stand the burning fire in his anger anymore. He found a hat, put it on, and walked into the hotel.
"This hatred must be washed away with his blood!" Lei Zhuo spat. This time, he had only brought two of the best hands of Shuangxian Road, as too many people would only attract attention and make a scene.
Ding!
After the elevator made a crisp squeak, the door opened.
"Lei Ge, there!" Yu Dong recognized the waitress at a glance.
"Ok, let"s get this done quickly." Lei Zhuo flipped open his b.u.t.terfly knife behind his back.
"Who are you looking for?" The three waiters, who were waiting at the door, instinctively felt that something was wrong.
"I have an appointment with a guest inside!" Lei Zhuo"s face was sullen, the blue veins on his forehead twitching. Regardless of the waiter"s being in his way, Lei Zhuo charged past and pushed open the door to the private room.
Swoosh, swoosh, swoosh, swoosh...
Thirty-seven pairs of eyes gave Lei Zhuo a piercing glance, and the bustling, jovial sounds inside the private room stopped suddenly. The atmosphere seemed to condensed into a state of mutual hostility immediately.
As he was dressed in black clothes, a hat, and had a sullen face, it was impossible that such an arrogant and aggressive man would not make this group of tipsy men feel irritated, especially when they were so suddenly interrupted at their own party!
"Oh my G.o.d!" Yu Dong popped his head out from behind Lei Zhuo and stared, opening his eyes as wide as duck eggs.
"Who are you looking for?" Chen Fan frowned. He was very upset that he had been so suddenly interrupted.
"Sor...sorry...sor…sorry… I came to the wro.. wrong… place..."
All of a sudden, Lei Zhuo had gone from having full confidence to feeling smaller than an ant. His palm that was holding on to the dagger was sweating profusely behind him.
"Sorry, sor... sorry..."
Lei Zhuo"s gloomy expression had already turned into a flattering smile, as he continued to apologize. After backing out and gently closing the door, he immediately ran to the elevator. He was really afraid!
"Come, let"s continue drinking!" Chen Fan picked up the gla.s.s and shouted at everyone.
"Cheers to you, boss!" A group of men quickly stood up and raised their gla.s.ses.
This meal had cost Chen Fan a pretty penny. The tab for the spirits alone could bankrupt a small country!
A group of them swayed out of the hotel door. Their lineup was so strong, the staff, who were standing at the door in preparation to welcome guests, were left trembling.
"Boss, let"s send you back!" Zhang Lele carried Chen Fan"s arm and pouted to Zhao Shujie, who sat beside him. He then signalling her to come over and help him with Chen Fan"s other arm.
"Yeah... yeah..." Chen Fan said in a slightly slurred voice. Today, he had drank 400 grams of liquor, two bottles of beer, and now, he couldn"t even see clearly. Since the two girls had the intention of helping him, Chen Fan certainly would not refuse the aid.
"Boss, slow... slow down!"
Zhao Shujie squinted and walked over, gently dragging Chen Fan"s arm. With Zhang Lele accompanying her, her heart felt very much relieved.
Jingle...
At this time, the phone in Zhang Lele"s pocket rang.
"h.e.l.lo..." Zhang Lele pressed the accept call b.u.t.ton, said h.e.l.lo once, then kept silent to listen to the caller.
"Shu Jie, can you send the boss back alone? My mother just called me and told me to hurry back, as there is an urgent matter!"
"Ah..." Zhao Shujie was shocked. The things that had just happened at the drinking table were still causing her heart to beat like crazy, and now she had to send him back alone...
"He lives in the Bolan neighborhood..." It seemed that Zhang Lele"s matter was more urgent than her own, so, after searching the address, she hurriedly hailed a taxi.
"Boss, walk slowly!" she then begged, trying to keep up and not let him fall on his face!
"Yeah... yeah..." Chen Fan"s brain was so confused, he couldn"t even lift his head. His mouth let out a few more indiscernible words.
After the large group of people had dispersed, Zhao Shujie, with all her courage, hailed a taxi and helped Chen Fan into the back seat.
Burp, burp...
Chen Fan got in the car, leaned against its side, then began to blink his eyes. After drinking so much, although he had yet to reach the point of vomiting, the spirits had caused him to suffer from blurry eyes and a chaotic mind.
Luckily, the taxi driver was very understanding. Whenever he saw someone who was drunk, he always drove at a max speed of forty-five miles per hour. He would even try to avoid the sewer manhole covers on the sides of the roads.
The taxi stopped at the door of the villa. Zhao Shujie dragged Chen Fan"s arm a bit, a gesture to ask Chen Fan to get up.
"Huh?" Chen Fan opened his eyes in confusion, his head stinging. He couldn"t see where he was at all.
"Bo...bo...boss, you"ve arrived home," Zhao Shujie"s teeth chattered nervously. No matter what the Hollywood movies showed, it would never be what she hoped for with her boss, apparently, at least not this night.
After staggering out from the car, Chen Fan hung his head and slapped himself.
"Bo...bo... boss, that... I…I will leave first!" Zhao Shujie was like a frightened little white rabbit. She did not wait for Chen Fan to answer, but quickly got into the taxi.
"I got home?"
Still disoriented, Chen Fan swayed. He was only slightly aware that he was touching the white garden iron gate. He clung to it for a long time, until his hand finally reached the key in his hands. He could not open the door, as he looked for the keyhole, but couldn"t find it. The pain in the head and the pulling force of his eyelids. .h.i.t his nerves, filling him with pain.
Since he couldn"t open the door, Chen Fan simply plopped on the ground. He leaned back on the iron gate, determined to just wait until he got a little sober.
"Why are you so drunk?"
At this moment, Wu Ruoyu, who was wearing a black suit, went over to Chen Fan. She squatted and shook his arm.
She had just finished work and gotten home. She then saw her neighbor Chen Fan, leaning against the iron gate like a dead person, the smell of wine on him fully explaining his current state.