CH 27

Chapter 27: Drinking, Who Is Afraid Of Who

Excluding the couple, the rest of the people inside the room discreetly winked at one another, an indication that something is about to happen. Zhang Hui got up and poured wine. Everyone has a cup in front of him, the kind that’s used to drink wine. A bottle (or a small jar) of baijiu [1] could only fill three such cups. He filled all the cups placed in front of each person. Afterwards, Zhang Hui held one and smiled at Pan Lei.

{T/N: [1] 白酒 | báijiǔ –  Báijiǔ literally means “white (clear) alcohol or liquor”. Because of its clarity, baijiu can appear similar to several other East Asian liquors, but it often has a significantly higher alcohol content than, for example, Japanese shōchū (25%) or Korean soju (20–45%). Despite being a white spirit, it more closely resembles a dark spirit like whiskey in terms of complexity and mouthfeel. It is the most widely consumed spirit (alcohol) in the world, with 5 billion litres sold in 2016. Wikipedia Source & Image Source}

“Lei Zi, you’re not forgetting the rules, are you? We have an agreement that when one of us had entrusted his whole life to a certain person, he will bring that person over for us to see and eat a meal together. Then, we’ll drink three cups of baijiu. This represents our acceptance of him integrating into our lives and becoming a member of our family. This is the established custom. Pan broken four children, no, I mean Pan Zhan. Pan Zhan, could you let me speak? If you throw anything to me again, I may get angry.”

Zhang Hui’s tongue slipped and involuntarily uttered Pan Zhan’s nickname, Pan broken four children. As such, Pan Zhan, once again, grabbed the plate at his side and threw it over to Zhang Hui.

After that swift movement, Pan Zhan is still smiling, as if he was not the one who committed a violent act a second ago.

“At the time when Pan Zhan introduced his laopo (wife), he also drank three cups of wine with saozi (sister-in-law). You couldn’t change this. Together with Dr. Tian, you should each drink three cups of wine as a jiao bei jiu [2]. Once done, we shall, at once, recognize him as our younger brother too. In the future, whether you will be on a mission and not by his side, or if he will have any difficulties, we will come to his aid immediately.”

{T/N: [2] 交杯酒 | jiāo bēi jiǔ  – A formal exchange of cups of wine between bride and groom as part of the traditional wedding ceremony.}

Tian Yuan swallowed his saliva. He looked at the cup in front of him that was filled to the brim. If he allowed himself to drink these three cups in a row, he will undoubtedly get poisoned due to excessive alcohol intake.

Without a choice, Tian Yuan turned his head to his side. He looked at Pan Lei with an expression that’s crying for help. It was a look that’s asking him if there’s any way to avoid this situation.

Pan Lei glanced at the cup full of wine. Then, he shifted his look at the few individuals sitting opposite them whose faces seem to harbor malicious intentions. He just knew it! This is clearly a scheme orchestrated by them!

“Eldest brother and sister-in-law drank wine with not more than 50% of alcohol content before. What they actually drank wasn’t baijiu, but a grape wine. So, I won’t do this. Why should we drink baijiu?” Pan Lei disapproved.

Even if we agreed to drink it, they shouldn’t have gone as far as to tease people. This baijiu with 52% of alcohol content isn’t that bad. However, if all of them will drink it, they would surely lose their sense of direction afterwards.

“If you don’t like this baijiu, then there is still whiskey. You should be fine with it. If it weren’t for you, I wouldn’t want to part with my baijiu as it was was carefully selected for its high quality.

You don’t know this, but drinking baijiu symbolizes growing old together. Your eldest brother and sister-in-law drank red wine, which means that they will have a prosperous but simple life. Pan Zhan and his wife definitely do not have the same deep feelings that you two have. Living together until the white hairs of old age [3] will not work on them.

So, hurry up! We all know how much alcohol you can drink. When you were five years old, you were stealing wine to drink. At the age of 10, you can already drink two or three erguotou [4]. At 15 years old, you can finish a bottle of erguotou.

Bam! (slams down the bottle of baijiu on the table) This is nothing much. You’ve been in the army for so many years, and just came out. Hurry and drink! Don’t you want to grow old together with your family’s wife?” Zhang Hui continues to persuade Pan Lei.

{T/N: [3] – An idiom for growing old together or till death do us part.}

{T/N: [4] – Erguotou, which literally means “second pot head” (i.e. second distillation), and also known as Chinese white liquor, is a Chinese alcoholic beverage. It is a type of baijiu made from sorghum. The most famous brands are Red Star (红星) and Niulanshan (牛栏山). It is available in various strengths, including 112 Proof, which is 56% alcohol by volume. The name “second distillation” indicates its level of purity. It is a clear, potent spirit and takes six months to produce. Source}

If one must say who is the worst among them, then that person would be no other than Zhang Hui.

Lin Mu held his cup of wine as he looked at the lively scene, while Huang Kai was also watching intently to see how the situation will develop. The two older brothers will certainly not rush their little brother. Zhang Hui already said the words growing white hairs together. Saying these four words means that this wine must be drunk. It certainly has a favorable effect.

Pan Lei looked at Tian Yuan. A bottle of erguotou with 65% alcohol content is nothing to him, but his family’s wife would be at the brink of death if he did drink it.

Tian Yuan blinked at him, somewhat pleading. He will definitely be done for by these three cups of baijiu. This is a family reunion dinner and he has not yet eaten a bite from the table of dishes. For sure, if he drank those three cups, his face will directly fall down on those plates full of food.

With Tian Yuan blinking at him, the big man inside Pan Lei instantly became fiery. A man who won’t help his family’s wife to escape drinking this wine is not a real man. He would rather get drunk and hold the toilet bowl to throw up when they get home, than let his family’s wife have a headache tomorrow because of a hangover.

Towards this look in his family’s eyes, the pleading emotion contained in his little eyes, Pan Lei felt distressed. For this begging that will unlikely to appear in a thousand years, and for the sake of his family’s health, fight!

“Then, in that case, we will also have a simple and prosperous life. Isn’t it just drinking? I’ll drink baijiu, so we can live together until we’ve grown white hairs. While, my family’s wife will drink red wine for a simple and prosperous life. This way, we can accommodate both demands and enjoy both worlds. Now, change my wife’s wine.” Pan Lei finally compromised.

“Change, change, look at you, yielding at this point. With the head of the family here, you have forgotten your spirit of loyalty and sefl-sacrifice to your brothers. Fine, I’ll change it to grape wine. Doctor Tian, you really have a knack for chancing upon fine food. A few days ago, I brought back a bottle of French red wine from abroad. It is an item of the finest quality. It’s all yours.”

Zhang Hui called the server to take his treasured red wine. Pan Lei slapped the table, stood up and held his wine cup.

“This first cup is to congratulate myself. At last, I found the person whom I will spend the rest of my life with. F***! It was not really easy. I’ve been searching for 30 years and eventually found my favorite person. Now, I am also a man with a wife to stay with at home.”

A gurgling sound on Pan Lei’s neck was heard, and just like that, a cup of baijiu was poured down his throat. On the seat opposite Pan Lei, a big round of applause broke out. ‘Good! Good! A man with a spirit! Really good, a coarse foolhardy fellow really knows how to show off! Tsk. How enthusiastic!’

“This second cup of wine is to wish both of us that we shall grow old together and love each other forever. Tian’er, you are my treasure and I will love you for a lifetime.”

With another gurgling sound, the second cup of baijiu went down Pan Lei’s throat and the wish for deep feelings had been sealed.

Tian Yuan’s hand that’s holding up his chin crooked and his head almost fell off to the plate of food. There are so many people, and yet, he still had to be shameless! Can these words be said in front of them?

“This third cup of wine is to thank all of my relatives, my brothers and my friends. If in the future, I will not be by his side because of a task or a mission, I trust that you all would help me take care of my family’s wife.”

Once again, another cup of wine was gulped down. Everyone is knocking on the table and applauding. Unreserved responses promised Pan Lei:

‘Rest assured that even if you are dead, we will take care of him!’

‘Tian Yuan is also our younger brother!’

The face that drank three cups of wine was not red and not breathless. But, he has to drink a whole bottle, can he do it?

Tian Yuan, being the warm person he is, showed a bit of kindness and added some dishes on to Pan Lei’s plate. Then in a low voice, he asked him, “Are you okay?”

Pan Lei, whose breath smelled of alcohol, answered, “No problem. I can still do another three cups in a row. I was only testing the alcohol content.”

Tian Yuan sliced a vegetable and took a bite of the food. “I hope that when you get drunk, you will not go wild. If you laugh or cry, I’ll leave you here.”

Pan Zhan clipped a piece of crab and placed it on Tian Yuan’s plate. Looking at Tian Yuan is just like looking at his little sister-in-law. A gentle and scholarly doctor, to encounter this tyrant little brother of his, can be considered his ruin.

“When my little brother gets drunk, he likes to kiss people at most. There’s no hitting people, no creating trouble, and no taking off clothes. The one who has the bad luck will be kissed off a layer of skin by him.”

At the mention of this, Tian Yuan quickly pulled his chair to the side. He does not have the hobby of performing in public.

“Eldest brother, when you are drunk, you think you’re very good-looking. Whenever you have drunk too much, you always pull away a young lady to dance with you, making my sister-in-law beat someone with her fists.”

Pan Lei pulled Tian Yuan back who was trying to escape. What’s he doing? Who will he kiss later on if his family’s wife will run away?