BPIFC -Volume 1 – Chapter 81 The Banquet (Part 1)

As Sun Desheng was talking, his wife, Shao Yiyi, came out and greeted them.

“Fatty, tell little brother to come eat. I didn’t know what he likes, so I just made a few dishes and chopped up a Nanjing-style roast duck. Honestly, those Beijing spring pancake ducks still have the nerve to call themselves roast duck? Little brother, try our Nanjing duck. This is what real roast duck should taste like…”

Smiling broadly, Sun Desheng stood up and said to his wife,

“Where did I put that jar of Jade Heron White that Yang Jun gave me? Tonight I’m getting drunk with my brother here.”

“You’re the one who hid it. How would I know?” Shao Yiyi smiled at Che Qianzi and continued, “See if it’s in the temperature-controlled wine cabinet. Didn’t you say you were saving it for when Shao Wu gets married? Can’t wait anymore?”

“What difference does it make when we drink it?” Sun Desheng chuckled and turned to Che Qianzi.

“Big Yang gave me that heavy jar of wine. Help me carry it out. Brother, you’re lucky tonight. Jade Heron White brewed in the second year of the Hongwu era of the Ming Dynasty. There’s only this one jar left in the world. We’ll see how La Zi’s blind date goes. If it doesn’t work out, we’ll call him over and the three of us can get completely smashed.”

“From the Ming Dynasty? That’s five or six hundred years old!” Che Qianzi hurriedly grabbed Sun Desheng.

“Forget it. Drinking that stuff shortens your lifespan. Let’s not open such expensive wine. I can’t handle aged liquor anyway—it scratches my throat. Ordinary liquor is fine. Cheap spirits… Erguotou, just Erguotou.”

“We really don’t have Erguotou at home. Brother, why don’t you make do with some Moutai?”

Dragged back by Che Qianzi, Sun Desheng grinned, opened a cabinet, and carried out a box. From it, he took out a white porcelain bottle with a faded label.

“1950 Moutai. I extorted it from Ma Xiaolin before I went to America. You don’t see much of this anymore. Just make do with it…”

Then he frowned.

“Yiyi, why are half the bottles missing?”

Shao Yiyi was bringing dishes to the table. Hearing her husband’s question, she replied, “You mean those white liquor bottles in the cabinet? We ran out of cooking wine, and I was too lazy to buy more, so I used them to stew fish. Didn’t you say that fish head I made last time tasted great? I poured in half a bottle. I stewed another pot tonight…”

“No wonder that fish head was so flavorful. So you used 1950 Moutai!” Sun Desheng didn’t get angry. He took out two bottles and put the rest back.

“I left you a few bottles. Use them for stewing fish and meat. Try making braised pork next time and add more rock sugar.”

While Sun Desheng was discussing recipes with his wife, Che Qianzi secretly searched online for the price of 1950 Moutai.

Seeing the endless string of zeros, he nearly cursed.

A bottle worth over a million yuan, and this husband and wife used it to stew fish?

But then another thought came to him.

If he asked for a couple of bottles to take home and cook fish with, they probably wouldn’t refuse, would they?

Lost in such thoughts, the little Daoist failed to notice Sun Desheng mouthing words to him:

“Whatever you do, don’t eat the fish head.”

Before he realized it, Sun Desheng had already dragged him to the dining table.

Shao Yiyi had said she hadn’t prepared much, but she had still laid out a table full of dishes. Besides the large basin of stewed fish head and the roast duck in the center, the rest were all homemade dishes.

Sun Desheng opened a bottle of Moutai and poured a cup for both himself and Che Qianzi.

“Brother, from today onward, you’re family. Everything on this table is your sister-in-law’s specialty. Don’t be polite—eat and drink as much as you want. We’ve already prepared the guest room. Once you’re full, just go to sleep…”

Before he could finish speaking, his phone rang.

He originally didn’t want to answer, but after seeing the caller ID, he picked up.

“Old Huang, you just got off the plane? Honestly, how come you thought of me right away? Huh? Treating us to dinner? At this hour? My brother and I have already eaten…”

“Oh? Diaoyutai State Guesthouse… an all-shark banquet…”

“Mhm, mhm…”

“You invited Old Yang and La Zi too? La Zi says he’s already on his way…”

Before he finished, another call came in.

After glancing at the number, Sun Desheng smiled at Huang Ran on the other end.

“Well, since that’s the case, what more can I say? My brother and I will head over right away. See you later. I’d like to see what an all-shark banquet looks like myself.”

He then switched over to the incoming call.

“La Zi, Old Huang’s treating everyone? What happened to your blind date? Hahaha…”

“He said you were almost there? Old Huang told me the same thing. Said you were already on the road. Honestly, Old Huang’s been learning bad habits lately…”

After chatting for a few moments, Sun Desheng hung up and turned to his wife with a cheeky grin.

“Yiyi, get ready. Bring Xiao Wu with us. We’re going to the Diaoyutai State Guesthouse for the all-shark banquet!”

“Oh, enough already. If you’re leaving, hurry up. As if Xiao Wu and I would actually go.”

After teasing her husband, Shao Yiyi turned to Che Qianzi.

“Little brother, eat a few bites first. Whenever they say they’re going to dinner, they’re really just drinking. Which time have they not come back vomiting all over the place? Don’t learn from your brother. Remember, eat more food and drink less alcohol.”

No one had ever cared for Che Qianzi like this.

He had never known his parents. Kong Dalong had raised him. Before coming to Beijing, it had always been Che Qianzi taking care of his master’s daily needs. The old fellow would open his mouth for food and stretch out his hands for clothes, and he was picky about everything. It was only after Che Qianzi grew older and developed a temper that he managed to correct those bad habits.

So Shao Yiyi’s warm words nearly brought tears to his eyes.

Forgetting all about the all-shark banquet, he picked up his chopsticks and put a piece of fish into his mouth.

The moment it entered, a powerful wave of alcohol mixed with fishiness shot straight to his brain.

His vision went black, and he almost spat it out.

Why did it smell fine but taste so horrible?

How had this woman managed to make something like this?

If Shao Yiyi hadn’t treated him so kindly—and if Che Qianzi didn’t hit women—he would already have been swearing.

With Sun Desheng’s daughter present, he couldn’t spit out the fish, so he could only hold it in his mouth.

The overpowering combination of liquor and fish made him close his eyes in agony.

As he closed them, the tears that had gathered in his eyes were squeezed out.

“Tastes good, right?”

Seeing him close his eyes as if savoring the flavor, Shao Yiyi happily put another piece of fish onto his plate.

“Hurry and eat more. Otherwise, Huang Ran and the others will force you to drink.”

“Yiyi, you don’t understand. You can’t eat before drinking, otherwise you’ll just throw it all up later. You have to get used to the alcohol first.”

As he spoke, Sun Desheng poured half a cup of Moutai into Che Qianzi’s hand.

“Drink a little to adjust. Then you won’t be afraid when the real drinking starts. Come on…”

Half coaxing and half forcing, he poured the Moutai into Che Qianzi’s mouth, finally helping him swallow the fish.

Grinning, he pointed at the wall clock and said to his wife, “If we don’t leave now, we’ll be late. Old Huang might pull some kind of trick again. We should go over first. They lock the doors after midnight, and I’ll just crash at my brother’s place.”

By the time he finished speaking, Sun Desheng and Che Qianzi had already put on their coats.

After receiving another round of instructions from Shao Yiyi, Sun Desheng led his little brother out the door.

As soon as the door closed behind them, Che Qianzi could no longer endure it.

He immediately vomited up the piece of fish he had just swallowed.

Sun Desheng gave him a thumbs-up and said:

“Brother, lasting until now before throwing up—that’s real loyalty!”