Life in siheyuan era

Luo Sumei indeed hadn't prepared any baijiu (white liquor). Neither she nor Zhang Xueqi drank alcohol; they always used soda as a substitute during festivals.

Tonight, she had prepared ten bottles of Dabaili soda.

Luo Sumei was drinking soda. Zhang Yong poured soda into her glass, holding the soda bottle while looking troubled.

Han Xue, He Yushui, and Guo Yanhong also wanted to drink soda, but Zhou Zhiyuan wouldn't let them, using stories of drinking in the army as pre-battle mobilization.

"The army usually doesn't allow drinking, but they loosen up during festivals. That's the liveliest time in the army, with grudges settled and scores evened. If you can't beat someone in the arena, you find them at the dinner table. Whoever backs down is a coward."

"At this time, it's a competition of collective honor, by company, platoon against platoon, squad against squad. First, there are challenges by name, a great battle in front of the two armies for three hundred rounds. My record is defeating three enemy generals single-handedly."

Luo Sumei asked, "Didn't the commander care?"

"Under normal circumstances, the commander doesn't care and even encourages everyone to compete, but there's a limit. If it gets too out of hand, they'll step in and designate a challenger to take over."

Listening to Zhou Zhiyuan's explanation, Luo Sumei asked doubtfully, "Three generals implementing a wheel war against you, and the commander didn't care?"

"This..." Zhou Zhiyuan was momentarily speechless, a look of embarrassment on his face.

Seeing his expression, Han Xue laughed, causing everyone else to laugh as well.

Everyone wanted to hear his explanation, and Zhou Zhiyuan had no choice but to say, "I just drew the bow too taut, arousing the commander's interest... I didn't really do much, just drank one down and then held up the bottle, shouting, 'Who dares to fight?'"

He really didn't do much; he just drew the bowstring of 'hatred' too taut.

After everyone laughed for a while, Zhou Zhiyuan turned to Han Xue and said, "Section Chief Han, believe it or not, I can still defeat you even if you take a small sip and I take a big gulp?"

Zhou Zhiyuan was still trying to stir up "hatred" here.

Han Xue readily replied, "Okay, Yushui and I will take you on together."

She pulled He Yushui in. Before He Yushui could object, Zhou Zhiyuan snorted disdainfully and turned to Guo Yanhong, saying, "Comrade Guo Yanhong."

Guo Yanhong quickly replied, "I can't drink."

Zhang Yong immediately chimed in, "Count me in."

Zhou Zhiyuan laughed and said, "Alright, a one-on-three, bring it on."

Han Xue readily replied, "Three heroes fighting Lü Bu, we'll beat you until your armor falls off and your helmet is lost."

Zhou Zhiyuan laughed loudly, raised his wine cup, and shouted, "I am Wenhou Lü Fengxian! Who dares to fight me, you rat-like creatures?"

He knew how to stir up "hatred"; one sentence made one man and two women full of fighting spirit. Even He Yushui, who hadn't wanted to participate, now wanted to cut him down from his horse.

She understood now that different identities required different approaches; she wasn't Guo Yanhong.

Luo Sumei didn't drink alcohol, but she didn't object to Zhou Zhiyuan and Zhang Yong drinking, nor would she object to her and Han Xue drinking; they weren't candidates for a daughter-in-law.

She understood what Zhou Zhiyuan meant; without drinking, everyone would eat politely, and it would be difficult to draw closer to each other.

As the saying goes, "The more you drink, the thicker the bond."

The same is true between men and women; drinking makes things lively, and in the liveliness, everyone can eliminate restraint and draw closer to each other.

Luo Sumei wasn't a rigid person and let them do as they pleased.

With Luo Sumei's support, He Yushui raised her cup and said, "Zhiyuan, you're the one who pushed me into the challenger's camp, so I'll start with you."

He Yushui knew how to speak, putting herself in the passive team so it wouldn't seem like a betrayal.

Zhou Zhiyuan laughed and said, "That's right, start by taking down the internal enemy."

He raised his cup to accept the challenge. He Yushui took a small sip, and he finished the entire cup.

Han Xue then said, "Eat some food first; I won't take advantage of you."

Zhou Zhiyuan raised his chopsticks with his right hand and put a peanut into his mouth.

He did it intentionally, to show Luo Sumei.

Luo Sumei hadn't mentioned his right hand, but her eyes had been focused on it the entire time.

Seeing him nimbly pick up a peanut, Luo Sumei gently breathed a sigh of relief.

Zhang Yong had said that Zhou Zhiyuan's right hand was crippled, and Luo Sumei's heart had been heavy. Seeing his movements now, she felt relieved.

Zhou Zhiyuan swallowed the peanut and turned to Han Xue, saying, "Lord Guan, it's your turn."

He called Han Xue "Lord Guan," causing everyone to be stunned for a moment, then they all laughed together.

Everyone knew the story of "Three Heroes Battling Lü Bu." The first to appear was Zhang Fei, and the second to appear wasn't Lord Guan?

Han Xue raised her wine cup and laughed, "Watch my Green Dragon Crescent Blade."

Zhou Zhiyuan shouted, "I'll block!"

Hearing him shout so amusingly, everyone laughed together.

Just as Zhou Zhiyuan was discussing heroes with the three heroes over wine, Xiao Gu walked out of the elevator, accompanied by a burly young man.

The two walked out of the building, got into a black car, and the burly young man drove. Half an hour later, they arrived at Bitter Gourd Alley, got out of the car, and walked in, arriving at Xu Laoer's house.

By this time, it was already dark. Xu Laoer, along with Xu Laosan, Earthworm, and a few others, carefully examined the broken walls and ruins. After more than ten minutes, a group of people walked into the house.

Xu Laoer handed the burly young man a cigarette. After lighting it, he said in a low voice, "Zhou Zhiyuan is too much. He's riding on our brothers' necks, shitting and pissing on us! Brother Wu, what do you say we do?"

The burly young man's name was Wu Shan. He took a puff of the cigarette, slowly exhaled a smoke ring, and then slowly said, "What do we do? You guys made the first move. Zhou Zhiyuan wants revenge, and you're handing him a knife? I wasted that dinner I treated Li Huaiyi to."

"Now you're asking me what to do? Can you beat him in a private fight? Or can you sue him publicly?"

Saying this, Wu Shan turned to Xiao Gu and said, "Chengliang, you're more skilled than your senior brother in martial arts. You've seen the scene; what do you think?"

Xiao Gu's given name was Chengliang. After a moment of contemplation, he replied, "This is a clever force. He must have built houses before and knows where the supporting points of this house are."

Wu Shan said, "I heard Li Huaiyi say that Zhou Zhiyuan was transferred back from the plateau and his right hand is disabled."

Saying this, Wu Shan suddenly remembered something and turned to ask Xu Laoer, "Zhou Zhiyuan's right hand is disabled, and none of you could beat him?"

Xu Laoer said with a bitter smile, "That guy fights like a charging bull, rampaging all the way. Even Hu Feng couldn't stop him with one blow."

He didn't mention himself and Xu Laosan, mentioning Hu Feng to cover up his brothers' shame.

Hearing this, Wu Shan was speechless. At this time, Xu Laosan said, "Hu Feng said he's a master of internal energy."

Hearing this, Wu Shan's expression changed. He turned to look at Gu Chengliang, hearing him say indifferently, "Even masters of internal energy aren't invincible."

Gu Chengliang's attitude reassured Wu Shan. He turned to Xu Laoer and said, "Didn't Hu Biao say that his uncle is also a master of internal energy? Where has he been these past few years?"

Xu Laoer said with a bitter smile, "I know that person. His name is Hu Dapeng. I met him once five years ago, and I haven't seen him since. I heard Hu Biao say that his uncle went back to his hometown."

After Xu Laoer finished speaking, Wu Shan gently shook his head, as if not believing his words. But then he heard Gu Chengliang say, "Don't talk about useless things. You said Zhou Zhiyuan is from the Xingyi Subdistrict Office, and his division leader is Li Huaiyi. Who is the department leader?"

Mentioning this, Xu Laoer's eyes lit up. He said in a low voice, "It's a young woman, very beautiful..."

Gu Chengliang interrupted him, "Don't talk nonsense. What's her name?"

His expectation was cold and stern. Xu Laosan twitched his cheek slightly, but Xu Laoer scratched his head and said, "They call her Section Chief Han..."

As soon as Xu Laoer said this, Gu Chengliang got up and said, "Senior brother, let's go." After speaking, he got up and left.

Wu Shan was stunned for a moment and hurriedly got up to follow him out.

Seeing this, Xu Laoer hurriedly chased after him and asked, "Brother Wu, what do we do?"

Wu Shan replied, "First, do as they say and endure for a few days."

After leaving these words, Wu Shan hurriedly chased after him.

Seeing the two's backs disappear, Xu Laoer gently shook his head and turned to go back into the house. Xu Laosan said with a gloomy face, "I think it's better to associate with someone like Zhou Zhiyuan than to associate with Wu Shan, especially Gu Chengliang, who's weird and effeminate."

Xu Laosan didn't think highly of Wu Shan, especially Gu Chengliang. Earthworm nodded lightly on the side. Like Xu Laosan, he also felt that Gu Chengliang was weird and effeminate, making people feel very uncomfortable.

He was Xu Laoer's confidant and had attended several gang dinners with Xu Laoer. He knew Wu Shan and had also seen Gu Chengliang. He knew that he was Wu Shan's junior brother, didn't like to talk, didn't smoke or drink, and his cold, detached attitude made people feel very strange.

This attitude, coupled with his handsome appearance, made Hu Biao and Xu Laosan privately call him "effeminate," but Hu Feng strictly forbade Hu Biao from provoking Gu Chengliang. According to him, "This kind of person is either pretending or deeply hidden. It's troublesome to provoke him."

Hu Feng's attitude was cautious, but he took a big fall on Zhou Zhiyuan. Thinking of Zhou Zhiyuan, Earthworm supported Xu Laosan's words. The headstrong Zhou Zhiyuan was very manly.