Reborn in 1977

Chapter 29: Joy Shared is Doubled

Everyone sat down. Captain Yang looked at Jiang Lili and Chen Fan, his brow furrowing and eyes darting. He turned to the room and called out, "Lanying, come out and keep Xiaojiang company."

Then, he smiled at Chen Fan and said, "You'll have to make do and squeeze in with Old Huang."

Chen Fan picked up his bowl and stood up, smiling. "It's my honor to learn from Supervisor Huang."

Supervisor Huang grinned from ear to ear. "As expected of a scholar, you certainly know how to talk."

At this moment, Aunt Yang also came out and sat down next to Jiang Lili, quietly chatting with her.

The idea of rural women not sitting at the table depends on the situation.

Usually, when there are no guests, the family eats together, with women and children at the table. It's only when guests come that they need to excuse themselves.

But it also depends on the type of guests. If they are male guests, the hostess must excuse herself, leaving only men to eat and drink at the table. If they are female guests, then it's the opposite; the men need to excuse themselves to a smaller table, with the hostess keeping the guest company.

If there are both men and women, like today, then both the host and hostess must be at the table to entertain the guests. Otherwise, it would be impolite to have a table full of men drinking while a lone female guest is left to stare blankly.

As for whether there are other intentions, you'd have to ask Captain Yang what he's thinking.

Once everyone was reseated, the meal officially began.

When men eat, the first thing they do is pour wine.

Looking at the palm-sized wine bowl, Chen Fan couldn't help but feel a little apprehensive. Never mind whether the quality of the wine met standards; even if it were genuine Moutai, he wouldn't dare to gulp it down like that.

Seeing Supervisor Huang place a large bowl of wine in front of him, Chen Fan quickly said, "I really can't drink."

Captain Yang didn't even look up. "What man can't drink? If you can't, then learn."

Chen Fan paused for two seconds. "My stomach isn't good; I can't drink cold wine."

He remembered his maternal grandfather saying that there were two ways to turn bad wine into good wine: the first was cellaring, and the second was warming it.

Later, he specifically looked it up. Whether cellaring or warming, both methods were used to let the methanol in the wine evaporate. However, cellared wine had a more mellow flavor, which warming couldn't match. The advantage of warming wine was that it took effect quickly; as long as the wine was thoroughly heated, the formaldehyde would naturally disappear.

If he weren't afraid of giving himself away, he would have directly said that he was allergic to alcohol.

Hearing Chen Fan's words, Captain Yang yelled at the top of his lungs, "Xiaoju, bring a bowl of hot water to warm Chen Ge's wine."

Yang Ju immediately ran out like a gust of wind, and then rushed back in, placing a large bowl in front of Chen Fan, filled with steaming hot water. A small, rustic ceramic wine pot was soaking in the hot water, and a small wine cup was placed beside it.

Huh, where did my big bowl of wine go?

Supervisor Huang had two bowls of wine in front of him, grinning so wide that his back molars were visible. "I heard that when Old Master Lu was still around, he only drank warm wine, saying that it was milder and protected the stomach. That's complete nonsense. Drinking wine is bad for the stomach, warming it doesn't change that it's still wine."

Chen Fan deeply agreed. "Then I still won't drink it!"

Supervisor Huang raised his wine to him. "I'm talking about other people, not you. You've made a great contribution today. Come, let's have a toast."

Captain Yang grinned. "Hey, hey, if we're toasting, we all toast together. What's it mean if you toast alone? Come, come, everyone raise your bowls. Let's go!"

Chen Fan touched the water bowl, estimating that it should be around fifty or sixty degrees Celsius. The best temperature for warming wine was around fifty degrees, but since the weather was cold and he was worried about methanol in the wine, it was better to have a higher temperature.

He picked up the wine pot and poured a small cup. A rich aroma of wine wafted out, filling the entire room with its scent.

Captain Yang's eyes lit up instantly. "Hey, hey, this wine is indeed fragrant after being warmed. Old Master Lu really knew how to enjoy life."

Upon hearing this, Chen Fan immediately picked up the wine pot and stood up. "Bring a few more small wine cups; let everyone have a taste."

Yang Ju immediately ran out of the room and instantly conjured up four small wine cups, then floated back inside.

After pouring four cups, half of the wine pot was empty. If he poured another round, the pot would be empty. Unfortunately, the four old drunks took a sip and felt that the warmed wine was too mild and unsatisfying. After downing it in one gulp, they continued to drink their own.

Chen Fan looked at the remaining half pot of wine, which was about two and a half liang (125ml), which he could accept. Moreover, the alcohol content would be reduced after warming, so it was even less of a problem.

After two sips of wine, Captain Yang and the others began chatting about their own things, while Chen Fan was busy eating and listening to the trivial matters of the team.

Like how Huang Laosi's family was going to build a house and had hired Liu Jujang to prepare a banquet. They had prepared a lot of things, enough for six tables, and even borrowed two jars of wine from Old Tang of the seventh team behind them, afraid that they would use up all the savings they had accumulated in recent years.

Huang Lao Jiu at the village entrance had another fight last night. The sound could be heard three houses away. No one had seen Huang Lao Jiu all morning; he was probably scratched in the face by his wife and hiding in the house, afraid to come out. Even his wife went to dig soft-shelled turtles in the morning.

Huang Lao Wu, who had already given birth to five daughters, was still not reconciled and ran to the brigade headquarters to find Li Dezhu, who used to be a monk. He even brought a bag of eggs, truly bewitched. Li the monk himself was an old bachelor; how could he have the ability to manage him?

… …

At the height of the drinking, Captain Yang pointed at the landscape with his wine bowl. "Huang Laosi's family is also suffering. There are so many old and young, and the house was built in the year of liberation (1945). It's been more than thirty years now and has become a dangerous building. If it's not rebuilt, there may be big problems.

Huang Lao Jiu is a useless fellow. Back then, which of you Huangs didn't advise him not to marry Zhang Yufeng just because she was pretty? Their Zhang family has eight brothers, and she's the only daughter in the family. How could her temperament be good? It's all his own fault!

Huang Lao Wu is also confused. What's wrong with daughters? Daughters are just as good as sons. He just has old feudal ideas, wanting only sons to carry on the family line. He even went to find Li the monk. Li the monk is just a fraud who pretends to be a ghost. What's the use of finding him?… …"

Supervisor Huang nodded while drinking, casually adding a few agreeing remarks. After listening for a while, he suddenly felt that something was wrong. Why are they only talking about our Old Huang family's affairs? What about your Old Liu family and Old Yang family?

Joy shared is doubled.

Immediately, he gulped down a mouthful of wine, exhaled a long breath of alcohol, and said with heartfelt pain, "Isn't that right? Look, there's Huang Lao Wu, and Yang Zihong, Liu Dequan. They are the famous 'son-obsessed' people in our team. It's made our sixth team a laughingstock of Lujiawan. It's too inappropriate.

And Liu Dewu, Accountant Liu, I'm not saying this, but you really need to manage your cousin. Good heavens, he's so infatuated with the educated youth that he's even run to the commune. Is that the educated youth he can be thinking about? Sooner or later, she'll go back to work and become a worker. Who would be stupid enough to marry into the production team unless there's a problem with their background?"

Good heavens, a burst of output, directly silencing everyone.

Captain Yang smacked his lips. "Old Huang, you're usually as quiet as a gourd; I didn't realize you were so eloquent."

Accountant Liu glanced over. "Why don't you go to this year's production team report meeting in place of the captain? I guarantee you'll suppress the other eleven small teams in Lujiawan so they can't raise their heads."

Even Jiang Lili, who had already finished eating and was sitting stiffly, not daring to move, lowered her head. Aunt Yang felt sorry for her and pulled her into the room to drink tea.

Seeing that he had incurred public wrath, Supervisor Huang quickly picked up his wine bowl and gave a dry laugh. "We're just drinking and chatting nonsense. How can I have any eloquence? I certainly can't compare to you and the captain. Come, come, drink, drink."