Evening.
As night fell.
The dinner lasted until after eight.
The Courtyard House was already lit up. Everyone gathered around the stone table, eating, drinking, and clinking glasses. The atmosphere among the colleagues was exceptionally harmonious.
"Come on, drink."
"There's only one sip left."
"Then let's all finish it."
"Alright, cheers, cheers."
"Director Dong, you can really hold your liquor."
"Come on, I'm nothing special. Director Yin's the real drinker."
"Hehe, I just didn't drink much. None of you dared to pour too much for me."
"Since Director Yin said that, what are we being polite for? I suggest another round."
"Don't. It's already past eight, and Director Dong should get some rest. I think we should head back early. We've had enough to drink."
"Director Yin has obviously hit his limit."
"Hey, don't expose me. Hehe."
After dinner, Dong Xuebin and Yin Cheng'an began drinking tea to sober up. Zhang Dongliang, Han Fei, and the others helped clear the dishes and utensils.
Dong Xuebin tried to stop them, telling them to just leave everything in the kitchen and that he would wash up later. But they did not listen and still helped him clean everything. They had come to their leader's home for dinner, and their leader had personally cooked for them. There was no way they could let Dong Xuebin wash the dishes too. That would have been far too improper.
Fortunately, no one had drunk themselves senseless, and nobody collapsed.
Once they finished up, Dong Xuebin immediately called out, "Come have some tea."
"Alright." Han Fei plopped down beside the table, picked up a teacup, and took a sip. "Delicious!"
Sun Zhaobang, Zhang Dongliang, and the others came over as well. They sampled the tea and all praised it as good tea.
They did not really know