Going Head-to-Head

Hu Gang agreed without hesitation. He had no idea how many people he'd drunk under the table. Few could put away two or three jin; most topped out at half a jin or so. He never just drank against one person—he took on an entire table. When it came to confidence in his drinking, he truly feared no one.

But who could have guessed that, after he booked the restaurant, he'd find Zhang Hao waiting there? He knew Zhang Hao well, of course, and knew how much he could drink. Hu Gang was utterly baffled. Drink Zhang Hao under the table? What kind of plan was that?

He was paying for the meal, but Peng Dahai was bringing the liquor. That stuff was simply too expensive for Hu Gang to afford. The private room had a minimum spend, calculated for a table of ten at five hundred yuan per person. This meal would cost between five and ten thousand yuan. If he failed to land the contract, he'd be crying over the loss.

Hu Gang was nothing like Zhang Hao. He couldn't keep money in his hands; he loved eating and drinking too much, and all the entertaining he did cost him a fortune. He didn't earn a bad living, either. In a good month, he could make tens of thousands; even in a slow month, he still brought in several thousand. Compared to the average person, he was doing pretty well.

"Bro, what are you doing here?" Hu Gang asked.

Peng Dahai followed him in. Then Zhang Hao greeted him with "Gangzi," leaving Peng Dahai stunned. "You two know each other?"

Zhang Hao grinned. "He used to be my boss!"

Huh?

Peng Dahai had certainly looked into Zhang Hao. His company had developed Yuan Mountain Villa, and Zhang Hao had bought its largest villa. He also knew that the chairman of Qiao Toubao Company was the very Zhang Hao sitting in front of him.

Peng Dahai knew exactly what Hu Gang did: he was a broker who took on design projects and then found people to do the work. To put it bluntly, he was a middleman. How could he possibly have been Zhang Hao's boss?

"Bro, you can't make fun of me like that. Since when was I your boss?"

Hu Gang was completely dumbfounded.

Truthfully, Zhang Hao was nervous too. Hu Gang's drinking had left a deep impression on him. The man really drank like he was drinking water, and Zhang Hao had never once seen him get drunk. Hu Gang had natural talent; Zhang Hao was cheating. Of course he was nervous.

Suddenly, Mifeng's voice rang in his ears.

Take him on! Go head-to-head! Today, your drinking capacity is the best in the world!

Zhang Hao didn't know what to say. Even the big shot was joining in the fun. Still, he liked it.

"Even better that you know each other. Hu, make sure you drink well today!" Peng Dahai's meaning was clear: if Zhang Hao didn't get drunk, there'd be no contract. He was well practiced at this sort of thing. He wouldn't call it bullying; it was just a peculiar way of having fun.

Just then, Zhang Hao noticed someone else by the table: a woman standing quietly to the side, smiling. She looked to be in her thirties and had an elegant, graceful air. She wasn't exactly beautiful, but she made a very pleasant impression.

"This is our company's sales manager, Qin Fen'er. She knows you, too!" Peng Dahai said.

A memory flashed through Zhang Hao's mind. He'd forgotten all about it, but now that he had the Nano-machine, he could easily find the answer. He stepped forward and shook her hand. "I remember, I remember. I bought a house from Manager Qin."

Qin Fen'er was the sales manager who had sold him the house at Yuan Mountain Villa.

Peng Dahai burst out laughing. "Ha ha! You're famous at our company. Even I've heard the story. You showed up at the sales office in slippers and shorts and paid in full for our most expensive villa!"

Hu Gang was dumbfounded all over again. He'd known Zhang Hao had money, but he hadn't known he had that much. The most expensive villa? Hu Gang knew Peng Dahai's real estate company. If they were talking about villas, especially the most expensive one, it had to be at Yuan Mountain Villa!

Zhang Hao could afford the most expensive villa at Yuan Mountain Villa? Hu Gang stared, utterly bewildered!

The four of them took their seats. Soon, two young women came in, followed by two young men. Each man carried two cases of liquor and set them by the wall before leaving. Then they brought in four more cases: eight cases of Wuliangye in all, six bottles per case, for a total of forty-eight bottles.

"General Manager Zhang, sorry about this," Peng Dahai said with a smile. "We drank your Moutai last time, so let's have Wuliangye this time. I couldn't find that much Moutai on short notice, and there's too much fake stuff around. Wuliangye is safe. One of my distributors rents a storefront from me; he wouldn't dare sell counterfeits. Ha ha!"

Hu Gang had been all over the place, wondering when Zhang Hao had become General Manager Zhang and how he could be dining and drinking with a big shot like Peng Dahai. He wasn't stupid; he could see that Peng Dahai was treating Zhang Hao with considerable respect. He understood what that meant: they were equals in status.

But when he saw the cases of Wuliangye being lined up, he forgot all about that. Clearly, Wuliangye was far more captivating than anything else. Good liquor was hard to come by, and he might not even treat himself to a case in an entire year. Today, he could drink as much as he wanted.

Zhang Hao patted Hu Gang. "Gangzi, let's talk after we've had a drink." A Nano-machine bead stuck to Hu Gang's clothes and instantly melted into them. There was no helping it. To keep Hu Gang from blabbing outside, Zhang Hao had to take control of him first.

Hu Gang nodded.

The two young women were both quite striking. One was named Chen Ling, the other Wang Yi.

Chen Ling was Peng Dahai's junior secretary. Wang Yi was her close friend, and she'd come along to eat and drink with her.

Once all six were seated, Peng Dahai laughed. "General Manager Zhang, make sure you eat and drink well today. Ha ha, don't hold back!"

Zhang Hao grinned. "General Manager Peng, why do I get the feeling I'm walking into a trap?"

Qin Fen'er laughed. "Our General Manager Peng is treating an important client. He's putting his whole heart into it—he wouldn't dare set a trap."

Only Chen Ling and Wang Yi had freshly squeezed juice in front of them. Everyone else had a glass with a capacity of three liang. Hu Gang beamed at the sight of the glasses. Now those were satisfying. Of course, beer mugs would've been even better.

When Hu Gang saw liquor, he was desperate to drink it—especially liquor this good. It had an irresistible pull on him, enough to make him lose all composure.

As soon as the glasses were filled, he stood up and raised his glass to Peng Dahai. "Thank you for thinking so highly of me, General Manager Peng. I'll finish this one. You drink whatever you like!" Without waiting for a reply, he drained it in one go.

Before Peng Dahai could say anything, Hu Gang immediately filled his glass again and turned to Zhang Hao. "Bro, I know how much you can drink, too. I'll finish mine; you drink whatever you like!"

Peng Dahai realized something was wrong. The kid looked like he was trying to get himself drunk. He hurriedly said, "You can't just drink whatever you like! I'll finish mine, too!"

Zhang Hao chuckled to himself. Without the Nano-machine, he wouldn't have dared drink this glass even if someone beat him to death. He picked up his glass. "Gangzi, the reason I've always refused to drink isn't that I can't hold my liquor. It's that I don't like drinking." He could only come up with an excuse. After all, when he'd drunk before, he'd only taken one sip at a time and never had more than a little, so he'd never gotten drunk. Until he started drinking freely, nobody had known how much he could hold.