You're My Brother

Hu Gang was just about to say something when the owner of the little restaurant came over. "We'll go with that. What are you standing around for? Get the order in! Heh, sorry, Gangzi, this guy's new and doesn't know you... By the way, Gangzi, what would you like to drink?"

Before Hu Gang could answer, the owner continued with a smile, "I just got two cases of Yunle Daqu in. It's affordable and tastes good—light-aroma baijiu, 52 percent alcohol. Really good stuff."

Yunle Daqu was made by a small distillery and wasn't well-known, but Hu Gang knew it was excellent. You needed connections to get your hands on it, and it wasn't expensive either—just 98 yuan a bottle. Pure-grain baijiu, good value for money.

Hu Gang grinned. "Then bring us a case."

There were six bottles in a case. Zhang Hao felt dizzy just thinking about it. How much could this guy drink? He was ordering a whole case for himself. Zhang Hao was already feeling intimidated. He could drink at most two liang, so he might as well accept that he wouldn't be joining in.

Zhang Hao knew Hu Gang could hold his liquor, but he hadn't realized he could drink this much. "Brother, I can't keep up with you. You enjoy yourself, but don't drag me into it!"

Hu Gang grinned happily. "No need, no need. Just watch me drink, haha..." He was fairly well-off, but eating like this every day would strain even his wallet. Since someone else was footing the bill for once, he let himself go.

"Take it easy," Zhang Hao said. "You weigh nearly four hundred pounds. I can't carry you. If you get drunk, I'll leave you here. The owner knows you, anyway." He wanted to set expectations in advance. He was genuinely worried Hu Gang might get drunk. Spending money was one thing, but spending money and then having to deal with trouble was another. He wasn't about to do that.

"Don't worry, brother! I won't get you into trouble!"

Dish after dish came out. Hu Gang opened a bottle of baijiu and poured Zhang Hao a glass. For himself, he used a large beer mug. Zhang Hao's eyelids twitched at the sight.

"Brother, here's to you!"

A mug like that could hold an entire bottle, but Hu Gang filled it less than halfway—about half a jin of liquor. He gulped it down in a few big swallows, then exhaled a breath of alcohol and said happily, "One word... satisfying!"

Zhang Hao stared at him, speechless. Just how "thirsty" was this guy? This wasn't beer. It was baijiu!

Zhang Hao took a small sip. The light-aroma baijiu wasn't harsh, and it went down smoothly. He couldn't drink much, but that didn't mean he disliked alcohol. In fact, he enjoyed it and envied people who could drink a lot. He just had no tolerance, so being able to taste a little was already nice.

Hu Gang barely had time to speak. He kept his head down and devoured the food as if he hadn't eaten in days. Zhang Hao was usually quiet, too, and just ate one bite at a time.

The routine was simple: when a dish arrived, Hu Gang would say, "Brother, have some."

Then Zhang Hao would take a bite, and Hu Gang would polish off the rest.

By the time a dish came out, Zhang Hao would have managed one or two bites before Hu Gang cleared the plate. He didn't slow down until they'd finished ten dishes. Then he poured himself another half-jin of liquor and grinned. "It's been ages since I've enjoyed myself this much... Come on, bottoms up!"

Zhang Hao raised his glass in acknowledgment and took a small sip. Hu Gang chuckled, downed his drink in one go, and said with a beaming smile, "Brother, you're my own flesh and blood!"

"Other people call anyone who feeds them 'mom.' You call anyone who gives you liquor 'brother'?"

Hu Gang grinned. "You bet!" He'd never called Zhang Hao "brother" before, but this time, while someone else was paying, he kept calling him that. It was enough to shatter Zhang Hao's worldview. This guy really did call anyone who gave him liquor "brother"!

After several bottles of baijiu, Hu Gang started gossiping about all sorts of things. He knew a lot of people and got around well, so he'd heard plenty of news. With the liquor flowing, he told Zhang Hao all about it.

Zhang Hao mostly listened and rarely talked about himself. Even when Hu Gang tried to pry, he brushed him off. He knew his own business best and wouldn't dare tell Hu Gang that he'd somehow become a billionaire. With Hu Gang's big mouth, everyone he knew would probably find out.

His phone rang. Zhang Hao glanced at it and saw that it was a call from the property security guard. He stood up. "I'll take this call. I'll be right back."

Hu Gang eyed him warily. "Brother, don't use the call as an excuse to sneak off!"

Zhang Hao laughed helplessly. "It's just a meal. Do you really think I'd sneak off?" He walked outside.

It turned out that steel bars and cement had been delivered to the villa, and the property security guard was calling to confirm. Zhang Hao knew Mifeng must have ordered them. Feeling helpless, he quickly confirmed the delivery and told them to stack the materials in the yard.

Worrying to himself, he wondered if he was about to go from assembly worker to construction laborer. Steel bars and cement were a whole different matter from packages. After hanging up, he spoke to his phone. "What exactly are you planning, genius? A renovation?"

A line of text appeared on the phone.

Don't worry about it. Just leave everything in the yard. I'll handle the rest.

Zhang Hao had no idea how it planned to handle things. He couldn't be bothered to worry about it, so he turned and went back to the private room.

When Hu Gang saw Zhang Hao come in, he breathed a sigh of relief. He'd been stood up by plenty of people before and had grown wary of it. He'd once thought he was getting a free meal, only to end up paying himself, with no one to complain to.

Zhang Hao had something on his mind, and it showed on his face. Hu Gang hadn't gotten completely drunk, but he'd already put away more than four bottles of baijiu. Seeing Zhang Hao return put him at ease, and he downed another mug. He didn't notice that Zhang Hao was preoccupied.

Steel, cement, sand... What was Mifeng planning to do? Build a house?

Zhang Hao was starting to feel restless. He called the owner over and said, "Bring another case of baijiu. And the bill, please!"

Hu Gang looked surprised. "We haven't even finished eating!"

Zhang Hao smiled. "I just got a call. Something's come up, so I have to leave. Sorry I can't keep you company today. I'll treat you next time to make it up to you." That made twice he'd had to apologize today.

After paying the bill, Zhang Hao got to his feet, apologized several times, and left.

Looking at the table full of food, Hu Gang grinned. "Well, if you put it that way, I won't force you, heh." He immediately started calling a few drinking buddies to join him. Since someone had already paid, inviting a few friends over would make it look like he was treating them.

After all, drinking alone was lonely, empty, and cold.

Zhang Hao hurried outside, waved down a taxi, and soon arrived at the gate of Yuan Mountain Villa.

When he got back to Villa No. 1, he was surprised to find the yard spotless. There was nothing there. He spoke to his phone. "Haven't the steel and cement been delivered yet?"

The first batch has already been taken to the basement!

Zhang Hao stared in disbelief. "Who? Who moved it?" He knew Mifeng wouldn't let the property security guards deliver it. There were too many secrets in the basement.

As he spoke, he went inside and headed toward the basement.

Holy crap!

When Zhang Hao reached the basement, he was truly stunned. There were at least four "giant ants," and the strangest thing was that one of them was operating a three-axis machine tool.

Only then did Zhang Hao begin to understand that there was something wrong with Mifeng—something seriously wrong! Because this wasn't something a human could do.

If someone really had skills that extraordinary, there'd be no need to work with him. They could just do it themselves. Why go through all this trouble?

Zhang Hao said, "Y-you... are you human?"