You're My Brother

The restaurant owner came over just as Hu Gang was about to speak. "Just do as he says," the owner said. "What are you standing around for? Get the order in! Haha, sorry, Gangzi, this is a new guy, doesn't recognize you... By the way, Gangzi, what do you want to drink?"

Before Hu Gang could reply, the owner chuckled again. "Just got two cases of Yunle Daqu. It's affordable and good, a clean aroma, fifty-two percent alcohol, really excellent stuff."

Yunle Daqu was a liquor from a small distillery with no fame, but Hu Gang knew it was excellent. It was hard to get without connections, and it wasn't expensive either, ninety-eight yuan a bottle. Pure grain liquor, good value for money.

Hu Gang smiled. "Then I'll take a case."

A case had six bottles. Zhang Hao felt dizzy just hearing it. How much could he drink to down a case by himself? He was already intimidated. He figured he'd only have about two liang of liquor at most, so he wouldn't be much of a factor.

Zhang Hao only knew Hu Gang could drink, but he didn't know he could drink that much. "Brother," Zhang Hao said, "I can't keep up. You have fun by yourself, don't drag me into it!"

Hu Gang grinned happily. "No need, no need. Just watch me drink, haha..." He was actually quite well-off, but eating like this every day would be too much even for him. It was rare for someone to treat him, so he immediately let loose.

"Take it easy," Zhang Hao warned. "You weigh almost 400 pounds. I can't carry you if you get drunk. If you get drunk, I'll just leave you here. The owner knows you anyway." He wanted to set expectations early. He was genuinely afraid the guy would get drunk. Spending money was fine, but spending money and causing trouble? That he wouldn't do.

Hu Gang replied, "Don't worry, my brother! I definitely won't drag you down!"

Dishes started arriving. Hu Gang opened a bottle of baijiu and poured a glass for Zhang Hao first. He used a large beer mug for himself, making Zhang Hao's eyelids twitch.

"Brother, a toast to you!"

That beer mug held a whole bottle, but Hu Gang only poured a little less than half, about half a jin of liquor. He downed it in a few gulps, belched out a breath of alcohol, and happily declared, "One word... Awesome!"

Zhang Hao stared at him speechlessly. How "thirsty" was this guy? This wasn't beer, it was baijiu!

After taking a small sip, Zhang Hao found the clean aroma baijiu wasn't harsh. It went down smoothly. Zhang Hao had a low tolerance, but that didn't mean he disliked alcohol. He actually quite enjoyed drinking and envied people with high tolerance. He just couldn't drink much, so savoring a small amount was good enough for him.

Hu Gang didn't have time to talk, just wolfing down food as if he hadn't eaten in days. Zhang Hao, usually quiet, just ate his dishes one bite at a time.

The basic pattern was: a dish would arrive, and Hu Gang would say, "Brother, you eat."

Then, Zhang Hao would take a bite of the dish, only for Hu Gang to clear the plate.

After a dish was served, Zhang Hao would eat one or two bites, and Hu Gang would finish it. After ten dishes were gone, Hu Gang finally slowed down. He poured another half jin of liquor and said with a smile, "It's been so long since I felt this great... Come, cheers!"

Zhang Hao raised his glass in a toast and took a small sip. Hu Gang chuckled, raised his glass, and downed it in one go, grinning. "Brother, you're my real brother!"

Zhang Hao retorted, "Others have milk, so they call her mom. You have liquor, so you call them brother?"

Hu Gang grinned. "Absolutely!" He had never called Zhang Hao "brother" before, but now, being treated, he was calling him brother non-stop. His worldview was shattered. This guy really did treat anyone with liquor as his brother!

After several bottles of baijiu, Hu Gang was full of gossip. He was well-connected and knew many people, so he heard a lot of news. He used the alcohol as an excuse to talk about everything.

Zhang Hao mostly listened, rarely talking about himself. Even when Hu Gang tried to pry, he deflected. He knew his own business. He certainly wouldn't tell Hu Gang, a notorious gossip, that he had inexplicably become a billionaire. Everyone he knew would find out.

The phone rang. Zhang Hao glanced at it; it was the property management security guard. He stood up. "I'll take this call, be right back."

Hu Gang looked at him suspiciously. "Brother, you're not going to use the phone as an excuse to sneak away, are you?"

Zhang Hao was amused and exasperated. "It's just a meal, why would I sneak away?" He got up and went outside.

It turned out steel bars and cement had been delivered to the villa. The security guard was calling to confirm. Zhang Hao knew this must be something Mi Feng had ordered. He felt helpless and quickly confirmed, telling them to stack the materials in the yard.

He inwardly worried, was he going from an assembler to a construction worker now? Steel bars and cement were completely different from packages. He hung up and said to his phone, "Great God, what exactly are you trying to do? Renovate again?"

A line of text floated on his phone.

Don't worry about it. Just stack them in the yard. I'll handle the rest.

Zhang Hao had no idea how Mi Feng would handle it, but he couldn't worry about it. He turned and went back to the private room.

Seeing Zhang Hao return, Hu Gang breathed a sigh of relief. He had been stood up by many people before and was truly wary. He had thought he was being treated, only to end up paying himself with no recourse.

Zhang Hao had something on his mind, which showed on his face. Although Hu Gang wasn't completely drunk, he had already downed over four bottles of baijiu. Seeing Zhang Hao, he immediately relaxed and poured another glass. He didn't notice Zhang Hao's preoccupied expression.

Steel bars, cement, sand... What was Mi Feng planning? Building a house?

Zhang Hao couldn't sit still. He called the owner over. "Bring another case of baijiu. I'll pay the bill!"

Hu Gang was surprised. "We haven't finished eating yet!"

Zhang Hao smiled. "I just got a call, something came up. I have to leave. Sorry, I can't keep you company today. I'll treat you again next time, as an apology." This was the second apology of the day.

After paying, Zhang Hao stood up, apologized repeatedly, and left.

Hu Gang looked at the table full of food and grinned. "Since that's the case, I won't force you. Hehe." He started making calls, inviting a few drinking buddies over. Since someone had already paid, inviting friends over meant he was treating.

After all, drinking alone was lonely and cold.

Zhang Hao left in a hurry, hailed a taxi, and soon arrived at the entrance of Yuanshan Villa.

Back at Villa No. 1, he was surprised to find the yard clean and empty upon entering. He said to his phone, "Haven't the steel bars and cement arrived yet?"

The first batch has already been delivered to the basement!

Zhang Hao was dumbfounded. "Who? Who delivered it?" He knew Mi Feng wouldn't let the property management security guards deliver it. The basement had too many secrets.

As he spoke, he entered the house and headed towards the basement.

Holy crap!

Upon reaching the basement, Zhang Hao was truly shocked. There were at least four "giant ants." Most bizarrely, one of the "giant ants" was operating a three-axis CNC machine.

It was only then that Zhang Hao began to suspect that Mi Feng had issues, serious issues! Because this was not something a human could do.

If someone truly possessed such advanced skills, they wouldn't need to cooperate with him. They could just do it themselves, why would it be so complicated?

Zhang Hao asked, "Are you... are you human?"