Wine Party

Liu Jiali and his group entered the private room. Niu Baoyuan had already stood up to pull out chairs for everyone, standing aside with a smile. Liu Yuanzhou followed suit and stood next to him. Everyone took their seats one by one, chatting idly. Steward Guan then called the waiter to quickly serve the dishes.

"Hehe, Brother Jiali, is this the young man from your family? Hmm, a fine figure of a man." The old man sitting in the main seat looked at Liu Yuanzhou with a kind smile. The old man was dressed in brocade and his hair was meticulously combed.

Liu Jiali, sitting to the old man's left, shook his head and said modestly with a smile, "You flatter me, this young man is my nephew from my hometown, named Liu Yuanzhou, sixteen years old this year. I hope you all will take care of him in the future." After speaking, he winked at Liu Yuanzhou.

Liu Yuanzhou was stunned for a moment, then understood, stood up, and cupped his fists in a salute to everyone present.

Liu Jiali added, "Yuanzhou, sit down. Later, you have to drink a few more cups with everyone present, especially Old Lan. If you don't make him comfortable, be careful he makes things difficult for you in the future, haha." After speaking, he laughed loudly.

Everyone laughed.

Liu Yuanzhou sat down as told, feeling rather strange in his heart. It was the first time his uncle had called him Yuanzhou.

While everyone was chatting, the dishes were gradually served.

Liu Jiali first toasted Old Lan with a glass of wine, and then instructed Liu Yuanzhou, "Yuanzhou, bring the wine over and make a round of toasts."

Liu Yuanzhou quickly got up, took a wine glass, and Niu Baoyuan stuffed a wine pot into his hand.

"This is Steward Lan of the Planting Division, you can call him Grandpa Lan or Old Lan, haha, he loves a good drink and a woman in his bed." Liu Jiali pointed to the old man on his right.

Liu Yuanzhou hurriedly filled the glass and said respectfully, "Old Lan, I, this junior, toast you."

Steward Lan smiled and picked up his glass, saying, "Good young man, work hard, the future is boundless."

Liu Yuanzhou lowered his glass a few inches and clinked glasses with Old Lan before drinking.

"One cup is not enough, you must at least offer Old Lan three cups." Steward Guan shouted loudly, and everyone echoed in agreement.

Liu Yuanzhou glanced at his uncle Liu Jiali, and seeing him nod, he filled his glass again and toasted Steward Lan two more cups. Steward Lan drank them all with a smile, drawing cheers from the crowd.

"This is Wang Zhen, currently the steward of the South Bay Medicine Field." Liu Jiali pointed to the person on Old Lan's right.

Liu Yuanzhou raised his glass, and the man named Wang Zhen stood up, raised his glass and smiled, "Welcome Brother Yuanzhou to join us, let's drink."

After toasting Wang Zhen, a person on the right stood up and smiled, "My name is Ding Yue, I am the steward of the Spring Water Medicine Field, hehe, Brother Yuanzhou, we are very short of people there. If you don't mind, come to our Spring Water in the future."

"You old Ding, you're trying to steal my people in front of me." Wang Zhen scolded with a smile.

Liu Yuanzhou didn't know what to say for a moment, so he had to hold up his glass and say, "Thank you Steward Ding for your kindness, I, this junior, toast you." Saying that, he raised his head and drank the wine in one gulp.

Ding Yue also smiled and drank the wine in his glass, patted Liu Yuanzhou on the shoulder, and sat down.

Liu Jiali then said, "You know Old Guan, go have a drink with him." Liu Yuanzhou walked over and had a drink with Steward Guan.

Finally, there was Niu Baoyuan and another young man named Zhu Hongcai, Liu Yuanzhou also toasted them separately, and the round of toasts was completed.

After eight consecutive glasses of wine, even though Liu Yuanzhou thought he had a good capacity for alcohol, he was now feeling the effects, and his stomach was churning.

Seeing his face flushed, Niu Baoyuan quickly picked up some dishes for him to eat to suppress the alcohol, and poured him hot tea. Liu Yuanzhou was very grateful for this.

After that, everyone took turns toasting the two stewards, Liu and Lan. Steward Lan's alcohol capacity really opened Liu Yuanzhou's eyes and made him speechless. He didn't refuse anyone and even took the initiative to clink glasses and drink with the three young men, Liu Yuanzhou and the others. He drank almost half of the wine on the table.

Liu Jiali's alcohol capacity was also not small, Liu Yuanzhou had seen it for himself.

The most active was Steward Ding, who kept toasting the stewards, especially Steward Lan the most. His drunken words were endless, and his raunchy jokes came out of his mouth, making everyone laugh non-stop.

Liu Yuanzhou sighed inwardly, "Steward Ding looks like an old farmer, but he has a clever mouth and a clear and exquisite heart. People really can't be judged by their appearance."

Compared to Steward Ding, the other two stewards were much more conventional. As for the three young people, Liu Yuanzhou was a newcomer and hardly spoke, while Niu and Zhu only took care of adding tea and water for everyone.

As the drinking was in full swing, the door of the private room was pushed open, and a chubby, gorgeously dressed middle-aged man walked in. As soon as he entered, he laughed loudly, "Haha, with such distinguished guests, my Gathering of Immortals Pavilion is truly living up to its name. I've come to have a drink with you all." As he spoke, he went straight to Steward Lan and Liu, offering each of them three cups of wine.

Niu Baoyuan whispered in Liu Yuanzhou's ear, "This person is the owner of the Gathering of Immortals Pavilion, everyone calls him Third Master Feng, and he's said to have quite a background."

After drinking the wine, Third Master Feng turned around and instructed the waiter, "Go, tell the kitchen to add a cold dish and a braised carp, on my tab." Liu and Lan repeatedly expressed their gratitude.

After a few more words, Third Master Feng left.

After Third Master Feng left, everyone continued to drink and chat, talking about romance, court secrets, sect gossip, and all sorts of nonsense.

At this time, Steward Guan raised his glass to Steward Lan and said, "Old Lan, I'll toast you again. Please take care of my unworthy son's matter." As he spoke, he drained the glass in one gulp, turning it upside down to show not a drop remained.

Liu Jiali also raised his glass and clinked it with Steward Lan, saying, "Yes, old brother, it's hard to do business these days."

Old Lan drank the wine and said with a smile, "Haha, easy to say, easy to say, we're all family, we'll give Little Guan's goods priority for purchase, it's not a big deal."

Steward Guan was overjoyed.

Liu Yuanzhou saw all this and understood that Steward Lan not only had real power in the courtyard but also had a big business outside. These people were all subtly revolving around him, and his uncle was no exception.

Old Lan suddenly sighed and said, "Alas, you see me on the surface as being glamorous, but in reality, I'm also struggling behind the scenes. Recently, the Wind Hall has been watching me closely."

Everyone fell silent, and there was a hint of fear when the Wind Hall was mentioned.

Liu Jiali broke the silence and said with a smile, "Old brother, don't play the victim in front of family. Who doesn't know your heaven-reaching methods?"

Old Lan shook his head and smiled wryly. He was just expressing his feelings and didn't want to spoil the atmosphere of the dinner. He changed the subject and said, "I heard that the Adverse Wind Escort Agency has been taking on quite a few big deals recently, Liu brother is making a fortune."

Liu Jiali waved his hand with a smile and said, "Old brother, don't talk nonsense, the escort agency has nothing to do with me."

At this time, Ding Yue said, "Hey, speaking of the Adverse Wind Escort Agency, my brother's cloth shop just dealt with them a few days ago, and they charged a hefty price."

Wang Zhen then asked, "Oh, isn't your brother in the tea business? Now he's opened a cloth shop?"

Everyone looked at Ding Yue.

Ding Yue sighed and said, "Don't mention it, the border is tightly sealed now, and tea, iron, and salt can't pass through at all. Besides, it was originally a small business, so I simply sold it off. Last month, I took over a cloth shop. As for business, I'm new to the industry, so it's just so-so, and I'm still losing money." After speaking, he took a big gulp of wine.

Wang Zhen slapped his thigh and said, "Ding the Second, you're stupid! Isn't Old Guan here? Ask him to think of a way."

Ding Yue's eyes lit up and he looked at Steward Guan.

Steward Guan said with a smile, "I don't have any good ideas." As he spoke, he looked at Liu Jiali.

Old Lan said, "Then Liu brother, do you have any good ideas?"

Liu Jiali pondered for a moment and said, "We're all family, so we should help if we can. Old Guan, you take care of this matter, but the quality of the goods can't be worse than our competitors."

Steward Guan nodded and said he understood.

Ding Yue excitedly patted his chest and guaranteed, "Please rest assured about the quality of the goods, I, Ding the Second, dare to guarantee it with my character."

Everyone laughed when they heard this.

Suddenly, a commotion came from outside the private room, followed by the sound of tables and chairs being overturned and dishes falling to the ground, making a loud and chaotic noise.

Liu Jiali frowned and instructed Niu Baoyuan, "Little Niu, go and see what's going on."