We Won't Go Home Sober
"Xuezhou, Old Zhao is raising a toast to you! Let's drink it all in one go!"
People tend to speak the truth when they're drunk, and Zhao Tianhua figured that as long as Zhang Xuezhou drank enough, it would be easy for him to ask him anything.
He felt that Zhang Xuezhou seemed to be a special Sequence Holder secretly trained in Western Capital City, and that there were things about him that even Wang Haoran and others did not know.
Moreover, Wang Haoran and his ilk are old enough and have seen a lot of the world, so it's hard for them to tell him the truth.
After careful consideration, Zhao Tianhua decided that having a chat with Zhang Xuezhou would be a good idea.
"Let's raise a toast!"
As soon as Zhao Tianhua spoke, the hundreds of people who had followed him into the Golden Palace stood up in unison, each holding a large bowl filled with wine and shouting their congratulations.
In Wanping Province, Zhao Tianhua's words, though not absolute rules, were considered a great honor to be toasted by him, and no one dared to refuse.
Looking at the bowl of wine in his hand, which contained at least half a jin (250ml), and then at Zhao Tianhua's taller frame, Zhang Xuezhou realized he couldn't compete with him in drinking.
"When I entered, I saw Zhou Bo and Zhao Meng playing a finger-guessing game. Committee Member Wang told me that people from Northwest China are particularly good at finger-guessing and are very generous. Drinking alcohol to celebrate isn't very meaningful." Zhang Xuezhou raised a large bowl. "Let's play a finger-guessing game to celebrate and drink! Let's drink our fill today!"
He neither refused Zhao Tianhua's offer of wine nor accepted it, but instead made up an excuse.
This reason made Zhao Tianhua chuckle a few times, a slight glint in his eyes.
In all his years in Wanping Province, it has been a long time since anyone has shown him such disrespect.
But Zhang Xuezhou's words didn't embarrass him to the point of losing face.
"We'll decide the winner by playing rock-paper-scissors; the loser has to drink a bowl," Zhao Tianhua said.
"That's how it should be," Zhang Xuezhou nodded.
"What if someone can't afford to drink it?" Zhao Tianhua asked.
"If I can't afford to drink anymore, my spot as an alternate member of the committee will go to Wanping Province," Zhang Xuezhou said.
"That won't work. These kinds of things can only be done before the challenge. Once the challenge is over in front of everyone, it can't be transferred," Zhao Tianhua said. "If you don't want to drink, let's just ask each other a question. That won't hurt our friendship!"
"I agree, but I don't seem to have anything to ask you," Zhang Xuezhou replied.
"How about ten million for each question, a little gambling for fun?" Zhao Tianhua said, "You can drink, you can answer questions, or you can give me ten million if you lose, and I'll do the same!"
"Can!"
Zhang Xuezhou nodded.
Direct bank transfer, no credit!
Zhang Xuezhou pointed to his e-wallet and then gestured to Zhao Tianhua.
"Interesting!"
Zhao Tianhua nodded in agreement.
"A dragon, two brothers, three stars shining, four joys and fortune, five champions, six six six, seven clever ones, eight horses, nine linked rings, a house full of good fortune!"
After Zhang Xuezhou asked a few questions, Zhao Tianhua demonstrated the rules of the finger-guessing game in Wanping.
This made Zhang Xuezhou nod repeatedly.
Aside from some differences in gestures and shouts, the finger-guessing game itself hasn't changed much.
This is not much different from the simplest rock-paper-scissors game; it's easy to pick up after a little practice. But winning at rock-paper-scissors is another matter entirely.
Upon seeing Zhang Xuezhou inquire about the matter, Zhao Tianhua was extremely satisfied with the performance of these novices.
"Come on, let's try playing a couple of rounds first," Zhao Tianhua said politely.
"OK!"
Zhang Xuezhou nodded.
He had over 60 million yuan in his e-wallet, and Zhang Xuezhou was just thinking of losing a few times to gauge Zhao Tianhua's skill in rock-paper-scissors. He didn't expect the other party to have a trial session, which made things much easier for him.
"One Dragon, Two Good Brothers, Three Stars Shining, Four Joys and Fortune, Five Champions, Six Six Six, Seven Clever Things, Eight Horses, Nine Linked Rings, Full House of Red, Xuezhou, you drink!"
"Xuezhou, you drink!"
"General Zhao, drink!"
After three rounds of finger-guessing games, Zhang Xuezhou felt that Zhao Dajiang's finger-guessing skills were not Lei Bei and others, let alone Li Shaojun.
For Zhao Tianhua, playing rock-paper-scissors might just be a way to celebrate, but in another world, these skills are a means of making a living for many.
Amateur players are no match for professional players in terms of skill, and professional players are almost completely outmatched by Zhang Xuezhou.
Once Zhang Xuezhou understands his opponent's style of playing rock-paper-scissors, Zhang Xuezhou has a high probability of guessing his opponent's intentions and thus breaking the game.
His approach has been tested many times, and it's perfectly adequate to handle this situation.
"Five champions! Six, six, six... General Zhao, shout!"
"General Zhao, let's have a drink!"
"General Zhao, please have another drink!"
"Please have another drink!"
"Damn it, this shouldn't be happening!"
After drinking ten bowls of wine in succession, Zhao Tianhua felt that his stomach was full of water.
He usually doesn't aim for a winning streak when playing rock-paper-scissors, but at least he has both wins and losses. Who would have thought he'd be losing so badly today?
Although Not Short of Money, Zhao Tianhua felt he could barely accept it when he thought about how the ten bowls of wine he had drunk were worth 100 million.
In short, he has enough to eat, and if that doesn't work, he still has money.
Zhao Tianhua's family is large and powerful, and he is essentially the bookmaker in the gambling game of finger-guessing.
For him, losing a certain number of times is acceptable, but after losing a few times, Zhang Xuezhou's mentality will likely collapse, and he will answer whatever questions are asked.
"We won't leave until we're drunk tonight!" Zhao Tianhua shouted.
"Let's drink until we're drunk!"
A group of people from Wanping raised their glasses one after another, while Zhao Meng looked at his father with concern.
His father was somewhat skilled at rock-paper-scissors, but not exceptionally so; besides, in Wanping Province, few dared to beat Zhao Tianhua.
Zhao Tianhua claims to be the number one finger-guessing player in Wanping, but this claim is largely unfounded.
It's understandable that Zhao Tianhua would lose a drinking game if he encountered a Western Capital who wouldn't give him any face.
Of course, Zhao Tianhua's losing streak was a bit absurd. Even if he played rock-paper-scissors haphazardly, he could still win once or twice by sheer luck. Today's luck was so bad that it made him question his existence.
"Old Ge's luck's a bit off today. Zhao Meng, transfer ten million to this account. I need to catch my breath!"
After a 20-game losing streak, Zhao Tianhua couldn't take it anymore and started asking Zhao Meng to help him transfer money.
"Come on, let's drink until we drop!"
Zhang Xuezhou's shout came from behind, and Zhao Tianhua pointed to Zhao Meng, who had made the transfer.
"Damn it, I told him to transfer the money, and this bastard is so slow!" Zhao Tianhua cursed. "After we transfer the money, let's continue playing drinking games. We're not leaving until we're drunk! Anyone who reneges on their debt is a coward, and we'll let that Xuanxuan film it on her live stream so she can be cursed by thousands!"
"We're not leaving until we're completely drunk! Anyone who tries to renege on the debt will be branded Sun!"
Zhang Xuezhou nodded.
He had a basic grasp of Zhao Tianhua's playing style and mindset, and was almost certain of winning.
Of course, the twenty-game winning streak was indeed due to the opponent's bad luck. Zhang Xuezhou felt that he had made some mistakes and that luck was the only factor in his success.
"Speaking of which, I'm actually quite lucky, at least better than someone like General Zhao who hasn't cultivated any luck techniques!"
He then thought of his luck and realized that luck must have played a role in this probabilistic game of rock-paper-scissors.
"I'm not bragging, but when I was young, I once drank fifty bowls of liquor in a row. After downing my belly full of wine, it took me ten minutes to even pee," Zhao Tianhua said. "After that, I still drank twenty more bowls before I even felt a little tipsy!"
You have a really high alcohol tolerance!
Zhang Xuezhou offered a lukewarm compliment.
He felt that today he had to play a drinking game to make Zhao Tianhua feel young again, and let him experience the feeling of drinking seventy bowls of strong liquor once more.