Traveling back to 1977

Chapter 29: Having fun alone is not as good as having fun with everyone
After everyone was seated, Captain Yang glanced at Jiang Lili and Chen Fan, his brows furrowed slightly, his eyes darting around, and then he turned to call into the room, "Lan Ying, come out and keep Xiao Jiang company."

Then he smiled at Chen Fan and said, "Just bear with it and squeeze in with Lao Huang."

Chen Fan stood up with the bowl in his hand and smiled, "It's my honor to be able to learn from Manager Huang."

The storekeeper, Mr. Huang, grinned from ear to ear, "He's a scholar after all; he knows how to talk."

At this moment, Aunt Yang also came out, sat down next to Jiang Lili, and whispered to her.

The statement that rural women don't sit at the table depends on the circumstances.

When there are no guests, the family eats together, with the women and children all sitting at the table. They only need to leave when guests arrive.

However, it depends on the type of guest. If the guest is male, the hostess must leave, and only the men should eat and drink at the table. If the guest is female, the order is reversed; it is the men who should leave to eat at a smaller table, while the hostess accompanies them.

If there are both men and women present, like today, then both the host and hostess should sit at the table and entertain the guests. Otherwise, it would be impolite for a table full of men to drink while only one female guest is left standing there blankly.

As for whether he had other intentions, that's a question for Captain Yang to answer.

The meal officially began once everyone was seated back in their seats.

When men eat, the first thing they do is, of course, pour themselves a drink.

Looking at the palm-sized wine bowl, Chen Fan couldn't help but feel a little scared. Not to mention whether the wine met the quality standards, even if it were real Moutai, he wouldn't dare to drink it like that.

Seeing that the custodian Huang had placed a large bowl of wine in front of him, Chen Fan quickly said, "I really can't drink."

Captain Yang didn't even look up. "What man doesn't know how to drink? If you don't know how, learn."

Chen Fan hesitated for two seconds, then said, "I have a sensitive stomach, so I can't drink cold drinks."

He remembered his grandfather saying that there were two ways to turn bad wine into good wine: the first was to cellar it, and the second was to warm it.

He later specifically researched this and found that both cellaring and warming are methods to evaporate methanol from the wine. However, wine that has been cellared has a richer, more mellow flavor, which warming cannot match. The advantage of warming wine is that it works quickly; once the wine is thoroughly heated, the formaldehyde will naturally disappear.

If he weren't afraid of being exposed, he would have liked to just say that he was allergic to alcohol.

Upon hearing Chen Fan's words, Captain Yang shouted, "Xiao Ju, bring a bowl of hot water to warm up your brother Chen's wine."

Yang Ju immediately ran out, and a gust of wind blew her out, then another gust of wind blew her in. In front of Chen Fan, there was a large bowl filled with steaming hot water, a small, rough porcelain wine pot soaking in the hot water, and a small wine cup beside him.

Huh, where's my big bowl of wine?
The custodian, Huang, had two bowls of wine in front of him, and he grinned so wide you could see his back teeth. “I heard that when Old Master Lu was still alive, he only drank warm wine, saying that warm wine was milder and better for the stomach. That’s utter nonsense. Drinking alcohol can ruin your stomach, but warm wine doesn’t necessarily mean it’s not wine.”

Chen Fan wholeheartedly agreed, "Then I think I'd better not drink it!"

The custodian, Huang, raised his glass to him and said, "I was talking about someone else, not you. You've done a great job today, come on, let's have a toast."

Captain Yang grinned, "Hey, hey, hey, if you're going to clink glasses, clink glasses together! What's the point of you clinking glasses by yourself? Come on, everyone, pick up your glasses and let's have a toast." Chen Fan touched the water bowl and estimated that it was probably around 50 or 60 degrees Celsius. It's best to use water around 50 degrees Celsius to warm the wine, but the weather is cold now, and he's worried that there might be methanol in the wine, so it's better to keep the temperature a bit higher.

He poured a small cup of wine from the jug, and a rich aroma of wine wafted out, filling the room with the smell of alcohol.

Captain Yang's eyes lit up immediately. "Hey, this wine is really fragrant after being warmed up. Old Master Lu really knows how to enjoy life."

Upon hearing this, Chen Fan immediately stood up with the wine pot in hand, saying, "Take a few more small wine cups and let's try them all."

Yang Ju immediately ran out of the room, instantly conjured four small wine glasses, and then floated back inside.

After pouring out four cups of wine, the wine pot was half empty. If another round of pouring were done, the pot would be empty. Unfortunately, the four old wine jars took a sip, found the warmed wine too soft and unsatisfying, gulped it down, and continued drinking their own.

Chen Fan glanced at the remaining half-pot of wine; it contained about two and a half ounces, which was acceptable to him. Moreover, warming the wine would lower its alcohol content, making it even less of a problem.

After a couple of drinks, Captain Yang and the others started chatting about their own things, while Chen Fan was busy eating and listening to the gossip about the team members.

It turns out that Huang Laosi's family is building a house and has invited Liu Jujiang to prepare a banquet. They've prepared quite a lot of things, enough for six tables, and even got two jars of wine from Old Tang in the seventh team behind them. It seems they're going to use up all the savings they've accumulated over the years.

Old Huang Jiu from the village entrance got into another fight last night; the noise could be heard three houses away. I haven't seen him all morning; he's probably hiding inside, his face scratched by his wife, too scared to come out. Even the turtle digging this morning was done by his wife.

Huang Laowu, who already had five daughters, was still not giving up. He went to the brigade headquarters to find Li Dezhu, who used to be a monk, and even brought a bag of eggs. He was truly bewitched. But that monk Li was an old bachelor himself and had no power to control him.

……

When they were drinking to their hearts' content, Captain Yang held up his wine bowl and pointed out the state of affairs, "Old Huang's house is also in a bad situation. There are a lot of old and young people in it. That house was built in the year of liberation (1945), and it has been more than 30 years since then. It has become a dangerous building. If it is not rebuilt, there will probably be big problems."

Huang Lao Jiu is a spineless bastard. Back then, which member of the Huang family didn't advise him not to marry Zhang Yufeng just because she's pretty? There are eight brothers in the Zhang family, and she's their only daughter. How could she have a good temper? It's all their own fault!
Old Huang is confused. What's wrong with a daughter? A daughter is just as good as a son. He's just stuck in old feudal thinking, only wanting a son to carry on the family line. He even went to see Monk Li, but that Monk Li is just a charlatan. What good is it to see him…”

As the custodian Huang nodded and drank, he casually chimed in with a few words. But after listening for a while, he suddenly realized something was off. Why were they talking about the Huang family? What about the Liu and Yang families?
Alone Better Together.

He then took a swig of wine, exhaled a long breath of alcohol, and said with a pained expression, "Isn't that right? Look at Huang Laowu, and Yang Zihong and Liu Dequan, they are the notorious 'son-obsessed' guys in our team. They've made our team 6 a laughing stock in Lujiawan. It's really not right."

And then there's Liu Dewu. Accountant Liu, I'm not trying to criticize you, but your cousin really needs to be kept in check. Good heavens, he's been eyeing those educated youths all the way to the commune! What right does he have to covet them? They'll all go back to work sooner or later, becoming factory workers. Who's going to be stupid enough to marry into the production team? It's not like they have any connections.”

Good grief, that barrage of attacks silenced everyone.

Captain Yang clicked his tongue, "Old Huang, you're usually like a silent gourd, it's good that you can't see through things."

Accountant Liu glanced at him sideways and said, "Why don't you go to this year's production team report meeting in place of the team leader? I guarantee you'll overshadow the other 11 production teams in Lujiawan."

Even Jiang Lili, who had already finished eating but was sitting still and dared not move, lowered her head. Aunt Yang felt sorry for her and pulled her into the house to have some tea.

Seeing that he had angered everyone, the custodian Huang quickly picked up his wine bowl and chuckled, "Drinking is just a way to chat. I don't have any eloquence, and I certainly can't compare to you and the team leader. Come on, let's drink!"

(End of this chapter)