Chapter 6: Invited to Drink

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  Li Kuangchang smiled and said, "This isn't the old society, we don't just eat big households! As long as the Tungsten Mine Machinery Factory can let our stone company prioritize purchasing the equipment we need in the future and give us a preferential internal price, that's already supporting our county's investment promotion work. Please help us out, Li Kuangchang and Fang Secretary!" Zhou Dalong spoke directly to the point amidst laughter.

  "No problem! Secretary Zhou has spoken personally, how can we not support it? This matter is Lao Zeng's responsibility to follow up on. If there are any issues, just let Director Niu contact the mechanical factory directly." Li Ming Sheng replied to Zhou Da Long with a smile after exchanging a glance with Fang Chao Ming.

  "That's great! Thanks to the tungsten mine for its support in attracting investment to our county!" Zhou Dalong was overjoyed and thanked them repeatedly.

  "Secretary Zhou, please don't say that. After all, our Fuxin Tungsten Mine is also located in the territory of Xunhe County! Moreover, if there's anything we need help with from the county in the future, I hope Secretary Zhou and Mayor Zhang can give us strong support!" Li Ming said, looking at Jimmy and others behind Zhou Dalong, and asked: "Secretary Zhou, you came over at noon, haven't had lunch yet?"

  Zhou Dalong and others rushed to Fuxin Tungsten Mine at noon, originally planning to have lunch on the side of the tungsten mine. Fuxin Town is economically prosperous, plus the tungsten mine workers come from all over the country, so in Fuxin Town, restaurants serving eight major cuisines can be found everywhere, and the catering industry has developed much more prosperously than the county town.

  "Busy entertaining a few foreign businessmen, I really didn't have time to eat." Zhou Dalong smiled slightly, without any embarrassment, and spoke directly to the tungsten mine leaders in front of him.

  Li Ming-sheng smiled and said to Zhou Da-long and others: "As the saying goes, guests follow the host, so let's just go with it! Director Niu, inform the mine reception office to prepare the large suite immediately and entertain Secretary Zhou and his party well."

  Niu Jian smiled and responded with a sentence, then walked to the side, took out a mobile phone from his bag, and called the mine's reception room, telling them about Li Mingsheng's request.

  "Yang Jie, tell the foreign businessmen that we will first go to the tungsten mine's reception office for lunch, and then visit the mechanical factory in the afternoon to take a look at the mechanical equipment. In the evening, we will return to the county town. Ask them if they have any opinions on this arrangement!" Zhou Dalong instructed loudly to Yang Jie after Cow Jian finished his phone call.

  "Yang Jie? How did he end up here?" Zeng Honghua hadn't noticed Yang Jie, who was blocked by Jimmy and others, until Zhou Dali called out to Yang Jie, at which point he saw Yang Jie not far away discussing the itinerary with three foreigners.

  Chen Yuan heard Zeng Honghua's surprised question and asked curiously with a smile: "Zeng Mine Master, do you also know Yang Jie?"

  "Recognition, seven years ago, Yang Jie, as a student of Tungsten Mine Middle School, scored the first place in the county and second place in the region in the high school entrance examination, which was the best achievement since the establishment of Tungsten Mine Primary School. At that time, I was the principal of Tungsten Mine Middle School." Zeng Honghua's eyes were filled with a hint of comfort as he looked at Yang Jie, who was chatting with three foreigners in the distance, and proudly explained.

  Lei Shuping and Chen Yuan, who were standing by, did not expect that Yang Jie was actually a student of the Tungsten Mine School, and his grades were so good in middle school. No wonder he could get into Yenching University, one of the top ten universities in China.

  Yang Jie had already told Jimmy and others about the itinerary arranged by Zhou Shuji, and Jimmy and others did not have any opinions. The crowd accompanied by Li Kuangchang and other tungsten mine leaders passed through Jian She Road to arrive at the Tungsten Mine Guest House on Yingbin Road.

  Liu Daxing and Wang Yue'e were already waiting at the gate of the reception office with several service staff.

  Wang Yue'e formally contracted the tungsten mine's reception center a year ago, paying an annual contract fee to the mine and being responsible for its own profits and losses. The mine's dining receptions were also fixed at the mine's reception center, with costs settled quarterly. Fortunately, Liu Daxing had a good private relationship with Li Ming, the mine manager, and Liu Daxing's contracted mine tunnel also had some shares from Li Mine Manager, so every quarter when the reception center settled accounts, the mine would pay very promptly. The profit made in a year was not small, and the income was quite substantial.

  Enthusiastically, they welcomed Li Kuangchang and Zhou Shuji into the mine's reception hall dining room. After leading everyone to a large private room, Liu Daxing and Wang Yue'e finally seized an opportunity to call out to Yang Jie as he came out of the private room.

  "Xiao Jie, what's going on? Weren't you sleeping at home? How did you end up with Secretary Zhou and the others again?" Liu Daxing asked curiously, looking at Yang Jie in a low voice.

  "I had just finished dinner and was about to head back to the guesthouse when I ran into Secretary Zhou and his group on the road, so they called me over." Yang Jie casually explained, then said: "Little brother-in-law, sister-in-law, my work has been arranged, I'm working at the county committee office now, responsible for accompanying those three foreign businessmen, won't say more to you two, that's it!"

  Yang Jie hastily walked to the front desk, had the waiter take a few bottles of Maotai wine, and saw that the Huanghe Liquor produced by the Huanghe Township Huanghe Winery was placed in the most eye-catching position in the center of the counter by Wang Yue'e. His heart warmed up involuntarily, and he had the waiter bring the Huanghe liquor as well before hastily walking back to the private room.

  In the private room, two tables were set up. Jimmy sat at the head table with Zhou Dalong, Zhang Daxian, Li Mingsheng, Fang Chaoming and other leaders accompanying him. Roland and Jamieson were accompanied by Chen Yuan, director of the county party committee office, and Niu Jian, director of the tungsten mine office, sitting at another table.

  The chef of the reception hall was very skilled and had made a lot of famous Jiangnan pastries and snacks to entertain Jimmy and the other three foreign businessmen. When the cold dishes were served, the officials in the private room who had been tested by wine began to toast with the foreigners.

  Jimmy smiled, holding a five-dollar ceramic wine cup, and under the accompaniment of Yang Jie's translation, he proactively stood up to drink with Zhou Daliang and other county leaders as well as tungsten mine leaders. Jimmy, who had an astonishing capacity for liquor, was clearly not afraid of Zhou Secretary's liquor tests for cadres.

  Rohlen and Jamerson also respectively accompanied by Xiao Yuan and Deng Xiaohui, two translators, raised their glasses to toast the leaders at that table. The three foreign businessmen were each incredibly capable of drinking and quite understood the wine culture of Chinese officialdom. After a round of toasting, several leaders present had each drunk four or five cups and began to turn red in the face.

  "Jie, let's have a drink together, I'm glad to meet you in Yunhe County." After Jimmy drank with all the leaders present, his face remained unchanged, as if the few cups of wine he had just drunk were like plain water. A hint of playfulness appeared in his eyes as he looked at Yang Jie beside him and raised the wine glass in his hand.

  Yang Jie was slightly stunned, according to the rules, as a translator, he was not allowed to drink at the dinner table. The people at the next table, Xiao Yuan and Deng Xiaohui, were also not drinking. Just as Yang Jie was hesitating, Jimmy used his imperfect Mandarin to stutteringly ask Zhou Daliang, "Can...I...have...wine?"

  Zhou Dalong smiled and saw that Yang Jie's father, Yang Xinhua, was the owner of a winery. Although he didn't know how much Yang Jie could drink, thinking about Yang Xinhua's capacity gave Zhou Dalong confidence in him. Moreover, since foreign businessmen were all raising their glasses to ask him, the secretary, how could he possibly lose face in front of Jimmy?

  "Yang Jie, since Mr. Jimmy wants to have a drink with you, then accompany him for a drink! Your task is to make him satisfied, understand?" Zhou Dalong said this to Yang Jie, and Yang Jie suddenly felt relieved.

  Looking at the small wine cup in Jimmy's hand, Yang Jie slightly frowned and said: "Jimmy, we Chinese have an old saying, when friends come, there is good wine, when enemies come, there are hunting guns. For friends, using such a small wine cup, isn't it a bit too stingy? Let's change to a bigger bowl!"

  Jimmy's eyes flashed with a strange light, and he excitedly put down the wine glass in his hand, staring straight at Yang Jie, and said with a smile: "As you wish, Jie! Are you sure you want to drink with me?"

  "Of course! But we won't be drinking Maotai anymore, let's switch to Yuhe grain liquor instead. This is the liquor from our county of Yuhe, and it's also the liquor produced by my father's winery. It's sweet and fragrant, not much worse than these famous wines. What do you think?" Yang Jie said as he stood up and picked up a 500ml bottle of 56-degree Yuhe grain liquor from the wine table next to him, saying to Jimmy.

  "OK! I'll drink the wine from your family's production!" Jimmy didn't expect that the Huanghe liquor was actually produced by Yang Jie's father's winery, and his interest suddenly increased. He smiled as he took the wine from Yang Jie, opened it, smelled it, and immediately gave Yang Jie a thumbs up, "Good wine!"

  Zhou Dalong and others saw Yang Jie suddenly brought out two large bowls, and also invited Jimmy to drink the porridge, they were all stunned, and for a moment, no one could make a sound.

  Everyone is not a fool, who can see the happy smile on Jimmy's face, he and Yang Jie relationship better, to the county's investment promotion work more beneficial, besides just now Secretary agreed to Jimmy's request at the dinner table, now want to oppose it would be directly slap in the face of Zhou Dalong.

  Although Zhang Daxian's face was gloomy, he was extremely dissatisfied with Yang Jie's arbitrary actions in his heart. However, Jimmy was now on a high note, and he didn't want to be the bad guy either, so he could only let Yang Jie make trouble in front of him.