Group 43 freeloads meals

  When Qi Bing's weight loss treatment had been going on for ten days, in a detached villa in the provincial party committee compound far away from the provincial capital, four extraordinary old men sat around a small table. On the table were only four light dishes and a black ceramic jar.

  "Lao Lan, where did you dig up such a good thing?" An old man with frosty hair like snow asked with a look of intoxication after sipping the warm amber-colored wine from his cup.

  The old man sitting opposite the old man also took a sip of wine and said with satisfaction: "This is my granddaughter's filial piety to me. Am I not good enough as a friend, Old Lan? Yesterday, my granddaughter had just sent this wine to me, and today I found you guys to share it."

  The old man sitting between the two of them had not spoken since he took a sip of wine earlier, as if afraid that the fragrance in his mouth would escape. Until the old man called "Old Blue" finished speaking, he made sure to swallow the fragrance in his mouth without leaking a single bit before opening his mouth: "Old Blue, did your granddaughter say where this wine was bought? I'll go get some too."

  The old man's words made the other two nod their heads in agreement.

  "This wine is called 'Wen Xiang', it was brewed by a friend of my dear granddaughter. You can't buy it outside!" The old man with the surname Lan proudly boasted.

  "Wēn Xiāng?" The old man who spoke first repeated the name several times, nodding his head heavily, "It's fitting, it's fitting! 'Warm and gentle like a gentleman, warming the whole body; fragrant when drunk, with a lingering aftertaste.' Good wine, good wine, and a good name too."

  "Your granddaughter's friend? The person who can brew this kind of wine should be quite old, right? I remember your granddaughter is only in her early twenties? How does she know such a strange person?" Another old man asked, ignoring the previous old man's sarcasm.

  Old Mr. Lan shook his head and explained, "Old Lu, you've got it wrong this time. The person who brews the wine is actually not that old, not even thirty years old yet. But if I had to say, he's quite an eccentric. My granddaughter told me that this young man used to be a doctor at Shen City Qilin Hospital, but suddenly quit his job and left. He found a remote village, as secluded as it gets, and settled down there.

  He became a recluse at a young age, raising chickens and fish, planting trees and vegetables every day. And my granddaughter also said that this kid not only has excellent wine-brewing skills but his culinary skills are also the best in the world! Do you know about the "Imperial Kitchen" in Shenzhen? My granddaughter said that this kid's cooking skills are even better than those of Tao Lao, the imperial chef who inherited the traditional techniques from his ancestors. I don't know if it's true or not!"

  "Heh, this kid is interesting! So young and already playing the recluse, don't know if he's had a setback in love or a setback in his career." One of the old men chuckled and joked.

  "You're still gossiping about others at your age, Old Liu! But I do know this, my granddaughter told me that the young man just got divorced recently, he must be heartbroken!" Blue old man would not have known such details if he didn't gossip, unless he asked his own granddaughter.

  "Now your grandson is eating other people's cooking and drinking other people's wine, he won't be...?" It seems that gossiping is human nature, regardless of gender or age. For example, this old man with the surname Lu is also quite gossipy.

  Old Blue shook his head regretfully: "No, if that kid really became my grandson-in-law, it would be great. In that case, I wouldn't worry about running out of wine. As his grandfather, I want to drink wine, and he has to brew some for me even if he doesn't want to. Unfortunately, he's just the university classmate of my granddaughter's boyfriend, and this relationship is a bit too distant from me, with several twists and turns in between, so it's really not convenient for me to ask him directly!"

  The old man with the surname Lán's words brought forth a few other people who also looked regretful.

  "Isn't that simple? Since you're more distant from that young man, why don't you just give orders directly to your granddaughter? Let them pass down the tasks layer by layer, and you don't need to care about the process, as long as the result is fine. Didn't we do it this way when we were still working? How come after retiring every two years, Old Blue, your leadership level has dropped so badly?" After a while, the first old man who spoke up suggested with a sly smile.

  "This method of Old Zhang's is indeed feasible!" said Old Liu and Old Lu in unison. They also had ideas about the 'Wen Xiang' fine wine, but if Old Lan got too little, they wouldn't dare to forcibly divide it either! Besides, even if they did rob him, they could only get more if Old Lan got more himself!

  Just as Lao San was pondering the feasibility of this method, Lao Er spoke up and added: "Besides, our old bones haven't moved in a long time. Anyway, there's nothing else to do, why don't we go visit that young man's village sometime? If we can pull it off, we won't have to beat around the bush anymore. We can even pay for it!" This 'Wen Xiang' wine was obviously very tempting to Lao Er, who was already somewhat impatient and eager to find an opportunity to get started.

  This time, Old Blue agreed readily. "Old Lu's method is good," he said. "I've heard that the village is by the sea, with mountains, rivers and seas, the scenery is even better than what they show on TV about this island or that bay. Let's take a day off to go see it, bring some fishing rods and all, just pretend we're going fishing."

  The other three old men responded in unison.

  He took the phone that was still ringing non-stop from Hei Shuijing's mouth, and Zhang Jin was still lying lazily on the recliner with his eyes half-closed: "Hello, what's up, Old Fourth?"

  Wei Feng's laughter was somewhat awkward, and he said in a low, flattering tone: "Boss, that thing, could you help me out with it?"

  As soon as Wei Feng's voice came out, Zhang Jin had a bad premonition: "Help? What's going on? Tell me!"

  "Heh heh, that... is, Fei Fei's grandfather..." Wei Feng said with a stutter.

  "What?!" Zhang Jin's voice suddenly rose by eight degrees, and he sat up straight in his recliner. "You let FeiFei's family come to my place to freeload on food? You're trying to curry favor with your father-in-law and mother-in-law, what does that have to do with me?! It's none of my business!"

  Wei Feng's voice was even more humble, with a lower head and eyes: "Boss, help me out, help me out. My happiness for the rest of my life depends on you! If we can make my father-in-law and mother-in-law comfortable this time, maybe things between me and Feifei will be settled. Our family's father-in-law has never been too fond of me, you know that." Wei Feng also felt that this matter was quite awkward, but still had to desperately explain.

  "Who let you get on the bus without paying and still hasn't bought a ticket? If anyone dared to treat my daughter like that, I wouldn't forgive him!" After muttering to himself for a bit, under Wei Feng's soft and humble pleading, Zhang Jin finally reluctantly agreed. "Alright! Who made you my brother anyway? Don't think this is an example, don't think this is an example!"

  After hanging up the phone, Zhang Jin was still in a daze, muttering to himself "What's going on?"

  When Saturday morning arrived, Wei Feng was stunned again when he saw Old Man Lan leading a team from the provincial capital. It turned out that Old Man Lan hadn't come alone with his wife, but had also brought three other old men who had been at his house for dinner and drinks a few days ago, as well as another old man surnamed Zhao. There was no way around it, this Old Man Zhao was also a member of the group of old men from the provincial capital's big courtyard, and although he hadn't been present when they drank together, there was no reason not to bring him along this time.

  Wei Feng saw the situation and quickly called Zhang Jin again: "Boss, I'm really sorry, something has changed. It's not six people, this time it's ten people!"

  "How did four more suddenly appear?"

  "Hey, I thought it was just me and Feifei, plus her parents and grandparents, six people in total. But then, Lao Ye unexpectedly brought four more old men over. You see, they've all arrived at our doorstep, I couldn't possibly ask them to leave, could I? Besides, I don't dare to. These old men were all big shots before they retired, just a stomp of their foot would make the entire province tremble. Even though they're retired now, what they say still carries weight in this circle. And I still need to make a living in this circle, so I really can't afford to offend them." Wei Feng explained with a hint of helplessness.

  Since it's come to this, Zhang Jin had no choice but to say weakly: "If that's the case, then just all come over! After all, one sheep is driven, a flock of sheep are also let go."