Chapter 44: Fighting with Wine, Ten Thousand Cups Can't Harm Me

  Shan Yong ran very fast, and it's not without reason that he was scared like this. The people of Luzhou are fond of wine, especially in the countryside. Their family always has a 5-kilogram jar of loose white wine, with an alcohol content of less than 50 degrees being considered weak. The villagers from Shi Jia Cun, who used to drive donkeys, were even more fierce. Their best drink was called "donkey knockdown", a distilled liquor that could reach as high as 70 degrees, which is strong enough to be used as spirits. Those who hadn't tried it before would be knocked down after drinking just three or two liang (a unit of measurement), hence the name "donkey knockdown".

  That means even the cattle were blinded, let alone people. This wine was named after this incident and because of its cheap price, it has always been a favorite among peddlers and travelers.

  Very soon, a crowd of people gathered around the enclosure. Rural people love excitement, and they crowded around to watch, with many shouting and cheering. Xian Yong glanced at the small slaughterhouse, where bloodstains were scattered everywhere, and in the center was an old table with a meat cleaver on it. Lei Da Peng and a big man sat facing each other, each with a white porcelain bowl in front of them. The one pouring wine was surprisingly Shi Bao Guo, the young master of the Shi family, holding a jug and shouting: "Everyone watch closely! This fatty said that if he loses, he'll give up his mobile phone, and if Ge Ge loses, he'll give up that donkey to this fatty... This is the third bowl, no cheating allowed, one drop spilled and you'll be penalized with another bowl!"

  As he spoke, he poured two bowls of wine and handed them to the two men who were competing in drinking, Lei Dapeng and the big man. They held the bowls with both hands and tilted their heads back, swallowing the wine in one gulp. The people around them applauded and cheered loudly, shouting "good" in unison.

  Here is the translation:

  They've reached this point, but Dan Yong unexpectedly didn't dare to move forward. When Si Mu Xian was about to go up, he was pulled back by Dan Yong, who whispered an explanation: "This place has three things that are not advised against - don't advise against fighting, don't advise against drinking, and don't advise against gambling. Why? No reason why, because fighting, gambling, and drinking have already become a part of daily life. Who would listen to you when they're in the midst of it? In any case, they've already gone overboard." Dan Yong helplessly said: "Just wait for someone to get carried away."

  Wang Hua Ting also came up, the scene of men and women gathering to drink was unprecedented, and she asked Simu Xian with a mixture of tears and laughter, "What's going on? Why is Lei Da Peng pulling out his phone to win someone else's donkey? Even if he wins it back, where will he raise it?"

  Si Mu Xian was helplessly explaining, the two came to watch the donkey being slaughtered. Perhaps it was because the slaughterer's friends thought Lei Da Peng looked interesting and had a good temper, so they not only chatted with him but also started bragging. One boasted about how great his donkey-slaughtering skills were, while the other boasted about how great he was at eating donkey meat. They bragged to the point of being ridiculous, both claiming they could drink a lot. You say an outsider comes to someone's village and brags about being able to drink the local specialty, Mongolian donkey wine, isn't that just asking for trouble? The more they talked, the more arrogant they became. In the end, they made a bet, Lei Da Peng wagered his iPhone, an Apple product. The slaughterer was not willing to back down either, "Apple is too expensive, I'll wager a donkey!"

  As soon as the donkey was knocked down, someone cheered. Every time they fought, someone would fall, and this young master from the Shi family was excited. He was betting on the winner of the donkey fight and had even become a witness. After finishing his third bowl of wine, the Shi family arrived, and the villagers were no longer surprised. Not only did the Shi family not stop them, but they also watched with great interest. The old master Shi shouted again and added more bets. Whoever won would be rewarded with two donkey whips, which caused another round of cheers and applause from the crowd.

  At this time, Lei Dapeng's face turned pale, three bowls of wine weighed at least a catty, each mouthful burning his throat, the man opposite him was no better off, originally slaughtering donkeys only required drinking two mouthfuls to get rid of the bloody smell, but now he was forced to down another catty, so fiercely, although his dark red face didn't show any signs, fine sweat had already appeared on his forehead. No wonder it was able to knock out a donkey, it seemed that whoever won wouldn't feel good either.

  "The fourth bowl, watch out... The highest record in our village is ten bowls down, let's see if we can break the record today." Shi Baoguo shouted, and the fourth bowl was given to the two of them. They drank it all up again, staring at each other with hostility, neither willing to give in.

  Outside the crowd, Wang Huating couldn't bear to watch anymore, and pulled at Shan Yong. When Shan Yong turned his head back, Wang Huating whispered in his ear: "What should we do? Da Peng seems like he can't hold on... if he drinks more, it'll be bad."

  "What to do now, admit defeat, and in the future you will be embarrassed to enter the village." Dan Yong whispered back, riding a tiger is hard to get off, can only hold on tight, drinking down is better than drinking away, losing should be done with dignity.

  "Just because we still have to enter the village, should we let him drink to death?" Wang Huating said again, when there was no other way out, she tightly grasped Shanyong's arm, as if asking him to think of a solution. Shanyong looked at her in surprise, shook his head and whispered: "Wait, he'll pass out soon... We'll carry him, you drive, hurry up and find a place to wash his stomach."

  "Ah!?" Wang Hua-ting frowned, but didn't know if this was a good solution.

  But looking at a group of villagers who are like madmen and some outsiders who are trying to be helpful, it seems that there is no better way than this.

  You thought it was going to be over soon, but it still didn't end. By the fifth bowl, both of their faces looked even more unsightly, but fortunately, they were still standing. The onlookers' cheers and shouts became even more lively, as everyone in this village knew that those who could down five bowls were called "sea drinkers", and outsiders who could hold out for three bowls were rarely seen.

  The scene seemed to have already been decided, the village's Shi Genwa, who was good at drinking, was a 1.9-meter-tall robust man, with bulging muscles on his bare arms, his hands were as big as a bowl, and his mouth was like a bucket, one gulp of wine and it was gone, whereas Lei Dapeng had a protruding belly and thin legs, with an irregular appearance that was far inferior, the robust men seemed to have already won without any suspense.

  The sixth bowl went down, and Lei Dapeng's face looked even more unsightly. But Shi Genwa was exceptionally fierce, clenching his fist and stirring up the whole village to cheer him on.

  The seventh bowl went down, and Danyong's face also looked bad. He knew Leida Peng's capacity for alcohol had already exceeded the extreme limit. This Manton donkey would get to a certain point and anesthetize all your nerves, causing you to pass out without any consciousness. Every winter in these surrounding villages, there were people who drank too much, lost consciousness, and walked outside to freeze to death. Don't look at how prosperous it is now; in the past, it was really a poor and barren land. "Eating well and dying fast" was the villagers' traditional creed. Whoever died from drinking, in the eyes of the villagers, that was called "dying happily".

  The eighth bowl, Lei Dapeng was drinking with a forced expression, his slanted eyebrows and eyes already showing signs of disgust. The other person didn't look good either, their Adam's apple bobbing violently as they struggled to swallow. Once both had managed to get it down, the whole village erupted in excitement, waving hands, shouting, and cheering. The young master from the central house was pouring wine, excitedly yelling: "We're close to breaking the record! Today is a big deal if we break it! Come on...the ninth bowl, this one won't be easy to get down, but even if you lose, you'll still be a good man, right, Dad?"

  The old man was also surprised, sticking up his thumb and shouting: "Right, all good men, young people have two sons, no one has won our village for decades."

  This toast made the atmosphere even more exciting, Shi Genwa tilted her head back and forced herself to drink it all in one gulp. Lei Dapeng held his wine bowl, almost at the end of his strength, after a while, he took small sips, then suddenly accelerated, tilted his head back and drank it all in one go, barely put down the bowl, his opponent had already finished drinking, also struggling to hold onto the table, dazedly staring at each other. The two were dizzy-eyed and drunk, both almost unable to take it anymore.

  "Good... whoever wins or loses, from now on, you're a distinguished guest in our village. Come on, let's see who can break my Shi Baoquan's record."

  Old Shi let out a loud roar, drowning out his son's voice. This was getting fierce! The villagers and the visiting guests who knew better were all scared stiff, and they didn't think it was so intense anymore. If they kept drinking like this, they wouldn't be human anymore - they'd be worse than beasts! Even two donkeys would have fallen over by now.

  "The tenth bowl..." Shi Bao Gui excitedly held the bowl and walked around the crowd in a circle, then placed it in front of the two people. Even he could see that these two would be finished with just a few more mouthfuls, and the thrilling scene of them getting drunk was about to unfold.

  Shi Genwa, the one who was competing with Lei Dapeng in drinking, exerted all his strength, holding the wine bowl, but couldn't hold it steady. He struggled to put it down a few centimeters from his mouth, and just as he was about to drink, he saw that Lei Dapeng hadn't picked up his bowl yet. With a triumphant smile on his face, this was the last remnant of his consciousness, waiting for his opponent to collapse from drunkenness. But unexpectedly, Lei Dapeng suddenly opened his eyes wide, as if he had sobered up, and swiftly picked up his bowl. He tilted his head back, and with a loud "gulp", poured all the wine into his mouth. His mouth was already overflowing with wine, and then this guy slammed his bowl down with a "bang" sound, laughing loudly at his opponent: "The bowl isn't strong enough, bring out the vat!"

  What a heroic and domineering manner! The surrounding hundred people were all stunned, that Shi Genwa holding the wine bowl saw his opponent so fierce, instantly lost all will to fight, closed his eyes, lost consciousness, and fell to the ground with a thud. The wine bowl in his hand rolled far away, bowl and all.

  The one who fell down was a sturdy man, even stronger than a donkey. But then, out of nowhere, a dark horse emerged, named Matchless Thunderbolt.

  Hundreds of people, silent as a cicada, the outsiders defeated the locals for the first time, and the winners seemed to be standing there as if nothing had happened. This scene scared Single Brave, Si Mu Xian, and Wang Hua Ting. It was as if they had never known Lei Da Peng before.

  It wasn't until a while later that they heard Old Man Shi leading the cheers, shouting: "Good, good fellow, bring him another jar...a hero who can down over ten bowls, I haven't seen one in decades!"

  But unexpectedly, Lei Dapeng turned around with a silly smile, and without warning, he fell straight back with a loud thud. The people around him burst out laughing, it turned out that this guy was just pretending to be tough, and didn't escape the result of being knocked over.

  "Hurry up..." Danyong pushed through the crowd and went forward with Simu Xian to support Lei Dapeng, who was vomiting like a faucet. The other person being carried away was also in a similar state, tilting his head and spitting out wine. After falling down, it turned out that the big man's quality was better, he could still hum, while Lei Dapeng was like a dead pig, completely unresponsive, only vomiting wine.

  Dan Yong carried him on his back, Si Mu Xian and Wang Hua Ting supported him, hastily walking towards the car. Lei Da Peng, who had lost consciousness, vomited onto Dan Yong's body, and continued to vomit after getting into the car. Just as they were about to leave, Shi Bao Guo, the young master of the Shi family, ran out with a big smile on his face, handed over a phone, and shouted: "Brother Dan, are you going to let someone bring your donkey? Hey, don't go! My sister has taken a liking to you, and hasn't even let my mom take a look yet."

  At that time, Gu De was on the donkey, and it was cheaper to take a shortcut through the village. Wang Hua Ting drove the car, speeding up the village road with a loud noise, leaving behind a cloud of dust...

  The village was also taken away, but it was found that the veterinarian had gone, and the veterinarian generally just tried to wake up the wine. With such a big joke, Shi's opening lock gift was pushed forward, inviting all the guests to have dinner in each tent temporarily set up on the spot. Taking advantage of the opportunity, Shi Baquan pulled his daughter aside and asked in a low voice: "Girl, I'm leaving, what did Shanyong say? Did he agree?"

  Shi Bao Ying shook her head, somewhat disappointed. Although she didn't say it, it was clear that she had already politely declined.

  "Haha, I told you so. A good man wouldn't eat this free meal, but you don't believe me. Even if he did eat the free meal, I wouldn't dare to raise him." Old Master Shi said with a smile, although uneducated, he showed a kind of uneducated wisdom. It seemed like he was testing the gold, and the effect was that the old master was satisfied, but his daughter didn't seem too pleased, instead blaming her father: "Dad, it's all your fault, you exposed everything at once, maybe they won't dare to come again in the future."

  "They've all tried, he's not after you, you should give up; nor is it that family of breeders who are behind him, I'm at ease now. This young man has a high nose, I see how he looks at you with disdain, this isn't someone who can enter our household." The old master said with the perspective of an elder, not knowing if his daughter had taken it to heart or not. With many guests arriving, she went to welcome the group from Dezhou, inviting them into the main hall first.

  Shi Bao Ying stared blankly at the off-road vehicle that had just driven away, and for some reason, the figure of that young man kept lingering in her mind. She had noticed him a long time ago, who was not only diligent but also clever, coming to the village every month or so, getting along well with the mule drivers, butchers, and sauce makers, and always buying high-quality meat at a fair price. Everyone in the village thought he was an honest man, and Shi Bao Ying had both suspicions about his intentions and thoughts of recruiting him under her wing. She even made some discreet inquiries, but unexpectedly, it ended up being a disappointing result.

  Actually, with her personality, if she had agreed hastily, she might have been even more disappointed. It's just that she wasn't as disappointed as she is now, never thinking he would be so casual and indifferent, an attitude that made her realize her own worth was not heavy in his eyes. This point was what disappointed her the most.

  The banquet began, and Shi Baoying's family went from tent to tent offering toasts. Yet, there was always something on her mind that prevented her from being happy...

  ………………

  ………………

  Four hours later, Lucheng City Peace Hospital, emergency room, red light on...

  Lei Ge's win was really miserable, he had been lying on the emergency bed for almost three hours without coming out. He was unconscious and scared the few people outside. Wang Hua Ting drove back to the city at high speed, several times narrowly escaping danger made her hands and feet a bit numb. Shan Yong and Si Mu Xian were not much better off, their bodies reeked of alcohol, all vomited by Lei Ge, while they themselves had been sobered up by cold sweat from drinking that little wine.

  The one who should have woken up was slow to wake, gastric lavage, enema... severe alcohol poisoning, the doctor asked to notify the family members, this suddenly scared Single Courage so much that his hands were shaking, and he didn't dare think about it. He stuttered and notified Le Dapeng's parents, which was good, but they scolded Single Courage over the phone.

  Before long, people arrived. A fat woman with a glamorous appearance, full of jewelry and gold rings on all ten fingers, was accompanied by a man who looked like Le Dapeng's father. He was almost an upgraded version of Le Dapeng, except for his crooked eyebrows and a mustache. They rushed over and asked if he was still in the emergency room. Le's mother turned around and scolded Le's father, "Look now, Le Duobao! You didn't teach our son anything good when he was young. You taught him to drink, and now my son can't even make a living. I won't live with you anymore!"

  "Go, go, go! What's with you and that? This has something to do with me teaching, it's all your fault. When you were pregnant with our son, you played mahjong every day and made him stupid. Now he doesn't know how to behave." Leidobao scolded his wife. His wife wasn't one to be trifled with either, hearing this she glared at him and shouted back: "You're the one who's been fooling around outside with some little mistress! I'm not the one playing mahjong all day, I've been crying my heart out every day, and you have the nerve to say that!"

  "What's all this nonsense... rambling on, that was years ago." Leida couldn't take it anymore, being teased by his wife, and shifted his target. He looked around and found an even better one - Shanyong, who was hiding to the side, wanting to slip away but not daring to. This was perfect, so he shouted: "Shanyong, come here! Is it you again who went drinking with my son Dapeng? How much did you drink to end up like this... my son's capacity is only two liters, can't even handle that."

  "Ah, right, this is the real mastermind, you two are in cahoots with each other! Lei Ma scolded Danyong: "I knew you couldn't escape, from a young age my son Dapeng was spoiled by you, half of his bad habits were learned from his father and the other half were taught by you... You've ruined my son, just you wait and see if I'll let this slide..."

  "What's all this talk, three long and two short, just saying unlucky things." Leida couldn't listen anymore, so he stopped his wife. His wife got angry, turned around and was about to fight with Lao Gao again.

  It looks like the two of them are about to make up. Just then, a lifesaving voice rang out, and the emergency room door opened. The couple didn't even have time to call out as they rushed in. The doctor who came out had just removed his mask and let out a deep breath before looking shocked again: "Nothing's wrong, he's come to... How much did he drink? His blood alcohol level is almost 200, it's a miracle we were able to save him."

  As soon as he heard this, he let out a sigh of relief. Shan Yong's legs softened and only then did he realize that he had been standing for a long time, his legs were numb and sore. Lei Baba was overjoyed when he heard the good news, his mouth curled up in disdain and said: "Nothing to it, what was I saying? My son has practiced before."

  "Get out! Leiduo Bao, get out of here!" Lei's mother was furious, scolding her husband. She rushed over to their son, who seemed to be regaining consciousness after fainting, and shook her finger at him as if afraid he had become stupid: "Dapeng, do you recognize me?... How many fingers are these?"

  "Mom... don't test me, I know numbers. Hehe, I won the first prize, I'll cook meat for you when I get back."

  Lei Dapeng said softly, maintaining his usual silly smile, a bit weak. But unexpectedly this sentence of deep mother-son affection moved his mom to tears, and she pulled her son's hand saying: "Oh my silly son, you're still thinking of me at this time... I didn't raise you in vain, I'm much better than your dad... What do you want to eat? Tell me, I'll buy it for you... Why did you have to win against others and bring back a donkey? You should've told me earlier, I would've bought a whole group of donkeys for us to raise in our neighborhood..."

  This family of three is quite unusual, but they're unusually happy and warm. However, Dan Yong and the others didn't dare to follow them to the hospital room, fearing another scolding. Si Mu Xian looked at Lei Ge's family of three, wondering what was wrong with him, standing there wiping away tears. Dan Yong had just calmed down from his fright, but then he noticed something strange and asked in a daze: "Why are you crying?"

  Nothing, I was moved by their family... Eldest brother, I'll go take care of Da Peng, his mom won't scold me. Si Mu Xian said a sentence, and Duan Yong tacitly agreed, watching as Si Mu Xian walked away with an air of being deeply moved. Having strolled around the donkey farm, fearing that something would happen but still having so many things happen, Duan Yong's heart was in turmoil, and he turned to Wang Hua Ting saying: "Let's go, you should leave too, getting drunk like this, at least you'll be safe for a few days."

  "What about you?" Wang Huating asked, following Dan Yong's footsteps towards the outside of the door.

  "Waiting to go back and get scolded, then my mom will tell my dad, and I'll be in for a beating. Now you know why I didn't bring him along, this guy goes wherever he wants, and trouble follows... Haha, but this time I won the bet, and even got the first prize. Single Yong said with a mixture of laughter and tears, now that nothing's wrong, he actually finds it too ridiculous to believe what happened."

  Wang Hua Ting also laughed and said with a smile: "After staying with you for more than a month, I've experienced more things than in the four years of college. I was almost scared to death just now. If Da Peng collapses, how can we go to the countryside for practice in two days?"

  "Can't he be more careful? He's so careless that he got a red makeup stain on the car, and now he's going to mislead others." Dan Yong said, making Wang Hua Ting burst out laughing. As Dan Yong was about to leave, Wang Hua Ting stopped him, pointing at the car and saying in an unfriendly tone: "Hey, don't you have any gentlemanly manners? You vomited all over the car, which is borrowed, by the way. I won't make you pay for it, but can't you even accompany me to wash the car?"

  Oh, this is it, the two got on the car, but unexpectedly, there was no ambiguous atmosphere in the private space at all. The smell was not right, the wine smell was so strong that it could ignite a fire. Both of them covered their noses and opened the windows, and drove the car to the nearest car wash...