During dinner, because there were many people, we were divided into two tables: one for colleagues and one for family.
At this moment, everyone at the table in the workplace, except for Sun Zhengnan who doesn't drink, had poured themselves a drink.
Seeing this, Sun Zhengguo started by saying, "Come on, everyone, let's raise our glasses and toast to our reunion after ten years!"
"cheers."
As soon as he finished speaking, everyone downed their drinks in one gulp. Sun Zhengguo put down his glass and quickly picked up his chopsticks to call everyone over.
"Everyone, please feel free to eat."
Seeing that Sun Zhengguo had taken the first bite, everyone stopped being polite and followed suit, picking up their chopsticks and eating as well.
There's no doubt about He Daqing's culinary skills; everyone who tasted them gave them high praise.
Then everyone drank and chatted, but rarely about work. They mainly listened to Zhang Yucheng talk about the differences between the North and the South.
Even the old man at the next table listened with great interest, finding it all very interesting.
For example, people in the south don't eat dumplings during the Lunar New Year, but they will cook a large table of dishes.
For example, in southern China, the word "爷" (ye) can only refer to one's grandfather, so the word "爷" should not be used indiscriminately.
Furthermore, while the winter temperatures in the south may seem relatively high, they are actually incredibly cold, to the point that even native northerners cannot endure them.
"Yucheng, wait a minute." Zheng Wenhua couldn't help but ask, "Don't southerners have central heating or a fireplace or something?"
"Give me a break!" Zhang Yucheng said, his face showing pain, as if he was recalling his unbearable past.
"When I first went there, I almost froze to death. Later, I even went to the logistics department about it, but it turned out that they had never even heard of heating or heaters, and they didn't even have coats or fur hats for winter."
"Really? How do they survive the winter?" Zhou Weimin was also a little skeptical, after all, it sounded a bit far-fetched.
Take these old men in Beijing, for example. In the dead of winter, who goes out without a coat, hat, and cotton gloves? You might be able to manage once or twice, but if you do it every day, no one can stand it.
Hearing that Zhou Weimin also didn't believe it, Zhang Yucheng scoffed.
"Believe it or not, I'm telling you, there's only one thing to do to survive the winter in the South: tough it out."
"A hardline stance?"
Everyone looked at each other, their eyes all turning to Sun Zhengguo, as if wanting to hear what he had to say.
"Why are you all looking at me like that? This should be true. It may be related to geographical differences. If you ask me to explain, I can't. I can only say that different places nurture different people. You'll get used to it."
Although Sun Zhengguo couldn't explain this phenomenon, he had been to the South in his previous life!
Therefore, he wasn't entirely talking nonsense; after all, only those who have experienced it truly know.
Just as the two tables of people were discussing how southerners spend the winter, He Daqing's voice suddenly came from outside the door.
"Here comes the family photo!"
Immediately afterwards, He Daqing and Sister Wu each carried a large bowl of food to the table.
"A family photo?"
Sun Zhengguo looked rather surprised when he saw the dish.
As a native of Shandong province in his previous life, how could he not know about the dish "Family Reunion"?
The ingredients needed are not just a little bit; some of them are so expensive that you might not be able to buy them even if you have the money.
So this was the first time he had ever seen this dish in all these years.
Filled with questions and curiosity, he called out to He Daqing, who was about to return to the kitchen.
"Uncle He, I remember that the dish 'Family Reunion' requires ingredients such as sea cucumber, abalone, and top-quality ham. Where did you find so many good things?"
"Hehe! Director Sun, just hearing what you said, I know you're an expert."
He Daqing remained calm and composed, first offering a compliment before continuing.
"Take a closer look. I've replaced the sea cucumber with beef tendon, the abalone with scallops, the ham with salted pork, the bamboo shoots with magnolia petals, and both shiitake and oyster mushrooms can be used."
Although most of the ingredients in this dish are substitutes, I guarantee the taste won't be much different. Try it and see for yourself.
After hearing He Daqing's explanation, Sun Zhengguo didn't waste any words. He picked up his chopsticks, took a piece of beef tendon, and chewed it carefully.
"Excellent, excellent. The texture is soft and chewy, yet still delicious. The various ingredients are cleverly combined, solving the problem of the scarcity of expensive ingredients. Mr. He, you've put in a lot of effort. Come, let me toast you."
After tasting the first bite, Sun Zhengguo gave the dish a very high rating.
Upon hearing this, Sun Zhengnan immediately grabbed a wine glass and poured the wine for him, showing great attentiveness.
Upon hearing the evaluation, He Daqing's eyes narrowed into a wide smile. He then raised his wine glass and addressed the crowd.
"It's my honor that you leaders like it. I'll do it, you can do as you please."
After saying that, he drank it all in one gulp, then turned the empty glass upside down to show it off, and cupped his hands in a respectful gesture to the crowd.
"Please enjoy your drinks, everyone. I have some things to do in the kitchen, so I won't keep you company any longer."
Seeing this, Sun Zhengguo nodded. After all, the occasion was inappropriate, and he couldn't very well ask He Daqing to sit down and eat.
After a brief interlude, everyone tasted the new dish and showered it with praise.
Gradually, as time went by, Grandpa's table had long since finished eating, but Sun Zhengguo's table was still full of alcohol.
At this point, apart from Sun Zhengguo and Sun Zhengnan, everyone else at the table was at least seven-tenths drunk.
To be honest, this guy will say anything when he's drunk.
When people reminisce about their youthful days, they inevitably start talking about Sun Zhengguo.
Taking advantage of his drunken state, Zheng Wenhua began to complain.
"Hey! You guys know this old classmate of mine, he bullied me his whole life back in school. He was always the last one to arrive, yet he always got the top grades, while I was always second best. Do you think that's fair?"
Upon hearing this, the several drunkards at the table nodded in agreement, feeling that there was nothing wrong with what they said.
Zhang Yucheng immediately asked, "Then you don't have any way to surpass him?"
“Of course there is.” Zheng Wenhua immediately retorted, unconvinced.
“My buddy had a girlfriend in high school, but he didn’t, and he didn’t even have one until he was about to graduate from college. If it weren’t for my buddy taking pity on him and thinking of him first when there was something good, he would probably still be single!”
"Hahaha!"
Upon hearing such explosive news, everyone burst into laughter.
Then Zheng Wenhua revealed many embarrassing stories about Sun Zhengguo when he was in school, which made everyone laugh.
Zhou Weimin then retorted, recounting his experiences pursuing Sun Zhenghong years ago.
Anyway, emboldened by the alcohol, he gave his brother-in-law a good scolding.
Next up were Sun Zheng'an and Zhang Yucheng, who, in an attempt to fit in with the group, exposed a number of embarrassing stories about their boss from the past.
What they didn't know was that if looks could kill, they would probably have been killed many times over by now.
Sun Zhengnan, one of only two people at the table who remained sober, covered his eyes and observed three minutes of silence for the others.
Thinking to myself, "Go ahead and say it! The happier I am now, the more miserable I'll be tomorrow."
However, as a good friend, he still tried various tricks to remind him, but the effect was not satisfactory.
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