54 The Hongmen Banquet
Yang Xiao responded and immediately followed Mr. Zhang. "Please introduce them to me first. I'm afraid I'll make a fool of myself by mistakenly marking the guest, and then people will criticize you, Mr. Zhang." She had only learned about 40% of this slick rhetoric from Yang Zhi, but it was the most effective tactic: always get people on the same page first. With a common stance, things would be much easier to handle.
"Mr. Yang, you're really getting me fired up by what you're saying." Mr. Zhang had been raised by countless elites, so how could he not see through her thoughts? Yang Xiao's words simply meant to give him a heads-up about who was coming today and what the gathering was all about, so she could use him to her advantage. "Aren't we going to discuss cooperation? I've already called the people from headquarters for you. Mr. He from the project department, and Xiao Chen from the technical department, are all here. If you can make the deal today, it's fine. If not, it won't be a wasted trip."
Old fox.
What's the plan?
It turned out that from the moment she entered the room, the wine was a gift to him, and the favor of introducing her to headquarters was another one. Now that the deal was successful, she owed him two favors. Yang Xiao suppressed her displeasure. Since she had already come here and the wine was already offered, it was really not her usual style to back out here.
"Thank you, Mr. Zhang, for your kindness." Yang Xiao racked her brains, truly unwilling to respond to his greasy, clichéd tactics. She simply kept her words to the point, much like how she'd replied "OK, got it" in the work group chat before, only to get so annoyed that no one cared and simply replied "OK." In short, whether it was good or not, whether it was deep or not, both sides knew clearly.
As soon as she entered, the strong smell of tobacco and alcohol hit Yang Xiao, making her feel nauseous. "This is the distinguished guest Mr. Zhang said he was going to meet. Wow, you're so good-looking, a big star, right? I saw you on TV yesterday. How amazing! You just walked out of the TV today." The man sitting in the main seat must be Mr. He. He had the hallmark beer belly of a middle-aged man, his hair was sparse, and he spoke with a broken Beijing accent, his words were so slurred and annoying.
As soon as he finished speaking, the guests seated around him burst into laughter, as if responding to a single call.
"Look, Mr. Yang. You haven't even said thank you yet. Mr. He just praised you." Mr. Zhang looked at Yang Xiao with a smile. The secretary pulled out a wooden chair for him and sat down first, as if he was just here to watch the fun and not mind getting involved.
Yang Xiao felt like she was being stabbed in the back, and she stiffened her throat and replied, "Mr. He, you're joking. I'm Yang Xiao, the person in charge of Zhimiao." After saying that, she looked around, and as luck would have it, there was only an empty seat next to Mr. He.
Yang Xiao finally understood that Mr. Zhang's attempt to discuss cooperation with her was fake. He was actually trying to gain favor by introducing her to Mr. He, and then he would play to her preferences and put her in front of Mr. He, making a profit from both sides.
As soon as I sat down, Mr. He handed me the glass of wine.
"Mr. Xiao Yang, right? In the past, when beauties were late here, they had to take off their clothes and drink. Now society has progressed, and we have to keep up. Taking off clothes..." Mr. He glanced at her, as if weighing something, "It's really indecent. This bad habit is better off not having it, but this wine..."
Yang Xiao took the wine glass. The man who poured the wine seemed dissatisfied with the small size of the white wine glass and insisted on filling it up completely. Some of the wine sloshed out and splashed onto Yang Xiao's palm, feeling cold.
"Thank you, Mr. He. Being late is my fault. I'll just offer this glass of wine to apologize to all of you seniors. My workload has been incredibly heavy lately, and if I drink any more after this one, I'm afraid I'll be late getting back to work. My colleagues are waiting to hear the good news." Yang Xiao held her glass, her back straight and neither humble nor overbearing. Being late wasn't important anymore. Mr. Zhang had clearly notified her late and given her the wrong time. What could she do?
"This... We brothers said we wouldn't go home until we were drunk, but Mr. Yang has spoiled our fun." Mr. He gave a look, and a skinny man sitting on his right started talking. His eyes were shrewd, and he inexplicably had a feeling of being a sycophant.
Mr. He's face fell, and he drummed his fingers on the glass tabletop. His eyes were glued to Yang Xiao like glue. "Mr. Yang, work... no matter how you do it, it's endless. We have to drink to our heart's content before we can cooperate. You just arrived, and you're not drinking yet? You're not willing to give me, Mr. He, face."
The others began to chime in. Yang Xiao was caught in a dilemma, so she picked up the wine glass and drank two more. The moment the cold liquor entered her throat, it instantly turned into a ball of fire, burning from her neck all the way to her stomach. "Sorry, these three glasses are for you, Yang Xiao."
"What a drinker!" Mr. He glanced at the empty glass in Yang Xiao's hand, laughed, and clapped his hands repeatedly, "Xiao Chen, fill up our Mr. Yang's glass again."
Yang Xiao didn't know how many cups she had drunk before a strong feeling of discomfort rose up her throat. She waved her hand and immediately headed for the bathroom. Her feet stepped on the carpet, as if floating on clouds. Her body was light and soft, floating with the wind, and she staggered to the bathroom.
As she bent down, her stomach seemed to expand so much that it could no longer accommodate any extra air, forcing her to vomit it all out. Tears flowed back, and the smell of alcohol filled the toilet cubicle and permeated all the fresh air around her. Her legs and feet felt sore and weak.
Yang Xiao suddenly recalled the day she'd accompanied Mao Qiu to the hospital, slumped over on the side of the road, and vomited. The sour taste of food still lingered in her chest, but her mind was crystal clear: she had to take Mao Qiu to the hospital. As she grew older, her life became increasingly chaotic. She shakily made her way out of the bathroom, holding onto the door, shaking her head and splashing water on her face.
As a result, someone suddenly said behind her, "Even if you go back and continue drinking, you won't be able to get this project." Yang Xiao was frightened and the drunkenness immediately dissipated.
She subconsciously turned her head and saw Yang Zhi.
Yang Zhi didn't care at all that this was a female guard, and walked towards the wash basin with an expressionless face. Yang Xiao took a half step back and then heard a sneer.
"I'm washing my hands." The sound of running water was heard, gurgling, and was bound to break the silence.
"This is the women's restroom." Yang Xiaoyi didn't give him a good look. She took a piece of paper towel, wiped the water droplets on her hands in two or three strokes, and turned to leave.
"Don't drink anymore. I was given this project last week."
The sound of water stopped.
For some reason, Yang Xiao suddenly felt like laughing. She'd been fooled. Like a fool, she'd been given alcohol and then forced to drink. Her blood, laden with alcohol, rushed back to her head, and her ears started ringing.
It turned out that she worked hard, worked very hard, but all she got was a game that had been arranged in advance.
"I can give it to you." Yang Zhi wiped the water droplets from the back of his hand, as gracefully as if he were accepting a hot towel from a waiter before a meal. "I was wrong that day."
"Give it to me?" Yang Xiao repeated, and then took a half step forward as if she had heard something funny. The alcohol made her eyes a little blurry, but her words were still sharp. "Zhi Miao is my hard work, not your unwanted toy. You poached my people, and now you're giving alms to me like a beggar."
"You were committing a crime that day, Yang Zhi."
"I didn't call the police because I didn't have the energy to deal with it anymore. It doesn't mean I forgive you, nor does it mean that what you did is simply right or wrong." Yang Xiao looked up, her steps unsteady but she refused to retreat. "Why, we're in public now, and you're still going to hit me?"
Yang Zhi couldn't bear to see her moist eyes and her shoulders trembling slightly with anger, so he walked away. When his cufflinks brushed against the corner of her clothes, he suddenly understood.
What he liked was the weed-like energy in Yang Xiao. It was not noticeable at first, but when he looked back, he saw some grass seeds dropped from the withered grass stems. After the wind passed and the rain fell, the grass began to flourish again.
Yang Xiao had been drinking, so naturally she couldn't drive, and before she could even call a designated driver, she saw that the parking space near the corner was also blocked, with the front of the car aggressively pressing against the rear of her car.
The wind always liked to gather at the door, so strong that it seemed to pull people out of the warm inner room. She didn't want to go through that door again, because there was a group of wild beasts locked inside, repeatedly gnawing at her dignity.
I walked along the alley and staggered onto the main road. There were only a few street lamps hanging by the roadside, and the trees, which were not really trees, were bare and cold.
Should I give up?
The phone was vibrating non-stop in my bag. It was Mu Tao.
"Mr. Yang, I'm here to pick you up. It's cold on the roadside, so go to the store and hide first. I'll be there soon." Zhao Mutao didn't ask about the result. He picked up the phone and rushed to Yang Xiao.
"Okay." Yang Xiao nodded stupidly and exhaled a ball of white air.
The winter night was so quiet that even the rustling sound of people walking on the ground was particularly obvious. From time to time, children's laughter could be heard in the distance. Fortunately, it was not too bad, and she was still in this bright world.
When Zhao Mutao arrived, Yang Xiao was chatting with a woman selling roasted sweet potatoes on the roadside, peeling the steaming sweet potatoes through the paper wrappers. Seeing her coming from a distance, he raised his hand and waved, "Come quickly, I'll treat you to some roasted sweet potatoes."
The outer skin is pitch black and the core is shiny.
Zhao Mutao didn't refuse. She reached out to take it and couldn't wait to take a big bite. It was so hot that it made her eyes tear up and she gasped from time to time.
"Hey, girl, eat slowly. There are some things to pay attention to when eating roasted sweet potatoes. If they are too hot, they will hurt your mouth. If they are too cold, they will hurt your stomach. You have to breathe out while eating. Only with patience can you enjoy the best taste." The lady who roasted sweet potatoes raised the tongs and took another one out of the stove. "Try this one, it must be sweet."
Yang Xiao has eaten so many baked sweet potatoes that she's almost lost count. She knows they're hot right out of the oven and that cooling them can affect digestion, but for the first time, she's learned that eating sweet potatoes requires patience.
Zhao Mutao nodded and followed the old lady's instructions, eating while sipping. It was so sweet that she almost forgot it was winter. She stamped her feet and broke off another half and gave it to Yang Xiao, "Mr. Yang, try it quickly, this is so sweet!"
Yang Xiao couldn't help laughing.
As soon as Zhao Mutao spoke, his front teeth turned black and yellow, which looked extremely funny. Seeing Yang Xiao laugh, he couldn't help laughing, and both his upper and lower rows of teeth were covered with debris.
"Hahahaha." This is no longer a case of half-covering the face with the lute.
Yang Xiao's eyebrows curved, and she smiled so hard that her stomach ached. "Mutao, your teeth... well... are quite colorful."
"Mr. Yang, you're not much better yourself." Zhao Mutao saw her smiling face, pointed to her teeth, and raised his eyebrows to signal Yang Xiao, "Hey, don't be so arrogant as to blame others."
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