After the leaders were seated, Xu Damao began pouring drinks for each of them. Of course, Yang Zhenhua's first drink had to be poured by Li Xuewu himself.
Before the first lap ended, Xu Damao, being the lowest-ranking person present, was essentially invisible. His performance wouldn't begin until after the first lap. So, before that, he just followed the leaders around the laps.
"Your canteen chef is really good at cooking, he's on par with our chef Sha Zhu. When it comes to food, Xue Wu, you're an expert." After eating the food at the No. 1 Factory canteen, Yang Zhenhua expressed his opinion.
"Thank you for the compliment, Secretary Yang. Although I'm probably not as good as Sha Zhu, I'm still one of the better ones in Tongzhou."
"This head chef was poached from the Tongzhou government canteen," Li Xuewu said modestly.
As they chatted, the conversation drifted to Sha Zhu, and Li Xuewu casually mentioned that Xu Damao and Sha Zhu lived in the same compound and had grown up together since childhood.
“Da Mao, your compound is really producing talented people. A young section chief and a renowned chef, both so young,” Yang Zhenhua said.
"This is all thanks to the good national policies. In fact, most of the people in our compound were born into poor families and used to be homeless. Many of them were resettled by the government."
The majority of people in our compound were from the steel rolling mill. Among them were an eighth-grade fitter and a seventh-grade forging worker, both considered among the most skilled technicians in our factory.
Xu Damao casually boasted about the compound. Even though he cursed these people at home every day, he still had to defend the compound in front of outsiders.
"I heard that your silly Zhu has a bad temper and cooks only when he's in a good mood?" Yang Zhenhua suddenly asked.
He hadn't been at the steel mill long, and although he'd eaten at Sha Zhu's special meals many times, he'd never had direct contact with Sha Zhu. Knowing that his boss also enjoyed cooking, especially Sichuan cuisine, he'd already had his eye on it.
Xu Damao understood that this person had taken a liking to Sha Zhu's cooking skills and was planning to take him out to cook for a high-ranking leader, and was now trying to find out more from him.
"Shazhu is an excellent cook, and he does have a bad temper, but he's not a bad person. This is related to his family situation."
He came from a single-parent family and grew up with his father from a young age, but his father left for another city when he was a teenager. Sha Zhu, a teenager, also had to take care of a younger sister who was only a few years old, so he became a bit slow-witted.
However, when it comes to matters of principle, he remains clear-headed, and he's willing to help anyone in the neighborhood with any problems, big or small.
Xu Damao's assessment was truthful. It wasn't that he didn't want to sow discord between Xu Damao and Yang Shuji, but Yang Shuji wouldn't just ask Xu Damao about the situation; he would definitely inquire with others later. Rather than being criticized as a petty person later, it was better to gain a reputation for honesty and integrity.
“Now that you mention it, it makes sense. Before, many people said he had a bad temper, but they didn’t get to the heart of the matter. It seems that you, Xu Damao, do know how to use dialectics to judge people, haha,” said Secretary Yang.
Sure enough, they had started inquiring about it long ago.
"Distinguished leaders, it's interesting to say that everyone knows his name is Sha Zhu, but very few people can recall his full name, and many don't even know the origin of his name, Sha Zhu."
"When Sha Zhu was a child, he went to Dongzhimen to sell steamed buns by himself, but he ran into a group of thugs. In order to keep his buns, he ran for his life and finally shook them off. Later, he sold the buns to a merchant."
He went home happily, only to discover that the money he received was counterfeit. His father was furious and yelled at him, calling him "Silly Zhu." That's how "Silly Zhu" became a nickname, and many people eventually forgot his real name.
Seeing that the atmosphere was just right, Xu Damao started by using Sha Zhu as a starting point, adding some stories he had heard while showing movies in the countryside, and making some changes to liven up the atmosphere.
With leaders all at the table, each with extensive knowledge and experience, their stories of strange and unusual events were truly fascinating, even captivating Xu Damao, who had been exposed to Douyin (TikTok).
Seeing that the time was right, Xu Damao began to toast Yang Zhenhua.
Although the rule of "one big, three small, two fives, ten" was not explicitly stated, Yang Zhenhua took a small sip, while Xu Damao downed a whole cup.
"Good!" Xu Damao's action immediately drew cheers from the audience.
Then some deputy factory directors followed suit and started doing the same. Although they might only be able to drink one large glass, they couldn't back down in terms of momentum. Whether they would cower in fear later was irrelevant. As one large glass of liquor after another was downed, the atmosphere of the entire drinking party reached its peak.
Yang Zhenhua accepted all offers and drank with great gusto. Previously, Xu Damao had some reservations, thinking Yang's alcohol tolerance was somewhat exaggerated. But seeing it today, it was clear that he could indeed drink over a jin (500ml) of liquor.
Throughout the noon, Xu Damao couldn't recall how much he had drunk. It wasn't until he saw Yang Zhenhua starting to feel the effects and his voice trembled that he decisively slumped onto the table. Before collapsing, he gave Yang Zhenhua a thumbs-up and praised him, saying, "Secretary Yang is the leader with the best drinking capacity I've ever met. I can't go on today; I'll definitely have to continue learning from him in the future."
With Xu Damao's downfall, Yang Zhenhua's victory was also declared.
After being helped out and back to his dormitory, Xu Damao slowly sat up and drank a glass of water.
"My performance was a bit stiff just now, and the way I lay down wasn't natural enough," Xu Damao reviewed his performance.
Yang Zhenhua, who had originally planned to go back in the afternoon, stayed at the branch factory's guesthouse because he had drunk quite a bit at noon and slept until evening.
"Your little Xu is quite capable, but his alcohol tolerance is a bit low. I heard he's still not sober."
After Yang Zhenhua got up, he drank the hangover soup prepared by the canteen and chatted with Li Xuewu.
“That’s right. Not to mention Xiao Xu, there’s no one in our entire steel rolling mill who can hold their liquor better than Secretary Yang,” Li Xuewu chimed in.
In fact, Li Xuewu knew Xu Damao's drinking capacity; even he, who hadn't drunk much, saw through Xu Damao's clumsy acting. Not only him, but other leaders present also knew, but no one said anything. The truth was irrelevant; what mattered was that the leaders were happy.
The next morning, Xu Damao, who was "drunk," joined the crowd to bid farewell to Director Yang.
"Young man, your alcohol tolerance still has room for improvement. Keep practicing, and when you go to the main factory, come find me for a drink." Among the group of people seeing him off, Yang Zhenhua spotted his defeated opponent at a glance. Holding Xu Damao's hand, Yang Zhenhua's eyes were full of encouragement.
And so, Xu Damao gained another drinking buddy. But Xu Damao still had to carefully maintain a distance from this drinking buddy. Otherwise, his direct supervisor might keep him permanently out of the factory.
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