Chapter 1001

Zheng Tulu walked in while looking him over and said, "Little Xia, you don't look the same after studying at the Party School for half a month."

Xia Jian bowed slightly and said with a fawning smile, "Director Zheng, you flatter me. Come and sit." With that, he trotted over to pull out the chair by the dining table and greeted him to sit down.

The heating was on in the house. Zheng Tulu was already sweating all over because of the effect of the Viagra, and as soon as he entered the heated room, he began to sweat profusely. "The boiler worker in your residential complex is really diligent; the heating is so hot." Zheng Tulu joked while walking in and taking off his gray woolen overcoat. Xia Jian immediately went up to catch it with both hands and said, "Director Zheng, I'll hang it up for you."

Zheng Tulu handed the overcoat to Xia Jian, sat down in the chair, and turned his head to look into the kitchen. He saw Afang was busy, still wearing that cotton-padded bathrobe, her two snowy-white little legs exposed, looking extremely delicate. Under the effect of Viagra, Zheng Tulu couldn't wait to pull off her bathrobe and start directly. Just seeing Afang's graceful figure wrapped in the bathrobe made his blood boil, and the thing below quickly hardened. "Afang, still cooking? Make fewer dishes; look, the table is full." Zheng Tulu greeted Afang with a smile.

Afang turned her head and smiled knowingly, saying, "Only one dish left. Director Zheng, please wait a moment, it will be ready soon."

Xia Jian carefully hung Zheng Tulu's overcoat, which was worth over ten thousand yuan, on the coat rack, walked over, pulled out a chair, and sat down. He took out the pack of Zhonghua cigarettes he had bought at the store across from the Construction Committee, took out two, and respectfully handed one over with both hands: "Director Zheng, have a cigarette."

Zheng Tulu took the cigarette, looked at it, and smiled with surprise, "Yo, Little Xia, your grade is quite high, smoking Zhonghua now." With that, he put it in his mouth.

Xia Jian's lighter immediately came up. While lighting the cigarette, he said with a fawning smile, "Specially to entertain you, Director Zheng."

Zheng Tulu felt very satisfied hearing such words. He took a puff of the cigarette and asked with a smile, "Little Xia, you've been studying at the Party School for half a month, what have you gained?"

"The gains are not small, I've learned a lot of things." Xia Jian said respectfully.

Zheng Tulu nodded while smoking and said, "It's good if you can learn things."

At this time, Afang brought over a plate of braised sea bass and placed it on the table. While sitting down, she said with a smile, "Director Zheng, the conditions at home are limited, just these few dishes, please don't mind."

"It's already very sumptuous." Zheng Tulu said with a smile.

Afang gave a charming smile and greeted, "Director Zheng, please eat, try my skills and see how they are?"

Zheng Tulu looked at Afang with lustful eyes, picked up his chopsticks, tasted a bite, nodded, and praised, "Afang's skills are really good, the taste is even better than the dishes in big restaurants outside. Little Xia, you are really blessed to have married a wife like Afang who can handle the parlor and the kitchen. You must treat Afang well."

Xia Jian looked at his wife with a smile and nodded to Zheng Tulu, saying, "Yes, yes."

Afang said with a charming smile, "Xia Jian returned from his studies at the Party School today, so I thought of inviting you, Director Zheng, to our home for a home-cooked meal. If it weren't for you, Director Zheng, how would Xia Jian have had the chance to study at the Party School?"

Zheng Tulu looked at Afang with a smile, a flash of lust in his eyes, and chuckled, "If it weren't for Afang talking to me about this, I really wouldn't have thought of letting Little Xia go for training. Why? Little Xia should know, right? I'm under pressure. Comrade Xiao Zhao's cousin is the Minister of the Organization Department of our Provincial Committee. Knowing there was this opportunity, she wanted to fight for it for Comrade Xiao Zhao and even called me specifically to give instructions. But in the end, I still withstood the pressure and let you go, Little Xia."

Afang said to Xia Jian, "Look, Director Zheng almost offended the Minister of the Organization Department for your sake, and you still don't thank Director Zheng properly."

Xia Jian nodded and chuckled, "Yes, yes, Director Zheng, thank you so much this time for giving me such a good opportunity to study at the Party School."

Afang stood up unknowingly and took a bottle of locally produced Fengxiang-style Xifeng 16-year-old wine from the wine cabinet on the side. While sitting down, she said, "Since Director Zheng is willing to come to our home for this meal in his busy schedule today, you should accompany Director Zheng to drink some wine."

"Little Xia, look at you, you're a good guy, but you're not as observant as Afang." Zheng Tulu said with a smile, "Then I'll have two drinks."

Xia Jian took the wine bottle from Afang's hand with a fawning smile and poured a full glass for Zheng Tulu and himself into glass cups, each cup being a full four taels. After pouring two cups, there was not much left in the bottle.

Putting down the wine bottle, Xia Jian picked up his glass and went up to him, saying, "Director Zheng, you value me so much, I'll toast you."

Looking at the full glass of wine, Zheng Tulu looked surprised and said, "Little Xia, drink it all at once?"

Xia Jian's drinking capacity was not good. As soon as he heard he had to drink it all at once, he immediately softened and said with a fawning smile, "Director Zheng, let's drink slowly."

Afang, sitting opposite, gave Zheng Tulu a wink. Zheng Tulu immediately understood her intention, thinking that it seemed not only was he impatient, but even Afang wanted him to get Xia Jian drunk as soon as possible to facilitate the wonderful journey ahead. So Zheng Tulu put on a straight face and said, "Hey! Little Xia, look at you, you don't even understand the rules of the wine table. You picked up a glass of wine to toast someone, how can you not finish it? Right?"

Since the leader had said so, how could Xia Jian not finish it? He said with a fawning smile, "Then... then Director Zheng, I toast you, let's finish it all at once."

Zheng Tulu glanced at Afang calmly, seeing a charming smile flash across her beautiful face. "Come, Little Xia, let's celebrate your return from the Party School with this glass of wine. Come." The leader, Zheng Tulu, appeared especially close to the people at this moment. He picked up his glass, raised it, and clinked it gently with Xia Jian's. Relying on the massive drinking capacity he had cultivated in officialdom for many years, he picked up his glass and, without hesitation, tilted his head back and gulped down the full glass of white wine like it was plain water.

Xia Jian looked at the full, swaying glass of white wine in his hand, frowned, bit the bullet, held his breath, and poured it into his mouth. This glass of wine seemed like it would never be finished no matter how much he poured, and it took a long time before the glass finally hit the bottom. Putting down the glass, Xia Jian's face gradually turned red, and he looked extremely painful.

Zheng Tulu wanted this immediate effect. While he wasn't drunk yet, he instructed him with earnest words: "Little Xia, we have many rules in China, and drinking is also a rule. In officialdom, drinking is even more of a science. You say you want to toast a leader, how can you not finish it? You've been working at the Construction Committee for some years, how can you not understand such a simple truth? Right? Today we are at your home, privately, let me tell you. Suppose you are in a big occasion and you are drinking with other leaders, if you are like this today, I'm afraid you won't have any achievements in the future, Little Xia."

Xia Jian had already been somewhat dazed by the large glass of white wine. He only felt a wave of something that seemed like anesthetic pouring into his brain, buzzing. He didn't hear clearly what Zheng Tulu was saying, but just forced himself to smile and nod, enduring his burning, scalding stomach.

Afang followed Zheng Tulu's words and lectured him, "How can you be so unobservant? You don't want to finish drinking with Director Zheng? You've worked for so many years, and you don't even understand this simple truth, and you still need Director Zheng to teach you."

Zheng Tulu saw that Afang's performance was really realistic, so he continued to play the double act and said with a smile, "Afang, it's not right to talk to Little Xia like that. Women should be gentler. Besides, it's not a formal occasion today anyway. I'm just telling Little Xia about the rules of the wine table so he'll know next time he drinks on a formal occasion."

Alcohol was taking effect bit by bit. Xia Jian felt as if his head was being filled with lead, getting heavier and heavier, and his neck seemed unable to support it. He supported his forehead with his hand, his elbows on the table, his face fiery red, looking drunk. He forced himself to smile and said, "Director Zheng, thank... thank you for your instruction, I... I will definitely pay... pay attention next time..."

"There is knowledge in every detail. After you slowly go up in the future, you will gradually understand." Zheng Tulu said kindly, picked up the wine bottle, divided the remaining wine, raised his glass, and said, "Comrade Comrade Xiao Zhao, come, there's only this much wine left. I'll toast you, thank you for inviting me to be a guest at your home."

Facing the wine toasted by the leader, Xia Jian had to drink it even if it killed him. He forced himself to pick up the glass, clinked it gently with Zheng Tulu's, and swayed as he brought the glass to his mouth, pouring down the more than one tael of wine.

Seeing that a bottle of wine had been finished, Afang, fearing that one bottle wouldn't be enough to handle her husband, said with a smile, "Director Zheng, you and Xia Jian are drinking so happily today, I'll go get you another bottle of wine."