Chapter 174: Drunkenness

The players toasted table by table, and the white liquor was drunk cup by cup. Su Mian felt a bit hot and a bit sleepy.

She had never drunk so much wine, and she only drank a little bit. She raised her hand to rub her temples. She had no intention of eating anymore. Suddenly, with a *clatter*, Su Mian was startled back to her senses.

"Oh my, Third Brother, spit it out quickly, hurry, hurry."

"Oh my, such a big person, and you can still get choked by stewed ribs."

Only to see that middle-aged man pinching his neck, sliding down half-lying on the chair, half-kneeling and half-lying.

"Uh... uh..."

That person couldn't make a complete sound, white foam flowed down from the corners of his mouth, his face turned blue-purple, and the auntie who was patting his back didn't dare to mess around.

"Oh my, so serious, call an ambulance quickly!"

"Go get some vinegar, hurry, hurry, hurry."

The players watched this scene silently, their drunkenness dispersed a bit. The auntie cook beside them, however, was eating leisurely and beckoned to them.

"It's okay, it's okay, it's an old problem." She smiled at the few girls. "Hurry up and toast to the next table, don't let the friends and relatives wait too long."

After speaking, she drove the few away. Su Mian was still looking back. That middle-aged man had already fallen off the bench, his figure completely blocked, so she had no choice but to withdraw her gaze.

The last table was the few leaders at the door. After toasting the last cup, Su Mian was already dizzy.

She never drank, and only drank a little bit. She raised her hand to rub her temples; she had no intention of eating anymore. Her stomach felt stuffy. She planned to go back to her room to rest for a while, her footsteps swaying. She lifted her leg and entered the door.

Everyone was eating wine in the courtyard, and there was no one at home.

A gaze appeared from somewhere behind her, but Su Mian had no intention of paying attention.

"Leader Chen, I'll toast you a cup, hehe, this... look at whether my son has a chance..."

The old man raised his wine glass, his eyes flattering.

Si Shi reached out and interrupted him.

The small red cloth table in the corner walked over with a *patter, patter* sound. The wine glass on the table was already empty. Si Shi kicked the small table.

"Boss... I, I didn't find water."

"I didn't ask you to change the wine to water? What did you go do?"

The small red table trembled with fear, even the cup shaking unsteadily.

Si Shi rubbed his brow. "Forget it, you go put the cup away first." He turned his head and looked

Si Shi rubbed his brow, "Forget it, go put the cup down first." He turned his head and looked at the old man who was still waiting.

"Are you talking about that good-for-nothing son of yours who leeches off his parents?"

Hearing such unreserved belittling, the old man's face turned pale instantly.

The faint, low pressure around Si Shi made the old man want to retreat.

"Haha... that's true, that's true, I should go back and educate him; you leaders enjoy your food and drink, I'll be going now."

Having said that, he leaned on his cane and hurried away as if there were ghosts chasing him; seeing this, the others who had intended to step forward gave up, and the leader in the suit opened his mouth but said nothing.

"Xi Huai, isn't this screening standard too strict? What kind of skills could people from the countryside have..."

Si Shi stood up with one hand in his pocket, "Our screening standards are already very low; they either need to be able to endure hardship and get things done, or have brains and ability."

"Daughters are like spilled water, so they are pushed away desperately; sons are the roots to carry on the family line, so they are coddled to death in one's arms—when the roots rot, that's what you get."

"Do you want a bunch of ancestors coming to the factory?"

Si Shi's words were too sharp, leaving the man speechless, and since Si Shi was not in a good mood, he stopped wasting words.

He left the banquet before it had even ended, and the other leaders dared not say anything.

On the other side, Su Mian had wandered around not knowing where she went, only knowing that she had gone up to the second floor and kept going in circles.

Thinking she had entered her own room, she looked around and realized it wasn't; she racked her brains to think, and finally remembered.

That day, when she felt her way to the second floor in the dark, this innermost room wouldn't open, and at that time Su Mian thought it was locked.

Now that she could see clearly, she discovered it wouldn't open because the door handle was different from the others; now that it was bright, she opened it very easily.

But Su Mian, with her muddled consciousness, didn't think much of it; she wandered aimlessly around the room, which had many crocodile leather trunks.

Anyone who knew their stuff could see the value of this leather at a glance, especially in an era of economic backwardness; just one of them would be enough to cost an ordinary person half a lifetime's savings, and the room gave off a faint scent of green apples.

She was a bit tired from walking, so she sat down on the floor with a thud, her little face flushed red; drunkenness fueled her curiosity, and she stared fixedly at a trunk, eventually unable to resist the temptation and opening it.

Inside was a pile of clothes.

A striped Pleasant Goat T-shirt, a pair of overalls, a silver-white gauze dress, a white lab coat; she pushed aside another trunk, and it was still clothes: black and white nun's casual wear, a set of Chinese-style school uniforms.

Su Mian felt very familiar with them, but she was too dizzy to remember anything, even suspecting if something else had been added to the wine.

But the others who had toasted with her were fine, which could only mean she couldn't hold her liquor.

While lost in thought, she moved a trunk aside, which contained a jar of green candies and a few sheets of A4 paper.

"Daily Inquiry Record Handbook..."

She squinted her eyes and read stumbling, when suddenly she was scooped up by someone, her legs held firmly.

The A4 paper in her hand scattered, and Su Mian felt her face pinched by a large hand; she lifted her eyelids groggily.

"... A Si."

"You still recognize me."

Si Shi placed her on the bed, "Are you uncomfortable? Do you want to throw up?" He handed her a cup of warm water, and when Su Mian reached out to take it, Si Shi stopped her.

"You're very dizzy right now, you'll drop the cup, just drink it like this."

Drink it like this?

How to drink it?

The drunken Su Mian couldn't wrap her head around it; she pursed her lips, leaned in, and used her tongue to lick the water in the cup, and the hand holding the cup froze.

Si Shi's Adam's apple bobbed, forcing himself not to think about that, and he felt somewhat helpless.

But he also understood that a drunk person had no consciousness, so he could only pull the cup back.

As a result, the girl's head followed, and she looked up with some confusion, as if asking him why he wouldn't let her drink.

"I'll feed it to you, no need to lick."

"... Oh."

Su Mian opened her mouth slightly, revealing only her front teeth; whether she was tired or just absent-minded, she opened it only a tiny crack, so perfunctorily that even the rim of the cup couldn't fit in.

Si Shi pinched the girl's jaw, pressed her lower lip down with his thumb, lifted it slightly, adjusted the angle, and fed the honey water into her mouth.

The delirious Su Mian was very obedient, not moving a muscle, letting the water slide into her throat and swallowing it in small sips, her eyes wet as they rested on Si Shi's face.

Being stared at by her like this, how could anyone endure it? His breathing quickened a little.

The temperature of his fingertips felt like a flame creeping up; she was tempting him, yet she was completely unaware.

After feeding her the honey water, the man released the girl's jaw as if it were burning hot, then pulled out a tissue to wipe the water trail from the corner of her mouth.