51: Loves to drink and can drink

"How is it, Xiao Tian, does this Spicy Chicken suit your taste?"

Seeing Ye Tian's somewhat wistful expression, Li Ming couldn't help but ask.

Ye Tian immediately smiled.

"Brother Li personally cooked it, so how could it not suit my taste? I feel like this dish is a perfect match for wine."

"Glad you like it. Come, we're happy today, let's have another one."

As a chef, Li Ming was clearly not overly enthusiastic about the food he made; eating was merely a complement to the alcohol.

Ye Tian naturally didn't refuse and straightforwardly picked up a second bottle.

He chatted with Li Ming while they ate.

"Yo, Old Li, so free today? Daring to drink so early in the morning? Aren't you afraid your wife will twist your ear?"

The two brothers had just finished their third bottle.

The voice of a customer from a nearby table drifted over.

An old regular, whose face was slightly red from drinking, stood up with a bottle and walked towards Ye Tian's table, teasing them.

"I've already asked for permission from the boss; I'm just having two or three bottles to unwind."

Seeing the other party's stance, Li Ming quickly explained.

But anyone who drinks knows that if you tell someone you can't drink much while holding a bottle, they'd be crazy to believe you.

Sure enough, the old regular immediately rolled his eyes at Li Ming.

"Stop pretending with me. Since your wife agreed, then you must have one today."

After saying that, he didn't wait for Li Ming's consent, directly plunked a bottle of beer in front of Li Ming, and then drank his first one as a toast.

Gulp, gulp, a bottle of beer was downed in the blink of an eye.

Li Ming watched this scene with a bitter smile. What could he do?

Drink it!

Without another word, Li Ming picked up the bottle and also chugged it down in one go.

Then he let out a long burp.

Then he pulled up a nearby stool.

"Satisfied now, Old Wang? Come, this Spicy Chicken was just stir-fried. Sit down and have some with us."

The latter glanced at the Spicy Chicken, his eyes lighting up. Without ceremony, he casually grabbed a pair of disposable chopsticks and picked up a piece of chicken.

"Tsk, tsk, it's this taste! Old Li, you really were hiding something again!"

"What, hiding something?"

Following Old Wang's words, the other few people at his table also perked up.

They stood up to look at the Spicy Chicken.

"Oh, Old Li, you're not being fair! Earlier, when we said we wanted to order Spicy Chicken, you said you ran out of freshly killed chicken, but then you're eating it all by yourself. Tell us, how do we resolve this?"

While their mouths expressed dissatisfaction, their actions already provided the answer.

They all began to open the beers placed beside them.

Li Ming looked at the group's mischievous formation and couldn't help but shrink his neck: "Brothers, don't mess around. My brother's company just opened, and I wanted to celebrate with him. It's just one Spicy Chicken..."

"I don't care. We're not talking about the Spicy Chicken problem. You had a bottle with Old Wang, so what about us?"

"Uh, this... alright! I have things to do later, so I can't drink too much. One cup each, okay?"

Saying this, Li Ming picked up a wine glass and walked towards them with a wry smile.

The few people exchanged glances, then chuckled.

When Li Ming approached one of them, intending to pour a drink for him.

That person directly grabbed the bottle: "Good, Old Li is generous today. Cheers!"

After speaking, he didn't give Li Ming a chance to pour, and started chugging the bottle.

In a short moment, a bottle was emptied.

Leaving Li Ming standing dumbfounded.

"Old Sun, you..."

"What 'this'? Coming one cup at a time, who are you looking down on? Usually, when we ask you to drink, we have to wait until you finish work, and you always make excuses. Today, we brothers specifically came to celebrate your restaurant being on TV. Just tell us if you'll drink with us or not."

With that one sentence, Li Ming was completely defenseless.

His eyes widened, and he gave in.

"I'll drink, I'll drink!"

...Alright, it's starting again!

Ye Tian watched this scene, also feeling a bit amused and helpless.

This kind of scenario usually happened late at night before closing; today it just started a bit earlier.

And the biggest difference this time from usual.

Was that even he himself had become part of the situation.

Old Wang, who had just eaten a few bites of chicken, saw that Li Ming was pulled away and couldn't escape. While chuckling mischievously, he also turned his attention to Ye Tian.

People who love to drink are generally forthright and wouldn't show favoritism.

"Come, brother, let's have one too. Speaking of which, Old Li, this guy, only told us today that you're his sworn brother. Otherwise, I would have looked for you to drink a long time ago."

Old Wang, being naturally familiar, clapped Ye Tian's shoulder and, quite thoughtfully, went back to the box at his own table, retrieved two bottles of beer, and handed them to Ye Tian.

Ye Tian hesitated for a moment, then took them with a smile.

Indeed, these old regulars were well-acquainted with Ye Tian. They were all decent people, and aside from being persistent in urging others to drink, they didn't act crazy when drunk.

Normally, if they ran out of cigarettes or something, they'd ask Ye Tian to run to the supermarket for them and would give him extra as a tip.

Drinking a bit with such considerate people was harmless. After all, he was now one of the shareholders of Changle Restaurant and had to fulfill some responsibility, right?

Clink.

Beer bottles clanged together.

Ye Tian tilted his head back and drank.

With a gurgling sound, the bottle was empty.

A round of applause broke out, followed by cheering.

"Old Wang, quickly bring the little brother over so we can properly get to know him. Old Li isn't pulling his weight; he only drank two bottles and is already slacking off."

Ye Tian looked back and saw that Li Ming's face was already somewhat flushed.

But he wasn't too surprised.

Having worked at the late-night food stall for a long time, he often observed people drinking.

He found that loving to drink and being able to drink were two different things.

Those who love to drink enjoy the atmosphere, the boasting and camaraderie after getting drunk. Such people have limited alcohol tolerance.

Often, those who drink without making a fuss, just picking up the bottle and downing it, are the true masters.

And Li Ming was clearly the former.

Therefore, these regulars who knew his alcohol tolerance loved to tease Li Ming with such things to liven up the atmosphere.

Seeing that everyone wanted to pull Ye Tian into the fray, Li Ming seemed a bit anxious.

Since he had known Ye Tian, this was the first time he'd seen Ye Tian drink. Alcohol tolerance was something you couldn't really tell without practice.

Although beer has a low alcohol content, it can still get to you if you chug it. Moreover, Ye Tian probably didn't know the rules of the drinking scene and definitely couldn't withstand the coaxing of these drunkards. If something bad happened to him from drinking too much, wouldn't his wife at home kill him?

As soon as he thought of this, he quickly intervened.

"No, my brother is still studying. Why are you guys making such a fuss? It's just alcohol; I'll drink it."

Saying this, Li Ming picked up a bottle and started clinking with people.

Three bottles went down in a row.

Earning a round of cheers.

"Awesome, Old Li is tough today, worthy of praise."

Li Ming smiled proudly.

"Hmph, if a tiger doesn't roar, you think I'm a sick cat. If it weren't for my wife being so strict, you guys wouldn't be so arrogant normally."

"Damn, you're getting ahead of yourself. Brothers, attack!"

The few of them laughed heartily, each getting excited and bending down to pull bottles from the box.

Ye Tian watched their actions, then looked at Li Ming's already flushed face, and his heart tightened.