55: Drinking and chatting in Yixian Garden

Room 888 of Yixian Garden.

Liu Xiaolin invited Li Xiangyang to sit in the main seat, while he and Wang Shengjun sat on his left and right, respectively.

Li Xiangyang declined for a long time with Liu Xiaolin, and only sat in the main seat after everyone repeatedly insisted.

"We don't know what dishes Minister Li likes to eat, but since you are from Chuandong, we chose a Sichuan restaurant." Zhao Rui said with a smile while pouring tea for everyone.

"Sichuan cuisine? I really like eating that." Li Xiangyang said with a smile.

"Then Minister Li will be responsible for ordering the dishes, as I am not very familiar with Sichuan cuisine." Zhao Rui said, asking Li Xiangyang to order, but in reality, he had already inquired that Yixian Garden's best dishes were boiled fish and lamb and yam stew. If Li Xiangyang didn't order these two dishes, he would proactively order them.

However, Li Xiangyang was from Chuandong and knew Sichuan cuisine very well. The first two dishes he ordered were boiled fish and lamb and yam stew. After ordering five or six more dishes, he handed the menu to Liu Xiaolin: "I can't be the only one ordering; it's tiring for just one person. General Manager Liu, please also take the trouble to order a few dishes."

Liu Xiaolin thought to himself that this Minister Li had indeed seen big occasions, and his every move exuded propriety.

When asked to order, he would order, but he would still leave the opportunity to order to the host.

"Then I'll order a few local specialty dishes." Liu Xiaolin said, taking the menu. "Established restaurants know how to do business. Although it's a Sichuan restaurant, they also make some local specialty dishes."

What Liu Xiaolin ordered was candied sweet potato: "Our jiangnan sweet potato is famously delicious. This candied sweet potato is made from our jiangnan sweet potato, and the taste is excellent."

"Ah? It's made from jiangnan sweet potato? Is it the jiangnan sweet potato you promoted in the live stream that day?" Xiao Han asked with wide eyes.

"Yes, it's made from our jiangnan sweet potato." Liu Xiaolin replied with a smile.

"Oh my, that's great. I was late that day and didn't manage to get the jiangnan sweet potato. I never thought I'd be able to eat jiangnan sweet potato at the same table as General Manager Liu today." Xiao Han was very happy.

Everyone was amused by this fan of Liu Xiaolin.

This young man, as soon as Liu Xiaolin opened his mouth, his eyes were full of admiration. It was very interesting.

Before long, more than half of the dishes were served.

Liu Xiaolin raised his wine glass: "Today, Minister Li visited Jiangnan Machinery Factory for an on-site inspection and gave us great affirmation. I am very happy. To thank Minister Li for his encouragement and affirmation, I suggest everyone raise a glass to Minister Li together."

"No, no, I am the guest, I should raise a glass to everyone to thank you for your kind hospitality." Li Xiangyang said, holding up his wine glass.

"Minister Li, please don't decline. It is right for us to raise a glass to you." Wang Shengjun said.

Qi Qingan and Minister Tan Qilin also echoed: "Exactly, we should raise a glass to you."

Liu Xiaolin naturally didn't let Li Xiangyang decline: "Come, come, everyone, raise your glasses, to Minister Li."

Under such hospitality, Li Xiangyang picked up his wine glass and drank it all in one gulp.

The glass wine glasses prepared during the banquet were all about half an ounce. For him, who was accustomed to drinking at banquets, toasting and finishing the drink was not a big problem.

Seeing that Li Xiangyang had finished his drink, the others naturally also drank theirs in one gulp, except for Zhao Rui, who was drinking plain boiled water.

Zhao Rui is the Minister of Comprehensive Department. He is responsible for entertaining everyone, managing the drinks during the banquet, settling the bill, and being the designated driver for the drunk Liu Xiaolin. Therefore, he cannot drink alcohol, and he also doesn't like drinking alcohol.

Liu Xiaolin naturally knew that Zhao Rui could handle all the miscellaneous tasks for him, so he planned to drink a few cups freely tonight.

"Now I will propose the second toast. I still want to toast Minister Li, thanking him for giving us the opportunity to sit together and have a drink! I'll drink first as a sign of respect." Liu Xiaolin finished speaking and, without waiting for Li Xiangyang to decline, finished the wine in his cup.

The others also drank it all in one gulp, including the two female guests, Yang Xiaoxia and Li Wei, who also downed it in one go. After drinking, Yang Xiaoxia's mouth was pursed like a gourd, but Li Wei's expression didn't change. It was obvious that Yang Xiaoxia couldn't hold her liquor, while Li Wei had a good capacity for alcohol.

Seeing this, what else could Li Xiangyang say? He led Xiao Han and Xiao Wu in also finishing the wine in their cups.

Zhao Rui quickly made a round to pour wine for everyone.

When he came to Yang Xiaoxia, she covered her wine glass and said: "No, I can't drink that much anymore. I'll have some drinks."

Of course, Zhao Rui didn't insist. The current drinking culture at banquets is no longer as forceful as before; everyone drinks according to their capacity.

So he poured Yang Xiaoxia a large glass of cola: "Sister Yang, then you drink cola."

Yang Xiaoxia took the cola and said happily: "Thank you, thank you for your consideration."

"You're welcome. It's best if no one drinks too much." Zhao Rui said with a smile.

"Now I propose the third toast. This toast is to wish for excellent cooperation opportunities between Chuandong Group and Jiangnan Machinery Factory in the future." Liu Xiaolin finished speaking and drank it all in one gulp again.

Everyone also followed suit and drank the third glass of wine.

After three glasses of wine, everyone began to toast each other.

The people from Jiangnan Machinery Factory took turns toasting Li Xiangyang and his group. Li Xiangyang wasn't intimidated at all; he accepted all toasts, if you drank, he drank too. This fully demonstrated Li Xiangyang's excellent drinking capacity!