Light Speed ​​War

Chapter 246: There's Really Too Much Alcohol

The conversation went on until almost 11:30, when the uncle and aunt started preparing lunch.

When Zhou Yuan's mother and Zhou Yuan carried the box of Maotai liquor to the table in the main hall, several uncles exclaimed, "Sister Zhou, are you drinking this good liquor today?" "Young lady, this liquor has been around for quite some time."

"Gentlemen, it's rare to have all of you brothers here. Thank you all for taking care of my son and me. Besides, today is a joyous occasion, with General Chu and his family honoring our humble abode. We should at least bring out our most treasured possessions, shouldn't we?" Everyone burst into laughter.

General Chu knew that this box of wine was a rare vintage, indicating that Zhou Yuan's family must have been quite well-off before, but after becoming an orphan and widow, their finances naturally declined compared to others.

General Chu naturally sat at the head of the table in the center of the hall. To his left and right were his wife and Chu Xiaolu, respectively. Below Chu Xiaolu sat Zhou Yuan. Considering that Pan Na was also a guest who had come from afar, Chu Xiaolu was seated below his wife. Below Chu Xiaolu sat Guo Baoguo and other city leaders. Below Zhou Yuan sat the neighbors. The large round rotating table in the hall was filled with fifteen people.

The other neighborhood women sat in one of the rooms in the courtyard, with Zhou Yuan's mother keeping them company. In another room, there was a table of food, prepared for the soldiers on guard duty outside, who took turns eating.

"Little Zhou, don't you drink?" General Chu asked Zhou Yuan.

"Uncle, I don't drink alcohol."

"Never had a drink before? Men can drink a little, it's okay. You're an adult now, and you've even graduated from university. Come on, let's have a few drinks."

It's clear that General Chu is in a particularly good mood today.

When Uncle Zhang, who sat to the left of Zhou Yuan, heard General Chu say this, he took the wine bottle and poured wine into Zhou Yuan's cup. Zhou Yuan felt bad about spoiling the mood and let Uncle Zhang pour the wine for him.

Everyone at the table, except for Madam Chu, drank alcohol. Zhou Yuan was surprised that Pan Na and Chu Xiaolu were also drinking baijiu (Chinese liquor). The dishes on the table were quite plentiful and varied.

Guo Baoguo, as a local leader, delivered a welcoming speech, welcoming General Chu and his family, and welcoming Pan Na. This was the first toast.

With the second toast, Zhou Yuan, as the host, expressed his gratitude to his uncles and elders for their long-term care and welcomed General Chu's family and Pan Na.

With the third toast, General Chu, on behalf of everyone, congratulated and encouraged Zhou Yuan on his recovery and his upcoming return to work, and wished everyone good health and a happy life.

This was Zhou Yuan's first time at a drinking table, and he soon realized that there was quite a bit of drinking culture involved. It was his first time drinking alcohol, and after three cups, Zhou Yuan felt a burning sensation in his chest. Coupled with the hot weather, and his shirt and trousers, his face was soon drenched in sweat, and his back felt damp.

The older men joined General Chu and Guo Baoguo in drinking, their cups clinking and toasting.

Madam Chu seemed to notice Zhou Yuan's unusual behavior. She moved closer to Chu Xiaolu and whispered a few words in her ear over General Chu's shoulder. Chu Xiaolu blushed and shook her head, seemingly unwilling.

Pan Na's face was slightly flushed from the wine. She left the table, walked to Zhou Yuan's side, and whispered a few words in his ear. Zhou Yuan was taken aback and looked at General Chu and his family of three. Seeing Zhou Yuan hesitate, Pan Na suddenly grabbed his arms and pulled him up. Zhou Yuan had no choice but to stand up, nod to General Chu and his wife, and then leave the table.

Panna pulled Zhou Yuan to his door. Zhou Yuan pushed the door open, went in, and then closed it. Panna turned around and sat down again. Then Zhou Yuan opened the door again.

Chu Xiaolu noticed that Zhou Yuan had changed into a short-sleeved T-shirt and mid-length trousers, and breathed a sigh of relief. She glanced at Pan Na, who was also looking at Chu Xiaolu, and the two smiled at each other.

At the table, eleven grown men were already drinking. There were too many drinking etiquette rules. Zhou Yuan ate a few bites of food, but couldn't resist General Chu and the others' urging to drink. He also toasted each of his uncles two cups to express his gratitude for their care and concern over the years. Zhou Yuan gritted his teeth and started drinking freely, thinking that at worst he would drink too much today, which would be a way of returning the favor.

Midway through the meal, Zhou Yuan's mother came over and told him to drink less, to which Zhou Yuan agreed. Seeing that Zhou Yuan's face was flushed but he was still sober, his mother didn't want to say anything more in front of everyone. She quickly ladled a bowl of clear soup from her table and handed it to Zhou Yuan before returning to her seat. Feeling thirsty, Zhou Yuan drank it all in one go, feeling much better. He then ate several large mouthfuls of food, and then offered a second toast to General Chu, Madam Chu, and Chu Xiaolu's family of three, wishing them good health, success in their careers, and happiness for their families.

Encouraged by the crowd, Zhou Yuan then drank two more glasses of wine alone with Chu Xiaolu and Pan Na.

Zhou Yuan felt his vision blurring and knew he was about to die. He suppressed the churning in his stomach and just scooped up some soup to drink.

General Chu seemed to sense something was amiss and stopped trying to persuade Zhou Yuan. Instead, he drank with the older men, protecting Zhou Yuan and saying that since it was Zhou Yuan's first time drinking, this was fine and he shouldn't drink too much. Zhou Yuan felt grateful. Pan Na, the beautiful woman, was clearly protecting Zhou Yuan. Whenever an older man offered to drink with Zhou Yuan, she would say, "I'll drink for Brother Zhou."

Uncle Pan saw his daughter protecting Zhou Yuan so much and gave her a few meaningful glances, but Pan Na pretended not to notice.

Zhou Yuan composed himself and felt a surge of warmth in his heart when he saw how protective Pan Na was of him.

As they were honored guests, Chu Xiaolu couldn't refuse their hospitality and drank quite a bit with the older men, her face now flushed. Mrs. Chu apologized to everyone, then took Chu Xiaolu's glass away, stopped pouring wine, replaced Chu Xiaolu's glass with a soft drink, and also poured a soft drink for Pan Na. Knowing she was also nearing her limit, Pan Na didn't refuse and drank the soft drink.

The situation at the table was that Guo Baoguo's group of five were drinking with six older men.

Zhou Yuan's consciousness began to blur, and he felt nauseous. He drank two small bowls of soup, which made him feel a little better. Zhou Yuan looked at the table; there was still a bottle of wine left. Uncle Zhang divided the bottle among the eleven men, and Zhou Yuan breathed a sigh of relief.

To everyone's surprise, Uncle Zhang suddenly called Zhou Yuan's mother over and asked if there was any more wine. Zhou Yuan's mother was dumbfounded; she had no idea these people could drink so much. She quickly ran back into the house and found four bottles of Maotai liquor. General Chu suggested that everyone drink responsibly and not drink too much. Hearing General Chu's words, the others felt embarrassed and shared two more bottles, so all eight bottles of Maotai were finished. Everyone thought eight bottles was a good number, as eight is a lucky number.

Zhou Yuan's mind was already blurred, as if he were dozing off, and eventually he lost all consciousness.

Zhou Yuan opened his eyes groggily. The pale moonlight shone on the rows of bookshelves, and the yellowed books looked like gold nuggets with a milky white hue under the moonlight. Zhou Yuan knew that he was lying in bed, but his heart was churning with a feeling of unease, as if something was about to rise into his throat.

Zhou Yuan quickly pulled back the mosquito net, put on his slippers, and rushed to open his bedroom door, then the door to the main room. By the dim moonlight, he unlatched the gate, opened it, ran to the corner of the wall, leaned against it, and vomited loudly. His nose was full of vomit. He forcefully exhaled through his nose a few times until the nausea subsided. Still feeling nauseous, he vomited again, this time vomiting a lot of bitter liquid. Dazed, Zhou Yuan went into the kitchen, scooped a ladle of water from the water vat, and slowly poured the cold water over his head in the yard. He immediately felt a refreshing coolness. While pouring the water over his head, he used his left hand to wash his face and mouth, repeating this process four times. He quickly ran his hands through his hair, rinsing it dry. The yard was like an oven in the middle of the night; shaking his hair for a while was enough to cool him down. Zhou Yuan remembered the vomit in the corner outside, so he went into the kitchen, took a shovel and scooped out some ashes from the boiler. He walked to the corner and, by the moonlight, covered his vomit with the ashes.

Suddenly, Zhou Yuan heard a hurried door opening not far away. He turned around and, by the moonlight, saw a white figure rush out of Uncle Pan's yard, then squat down at the door and make a few "crunching" sounds, but did not vomit.

Pan Na? Zhou Yuan immediately thought of Pan Na, and upon closer inspection, it was indeed her. His own yard and Uncle Pan's yard were separated only by Uncle Zhang's yard.

"Nana, are you alright?" Zhou Yuan called out.

Panna seemed to hear someone calling her. She looked up and saw Zhou Yuan in the corner of his yard. She paused for a moment, then smiled, a somewhat silly smile, as if she hadn't quite woken up yet. Panna stood up and called out, "Zhou... Zhou... Brother, is... is... you?" She then staggered towards Zhou Yuan. Worried that she might fall, Zhou Yuan quickly closed his yard gate and ran towards her.

Zhou Yuan grabbed Pan Na's hand. "Nana, are you alright?"

"Big...brother, I...I'm...okay." Panna's words were somewhat indistinct, and she gagged a few times.

"Nana, let me help you inside. Don't fall." Zhou Yuan held Pan Na's arm and pulled her into the house.

"No, no, I... I want... to go to your house." Panna tried to break free.

"Uncle Pan, Uncle Pan, Uncle Pan!" Zhou Yuan shouted into the house several times, trying to get Uncle Pan to come out and help.

"Uncle Pan, Uncle Pan, Uncle Pan," Pan Na echoed Zhou Yuan's calls a few times.

Zhou Yuan was puzzled, wondering what was wrong with Uncle Pan. Could he have also drunk too much?

"Nana, let's go inside."

Panna suddenly leaned towards Zhou Yuan, who quickly caught her. Panna's body slumped down, as if she was about to collapse. Zhou Yuan put Panna's left arm on his right shoulder and wrapped his right arm around her soft waist, pulling her towards Uncle Pan's yard and closing the gate behind him.

"Uncle Pan, Uncle Pan," Zhou Yuan called out twice more, but still no one answered.

"Nana, which room do you live in?" Zhou Yuan asked Pan Na. Pan Na slowly pointed. Suddenly, Pan Na dragged Zhou Yuan down to squat, and then vomited loudly in the yard. Zhou Yuan gently patted Pan Na's back. Pan Na vomited a little more, then looked up at Zhou Yuan with dazed eyes, "Who are you?"

"Nana, I'm Zhou Yuan."

“Brother Zhou?” Panna looked closely. “It really is Brother Zhou.”

"It's me. Are you feeling better?"

"My head is still spinning terribly."

"Let me help you inside. Where's your dad?"

"My dad? He must have gone to the widow's house."

Zhou Yuan didn't say anything, but helped Pan Na into her room. The floor fan oscillated, blowing towards Pan Na's bed. Zhou Yuan noticed that Pan Na's bed didn't have a mosquito net.

Zhou Yuan gently placed Pan Na on the bed, but Pan Na suddenly wrapped her arms around Zhou Yuan's neck. Although Zhou Yuan supported himself with his left arm, his face bumped into Pan Na's high breasts. Zhou Yuan panicked and struggled to lift his head. He used his right hand to remove Pan Na's two hands from his neck and used both hands to support himself off the edge of the bed.

Panna seemed to be asleep, scratching her leg with her right hand. Zhou Yuan approached and noticed some large lumps on her thigh, probably mosquito bites. Zhou Yuan glanced at the ground; mosquito coils were lit. He still blamed Uncle Pan for being so careless as to not buy Panna a mosquito net. He guessed Panna had never experienced this in the Western Lands.