Chapter 171: Had Too Much to Drink

Still in the same room, Xu Fei had Xu Yun sit down right beside him.

"Brother, this place is really nice."

Having just arrived from out of town, this was the first time Xu Yun had ever seen a restaurant like the Spring Welcome Hotel.

"Is that so? Don't hold back later. Just tell me whatever you want to eat—it's my treat today."

"Really? Then I..."

Xu Yun pondered for a moment.

"I'll have a bowl of shredded tofu in broth."

"What? Does that even count as something good?"

"Brother, I even dreamed about it last night. Just thinking about it makes my mouth water."

"Alright, I'll have Fatty see if they can make it here."

Just then, Fatty walked in.

"Brother Xu, it's been a while since you've been here. What would you like to eat today?"

Xu Fei smiled and said, "Yeah, I had things to attend to at home. Oh, go ahead and order for Director Qi first—just get his favorites, you figure out the rest."

Fatty nodded with a smile, jotting things down in the notebook he was holding.

"I'll arrange six dishes, all favorites of my brother here, but I guarantee you'll all love them."

Xu Fei nodded. "By the way, can you make shredded tofu in broth here?"

Fatty smiled. "Come on, Brother Xu, if you want that, you should go to the Qinhuai River; the ones there are much more authentic."

"My younger brother wants to have some."

Fatty glanced at Xu Yun, smiled, and shook his head. "So the little brother wants it. Fine, I'll have the kitchen whip up a batch for you."

He simply regarded it as humoring a child.

With that, Fatty recited the menu, and Xu Fei was quite satisfied.

"Then I'll go get the kitchen started."

"Alright."

Watching Fatty leave, Xu Yun asked Xu Fei, "Brother, you seem to be on good terms with everyone here?"

"Yeah. When you're out and about, that's a must. You have to blend in with the locals to get things done smoothly. Understand?"

Xu Yun nodded with a half-understanding look.

"As for you, just focus on eating for now. When you're done, if you want to stay here, you can sit. If not, you can go to the room—there's a television there. You can ask their waitress—oh, that girl's name is Xiaolan, you can just call her Sister Lan—to help you turn it on."

Xu Yun nodded.

Just then, the hearty laughter of Qi Zhiyong echoed down the corridor.

His voice arrived well before he did.

That was precisely Qi Zhiyong's personality.

Meng Anyi pushed the door open and stepped in first.

"Well, well, Brother Xu Fei, you're not playing fair! You come all the way to Nanjing and don't even give me a heads-up in advance? I could have sent a car to pick you up!"

Qi Zhiyong walked in with a glowing, ruddy complexion. He walked straight over to Xu Fei, reached out to shake his hand, and only then looked toward Xu Yun.

"Let me think, this young comrade is Xu Yun, right?"

Xu Yun was immensely curious. He was clearly meeting this middle-aged man—who was roughly the same height as his older brother—for the very first time, so how did the man know his name?

Xu Fei smiled and nodded. "Brother, how does this uncle know my name?"

After all, Xu Yun was still a child, and his curiosity prompted him to tug at Xu Fei's sleeve and ask.

"Haha, little comrade Xu Yun, I actually heard it from this sister right here."

Hearing Qi Zhiyong say this, Xu Yun suddenly understood.

"Come, come..."

As he spoke, Qi Zhiyong pulled a thick stack of ten-yuan bills from his pocket.

Without missing a beat, he bypassed Xu Fei and grabbed Xu Yun by the hand.

"Here, this is just a little token of my affection as your uncle."

Xu Yun was dumbfounded.

To him, a single ten-yuan banknote was already an astronomical sum. This was a whole stack of them—no, he felt it was easily twenty bills.

"Brother, this?"

He looked at Xu Fei, completely at a loss for what to do.

"Brother Qi, what are you doing?"

"Hey, these two hundred are for the kid, not for you."

Xu Fei was actually quite embarrassed by Qi Zhiyong's extravagant generosity.

Although they were business partners and got along very well, handing over two hundred yuan right off the bat was...

"Take it."

Qi Zhiyong stuffed the money directly into Xu Yun's hand and sat down in a chair with a hearty laugh.

"Bring out the food, Fatty!" he shouted toward the doorway.

Xu Fei had no choice but to pull Xu Yun gently. "Don't call him uncle. This is my elder brother, call him Brother Qi."

Xu Yun felt that Qi Zhiyong was old enough to be his father several times over.

However, since his older brother told him to address him that way, he would just go along with it.

He glanced down at the money in his hand.

"Put it away." Xu Fei nodded.

Seeing his brother give the green light, Xu Yun held the money with both hands and bowed deeply to Qi Zhiyong.

"Good boy!"

Seeing Xu Yun treat him with such respect, Qi Zhiyong naturally felt warm inside.

This was precisely what an elder looked for from a junior.

Xu Yun stuffed the money into his jacket pocket and sat back down beside Xu Fei, though his mind was racing with how he might spend it.

At that moment, Fatty began bringing out the evening dishes one by one.

He specially placed the bowl of shredded tofu in broth right in front of Xu Yun.

"Well now, little Xu Yun, do you have a particular fondness for our local snacks?"

Seeing Qi Zhiyong ask, Xu Yun smiled and nodded.

"Brother Qi, let's toast."

Xu Fei smiled as he picked up the wine bottle, filled Qi Zhiyong's glass first, and then stood up to fill Meng Anyi's.

After returning to his seat and filling his own glass, he said, "It shouldn't be my place to propose a toast, but Brother Qi, I'd like this drink to be from me, as your younger brother, to express my respect to you."

"Oh? How so?"

Xu Fei looked at him and said, "Because of matters back home earlier, I couldn't come here myself. My third brother told me that his trip to Nanjing was thanks to Brother Qi and Sister Meng—you both helped him immensely. So this drink is on behalf of my brother to thank you both."

"Ah, I've heard a bit about your situation. After all, your third brother isn't like you; he's still somewhat inexperienced when it comes to business. Besides, since we're in a partnership, there's really no need to stand on ceremony over these things."

Xu Fei nodded, then raised his wine glass. "Brother Qi, Sister Meng, cheers!"

With that, he clinked glasses with the two of them.

The three of them downed their drinks in unison.

"Brother, can... can I propose a toast too?"

Xu Fei was slightly startled. He glanced at Xu Yun beside him, who was still in the middle of eating the shredded tofu in broth.

Noticing the oily stain at the corner of the boy's mouth, Xu Fei smiled and asked, "What's this? You want to propose a toast? What for?"

Xu Yun stood up from his seat. "Brother Qi just gave me so much money, and Sister Meng has always been so kind to me before. Shouldn't I show some appreciation?"

Seeing this, both Qi Zhiyong and Meng Anyi were amused by Xu Yun trying to act like a grown-up, and they burst into laughter.

"I must say, Brother Xu Fei, this younger brother of yours is quite something!"

"Indeed. Look at how sensible Xu Yun is, he's just too adorable."

Xu Fei offered a wry smile, thinking to himself: *This brat learns really fast. I never expected him to be even smoother at social situations than I am.*

"Alright then! Since you want to make a toast, what are you going to use for it? I must make it clear—you're still too young, you can't have alcohol."

Seeing his brother agree, Xu Yun smiled and said, "Brother, I've actually already figured it out. Look."

He held up the bowl containing the remaining broth of the shredded tofu.

"I'll use this bowl of shredded tofu broth to toast Brother Qi and Sister Meng. I wish you both good health and longevity. How's that?"

With that, Xu Yun tilted the bowl and gulped down the remaining soup.

This unexpected action caused Qi Zhiyong and Meng Anyi to look at each other. Unable to hold back any longer, they burst into hearty laughter once again.