"Dongxu, are you going to drink a beverage or have so alcohol?" After instructing the waiter to notify the kitchen to serve the hot dishes, Lin Jinnuo asked Ge Dongxu again.
If Ge Dongxu had been an ordinary person, Lin Jinnuo wouldn't have bothered asking and would have just served a beverage, but Ge Dongxu was rather special, so Lin Jinnuo made a point of inquiring.
"Let's have so Huadiao Wine, it's more nourishing," Ge Dongxu said after thinking it over.
He had developed a bit of a taste for alcohol during his ti with Ren Yao.
"Okay, it just so happens that I've got a jar of twenty-year-old Huadiao stored away. Lin Kun, go get it," Lin Jinnuo said promptly to Lin Kun upon hearing that Ge Dongxu wanted to drink Huadiao Wine.
Huadiao Wine and Huadiao actually both refer to Huangjiu. In Jiangnan Province, there's a custom where when a girl is born, the family will brew so wine, then bury it, to be opened and drunk when the girl gets married—it's called Huadiao, usually aged sixteen to eighteen years. The term Huadiao has been used when a girl passed away before reaching marriageable age and thus the wine was opened earlier. Nowadays, the distinction doesn't really hold, and Huadiao more commonly refers to a type of brand of Huangjiu from Jiangnan Province.
"Dongxu, today Zuo Le and I can thank our lucky stars because of you. We've been salivating over Boss Lin's jar of twenty-year-old Huadiao for a long ti, but he's always been too stingy to share it. Today, because of your visit, he's finally being generous," Yue Feng said with a sparkle in his eyes and a laugh.
These days in the Huangjiu market, there's a lot of talk about ten-year, twenty-year, or even fifty-year aged wines, but most of it is just for show. True decades-old Huangjiu is very rare and expensive, and ordinary people seldom get to taste the real deal. The decade-old Huadiao that Ge Dongxu poured for his master was not genuinely decade-aged—it was most likely produced through special processes to approximate the taste of a true decade-aged wine.
"Then I really have to thank Old Lin. Pour a small bottle later; I'll take it ho with ," Ge Dongxu's eyes also lit up as he said this.
His request for a small bottle wasn't for himself but was ant to be taken to his deceased master.
"Heh, since Dongxu likes Huangjiu so much, why don't you just take the jar of Huadiao ho to enjoy at your leisure. We big lugs wouldn't appreciate its flavor anyway; it'd be a waste of good wine," Lin Jinnuo remarked.
"No need, no need, good wine is best shared with everyone—that's what gives it flavor. I want a small bottle for a different purpose, not because I intend to drink more," Ge Dongxu hurriedly replied.
Seeing that Ge Dongxu had another use for the small bottle, Lin Jinnuo didn't insist on being formal with him anymore.
It didn't take long for Lin Kun to bring over a wine jar that clearly looked quite old.
Zuo Le, who obviously enjoyed good alcohol, couldn't wait to open the jar as soon as Lin Kun brought it over, and imdiately a fragrant aroma wafted out.
The glasses had been prepared in advance by the waitstaff, and then Zuo Le, the Standing Committee mber of the county committee and head of the county public security bureau, personally poured wine into each one.
Originally the jar had contained ten jin of wine, but after twenty years, only about a third remained. The wine that was poured out had an amber color and was thick, resembling honey more than wine.
Because there wasn't a lot of wine, Zuo Le, the bureau head, seed rather stingy, filling only Ge Dongxu's and host Lin Jinnuo's glasses. Everyone else got only half a glass, especially Lin Kun and Yue Ting, who received just under half a glass each, making them mock Zuo Le's miserliness.
"You two don't know the first thing about wine. It's already pretty good that I gave you a little to try. Complain anymore, and I might just cancel your share altogether," laughed Zuo Le.
Hearing this, Lin Kun and Yue Ting quickly guarded their wine glasses as if afraid they would actually be confiscated, eliciting laughter from everyone present.
"Co, Dongxu, I'd like to propose a toast to you, to thank you for saving my life and for guiding my son," Lin Jinnuo, the host, said as he lifted his glass, and after finishing his words, he tilted his head back and downed it all in one go.
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Ge Dongxu had no choice but to finish his drink as well. When he brought the wine to his nose, there was a unique and fragrant aroma. Before he had ti to savor it properly, it smoothly slid down his throat, feeling quite marvelous.
Zuo Le saw Ge Dongxu finish his drink, so he picked up the container to pour him another.
"Just a little, just a little. A full cup like that is too wasteful," Ge Dongxu said hastily to Zuo Le.
Thus, Zuo Le only poured him half a cup, then lifted his own glass and said, "Dongxu, today Jingfang and I want to thank you with Old Lin's wine for saving my life. Without you, there would be no Zuo Le today."
With that, the couple drained their glasses.
"You're too kind, too kind," Ge Dongxu hurriedly responded modestly and then followed by draining his glass as well.
Seeing Ge Dongxu drink another half cup, Lin Jinnuo and others, worried he might not be able to handle it, promptly urged him to eat so dishes.
After eating for a while and seeing that Ge Dongxu was perfectly fine, Yue Feng and his wife also toasted Ge Dongxu, thanking him for saving their brother and for teaching their daughter.
It turned out that since the incident with Chen Zihao, Yue Ting had beco much more sensible and began to help her father with many things in the business. At first, Yue Feng and his wife were puzzled until last year's incident with Zuo Le, and they, like Lin Jinnuo, only learned after asking that their daughter's change was related to Ge Dongxu's guidance, their gratitude for Ge Dongxu naturally deepened.
After drinking a glass with Yue Feng and his wife, Lin Kun and Yue Ting also respectfully toasted Ge Dongxu, after which things beca much more casual.
Everyone was laughing and chatting, glasses clinking, and before long, they had emptied a whole container of wine. Fortunately, Zuo Le had thoughtfully set aside a bottle earlier, otherwise, there would have been nothing left.
Because Ge Dongxu liked to drink yellow wine, and seeing that a container had been emptied, Lin Jinnuo called for two bottles of twenty-year Huadiao Wine to be brought out. However, it tasted much worse than the Daughter's Red they had just drunk, leading to Yue Feng and others teasing Lin Jinnuo as a sly rchant.
As the wine flowed and cheeks grew red, Zuo Le, sowhat hesitantly and with a flushed face, asked Ge Dongxu, "Dongxu, you are highly skilled in dicine, and there's sothing else I want to ask for your help with, but I don't know..."
"Are you asking about your inability to have children?" Ge Dongxu interjected before Zuo Le could finish.
When he had entered the room earlier, both Yue Feng and Lin Jinnuo were with their children, but only Zuo Le and Xu Jingfang had not brought any. During the third day of the Lunar New Year at his uncle's Xu Family restaurant, he also hadn't seen Zuo Le and Xu Jingfang with children. Logically, at their age, it wouldn't be normal to be childless, so Ge Dongxu had specifically observed them subtly and realized that their ridians indicated they were without children.
"Yes, yes, can you see if there's anything you can do?" Zuo Le asked, excitedly.
"Dongxu, you must help us. Everything in our family is good now, except for not having a child, which has always been a great regret for us," Xu Jingfang said, looking at Ge Dongxu with a face full of hope and urgency.
"Don't worry, don't worry, let take your pulse first," Ge Dongxu said, smiling and comforting them.
"Dongxu, won't taking the pulse after drinking be inaccurate?" Yue Feng asked, seeing Ge Dongxu ready to take Zuo Le couple's pulse, concerned that Ge Dongxu's drinking might have affected his judgnt.
"Hehe, it's fine, I have a clear idea," Ge Dongxu waved his hand and said.
His pulse reading was not only about the pulse beat, but also about the state of the ridians. While the pulse might show significant changes after soone has been drinking, making it difficult to discern the truth, the flow of energy within the ridians is intangible, the very source of life, and thus would not be affected.
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