Chapter 41: The Realm of Free Will

Zhao Jinhai was genuinely delighted by Zhu Daodong's visit. As soon as Zhu Daodong entered, Zhao Jinhai stood up from his desk, walked to the reception area, and tightly held Zhu Daodong's hand, laughing loudly, "Xiao Zhu, you finally came to see me."

"I've wanted to come for a long time, but things have been busy in the village recently. Today, I accompanied Secretary Chen to the county to handle some affairs, took a half-day off, and specially came to see you," Zhu Daodong said with a smile.

"Good, join me for lunch. I'll invite a couple more people," Zhao Jinhai said with a hearty laugh. Since he transferred to Yuhua County, he had never been drunk. The last time he met Zhu Daodong in Shulin Ridge, he finally found a true drinking companion.

"I came here to drink with you. Since I'm in your territory, of course, you'll arrange everything. I'm fully prepared to treat the rich," Zhu Daodong said with a smile.

"I'm not rich. Wait a moment, I'll introduce you to a real rich man," Zhao Jinhai said, pouring Zhu Daodong a cup of water and smiling nonchalantly.

After he got drunk last time and returned to the bureau, Zhao Jinhai had mentioned Zhu Daodong to two good friends, praising his incredible drinking capacity. He could drink four or five pounds of white wine without showing any signs of intoxication, while Zhao Jinhai would be drunk. Zhao Jinhai's friends all had one characteristic: they could drink a lot, but they rarely drank. However, when they found a worthy opponent, they would drink until they were completely drunk. Hearing about such a young man with an extraordinary drinking capacity, they found it hard to believe and urged Zhao Jinhai to call Zhu Daodong to come to the county. Now that Zhu Daodong had come on his own, Zhao Jinhai immediately made two phone calls to inform them and set up a meeting for the noon to "test the waters."

At noon, Zhao Jinhai personally drove Zhu Daodong to a nearby mountain villa. Although it was called a villa, it was essentially a hotel with luxurious interiors that dazzled the eyes.

Zhao Jinhai seemed very familiar with the place. He led Zhu Daodong straight to a private room on the third floor. When they pushed the door open, two people were already sitting inside, chatting. One of them was a middle-aged man with thick eyebrows and a stern gaze, exuding an aura of authority. The other was younger than Zhao Jinhai, around thirty, with a square face and bright eyes, smiling broadly. He stood up as soon as Zhao Jinhai entered and said loudly, "Hello, Old Company Commander!"

"This guy is Xu Jun, one of my former soldiers. He's now a wealthy man. This Xiangshan Villa is his. Today, we'll be treating the rich, and he's the one," Zhao Jinhai said, pointing to Xu Jun, and introduced Zhu Daodong, "This is Zhu Daodong, currently working as a secretary in Shulin Ridge."

"Hello, Manager Xu," Zhu Daodong said quickly.

"You're a friend of Old Company Commander, so you're my friend too. Don't call me Manager Xu; call me Brother Xu," Xu Jun said with a smile, extending his large hand and firmly shaking Zhu Daodong's.

"Sure, Brother Xu."

"Let me introduce you to this one. This is my old squad leader and leader, and a good brother, Guo Lin'an," Zhao Jinhai said, pointing to the middle-aged man.

"Hello, Brother Guo," Zhu Daodong said with a smile, taking the cue.

"Hello, Brother Guo," Guo Lin'an said, standing up and looking slightly surprised that Zhu Daodong addressed him as Brother Guo.

"Enough chitchat, Junzi, where's the wine?" Zhao Jinhai sat down casually and, seeing only a few wine glasses and tea sets on the table, complained.

"Old Company Commander, the wine is coming right away," Xu Jun said, leaving for a moment and returning with a box of wine. A server followed behind him, carrying another box.

Zhu Daodong immediately stood up to take the box from Xu Jun, opened it, and took out four bottles. Seeing the bottles, Zhu Daodong realized that the wine at Xiangshan Villa was indeed extraordinary—it was Maotai, and even 53-degree Maotai. A box of Maotai contained twelve bottles, and these two boxes would cost him one and a half months' salary. And that was the price at a liquor store; here, it would be even more expensive.

Four tall wine glasses were already on the table. Although they were smaller than the bowls used at home, Zhu Daodong estimated that each glass could hold about half a pound of wine.

Zhu Daodong first poured wine for Guo Lin'an, then Zhao Jinhai, followed by Xu Jun, and finally himself. The four glasses used up exactly two bottles of Maotai.

"Brother Guo, I'm new here. I'll use Brother Xu's wine to toast you," Zhu Daodong said, raising a glass to Guo Lin'an. Although Zhao Jinhai hadn't introduced his current position, as an old squad leader and leader, he should be toasted first.

"Sure," Guo Lin'an said, seeing Zhu Daodong drink the wine in one go without hesitation, and he followed suit, finishing the half pound of wine in one gulp.

Zhu Daodong then refilled Guo Lin'an's glass and his own, and toasted Zhao Jinhai and Xu Jun in turn.

"This little brother of mine isn't bad, right?" Zhao Jinhai said proudly after Zhu Daodong toasted everyone without showing any signs of discomfort.

"Brother Zhu, I'll toast you too. When you come to the county in the future, come to my place. I can't promise much, but I can guarantee you'll have plenty to eat and drink," Xu Jun said. His drinking capacity was no less than Zhao Jinhai's and even a bit better. He liked people who could drink a lot. Seeing Zhu Daodong drink a pound and a half without breaking a sweat, he was quite impressed.

"Thank you, Brother Xu," Zhu Daodong said, clinking glasses with Xu Jun and finishing the wine in two large gulps.

After Xu Jun, it was Zhao Jinhai and Guo Lin'an's turn. When it was Guo Lin'an's turn, Zhu Daodong quickly stood up, saying he couldn't accept the toast and should toast Brother Guo again. This impressed Guo Lin'an, and Zhao Jinhai and Xu Jun were also pleased by Zhu Daodong's politeness. Just as there are card players with good card ethics, there are drinkers with good drinking ethics. Zhu Daodong's drinking ethics were indeed commendable.

"Junzi, we've had two rounds of wine. Why hasn't the food come yet?" Zhao Jinhai asked.

"Isn't ordering food just a word? Have your tastes changed? Brother Zhu, what dishes would you like? I'll have the kitchen prepare them," Xu Jun said with a smile. Guo Lin'an and Zhao Jinhai were regulars here, so their preferences were well-known. However, this was Zhu Daodong's first visit, so Xu Jun, as the host, had to ask.

"Brother Xu, any two dishes will do," Zhu Daodong said quickly with a smile.

"That won't do. My Xiangshan Villa has every dish, but there's no such thing as 'any dish,'" Xu Jun said, waving his hand.

"Then let's have braised tofu and stir-fried cured pork with dried tofu," Zhu Daodong said with a smile.

"I didn't expect Brother Zhu to like tofu so much, ha ha," Xu Jun said, changing his tone slightly to tease Zhu Daodong.

"The first meal I had in Shulin Ridge was a tofu feast, and since then, tofu has been a regular part of my diet. It's a specialty of Shulin Ridge. When you have the chance, come to Shulin Ridge and try it," Zhu Daodong said with a smile, adding that he now had at least one tofu dish every day.

After the dishes arrived, the atmosphere in the private room became even more relaxed. Even Guo Lin'an, after drinking four or five glasses, let down his guard and started talking more.

Apart from the initial toasts, they each returned the favor with a toast. After that, whenever they drank, all four of them raised their glasses together. In about an hour, the two boxes of Maotai were down to two bottles. In total, Guo Lin'an, Zhao Jinhai, and Xu Jun had each drunk five pounds, while Zhu Daodong had astonishingly drunk seven pounds of Maotai.

Despite drinking so much, Zhu Daodong still looked as composed as when he entered, with no redness in his face, no shortness of breath, and a steady voice. The others, however, were not as well. Guo Lin'an and Zhao Jinhai were flushed and out of breath, clearly reaching their limits. Xu Jun was a bit better, but his eyes were also starting to glaze over.

"Xiao Zhu, I and Old Zhao will stop here. You and Xu Jun can continue," Zhu Daodong said, trying to pour more wine for Guo Lin'an, but he stopped him. He was already at his limit, and if he drank more, he would definitely get drunk. He had work in the afternoon and couldn't afford to be drunk.

Zhu Daodong didn't insist. Since they had hung up the "no more" sign, he wouldn't push. The remaining two bottles of wine, he and Xu Jun each drank one, finishing them in a few minutes.

After drinking a total of eight pounds of Maotai, Zhu Daodong still looked as if nothing had happened. However, he knew that something had changed. The change wasn't in his stomach or his mind but in his hearing. Zhu Daodong had been practicing the simplified version of the Turtle Breath Technique every day, but there had been little progress. However, after drinking the eight pounds of Maotai, he suddenly made a breakthrough, entering the realm of free will. Now, he could control his hearing without the need for deliberate effort; it would naturally adjust as he wished.

This feeling was truly amazing!