My happy life in a courtyard house with triplets.

Chapter 145: Persuading Someone to Drink

After making arrangements at home, Zhang Lei went directly to the home of Sha Zhu at the Intermediate People's Court.

At this moment, Zhang Lei saw that Yan Fugui had arrived with Yan Jiecheng.

Zhang Lei took out a cigarette and offered one to each of them, saying, "Third Uncle, you're quite proactive."

After taking the cigarette, Yan Jiecheng smiled and said, "If you're not enthusiastic about eating, there's something wrong with your thinking."

Zhang Lei clapped his hands and said, "Good, as expected of a cultured person."

At this moment, Zhang Lei saw He Yushui inside the house, so he walked over, took a handful of candy from his pocket, put it in He Yushui's hand, and said, "Yushui, don't eat here. Come to my house. Everything is ready there."

He Yushui looked at the candy in her hand, then glanced at Zhang Lei, and said hesitantly, "This..."

Zhang Lei looked at her and said with a smile, "Don't be like that, you're not an outsider. Your sister Shuqin and the others are waiting for you at home. We're all men having a drink here, it's not comfortable for a young lady like you to stay here alone. Go on."

Hearing Zhang Lei's words, Sha Zhu, who was cooking, also stood up and said, "Yu Shui, just listen to Zhang Lei. His food is no worse than the food here."

He Yushui nodded, put the candy in her pocket, and went to Zhang Lei's house.

At this moment, Zhang Lei looked at Sha Zhu and said, "Sha Zhu, have you notified Xu Damao yet?"

Sha Zhu replied directly, "Don't worry, just notify him. He won't be missing anyone."

Listening to Sha Zhu's words, Zhang Lei thought to himself: Sure enough, Sha Zhu wouldn't miss the chance to show off in front of Xu Damao.

Soon, people started arriving one after another.

Yi Zhonghai, Liu Haizhong, and Yan Fugui, the three stewards, sat in the main seats.

Zhang Lei, Xu Damao, Liu Guangqi, Liu Guangtian, Yan Jiecheng, and others sat down in order.

Yi Zhonghai also reminded Sha Zhu to send a bowl of meat and vegetables to the deaf old lady.

Soon, Sha Zhu finished cooking the dishes.

Zhang Lei couldn't wait to show off the twenty kilograms of fine wine he had bought.

Yan Fugui sniffed the wine and said to Zhang Lei, "Zhang Lei, did you buy the wrong kind of wine?"

Zhang Lei looked at Yan Fugui and said, "Third Uncle, have you gotten used to drinking your diluted liquor? This good liquor just doesn't taste right."

Everyone laughed heartily at Zhang Lei's teasing.

Xu Damao chimed in, "That's right, Uncle San, this wine smells much better to me. Your wine isn't just watered down, it's like water mixed with wine. It definitely smells different from this."

Hearing everyone's teasing, Yan Fugui blushed and waved his hand, saying, "What do you know? I'm just saving and reusing things. Besides, my wine doesn't give me a headache."

Upon hearing Yan Fugui's explanation, everyone burst into laughter again.

Soon after everyone had their drinks filled, Zhang Lei looked at Sha Zhu and said, "Sha Zhu, your grandpa bought you a new bicycle, shouldn't you say something to show your appreciation?"

At this point, Liu Guangtian retorted, "If anyone should speak, it should be the eldest brother first, right? Everyone agrees, doesn't it?"

When Yi Zhonghai heard that Zhu Zi had been mentioned, he stood up and said, "I'm taking this opportunity to get together with everyone today. The main reason is that I think Zhu Zi is honest, kind, and filial. I treat him like my own child, which is why I bought him a bicycle."

Before Yi Zhonghai could finish speaking, Liu Haizhong interjected, "Old Yi is right. This child needs to be taught to be honest and filial. As the saying goes, there are no parents who are always wrong."

Seeing that the two men were still eager to continue their conversation, Zhang Lei stood up straight and said, "Uncle and Uncle are right, shall we raise a glass to them?"

Upon hearing this, everyone quickly raised their glasses and said, "Cheers! Cheers! Cheers!"

Just then, Zhang Lei finished his drink and saw Yan Fugui start picking up food with his chopsticks at lightning speed.

At this moment, Sha Zhu looked at Xu Damao, raised his glass and said, "Xu Damao, I take your good wishes. Look, I'm a car owner now, and I'm the first in our compound to buy a new car."

Seeing Sha Zhu's smugness, Xu Damao clinked glasses with him and said through gritted teeth, "Congratulations!"

Sha Zhu looked at Xu Damao and said, "Xu Damao, I think you're not convinced by me."

At this moment, Zhang Lei immediately started to complain: "Shazhu, Xu Damao will definitely not be satisfied with you drinking like this. Xu Damao has rules for drinking. I heard that it's one big and three small. You can't do that."

Hearing Zhang Lei boast about him, Xu Damao also said smugly, "That's right. I usually drink the kind of drinks meant for the leaders. Which leader in our factory doesn't value me? When do they ever not invite me to drinking parties?"

Sha Zhu bluntly exposed, "Xu Damao, the leader invited you to drink; it was purely to get you to drink on his behalf."

Xu Damao then looked at Sha Zhu and said, "Hey, Sha Zhu, don't worry about whether it's to block drinks or not. Anyway, I can sit at the table, but can a lousy cook like you sit at the table?"

Zhang Lei chimed in from the side, "Shazhu, Xu Damao, you two stop arguing. If you really have the skills, you should put them to the test and have a real fight. All the words should be in the wine jug. Whoever can't drink it all out should admit defeat."

Upon hearing this, neither of them was willing to give in to the other.

Sha Zhu stood up and said, "Xu Damao, let's do as Zhang Lei says. With so much wine to drink today, whoever collapses first is a grandson."

Xu Damao said, "Fine, who's afraid of who?"

Seeing the situation, Yi Zhonghai quickly advised, "What are you doing? If you're going to drink, just drink properly and don't start a fight."

Zhang Lei retorted, "Grandpa, you three managers can drink slowly. We young people have our own way of drinking."

Yan Jiecheng, who was standing nearby, also said, "That's right, old man. We young people have our own way of drinking. That's what makes it lively."

Others joined in the commotion.

Yan Fugui then looked at Yi Zhonghai, holding his glass, and said, "Old Yi, let's drink our own drinks and ignore them. Besides, these young men are hot-blooded; it's fine for them to drink more in their own yard."

Liu Haizhong also said, "That's how it should be, otherwise, what kind of person would be drinking and looking so lifeless?"

Whether it was Liu Haizhong and Yan Fugui's words that had an effect, or everyone was simply craving alcohol, everyone started drinking in small groups.

Zhang Lei used his personal space to replace his own wine with the two kilograms of good wine he had bought before. He was unwilling to drink the cheap kind, as it would be a loss if he got into trouble.

Zhang Lei then took on the role of urging people to drink at the dinner table, rushing over to persuade anyone who hadn't drunk.

Everyone watched as Zhang Lei drank with everyone, and each time there was no wine left in his bowl.

So when Zhang Lei urged everyone to drink, they felt embarrassed not to.

Besides, we usually have to pay for our own drinks, so why waste them when they're free?

At the dinner table, Xu Damao and Shazhu seemed to be drinking themselves into a frenzy, going back and forth between them.

Xu Damao boasted that he drank three, while Sha Zhu drank one; Sha Zhu boasted that he drank nine, while Xu Damao drank three.

The two of them started drinking from one bowl each.