Book Synopsis
Book Tags
Donation Rankings
Comment
0 Comments
You May Also Like
墨書 Inktalez
So in the end, Su Hailu took a desperate gamble with her confession, but it ultimately failed to win back An Shaojie. He shook off her hand and walked away without looking back.
After he left, she sat alone in the darkness, her face streaked with tears, thinking that he would never return. Her repeated attempts to reach out had only annoyed him. She felt ashamed, regretful, and heartbroken as she sat on the bed, unable to sleep.
Who would have thought that after midnight, she would suddenly receive a call from him, asking her to come pick him up?
Her heart raced almost to the point of bursting. She felt like she could jump for joy; her world of love suddenly lit up.
She quickly wiped away the tears on her face and washed up.
Knowing he was in a bad mood, she dared not make any guesses or assumptions. Being obedient, she asked him nothing. She understood that at this moment, silence was the best form of care and comfort for him.
Sometimes, between friends, silence can be more intimate than words and more understanding.
She knew that silently accompanying him at this time meant more to him than a thousand words.
She also realized that whatever had caused him distress to this point must have left him mentally exhausted and physically hungry; he needed energy replenishment both mentally and physically.
He remained silent, but she drove directly to a quiet snack street in the city.
Beijing City was different; in the mild May weather, it was a city that never slept. Even after midnight, the streets were still brightly lit and bustling with people.
However, when An Shaojie and Su Hailu entered the private room, they found it elegant and quiet, like an isolated paradise compared to the lively main hall outside.
An Shaojie remained silent until the dishes started to be served. Then he straightened up from his chair and asked sideways, "Is it still possible to handle the procedures for going abroad now?"
Su Hailu was taken aback, as if An Shaojie had just said to her, "Let's be together," nodding his head like a bobblehead, his voice a bit excited. "There's still time, there's still time; I haven't done mine yet."
"Then let's do it together," he said, his voice somewhat hoarse, a sound that came from making a decision but feeling deep sorrow.
"Okay, just show up with me; I'll handle everything else," Su Hailu replied.
After that, he fell silent again. During the meal, Su Hailu took care of him while he ate. He didn't eat much but drank quite a lot.
This was the first time Su Hailu witnessed his astonishing capacity for alcohol.
She knew he was in a bad mood and specifically ordered some drinks, but limited to champagne and beer. To her surprise, he waved to the waiter and returned both the beer and champagne, asking for a bottle of white liquor instead.
Su Hailu rarely drank anything other than red wine, so she could only hold a glass of red wine while accompanying him with his white liquor.
While others would become chatty after drinking, he hardly spoke. Most of the time, he kept his head down and drank, rarely initiating a toast with Su Hailu. When she tried to clink glasses with him, he merely lowered his head to touch her glass before continuing to drink.
By the time they left, he had consumed nearly half a bottle of white liquor. He held the remaining liquor in his hand, ready to continue drinking when they got back.
Su Hailu's eyes widened; this was the first time she had seen such drinking capacity.
They had dined together several times before and had only seen him drink beer, just a few glasses at most; she had never seen him drink white liquor.
What she didn't know was that he came from a Tujia family in the mountains, where almost everyone could drink. During festivals and holidays, no man would miss out on drinking several bowls of white liquor from large porcelain bowls. In the mountainous Tujia culture, white liquor didn't need to be purchased; it was brewed at home using grains like sorghum. Every year or before festivals, each household would brew a vat of liquor—about thirty centimeters in diameter and one meter high made from clay. A full vat would be drawn from daily for the family to drink. Men drank more while women either abstained or drank only a little. Young girls could drink as much as women did, while boys were encouraged to drink more. Before the first vat was finished, they would start brewing another one. There was almost always liquor available throughout the year.
As for the grains used for brewing liquor like sorghum, there was no need to worry; in springtime, the hillsides around their homes were almost entirely covered with corn and sorghum crops.
Currently, in addition to sorghum liquor, there is also wine made from hawthorn fruit.
In the present Wufeng Tujia Liu Family Village, besides corn and sorghum, there are many fruit trees scattered across the hills.
Therefore, An Shaojie has been able to drink since childhood, and he can handle strong liquor quite well. He just doesn't show it often.
Including Qinglan, she can actually drink a lot too; she simply doesn't reveal it in her daily life.
In Tujia households, men give women a high status, allowing them to drink with the men. They do not let women toil in the fields; as long as they manage their needlework and household chores well, women can be treated like queens at home. However, outside, aside from showcasing their skills in needlework, women tend to act modestly. Especially when it comes to drinking; even if they can hold their liquor well, they won't drink easily without a man's approval. But once a man gives his nod, they not only can drink but can also compete with men and even earn respect. Of course, if a woman excels in needlework but does not drink, she will still gain respect far and wide.
Thus, in Tujia culture, women should focus on needlework but also need to be good at drinking to compensate for any shortcomings in their needlework skills.
So, Qinglan is also quite adept at drinking. The little bit of alcohol from last night should have had no effect on her; perhaps because she poured herself some that others didn't see, especially Xu Wen who did not notice. This was one reason why she drank so much on her own. Usually, when she drinks even a little bit, Xu Wen would notice and repeatedly advise her to drink less or would take her cup away to prevent her from pouring more or would simply drink it for her.
But last night, he surprisingly did not pay attention to her at all; whether she drank or not seemed irrelevant to him. Instead, he kept advising Lin Xi beside him to drink less and even drank a few cups on her behalf.
One reason could be that when someone is in a bad mood, even a little alcohol can make them tipsy. For Qinglan at that moment, it was certainly more than just a little alcohol; getting drunk was almost inevitable.
Or perhaps it wasn't really about the alcohol at all; rather, subconsciously at that moment, she simply did not want to be sober.
Life is rarely clear-cut! Occasionally choosing selective amnesia and confusion can be such a wonderful thing. For Qinglan at that time, this was precisely her state of mind. At that moment, she found herself missing An Shaojie more than ever, overwhelmed by an infinite sense of sadness and intoxication.
Comment 0 Comment Count