Chapter 571: Too Much Is as Bad as Too Little

In China, alcohol was the best’ lubricant’ for two friends who had just met to dine together, so they could get to know each other better and to forge a friendship, so it was a bit ridiculous for such a big man as Zhang Lisheng to ask for Coke.

However, since those who were sitting around the table were teaching staff and students from the Beijing Normal University, they were much more cultured than the general public. They had more or less come in contact with international students in the university before, so they had seen the young man’s Western-style eccentric manner before. Because of this, nobody tried to persuade him to change his mind and merely omitted the toasting procedure, but the harmonious atmosphere had turned a bit sour.

Fortunately, the dishes in the Friendship Hotel was delicious, economical, but tasty. As they ate and drank while talking about the exciting things on campus, their rigorous studies, and their future ambitions, the scene gradually warmed up, but somehow, Zhang Lisheng’s expression gradually became terrible.

“How nice if I can just stay in school in the future. It’s so hard to find a good job now.”

“Lisheng, you lad, being excessively modest is okay! How can you not find a good job with that good capability of yours!? Drink up now as a punishment!”

“I’m not gonna drink, I’m really not being modest. What good use is there in being capable? There are so many outstanding people in the university, but after graduating and entering society, they still only earn a monthly salary of 4000 to 5000RMB even after a few years of working. Isn’t Senior Brother Liu Tao, who was the president of the student council for the last three years, the best example? He has even given a speech before in the school orientation ceremony when I first entered the university and I can still remember his awe-inspiring manner. In the end, I heard he has gone to Kunlun World to cultivate the wasteland for the sake of his future.”

“You’re still not satisfied with earning 4000 to 5000 per month? How big is your ambition anyway? Looks like you’ve never seen the world yet…” After three rounds of drinking and eating their meal, under the influence of alcohol, more people began to talk about trivial stuff.

At this moment, Chu Xiaohong, who had become flushed after already drinking two bottles of beer, suddenly stood up and raised her glass to Zhang Lisheng, “Lisheng, everyone is so happy, so why the long face? C’mon, I’m Lulu’s best friend, and I’m delighted to meet you. Let’s cheers, you can drink your Coke, and I’ll drink my beer. It doesn’t matter!”

“I’m also happy to meet you, Miss Chu,” Zhang Lisheng, who had a grave expression, forced a smile and clinked his glass with the girl before drinking his Coke.

“How casual you are with Coke, how ‘manly’! I’ll bottom-up now!” Chu Xiaohong chugged the yellowish beer in her tall glass in one go and said in slight tipsiness, “You really go perfectly with Lulu. You look normal usually, but in actual fact, you’re actually quite ‘arrogant,’ but you’re even less sociable than she is. I guess you must either be a programmer or a lab researcher in the US, am I right?”

It was obscene to ask someone else’s career in such a straightforward manner in the US, so Zhang Lisheng could not help but be taken aback before replying, “I did indeed host a lab during my study of Ph.D., but to be exact, I’m mostly a businessman.”

Since he came to China as an entrepreneur, he instinctively emphasized business identity in front of strangers.

“You can actually do business with such a personality?” Chu Xiaohong’s eyes widened for no reason as she asked, “Then wouldn’t you keep losing money then…”

“Xiaohong, you are drunk! Drink some tea to clear your mind,” Her sentence was too rude, so a short-haired young man who was sitting beside the girl who was mellow with drink but still appeared to be keen-witted and capable quickly stood up. Holding Chu Xiaohong and trying to press her back down on the seat, he spoke to Zhang Lisheng apologetically, “I’m sorry, Brother Zhang. She’s already drunk…”

“I’m not drunk. Not drunk. You have just become my boyfriend, but you’re already disallowing me from talking during a meal?” Chu Xiaohong pointed at Zhang Lisheng and spoke with interest, “Such an ‘intolerant’ personality is indeed not suitable for doing business. It’s just not suitable…”

It was very typical for a drunk person to become even noisier if somebody tried to calm them down. When Li Sheng saw that he could not calm Chu Xiaohong down but had instead made the situation worse, he could only smile wryly and sat back silently, leaving his girlfriend to other girls to handle. At this moment, Zhang Lisheng suddenly shrugged and pointed to the television on the distant screen wall, “Miss Chu, I don’t think there’s any problem with my personality. Contrary to what you expected, my business is very, very successful.”

Ever since they started to eat, they had forgotten to shut off the television, so the show being aired had been changed from a US sitcom to a replayed news. The sound could not be heard clearly in the bustling noise, but when everybody involuntarily looked in the direction of Zhang Lisheng’s fingers and shut up, the broadcast of the news anchor became clear and audible, “…Prime Minister Ma Xuan finally stressed that…”

As the image changed, the image of the female anchor on the TV screen turned into a spacious and gorgeous hall decorated with Chinese culture, with a middle-aged man wearing black suit leaning against the back of the sofa, smiling in a ‘leader-ish’ smile.

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“In the cooperation between China and the United States, the most important thing is cooperation in the field of economy and trade. Further deepening this cooperation is the prevailing trend and also an important way to achieve a win-win relationship between the two countries. After the visit of the Chinese entrepreneurs in the US, the returning foreign entrepreneurs from the US all carry immeasurable weight. Among them are old acquaintances and new friends…” The man in the news talked with ease and fluency, and when he mentioned ‘old acquaintances and new friends,’ the image changed again. There were two to three seconds where a young man with short black hair who was showing a calm smile appeared clearly on the screen.

The crowds on the dining table froze visibly. They looked at the young man on the TV that appeared in a short period and then looked at Zhang Lisheng again with astonishment and bafflement. In the end, it was Song Jingchen who studied marketing, which was the first to snap back to reality and stood up in excitement, “Aiya Brother Zhang! Y-You really conceal yourself well! The Central Standing Committee and the Vice-Premier of the State Council have even personally met with you? Just how big is your business in the US? Wow this is winning glory for our country! You’re the pride of all China. I have to toast to you…”

While Song Jingchen was speaking, he poured himself a full glass of rice wine and took the glass before running a few steps to Zhang Lisheng. He first placed his liquor on the table and respectfully raised the young man’s can of Coke before holding up to him, “You don’t drink alcohol, so you’ll drink with Coke instead. C’mon, just drink casually…”

Although Zhang Lisheng was not accustomed to such a unique manner of paying tribute that only peculiar to the Chinese dining manner, he still had no choice but to accept it. When Song Jingchen saw him drinking Coke, he immediately raised his wine glass and gulped down the full glass of rice wine in one go.

“Brother Jingchen, don’t drink so fast. It’s not good for the body. Hurry up and eat some food,” when Li Yujuan, who was beside him, saw the flash of agonized expression on Song Jingchen’s face, she said with worry.

“Don’t stop me. It’s my honor to be able to meet Brother Zhang. I’m happy, so I won’t get drunk no matter how much I drink,” Song Jingchen said with a thoroughly flushed face. “Brother Zhang, what kind of business do you do in the US. You must take care of me, okay?”

“I’m operating a slaughtering factory in the US. May we have an opportunity to cooperate in the future,” Zhang Lisheng, who felt that his endurance had already reached the limit politely replied and then cast a meaningful glance at Tao Lulu before standing up. “I’m sorry. I have something to do in the afternoon, so I need to go first. Goodbye!”

“Lisheng, wait, I also have something to do in the afternoon, let’s go together. Sorry guys, I also need to leave first,” Tao Lulu took the cue and stood up. Before everyone else realized what had happened, both of them had already left the room like they were running.

After leaving the hotel and upon seeing the young man breathing a sigh of relief, the girl suddenly asked, “Lisheng, is it because you find my friends and classmates to be very philistine and hardheaded, so you feel uncomfortable eating with them?”

Zhang Lisheng became silent for a while and did not answer the girl’s question directly. Instead, he said with a wry smile, “Younger Sister Tao, did you know that I’ve been double commissioned by the alien fleet and the US government to gather intelligence in the Shrimp World No. 2 to facilitate Atlantis in their assessment, but in the end, I’ve encountered too many unexpected situations and inconceivable events. The ‘winter riots,’ the quiet resurrection of the foreign world’s ancient gods that destroyed the alien’s light energy warships, the Atlantean general’s groundless argument by subtly hinting their invasion on Earth… All these unexpected situations and inconceivable events stressed me out. The US citizens cannot understand the political strategy of the White House’s compromise, so the endless demonstrations and strikes have made the federal situation increasingly chaotic. It’s because of this that I returned to China, for I want to know if the motherland can maintain stability and prosperity under the leadership of politics. In the end, in just a short span of a few days, I suddenly realized that the answer was ideally better than I expected…”

“What do you mean, Lisheng?” When the girl saw that the young man’s smile was getting more and more bitter, she asked.

Zhang Lisheng sighed, “The uncompromisingness of the US people will only weaken the country’s strength under the pressure of a powerful alien civilization; The Chinese people’s indifference to the ‘winter riots,’ on the other hand, will make them unable to generate the motivation and courage needed to resist the Atlanteans. There’s no demonstration here, with no denunciations and attacks on the aliens. Your friends are already Chinese intellectuals, but they still act as if nothing happened…”

“You’re wrong, Lisheng, during the ‘winter riots,’ the violent revolt that our compatriots showed is no better than the Westerners.”

“So why are they so ‘forgetful’ now?”

Upon hearing Zhang Lisheng’s question, Tao Lulu was shocked and could not come up with a response.

Both of them walked out of the alley silently. The young man gradually calmed down and said, “I’m sorry, Younger Sister Tao, perhaps I’m overthinking. I’m too stressed and too agitated, so I’m nitpicking…”

“It’s alright, Lisheng, I can understand that you’re afraid of the boiling frog metaphor, but that’s because you went to the US since you were young, so you actually don’t have much knowledge on the Chinese society and your judgment is inaccurate. There are many more secrets and things that you don’t know of. The ‘backbones’ of us Chinese people are not weak,” The girl interrupted Zhang Lisheng’s words and spoke solemnly.

“Yes, I am relieved to hear you say this,” Sensing that he was getting more emotional and that he should control his sensitivity more in the future, Zhang Lisheng remained unbothered about the underlying meaning in Tao Lulu’s reassurance. Instead, he casually said, “I’m still not full yet, how about you?”

“I’m full already, but I can accompany you to eat more, let’s go. There is a Yunnan rice noodle in the alley, it’s hot and spicy. Come, I’ll take you there.”