Chapter 621: Chapter 432: Wine and Making a Friend_2
In fact, if you observe those who feign drunken madness carefully, you will find that most of these people only act this way in front of acquaintances or those close to them. If you left them alone on the streets, you’d see they wouldn’t dare continue their charades.
As for those so-called tough guys in society, they only act brash and boisterous in front of ordinary people. The moment an officer comes by, don’t they instantly turn into well-behaved babies?
The saying "liquor emboldens the cowardly" actually means that after drinking too much, people can quickly think through what they are doing and the consequences that come with it. This so-called madness is nothing more than liberating one’s true nature and being willing to accept consequences they wouldn’t normally face.
As for being drunk, that’s quite straightforward—it means drinking until one passes out, collapsing into sleep without any care in the world.
Perhaps because Gordon’s martial cultivation isn’t low, a volume near six liters was just right for him.
After the drinking session was over, Gordon looked at the empty barrels with some disappointment and said, "It’s all my fault. I just wanted to have a taste, but before I knew it, I got carried away and finished it all."
Seeing Gordon’s expression, Zachary replied nonchalantly, "If you really want to drink, I’ll give you a few barrels when you leave."
Upon hearing Zachary’s indifferent tone, Gordon’s eyes lit up, and he asked excitedly, "Seems like you can get a lot of liquor. Don’t bother giving it to me, just name your price and I’ll buy more."
"What kind are you looking for? Pre-disaster premium liquor with packaging, or the grain alcohol brewed after the disaster? But just to make it clear, I don’t have any industrial alcohol here."
"I wouldn’t take that stuff even if you had it. Since you don’t like drinking, just sell me whatever you have. Keep a little for yourself and sell the rest to me."
Hearing Gordon’s bold statement, Zachary rolled his eyes inwardly. If he were to sell all his stored liquor to Gordon, even Gordon’s entire clan’s liquid assets might not be enough. After all, Zachary had cleared out the entire storage zone at Pengcheng’s only harbor and the goods from several logistics parks. It wasn’t about the quality, but the quantity, which couldn’t simply be measured by bottles, boxes, or pieces—everything had to be calculated by the ton.
Zachary just smiled without saying anything in response to Gordon’s words. Seeing Zachary’s expression, Gordon immediately understood what Zachary was thinking; Zachary doubted Gordon’s ability to purchase in such amounts.
In the Northeast, people might throw away money and their lives, but never their pride. So Gordon stated outright, "That unbranded liquor I just drank—I’ll take a thousand barrels of it."
Seeing Gordon state a quantity without asking the price, Zachary understood Gordon’s thoughts and didn’t care too much, merely asking indifferently, "Is that all you want?"
Hearing Zachary’s seemingly mocking tone, a smirk tugged at Gordon’s mouth. He was no spoilt rich kid unaware of the current state of affairs, thinking he was above such amounts.
After all, the liquor Gordon had just downed came in six-liter barrels. A single barrel of liquor weighed nearly six kilograms, so a thousand barrels would weigh close to six tons. Before the disaster, such an amount would have been insignificant, but now, it would likely surpass the total amount of liquor in the average camp, which probably didn’t even reach five tons.
And to such a quantity, Zachary actually said "Is that all?", as if it were insignificant.
In fact, the thousand barrels that Gordon mentioned were not just casually thrown out. Being sober after drinking, he had already considered the market price for grain alcohol beforehand. Even before Zachary named his price, Gordon had estimated that as long as Zachary’s price wasn’t outrageous, he would be able to barely afford it, even if Zachary really had that much to offer.
So although it seemed like Gordon casually mentioned a thousand barrels, he had already planned an escape route in case Zachary could provide that much liquor. Gordon was prepared to take it all in one go.
However, while Gordon had anticipated that Zachary could supply such an amount, he didn’t expect that Zachary would look down on his purchase for being too small.
Gordon asked with a hint of uncertainty, "Do you really have that much liquor?"
Zachary replied with the same carefree tone, "For just that bit of liquor, why would I lie to you? How about this—you double it, and I bring you two thousand barrels?"
Hearing Dong Tianyu say this, Gordon quickly waved his hand in refusal, "No, that’s all the money I have. I couldn’t possibly spend any more."
Seeing Gordon’s expression, Dong Tianyu gained a rough understanding of Gordon’s character, finding him to be practical and a good candidate for deep friendship.
So, with a smile, Dong Tianyu said, "I haven’t even given you a quote yet. How do you know you can’t afford it?"
Seeing the smile on Dong Tianyu’s face and the tone of his voice just now, Gordon knew that the price Dong Tianyu would offer for sure wouldn’t be high, and it should be within his affordable range, so a genuine smile also appeared on his face.
"Then name your price. If I have enough money, I’ll buy more. Anyway, this stuff, even if it can’t be sold, is worth drinking by oneself," he said.
Seeing how straightforward Gordon was, Dong Tianyu didn’t hesitate much and directly proposed, "One ton of pure gold."
One ton of gold for six tons of loose alcohol—if it were before the natural disaster, Dong Tianyu would be an extremely sly merchant, but at this time, this price definitely deserved to be called a fair one.
After all, it was now the time of food shortage again, and grain bricks had once more become the main food for ordinary people. There already wasn’t enough edible grain, to begin with, so where could they find extra to brew pure grain alcohol.
And as for fruit wines like grape wine, there’s even less need to talk about that. In the Plantation Area, there’s barely enough land to grow staple crops, let alone sparing some for experimental fields, to maintain the variety of fruits and vegetables through protective cultivation. Quantity-wise, it was not worth considering anymore.
After hearing Dong Tianyu’s price, Gordon had an incredulous look on his face. He had guessed Dong Tianyu wouldn’t quote a high price after seeing his expression, but what he didn’t expect was that Dong Tianyu’s price would be so low—it was even cheaper than the denatured alcohol sold in the market.
"Are you really going to sell it to me at this price?" he asked.
Hearing Gordon’s skepticism, Dong Tianyu asked with a hint of irritation, "What now, do you still think the price is too high?"
Hearing Dong Tianyu’s words, Gordon quickly corrected himself, "No, no, not high at all. This price is cheaper than the industrial alcohol blend sold outside. Are you serious? You’re not just teasing me, are you?"
Hearing Gordon still didn’t believe him, Dong Tianyu said irritably, "Believe it or not, it’s up to you. Take it or leave it."
Only after Dong Tianyu said this did Gordon completely believe that Dong Tianyu wasn’t just messing with him. So, he quickly asked, "I know this price is already very low. I’m not being greedy, but I really want to buy more. You can raise the price for the extra, and it’s fine by me."
If Gordon hadn’t said that last part, anyone would think he was just being shrewd and a bit greedy after getting a good deal.
But Gordon’s willingness to accept a higher price also clearly showed that he really didn’t want to miss the chance to buy this time.
Dong Tianyu was fully aware that the price he offered was very low, but to make this friend and let Gordon realize his capabilities, Dong Tianyu was intentionally letting go of some profit on this deal.
After hearing Gordon’s subsequent request, Dong Tianyu thought for a moment and then said, "Since I have already quoted a price, there shouldn’t be two prices for the same product. We won’t raise it this time—two thousand barrels for two tons of gold. If you can handle that, let’s leave it at this price for now."
After hearing Dong Tianyu’s words, Gordon also understood Dong Tianyu’s intention. Although Gordon had enough extra money to buy some more, if he opened his mouth again, it would only show that he was a little too greedy.
So, after Dong Tianyu finished speaking, Gordon immediately accepted this transaction. However, Gordon didn’t have that much gold in reserve at the moment, so to complete the trade as soon as possible, he had to get up and take his leave to gather more gold.
After all, in addition to the loose Baijiu he wanted, Dong Tianyu had also agreed to Gordon’s initial request to help him get a ham.
