```
"The five best, eh!"
"Six-six all smooth..."
"You drink!"
"Hold on, I’ll join you for a bowl!"
Outside the house, heavy snow swirled, turning water into ice.
Inside, a dozen brothers, deep in friendship, old friends gathered around the copper pot, sipping wine, playing finger-guessing games, reminiscing about past anecdotes... There’s no greater joy in life.
Yang Ge was intoxicated with the aroma of wine and meat, and the laughter of his friends. His heart, once hollowed by slaughter and the biting cold, was being refilled. He drew a long breath of cold air, feeling alive once again...
If only he had a cigarette at that moment, it would have been perfect.
Unfortunately, tobacco had not yet made its way to China at that time.
All Yang Ge could do was raise his hand and say to Yang Tiansheng across from him, "Big bro, let’s have two rounds."
Yang Tiansheng twisted his mouth confidently and rolled up his sleeves, "Come on, come on, I’ll teach you today what the god of wine is all about..."
"Good brother!"
"Take the first punch!"
"Riding on your head!"
"Eight fine horses running!"
"Mounting the horses, off we go..."
Yang Tiansheng animatedly gestured his finger three: "You drink!"
Without a word, Yang Ge picked up the bowl of wine in front of him, ready to toss it back, but then heard him say, "Hold on, I’m joining you for a bowl."
Yang Tiansheng picked up his own bowl and clinked it heavily against Yang Ge’s, his expression serious, "What I want to say, you understand... It’s all in the wine."
Yang Ge lifted his bowl: "It’s all in the wine!"
Both men tilted their heads back and downed the wine in one gulp. The authentic Liaodong sorghum liquor was as sharp as a knife on the tongue and burned like fire in the stomach. After one bowl, their postures became even more relaxed.
"Another round!"
Yang Ge, defiant, reached out his hand.
Yang Tiansheng, unfazed and smiling, touched fists with him.
"Good brother..."
"May you prosper all four seasons!"
"Get the wine ready!"
"Two crab claws, eight each..."
"I said get the wine ready!"
Yang Ge, full of triumph, gestured his finger five: "You drink, I’ll match you a bowl!"
The two earthenware porcelain bowls clinked together as Yang Ge said, "What I want to say, you also understand... It’s all in the wine."
Yang Tiansheng raised his bowl: "It’s all in the wine!"
The two men tipped their heads back and drank another bowl, both uttering a simultaneous "Ah" from the burn of the sorghum liquor.
```
"Alright, alright, everyone is warming up the place here, and you two are forming your own little clique. Yang, I’ll join you for a couple of rounds..."
Li Jincheng stood up, one foot on a stool, rolling up his sleeves and declared loudly with great vigor.
"Bring it on!"
Yang Tiansheng also stood up with one foot on a stool, his face red and his ears glowing as he reached out his hand.
"Brother, cheers..."
Yang Ge filled his own bowl with wine, his eyes blurry with drunkenness, and laughed, "Where did we leave off?"
Sitting beside him, Jiang Kui also stood up, one foot on a stool, "I’m Zhuang, it’s your turn now!"
"Come on, come on!"
Yang Ge, too, stood up with one foot on the stool, "Brother, cheers..."
After a round, Yang Ge lost again. Jiang Kui picked up his bowl to drink with him, "Thanks for everything you guys have done for me these past years!"
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Yang Ge shook his head, "The last thing I want to hear once I’m through that door is the word ’thanks’..."
Jiang Kui laughed, "Alright, if there’s anything in the future, don’t treat us three brothers as outsiders, especially the fifth brother. He might not say it, but he truly admires you, respects you deeply. When he found out I was heading south, he specifically asked me to bring you a piece of black tiger skin... He spent months in the primeval forest to get that skin. He usually treasures it so much that he wouldn’t even let me have a look."
Yang Ge laughed in reply, "As an older brother, you’ve really put your heart into it."
"Cheers!"
The two tilted their heads back and emptied their bowls. Yang Ge put down his bowl and said, "By the way, you suddenly going back to the capital to report... Is something going on?"
Jiang Kui subtly nodded, but verbally responded, "It’s hard to say."
Yang Ge pondered for a moment and then turned to Zhou Fu, "Are you two in this together?"
Zhou Fu, smiling, also answered, "It’s hard to say."
Yang Ge opened his mouth to say something, but then swallowed his words and picked up the wine jar to pour them each another bowl, "Take care in all matters. If you run into trouble, send me a letter. Don’t be too headstrong."
Both of them looked at him and shook their heads together.
Jiang Kui, "We eat the Emperor’s grain, and should we encounter difficulty, we should seek aid from the court. Why would we ask for your help? What would that be about?"
Zhou Fu, "Heading out is being headstrong for us, and it’s not for you? The world is doing just fine, so don’t take it all upon yourself!"
Yang Ge thought for a moment and then agreed with a laugh.
"Second Brother, this bowl’s for you!"
On the other side, Wang Cheng was rubbing his bald head, showing off as he lifted his bowl, "Thanks to your blessing, Old Wang got a promotion again. From now on, I’m no longer just the Zhoushan Naval Commander; I’m the Jiangzhe Naval Governor! If you ever get tired of this place, come to Jiangzhe and look for me. I’ll take you out to sea, and let me tell you, though the red-haired devils’ men are filthy and smelly, their women... well, they’re simply irresistible!"
Just as he finished speaking, Zhao Miao, who was busily tending to everyone and had just found a moment to sit at the counter, asked in a not-so-friendly tone, "Is that so? Why not take me along for the experience?"
Wang Cheng’s face stiffened and he hastily slapped himself lightly, smiling apologetically, "I spoke out of turn after a few drinks, out of turn. Second Brother, please don’t take it to heart!"
While smiling apologetically, he kept winking at Yang Ge, signaling that the red-haired devils’ women were indeed very nice!
"Hahaha..."
The whole room burst into hearty laughter.
"You, you..."
Yang Ge couldn’t help but laugh and cry as he lifted his bowl and clinked it with Wang’s, "You’ve become a high official, yet you still haven’t lost the bandit’s nature? When you’re free, think less about the trivial matters of the pants and think more about how to bring the good stuff from overseas back home. Not just gold and silver, but also the advanced technologies of other countries, including high-yield crops, fruits, as well as cattle, sheep, chickens and ducks. Just bring back everything. You know what our own people are like, scared of poverty and of hunger. We welcome anything new; the more, the merrier!"