Chapter 437 International Friends 13

1.

This time, the Hushan town government booked a total of five tables at the "Haitian Hotel" according to the entertainment quota of 50 people. Among them, the two elderly men who led the Japanese delegation, the deputy secretary of the Dongzhou City Youth League Committee, the deputy head of the Huxian County Government, the deputy director of the Huxian County Education Bureau, the secretary of the Huxian Youth League City Committee, the top party and government leaders of Hushan Town, and the interpreters, were seated at one table; the members of the Japanese delegation sat at two tables; the remaining officials at all levels had one table; the drivers and reporters accompanying them had one table, and the handymen had one table; anyway, the five tables were full.

The dishes were set by Director Zhang of the "Party and Government Office" according to the standard of 1,000 yuan per table, which included all kinds of seafood, delicacies and game, and special dishes of the Hushan area, while wine, rice, cigarettes, and desserts after the meal also need to be billed separately.

Everyone humbly entered the "Rose Room" of the "Haitian Hotel", which is a small dining room that can accommodate six tables, and it is just right to undertake this kind of small-scale reception.

The guests sat down in order of priority, and although the accompanying officials repeatedly emphasized that they should "eat a light meal", the six cold salads on the table, including jellyfish skin, ginger cowpea, pepper sesame chicken, and dried shredded needle mushrooms, were placed in advance on the table, and the Japanese friends were still a little dumbfounded. The dishes that followed were braised duck in sauce, braised elbow, braised prawns, steamed crab, and fried sea cucumber with green onions. These dishes, which are ordinary in the eyes of local officials, may already be sky-high prices in the eyes of Japanese friends, and they are a very luxurious enjoyment.

On the liquor is a 100 yuan bottle of 53° sauce-flavored "Lang Liquor", in addition to red wine and beer, and there is also a "Taishan" cigarette worth 200 yuan on each table. Anyway, there are all kinds of wine and food, and Song Chunshan, Secretary of the Party Committee of Hushan Town, has repeatedly explained that everyone is free to drink liquor or beer, anyway, there are enough cigarettes and alcohol.

The luncheon began with a noisy sound of persuasion, the leaders at the main table and the two Japanese leaders drank liquor, and the guests at the other tables were casual. Spring observed very carefully, except for the driver who did not drink alcohol and a few accompanying reporters who drank beer, everyone else was liquor without exception. It is no wonder that these government officials are all cadres who have been "tested by alcohol," and which one of them is not allowed to drink a pound or eight taels a day? Although the common people describe some local officials as "circling around the table during the day and skirts at night," although this is a bit of a partial generalization, it is absolutely a fact. The two tables of the members of the Japanese delegation were all beer without exception, and from the beginning of the dining room to the present, this group of people has been quiet, eating and drinking quietly, occasionally talking to each other, but Haru could not understand what they were saying.

2.

After three rounds of wine and five flavors of food, the banquet entered a high tide. Those local officials who were not able to make it to the main table began to "go to the table" to toast, and this kind of opportunity to get close to international friends and high-level leaders will certainly not let go of these officials who are good at observing words and feelings.

As a result, these Japanese friends could only follow the local customs, accepted toasts again and again, and drank glass after glass of liquor, but did not eat much. Spring noticed that in just over half an hour, the two Japanese team leaders each drank more than half a catty of liquor, their faces began to turn red, and their tongues began to grow bigger, and they shook hands with the officials who toasted in the past from time to time, making some intimate small gestures. Spring smiled secretly, it seems that the effect of alcohol is really magical, and it is really a "catalyst" for feelings, which can quickly shorten the distance between people, even strangers from across the ocean who do not understand the language.

The young men of the Japanese delegation who accompanied them also drank glasses of beer one after another under the bombardment of many officials. Soon, some of the young people who were too drunk to drink became drunk, and they were no longer the same as before, and some began to smoke and laugh loudly, and for a time the dining room was full of people and lively.

When the wine was half-drunk, the two Japanese elders who led the group did not care about the politeness of "guests and hosts" at the banquet, and suddenly asked through an interpreter if they could let them drink the "Japanese sake" they were accustomed to drinking, and said that if they drank it like this, they would definitely get drunk and would not be able to go back to Japan in the afternoon. If you think about it, the alcohol content of the sake that the Japanese people are accustomed to drinking is about 15 to 16 degrees Celsius, and how can it be compared with the high-grade liquor that we officials are accustomed to? However, this request of a Japanese friend has made it difficult for Director Zhang of the "Party and Government Office" of Toyama Town, that Japanese sake is to be imported from Japan, so where can I find it in such a remote place as Toyama Town? Besides, even if there is such a light Japanese sake, who do you sell it to in the Toyama area? A bottle of more than 100 yuan is not as enjoyable as drinking a few sips of old shochu from Huxian.

So, under everyone's explanation, the hotel waiter changed the Japanese to a 39° low-alcohol liquor, which can be regarded as prevaricating the matter.