Spring Breeze Twenty Years

Chapter 1196 No Outside Drinks Allowed

Wu Guolin asked, "You know Lihua, right?"

Wang Lihua nodded and said, "I know. My dad is in charge of urban construction. How could he not know about such a big project? Zhang Wei, this project is for your own use, right? I remember it was for commercial use."

Xiao Wei nodded: "Yes, most of the buildings we build are for our own use. Selling them overseas is a bit troublesome and prone to problems. The main issue is that we don't know how deep the water is. We can't compare to you; we have fewer connections, so we always have to be careful."

Wu Guolin waved his hand and said, "We've gotten to know each other now, so don't say that. That's just for fooling outsiders. We all know each other, and we're nowhere near as good as you guys. If you ever have any good projects in the future, I mean it."

Wang Lihua said, "What you're saying is just to fool laymen. Building houses to sell is nothing special. You can just get a piece of land and take out a loan. What's really impressive is what you guys do for your own use. Others may not know, but I do. A few projects can easily cost hundreds of millions. There aren't many people in the whole country who would dare to do that for their own use. I really didn't realize you two were so amazing."

Wu Guolin and Liu Jiaming exchanged a glance. Wu Guolin said, "Yeah, damn, you're clueless. That's really something! How much money do you two have? I've never heard of you before!"

Chen Hui said, "We also took out a loan. My mother used to work at the Northeast Administration of the People's Bank of China, and now she works at the State Administration of Foreign Exchange."

The waiter knocked on the door and came in: "Sir, may we serve the food now?"

Xiao Wei said, "Let's go, everyone's here."

The waiter opened the private room door fully, stepped aside, and pushed in a steel-framed food cart. The waiter arranged the bowls and chopsticks on the table and began setting the dishes on it. He glanced at the champagne Xiaowei had brought and said, "Sir, our policy is that we don't allow guests to bring their own drinks. I'm sorry."

Wu Guolin glanced at her: "Have your boss come and talk to me. If we can't have drinks, what are we supposed to drink? Do you even have any of this?"

The waiter smiled and said, "Sir, we have a pretty complete selection of wines, all kinds of brands, including international ones. You can take a look."

In the 90s, almost all slightly larger restaurants had this rule: bringing your own drinks was prohibited. This was because the profit margin on drinks was simply too high.

Xiao Wei waved his hand to interrupt Wu Guolin; there was no point in getting angry with this waiter. He said, "Bring me two bottles of your best Moutai. I'll take them with me. We'll drink these today; consider it an exchange, okay?"

The waiter hesitated for a moment, then said, "I... I'll go ask the boss." He set out the dishes and went out. The food delivery person followed him out with the food cart, closing the door behind them.

Wu Guolin said, "These lousy restaurants have so many rules these days. A drink that costs 100 outside will cost 200 or 300 inside. It's outrageous, and they won't even let you take any home. What gives them the right to make such rules? Are they the People's Congress or the Standing Committee? They're really spoiling us."

Chen Hui laughed and said, "I didn't realize you had such a fiery temper. There's no point in arguing with them about this; they just want to make more money, since alcohol is the biggest profit driver for restaurants these days."

Xiao Wei said, "Come on, let's eat. Don't be shy. I can't drink alcohol by nature, so please don't be picky. I'll give you a gift card as an apology when we get back to the restaurant, okay?"

Everyone picked up their chopsticks, and Chen Hui, using a napkin as a handrest, opened the champagne bottle. With a bang, the cork flew off, and Xiao Wei laughed. Chen Hui said, "We can finish it. Do you think they earn that fifty yuan corkage fee so easily?"

"You've definitely never driven one before. Do you know how much it hurts to hit your hand like that? It flies at a speed of twenty or thirty kilometers per hour. It's really powerful." He stood up and poured drinks for everyone.

Xiao Wei said, "I've never actually driven one before. But I've seen them use a tablecloth to hold it, not just grabbing it with their hands."

Chen Hui laughed and said, "I'm not skilled enough. If the clamp is too tight, it won't make a sound; if it's too loose, it hurts more. I'm not going to make a fool of myself. You have to hear a sound to use this thing."

Du An'an picked up her glass, took a sip, nodded, and said, "Good wine. I'm not just flattering you, it really is good wine. This wine must be expensive abroad, right?"

Xiao Wei said, "I really haven't asked how much it costs over there. I've never even been abroad."

Chen Hui said, "It's different abroad than in China. There are no fixed prices; they change every year. Actually, when it comes to selling wine, we can make more money in China. We don't need to be so picky about the ingredients. This wine can't even use grapes with broken skins."

Du An'an nodded and said, "Yes, foreigners are quite picky about this. Unlike us in China, when we make red wine, we put in anything that's not ripe or rotten, let alone broken skins. Anyway, nobody can tell the difference."

The six people clinked their glasses and began to eat.

Wu Guolin asked, "What cuisine does your restaurant serve?"

Chen Hui laughed and said, "It's neither of those, we just mess around. If we have to name it, it's Liaoning cuisine. Haha, that's what people say over there, but I doubt anyone will recognize it once we get to Shanhaiguan."

Wu Guolin said, "Indeed, nobody recognizes it. This area mainly features imperial cuisine and Shandong cuisine, with Shandong cuisine having the greatest influence, while Jiangzhe cuisine is less so. Sichuan cuisine has been gaining traction in the last two years."

Liu Jiaming said, "Cantonese cuisine is quite good now. Their soups are pretty good. As for Western food, has Lao Mo ever been there? The food from our older generation is still very popular; it's a matter of nostalgia. People older than us, including the previous generation, all came from Lao Mo."

Wang Lihua said, "High-end restaurants mainly serve Shandong cuisine. It doesn't really matter, as long as it tastes good."

There was a knock on the door of the private room, and a middle-aged man pushed it open and said with a smile, "How's the food? How many of you?"

Several people turned to look at him, and the man said, "I'm the manager here, my surname is Tang." One of them handed over a business card: "The young lady is a bit naive, please forgive her if she's not quite right. To be honest, there is a rule in the store that outside drinks are not allowed, but that depends on who you're talking to, right?"

"Take your time, guys. I'll ask the kitchen to order another dish; it'll be up in a minute. Please bear with me. Um, may I take a look at the wine you guys brought? It's definitely good wine; maybe I can find some more to restock later."

Xiao Wei said, "It's okay. We'll follow your rules when we come to eat. Did you bring the Moutai? I brought two bottles, so I'll just buy two from you."

Manager Tang chuckled, offering cigarettes to everyone around him: "You guys look a bit unfamiliar, aren't you from this area?"

Xiao Wei said, "I just moved here, I'll come often in the future."

Chen Hui said, "I ate at your house yesterday and today for lunch. How often do we have to meet? Are you staying here?"

Manager Tang smiled and nodded: "Just kidding, just kidding. Welcome to visit us often."

These days, people who can afford to dine at restaurants like Tongheju are definitely either rich or powerful. Ordinary people certainly wouldn't dare to go in; these people know what they're doing.

Moreover, these days it's easy to spot nouveau riche. They don't really care about people with a little money. What they fear most are people like Wu Guolin. This is Kyoto, and it's never short of influential people.

Wu Guolin said, "Go ahead and do your work, we'll take our time eating. I said I'd buy you some wine, so I will. Just prepare two good bottles for us to take with us later."

Manager Tang bowed and scraped as he left.

(End of this chapter)