Spring Breeze Twenty Years

Chapter 1297 Showing Off

Mr. Wang declined, saying, "No need, no need, this is fine enough. I wouldn't dare trouble you any further. You're all capable people, so don't worry about it."

Xiao Wei's father said, "What's the trouble? We've always lived in this hospital, and it's no different from usual."

Zhang Bing waved to Wang Xiuli: "Come on, I'll take you to see the wine." He pulled Wang Jihong into the yard: "Dad, I'm taking them to see the wine cellar."

Xiao Wei's dad said, "Okay, you guys play. You know how to do it, right?"

Zhang Bing said, "Yes."

Uncle Wang said, "Let's go too, shall we? Should we take a stroll or go back to rest?"

An old man came out of the convenience store across the street: "You guys are eating here tonight?"

Xiao Wei's father then introduced Wang's parents, and the three shook hands and greeted each other, talking by the roadside. Zhang Bing led Wang Xiuli and Wang Jihong into the courtyard and to the annex building.

"Let me tell you, my brother's wine cellar is the best in Northeast China, really, you've definitely never seen one like it." Zhang Bing skillfully opened the wooden door of the wine cellar: "Come in quickly, it's not good to leave this open all the time."

The three men went inside and closed the wooden door. Zhang Bing turned on the light, and immediately a dazzling array of wines came into view, their aromas clear and pure. Frosted bottles, tall-necked bottles, short bottles, and oak barrels of all sizes were neatly arranged.

"Have you two tried fruit wine?" Zhang Bing asked as he led the two men inside.

Wang Xiuli said, "Yes, I've had it. I buy it every year during the Chinese New Year. Is this all fruit wine?"

Zhang Bing said, "Wine is different from our fruit wine. Let me find some with a low alcohol content. If you guys get drunk, I'll probably get a beating."

Wang Xiuli asked, "Then why put it on the ground? It would look so much better if it were placed upstairs in the house."

Zhang Bing said, "No, there's air conditioning and a dehumidifier here. You can't just leave it anywhere. There are a lot of rules about these things."

Walking to the middle sofa, Zhang Bing gestured for the two men to sit down: "You two sit down. Ji Hong, do you smoke? There are cigars in that drawer. We don't smoke other kinds of cigarettes here. I'll go get some champagne."

He followed the display shelf and found Wang Xiuli and Wang Jihong sitting on the sofa, looking around.

"So beautiful," Wang Xiuli exclaimed. Wang Jihong took out a box of cigars from a drawer in a small cabinet next to him, opened the exquisite wooden box, and a cigar lay inside.

Wang Xiuli glanced at it and exclaimed, "This is a cigarette? Why is it so big?"

Wang Jihong said, "I've never seen it either. How am I supposed to ask you?"

Zhang Bing brought over a bottle of champagne: "Please try this. It's 20 years old and is my brother's best wine. There are only five bottles in total."

Wang Xiuli looked at the bottle in Zhang Bing's hand: "Twenty-year-old? It's been stored for twenty years? Is it still drinkable?"

Zhang Bing said, "Of course I can drink it. This wine is very rare; there are probably only five bottles left in the whole country. I've been eyeing it for a long time, hehe. I'm taking advantage of you two today. Want a cigar?"

Zhang Bing put the liquor on the table, took some ice from the refrigerator, put it in the ice bucket, then put the liquor in, and then took out a cigar cutter and matches from the small cabinet: "I've seen my brother and his friends do this, but I've never smoked. My dad said he'd beat me up if I smoked before graduation."

She skillfully cut the cigar, then handed it to Wang Jihong. She struck a match, waited for the smoke to dissipate, then leaned over and toasted the entire cigar before lighting it for him. Wang Xiuli sat watching: "Never smoked one before? So skilled, are you kidding me?"

Zhang Bing chuckled: "I've really never smoked before, don't look at me like that. I just like to tinker around, and I help my brother and Xiao Hui when they're doing it. I'm not kidding you, if I actually dared to smoke now I'd get beaten up, it's not worth it."

Wang Jihong took a puff, choked, and coughed for a long time. Zhang Bing said, "This is different from smoking. You have to take it slowly, in small puffs, let the smoke swirl in your mouth before exhaling. It usually doesn't go into your lungs. It's about experiencing the aroma."

Wang Jihong tried it, and it worked much better.

Wang Xiuli had no interest in smoking, and looked at the champagne in the barrel: "What are you doing?"

Zhang Bing finally had a chance to show off, and he pretended to say, "This wine is twenty years old, and it tastes even better chilled. If it were any older, it would need to be decanted, but I've heard of it and don't know how."

Wang Xiuli asked, "There are only five bottles in total. If you drink them, your brother can't be angry, right? It must be quite expensive, right?"

Zhang Bing said, "There are only five bottles in China. They have a winery in France, so they must have quite a few there. I heard that winery is one or two hundred years old, and they have plenty of good wine."

Wang Jihong asked, "These cigarettes are also from abroad? I've never seen them sold anywhere."

Zhang Bing said, "Yeah, everything here is imported. Some things aren't available domestically, and some you can't find in the market. You smoke this cigarette, and I heard from Brother Xiao Hui that one would sell for over a thousand yuan in China. Who would buy it in the market?"

Wang Jihong's hand trembled, and he almost dropped the cigarette: "Over a thousand? Just one?"

Zhang Bing said, "Yeah, my brother Hui said so. This is Cospa, the best Cuban cigar, even better than Romeo y Toro and Bethesda. It's okay, we don't sell these, we just bring them back for our family to smoke."

Wang Xiuli pointed to the wine barrel: "So, how much does this bottle cost?"

Zhang Bing scratched his head: "Selling? I've never heard my brother mention it. I'd guess it'd cost over ten thousand. Last year's batch sold for over three thousand a bottle. These aren't for sale; those for sale don't come here."

Wang Xiuli turned her head and looked around the wine cellar: "So, how much is all of this in your house worth?"

Zhang Bing said, "I haven't counted. I've saved it up little by little. I bring some back when they send out alcohol over there. Oh, by the way, we also have beer here. Ji Hong, do you want some? We have German and French brands."

Wang Jihong shook his head, taking small sips of the cigar in his hand, feeling a pang of regret as he smoked.

Zhang Bing said, "Are you planning to finish this one in one go? It's so big, you'd probably get drunk if you smoked it all. Just leave it there, take a few puffs now and then."

Wang Jihong took a few more puffs and put the cigar down. Zhang Bing said, "If you're not going to smoke it, just put it in your mouth like you would a cigarette, don't inhale, blow gently a few times, and then leave it there and it will go out by itself. You can light it next time you want to smoke. Take two boxes of those special matches later."

Wang Jihong picked it up and tried blowing on it a few times. Wang Xiuli asked, "Why are you blowing on it?"

Zhang Bing coughed and said, "This is different from cigarettes. It won't light if you don't smoke it, while cigarettes light on their own even if you don't smoke them. You blow on it to expel the smoke you inhaled, and it won't taste the same the next time you smoke it."

Laughter came from behind. Xia Maosheng said, "How about that? I told you this kid just brought people here to show off. He doesn't usually have a chance to bragged like this."

Xia Maosheng, Geng Hui, Uncle Wang, Xiaowei's father, and Wang's father—five people in total—came over. Aunt Wang was sitting upstairs talking with Wang's mother.

(End of this chapter)