Chapter 68: Brewing Wine

  That night, Zhao Fei and Zhang Bao drank heavily all night. The degree of the fine wine was not very high, but a little made a lot, and Zhao Fei also got drunk like mud. In the end, it was still Zhang Bao who carried him to bed.

  Looking at Zhao Fei's face, which had become rosy due to intoxication, Zhang Baode's expression was filled with a mix of concern and delight. "How long has it been since I drank so recklessly? Thinking back, I too was once young and reckless, full of vigor and spirit! But time is unforgiving!" He couldn't help but chuckle at himself as he patted his protruding belly.

  With a loving glance at Zhao Fei, Zhang Bao blew out the oil lamp and quietly pushed the door ajar. Even though he hadn't drunk for many years, Zhang Bao was also somewhat dizzy. Stumbling and staggering, he walked to his own room, pushed open the door, and fumbled his way to the bedside before falling asleep. His wife, Zhang Shi, had already woken up when she heard him push open the door, and seeing that her husband reeked of alcohol, she knew he had drunk a lot.

  "It's been a long time since my husband has had a good drink, and today he's drunk to this state, he must be very happy. I hope he can always be like this." Looking at Zhang Bao's face still with a hint of smile, Zhang Shi thought to herself. Then she quickly got up to help Zhang Bao change his clothes. But it's easier said than done, especially for Li Shi as a woman. Firstly, Zhang Bao's weight was already a challenge, and secondly, Zhang Shi was worried about waking him up, so after managing to undress Zhang Bao, Zhang Shi herself was also drenched in sweat. Wiping away the sweat on her forehead, Zhang Shi glanced at the sleeping Zhang Bao and then went to sleep herself.

  On the second day, Zhao Fei slept until the sun was high in the sky before he finally dragged his tired body out of bed. Rubbing his aching head, Zhao Fei felt like crying but had no tears to shed. "If I had known it would be like this, why did I do it in the first place? My poor head!" After rubbing his sore head again, Zhao Fei reluctantly got up.

  Arriving at the courtyard, he lifted his spirits. Once again, he started practicing Wu Xing Quan, a habit that had been deeply ingrained in him for a long time. Every day when he got up, Zhao Fei felt uncomfortable if he didn't practice it once. After finishing one set of punches, Zhao Fei took a few deep breaths and only felt refreshed and invigorated. Even the headache that was bothering him earlier had weakened significantly.

  After washing up, Zhao Fei went to the front yard. When he arrived at the front yard, he found that only Li Jin was busy and did not see Zhang Bao's figure. He must have been drunk and hadn't woken up yet.

  Zhao Fei arrived, Li Jin glanced at him and continued working. As for Li Jin, Zhao Fei also felt very bored. The two originally didn't have a good impression of each other, plus Li Jin regarded Zhao Fei as his arch-nemesis, how could they possibly interact? The more he stayed the more boring it became, so Zhao Fei remembered last night's plan and turned to head back to the inner courtyard.

  "Hmph!" Seeing Zhao Fei leave, Li Jin let out a cold snort.

  Zhao Fei returned to the inner courtyard and arrived at the wine brewing workshop, looking at the busy workers inside with a hesitant expression, unsure whether he should enter or not. After all, this was the biggest secret of the Zhang family winery.

  "What's wrong, Little Fei? Why are you dazing off here?" Just as Zhao Fei was worrying, Zhang Bao's voice came from behind him.

  Zhao Fei hastily turned back to greet him. "Boss, you're up."

  "Hahaha." Zhang Baosan burst out laughing. "You little brat really got me, thinking that you drank more than me last night, but it turns out you got up later than me."

  "How dare you have such an idea, young man." Knowing that Zhang Bao was joking with himself, Zhao Fei also didn't take it seriously and replied with a smile.

  "It's better that there isn't!" Zhang Bao nodded and continued: "Now, what are you sneaking around here for, peeking inside?"

  "No way!" Zhao Fei pretended to be stupid and hastily denied it.

  Zhang Bao smiled and shook his head, saying: "You still dare to deceive me, you little scoundrel, that time when you had something to ask for, it wasn't like this."

  "You've figured it out, boss," Zhao Fei said with a smile.

  "Speak up quickly. I saw you kept looking inside just now, is it related to wine brewing?" Zhang Bao had no way to take care of this kind of situation and could only ask himself.

  "Shopkeeper, you are truly clever and calculating, nothing can escape your eyes." Upon hearing Zhang Bao's words, Zhao Fei took the opportunity to flatter him with a loud slap on the back.

  "Hey you!" Zhang Bao pointed at Zhao Fei, shaking his head in frustration. "If there's something to say, hurry up and say it, I'm leaving if not." He even made a gesture as if he was about to turn around and leave.

  "Is it true that you want to leave or are you just teasing him?" Zhao Fei hastily said to Zhang Bao, "It's like this, boss. I want to learn how to brew wine."

  "Why do you want to learn brewing?" Zhang Bao felt a bit of anger in his heart when he heard Zhao Fei say this, and his words were very serious. In his opinion, Zhao Fei was not focusing on the main business. The business wasn't even done well yet, now there's talk of starting to learn brewing.

  Feeling the seriousness in Zhang Bao's words, Zhao Fei's expression changed. "It's like this, boss," he said, taking a few steps towards Zhang Bao. "Yesterday, I drank your ten-year-old wine and felt that I owed you one, so I wanted to personally brew a vat of fine wine for you as a way to repay the kindness you've shown me."

  After listening to Zhao Fei's words, Zhang Bao's serious expression instantly dissolved, and his heart was also warm. "Good... good child. It was the shopkeeper who misunderstood you." As he spoke, he lifted his sleeve and wiped away a faint tear from the corner of his eye.

  "Boss, are you crying?" Zhao Fei hastily asked upon seeing Zhang Bao's actions.

  "No. Just got some sand in my eyes." Zhang Bao certainly wouldn't admit it, he wouldn't let a little book mock him.

  "But where's the wind that was brought?" Zhao Fei asked with a bewildered expression, but judging from the smile still on his mouth, it was clear that this kid was pretending.

  "You little rascal, you're teasing the boss again!" Zhang Bao glared at Zhao Fei with a hint of a smile. "Since you have this filial piety, the boss can't stop you either. You wait here for a while, I'll go in and talk to the supervisor. You know, although I'm the boss of the winery, I don't control the whole thing. I only take care of selling good wine, but brewing is not my responsibility. After all, this is the Zhang family's property, and I'm just an outsider." A hint of worry crept into Zhang Bao's words.

  Only knowing Zhang Baoshen holds a high position, who else can understand his worries?

  "That young man is waiting for your good news here." Zhao Fei smiled and bowed to Zhang Bao.

  "You think I'll definitely succeed? What if others don't agree?" Zhang Bao said with a smile, imitating Zhao Fei's tone.

  "I think the shopkeeper will definitely make every effort to make this happen." With that, Zhao Fei bowed again.

  "Hahaha." Zhang Bao had a loud, three-part laugh. "You sneaky little kid. Wait here for now." After saying that, Zhang Bao went inside.

  As Zhang Bao walked in, Zhao Fei's heart was also filled with anxiety. To say that he really had absolute confidence, if he did, he wouldn't have pressured the shopkeeper. It's worth noting that the supervisor of this winery is on an equal footing with Zhang Bao, and whether or not to sell Zhang Bao's face is another matter. Zhao Fei paced back and forth at the door, his mood was very tangled. Time passed bit by bit, but Zhang Bao still hadn't come out, and Zhao Fei's mood became increasingly low. After a while, Zhang Bao finally walked out slowly, seeing that silly smile on his round face, Zhao Fei knew that things were probably done, just as he thought of running towards Zhang Bao, he saw a sturdy man following behind Zhang Bao. The man had a resolute expression, thick eyebrows and big eyes, with a full beard. His broad chest gave people a very heavy feeling, wearing a sleeveless short shirt, his arms exposed, his forearms were covered in muscles. He must have practiced martial arts for many years to develop such a strong physique.

  Seeing the man in front of him dressed like this, Zhao Fei couldn't help but feel his legs trembling. After all, it was also a cold winter month, and the man in front of him was still wearing a short-sleeved shirt, which made Zhao Fei shiver even more.

  "Come, I'll introduce you to the supervisor. This is the young fellow I was telling you about." Zhang Bao pointed at Zhao Fei and introduced him to the man beside him. Then he turned his head and said to Zhao Fei, "Come on, Little Fei, this is Zhang Guang, the supervisor of the winery. Hurry up and call someone."

  "Good supervisor Zhang." Zhao Fei very politely saluted Zhang Guang.

  "Is it you?" Zhang Guang stared at Zhao Fei in surprise.

  "Does the foreman know this little kid?" Seeing Zhang Guang's astonishment, Zhao Fei was also extremely puzzled. He seemed to not recognize the sturdy man in front of him at all. "Could it be that he recognizes the young Zhao Fei from before? But I don't have any impression of that either?" Zhao Fei carefully sized up the person in front of him, trying hard to think, but ultimately still couldn't come up with anything.

  "I don't know you, I just saw you practicing boxing in the yard. I found your boxing technique to be strange but very exquisite, so I couldn't help but take a few more glances." Zhang Guang said straightforwardly without hiding anything.

  "So that's how it is." Zhao Fei nodded. "The kid has been practicing blindly, and it's not as exquisite as the foreman said."

  "Blindly practicing?" Zhang Guang shook his head, and Zhao Fei then said: "If blindly practicing can make you like that, I can only say you're a martial arts prodigy. I, Zhang Guang, have also practiced martial arts for many years, but I've never seen such exquisite fist techniques, surely it's from the hands of a famous master."

  After listening to Zhang Guang's words, Zhao Fei looked at the man in front of him with surprise and admiration. He had thought he was just a martial artist, but unexpectedly his thoughts were so meticulous. But thinking about it, how could a mere martial artist become the supervisor of a wine workshop?

  "It was indeed a sudden move by the young master, this set of fists is truly from a famous school, but who it is, the young master dare not say more, fearing to tarnish the teacher's reputation. I hope you won't mind, Inspector." Since he had been seen through anyway, Zhao Fei simply spoke out.