Return to the City: The Strongest King
Chapter 174: Everyone Concedes

Chapter 174: Chapter 174: Everyone Concedes

"Really good at putting on an act, a stinky soldier trying to pose like this, as if he doesn’t know his own limits. You could fool others, but pretending in front of me? Just wait until you can’t differentiate the wines, I’ll see how I mock you."

If it hadn’t been for that sentence from Song Xiaodong just now, Xiao Zhiming would have mocked him right away, but now he could only think about it in his mind.

Song Xiaodong opened his eyes, then said, "Bring me a cup of water."

The waiter hurried to get a cup, Song Xiaodong took a sip of the water to rinse out the taste of wine in his mouth, then picked up the second glass.

When tasting the first glass, everyone hadn’t paid much attention to Song Xiaodong’s drinking posture, but by the second glass, people had started to notice, especially a few women who showed a look of surprise in their eyes.

The households of these women had been wealthy through two or three generations; they had received the best education since childhood and had even been specially trained in etiquette. Those who had just started to become rich had no such education themselves.

"It’s really very elegant; these movements are not something you can just imitate and display at will."

"Absolutely, from what I see, if you weren’t immersed in this kind of atmosphere from childhood, then it must have been some advanced etiquette training and for a not short period of time."

A few women whispered among themselves, and nobody else heard them.

Song Xiaodong tasted each of the six glasses of wine, taking no less than three minutes per glass, adding up to almost twenty minutes. Yet, even though so much time had passed, not even Xiao Zhiming and the others seemed impatient, and Miao Qingqing felt like she was watching a special performance, pleasing to the eye and refreshing to the spirit.

"How about it?" Ning Tongda’s tone was noticeably more polite at that moment. Judging by Song Xiaodong’s wine tasting actions, he was clearly a connoisseur; Ning dared not look down on him anymore.

Song Xiaodong gave a slight smile and pointed to the first glass.

Ning Tongda’s face remained unchanged, but he couldn’t help feeling disappointed; it was clear he had been mistaken.

Xiao Zhiming was afraid Song Xiaodong would bluff here or read Ning Tongda’s emotions, so as soon as he saw him pointing to the first glass, he immediately said, "Boss Ning, he says the first glass? Is that right?"

Ning Tongda shook his head and said, "Wrong."

Xiao Zhiming immediately started feeling smug and said, "I told you Song Xiaodong, did you hear that? You were wrong."

Song Xiaodong glanced at Xiao Zhiming and said, "Idiot."

"Who are you calling?" Xiao Zhiming’s face hardened instantly.

Song Xiaodong lifted the first glass and said, "I’ve picked up this glass of wine, have I said anything?"

Zhou Fei glared and barked, "Stop making excuses, as soon as Boss Ning said this glass was wrong, that’s when you started backtracking."

Song Xiaodong gave Zhou Fei another look as if he was looking at an idiot, then he said to Ning Tongda, "This glass of wine is slightly pale in color, with a light and fragrant taste, so it should be the youngest. This should be from after 2013, right?"

Ning Tongda’s eyes suddenly widened, and he said, "Correct."

Song Xiaodong picked up the second glass, gently swirled it, and said, "This glass has a red color with a soft luster, the wine clings to the glass thickly, and the flavor is long and lingering. This one should be from 1990. Although it is not as rare as the 1982 vintage, it is already a rare treasure. There can’t be many of these left in the world now, and its value as a collectible keeps getting higher."

Everyone’s gaze turned to Ning Tongda, and his face had already revealed a look of delight as he said, "Brother, your eyesight is good, this is indeed a 1990 Lafite."

Everyone then looked back at Song Xiaodong, each of them bearing a look of astonishment. There might be many who could discern the brand of the wine, but those who could identify the vintage were definitely rare.

At this point, everyone couldn’t help but looked forward to Song Xiaodong stating the vintages of the other glasses as well.

Song Xiaodong did not take the third glass, but went straight for the fourth, and said, "This glass is the lightest, it should be from the worst year of Lafite Winery. That year, there was too much rain, the grapes were not good quality, and consequently, the wine was not good either, so this should be from 2012."

Ning Tongda gave Song Xiaodong a thumbs up and said, "Brother, your eye is good, this is indeed from 2012. Everyone remembers the good vintages of fine wine better, but to have such command of a bad vintage, that’s truly incredible."

Song Xiaodong accurately stated the vintages of the fifth and sixth glasses, and finally picked up the third glass, and said, "This is an authentic 1982 Lafite. Today I’ve really hit the jackpot, getting to drink a real 1982 Lafite. I won’t be polite with these glasses of wine, I’ll drink them all in a little while."

Ning Tongda laughed heartily and said, "Bro, you jest. Once the wine is opened, it’s meant to be drunk. These bottles we’ve opened, let’s just say they’re to enhance everyone’s enjoyment."

Xiao Zhiming opened his mouth but ultimately said nothing. He wasn’t stupid—saying something ignorant at this point would just provoke public anger.

However, he couldn’t understand how Song Xiaodong, just a guy who had transferred back from the military, from a poor family living in a shanty area, now seemed like a wealthy gentleman who had been cultivating such taste over many years. It was entirely unreasonable.

Little did he know, Song Xiaodong had once spent a whole year learning the etiquette of nobility to infiltrate an upper-class circle in England for a special mission, which of course included wine tasting.

An ordinary person might not learn much in a year, but Song Xiaodong’s learning ability was far too strong. Moreover, the innate energy within him endowed him with an innate ability to distinguish wines, which naturally granted him such skill.

The waiter immediately brought over the six bottles of wine that Ning Tongda had just opened. Many people here drank red wine only because of its high price, which could showcase their status, but watching Song Xiaodong drink, they gained an understanding of what true wine drinking should look like.

Driven by curiosity, quite a few of them poured a little from each bottle to taste, but they were completely unable to distinguish the differences between the six wines.

"Thanks, brother!" Ning Tongda sat down with Song Xiaodong and Miao Qingqing.

Song Xiaodong smiled slightly and said, "It’s Boss Ning’s wit that came up with this method."

The two did not make their points explicit, but it was clear in their hearts. Ning Tongda couldn’t possibly have that many bottles of 1982 Lafite. Usually, he would pass off regular Lafite as the 1982 vintage, and Song Xiaodong not revealing that kept Ning Tongda’s hotel’s reputation intact.

As for why Song Xiaodong did not expose it, because those who drank this kind of wine were essentially pretentious anyway. The money from such people was easy to earn; not taking it would be foolish. Not just Ning Tongda—if Song Xiaodong were in his position, he would do the same.