The Sweetness of the Seventies
Chapter 162: Unique Liquor Collection (940+)_1

Chapter 162: Chapter 162: Unique Liquor Collection (940+)_1

Aunt Li said so, and Zhou Yuanchao felt a bit more comfortable.

"Since Aunt Li has spoken, I’ll be the bigger person and forget the petty offenses. Let’s drink this cup," Zhou Yuanchao said heartily as he picked up the cup and took a sip, his mouth twitching from the spiciness.

Huo Yingjie quickly poured another, saying, "This year, since we’ve joined the institute, we owe much to our teacher’s guidance. Our work has been able to progress smoothly thanks to him. Shouldn’t we toast to the teacher?"

"We should!" Zhou Yuanchao downed another cup. After swallowing, his eyes began to glaze over, and his tongue felt thick.

"Aunt Li has taken such good care of you, don’t you also owe her a toast?" Huo Yingjie said with a smile, and while at it, filled Zhou Yuanchao’s cup again.

"Indeed!" Zhou Yuanchao chugged it down, his gaze now hazy.

Zhou Yuanchao was someone whose temper flared up quickly and died down just as fast. After drinking a few of Chief Engineer Sun’s small cups of wine, he began to mumble incoherently, clinging to Huo Yingjie and repeatedly calling him "big brother" with such endearment!

Zhou Yuanchao, a big and burly man, was knocked out by three small cups of wine.

Aunt Li, watching Zhou Yuanchao, who had gotten drunk before even eating, slump over the table, gave Huo Yingjie a slap on the arm and scolded, "You kid, if you wanted to get him drunk, you should have at least let him fill his stomach first. It’s very uncomfortable to drink on an empty stomach!"

"Hehe!" Huo Yingjie chuckled, "He’s drunk, let’s eat. I guess he’ll wake up on his own in a bit."

Seeing Huo Yingjie say this, Aunt Li wanted to add a few words but was interrupted by Chief Engineer Sun, who said, "Let’s eat and drink. Yuan Chao has such low alcohol tolerance; even this little bit knocked him out."

The three of them were almost done eating when Zhou Yuanchao slowly woke up, dizzily grabbed a bowl, went to the kitchen to ladle himself a big bowl of noodles, dumped the leftover dishes from the table into his noodle bowl, and slurped it all up, soup and all. Then, like a little dog, he curled up and fell asleep on Chief Engineer Sun’s sofa.

Chief Engineer Sun and Aunt Li were flabbergasted at Zhou Yuanchao’s behavior!

From Zhou Yuanchao’s actions, it didn’t seem like he was drunk, but his eyes were dazed and glassy, almost as if he were sleepwalking.

"Is he... has he always been like this?" Aunt Li curiously asked. "Young man, are you sure Xiao Zhou is just drunk and not sleepwalking?"

Huo Yingjie laughed and said, "Quite sure, he’s just drunk, not sleepwalking."

"Hahaha, this lad, what a peculiar way to handle his liquor," Chief Engineer Sun laughed. "You, don’t take advantage of your cleverness to bully an honest person."

Huo Yingjie nodded, "Hehe, I won’t in the future."

"Well, since Xiao Zhou has fallen asleep, let’s just let him sleep here," said Chief Engineer Sun. "You help him to the guest room. Your Aunt Li and I don’t have the strength to do that."

Huo Yingjie helped Zhou Yuanchao to the guest room, personally took off his shoes for him, covered him with a blanket, and then left the room.

It was getting late, so Huo Yingjie said his goodbyes.

The cool moonlight filtered through the empty tree branches, casting irregular patterns on the ground.

Huo Yingjie walked along the road, enjoying the tranquility and harmony of the place. He took a few deep breaths, then headed back, believing everything would be alright.

The next morning, when Zhou Yuanchao returned, he found that Huo Yingjie was no longer in the dormitory. The neatly packed wicker suitcase was gone; Huo Yingjie had gone home.

There was a note on the table, left by Huo Yingjie.

"Owing you a belated call of ’Brother Zhou,’ I’ve now said it. From now on, I’ll still be your big brother—Huo Yingjie."

Zhou Yuanchao chuckled. In his heart, it didn’t matter to him who played the role of elder brother! The discomfort he previously felt was just because of Huo Yingjie’s secrecy.

"You little rascal!" Zhou Yuanchao put the note in its place and began to pack his luggage. He had two days left before his vacation, and it was time to sort things out properly.

Although Zhou Yuanchao and Huo Yingjie had known each other for less than half a year and often bickered in every little thing they did, it was precisely because of this that their friendship had grown deeper. Even though he had been a bit selfish at first, after reconsidering it from another angle, he no longer felt jealous of Huo Yingjie.

As for Huo Yingjie, early in the morning, he carried a wicker suitcase and, after getting through a series of checks, finally left the research institute. It was the first time he had come out in months, and he felt like he was almost suffocating.

Huo Yingjie wished he could sprout wings and fly home, but since there were no cars available for the trip to the county today, he had to walk and hoped that he might encounter a fellow villager driving an ox cart along the way.

As Huo Yingjie walked, he looked around. His neck was stretching like a giraffe’s, yet he saw no villager’s ox cart and had to rely on his own two legs.

"Putt-putt-putt..." The sound of a motor vehicle came from behind, and that was great news—there was a car.

Huo Yingjie stood straight at the side of the road, waving at the approaching car.

The young driver inside the car said to the two women with him, "Leader, there’s someone ahead who wants a lift!"

"Don’t bother!" one of the women replied, "We’re already full. We’re not in an ordinary car, it’s not meant for just anyone to ride in."

The young driver, a soldier, pursed his lips, thinking to himself, "If it’s just ordinary people needing a lift, why can’t we help out those in trouble? Moreover... ah, that person is wearing the same uniform as us."

"Leader, the person ahead is one of us," the straightforward young driver said. Although he didn’t recognize him, they were all the same, all shedding blood and sweat for the country, so of course, he could get in.

"One of us?" A woman narrowed her eyes and looked at the man standing upright outside the window. He looked clean and fresh, so giving him a lift wouldn’t be too unpleasant.

"Alright, let’s stop and take him with us," the woman said lazily.

The car stopped beside Huo Yingjie, and a young man asked, "Comrade, where are you headed?"

Huo Yingjie saluted and answered, "To the county train station!"

"We’re also going to the county. Get in, we’ll give you a ride," the young man said warmly, opening the car door and letting Huo Yingjie sit in the front passenger seat.

Once Huo Yingjie was in the car, he saw that there were two women sitting in the back, staring at him—probably doctors.

Even though he didn’t know them, sitting in their car, Huo Yingjie nodded his head as a way of greeting.

"Comrade, where do you work?" the young man asked, very cordially.

Huo Yingjie smiled and replied, "Sorry, that’s confidential!"

"Ah?" The young man was momentarily stunned. There weren’t many places that couldn’t be disclosed. "Oh, okay, I won’t ask then."

Just then, one of the women in the back laughed and asked, "Can you at least tell us your name?"

From afar, Huo Yingjie had seemed handsome and smart. Up close, he was even better looking. His sharply defined face, structured and profound, with a straight nose and proper mouth, and his neat crew cut made him much more handsome than the young men back where they came from.

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