An Ning trailed behind An Guoming like a little follower until they arrived in front of a house.

Before An Guoming, who was in the lead, could even knock, the door swung open from the inside.

The man who appeared before them was a rugged, free-spirited northerner. He stood almost 1.9 meters tall, broad-shouldered and thick-waisted, his muscles bulging.

The northern air in April was still a bit chilly, yet the man wore only a white undershirt. Sweat beaded on his brow, and he looked quite hot.

The man slapped a fan-sized hand onto the shoulder of the slightly shorter man beside him, making the man’s knees buckle slightly.

"Let’s talk over a meal! Come on, my treat!"

The big man’s voice was rough as he shouted. As he opened the door, he came face to face with An Guoming, who was a head shorter than him.

"Well, if it isn’t Brother An! Are you here to see the house?"

The big man clapped his hands together sheepishly. "What a coincidence. Jin is also here to look at the house. Why don’t we all have a drink together?"

The man called Jin glanced at An Guoming, his expression unreadable.

An Guoming had already inquired about the big man’s character. It was true that he loved to drink, but the notion that he was a simpleton was definitely false.

However, he had taken a liking to this property. If he could get it within his budget, he didn’t mind having a drink to seal the deal.

But...

An Guoming turned to look back at An Ning, only to see her smiling sweetly. "Second Brother, I’ll go with you."

An Ning didn’t feel comfortable letting An Guoming go alone. To borrow a phrase from Lin Cuihua, her second brother really did look like a little chick next to this giant of a man.

An Guoming turned back to the big man and asked, "This is my sister. Would it be alright if she came along? She doesn’t drink; she can just have a bite to eat on the side."

The big man was exceedingly magnanimous, waving a large hand to show it was no problem at all.

He took the lead, walking out in front. Mr. Jin and An Guoming followed behind, talking continuously.

Bringing up the rear was An Ning, maintaining a low profile. Her gaze remained fixed on An Guoming and Mr. Jin.

Along the way, An Ning summed up the situation with a single thought.

’For every ten sentences they spoke, there were eight hundred hidden schemes.’

Listening from behind, An Ning was getting confused. It felt like they were saying everything and nothing at all.

’Everyone really does have their own unique skills,’ she thought. ’This talent of Second Brother’s is something I could never learn.’

「About fifteen minutes later」, the group of four entered a narrow alleyway.

An Ning followed impassively from behind. ’In wuxia novels,’ she thought idly, ’a scene like this is always followed by a bloodbath.’

As she entertained this random thought, she followed them through a doorway. The rich aroma of lamb soup instantly perked her up.

Drawing on the palate she had developed over more than a month of being fed by Master Tang, An Ning determined that the lamb at this restaurant was high-quality.

"Da Zhuang, you’re here! What’ll it be today?"

A man with a white, grease-stained apron tied around his waist walked out from a back room, wiping his hands.

The big man at the front, Da Zhuang, stepped forward with practiced ease. "Half a lamb, four bowls of lamb soup, four steamers of shaomai, and four baked flatbreads."

"And don’t forget the liquor! Bring three jin to start."

With the familiarity of a regular, the big man went to the side, pulled over a table, and handed out a few small folding stools to Boss Jin and An Guoming.

An Ning was also given one, but she sat by herself at a separate table.

Soon, a bowl of lamb soup, a steamer of shaomai, and a baked flatbread were placed on An Ning’s table.

She didn’t stand on ceremony and picked up her chopsticks to eat.

At the next table, the three men started drinking.

The man called Da Zhuang must have really loved to drink.

He picked up a bowl of baijiu and drained it in one go.

"I’ve finished mine! Drink as you please!"

Seeing the big man down his in a single gulp, An Guoming couldn’t afford to lose face. He raised his own bowl and drained the baijiu as well.

The bowl of baijiu went down like fire, the heat rushing straight to his head.

It was as if a tiny whirlwind tipped with a diamond drill was boring into the crown of his head.

On the other side, Boss Jin, smiling like a sly old fox, slowly raised his bowl and drank it without a change in his expression.

When it came to drinking, he wasn’t afraid.

"Hahahaha! Now that’s what I’m talking about!"

The big man SLAMMED his bowl down on the table and yelled, "Again!"

After that, An Guoming drank two more bowls of baijiu. He was already starting to see stars.

But he hadn’t even brought up the matter of the house yet.

Boss Jin, on the other hand, showed no signs of being affected, looking as if victory was already in his grasp.

"Brother An, you really need to work on your tolerance," he said.

Boss Jin took the liquor pot and filled An Guoming’s bowl again. Da Zhuang’s bowl across from them was also refilled.

"Why don’t you let your sister—"

"Get lost!"

Flames seemed to burn in An Guoming’s eyes. His mind was still perfectly clear.

If looks could kill, Boss Jin would have been riddled with a thousand holes.

"Jin, just drink."

The big man spoke up, and Jin reigned in his expression. "Just joking."

"Don’t joke about that!"

An Ning came over, carrying her small stool. She sat down smoothly and looked at the table full of food. "You guys haven’t eaten anything. It won’t taste as good once it’s cold."

An Ning took the bowl from in front of An Guoming, not spilling a single drop.

Her clear, dark eyes distinctly reflected the figure of the big man across from her.

"Big Brother, I want to get something straight. We’re not just drinking for free, are we?"

An Ning’s direct style seemed to be right up the big man’s alley.

"What did you want to ask, young lady?"

"I want to ask, for this drinking today, does whoever wins get to buy your house? And at what price are you selling?"

Finally, they had reached the main topic of the day.

"The young lady is a straight shooter, and I’m no slouch either."

The big man laid it all out. "Today, whoever drinks me under the table gets the house. And if you can out-drink me, I’ll sell you the house, originally priced at five thousand, for three thousand!"

Anyone could feel the big man’s confidence.

An Ning supported An Guoming with one hand while holding her bowl of liquor steady with the other, extending it toward the big man.

"A gentleman never goes back on his word."

"A gentleman never goes back on his word!"

CLINK!

The crisp sound of the bowls clinking together was so sudden that Boss Jin, off to the side, didn’t even have time to react. ’When did this sure-win situation suddenly turn around?’

Boss Jin hastily raised his own bowl, but just as he did, An Ning and the big man had already finished drinking, their bowls nearly tilted upside down.

THUD!

THUD!

The bowls landed, the liquor was gone.

"Little Sis—"

An Guoming was worried. An Ning had never drunk before.

An Ning supported An Guoming with one hand and said, "Don’t worry. If anything like this happens again, I’ll do the drinking. You just need to be in charge of smelling it, Second Brother."

"Hahahahahaha! This young lady is hilarious."

The big man laughed at An Ning’s words and poured more liquor.

Boss Jin, whose presence was gradually fading, also took the opportunity to pour An Ning a bowl.

"Sister An, let’s have a drink."

An Ning turned her head and shot him a disdainful look.

"I’ll drink, but not with you."

She was still holding a grudge over how he had been forcing An Guoming to drink earlier.

"What’s that supposed to mean? You looking down on me?"

"Even if we drink, I’ll still look down on you. The fact that I look down on you has nothing to do with drinking."

Her rudeness was not without reason.

But Boss Jin, sitting beside them, didn’t know that. He SLAMMED his palm on the tabletop.