Super Soldier in the City
Chapter 736 - 775: I’ve Had Drinks with Ning Xin’er

Chapter 736: Chapter 775: I’ve Had Drinks with Ning Xin’er

The wedding ceremony went smoothly, and then it was time for the wedding banquet. Li Yifei and Ning Xin’er were invited to accompany the bride’s family.

The bride’s parents did not attend to give away their daughter, as marrying off a daughter meant giving her away to another family. For the bride’s parents, it was also a sad occasion. Thus, they could not participate in the groom’s wedding ceremony. This custom was still taken very seriously here.

Without that bizarre pair of parents, handling the bride’s family seemed easy, but what Fourth Aunt’s family didn’t expect was that there was a peculiar person among those who came to give away the bride.

This man was named Tian Xinyun. He had made a bit of money from his small business, had a net worth of about one or two million, and had even bought a Volkswagen Bora. He was the wealthiest person in the bride’s family and acted as the head of the delegation representing the bride’s side.

During the wedding, he did not say much. However, once seated at the banquet, he frowned upon seeing the liquor on the table and immediately said to Song Tao, who accompanied him, "How come we on the bride’s side are only drinking this kind of liquor? Isn’t this a bit too careless?"

The liquor on the table was a locally produced Osmanthus Fragrance, costing over thirty yuan per bottle. Normally, it would be considered acceptable, but Tian Xinyun didn’t even give it a second glance and started to show his displeasure.

Hearing that the bride’s family was unsatisfied with the liquor, Fourth uncle quickly said, "If there’s a particular liquor you would like to drink, we’ll get it ready immediately."

Tian Xinyun said carelessly, "Let me tell you, I don’t just drink any liquor these days. If I drink, it has to be Maotai. Otherwise, it just doesn’t taste right. Ah well, there’s no way your family can get real Maotai."

Fourth uncle frowned slightly but still said with a smile, "Since you want Maotai, of course, we’ll satisfy your request. I’ll go get it right away."

Before long, Fourth uncle brought back two bottles of Maotai, which were exactly what Li Yifei had given them yesterday, and said with a smile, "Here we go. Maotai has arrived. What do you think?"

Tian Xinyun hadn’t expected them to actually produce a bottle of Maotai. He took the bottle and examined it pretentiously before saying, "Your family has Maotai? This wouldn’t be fake liquor obtained from somewhere, would it?"

Fourth uncle glanced at Li Yifei and said, "Rest assured, it is definitely real. My nephew specially honored me with it."

"Is that so? Then I must taste it."

Fourth uncle immediately opened the bottle, and a rich aroma filled the air. This Maotai wasn’t ordinary; it was thirty years aged. Although not the top-grade among Maotai liquors, it wasn’t something everyone had the chance to drink.

"What a wonderful fragrance!" Everyone began to praise it instantly. Even those who didn’t drink could tell that this was definitely fine liquor.

Tian Xinyun had wanted to claim that the liquor was fake, but after smelling it, he knew it couldn’t be falsified. Calling it fake would reveal his lack of sophistication. Pretending to smell it again, he said, "Not bad at all. It truly is Maotai. I’ve drunk so much that I could tell just by the smell."

Fourth uncle laughed, "Later, we will drink this. Come on, first have a cigarette." The dishes hadn’t arrived, so they couldn’t start drinking immediately. Therefore, Fourth uncle opened a box of Furong Monarch cigarettes that was placed on the table and offered one to Tian Xinyun.

Tian Xinyun waved his hand, refusing the offered cigarette, and took out a pack of Zhonghua cigarettes from his pocket, saying, "I’d rather smoke my own. I’m not used to smoking your brand."

This put Fourth uncle in an awkward spot. With Tian Xinyun being so picky, it was as if he was trying to pick a fight with the Song family. However, in this village, there was another saying: the bride’s family should conduct themselves with propriety, so their daughter wouldn’t be bullied by her in-laws—and the more successful a member of the bride’s family was, the more confidence they could give to the daughter.

If Fourth uncle now switched to his own pack of Soft Zhonghua, he would be no different than Tian Xinyun, failing to assert any status for the bride’s family.

"Come on, that Zhonghua probably doesn’t have much flavor. Try this one and see if you can tell what brand it is," said Li Yifei, who had been keeping the company of relatives his age. He got up, walked over to the table where the elders sat, and handed Tian Xinyun a cigarette.

If he had directly stated what the cigarette was, Tian Xinyun probably wouldn’t have accepted it. Li Yifei’s approach seemed like a challenge, and so Tian Xinyun couldn’t refuse. With a curl of his lip, he said, "You won’t stump me. I’ll have you know, I’m quite the connoisseur of cigarettes. There’s no premium brand I haven’t tried. Even if you strip off all the labels, I can take a couple of puffs and tell you what kind it is, though, of course, anything below thirty yuan doesn’t count—I never smoke such cheap cigarettes."

Li Yifei laughed, "Then give this one a try and see if it’s worth thirty yuan."

After taking the cigarette Li Yifei offered, Tian Xinyun lit it and took a puff. The tobacco’s fragrance surged into his brain through his nose, giving him an indescribable sensation. He had never smoked anything like it, but it was undeniable that it was an excellent cigarette.

"Come on, everyone, have a taste," Li Yifei said with a smile as he handed out cigarettes to everyone.

"Little Panda?" Tian Xinyun took a few puffs but still couldn’t figure out what kind of cigarette it was. In fact, he was just bragging before, but he knew for sure it was a quality cigarette, even though he couldn’t recognize it. Finally, he had no choice but to look at the brand on the cigarette butt. Being somewhat knowledgeable, he had occasionally heard about a special Little Panda cigarette, made exclusively for the Central Government leaders, marked just like this one; he couldn’t help but blurt out in surprise.

Li Yifei gave Tian Xinyun a thumbs up and said, "Indeed, you’re knowledgeable."

After being praised by Li Yifei, Tian Xinyun, even if he thought the cigarettes couldn’t possibly be real, couldn’t contradict himself. He cleared his throat and said, "Little Panda, that’s a Special Tribute cigarette, isn’t it? I haven’t smoked it many times; where did you get these from?"

Li Yifei laughed and replied, "A good friend of mine gave them to me. I’ve always been reluctant to smoke them, but seeing this uncle here looked like a remarkable man, I decided to bring them out as an offering."

Tian Xinyun burst into laughter and said, "Let me tell you, these cigarettes are specially prepared for the leaders of the Central Government. Our Comrade Xiaoping used to smoke more than two packs a day. He was really a heavy smoker, but he lived to over ninety years old, precisely because he always smoked these Special Tribute Little Pandas. Although it’s still smoking, this cigarette does a lot less harm to the body."

With Tian Xinyun showing off like this, everyone learned something new and also resolved the embarrassment of the in-laws showing off with their cigarettes.

When the dishes were served, Tian Xinyun started talking nonsense again about how many fancy restaurants he had visited and how many exotic delicacies he had tasted, saying he never touched such ordinary food in ordinary times.

"Let me tell you, the time I went to dine with friends, they were all significant figures. Not to mention their status, but just the few who joined us for drinks, you would know how influential those people were," he said.

"Who were they, accompanying you?" asked a young man from the bride’s side immediately.

After taking a sip of Maotai, Tian Xinyun savored the taste, feeling that it was damn good and certainly not the same grade as the Maotai he had drunk before. He didn’t say it aloud, but he kept drinking it thankfully, then said, "The stars that joined us for drinks were all famous. People like Luo Wei, Chen Jingjing, they’re nothing much. Even Little Jade Girl Ning Xin’er came to drink with us, haha..."

His claim immediately aroused envy among the relatives accompanying the bride, but the faces of the Song Family’s guests looked rather strange. Aside from a few relatives on Fourth uncle’s side, they were Li Yifei’s aunts and uncles, who of course knew Ning Xin’er’s identity. Now, with Tian Xinyun saying such things, it would be fine if it were just bragging, but if it were true, wouldn’t it mean there was a problem with Li Yifei’s wife?

Li Yifei and Ning Xin’er looked at each other, also not expecting Tian Xinyun’s boasting to involve Ning Xin’er. Of course, Li Yifei didn’t believe that Ning Xin’er would accompany someone like Tian Xinyun for drinks. Not to mention Ning Xin’er’s personality and family background, which wouldn’t require such methods for advancement, where would she have the time to accompany someone like him to drink? And even if Ning Xin’er did join someone for drinks, Tian Xinyun was hardly in her league.

Li Yifei didn’t take it seriously, treating it all as a joke, but Ning Xin’er thought differently. The insult to her was one thing, but more importantly, these were Li Yifei’s relatives. If it led the family to harbor certain misconceptions, wouldn’t it cause Li Yifei to lose face as well?

At that moment, she stood up abruptly and picked up her wine glass. Li Yifei tried to pull her back, but she pushed his hand away.

"Uncle, so Ning Xin’er has even had drinks with you before, huh? Well, you’re actually right about that, and I can even vouch for you," she said.

Tian Xinyun was taken aback. The woman who stood up had been wearing big black glasses the whole time and hadn’t taken them off even while eating. Now she was offering to vouch for him and said, "You vouch for me? What are you vouching for?"

Ning Xin’er, still smiling, replied, "Of course, I’m vouching for you having drinks with Ning Xin’er."

Confused, Tian Xinyun asked, "Were you there that day too?"

With a slight smile, Ning Xin’er said, "Not that day. How could someone of your stature drink with a nobody like me?"

"Then how can you vouch for me?" Tian Xinyun was even more puzzled.

Slowly removing her glasses, Ning Xin’er said, "Aren’t I drinking with you right now? From now on, you can claim you’ve had drinks with Ning Xin’er."

Li Yifei was speechless. Ning Xin’er, that girl with the fiery temper, just couldn’t help but jump into the fray, but luckily there weren’t many people around, and this was the countryside. Even if people here went out saying they had seen Ning Xin’er, others wouldn’t believe it. The trouble wouldn’t be too big, so he just let her be.