He won 900 million in the lottery.

Chapter 156 Class Reunion 2

People have many social circles.

We have to have several drinking sessions during holidays and festivals.

Unsurprisingly, Zhang Luode tagged everyone in the WeChat group a day in advance this year.

"Stop taking cephalosporin one day in advance."

"All drivers will take taxis, and I will reimburse the expenses."

"The restaurant is booked, the usual place, private room for 999 yuan. We'll be drinking Luzhou beer tomorrow night!"

"I only have three requests: drink, drink, and fucking drink!"

Look at this, what does it mean to be professional?

That's professionalism!

Boss Zhang Luode may not be good at anything else, but when it comes to treating people to drinks, he is always impeccable!

You're absolutely right, bro!

I came here to drink with the intention of getting drunk!

Zhang Luode comes from a wealthy family; his father is the second-largest shareholder of a listed company. He doesn't run a business himself; he's just rich and has a good nature.

Zhao Chu, whose family owns a food factory, is rich, pretentious, and loves to show off. He is led by Zhang Luode.

Liu Haitao's family runs a wholesale business; they're also wealthy and straightforward.

Zhao Zifeng comes from a middle-class family. He has already made it ashore and was recently promoted to section chief. He was transferred to the Propaganda Department of the Municipal Party Committee. He owes his promotion entirely to his wife, Jiang Qingshui, who has money to support him. Of course, I am also very grateful to her. She has supported me a lot in my business this year.

Li Tie, from a dual-income family, was unwilling to live an ordinary life, truly embodying the idea that hard work doesn't always guarantee results. He is remarkably similar to Chen Sheng, and has been sluggish ever since the health supplement scandal.

I, a nouveau riche, am only allowed to succeed!

Having failed, he had no choice but to rely on those two tons of gold to make a living.

Liu Haitao and Zhao Zifeng both called me in advance, wanting to go together.

"If no one's driving, why are we going together?"

"You live the furthest away, you can give us a ride in a taxi."

"Depend on!"

I saw that Li Tie only replied "ok" in the group and didn't say anything more, so I made a phone call directly.

"What happened?"

"Are you alright?"

"Impossible. We've been friends for so many years. If you change even slightly, we can tell, but we just don't say anything. Now that we're all capable of helping each other, just tell us if you need anything, and we'll help you if we can."

"It's alright."

I hung up the phone.

Liu Haitao: "Something's definitely wrong with him!"

Zhao Zifeng: "They asked me for help before, but I didn't help them. I don't know if that's related?"

"Tell me about it?"

"He needed money and asked me to act as a guarantor at the bank, but I was already married to Shimizu, so I didn't agree."

"How much?"

"100 million. If it's less, I'll lend it to you. I've already given all the money to Tianyi, and I only have 5 on hand. I offered it to him, but he refused."

I turned to Haitao and asked, "You and Li Tie used to have a good relationship, do you have his parents' contact information?"

"Yes, I have."

"Call and ask about the situation. Money is easy to discuss, but I'm worried about something happening at home."

"OK."

At 7 p.m., the seven people arrived at the hotel on time!

Just entered the door.

"Here you go."

A bottle of baijiu was handed to me.

"We have all seven of us today, so how about just 10 bottles of wine?"

Zhao Zifeng: "Holy crap, that's 1 jin per person..."

Liu Haitao's face turned pale. Since the HW mobile phone store collapsed, he hadn't attended any drinking parties in a long time. This sudden surge in alcohol consumption... he's probably going to have to put on a show today...

"Um, drink less, how about I arrange a second round..."

Zhao Chu gave a thumbs up: "I think this is good."

Zhang Luode: "It depends on the situation, but one bottle is the minimum."

"Sure, we're drinking anyway, so we'll be more relaxed and have more fun when we're drunk!"

"Wow, our Section Chief Zhao is really insightful!"

I kept an eye on Li Tie the whole time. Although he laughed along with everyone else, the forced smile on his face was undeniable.

Liu Haitao walked over to him and said, "Brother, let's celebrate the New Year early today by drinking together. Cheer up."

"Alright, come on, let's drink."

Li Tie rallied his spirits.

The cold dishes are served!

"Come on, brothers, let's have a drink!"

Our circle is pretty pure; there are angry people, fights, and even people cursing at each other, but time eventually washes away those memories, and now, it's still the same table.

"Business is getting harder every year."

Zhang Luode, unusually, started talking about making money today; he's usually the least fond of discussing money.

"Give me a break. You're a listed company; how can business be difficult?"

"What did you expect? The output value was still 700 to 800 million during the pandemic. So far this year it's only 600 million. Damn it, orders have shrunk compared to usual."

"Just tell me, did you make any money or not!"

"We'll lose millions."

"Depend on!"

Zhao Chu laughed: "I'm different. Business is particularly good this year. I found a leader to help me expand my sales channels. Although the profit margin is low, what we manufacturers need is volume."

"Where's Tianyi?"

Everyone's attention is on me, after all, HY company has run away, but I've called and asked, and it wasn't me who ran away.

"It's alright, I made a little money. Back in Liancheng, all my old friends are here, so I just do some random projects."

"Let me tell you, the construction industry is no easy job!"

Zhao Chu was handing out cigarettes while showing off; it was his habit, and we were all used to it.

"My uncle from my hometown worked on a water-to-gas conversion project in our city. He couldn't get over 200 million yuan back. Later, he asked someone to pull strings with a high-ranking official, and then he got a job on the South-to-North Water Diversion Project. He worked on it for a year, putting in over 400 million yuan upfront. At the end of the year, he only got 100 million yuan back, saying he couldn't even afford to celebrate the New Year."

I stood there, touching my nose, unsure of what to say.

"Haitao, what about you?"

Apart from me, no one else knows that Haitao has invested in HW mobile phone stores. People are still worried about being scammed by telecom fraud.

"I'll just stay home. My wife is pregnant, so we basically don't go out."

"Oh, congratulations!"

Everyone's attention turned to Li Tie.

Everyone knew about Li Tie's incident later, but Zhou Minyi introduced him to people from the procuratorate and found him a good lawyer. He returned the stolen goods and made restitution, so they didn't prosecute him.

Li Tie gave a wry smile: "I'm just so-so lately!"

I wanted to open my mouth and say something more.

"Oh, it's alright!"

Zhao Chu, quick to speak, interrupted Li Tie from continuing to speak.

"Come on, let's keep drinking."

There was a second episode, and everyone drank alcohol sparingly during the meal.

Two hours later.

"Let's go! Let's sing!"

Everyone was drunk.

"Let me tell you, Tianyi, you've been making a fortune behind our backs. Today, we're going to make you bleed!"

"Exactly. He makes a fortune without sharing it with his brothers."

"Hehe, two for each person today!"

"good!"

Whether you're truly drunk or not!

Whether it's the truth or a lie!

Everyone understands this, but when you're out having fun, you're just having fun.

When I was young, I was a karaoke hog, holding the microphone tightly and never letting go!

These days, when you sing, girls always say something like, "Hey bro, sing a couple of lines, you're pinching me so hard it hurts!"

We've had enough alcohol.

The girl served him well.

"The third match?"

As usual, let's play cards!

Li Tie waved his hand: "You guys go ahead, I'm not going."

"What's wrong? I remember you lost a lot playing cards last year, don't you want to win it back this year?"

Liu Haitao held onto Li Tie, preventing him from going back.

"You may go—"

"Are you broke?"

Zhang Luode lit a cigarette and said it so directly, his face full of sarcasm.

Li Tie stubbornly replied, "Yeah, I'm broke. So what?"

"Not only do you have nothing in your pocket, you also have nothing in your bank account, and you've become an unregistered resident."

Zhao Chu's words were like knives, each one piercing Li Tie's heart.

Li Tie: "You guys are rich and powerful, but I have no choice. I have to make money, and I'm damn incompetent. Not only did I lose money, but I almost went to jail."

Li Tie squatted on the ground, crying like a child. He had never felt so helpless as he had this year.

The people who used to support him are no longer there to back him up. Now he's in debt from his business, has become a blacklisted person, and can't even get online loans.

He also wants to die, but now even if he were asked to die, he wouldn't dare.

"Is it because your father needs money for medical treatment?"

Li Tie squatted on the ground, unable to lift his head.

"The money has been transferred to the hospital account, 120 million yuan has been deposited, which should be enough for the subsequent treatment."

Li Tie looked up, completely bewildered.

I went over, lit a cigarette, and handed it to him: "Haitao called Auntie this afternoon. You know, what's there to hide? Zhang Luode was so angry that he went straight to the hospital and deposited 20 yuan."

Zhang Luode laughed and said, "These beasts wouldn't let me stand up, so each of them deposited another 20."

"It's normal for businesses to lose money, and it's normal for people to be undocumented, since you don't have the money to fly anyway."

"Haitao, shut up..."

I pulled Li Tie up: "There's work on the South-to-North Water Diversion Project in the city next year. You can come and do some work, bring your own people, and become a contractor. I'll cover all the payments for you."

"If you need money, just ask the boss or Zhao Chu. There's no hurdle you can't overcome."

When I have money, I also think about going to unfamiliar cities, to places where nobody knows me, and spending money freely to enjoy myself. But I'm human, a social being, with flesh and blood; I can't be completely heartless. There might be a few friends who want your money, which is understandable. However, people really can't live without drinking buddies; they're the spice of life. Otherwise, your life would be bland and tasteless.