One month and one day 20 years ago, Lao Zhang made up his mind to give up smoking with a click. There are only two hobbies left, alcohol and sex, and' debauchery' people are worthy of the name.
I remember 1979, 18-year-old Xiao Zhang and several comrades sitting on the bumpkin mountain in Penglai, Shandong Province, imagining the future: the brothers are old and can sit together, with a plate of peanuts and a pot of white wine, which would be great. According to the knowledge and vision at that time, Lao Zhang's imagination was so much.
I was drinking with my comrades-in-arms the other day. When I talked about that dream, I was a little dismissive. What is a peanut? In addition to peanuts, there are shallots mixed with tofu, frozen skin and fried fish. After 40 years, Lao Zhang's skill has not increased, but his age and alcohol consumption have increased a lot. From an ambitious teenager to an idle old man, the world has lost an ambitious young man and gained a glutton.
Speaking of drinking, Lao Zhang's first sip of wine was that his second grandfather dipped in white wine with chopsticks and stuffed it into his mouth according to his neck, which made Lao Zhang grin and cry, which made his family laugh. Old Beijingers have the folk custom of feeding little boys with chopsticks dipped in white wine, so that children can experience the taste of wine from childhood and become men who can drink when they grow up.
It seems that drinking should start with dolls.
At that time, dipping chopsticks in white wine was the lowest tradition. For decades, Lao Zhang and countless people have drunk wine, met all kinds of people and experienced many dangers and alcohol tests. I saw the liquid in the bottle, and after drinking it, all kinds of strange things, interesting things, evil things and bad things happened.
Lao Zhang drank friendship wine in his early years, and his classmates, comrades-in-arms and colleagues were all acquaintances. In his own small circle, he had something to do and got together for a drink. Although the income is not high, it is completely self-funded and the food is simple. But the boys sit together and talk about ideals, future, prospects and friendship, MengMeng's girlfriend. People are simple, and the wine they drink is also simple. At that time, drinking was drunk and the wine of life. It is so sweet and beautiful.
A few years later, Lao Zhang did environmental monitoring, which was a tricky job, relying on the government's signboard. No matter which unit he goes to supervise, large units and small units, government agencies and military schools, there will definitely be a feast. At first, Lao Zhang was shy and asked, Do you drink? A: No, no! Sitting on the wine table, afraid to look up, afraid to touch the glass, stop to eat the food in front of you. Once, Lao Zhang wanted to drink some soup, but he was embarrassed to drink it directly. He pretended to make soup for everyone and handed it to Lao Zhang. Mom dropped it, and the soup was gone. After a brief shyness, Lao Zhang showed his true colors. He knows and doesn't know anyone, loves someone, drinks loudly and wants to eat, no matter how far away or how long his arms are stretched out. It's hard to learn, and it's very fast to learn shameless. In those days, shameless wine was drunk every day.
Lao Zhang realized that it is not a good thing to live a life of fox and tiger. So, I volunteered to go to distant Yunnan to do sales work. Sales are completely different from old Smith, and even drinking is condescending. Of course, the advantage of drinking in a low voice is that you are no longer completely immersed in the taste of wine, but also taste the taste of people through the process of drinking. Drinking with officials and seeing their faces after drinking. Drinking with businessmen, I saw the sincerity of businessmen after drinking. Drink with a liar and let the liar tell the truth. Drinking with opponents shows Lao Zhang's capacity for liquor and courage.
Speaking of courage, as the saying goes, wine makes people afraid and wine can make people brave.
Once I was drinking with a customer when suddenly a young man with a kitchen knife rushed into the restaurant. Suddenly, everyone disappeared, except Lao Zhang, who was still in the dark and didn't know what had happened. The young man with a kitchen knife saw that Lao Zhang was the only one in the restaurant and rushed at Lao Zhang with a kitchen knife. After drinking, Lao Zhang stood up and shouted, what are you doing? The young man waved a knife at Lao Zhang. Lao Zhang instinctively grabbed the chair next to him and hit the young man with a kitchen knife. The young man with the kitchen knife dodged beautifully and the chair fell to the ground. It's over. Run. At this time, a scene in the movie appeared. Lao Zhang deliberately put the chair down while running, and the young man with a kitchen knife jumped over to avoid the dropped tables and chairs while chasing. Lao Zhang ran to the cashier, grabbed a bottle of canned food, turned around and slammed it on the young man's head with a kitchen knife. The young man with the kitchen knife dodged beautifully again However, this time, Lao Zhang's speed and strength are fast and hard. The young man with a kitchen knife dodged his head instead of his shoulder. The can was smashed on the collarbone of the young man with the kitchen knife. Only heard a "crash", the kitchen knife fell to the ground, and the young people of the kitchen knife also froze. Lao Zhang was about to rush to carry out the second blow. In an instant, a group of people ran out from under the table and behind the door and hugged Lao Zhang tightly. Soon, Xiao Chopper's family also arrived and repeatedly explained that he was a mental patient.
Drinking in business, a table full of strange faces, people you know, people you don't know, people you like and people you don't like, no matter what your mood is, you should be positive and enthusiastic, have nothing to say, don't know how to pretend to understand, pretend to be happy, be condescending, be flattering, accompany you to eat, drink, sing, dance and sleep, and have no fans of Grandpa Beijing. No wonder Lao Zhang often laughs at himself: he donated his liver, stomach, kidney and lungs. Alas, I have traveled all over my motherland, Qian Shan, and tasted the ups and downs outside. Everyone yearns for the happiness of life, and people who travel around the world are bitter and difficult. On the day of the tour, high-grade and low-grade game was delicious, spicy, sweet and sour, and delicious food was eaten and drunk. It's all nonsense and bitter wine. The most beautiful thing is sitting at home, cross-legged with bare arms, a mouthful of braised pork and Erguotou, and a mouse with a gun.
Later, Lao Zhang also did a lot of cross-disciplinary work, involving culture, books, performances, film and television, psychology, community correction, mediation, legal consultation and so on. I met people from different industries. No matter what industry, everyone meets and chats together and always drinks in the end. Drinking one's own wine, drinking friends' wine, drinking public wine, no matter who you drink, you still see all kinds of drunken human nature before and after drinking. Some people talk to their confidants, some are pretentious, some are greedy for your wallet, and some are full of lies and hypocrisy. A false drink made Lao Zhang confused and deceived, and finally he lost all his money.
Lao Zhang used to have many bad habits when drinking, such as swearing in the street after drinking, singing opera after drinking, bragging after drinking, and even driving after drinking. Once I had a drink in a restaurant, it was late, so I pushed a cup with my friend for a change. The beautiful boss is going home, accompanied by the thin boss. Lao Zhang struck the table with the strength of wine: no, the boss can go, but the proprietress can't. The boss thinks that Lao Zhang is five big and three thick, and he has no virtue after drinking. After looking at each other, he left by himself, leaving the boss behind.
Later, when Lao Zhang was old, his wine virtue improved greatly. I am less and less interested in the noisy wine market. I like three or two friends to drink quietly, and I like to drink my own wine glumly. Even if you drink lively wine, it will not be like this. Over the years, I have also developed the habit of not drinking while driving, not drinking at work, not drinking when I am unhappy, not drinking when I feel uncomfortable, and not drinking when I look uncomfortable. In addition, Lao Zhang's favorite advantage among drinkers is that he never persuades alcohol. Drink if you can. Don't drink if you can. Drink more and drink less. Of course, Lao Zhang will decline first when he comes to persuading wine. If he refuses, he will refuse. If not, Lao Zhang will use his magic weapon, drink a bottle first, and then persuade him to drink.
Because of traveling all over the country and Lao Zhang's vulgarity, there is no special requirement for the variety of wine, and both high-grade and low-grade can be drunk, unlike some pretentious people who scoff at low-grade wine and judge their taste by the price of wine. Lao Zhang prefers Maotai-flavor liquor to liquor produced in Sichuan and Jiangsu. Sometimes when I go to a new place, I also like to taste the local wine, and I am more curious.
Although Lao Zhangcan drinks, he never gets tired of it. Drinking is not a compulsory course for Lao Zhang, but an elective course at most. Lao Zhang is also thinking that one day he will quit drinking, and he will end up with nothing, nothing and nothing. On that day, Lao Zhang was by no means hiding in an empty door to chant Buddhist scripture. He must be lying in the intensive care unit.