Last supper 2023?

Quite a subdued day due to both the heat and then the rain that made going out not much of an option, so Tan ordered some crappy chicken burgers for the kids and I made do with a boiled egg and bag of la tiao again. I'd decided to make this a Last Supper evening so after a tiny 30 minutes of siesta following a few lunchtime beers I started pinging my xiong di men and one by one they got back to me to say they would make it, except for Ling Ming who was looking after his wife in hospital. Uncle Yellow said he'd try his best but family might get in the way and of course I said family first.

I went to pick up a couple of beers from the local shop and while there noticed the people I'd sat with three days ago were sitting drinking tea and I felt I'd better go and see them. They welcomed me and said they'd seen me walking past a few times and why hadn't I stopped in? I was honest and said I'd been invited to various places, but sat down to have some lovely tea for the next half an hour before I said I needed to go and anyway they were going out to eat.

Back home I had a quick beer until 8pm rolled around and Beihai Huang told me to start earlier and come round now, but I said I'd told all my mates we'd be there from 9pm. He wanted me earlier and as Mat had fallen asleep in the UK I turned up shortly after 8.30pm and sat with Huang and some other mates for a while. Strangely he was on apple juice with no alcohol, but still insisted on gan bei'ing me with beer. A Wu turned up early pretty much bang on 9pm on his dian dong che, and we sat at Huang's table eating his food for a bit.

Haiwei then turned up and sat with us for a while too. But when a couple more mates turned up we moved to our own table where I'd already ordered portions of prawns, snails, qing cai, razor fish, and my favourite octopus. Then Uncle Yellow turned up, telling me he'd already drunk a load...so much for being with family! I then called Jiefu and he answered and said he'd be around presently...cool, he's one of my favourite people but I never seem to get the chance to see him until the Last Supper. Zhang Hongping, Zhang Hua, Lu zong, Boss Zhou all turned up in the next half an hour and it turned into a really friendly evening out with a few people meeting other people for the first time. Li Kun and his wife turned up at 10.40 to complete the complement. 

Clockwise from left - A Wu, Haiwei, Lu zong, Zhang Hua, Jiefu, Boss Zhou, Zhang Hongping

But I could feel my tummy playing up again and as I was 2 minutes away from home I borrowed A Wu's dian dong che and just made it in time and was back within the promised 15 minutes, but Haiwei had already left it seemed. Well he did seem well-oiled when he turned up in a didi che, as did Zhang Hongping, as did Boss Zhou. Do these people do nothing else than drink and eat of an evening? But all were in good spirits and I managed to order a pot of haixian zhou and another portion of octopus and nearly everything was gone by the time we decided to call it at night at 1am. And for a total of 1000 kuai for four hours with so many people I cannot complain!

Well, that meant going to A Wu's to finish of some beers with his wife, Teacher Lu, and a couple of other friends I didn't know (or remember). The conversation turned to business and they all thought I should really start an English school, despite the fact I'd said the Chinese government was cracking down on such things. No, apparently the rich parents still want their kids to learn English and go to foreign universities. But it was 1.30am, and as much as I like A Wu's wife she kept referring to me as Mis-si-ter Peng (i.e. 3 syllables for "mister") she kept saying how much money I'd make if I set foot on such a venture. I must admit I'm tempted, and would need someone like A Wu to be a middleman between me and the government but I didn't venture to ask the important questions like getting a work visa etc. as it didn't seem the time nor the place. But I would like to pick up this conversation in a completely sober environment.

A Wu gave me a lift home around 2am which he shouldn't have done, and for some reason I managed a chat with Mat and Awl shortly after, meaning I got to sleep and not long before 4am....