Cracking meal with Huang Lei's boss and friends

Got up at a decent 12:07pm and went for a well-needed portion of jiaozi again. I should really branch out but it's just the right size and hits the point. Uncle Yellow had pinged me two minutes before I got up to ask if I was free this evening. Indeed I was so he said he'd be in contact later in the afternoon. But as the afternoon wore on I felt worse and worse. I'd had a bit of a cough but now was just feeling in general bad, and I know the booze last night/this morning hadn't helped.

Ah my lovely jiaozi...

So I wasn't tempted to imbibe at all. But Uncle Yellow pinged me a location to go and eat at 6.30pm so I knew that that would mean drinking again. So there was one thing for it...for the third day in a row I managed the dumbbell exercises - this time on the legs and abs and it bloody hurt. I forced myself till the end and didn't feel any better when it was done, other than mentally glad that I'd forced myself. By now it was getting on for 6pm so I grabbed a shower but still didn't really feel like going. Even after forcing a small 3.3% beer down me I thought twice about going, but I didn't know who would be there and didn't want to upset Uncle Yellow so got on the bike and turned up at the shop only 15 minutes late.

Well the location he'd sent me was a shop, and I confirmed with the shop owner. She was very complimentary about my Mandarin and while we were talking a bloke turned up and had heard me mention Uncle Yellow's real name Huang Lei. He said he was also going there, so I'd go with him. It was actually on the other side of the building and we'd need to take a lift up, but once there I realised I hadn't brought anything so went back round to the shop which of course sold fruit and bought a nice box of wrapped oranges for 35 kuai. I went back to the lift but the bloke said he was waiting for another bloke now and just to go up. But of course the lift needed a card, which I explained to him, and he came inside and of course there was a card hanging up above the place to scan it. So much for security.

Up at the 7th floor I was glad to see both women and men milling around. The food hadn't been served so I wasn't late, but was glad I'd made the effort to bring the oranges as most others had too. It transpired it was Huang Lei's (for I should use his proper name) boss's meal, and he'd invited a number of the people who work for him. I'd not met him before and he bade me sit down beside him at the big round table which was to be for the men, while the womenfolk had their oblong table on the other side of the room where there was no smoking.

Meal at Huang Lei's boss's place

Well I was still feeling shit and could barely stomach any of the food, and wasn't looking forward to the beer. But Huang Lei was there so as one of the only three beer drinkers I did my best and after 10 minutes of eating started ganbeiing as you do. It took about five glasses before I felt confident enough that I would make it through, and it ended up being a really cool evening. Yes it was mostly blokes, but they were all in the right mood and of course all wanted to ganbei with me. Eventually I stood up and ganbeid with the boss's wife, which was taken as a nice gesture as so far it had all been the blokes. Then, predictably, we descended into cai ma and I gave a reasonable account of myself.

There were many red faces from the baijiu drinking blokes, but no-one got shitfaced and I stayed a while even after Huang Lei left with his younger son. Apparently we were to go to some music place on Friday with Xiao Nong. Cool. When I was ready to go at getting on for 11pm Huang Lei's boss personally escorted me down in the lift and gave me a big handshake to thank me for coming. But no...thank you for inviting me! Of course we said we'd meet up again soon but who know when or if that will happen.

Tan's brother and Jiuma were home when I got back but as I wasn't feeling great I went straight to bed for perhaps the first pre-midnight sleep this year.